October Catch-Up: Jax Teller, Name Plate Rings & an Undercut

It seems like the first few days of the month I completely drop off this blog –  especially this month as I've been housesitting for two weeks straight. Angelo and I finally made it home on Sunday, and our cats almost passed out from excitement. So here's another round up post to catch up with what I've been doing recently.

Wearing – I've been sticking to my Capsule Wardrobe, and have been itching to get rid of a ton of older stuff to make some space in my closet.  I talked Angelo into giving me an undercut – which we naturally dyed blue – so I have been keeping my outfits more on the simple side. I like the mixing of simple, classic closet staples with the bright blue undercut. Makes me feel like myself, not quite young, not quite old but still wanting to have some fun with my wardrobe.

One of my favorite outfits, EVER.

And introducing my new navy blue undercut - easy to hide at work.

 Watching –  We binge watched the first two seasons of Sons of Anarchy in a week, and are now making our way through the third. I absolutely LOVE Ron Perlman, so that's been great, but I've been struggling with my feelings towards Jax Teller. Half the time I hate him, half the time I love him. 100% of the time I think he's a babe. My absolute favorite character is Happy, even though he's a pretty much complete psychopath. If I was in a motorcycle gang, I would want him on my side. 

I'm only in season 3, so Jax is still relatively white-trash but I do not judge.

Listening –  My current favorite-d  tracks on 8tracks are as follows – Family of the Year, "Hero." Boyce Avenue, "Fast Car." Gin Whitmore, "Black Sheep." Emily Kinney, "Expired Lover." Taylor Swift, "Out of the Woods." Audra Mae & The Forest Rangers, "Forever Young." Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers, "John the Revelator." Richard Thompson, "Dad's Gonna Kill Me." The White Buffalo, "The House of the Rising Son." Clearly SOA has infiltrated my 8tracks activity.

 

This is my official "walking home from work in heels" song.

Planning – I've started to get pretty into planning our Christmas vacation to Seattle and Portland. I really want to get a tattoo, visit the Space Needle, stay in the Ace Hotel and visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium – where you can apparently shake "hands" with an octopus.

Buying – I took advantage of some Columbus Day Sales, and snagged a perfect dress from ASOS for more than 50% off it's original price. I have had my eye on it for a while, but when the sale price dropped a second time, I jumped on it. I also took advantage of Lo&Chlo's weekend sale, and ordered myself some nameplate rings and a little necklace. I absolutely love her stuff, and have a bracelet from her that is one of my favorites. When she released a coupon code for 30% off, I acted on it pretty quick.

Have you been busy this October? What are you up to? How do you feel about Jax Teller?

Head to Toe Black and 73 Questions

Have you caught the 73 questions with Anna Wintour video? It's pretty amazing, if I do say so myself and when I watched it I noticed that Anna Wintour and I agree on a lot.

Favorite Action Star? Hugh Jackman. Yes.

Polka Dots or Stripes? Both. Yes.

Sparkling water or flat? Sparkling. Yes.

What would you never, ever wear? Head to toe black.

Wait.

What?

Yes, that's right. She mentions it AGAIN too, so she really means it. Really, really means it. And it is sort of rocking my style morals. I've got black hair, an abundance of black cardigans, staple black tees and black jeans that get the most wear out of anything in my closet. And now I'm hearing that head to toe black is a no?

Like I said, WHAT?

To give me even more of an existential crisis, it's Anna Wintour of all people saying it. That woman knows what she's talking about - so I decided to test out some basic outfits that I would normally wear head-to-toe black and added a small pop of something non-black. This doesn't really mean color, since my closet is pretty monochromatic at this point.

Round 1.

On Friday, instead of throwing on my favorite oversized black tee, I paired my black jeans, black boots and fuzzy black cardigan with a light grey tee from Madewell. I liked the break up of the grey because it brought some attention to my waist – and combined with the booties seemed to elongate my legs. Ok Anna, you win this round.

Round 2.

Over the weekend, I tossed on my black jeans and black sweatshirt from Madewell and brushed my newly dyed black hair, but added my cream colored Converses for good measure. Along with a small pop of green from the flannel that I layered underneath, I think that my sneakers paired with all the black helped me achieve the sort of laid-back cool, look that Madewell achieves so effortlessly in all of their advertisements. So, I guess Anna wins this round too.

I still really love channeling my inner witchy woman and rocking all black – but now I'm interested in adding small pops of something (whether it's a purple-pink lipstick, some peach colored heels or even a brown scarf) to my outfits. In my opinion, it just sort of elevates the outfits from normal to badass while still looking effortless.

Case in point - I broke up the combination of this black tee-shirt romper and long black sweater with my cream colored sneaks and a bright red lip.

Do you agree with Anna about head-to-toe black? Or are you struggling to come around like I was?

Work & Work & Work and Ten Minutes of Play

I know that Wednesday is supposed to be the middle of the week hardest day, but for me that's Thursday. It's so close to Friday, but still so far from Saturday. Ugh. It's definitely a day where I tend to fall into my work-uniform closet basics.

It's so easy to slip into bad habits for work – even harder if your office is casual. I try to have a go-to outfit work looking polished and pulled together at work, especially if you're feeling less than. For me that outfit goes as follows: black high waisted skinny trousers, a black zipper tee from Madewell, a black cashmere cardigan that I stole from my grandmother's closet, a camel colored scarf and black booties. By mixing nicer pieces together and keeping it monochromatic, I get a look that translates well for work.

When I got home from work, I had about ten minutes of down time before Angelo and I were off again to run around Baltimore City and the surrounding counties. I wanted to spend my ten minutes sitting on the couch, so I grabbed another go-to outfit for the evening. I kept on the Madewell zipper tee, slid into my American Eagle overalls, tied my Minnetonka moccasins from @sweet_petite_shop and was good to go.

That's one thing I love about having a Capsule Wardrobe – it's easy to get dressed and doesn't take time away from time that I get to spend with Angelo, with our pups or friends. Taking the stress out of getting dressed is definitely worth the closet downgrade.

What are your go to outfits when you're busy, tired or in a slump? Do you have any special tricks for looking pulled together?

Happy First Day of October!

One of my favorite habits that my grandmother had was to wish everyone a happy first day of the month, every month, so it's no wonder that I've been walking around all day telling people "Happy First Day of October!" I made sure to send my mom a text, "Happy First Day of October" and now I'm telling all you readers, happy first day of October!

I'm really going to try and step up my blogging, and I'm taking a page out of other bloggers' books and am going to mass take some pictures of my Capsule Wardrobe. This will allow me to most more regularly and give you an opportunity to see how I work with a limited amount of options in my closet, instead of rushing through work days and coming home to take a picture each day. My bangs are too temperamental for that.

Also sometimes I just come home and immediately put spandex on. Because it's Fall.

 Here go some OOTDs for different situations, just to give you a general vibe of what my Fall Capsule Wardrobe is like:

 

1. **Flawless Work Outfit. Can you guys wear a plaid button up without thinking about Beyonce in the **Flawless video? I can't, and this green one from Madewell especially reminds me of Queen Bey. It's a great outfit for work because it makes me feel pulled together and professional, while still being casual enough to walk to work in. 

My black skinny slacks from H&M are high waisted and when paired with my boots, they create the illusion that I'm taller than 5'3. I think it's important to have nice pairs of black pants if you're working in an office - even one with a casual dress code - because they're an easy way to look polished. Jeans are great to wear sometimes, but investing in a nice pair of work pants is always a good call.

Also channeling this, especially when you have to walk a mile to work in heeled booties, is always a plus.

2. Monochromatic Mini. I have been scoping out this mini dress from H&M for about two weeks now, trying to figure out if I could work it into my Capsule Wardrobe or if I just wanted it on a whim. Finally, I decided that yes, yes I could work it into my 40 items, and in a variety of ways. First off, this mini is actually a perfect addition into my Capsule Wardrobe because it fits the monochromatic bill. The color blocking on this dress is also super flattering to a variety of body types, which is another plus. The dress itself would be easy to dress up for work, with black tights, flats and a sweater. It would be cute with my chucks and minimal makeup on a casual day out, and it would be fun to dress it up for a date night - with heels, bare legs and a bright lipstick.

                                                                                                    One of the things that I've learned since starting my Capsule Wardrobe is that it's important to be able to work pieces in a variety of different ways. Almost all of my 40 items can be used at work or home, dressed up or down. That's why I personally stick to a more monochromatic palette for my Capsule Wardrobe - it makes it easy to pair different looks and pieces together!

3. The Classics. With any Capsule Wardrobe, it's important to have a "go-to" outfit and mine is usually a variation of this - a black top, comfy jeans and a killer shoe. I wanted to pair my boyfriend jeans with these pointed nude heels, so I picked a bit more of a fitted black top over one of my go to oversized tees. The look is simple, classic while still being current and fun - I feel that it perfectly sums up the vibe I'm going for with my Fall Capsule Wardrobe. It shows I'm dressing with intention, without falling into trends or clothes that won't flatter my body.

So that's a sneak peek of my Capsule Wardrobe for Fall! What do you think? Do you have a favorite outfit out of these three? Have you given a Capsule Wardrobe a shot? Let me know in the comments!

Fall Lipsticks: Channeling my Inner Owens Woman

So now that we're all on the same page – it's officially fall! (Well not officially, but it's close enough.) While some girls flock to the church of Pumpkin Spice as soon as the temperatures take a dip, I'm more inclined to lean towards the patron saint of fall, Alice Hoffman.

This house though.

I grew up in a house where Practical Magic was pretty much a mandatory requirement, as it should be. It weaves a story of strong, interesting women and how much stronger women can be when they support one another rather than tearing each other down. Plus, the movie version has killer scenery. Who didn't want to live in that house? I still want to live in that house.

So basically, Practical Magic (and all Alice Hoffman novels) have a pretty solid influence on my life. There's just something cool about magical, sassy women. That being said, the Owens family does hold a special place in my heart, so this fall I decided to focus on channeling my inner magical feminist (is that a thing?!) with some dark lipsticks from NYX Cosmetics.

I fell in love with NYX when I was deep in the throws of a Target obsession, but I've noticed that Target has not been stocking their NYX supplies for the past few months. And I've checked multiple Targets – trust me on this. I've been dying to get my hands on two specific NYX lipsticks – the matte "ARIA" and the macaroon "CHAMBORD."  Unfortunately for me, Target wasn't coming through and my local Ulta didn't have them. So by the time I was ready to order them online, I had a 20% off coupon and they offered free shipping on orders of $25 and over.

Let me say that NYX cosmetics are definitely not pricey – so that's when things got a little out of hand. Four lipsticks, three lip pencils and an eyebrow gel (why not?) later, my stuff was set to arrive in 7-10 days.

From left to right: Chaos, Medusa, Aria and Chambord

The four lipsticks I wound up ordering were: Chambord, Aria, Medusa and Chaos. I actually already own Chaos and just needed to restock it – it's an awesome red-blue lipstick that appears super complimentary to pale skin tones. So today I'll just be discussing Chambord, Aria and Medusa.

First thing's first: CHAMBORD. I was so excited for this, I had read beauty reviews all over the place – including my beauty bible xovain. One of the general consensuses (consesi?)   about this BLACK LIPSTICK (!!!) is that it isn't super wearable on a day to day basis. This is true, I'm not going to be rocking this at work any time soon. But I was super impressed with how it applied, thick and solid – not at all patchy. I applied a couple coats and was pleased with the overall look. I kept the rest of my makeup pretty minimal because I wanted this look to be as wearable as possible. All in all, I love it! I love how it enhances my fair skin and seems to make my eye color pop. With my freshly dark hair, and uniform of all black, I feel like a cool girl who probably spends full moon nights making midnight margaritas vs. a very grumpy goth sixteen year old. I don't know how often I will actually wear Chambord, but I'd like to try and rock it on the one night per month that I wind up going out.

Cragged salt like a sailor's stubble, flip the switch and let the cauldron bubble!

Next up: ARIA. If you're on Pinterest, or follow any sort of beauty blog, you've probably heard of Aria. Think of it as an ideal MAC dupe. It's super flattering on a variety of skin tones, and it's matte style just adds a bit of edge. I definitely will wear Aria in a variety of places – the whole look makes me feel sort of like "Teen Witch gets First Office Job." It's fun goth without being too overwhelming, weird without being black lipstick, spooky but not so spooky that no one will hold the elevator for you. Basically, it makes me feel like Gilly Owens when she showed up to Back to School night and used her sassy-magic skills to make Sally the head of the Phone Tree.

"Yep, that's right, I'm back."

Finally: MEDUSA. I snagged Medusa on a whim, and also grabbed the corresponding lip pencil. I was surprised that Medusa isn't as matte as Aria, it's actually a bit lighter and a bit more sparkly. All's good though because out of all three lipsticks, Medusa is perhaps the most office friendly. It makes me feel put together while also feeling like I could turn dumb, dangerous dudes like Jimmy Angelov into frogs  – so a pretty good look for your work week.

"She's not saying they murdered him, just maybe they shook his hand, and then... he died. It's very mysterious."

All three lipsticks definitely capture the whole "adorably spooky" aesthetic that one of the ladies in my office blessed me with this summer. They definitely make me feel like a 2014 version of the Owens family – strong and in charge, confident in taking risks in my beauty routine. If you've been debating black lipstick, dark purple lipstick or whatever, I say – go for it! Why not? As Frances Owen would say, "My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."

A Confession: All I want to do is Raid Claire Beauchamp's Closet

 It seems that every Monday, I find myself calling Angelo's mom to compare favorite outfits on Outlander. Are you watching Outlander? It's one of those random shows that I immediately fell into, being a historical fiction and sci-fi lover, but luckily after being forced to watch the first four episodes, Angelo seemed to accept and enjoy it – so now we watch it every Sunday night at dinner. I'm really struggling not to read the books, and have only held out on Angelo's request that I do so, so that we can both be equally surprised when we watch it.

The coat of my dreams

That being said, since I can't read the books and spoil the whole show for myself, I basically just obsess over the clothes. Historical shows, when done right, can be downright amazing with their costumes. Think The Tudors. When done incorrectly, historical shows can annoy the shit out of history buffs. Think Reign. Outlander seems to do a great job of keeping clothes historically accurate, while still having a ton of fun with accessories and costumes. Maybe it's not entirely realistic to have Claire change her outfit five times when she's out on the road, but someone in the wardrobe department is seriously knitting their heart out – and deserves the recognition.

I would be okay with just living here, in that outfit, in all seriousness.

Claire's Scottish wardrobe is basically made up of all things wonderful – plaids, chunky knits and killer coats. When she gets her first "makeover" into 1743 fashion, I couldn't get past the arm warmers that seemed to be knit specifically for her. The next few outfits she rocked the comfiest looking cowls and then, a few episodes later, she was wearing a coat that almost killed me. Seriously. I love fall, I love cold and rainy weather, and I love chunky knits. I basically want everything she wears – except the weird corset.

That scarf and those arm warmers - I just can't deal.

It shouldn't come as any sort of surprise then that my Fall Capsule Wardrobe is slightly Outlander inspired. I wouldn't even be surprised if I turned out to be part-Scottish – I can get pretty sassy and Angelo says I'm hard to understand when I talk.

While it's still a bit too warm to rock a cowl, arm warmers and a fur coat, cold weather accessories are making their way onto websites and into stores.  I've got my eye on a few from ASOS – particularly this faux fur infinity scarf. It's super cozy and adorable, and totally reminds me of Claire's coat that I'm so in love with.

ASOS - Faux fur infinity scarf

I also have no problem with integrating plaid into my Fall Capsule. Maybe it's the 13 years of Catholic schooling, but it just seems right to throw on a plaid skirt when it's cold out. I snagged this one from @10dollardressshop and I'm in love with it. It's a vintage little Tablots plaid pencil skirt, and it makes me feel very modern day Claire Beauchamp.

Excuse the mirror pic, I'm computer-less for the next two days.

Do you watch Outlander? If so, are you as costume obsessed as I am? I mean – did you see that coat?!

August Roundup: 19 Days Left of Summer

I've been really mentally preparing for fall, but as Angelo's mom and this incredibly humid holiday weekend reminded me, there's still about a month of summer left. Maybe that's why I've been running around and busy like a crazy person recently? Stuff seems to slow down in fall and winter.

Anyways, I know I've been pretty absent from this blog, so I took a page from some of my favorite blogs and decided to do a basic August catch up post.

Reading: Audio books count as reading, in my humble opinion. And I go through about an audio book a week at work. The one that really stuck with me this month was The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. One of the things I enjoy about Gaiman's audio books are that he tends to narrate them himself, and he's a great story teller. "Ocean" is a great, short story that Gaiman actually wrote for his wife. It's got strong female characters, and paints a poignant tale about growing up – with his classic elements of spooky fairy tales. I highly recommend.

Watching: Speaking of strong female woman, after lots of reading and overlapping disappointment concerning Steven Moffat, I've been searching for a new show to binge on that offers up female characters that aren't just there for show. I think I found this in "Elementary," which I’m currently watching the first season of and am now recommending to anyone who talks to me for longer than five minutes. It's a modern day take on Sherlock Holmes, with Lucy Liu in the role of Watson. It's a really great comparison to "Sherlock," which I also love but which has a complete lack of strong female characters. Lucy Liu's Watson is smart, independent and has a great relationship with Sherlock. I'm all about it.

Wearing: I'm cheating on my Capsule Wardrobe a little bit, since I ordered these overalls from American Eagle last week, I haven't really taken them off. I just want them to be perfectly broken in by fall! I've been searching all over for a great pair of overalls, and had my eyes on a pricey pair from Free People, until Lauren alerted me to a similar (on sale) pair at American Eagle. I absolutely love the wash of the denim, and that the overalls themselves are fitted. I sized down in these, since AE tends to run a little big. I've also noticed this pair from Target popping up on my Instagram and think that they are equally adorable and flattering.

Wanting: I've got my eye on this killer fringe coat from H&M, but I'm trying to save up a little bit each week for it. At $130, it doesn't exactly break the bank, but I'm trying to be more responsible and focus on bills (and student loans, ugh) before I run off any buy this amazing coat. Seriously though, it's perfect for fall so can the weather just cool off and I can go ahead and have a need for it?

Changing: Oh, and I guess it's a change to mention – I'm back to dark hair again! After getting tired of using special shampoo and frying my hair every four weeks with bleach, I went back to dark hair with the help of my cousin, Kristina. She does REALLY AMAZING THINGS with hair color, that makes me wish I didn't work an office job, and that I didn't live states away from her. With her helpful instructions and list of what to buy, I transformed from a tired bleach blonde with dark roots to a dark brown haired happy camper. Check out her work Instagram, and if you're in the St. Louis area – go to her and let her make you fancy.

What have you been keeping busy with this August?