Bountiful

Outfit Details:

Sights to Season Dress: ModCloth

Cardigan: Forever 21 (old, similar here)

Tights: ModCloth (similar here)

Shoes: Stylish Surprise from ModCloth

Leaf crown: Sterling Renaissance Festival

Bow ring: Urban Outfitters (similar here)

Belt: from another dress

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  I love this holiday (let's face it: any holiday that involves eating a ton of yummy food is going to be at the top of my list).  Our Thanksgiving is going to be pretty low-key this year -- I'll be with my parents, my grandparents, and aunt at our house -- but I always look forward to my mom's cooking.  She always makes everything (except the lime jello, which my grandma always brings... I have no idea how this tradition got started).  I need to learn how to actually cook things.  But for now, I will be stuffing myself full of her mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top.  

This fall has obviously been pretty difficult for me, and because there are so many holidays that focus on family, it's been hard to ignore the fact that a person I considered to be an integral part of my family is suddenly gone.  It's hard to come to terms with that, especially when there are still a lot of things that cause confusion and pain for me that stem from that situation.  But I am determined to not wallow in self-pity (since not only is that an unattractive quality, but it's also in poor taste to do so during a holiday that's about counting one's blessings).  And in the spirit of counting one's blessing, here is a short list of things I am thankful for, today and every day:

- my supportive parents, who generously let me live at home until I can figure out my next steps (and who also drive me around constantly, until I can get my license)

- being able to work as an actor and singer, in any capacity

- a day job that I actually enjoy

- my cat, Pumpkin (and poor old Pepper, my dog)

- kind, funny and talented friends

- music

- plays

- pumpkin pie

- pretty dresses

- my heritage

- my health

- hot drinks on cold days

- Friends reruns

- paychecks 

- shopping

- snuggling

- warm fuzzy blankets

- laughing really hard

- quirky, charming movies

- text messages

- feeling pretty

- my degree and my knowledge

- my good ear (for pitch and dialects)

- people who love and care about me

- being an emotional person, even when it hurts

- everything that has stemmed from this blog: readership, sponsorship and blogger friends!

I know I'm forgetting a ton of things... but these things definitely make me smile (oh, and smiling!  I'm thankful for that, too), and that's a very important quality to me these days.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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

Fairisle

Outfit Details:

Coach Tour Dress in Stitch: ModCloth

Dream of the Crop Cardigan in Black: ModCloth

Sheer black tights: Urban Outfitters

Lady in Rad Boot in Ink: ModCloth

Ampersand ring (part of a set): ModCloth

It snowed on Saturday -- enough to stick!  I took some photos yesterday in the snow, but these are actually from last weekend (after our first dusting of snowed had thawed).  I finally invested in another dress I can wear with casual boots (good thing, too... since I found out the hard way that any other types of shoes have a good chance of getting ruined in the snow).  I have two other dresses in this same style (one in red and one in a bright aqua-emerald color), but I really like the print on this.  It almost looks like it could be embroidered, at first.  It's also super comfortable, and I do love a dress with pockets (even if I never put them to use).

The weather was actually really gorgeous when I took these, and I didn't even need a coat!  I was able to go a little further in my backyard, for a change of scenery.  My family actually has a couple of acres of land on the property of our house, so it was fun to go exploring more than I'd been able to for a while (since it gets really overgrown in the summertime).  But now it's freezing out, and it's probably going to stay that way for the most part.  Upstate winters last forever, so I'm going to enjoy the early stages of it for as long as they last (i.e., before the gross slush stage sets in).

I'm excited for a short work week, and this week has not one but two holidays in it!  Chanukah actually starts the night before Thanksgiving this year (Thanksgiving is on the late side and Chanukah is way early), so we'll be feasting on latkes prior to turkey day.  Does anyone have any fun holiday plans?  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  We're staying here, and my mom is cooking for when my grandparents and aunt come over.  I'm looking forward to mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (with marshmallows on top!) and pumpkin pie.  :)

Have a great Monday!

xox Sammi  

Suzy Snowflake

Outfit Details:

Sailor Moon Dress: borrowed from Marisa (available through Mata Traders)

Lilac blouse: Vintage Style Me

Tights: ModCloth (old, similar here)

Dance Instead of Walking Heel in Ivory: ModCloth

Macaron ring: ASOS (old, similar styles here)

Hat & belt: ASOS (old)

Clutch: Ponychops

Mod For It Coat in Grey: ModCloth (old)

Oh my goodness.  I have said it before and I'll say it again: I'm so happy and feel so lucky to be a part of Flock Together!  Not only have I gotten to know some of the loveliest lady bloggers around, but it's a total dream to be able to raid each others' closets (and feel totally secure in the knowledge that my own clothes will be well taken care of -- as an only child, this is a "thing" for me)!  This dress of Marisa's is such an awesome piece (and side note: I always love borrowing things from Marisa - she has such a great eye, and our measurements are pretty similar, which is a plus!).  Marisa actually styled this dress in four different ways (one for each season!) on her blog, and I love all of them!  Be sure to check our her post here.  The collar on this dress is fantastic (wait til you see the back!), and I think gray is probably my favorite neutral.  I knew I wanted to pair this dress with a blouse underneath, and when I got this vintage top from Vintage Style Me, I had a hunch that they'd make a good pair.  I absolutely love the sleeves on this blouse (there's also some great detailing on the front, which is covered up by the dress), and the color is one of my favorites.  I ended up going a tad bit French with this - I guess because the hat looks like a beret, and the macaron ring matches so wonderfully.  Oh, and these were taken during our first snowfall!  Eek!  The snow has since melted, but we're supposed to get more over the past week or so... I'm not ready!!  But like it or not, winter is almost here.

I got this coat last year, during one of ModCloth's mega sales, after eyeing it forever.  It was originally way too expensive to justify the purchase, so I was thrilled when it went on sale.  I got lucky, because the sizing is really strange on this -- it's UK sizing, and I'm normally a pretty solid UK 12 (equivalent to a US 8), but after reading the reviews, I ended up sizing up to a UK 16 -- and it fits perfectly!  Thank goodness, since it was a final sale item.  Sometimes taking a chance works out in the end.  :)  

Confession: I really dislike my knuckles, but what's a ring-loving gal to do?

In other news, today is my dad's 60th birthday!  He and my mom went out for dinner last night, and I feel badly that he has a gig tonight (but a gig's a gig!), but I get the feeling he might not have wanted a big hullabaloo anyway.  I'm pretty sure he reads my blog (or at least, he always "likes" my blog-related Facebook posts), so Dad, if you're reading this: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!  :)  We may not always get along (though this has admittedly changed a LOT, for the better), but my dad is a really cool, talented, caring guy, and I'm very grateful to be his daughter.  I just hope I can make him proud of me.

I'm stuck inside answering phones all day (it's busy at the box office), so enjoy your Saturday for me! 

xox Sammi