Thought I was a donut

There is definitely a donut obsession happening in our culture these days, and I am in no way immune.  I think the cupcake craze gave way to rounder, flatter cakes at some point, and even though the shape, frying and lack of frosting makes up for most of the difference, I'd definitely rather treat myself with a donut than a cupcake.  I guess this trend is true in my clothing, too; I have pieces with cupcakes on them, but I love the ones with donuts even more.

This pink donut "skirt" is actually a dress by Nishe, and although you can't really tell in these photos, the material is boiled wool, which makes it super warm and cozy.  I decided to try layering this fun sweater from Target over the top and tucking it into a belt.  It doesn't totally work, because the sweater is just a little too long and the belt isn't thick enough, but I liked the look of it in the photos.  Amazingly, I don't own any donut jewelry(!?), but I had to incorporate my New Look donut clutch!

Outfit Details

Donut dress (worn as a skirt): ASOS (on sale!)

Donut clutch: available at ASOS

Donut sweater: Target (on sale!)

Flats: ModCloth (similar)

Belt: ASOS

Don't forget: you still have time to enter my Etsy Wintery Wonders giveaway!  One lucky winner will receive an adorable accessory set of wintertime goodies.  The giveaway is open through Friday at midnight, and you can enter right here!  :)

Have a great day!

xox Sammi

Just right

Aside from my obvious dark tresses, I otherwise felt like I was channeling Goldilocks in this dress.  I have this same dress in red (I wore it on my blog last year), but hadn't worn this baby blue version until now.  It's decidedly sweet lolita and doesn't exactly fit into my daily work life or anything, but it's a very sweet piece.  I ordered both dresses at the same time because I was unsure of sizing, and the dresses were quite cheap anyway.  I figured one wouldn't fit and I'd sell the other, but much to my surprise, both fit fine (though this one is a little more roomy), and I couldn't quite bring myself to sell one yet.  So both are staying in my wardrobe for now.  I have attachment issues with my clothes!

I also knew that I'd have to pair my wooden house purse with this dress because, well, how could you not??  I'm sometimes amazed at the items I've managed to find on eBay.  I don't even hear a whole lot about eBay anymore (there used to be a ton of commercials for it and it was really popular for a while), but there are so many hard-to-find and unique pieces available there.  I hate bidding for items (though I have been lucky a couple of times), but the "buy it now" option is fantastic.  This little house purse is definitely one-of-a-kind and I'm so happy it's mine!

Outfit Details

Three bears dress: Bodyline

Belt & house purse: eBay

White flats: YesStyle

Have a great Thursday!

xox Sammi

Bonbons and cupcakes

Outfit Details:

Lilac coat: Linany (old)

Nishe cupcake dress: ASOS (old)

Lilac hat & belt: ASOS (old)

Bonbon Ribbon bag: Sanrio store

Cupcake ring: Claytime Designs

White tights: Target

White boots: eBay

This may be the most costume-y kawaii outfit I've ever worn.  I'm super into color coordinates lately, and I will always find ways to incorporate pastels into my wardrobe.  This new bag was kind of the catalyst for the whole ensemble.  I picked it up at the Orlando airport on our way back from Disney World; it was my first time in a Sanrio store, and I was in heaven!  This bag was marked down pretty significantly, and the pastel pink and lavender color scheme called out to me.  I looked up the little bunny character, Bonbon Ribbon, before writing this post, and I discovered that not only is she a little pink bunny with a bow on her head, but she is a singer and dancer who loves fashion.  I literally could not think of a more fitting little character for me if I tried!  I knew that this cupcake dress would be a perfect fit for the kitschy sweetness of the bag, and since the dress is so springy, this coat had to be paired with it.  Kooky or not, I kind of love it.

I haven't given much of a personal update in a while, I feel like.  I've started rehearsals for the children's theatre show I'm doing, which is fun.  I'm excited to play a fairy, even if I don't get to fly!  I'm working quite a lot (it's subscription renewal season, which is always busy) and trying to muster up the motivation to cross lots of things off my to-do list.  Most importantly, I feel pretty happy these days, and I'm moving on in terms of my love life.  I'm still bothered by a lot of things that have to do with my ex, and I will be the first to admit that I haven't always handled my hurt and frustration with grace, but I've gotten to the point where I no longer want to hold on to any leftover fragments of our relationship.  He'd already taken so much from me and inflicted so much emotional pain, and he doesn't get to do that anymore.  I deserve to be happy, and I am.  I'm going out of town this weekend on a bit of a romantically-inclined adventure, and feeling giddy (and un-haunted by my heartbreak) has been such a welcome change in my life.  :)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

xox Sammi

Festival of lights

Outfit Details:

Nishe star dress: eBay (similar styles here and here)

Light blue tights: ModCloth (similar at Topshop)

Star and arrow necklace: Forever 21 (only $0.99!!)

White flats: yeswalker (on sale!)

Sooo... as you may have guessed from the change of scenery... it is getting really cold and snowy here (we got a ton of snow last night!), and it is thus very difficult to take pictures when not wearing unstylish-yet-functional footwear!  In addition, my tripod is now quasi-broken.  Two of the legs are missing one screw each (and I have no idea where they went!), so the whole thing is really wobbly.  It's probably because I kind of haul it around with reckless abandon.  It isn't staying balanced very well, obviously, and I'm too afraid to risk bringing it back outside and having my camera fall on the ground.  Luckily, I do have some outfit photos on reserve, and I'm asking for a DSLR -- and now, a tripod -- for the holidays... so keep your fingers crossed on that.  AND if you have any DSLR-related advice, I would so appreciate your input.  I'm clearly still a bit of a novice and everything I do is trial-and-error, so I would really love to hear any advice you'd have to offer on make and model (I'm leaning toward a Canon, though I don't really know why, but other than that, I know nothing), as well as lenses, remotes (i.e., should I get one?), etc.  I will probably just need to go to a camera store, but trying to do research on my own is incredibly daunting.  I've asked for advice with this before, but I'm still pretty confused!  I need to figure it out soon, because the holidays are almost upon us!

Actually, the holidays really start today, at least for me.  Tonight is the first night of Chanukah!  I usually end up wearing something involving navy blue on Chanukah (it just seems apropos, for some reason), and I was really wishing that I had a galaxy dress (like this one!), because Chanukah always makes me think of stars and skies and things.  But then I remembered I had this dress -- which I was thinking of selling --- and it just reminded me of the Chanukahs of my childhood!  I think the brightly colored stars remind me of the Chanukah candles we always used, or something.  And I just love the buttons!  I already have a bunch of dresses by Nishe, so I was thinking of selling this in a forthcoming shop my closet update... but now I'm not sure!  I have a lot of trouble letting go of material possessions (I'm an only child, so I guess it sorta makes sense), even if I could make some money off of them.  I think this dress might be too cute to sell, though.  I still haven't decided.

We celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas in my house, but as I've gotten older, Chanukah has kind of fallen by the wayside.  My mom grew up Lutheran and converted to Judaism when she married my dad, so I am technically fully Jewish, but I've always loved being able to celebrate both sets of holidays with family.  My family seems to be shrinking more and more as I get older, and because I'm an only child (and newly single), this fact seems more and more pronounced.  I know we're having latkes tonight (and for a woman who didn't grow up Jewish, my mom makes THE best latkes!), and then my mom will be cooking up a storm tomorrow for Thanksgiving.  I don't really get Chanukah presents anymore (I think the last one I got was in high school, and it was a new hair dryer... haha), so Christmas is kind of the big gift holiday for us.  We always open presents on Christmas Eve (we get mostly silly stocking stuffers on actual Christmas), and we usually end up going to a movie on Christmas Day (we're thinking Anchorman 2 this year).  Sometimes we are typical Jews and eat Chinese food, too.  What are some of your holiday traditions??  I'm always interested to see how traditions evolve, both from family to family and throughout the years!

Have a great day -- and a great Chanukah, if you celebrate!

xox Sammi

Goldilocks

Outfit Details:

Three Bears dress: Bodyline

Daisy ring: Mom's

White flats: yeswalker

So... obviously, I love this dress.  It's sweet and kitschy.  What more could I ask for?  Bodyline is considered by some to be kind of cheap and inauthentic (by true Lolita standards), but since I'm not really looking to be authentic or pay upwards of $150 for a Lolita dress, this $20(!) adorable number is perfect.  I actually ended up getting two different sizes (and colors) of this same dress, because one can't always trust sizing charts on these types of websites.  This actually is the smaller of the two dresses; the other one is a lovely light blue, and somehow both dresses ended up fitting well.  I'm not sure if I need two of the same dress, though.  Maybe I'll try to sell it or something, if there's any interest.

I tried to do Heidi braids the other day, after seeing this picture (and being surprised by the fact that they might look good).  I can't quite get them right, though.  My hair might be too thick, or maybe my layers make it more difficult.  Or maybe my hair is getting too long (I am in desperate need of a trim).

This moment made me feel like a Disney princess!

Have a lovely day!

xox Sammi