Blue spruce

I hope everyone had a very happy holiday! Mine was nice, albeit fairly uneventful. We saw the new Star Wars movie on Christmas, which I loved, and I spent the rest of the weekend performing. I'm glad that I get a tiny break before my next project, as I'm totally exhausted. I meant to post these photos before Christmas (since we ventured out to a Christmas tree farm for them), but that didn't happen – but it's the perfect outfit for winter, and since I think some wintery weather is finally on its way today, it's actually good timing.

I nabbed this Bernie Dexter dress on eBay, and I absolutely love it. The silhouette is great, and I'm a huge fan of 3/4-length sleeves – plus, I like the toile even more than I thought I would. It's been an incredibly warm winter here so far, but since that's about to change, I'm sure I'll get a ton of use out of this dress over the next few months. Even though there was no snow on the ground, I decided to wear some snowflake accessories to complete this chilly look.

Outfit Details

Bernie Dexter dress: eBay (similar)

Snowflake brooch: Deer Arrow

Snowflake hair clip: Stardust Dames

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

Have a great start to your week!

Deck the Halls

This is the last Christmas outfit I'll be documenting here on the blog this year (though I actually still have yet another outfit planned for the actual holiday, featuring my very favorite dress of all time). I just love this darling fabric, and I knew I had to pair this dress with my holiday brooch from Erstwilder! I've also been a bit obsessed with faux fur shrugs this year... I now have about 4 or 5 different ones (though in an ironic twist, it's been about the warmest December that we've ever experienced) – they're a fun alternative to the cardigans I normally wear, especially for the holidays.

If my hair looks different here, it's because I had to take these photos before our Sunday matinée performance over the weekend. I play a 1920's socialite, and it's a fun change to be able to get my hair done for every show. After our Sunday performance, my mom and I saw the tour of Irving Berlin's White Christmas, which was absolutely wonderful. A friend of mine from college was in the show, and it was delightful to be able to see her perform (for the first time in 5 years) and have a good, long catch-up after the show. Although there's no snow on the ground, seeing both the movie and the musical versions of White Christmas definitely puts me in the holiday spirit!

Outfit Details

Dress: ModCloth

Brooch: c/o Erstwilder

Faux fur shawl: Amazon

Petticoat: Pinup Girl Clothing

Shoes: estate sale store (similar)

I finally finished wrapping my gifts, but now we need to get started on baking! Things have been unexpectedly hectic and stressful in my house these past couple of days, and it kind of derailed things a bit. I still have to fit in all my Christmas movie-watching, too! Ahh! And here I thought I wasn't leaving anything until the last minute...

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, Darling

I tend to use upcoming holidays as excuses to buy new dresses – i.e., "this would be perfect for my birthday/Christmas/New Year's Eve/some other day we only celebrate once a year!" I feel weird wearing this Bernie Dexter dress at a time other than Christmas, but since I first bought it a couple of years ago, I've gotten a fair amount of use out of it. I wore it for a Christmastime post two years ago (you can read it here), but it seems like such a long time ago and I wanted to style it a different way. My style has evolved in a lot of ways, but even more importantly, I've changed a lot as a person since then, both emotionally and physically. Maybe I'm still sans boyfriend on Christmas, but I'm definitely not in the same place I was two years ago (thank goodness!). I sometimes beat myself up for not achieving the goals I set for myself, but when I look back on old posts, I realize how far I've really come. Who knew that one dress could act as such a pivotal reminder?

My first weekend of shows went well, and we have off until the day after Christmas, which is going to be a little strange. I do, however, need the time off because I still need to wrap all of my gifts, do lots of baking and (most vital of all) watch a few Christmas movies. I'm a little disappointed that it looks like we're going to have a green Christmas this year (a very rare event for Rochester), but I guess I can't really complain too much. I'm just glad the holidays are almost here – I think most of us are in dire need of a little break. We're doing our usual Christmas Eve festivities (aka opening all of our presents and eating a lot) and then seeing a movie (maybe Star Wars?) and going out for Chinese on Christmas Day. What are your plans for the holiday?

Outfit Details

Bernie Dexter dress: ModCloth (old)

Name necklace: c/o Onecklace

Faux fur stole: Target (similar)

Shoes: B.A.I.T. Footwear

Petticoat: Pinup Girl Clothing

Have a great start to your week!

Friday Favorites #116: Christmas Wish List

Can you believe Christmas is just one week away? I've finished all of my holiday shopping for my loved ones, so I'm sharing some things that I'd love to find under the tree for myself this year! I've been nowhere near this good (ha!), but here's hoping Santa Claus got the memo and brings me a few things... :)

a  //  Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song by Sara Bareilles

b  //  Harlequin Getaway Skirt from Heart of Haute

c  //  Urban Decay Vice4 Palette

d  //  "Book" perfume by Commodity

e  //  Faux fur stole

f  //  Miss L-Fire booties

g  //  Ampersand necklace

h  //  Bernie Dexter New Year's Eve print dress

i  //  Your Beauty Mark by Dita Von Teese

j  //  Betsey Johnson bouquet writstlet

k  //  Kate Spade champagne bottle clutch

l  //  Gold crown headband by Crown and Glory

m  //  Miss Ladybug lambs t-shirt

n  //  Secret Garden coloring book

o  //  Popcorn iPhone 6 case

p  //  Candy cane Christmas dress by Oh My Honey

q  //  Harney & Sons earl grey tea

r  //  Downton Abbey tea ornament

s  //  B.A.I.T. Footwear scalloped heels

t  //  Erstwilder Christmas tree brooch

u  //  Balsam & Spice candle

v  // Friends quotes long-sleeved tee

What are you wishing for this Christmas?

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Purely ornamental

Are you getting tired of my Christmastime outfit posts yet?? I hope not, since I still have a few more to go! I'm generally a fan of photographic prints (second only to novelty prints), and when I featured this Chicwish skirt in a Friday Favorites post a few weeks back, I knew I wanted to nab one for myself. I've only ordered a couple of other things from Chicwish in the past, so I was a little nervous about quality and sizing, but I was actually pretty pleased with the outcome.

I had heard that the skirts from Chicwish tended to run a bit small, so I ordered a size larger than I normally would have. I definitely should have had more courage and followed their size chart, as the skirt is definitely a bit too big (though you can't really tell in these photos). Luckily, the skirt fastens with both a zipper and two metal hooks, which could be moved if needed for a more snug fit. I didn't have time to mess with it prior to taking these photos, but the addition of a belt hides the problem pretty well. The quality isn't going to be as superior as a higher-priced skirt, but the flip side of that is that it's lined, holds up well and doesn't need to be dry cleaned. I could've worn it with a petticoat for some extra "oomph," but I opted to style it in a more casual way here. It's the perfect outfit for decorating the Christmas tree!

Outfit Details

Merry Ornaments Midi Skirt: Chicwish

Red boatneck tee: Target

Gold bow belt: eBay

B.A.I.T. heels: Zulily

On the docket for today: a much-needed haircut and the final dress rehearsal for the show I'm in! We have performances both before and after Christmas, so it's making the end of this month a bit more hectic than I'd like. I've done all of my holiday shopping, but I'm not sure when I'll actually be able to wrap presents. Plus, we haven't baked any cookies yet! Eeek. Time, slow down just a little!

Have a great Wednesday!

Alpine

As someone who loves dressing thematically, I'm really glad I decided to have almost an entire month of holiday outfits – I just hope you all aren't bored with it yet! When I saw this skirt at Lindy Bop, I knew it had to come live in my closet (just look at that print!). It's amazing how much I really love separates now, when just a few months ago, I avoided them like the plague! This print actually does come in a dress version (with a matching bolero), but I love the skirt so much more. I topped off this look with an adorable bow brooch that was kindly sent to me as a birthday gift from Match Accessories (an ode to Christmas gifts!). This outfit isn't one I'd traditionally wear on Christmas, as I like to get really fancy for the holidays, but I love it as a lead-up to it... and I can continue to wear it throughout the winter!

I followed the Lindy Bop size chart and ordered up from my normal UK size, as I was afraid that it would be too tight to accommodate a sweater underneath. Lindy Bop's sizing is usually pretty generous, but since I hadn't owned one of their skirts before, I felt it was better to be safe than sorry. Realistically, I probably could've gone with my normal size, as this one is just a tiny bit big, but moving the buttons over to provide a better fit would most likely be an easy fix. I also got this cute short-sleeved sweater to go with it, and both the fit and quality are very nice. The prices of both were extremely reasonable, and Lindy Bop offers free shipping to the US with orders of $75+, which is a plus.

Outfit Details

Adalene Alpine Swing Skirt: Lindy Bop

Onassis Green Sweater: Lindy Bop

Bow brooch: c/o Match Accessories

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

Have a great start to your week!

Hungry for books

It's been a little while since I posted a book review here, but I haven't had a chance to do much reading these days! Fall flew by, and the holiday season has been pretty crazy. But I finally got around to reading Food: A Love Story by comedian Jim Gaffigan – a very timely read for a season filled with favorite indulgences – and wanted to share my thoughts on it today (in a fittingly food-centric outfit, of course!).

Food: A Love Story is essentially comedian Jim Gaffigan's food diary that chronicles all the different types of typically American cuisines he's sampled (or rather, engulfed) during his cross-country travels. It serves as a foil to any and all health-conscious reads, and as someone who definitely loves an indulgence or two, I thought I would enjoy this one. Here's the thing, though. Comedy is really hard. It's probably one of the most difficult things you can do as a performer, especially if you aren't blessed with an innate gift for it. And even if you're a successful stand-up comedian (like Jim Gaffigan is), it's difficult to be able to translate that into a medium that people merely read, rather than watch. I actually like Jim, but overall, I felt like he was trying a little too hard to make this book funny – which is pretty much a death sentence in comedy – and like he was really trying to stretch out a very simple concept to fit a certain length. I'm an avid reader, but I really had to slog to get through this one; it became very repetitive very quickly, and honestly, it just wasn't that interesting to me after a while. I've had an on-again-off-again unhealthy relationship with food, and I related to a lot of his sentiments on some level... but even so, I had to force myself to keep reading it – which isn't exactly what you want with a book like this. The book has a lot of positive reviews on Amazon, so perhaps if you're less critical than I am – and you're looking for something lighthearted – you'll enjoy it. It made me think a lot about how acceptable it is within society for a man to be overweight and indulge in whatever he wants virtually without judgment, but women are rarely afforded the same courtesy. As someone who's struggled with weight for most of her life (and as someone for whom food is certainly a vice), perhaps I am just too sensitive to enjoy this book as it should. In addition, I'd rather read a funny memoir than a concept book, so take opinions with a grain of salt (food pun intended). I usually love anything to do with food, but this book let me unsatisfied. At least it gave me an excuse to wear this skirt! The Very Hungry Caterpillar will always be one of my favorite food-related reads. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Food: A Love Story. However, it might just be a really great gift for the junk-food-lover (or basically any dad) in your life. If you're interested, you can find it here!

Outfit Details

Very Hungry Caterpillar Skirt: Interrobang Art & Fashion

Red top: Bernie Dexter (similar)

Belt: from another dress

B.A.I.T. shoes: Zulily

Have you read any good books lately? I'd love some recommendations!

I received this book from the Blogging For Books program in exchange for an honest review.

Have a great weekend!