Bubbly

New Year's Eve is nearly upon us, and once again, I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing this year... but I do know what I'll be wearing! Initially, I wasn't crazy about this Bernie Dexter dress, but when I saw it on Ashley, I completely changed my mind. (Ashley seems to have that effect – I swear, she can sell anything!) Ironically enough, I don't drink at all these days, but I seem to gravitate towards NYE outfits that have an alcohol theme; last year's post featured a martini glass print dress, and the other options I considered for this year both had prints of tipsy elephants! I opted for champagne all around this year, and completed the theme with an amazing Kate Spade wristlet and vintage brooch.

I'll be posting my annual outfit round-up on Friday, but I'm taking some time to reflect back on what I've achieved this year. I've said before that I sometimes beat myself up for not being where I want to be (or at least, where I thought I'd be by now), but I have to remember not to discount how far I've come in the last 365 days. I looked back at my 2015 resolutions, and I was surprised to see how many I was able to check off my list. Among them:

• I made significant strides in my personal life and took a lot of time for myself (to the point where I can say that I've really gotten past most of the pain from my last relationship)
• I left my old box office job and started working for my mom; while this may end up being a temporary change of pace, it was definitely a necessary change
• I kept better track of my spending and have managed to put money away to save
• I finally got my website up and running (check it out here – it's a work in progress)
• I met Ashley and Kate in person this year (and had an awesome time), and by doing so, I went to NY and LA
• I exceeded my blog follower goal and ventured outside my yard for photos
• I went on Accutane and feel a million times better about my skin
• Although I have a lot still to learn, my photography has improved quite a bit

I still have lots of goals that will transfer over to my 2016 resolution list (i.e., losing weight and exercising regularly, learning how to sew, buying a car), but I'd rather view that as making progress than "failure" in a conventional sense. I'm actually pretty happy with where I am right now, especially because I've started to enjoy things in the moment. Finding the joy is always one of my resolutions, and I think I've been really trying to do that lately.

Outfit Details

New Year's Eve Dress: Pinup Girl Clothing 

(Also available here for 25% off with code 25Holiday)

Kate Spade wristlet: eBay (available here)

Heels: Zulily (also available here)

Hair flower: NicCoCo Creations

Cardigan: ModCloth (similar)

Petticoat: Pinup Girl Clothing

Brooch: eBay (exact here)

Have a happy and safe New Year's Eve! I'll see you in 2016!

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!