Checkmate (Flock Together)

Good morning!  I'm posting over on the Flock Together blog (for the first time in forever!) today, and I'm remixing this great black + white checked dress that I borrowed from Elana of Room 334!  Check out my full post (and see how Elana styled this adorable piece) here!

Have a great day!

xox Sammi

Cake pop

Outfit Details

Dress: swap from Elana

Petticoat: similar here

Hair bow: Juicy Bows

Belt: from another dress

Cake ring: Le Petite Bonbon

BAIT Footwear spectators: ModCloth

This is not how I was initially thinking of styling this dress!  This little number of Elana's is so pretty (I especially love the polka dot panel on the top), and I had originally thought of taking a much simpler route with this dress.  But then it arrived at my house and all I kept thinking was how cute it would look with pink!  I'm still a little on the fence with some of the elements I had to use (I'd have preferred to have one uniform shade of light pink, instead of about 3 slightly different ones, plus I'd have preferred a plainer belt), but I think the idea of it is really fun.  It reminds me of a small sample of a birthday party -- hence the post title!   You can see how Elana styled this dress here.

 

Fun fact: this petticoat was actually something I used in the production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch I was in (and produced and costumed) a couple of years ago.  It's technically a much larger size than I'd normally need, but since it's a cheap, elastic-waist, Leg Avenue-type of crinoline, you can't even tell!  I also did a little doctoring of my hair bow; it was originally intended to be worn as a headband, and was attached to a strip of black elastic, so that the bow would sit straight up or to the side on one's head.  It's a large bow and looked a little too cartoon-ish for my taste, so I decided to get rid of the elastic and attach it with bobby pins, instead.  I may eventually put an alligator clip on it, but the pins worked in a pinch!  Moral of the story: elastic is a very versatile item.

 

Have a great Thursday!

xox Sammi 

My heart beats true for the red, white and blue

Outfit Details:

Dress: permanent swap from Elana

Name necklace: c/o Onecklace

Boater hat: River Island (similar)

Flats: Urban Outfitters (similar)

Cherry pie ring: gift from Kate

This is what I ended up wearing for my admittedly low-key 4th of July celebrations.  Honestly, it was one of the nicest I've had in at least a couple of years.  My dad grilled (turkey burgers and hot dogs -- pretty standard fare but delicious nonetheless), and I mentioned before that my best friend Wayne and I went to go watch the fireworks nearby.  It was one of the better fireworks displays I've seen as of late, and it was so nice to spend time with my best friend (who I haven't seen much of lately, due to his health issues).  I wore this outfit there, though I later wished I had worn sweatpants like Wayne did!  Luckily, I remembered to bring warm blankets and a sweatshirt.  

I found wild raspberries growing in our yard (and they are scrumptious)!

This darling little dress was originally a Flock Together swap from Elana, but she generously let me keep it after I borrowed it!  It's such a sweet little piece for summer, and I thought it was perfect for the 4th.  It's not technically the most flattering dress I own, but it's so breezy and even though it's a dressier fabric, it's perfect for more casual occasions.  And I love the little row of buttons down the front!

I've definitely been in better spirits the past couple of days.  Thank you to all of you who left such kind, thoughtful comments on my last post.  I suppose that having bad days for "no reason" is sort of part of the whole process.  Like everything else, I'm figuring things out as I go along, and I'm trying to find joy in life's simple pleasures.  I guess that's all anyone can do, really!

Have a great Wednesday!

xox Sammi  

Spots and stripes (Flock Together)

Hi, guys!  I'm posting over at Flock Together today, remixing an awesome swapped dress from Elana of Room 334!  Check out my post (and see how Elana styled this herself) here!

Have a great Friday!

xox Sammi

My Favorite Outfit: Elana from Room 334

Hi, everyone!  I really liked the idea of continuing this little "my favorite outfit" guest post series, so I have a couple more for you!  Today's post is from the darling Elana from Room 334!  I've loved getting to know Elana through Flock Together, and she has such a fun and pretty sense of style!  She's also an all-around awesome human being.  :)  Take a look at Elana's favorite outfits below:

Hello all! I'm Elana, and I blog over at Room 334 about polka dots, Peter Pan collars, and being a college student who would rather wake up early to put on a dress than roll into class in sweat pants. I'm actually a very recent grad (I graduated just this past Saturday), so I'm looking forward to seeing how my style evolves as I enter the dreaded "real world." I'm so happy that Sammi is having me today considering how much I adore her style and her as a person. Sammi and I blog over at Flock Together together, and it has been a joy getting to know her over the past year or so.

Of course, like most of the guest bloggers Sammi has had, I found it difficult to choose just one favorite outfit. "Is that even possible?" I wondered. Ever the indecisive girl that I am, I knew I had to choose a handful of my favorites and write about them instead. It's technically breaking the rules, but you can say I'm a bit of a rebel in that sense. And no, I don't get called a rebel very often. Why do you ask?

As you can probably tell, my style is pretty classic and very feminine. I love a good fit-and-flare cut and a cardigan. I'd love to say that my penchant for flats, oxfords, and boots is just because the college student life hardly allowed for heels, but it's really just because I'm clumsy. Flats and I are best friends, and we'll probably have a very long relationship together.

I could have easily replaced some of these outfits with other ones that I love just as much, but I felt this was a good representation of my style. I had so much fun going through old posts, and can't thank Sammi enough for having me today. Hopefully some of you will stop by my blog to say hello, see more girly dresses, and laugh at my bad jokes (because I sometimes think I'm clever). Hope to see you there!

Mountain laurel

Outfit Details:

Vintage dress: swap from Elana

Vintage hat: Neely Auction (Etsy)

Seamed tights: similar here

Ida spectators: BAIT Footwear

Coat: ModCloth (old)

I'm back from my vacation!  And sadly, the landscape here no longer looks like this.  In typical Rochester fashion, we returned to lots of snowy, cold weather.  It was actually pretty chilly in Orlando (I had to wear my winter coat on Friday night at Epcot!), but it still nice to see palm trees!  Also, I didn't intend to take such a long break from blogging!  It got too crazy to schedule posts before we left, and every day when I vowed to blog at night, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow!  It was truly a whirlwind vacation, and it was great to get away... but I'm glad to be home.  I'll go into more detail on everything when I can upload pictures and such, but thank you for being patient in the meantime!  :) 

I actually got a haircut after I took these photos, so I have shorter bangs now -- I tried for Bettie bangs, but I'm not sure if they really count.  I wasn't sold on them at first, but now I really like them!

I cannot say enough about how much I love this dress.  When I saw that Elana had put it up for swaps for Flock Together, I knew that I at least had to try it on.  Amazingly, it just zipped, and I immediately fell in luuurve.  It's so springy, and it was perfect for the one day of spring we had here before winter reared its ugly head again.  I told Elana that if she ever wanted to sell it, to let me know... and I think we're actually going to do a permanent swap!  She fell for my hot air balloon dress by Sugarhill Boutique that I put up for swaps, and I know she will get FAR more use out of it than I ever will!  Elana is such a doll, and I feel so glad to have gotten to know her better through blogging.  You can see how Elana styled this beautiful vintage dress here!  

Have a happy Sunday!

xox Sammi

Bow by bow (Flock Together)

Hi, guys!  I'm blogging over at Flock Together today, and it's my very first outfit swap post!  I'm wearing an adorable dress from the lovely Elana of Room 334 -- and lucky me, she asked me if I wanted to just keep this dress, since she wasn't getting use out of it!  So now this cute little number is hanging in my own closet (though I'd still gladly send it out for swaps!).  I'd love it if you'd check out my post and see how I styled it!  :)

Have a great Monday!

xox Sammi