Periwinkle

Outfit Details:

Dress: dELiA*s (old)

Floral garland: Urban Outfitters

Black flats: jcpenney

Unicorn ring: I'm Your Present (free with purchase)

My camera battery died as I was taking these photos.  Luckily, it was my favorite time of day, so the lighting was decent and I was able to get some that I liked.  I enjoy looking like a flowery ballerina.

Not much else to say today, really.  I'm working tonight at the Independence Day concert for the orchestra here.  It's a bit of a drive, but it'll be fun if the weather holds out!

Have a lovely Wednesday.

xox Sammi

L'amour

Outfit Details:

Cutout Dress (L'Amour Nanette Lepore): jcpenney

Jelly flats: J.Crew (old)

Heart ring: Urban Outfitters (sold out)

Daisy ring: Mom's

This is the dress that I mentioned in yesterday's post.  I wasn't planning on getting a dress from JC Penney (is it JC Penney or jcpenney?  Has this changed?  I never know), but when I saw this one in the juniors section, I knew I had to at least try it on.  I love the shape and vibrant color, and the print is so interesting, with the hand-drawn anchors, lions and daisies. 

I thought these two rings were really appropriate for this dress (and the name of the line)!

I learned a really valuable lesson about sizing the day I got this dress.  Specifically, a lesson about not getting hung up on sizing!  This dress (and whole line) is from the juniors' section.  When clothes are cut for a juniors line, they really aren't well-fitted for larger bust or hip sizes.  Logically, I know this, but there is a certain amount of vanity involved when shopping for me; not only do I want to look good in clothes, but I do get a certain satisfaction about knowing I am a size ___, etc.  There have definitely been times where I don't want to buy something in a size larger, because I don't want to have to think of myself as wearing a size 10 (instead of my normal size 8)!

When I went to try on this dress, they were out of size 9, which would be my first pick for my size in the juniors' section under normal circumstances.  So I tried on the size 11, thinking it'd maybe be too big, but could work.  To my shock, I couldn't even zip it up!  I really loved the dress though, so I decided to try it on in a 13 for kicks, expecting it to be too big.  Lo and behold, the dress was pretty much perfect on me.  It looked great, but I definitely felt bummed about having to wear a dress that was two sizes larger than what I thought my normal size would be.

And then I tried on a different dress from the ladies' section.  They were out of my normal size 8, so I took the size 6 they had into the dressing room, assuming it wouldn't even zip.  It ended up fitting perfectly.  So here I was, able to wear both a size 6 and a size 13.  I'm fairly certain the other dress I tried on probably ran a little big, but it just goes to show that you can't get too hung up on the size you wear.  Because I've bought quite a number of vintage items on Etsy, I've gotten pretty good with knowing my current measurements, which has been helpful.  But when buying items in a store, you kind of just have to take a chance sometimes, since we don't have universal sizing.  I know people who cut out the tags in their clothes, which I think is a good self-confidence booster, but I think I can just be secure in the knowledge that you never really know what'll work until you try it on.  :)

I love these little jelly shoes.  I bought them 2+ years ago, before jellies were back in fashion.  I'd like to think I was ahead of the curve on that one.  But I guess it was just that J.Crew was, really.

My grandma is coming up from Florida today!  She's here for the 4th of July, though we're not doing really anything exciting that day -- we're having our big family party on Saturday instead.  But I don't get to see my grandma very often, so I'm looking forward to spending time with her!  

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

xox Sammi

On the steps of the palace

Outfit Details:

Dress: My Lolita Dress

Earrings: Mom's

Sparkle jelly flats: jcpenney

White belt: eBay

So here's the thing with this dress.  I fell in love with the print on the fabric (I mean, castles and horse-drawn carriages?  Come on!).  However, I ordered this dress from a website that, in all honesty, I cannot personally recommend.  After ordering the dress and not hearing anything for at least a month (which sometimes is par for the course, if you order something from China), I investigated the website and discovered that it's an off-shoot of Milanoo.  I've heard some pretty horrible things about Milanoo (though I have also heard stories of good experiences), and I was very worried about the quality of the dress I'd ordered - or whether I'd even receive the dress at all. 

Eventually, I did receive the dress, but as you might be able to tell, the top of it is kind of strange; there aren't a lot of pictures that emphasize how odd it looks, but in person, it looks bumpy and weird.  I certainly learned a good lesson about being careful when ordering from online retailers, though.  The print may be darling, but the quality isn't great.  Has anyone else had experiences (good or bad) with ordering from Milanoo or one of their associated websites?  I'd be interested in hearing from you.

However, I do have to admit that I have never felt more like Cinderella in my life.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

xox Sammi

Apple of my eye

Outfit Details:

Days of the Chic Dress: ModCloth

Core Values Necklace: ModCloth

White belt: from another dress

Black flats: jcpenney

This outfit is pretty plain and simple by my standards!  But I love how stretchy and versatile this black dress is, and it's pretty flattering, too.  Even though I'm always drawn to statement pieces... not everything in my wardrobe can be totally kooky!

You might have noticed that there is a general lack of bed in these pictures!  Steven took the other bed I have, so we moved the bed that used to appear in these photos into the other room (where I actually sleep).  So now there's a ton of extra space!

Red lipstick + boyfriend = this picture :)

Have a great day!

xox Sammi

"Ay, while you live, draw your neck out o' the collar."

Outfit Details:

Pick of the Licorice Dress: ModCloth (no longer available, but similar here and here)

Teal cardigan: old (similar here)

White belt: ASOS

Dotted tights: ASOS

Black flats: jcpenney

Petal detachable collar: Romwe

This oversized, detachable white collar has been sitting on my desk since I purchased it months ago.  I first saw it on Kaylah of The Dainty Squid (who is one of my favorite bloggers) months ago (see one of the ways she's worn it here!), and since peter pan collars are such a cute and trendy detail, I bought it just because.  It is on the large side though, and it sits lower than a lot of my dresses, so I had to figure out that it looks great with cardigans... which is fortunate, since I have so many.  :)

This is sort of a drab outfit for spring, but it was pretty drab outside when I took these (hence why I am inside).

I had yesterday off from work (and today too, for some reason), so I'm trying to get ahead on blogging and other work (like cleaning... we'll see how that goes).  My best friend Wayne and I are seeing a show tonight -- two of our friends are in a musical adaptation of Measure for Measure (one of my favorite Shakespeare plays).  In fact, this whole weekend is Shakespeare-themed (which is pretty appropriate, since his birthday was on Tuesday); I have to work on Friday for a concert that features the music of Sondheim and Bernstein (who collectively wrote the music and lyrics for West Side Story... which is based on Romeo and Juliet... which is where this blog post title comes from... see what I did there?), and Wayne and I are also seeing a production of The Merchant of Venice on Saturday night.  So it will be a Bard-filled weekend, and that's quite alright with me.

  

Have a great Thursday!

xox Sammi