Well hello, Old Navy

At Old Navy I wear a small. Just saying. You know, in case.

elbow grease

i must say that elbow grease goes a long way. just look at the difference a little time can make:

now, i must clarify that i honestly prefer the aesthetic of the tarnished tray better, it looks loved and aged and smokey. however, bc the tray that i found was real silver (i paid two dollars!) i had to remove the tarnish bc it will erode both the design of the tray and the silver itself. just thought i would let you know in case you birds ever find one at the flea market that you decide to adopt. also, i kind of can't deny that the polished tray does look beautiful. so shiny.

penn flea market finds

look! so excited and have to share with people who don't say "oh. but it's old." clearly then you do not get the aesthetic of the thing. as for thrift: I only spent $76 total!  check it out:

The Ensemble: Baroque Cream Mirror, Framed Sketch of Vase on Parchment, Octagon Mirror, Tarnished Tray, Weathered Stool, Antique Hideaway Books, Mugs from Old Inns, Glass Jelly Jar with Tin Top. 

Closeups of Mirror and Vase Sketch Frames

Sketch of Vase on Parchment

Vintage Jelly Jar with Tin Top and Antique Inn Mugs

Tin Lid for Jelly Jar

Antique Hideaway Books (One says poetry on the front and the other has a picture of Napoleon-love that cranky little bastard)

Tarnished Tray

Printhappy

I love a good print. (This may not be news to anyone.) So I'm adoring this fall's proliferation of novelty prints. I think the simpler, retro-style prints deserve their own post ... as does my eternal love of florals ... but in the meantime rogue-ish prints like these deliver a fun and much-needed wink in the face of all the beige / army green / chunky knits / and fur that's dominating fall magazine editorials.

All via shopruche.com.

I'll be wearing ribbons in my ... shoes ... this summaaaaaaaaah

I saw these sneakers in this month's J. Crew catalog. Don't need new sneakers but thought this was a cute idea. So I ordered ivory ribbon shoelaces from eBay for $3.49 including shipping and I'll string them into my black Converse. I'll let you know how they turn out!

Speaking of J. Crew, I really hate to love on it because I'm not a J. Crew girl (so I tell myself, when really I probably am a J. Crew girl, I just hate to be so ... predictable). But I love the styling in their catalogs. It's like Lucky magazine. I come away with 20 outfit ideas from stuff already in my closet, just from looking at the unexpected way they mix colors and textures.

(Bonus points for anyone who gets the reference in this post's title.)

words, words everywhere

i have always been a girl obsessed with words.

words were my first true passion as could have been foretold when my mother asked child me what i wanted for christmas and i replied, "a dictionary as big as a table like libraries have." needles to say, i have never grown out of it.

now combine that wordlove with my adult love of aesthetics and fashion and what do you get?
another obsession:
objects typically devoid of script that are just dripping with it. i cannot get enough.

Ballet Flats, Top Shop, $34 (Perfectly priced since all Manhattan walking flats die a quick and terrible death.)

Pillow Covers, Restoration Hardware $28-42 (maybe from Santa in lieu of another dictionary?)

Curtains, Anthropologie, $A Ridiculous Sum (but still i lust.)

Magazine Rack, JCPenny $49 (already on this one. and can rationalize it as an organization tool. win win.)

a piece

oh one piece outfit maker...how i adore thee...

put this on with anything (jeans, ballet flats, dress, white t-shirt, or heels) or put this on with nothing else (oh la la) and it is instantly an outfit. the easiest dressing you'll ever do.

 

www.bodenusa.com

www.monroeandmain.com

oh charlotte charles...

i have been watching pushing daisies and am desperate for every next episode but so sad to see it end as well. however, i have decided (mostly last night in a rush of champagne but this truly makes it all the more poignant) that if i could have one tv chateracter's wardrobe and only one, i would pick that of charlotte "chuck" charles:

and quite frankly, in inadvertantly looking up anna friel herself, i might say that i want her off-screen wardrobe as well...

perfect fall dress

please somebody get engaged, married, plan a trip, have a fancy party, plan a business meeting so i can wear this with knee high cognac boots, electric blue satin heels, a chartreuse cardigan and beat up brown gladiators, with a ton of bangles and long chains, under a blazer respectively...

(also can i just say kudos to jcrew for having the historical appreciation to go back into their archives to find their older prints. genius.)

JEGGINGS

jeggings. jeggings. jeggings. what can i say about this word that doesn't make me want to throw?

this is all i can say and i truly cannot say it strongly enough:

i HATE this word.
i HATE everyone who perpetuates this word.
i HATE journalists who insist on publishing this word.
you should have your journalist badge taken away.
also you should never be allowed to wear adorable, classic, reporter trench coats anymore. they are officially too good for you if you use this horrid monstrosity of letters smashed together to make the verbal vomit that is JEGGINGS.
i HATE that this word is in my blog, in my mind, in my word, in any part of a reality that i ever have to step into ever.
it is an affront to fashion, to readers, to lexicons, -ists, and -ologies in general.

whoever invented this word deserves to every piece of print bearing this garbageword stuffed down their throats until they choke to death...and i am a pacifist!!!!!!

this is how angry i am about jeggings:

ncej%*&(&*(wiqo5y849375%*)(#657483oqbcysopn uiR!^&*%^&@›fifl€$*

nevermore, will i speak this word. please do not, even accidentally, speak it to me. ugh.
need chocolate now.

Internal battle

Me: Vintage leather creamy brogues on Etsy for only $39! Holy cow, think how many outfits I could make with these!

Other Me: NO. MORE. SHOES.

Me: Come on, these are CLASSIC. You'll wear them for the rest of your life!

Other Me: You just got cognac brogues for your birthday. And you have black and white ones from eBay from the other year.

Me: YEAH, AND you wear those all the time and get compliments every single time! Plus, they're falling apart!

Other Me: So maybe you should wait and get some new black and white ones that you can actually wear in the fall and winter. Are you really going to wear cream-colored brogues in November?

Me: Maybe not....but they'd look SO PRETTY with ALLLL my dresses. Please? Please?

Other Me: Laura. You do not need three pairs of brogues. This is getting out of hand. Put the theoretical $39 in your mental Frye boot fund, and forget about these.

Me: ... (Sniffle) ... I'm trying. I'm trying.

Update:

Other Other Me: Plus, they kind of look like nursing shoes. I'm just sayin'.

feminine fall

i plan on having a feminine fall. something about leaves falling and soft breezes and the seasonal return of cashmere just makes me feel like a lady. as such what am i coveting? red lipstick, high heels, military jackets and lovely lovely dresses:

Lots of nice finds on Etsy