Is It Spring Yet?

It may technically be spring here in the Northern Hemisphere, but you wouldn't know it from the weather forecast. We've had cold temperatures, ice storms, and even snow in the past couple of weeks. It's really a bummer because I'm dying for everything to be in bloom. Until it starts to warm up, I'm trying to wear as many springy prints as possible.

This Heart of Haute dress is undeniably springy and cheerful. This "Amanda" style is one I'd never tried before and it's great for layering. It also comes with a matching fabric tie belt, which is always a nice feature. I went all out for Easter with the styling on this, but it's really a versatile piece that'll be light and breezy for the months ahead. 

Outfit Details

Amanda Dress in Blue Skies print: c/o Heart of Haute

Vintage hat: similar  ||  Wedge sandals: Chase and Chloe

Cropped yellow cardigan: available here

Fingers crossed it gets nice this weekend!

Cherries and Lemons

It may be December (which means holiday outfits are coming SOON!), but I'm challenging myself in today's post to style some summery items in a more wintery way. I can't turn down a novelty bag, and this lemon purse from Always Fits is so adorable. However, I was having trouble figuring out how to utilize it in an outfit. I went the fruity route and decided to wear this halter dress from Heart of Haute as a skirt. It may not be my favorite outfit of all time, but it made me realize how some pieces aren't as limited as I'd initially thought.

The show I'm in opens tomorrow, and it's not a moment too soon. It's been great to get back into the swing of things and sing again, but I'm absolutely exhausted. I need to start taking better care of myself and obtain a true work/life balance that I'm comfortable with. That'll definitely be a goal of mine for 2018. I'm also really excited to have a bit more free time during the week so I can get started on festive holiday things! My tree is waiting to be decorated and there are lots of cookies that need to be baked!

Outfit Details

Sweetie Dress in Classic Cherry (worn as a skirt): c/o Heart of Haute

Black top: similar  ||  Black belt: similar

Glitter Lemon Purse: c/o Always Fits

Necklace: Poshmark (similar)

Shoes: similar

Have a great weekend!

Haunted

My countdown to Halloween continues with today's spooky ensemble! This Vintage Inspired By Jackie x John Varvir skirt ticks several of my boxes: it's novelty border print with a niche pop culture reference that not everyone will get. At first glance, it just looks like a book print (which is cool enough in itself)... and then you realize that it's the Handbook For The Recently Deceased from Beetlejuice. I thought this haunted house brooch from Modern Girl Blitz was a match made in... wherever ghosts go. :) And I love how this Heart of Haute blouse makes the skirt look like it could actually be a dress!

I'm really excited for this weekend. I'm not sure whether I'll actually be doing any Halloween-y things, but it's my birthday tomorrow! My mom is making a nice dinner for us tonight, and then I'll be having high tea tomorrow afternoon to celebrate. If nothing else, I'll be eating lots of good food and spending time with people I love – and after all, isn't that what birthdays are really about (when you get older, at least)?

Outfit Details

Betsy Blouse: c/o Heart of Haute

Book For The Recently Deceased Skirt: c/o Vintage Inspired By Jackie

Haunted House Brooch: Modern Girl Blitz

Belt: similar  ||  Heels: similar

Speaking of birthdays, if you haven't entered my giveaway yet, now's the time! You could win a different skirt from Vintage Inspired By Jackie plus a whole slew of other *magical* goodies. Get the details and enter here before Sunday!

PLUS, Jackie has generously offered my readers a 20% off discount on this skirt from her shop through the weekend! Just enter the code BDAYSAVE20 at checkout!

Have a frighteningly ghoul-d weekend!

It's A Small World

I find myself uttering, "what a small world!" at least once a week. It really, really is. Which makes me love the Disney ride all the more. In my eyes, the only bad thing about the It's A Small World ride is that I don't live closer to it! So when Jackie from Atomic Jax asked if I'd like to review her "Small World" skirt, I leapt at the chance. At least I can pretend I'm only a hop, skip, and a jump away – if only the world were that small!

This design is a collaboration between Jackie and artist John Varvir. I really love both the print and fabric, which is a nice weight and retains its stiffness really nicely. Best of all, the skirt fits me really well (and is a great match for this Heart of Haute Estelle blouse!). This design comes in two different colorways and can also be made into dresses, if you're not a fan of separates. In fact, Jackie can make virtually any custom order. I'll be forever swooning over her Disney bed sheet dresses!

How great is this vintage Disney box purse, by the way? The moment I saw it, I knew I had to scoop it up. There's even an official tag inside (it was sold at the Disney World Contemporary Hotel in the 1970s!). I had to go all out with the Disney accessories on this one, and my Mickey brooch from Match Accessories was the perfect final touch.

Outfit Details

Small World skirt: c/o Atomic Jax

Estelle Blouse in Ivory: c/o Heart of Haute

Vintage Disney purse: Nevermore Vintage

Mickey brooch: Match Accessories

Black flats: similar

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Big Birthday Giveaway! [CLOSED]

It's that time of year again: time for my annual big birthday giveaway! Every October, I love to give my lovely readers a little treat (much more preferable to a trick, if you ask me). My birthday is on Friday, so I'm kicking off my birthday week by giving you all a chance to win some wonderful prizes from some of my favorite brands! Read on to find out how.

I'm keeping this year's birthday giveaway a bit more *intimate* than in previous years. Really, things have just been so busy that I decided to make it a bit more exclusive and less overwhelming for myself. In the past, I've given away a bunch of smaller prizes for several people, but this year, I've opted to giveaway a HUGE prize to one lucky follower. Here's what's up for grabs!

The winner will receive:

- Red and Black Pindot "Diana" dress from Unique Vintage

- Your choice of "Estelle" blouse and circle skirt from Heart of Haute

- Purple spiderweb Backseat Baby purse from Sourpuss Clothing

- Wanda Woodward pin + "Really Good Hair Club" print from Dreaming of Johnny

- "Liv" cardigan from Voodoo Vixen

RULES: Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below. There are mandatory entries you must complete to be eligible (one of these is that you're a follower of my blog – no unfollowing after the giveaway ends, please). There are also optional entries you can complete to increase your chance of winning. One (1) winner will receive all of the prizes listed above. The winner will be contacted via e-mail, so be sure to provide a valid e-mail address. The winner must respond to my e-mail within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen. The giveaway is open worldwide and will run from now until 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, October 30th (right on the stroke of Halloween – spooky!).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for entering and best of luck!

Getaway

I'm all about the patterned skirts lately! I'd been wanting this adorable skirt by Heart of Haute since Christmas, and I'm glad I was finally able to get my hands on it (thanks to a recent sale at Doll Me Up). Although I love a full skirt, I have to admit that I get more wear out of more casual, versatile pieces like this one. It's definitely a piece I can wear during 3 out of 4 seasons, and although I went with basic white for this time around, because of all the different colors in this harlequin print, I can mix and match with ease.

I'm mostly moved in to my new place, but there's still so much to do and not very much time to do it. I'm exhausted most days after work; even though it's not physical at all, I find it very draining. It's proving to be a big adjustment. I don't know why I didn't try to ease into all this change a bit more, rather than having everything happen at once... but sometimes life just happens that way. I'm simply trying to rise to the challenge (and keep my head above water). My backlog of photos is dwindling, so my next task is fitting in my blogging with my new schedule – which admittedly will probably be more fun than some of the other things I've had to check off my list lately.

Outfit Details

Heart of Haute Getaway Skirt in Harlequin: Doll Me Up

White Vamp Top: Pinup Girl Clothing

Shoes: B.A.I.T. Footwear (similar)

Popcorn necklace: similar

Have a great start to your week!

Star-crossed

I took these photos in the late summertime, but didn't get around to posting them until now, for some reason. This constellation print top + skirt set from Heart of Haute is one of my favorite outfits – I could easily wear each piece separately, but I enjoy wearing them together a lot of the time. I love that the blouse is great for work events, and the skirt is of a really versatile length. But obviously, the print is the best part! Although I like galaxy and constellation print pieces, I've never owned any until now; this particular one was too pretty to pass up! (Gold sparkly stars?! C'mon!)

While trying to come up with a blog post title, I started thinking a lot about certain relationships in my past. I think a lot of them have been "wrong place, wrong time" scenarios. Or just plain "wrong person." For a long time, I thought I'd found the right person, but in retrospect, I'm glad things didn't work out. I don't really believe in fate or that I'm destined to be with one particular person. But I do think there are right people for certain times in your life, even if you might not understand the reason in the moment. Actually, I'm not even trying to find a reason (or even any logic at all), which is a rare occurrence for me. I realize this is sort of cryptic, but it's because my feelings in general feel that way even to me right now. I'm trying to be okay with not having everything all figured out. It's a good challenge for me. I'm being cautious, but even if things fall apart, I think it'll be fine. Things do have a way of working themselves out in the end.

Outfit Details

Ella Top in Teal Constellations: c/o Heart of Haute

MB Circle Skirt in Teal Constellations: Heart of Haute

Unicorn brooch: I Love Crafty

Shoes: ASOS (similar)

Have a great Monday!

PS: Don't forget, you still have a couple of days to enter my Big Birthday Giveaway! You can enter to win 1 of 3 awesome prize packages (one which includes the awesome unicorn brooch featured in this post!). Don't miss out! Get the details and enter here.