A whiter shade of pale

Outfit Details:

Hypatia Dress: ever+mi.crush 

(also available at Emerging Thoughts)

Double tea ring: similar here

Bow belt: from another dress

Mary Jane heels: estate sale buyout store

It's no secret that I really adore Kate Gabrielle's aesthetic, so when I saw that this gorgeous dress that she designed for Dahlia was being carried by ever+mi.crush, I knew it was a piece that needed to be added to my wardrobe.  It's such a dreamy dress, from the color (inspired by her sweet kitty cat, Hypatia, who recently passed away) to the vintage-inspired silhouette... and don't get me started on the amazing collar!  I ended up wearing this on Monday for my birthday, and got a lot of compliments on it (which is truly a testament to Kate's lovely design).

I ended up swapping the belt the dress came with, because I couldn't figure out how to get it to stay as tight as I needed it to (it's one of those fabric belts that you have to weave through a certain way, without holes or a prong), but I thought this bow belt was darling with it.  Oh, and this dress gave me the opportunity to wear my new (to me) off-white Mary Jane heels!  I found them on a whim at this amazing estate sale buyout store for $10!  I'd been looking for white Mary Jane heels everywhere, and these just happened to fit me perfectly.  I'm so enchanted with them.

In other news, our production of Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale (that's the full title, which I realized I'd never mentioned) opens this morning!  We have two shows (one at 11 AM and the other at 2 PM) today, and our theatre company partnered up with a local salon to do something called a "Braid Parade" before the first show, where a ton of little girls get to sign up and get their hair braided by stylists (for free!) and then get to parade around for the audience.  It's going to be so cute, and I'm looking forward to seeing a bunch of little girls dressed up like princesses!  Hopefully they won't be too scared of me for the meet-and-greets (that happens when you play the villain, sometimes)!

Have a wonderful Saturday!

xox Sammi

Candy striper

Outfit Details:

Cotton Candy Stand Dress: purchased from Kate of Scathingly Brilliant (orig. from ModCloth)

Pink petticoat: vintage (purchased from my voice teacher)

White bolero: Target (old)

Travel necklace: ASOS (old)

T-strap flats: Urban Outfitters (sold out)

I first wore this dress on my blog in May, when it was finally starting to get warm outside.  It's starting to get cooler (yesterday was the first day that actually felt like fall), so I thought I'd style this dress for the changing seasons.  It's not cool enough to wear tights yet, but I thought this was a good way to try to transition this sweet-and-sugary dress.  This dress is made by Hell Bunny, one of my favorite retro-inspired brands, and I bought it during one of Kate's "shop my closet" updates.  She has such great taste, and I was thrilled to snag this dress from her!  And speaking of "shop my closet"... I am hastily working on an update to my own "shop my closet" store!  I have tons of pieces that will be great for autumn, so I am busy taking photos of those to list!  If you're interested, check out what's currently in my shop here.  The prices are really low, and I'd love to get these items to good homes while there's still the hope of a little last bit of warmth outside!

We're only halfway through the week, but it's already been a crazy-busy one.  I stayed up 'til late editing a bunch of rehearsal tracks (which our pianist so kindly recorded for us) in GarageBand, and I'm still not done.  I'm wearing very many hats for this production.  At least it's never boring.  I'm realizing I'm going to have to take a bunch of photos at once to get ahead on blogging, since the Fringe Festival is an insane time (as is the week or so leading up to it).  I'm gonna have to grab my free time while I can, and make the very most of it.  I'm already feeling the effects of this stressful slash exciting time, so I'm glad that I get a night off to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with my family.  I love going to my grandparents' house for the Jewish holidays.  This holiday is in my top three (the other two being Passover and Chanukkah), but really, any holiday (or day, in general) that involves eating yummy food, I'm all about it.  :)

Hope you have a lovely Wednesday!

xox Sammi

Malt shop

Outfit Details:

Ella Black Scallop Edge Pinafore: Dahlia

Pink top: Forever 21 (no longer available, but similar here)

Amalgam of the Year Flat in Mint and Ivory: ModCloth

Mint ice cream brooch: sweet and lovely

I think I unintentionally channeled Kate Gabrielle of Scathingly Brilliant with this outfit.  Not only does she have this pinafore, but she designed this adorable brooch AND works in an ice cream shop!  I feel as if I should serving malted milkshakes.  All that's missing is a name tag and a pair of rollerskates.

I absolutely love these shoes.  Steven bought me a pair of more traditional-looking black and white saddle shoes from Urban Outfitters that ended up not fitting, but these were an even better substitute!  I have at least three pairs of mint-colored shoes now... maybe I should stop.  Or maybe not.

I'm seeing Legally Blonde tonight, at a theatre at which I often work.  I was in a production of the show last summer, and prior to being in it, I never really thought much of it as a piece.  True, it is a fluffy musical based on a popular movie, but I definitely wrote it off too much.  Even though I am often drawn to darker shows, musical theatre's roots are based in the fun and uplifting, and that's exactly what Legally Blonde is.  The music is really fun to sing (though I will admit that there is too much unison high belting for my taste), and though you're not going to get the same emotional ride you'd get from some heavier works, that's not what this show tries to be.  It embraces the bubble gum, and you do leave the theater feeling happier and bouncier; the show does exactly what it it's supposed to do.

Have a great Thursday!

xox Sammi

The Glad Game

Outfit Details:

Cotton Candy Stand Dress: originally from ModCloth

(Purchased from Kate of Scathingly Brilliant & Sweet and Lovely)

Boater hat: River Island

Kimchi Blue T-Strap Flats: Urban Outfitters

Candyland Cotton Candy Necklace: Betsey Johnson (available on Amazon)

This outfit seemed fitting for a Sunday afternoon.  For some reason, this ensemble reminds me of the movie Pollyanna (the 1960s one with Hayley Mills), even though the style of that film was early 1900s, and this outfit is clearly... well, not that.  But specifically, it reminds me of all the exciting things they're going to do at the bazaar they hold for the town.  Maybe it just reminds me of the cake, though.

...Or maybe it's the hat.

What's really strange is that I didn't even know this dress was called "the cotton candy stand dress" until I looked it up just now; the necklace and the dress just reminded me of each other!

Pollyanna plays this game a lot called "The Glad Game," which basically entails finding something positive even in the saddest situations.  I was feeling so thankful for the weather when I took these, that I couldn't help playing the game myself.  In spite of all the frustrating and upsetting things that happen in our lives, I think it's important to find something you can smile about every day.

Hope you have something to smile about, too.

xox Sammi

A camera, a blog layout and my first outfit post!

I'm back up in Rochester, and I've managed to cross a couple of things off my list!  Firstly, my lovely boyfriend Steven has allowed me to borrow his nice camera (along with his dad's tripod) for me to start taking photos.  Obviously, I need to learn how to use it, since I'm used to my regular Canon digital camera... but I'm excited to learn that, and more importantly, I'm excited that I'll now be able to take outfit photos (aka my main motivation for wanting to start a blog in the first place)!

I had been making do with a free blog template layout, but I just made a very small investment in a new one designed by a favorite blogger of mine, Kate Gabrielle of scathingly brilliant.  I love anything with scalloped edges and mint green, and the pink goes perfectly with my first (albeit small) outfit post.

I was able to visit Steven for a few days for Valentine's Day, which was very nice, especially since we weren't able to spend it together last year.  The only downside (other than finding fraudulent activity on my bank account -- caught just in time, thank goodness) was that I came down with a horrible head cold almost as soon as I arrived!  Lucky for me, Steven is a wonderful caretaker!  :)  One of the only times I ventured out of the house was to go out for our Valentine's Day dinner.  We went to a restaurant called Half Moon, which is owned by the same company as some of our other favorite restaurants in Montauk and in the Westchester area.  Now we have eaten at all of their restaurants!  I didn't take any pictures while there, but Steven snapped a few of my dress before we left, and I did take one with my iPhone of our menu for the evening.

I have since realized this pose needs work.

I have never felt more like Carrie Bradshaw in my whole life.

Outfit details

Dress: ASOS

Cardigan: ModCloth

Shoes: TJ Maxx

Necklace: Swarovski (Valentine's gift from Steven, 2 years ago)

Everything was delicious.  I had the arugula salad and surf & turf.  The dessert was to die for!

I'm happy to have the day off tomorrow, though I've had a lot of days off lately.  I'm going to work on figuring out this camera, and finish my other blog post draft, among other things.  I also have a couple of unexpected acting projects on the horizon, so I'm feeling like I hit a reset button and am shaking off the frustration I was feeling about my current situation.  I have to let myself feel the way I do, even if it's super negative and depressed, until it runs its course.  I'm relieved to be get back to being the positive, motivated person I enjoy being!