Thought I was a donut

There is definitely a donut obsession happening in our culture these days, and I am in no way immune.  I think the cupcake craze gave way to rounder, flatter cakes at some point, and even though the shape, frying and lack of frosting makes up for most of the difference, I'd definitely rather treat myself with a donut than a cupcake.  I guess this trend is true in my clothing, too; I have pieces with cupcakes on them, but I love the ones with donuts even more.

This pink donut "skirt" is actually a dress by Nishe, and although you can't really tell in these photos, the material is boiled wool, which makes it super warm and cozy.  I decided to try layering this fun sweater from Target over the top and tucking it into a belt.  It doesn't totally work, because the sweater is just a little too long and the belt isn't thick enough, but I liked the look of it in the photos.  Amazingly, I don't own any donut jewelry(!?), but I had to incorporate my New Look donut clutch!

Outfit Details

Donut dress (worn as a skirt): ASOS (on sale!)

Donut clutch: available at ASOS

Donut sweater: Target (on sale!)

Flats: ModCloth (similar)

Belt: ASOS

Don't forget: you still have time to enter my Etsy Wintery Wonders giveaway!  One lucky winner will receive an adorable accessory set of wintertime goodies.  The giveaway is open through Friday at midnight, and you can enter right here!  :)

Have a great day!

xox Sammi

Wintery Wonders Giveaway! [CLOSED]

Surprise!  I've decided to do a little giveaway today!  I'm really getting into the spirit of the season these days, so I thought it might be nice to spread some Christmas cheer.  One lucky winner will receive this adorable little set of wintertime accessories, just in time for the holidays!

I've compiled this package from 4 awesome Etsy sellers -- partially because Etsy is a fantastic resource for unique gifts, but more importantly, I think small business owners and artists are really undervalued in our society, and we should support them as much as possible (not only during the holiday season, but all year round!).  It's so tempting (and sometimes necessary) to buy from bigger chain stores during the holidays, but I've found myself buying from Etsy shop owners more and more each year.  The pieces are always made or curated with such care, and knowing that I'm supporting someone else's creative endeavors is like a present in itself!  So without further ado...

The Details 

One (1) lucky will receive:

- a snowflake hair flower from Stardust Dames

- a polymer clay hot cocoa ring from CMYKlay

- a gingerbread man necklace from I'm Your Present

- a vintage ice skate brooch from MatteGold

Entering the giveaway is easy!  Just use the Rafflecopter widget below.  The giveaway will run until midnight on Friday (it's a bit of a shorter time frame to enter, but I want to make sure I can ship out the prizes to the winner as soon as possible!).  The winner will be announced here on my blog by Sunday morning.  The giveaway is open internationally, and you must be a follower of my blog to enter.  Please make sure to leave a blog comment that includes a valid e-mail address!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Best of luck & have a wonderful Sunday!

xox Sammi

Friday Favorites #74

Happy Friday!  It's feeling very Christmas-y here right now -- we got a TON of snow on Wednesday (our first significant snowfall of the season), and everything looks very picturesque and white.  It's certainly put me in the holiday mood, and it's also made me realize that I really need some sweaters.  I'm not super-into the ugly Christmas sweater trend (though there have been exceptions), but I think these seasonal sweaters are way more cute than ugly!

a   //   b   //   c   //   d   //   e

1   //   2   //   3

This sweater isn't holiday-themed, but goodness, this sweater is just ducky!

One can never have too many cat-related things... I especially love the mug!

a   //   b

I probably need this book:

If you're more of a dog (or bunny) person, look no further than these adorable office supplies!  Wouldn't these make great stocking stuffers?

1   //   2

I'd love to get this book-scented candle in my stocking!

This book is also on my wish list:

This Santa Flapper Doodle brooch is so sweet!

I think this inflatable wreath is a really fun(ny) alternative to more traditional ones -- plus, it would be easy to store during the rest of the year!

Isn't this candy cane dress lovely?  I'm swooning over everything on the Oh My Honey website.

Red and green are traditional Christmas dress color choices, but I really love the idea of wearing a white dress for the holidays!  I love both of these options:

a   //   b

I'm obsessed with these Christmas pin-up bed linens, and I'm heartbroken they won't deliver to the US!

I love these colorful macaron ornaments!

These two novelty purses are just delicious!  Have you noticed that I tend to love food-shaped objects?  :)

one   //   two

 And this tea biscuit clock is to die for!

This Candy Cuisine project is amazing (all of the meals are made out of candy!):

This fairy floss coat is sweet enough for a princess:

And speaking of princesses... I adore this Aurora sweatshirt!

If I were a princess, I'd probably wear Irregular Choice shoes every day.  I'm ga-ga for these two pairs!

a   //   b

How great is this subtle Friends ornament?!

And finally, this plaid dress & matching skirt are just divine.  I absolutely love this particular plaid color scheme, and the silhouettes are impeccable.  Such perfect holiday options!

a   //   b

Have a great Friday!

xox Sammi

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Tannenbaum

We got our Christmas tree over the weekend -- our first real one since I was a little girl!  Although I'm Jewish, we've always celebrated both Chanukah and Christmas.  We've had a fake tree for the past several years, but we decided to get a real one this time.  Although I would love to go to a Christmas tree farm at some point, we ended up getting ours at a family-owned farm market near our house.  I love the smell of pine trees, so it was nice to be surrounded by them!

I have such fond memories of going to this place, especially for Halloween.  They have hay rides and build these corn husk teepees every fall.  I don't think we've visited too much around Christmastime, but the store is always really cozy, and they have lots of local wares and fun things to look at.

Most importantly, they also have donuts.  RED VELVET CAKE ONES.

This ornament reminded us so much of Pumpkin that we had to get it for our tree!

Outfit Details

Thermal top: Target (old)

Necklace & skirt: Kohl's

Tights: ASOS (similar)

Boots: ModCloth (similar)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

xox Sammi

Polka Dots & Lipstick with JBR Clothing

Happy Monday!  Personally, I think there's nothing quite like a strong red lip and a flouncy dress (especially a polka dotted one) to start the week on a good note.  One of my favorite retro retailers, JBR Clothing, was kind enough to send me this darling dress to review for my blog, and I was actually excited to get some colder weather so that I could wear it!  I chose this particular dress because 1) one can never have too many polka dotted pieces and 2) I don't currently own many long-sleeved dresses, and since it'll be freezing cold here for the next few months, I leapt at the chance to add one to my wardrobe.

I wasn't too familiar with H&R London, who makes this dress, prior to this review.  They're a wholesale company, so their items aren't available to purchase directly through their own website, but JBR carries a ton of their pieces.  To be perfectly honest, one of my favorite aspects about this brand is that it's quite inexpensive; this particular dress retails at around $50, and though it's easy to assume that would indicate an item of lesser quality, I am pleased to say that is not at all the case.  Retro reproduction pieces can really break the bank, and as someone who is trying to be more careful about her spending, I really appreciate companies that are providing viable options for gals who want to obtain a vintage-inspired look on a budget.

This dress is made of stretch cotton, so it's not the warmest of garments, but I found it to be very well-made and figure-flattering.  I sized up to accommodate my bust (which can often be a problem for dresses with button-down fronts), and I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was absolutely no gaping!  And even the buttons on this dress are charming -- they're striped!  Because I went up a size, the shoulder portion of the dress is a tiny bit too big, but that's far less of an issue than gaping buttons.  This dress comes with a built-in crinoline along the hem, which wasn't evident from the photos provided, but it was actually nice to have the option of not wearing an additional petticoat.  Although the dress comes with a matching fabric belt, I opted to swap that out for one already in my closet for a more defined waistline.

One of the things that I love about JBR Clothing is that they're essentially a 1-stop shop for retro brands.  They carry tons of other brands that I love, including Hell Bunny, Stop Staring!, Voodoo Vixen, Tatyana, Folter, Steady Clothing, Heart of Haute and B.A.I.T. Footwear.  They also have lots of options for both straight and plus sizes, and have reliable size charts for each brand they carry.  I find that, more than any other style, retro-inspired brands seem to be the most dedicated to making women of all sizes feel beautiful and special -- which is one of the many reasons I love incorporating these pieces into my wardrobe.  JBR has seriously won over my heart with both their awesome dresses and the impeccable customer service I've received; not only do their orders ship within 1 business day, but they also offer free domestic returns.

But the best thing about JBR Clothing?  They're offering my readers a 15% discount now through December 15th!  Just use the code Soubrette15 at check-out!  It's the perfect time to snag some gifts for vintage-loving friends, or a holiday dress for yourself!  Here are just a few that I'm currently coveting:

a   //   b   //   c

Outfit Details

H&R London Corinne Dress: c/o JBR Clothing

The Best of Times Heel in Black: ModCloth

Lipstick brooch: c/o Modern Girl Blitz

Belt: from another dress

Thanks so much to JBR Clothing!  And be sure to let me know in the comments if you use the 15% off code -- part of staying on track with my spending is living vicariously through others!  ;)  

Have a marvelous Monday!

xox Sammi