Covid 19 and Us: Wk. 4 pt II
I was recently gifted a bright yellow and rust, bespoke clutch bag. This accessory has brought me to my senses! This was the result of a capsule wardrobe of years past. This time last year—and the year before, and the year before that—I jumped onto the spring cleaning wagon. I would scrub the nooks and crannies of our small house and then turn my attention to our shared closet. In my two-thirds of this room, I packed away sweaters and long sleeve anything, and pulled out my warm weather gear, with a view to whittling down my possessi…
Desert Island Shoes?
This spring I took a scalpel to my shoe collection and extracted several pair that I found less-than-comfortable or tattered or not fitting with my current aesthetic (if I’m honest, comfort was the main deciding factor). By the time surgery was done, the shoe section was 40% lighter. I took a victory lap and then called my older sister to boast. What she told me about her shoe-keeping practice made my jaw drop…then it made me consider who that might work for me. My sister buys five pair of shoes at the start of each year, donates them at t…
Obsessed with vintage leather...
My latest purchase—or as my husband would say “what you get for the girl who has everything”—is yet another beautiful leather bag. I just learned today that this is completely impractical for bike commuting. However, my inventor’s mind has come up with the biking-tote-harness…more on that later. This is an extra-large, unfinished cow hide bag...note the raw edged. It’s got a single interior side pocket and a snap to hold the bag together when it’s overstuffed. Beautiful, utilitarian, natural. Just like me But seriously, this bag is: …
Two Years on...
Anyway, when I started the new job in October—nearly 2 years ago—I snapped a pic of me against the backdrop of my cube and co-workers. Just about everyday after, I biked to work and changed from yoga pants and a tee into my office gear. Since there's no mirror in my cube, I used Photo Booth to take a look at each day's wardrobe change. This vid is nearly year's worth of changes at 6:45am. Why is this showing up photo montage showing up before October? A coworker paid me the one compliment that I never thought I’d hear in profes…
Gold Fulani Earrings
This is a late post, my apologies. On Valentine’s Day my husband surprised me with a pair of extra large Fulani style earrings from Sankofa African Bazaar . I’ve coveted these gold beauties since I began stretching my lobes 15 years ago! As you can see, right now I wear these in conjunction with my hollow plugs, but the plan is to wrap the posts with red twine and rock these babies on their own. Dontcha love ‘em!
Funk in the Trunk, that Was...
TurnerLane Vintage, in loving memory of Travis Turner who lived on Church Lane. Back in 2000-2004 my best friend and I had a vintage clothing store called Funk in the Trunk. We spent Thursday through Sunday in the store and allowed the other owner to work on Wednesdays. The store was a great place to hang out after partying on "the night before", and we got to meet several new friends and clients while we did what we loved: spending time together, listening to 80s rock songs, and trying on fly vintage gear. That's pretty …
Green Wedding Registry
This title is a bit misleading. If you've read about planning our green wedding, you'll know that we told folks to bring only their wonderful selves and that's all. Had I known about the WonderWash at the time I would have enlisted a party guest to pick up one for me. I stumbled across this lightweight plastic machine while searching online for design plans to build a person-powered washing machine; we'd love to find something we can operate by hooking it up to our bike trainer. Alas, all of the online prototypes used too m…
Makeup Diet Must-Have
Last summer I made a couple shopping forays to the local H&M to snag some cheap accessories. I found a few small coin purses at the register that were just my style. So I grabbed them for about $3/each. Unfortunately, these little packages were too small to be of use to me until recently. After embarking on my makeup diet , I now have the perfect size container to carry along if I need a retouch on my lippy or shadow. Viola! In the bag: Mac Amber Lights eye shadow, Wet N' Wild Natural Blend lip Shimmer in color 101, and ELF Supe…
Cosmetics Spring Clean
Skincare and makeup cosmetics are not formulated to last forever. Generally, these products are only meant to last a year or two after they’ve been opened. However, contamination can occur at any time, since makeup is always in contact with germ-prone areas like your eyes, mouth, and fingers. A good rule to follow is always discard anything that has changed it’s consistency, color, or smell since you began using it. Otherwise, use these guidelines to assess the shelf life of common beauty products: Most powders, concealers and lip balms…
Springtime Makeup Diet
I made mention of this on FB, back when I started but didn't mention it here. Back in April, upon my return from Costa Rica, I decided to stop wearing makeup for a little while. The truth was that I had grown dependent on it over the past year. Plus, the Caribbean tan (and sunburn) that I returned with made matching up concealer, foundation, lippy, shadows, and pencils a daunting prospect. That said, I decided to let go of my makeup crutch until the wedding in June. First, I purged my cosmetics collection , getting rid of anything that…
wedding hair : locs
I've got locs that hang down my back --six inches below my shoulders. Lately I've been trolling the internet to find ideas for attractive hairstyles, ornaments and fascinators. In comes YouTuber poojah6116 with this short video showcasing several bridal loc dos with ethnic ornaments. Yay:
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great pink neutral gloss
Around this time last year I picked up a tube of Wet n Wild natural blend Lip Shimmer in color 101. For me, buying gloss and lip colour in a convenience shop is always a crap shoot because I can't try on the shade first. There's the chance that the colour may be too opaque or sheer, contain too much glitter or not enough, or it may cause an adverse reaction on the delicate skin on my face (it has happened before). I was pleasantly surprised when I got home and tried on this inexpensive lip shimmer. It feels great on my lips--having…
what's on the beach vacation checklist?
We're headed to the Caribbean in a few weeks and I like to travel light; usually bring only a half-filled shoulder bag--while still taking all of the the essentials. Of course, I include a straw hat and the phone/camera charger, and closed-toed shoes. Below are items that must, must, must be in the luggage to ensure I have a successful trip away:
accessories for fall 2013
Paris Fashion Week: I was elated to see to many slouchy leather gloves on runways for fall 2013 during fashion week. Also in attendance were variations on the theme of the Mary Jane pump!! Good, I've got those!
2013 spring colour forecast
Thanks Pantone! Here's the colour forecast from Pantone. When I see these rich, vibrant hues, I imagine them paired white, pink lip gloss, and strappy sandals. Looking forward to this: Get the details, designer outlook, and trend reports from Pantone .
thrifting 101
Ralph Lauren L'il Black Dress Hitting the local thrift store or consignment shop is a great way to shop and save. In recent trips I've found great Banana Republic pieces that are now wardrobe staples, a gorgeous Ralph Lauren LBD, and my wedding dress for this summer's pending nuptials. Two decades of religious thrift shopping has given me some insight into the hobby and I'd like to share a few tips. To help save you time and money, here are a few of my thrifting dos: Know before you go - think about what you want …
for the love of leopard
Last year, I snagged a pair of gorgeous MaryJane Pumps. Precisely, they're the Penthouse Women's Kat Tattoo Embroidered Wedge,Leopard,(size:9 M US). Yes, that is actual embroidery, not an applique. To date, I've worn these gorgeous shoes about 6 times--at work. They look great when I'm going for a quasi-40's vintage office girl look; high-waist pencil skirt, opaque tights, button down blouse, etc. However, something has always been missing when I rock these shoes. I've just figured out what! I'm now on the …
style: whom do I emulate
This may sound crazy, but whenever I go shopping, I ask myself W.W.A.W.? What would Amanda wear? This mental Amanda, who I conjure when the buying spirit moves me, is a communications pro and former ambush-ee on the now-syndicated teevee show W hat Not to Wear . As a blogger, and communications manager for Best of Texas blog, she documented her 2009 ambush, awakening and--eventual--transformation. Check out her experience on the blog... On a recent day off, I caught a rerun of her episode, What Not to Wear Season 7, Episode 4, and was lite…
ladies love cool copper
I was recently gifted this beautiful pair of tribal, copper clip-ons. These earrings sparked a desire to grab more copper pieces for my collection. So, I've been scouring the vintage shops all over town, and found a couple exquisite items that match my personality and piercings. The hoop is a childs bangle. Check 'em out:
my made in america project
I aspire to a small carbon footprint, and until recently I believed that I was doing a good job. I'm not. My car-free, bike commuting, semi-locavore, paper recycling, limited air traveling lifestyle is okay, but I could definitely do better. One area over which I have control is my online shopping habit. My individual purchases travel by truck, van, and airplane to get to me; thousands of miles each year. It's thoroughly insane that a single pair of running shoes should travel half-way across the world only to enrich my wardrobe. …
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