Sunday, July 20, 2014

You're the cat's meow

Outfit Details
Hooked on a Feline Dress: ModCloth
Black flats: jc penney (old)
Belt: from another dress
Wicker purse: yard sale




Kudos to June for the title of this post!  This dress doesn't get enough love from me.  I recently lent this dress to sweet Lauren, who styled it in a few different ways on her blog (here, here and here), and it definitely renewed my love for it and inspired me to wear it more often.  It's sort of a loud print, and the dresses I own by Folter Clothing tend to fit me a little snugly in the arm region, so that might be why I don't wear it a ton.  But it's a really cool dress, and I really do love this length.  I'm becoming increasingly more uncomfortable with shorter dresses these days, and I love that this can work with or without a crinoline.  Plus, when it's windy, I don't have to worry so much about flashing anyone!  




I don't really wear my hair up very much on the blog (or all that much in general, really).  My hair absolutely provides a sense of both security and femininity for me.  I always end up feeling sort of masculine/unattractive when I wear my hair up.  This hair style was sort of an accident, but I ended up liking it a lot.  I was wearing it half up, half down with a lot of extra volume to create a more 1960's look, and then it got too hot, so I ended up pulling up the rest of it.  I think the extra height does wonders on me, so I'll have to remember this for the future.




Have a great Sunday!
xox Sammi

Monday, July 1, 2013

Moments from the weekend

I've had a very enjoyable last few days.  The weather has finally been nice again, so I've been trying to take full advantage of it.  Instead of an outfit post today, I'm sharing a few photos from my weekend.  I've hopped on the Instagram train at the suggestion of my blogger friend, Rebecca of The Cinnamon Slipper (if you don't already follow her, you should do so immediately), and I'm making an effort to use it more.  I am enjoying the filters more than I probably should.

For instance, I'm so in love with this photo.

I have no pictures from Friday, but I reached a (very small) milestone and finally got my learner's permit!  I don't know if I've really talked about the fact that I do not (yet!) know how to drive... it's sort of an embarrassing thing to admit in many ways, because I don't like being dependent on people, and a girl who is nearly 25 should be able to drive herself around.  But at least I've taken the first step!  Now for the hard part.  I'm going to have to sign up for a driving school, because I don't think I'd handle learning from either of my parents very well; simply put, it's a situation that gives me a lot of anxiety, and I tend to lash out in those kinds of instances.  So I think it's better if I learn from someone I don't really know well and that I won't act like a crazy person around.

After going to the DMV (twice, because their website is - of course - so confusing that it's hard to find what documents you need to bring with you... and we left my birth certificate at home the first time out), my mom and I went out to run some fun errands.  I needed new BareMinerals makeup, and I ended up getting a new dress in the process, courtesy of my mama!  :)  You'll see that in tomorrow's outfit post.  After that, we got a ton of fabric flowers so that I can make my own flower crowns!  I'm super excited to do this.  I'm hoping to start this week, or maybe next.

After my shift at work on Saturday, my mom and I headed to a moving sale.  This sale was being held by my beloved former voice teacher, Cara, and oh my goodness, it was amazing.  My voice teacher has also directed countless productions and has often done her own costuming for her shows.  She's also a lover of all things vintage.  So there were countless beautiful finds at her sale!

Amazing beautiful hats.  I managed to snag four of these beauties!

Gorgeous lilac gown

Vintage nightgowns and wedding gowns

How I lamented that my feet are not size 5 and 1/2!  These were exquisite.  Look at the heel!

Amazing peachy pink gown with floral embellishments

Close-up of the hats - I especially loved that green one in the upper left corner!

This is now mine!  I have a smaller wicker purse, but this one's the real deal.

Cara also has several vintage magazines and fashion books.  This one was a style book for menswear (from 1905!!) that door-to-door salesmen would take to show styles and fabric samples.  The swatches were still intact!


This womenswear catalogue was so lovely, too.  I just love seeing all the old illustrations and styles from different eras.  This particular catalogue was from the mid-1930s!


After all was said and done, Cara gave me an incredibly generous deal on my haul, which consisted of that wicker handbag, four of her hats, two fur collars, and a vintage pink lace petticoat!  I was only sorry I couldn't spend all day looking through all of her pieces (and couldn't afford to buy them myself)!

Post-shopping, Steven and I went out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, a quasi-Vietnamese place, where we had our standby dishes: sweet and spicy rice with chicken and pineapple for me, and pho for him.  Afterwards, we went out to get Steven a new TV for his apartment.  It is huge and awesome.  I am currently watching Golden Girls, and Bea Arthur is absolutely enormous on this screen.

Yesterday, I was finally able to take new outfit photos because of the nice weather, and Steven and I went out to a Greek restaurant we love:


It was so nice to be able to sit outside (it's right along the Erie Canal) and eat.  We walked along the canal afterwards, and saw some bird friends...

I love that one goose with her neck outstretched!

... And then we went to get some frozen yogurt.  I'm obsessed with key lime pie flavored ANYTHING, but especially this froyo. 


And then we spent the rest of the night on his couch.  I have off of work for the next couple of days, but have a lot to do.  My grandma is coming to visit from Florida for the 4th of July, and there's a lot to do before then.  Sorry for the lack of outfit post today, but I figure that people might get tired of that all the time anyway.  At least it's something to break up the monotony.  :)

I think GFC is gone by now, yes?  Hopefully you can still import all of your blogs to Bloglovin'!  If you aren't following me there yet, I'd love it if you would!  

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Have a great Monday!
xox Sammi

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Pumpkin among the flowers (an outfit post)

It's been so gray and wintery here for the past couple weeks, and I'm itching for spring to get here already!  I'm trying to incorporate some springy cheer into my wardrobe to make up for the drab weather.  Naturally, this floral dress fit the bill.  I don't have too many casual dresses (I am so drawn to special occasion dresses that I end up getting those instead of more practical choices), so this one has become a staple of my wardrobe.  I especially appreciate that it can span the seasons and still be appropriate for each.

Outfit details
Plant By Numbers Dress: ModCloth
Lady in Rad Boot in Camel: ModCloth
Tights: a cheap store in Union Square (similar here)
Belt: ASOS

I love how this dress looks with tights and boots!!



The original orange belt that came with this dress broke after the first time I wore it, so I was thrilled to find a belt from ASOS that perfectly matched the original!  I've worn a wine-colored belt (from another ModCloth dress) with this one too, but I think the orange is so lovely with it.



Meanwhile, another orange thing named Pumpkin was very interested in what I was doing...

...Very interested indeed (notice that she was also interested in my boot laces).


I informed her that if she was that interested in what I was up to, she would have to be a part of the photos, too!  She's a natural in front of the camera, don't you think?  :)

I'm SO happy to have (mostly) figured out the solution to my blurry photo problem!  Taking photos in this corner of my room provide the most light, and not having enough was the main issue.  I can't wait til it warms up so I can start taking photos outside, too.

Have a lovely, lovely Wednesday!
xox Sammi