Saturday, March 31, 2012

Peplum

pep·lum
1. A short overskirt or ruffle attached at the waistline of a jacket, blouse, or dress.

Cardigan: Rami Kashou via eBay; Belt and Boots: Target; Cami: NY&Co; Skirt: some mall store like Deb probably; I've had it for awhile; Tights: I don't remember, but they're pretty comfy; Watch: Michael Kors; Necklace: E-Collectique Runway Boutique


Here's my new Rami Kashou cardigan I scored on eBay! The inside is jersey, which also pokes out the bottom for a fun detail, and the outer layer is this ribbed knit fur type of material. It's verrry warm; I'm kind of glad we had a cold and rainy day so that I could justify wearing it and not roast. It'll be perfect for winter.

I'm actually a little panicked about washing it since there was no material tag with washing instructions, but my plan is to turn it inside out, wash it on cold and maybe delicate, hang it to dry, and hope for the best. Or maybe dry clean just in case...yeah right.

I have to say, this peplum thing makes me feel a little Effie Trinket. In a good way.

Source

At first, I didn't think people with hips could wear a big ruffle around their problem area, but I think the idea of the peplum shape is to make the waist look smaller and give a great hourglass shape. I had/have the same insecurities about pencil skirts, which is why I don't own any. Now I kind of want to buy tons of pencil skirts and things with flouncy peplums.


Off topic, but I also feel kind of like a muppet with the furry-ish fabric. Speaking of muppets, we've been watching Sesame Street with Bridget lately, and I didn't realize until now how they sometimes inject a little bit of humor for the adults, too. Yesterday, we were watching one where Cookie Monster couldn't find his cookie. He was looking all around below him, muttering to himself, and said "Usually the prop man is here to hand it to me." Hubs and I busted out laughing just 'cause it was so unexpected and so over any kids' head that would be watching. Maybe you had to be there, but I thought it was hi-larious.


Well, that was random. Happy weekend!

Friday, March 30, 2012

One-Time Wear

ModlyChic FBFF

Topic: The one-time use phenomenon. I've been reading a number of posts lately about only wearing something once and how many bloggers are accused of this. Seems a good topic for us.

"Remixing" two dresses - 30 for 30 challenge last summer
  1. Are you a one-time wearer? Not to that extreme, but I do sometimes buy something new, wear it once right away, forget about it for a long time, then wear it again. But I don't think I've bought something and only worn it once. At least not lately. 
  2. Do you feel the need to purchase something new for an evening out or a special event? To a degree. I've always bought a new dress if I'm going to a wedding. Near the end of college and after when I used to go out often, I did feel the need to wear something different every time. These days, I don't care as much, especially if it's a different group of people. 
  3. Re-mixing is something a lot of bloggers are proud of being able to accomplish - are you a re-mixing pro or do you shy away from posting items frequently? Why? Yeah I do think about this, but  it's more of an ingrained paranoia that I've had for a long time about wearing things again too soon. It's something I think about in life and on the blog. That said, I don't post outfits every day, so if I'm wearing something I like, I'll post it. If I think my outfit is boring, I won't.
  4. Do you have a clothing budget or are you an impulse buyer? I am a chronic impulse buyer. I try to stick to a list, but I always slip up. And then I put myself on month-long shopping bans like I'm finishing up right now. 
  5. Do you find yourself bored when reading a blog in which clothing items are often remixed and appear frequently? No, definitely not. I don't even think I've noticed. I have noticed when someone wears the same type of thing all the time, but I don't care if someone is using the same pieces over and over again in different ways. That's normal.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

wear*it Wednesday: Bold Lipstick

Not that you're judging, but although I did a post wearing this top on Friday, the pictures were actually from last Sunday (a week and a half ago). But again, not that you care.

Both Tank Tops: Old Navy; Cardigan: Boston Store: Pants: Gap; Shoes: Famous Footwear; Watch: Michael Kors; Flower in Hair: Kohl's, I think; Necklace: World Market

Darn Gap pants. The hems have now fallen out on both legs, and I haven't gotten around to sewing them yet (actually, I just completely forgot). I did get these on clearance; they are probably not representative of the typical quality of Gap pants. At least they're symmetrical now, though. Last time I wore them, only one of the hems was undone. That was an awkward day. Oh well, I need new pants anyway. Belts have been a requirement lately.


And here's me trying to catch the camera before it falls off the post I have it balanced on.


Rawr! (It didn't fall, by the way.)

Next week's theme is Pastels if you'd like to participate. After that is a Printed Skirt or Dress, and then I'm out of ideas if anyone has any suggestions!

wear*it Wednesday

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Eleven Things

Thanks for the tag, Jess!

There are five rules: 
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.
3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you’ve tagged them.

Playing Just Dance at Halloween 2011

Random facts:

1. I'm pretty shy, but playing games brings me out of my shell. It can be anything really — board games, sports, Just Dance (shown above). Anything BUT charades. I don't like charades at all.

2. I like mint, and I like nuts, but I don't like them mixed with anything. They don't belong in chocolate, ice cream, brownies, cookies, etc.

3. I'm the only girl cousin on both sides. It's always fun and interesting being at hubs' family gatherings where there are a bunch of boy and girl cousins, and they're all around the same age-ish.

4. I don't have my ears pierced and never really had the desire to either. I've worn clip-ons once for a friend's wedding, and my mom tried to convince me to wear clip-ons for my wedding, but I refused. Getting my ears pierced would hurt less than wearing clip-ons anyway.

5. I used to want to adopt two kids and name them LMAO and LOL (pronounced Lemayo and Loll). I still would like to adopt, but we only want two kids, so maybe I'll settle for adopting our next dog. We'll see. But don't worry, I'll be better about child naming if we do ever adopt.

6. I was the tallest kid in my kindergarten class.

7. My favorite reality TV shows of all time besides Top Model were probably Average Joe and Beauty and the Geek. Yay for the nerdy underdogs. I've hung out with one of the Beauty and the Geek cast members a few times, and he also drunkenly climbed into my dog's cage at my 24th birthday party. I won't disclose which one he is because he also works at the same company I do. And probably no one watched the show anyway except my friends who were at the party.

8. I'm definitely a francophile and have been for as long as I can remember. But who isn't these days. I guess you either love the French culture or hate it, eh? Or I guess not care either way. Even though I took French for a total of six semesters between high school and college, I still didn't speak a word of it when my mom and I traveled to France in '05. I was too nervous about sounding stupid.

9. I enjoy walking around in the woods, but I don't really care for camping, and I HATE bugs.

10. I played piano for six years as a kid. I tried clarinet for one year, wasn't very good, and quit.

11. Speaking of kid activities, I also participated in tons of sports throughout the years — soccer, swimming, softball, dance classes, basketball, volleyball, and track (shotput and discus). I wasn't great at softball or basketball; OK in swimming, dance, and track; and pretty good at volleyball. My favorite sports to play recreationally now are volleyball and tennis, but I don't do either very often.

Jess's questions:

1. Do you have any life goals? My life goal has always been to publish a book. I'd love to still do that, but I can't find the motivation or time. Mostly motivation. And probably talent. I definitely have the material, though. Now that I'm a mom, of course a new life goal of mine is to make sure Bridget is happy and has everything she needs.

2. What's the last book you read for fun? Love it, hate it? I'm reading Mockingjay right now, and it's alright so far. I tend not to like the beginnings of the Hunger Games books for some reason. I'm sure I'll be hooked halfway through, like I was with the other two.

3. How do you feel about ebooks? They're fine. I've only read one ebook actually, and that was on my phone. Maybe if I had a Kindle, I'd like them better, but I much prefer paper books.

4. Why did you decide to create your blog? Is that still your intent or has it changed? I had been following many style and other type of blogs for a year or so, and I always wanted to start one, but I didn't know what my focus would be. At the end of my maternity leave, I just decided to go for it with the intention of writing about different things like motherhood, fashion, pop culture, food, etc. It morphed into more of a style blog, which is cool, but I would like to do more pop culture-y type posts, too. So I guess after over a year of blogging, I still don't know exactly what I want to do with it. And that's exactly why I named the blog "mixed-up."

5. What is your favourite font? Is it bad that I don't have one?

6. What is your Girl Scout cookie of choice? Thanks-a-Lots!!!!!! I think I ate a box in a day this year. I don't know if they sell those everywhere, so here's a picture and description for the Girl Scout Cookies website.

7. Tell me about your mode of transportation in life. I drive everywhere. I enjoy driving. If I could feasibly drive everywhere and never have to fly again, that would be great. But considering I'd like to get to Europe again, and my husband wants to go to Australia someday, plus an upcoming trip to Florida and New York with the girls in the next year, that's not happening.

8. Do you like memes? Do you have a favourite? I just looked this up for clarification ('cause that's what I do), and I realized I had been pronouncing it wrong all along. I've been saying it like the French word même (pronounced mem) instead of like meem. Good thing I've never actually said the word out loud. Anyway, I do like memes, but I don't know that I have a favorite.

9. How do you relax? You're looking at it. Just add wine.

10. What is the most daring thing you've done? Zip-lined in Mexico? I guess that would be daring for someone afraid of heights. I thought it was a lot of fun, so maybe that's a wussy answer. Ummmmm, I can't think of anything else, though.

11. If you take pictures for your blog, how do you do it? Does someone do it for you? Tripod? What kind of camera do you use? I sometimes use a tripod, but the majority of the time, the camera is perched on my car. Very professional. I use a Canon PowerShot SX130.

Now for my 11 questions:

1. Who is your biggest or current celebrity crush?
2. What is your earliest memory in life?
3. If you could live anywhere besides where you live now, where would that be?
4. Are you more like your mom or your dad?
5. What's one item of clothing or accessory that you can justify splurging on?
6. If you've read The Hunger Games and/or seen the movie, Team Peeta or Team Gale? I haven't picked a team yet, so I need some input. Heh. No spoilers please! I haven't finished the last book!
7. What's one blog post you've done that you're proud of, or your favorite one you've posted?
8. What did you do for fun before the Internet (maybe it's the same thing you do now)?
9. What are you looking forward to this summer?
10. Favorite punctuation mark? (Mine is parentheses; can you tell???)
11. Any hidden talents?

I'm tagging (sorry if I tagged someone who's already done this):
A Steady Pace
Cabootique
Caffeinerd
Flying Purple Hippos
Ginger Girl
Merry Alana
Neroli Blossoms

Monday, March 26, 2012

Lives on Layaway, Hunger Games, Kids, and a Broken Shopping Ban

That about sums up my weekend.

Friday, my parents picked me up, and we checked out my brother's band, Lives on Layaway, play at Frank's Power Plant in Bay View. Lives on Layaway has gone through a few iterations of different members throughout the years, and this was the first time I had seen this collection of guys play. They were good!

That's my brother, Tim, on the right.

Here's what I wore — the top and belt were leftover from my work attire, and I switched to jeans, boots, and added the vest. As you can see, I kept getting photo bombed by the pooch and the kiddo.

Top and Vest: Target; Jeans: NY&Co; Boots: Vince Camuto via giveaway; Watch: Zing Accessories; Belt: gift

Before the show even started, I realized I was not in my tip top local band following shape I was 10 years ago. I was exhausted, but luckily my brother's band played first at 10:00. Their next show is at the end of April, and I'm hoping it starts a lot earlier. I = old.

Saturday, my busy weekend continued. My husband had the bright idea to walk to the lake and back, which as I mentioned in a previous post, is about a mile each way. Bridget loved taking the trip in her stroller, and actually it was pretty enjoyable except that the wind was making my ears ache by the end of it. Whine, whine, whine, I know. Once it gets a little warmer again, I'm sure we'll be doing that walk more often.

Taking a break by the lake

Later that day, I met some friends to see The Hunger Games!! We excitedly lunged (don't ask — I lunge when I'm excited, no idea why) during the Breaking Dawn: Part 2 and Titanic trailers, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Even my friend who had not read the books. I'm still only seven chapters into Mockingjay, but I'm still thinking the first book is my favorite.

Sunday, we had our friends and their two kids over so that the men could switch out winter tires on the cars. Their 3-year-old son is a ball of energy, and their 5-month-old daughter just began rolling over consistently, so it was an entertaining afternoon. Bridget still makes me nervous around babies, but she was better with Baby E yesterday and gently petted her head a couple times. So that's an improvement from last time when she was throwing toys in her direction.

Oh yeah, and I may or may not have broken my shopping ban. Ebay is a dangerous thing. I was still all excited about meeting Rami from Project Runway, and Season 4 was on TV yesterday, so I did a search on Ebay to see if I could find any of his stuff on there. I found a peplum cardigan jacket type thing in a Large. Meant to be, I say.


And then when he tweeted me back about my experience at his bridal line launch, the decision was as good as made.


The seller sends items with two-day shipping, so I'll have to wear it later this week and do an outfit post. Ya know, since it's supposed to cold all week anyway.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Rami Kashou for Bebe Bridal Chicago Launch and More

Last night was SO FUN! There's always a chance of something going wrong when driving to Chicago during rush hour, but the whole night went swimmingly, even though we were only down there for about an hour.

First, we'll get this out of the way. Here's what I wore:

Dress: Target; Belt: from an H&M dress; Bracelet: Forever 21 belt; Watch: Michael Kors; Shoes: ModCloth

I picked up Lindsey and Sabreen at Southridge Mall, and then we headed down to Chicago. As it began pouring, we were a little worried about the rest of the night, but the downpour didn’t last long. Shortly after the rain ended, we hit the dreaded rush-hour traffic. Not only that, but I realized that the antenna on my car had been removed during my recent oil change and never replaced, so the only station that came in clearly was the Spanish station. But, I had my ipod, so that was quickly remedied.

We got into the city at about quarter to 7 and wanted to find a restroom before continuing on to the event. I knew there was a McDonald’s on Ohio, so we tried there first. They wanted to charge us $10 to park! Um no. We drove on, found a Subway on our route, and were back on our way.

As we drove down Oak St., our jaws dropped at all the high-end shopping surrounding us--Hermes, Chanel, Barney’s, Jimmy Choo, etc. etc. We joked that they weren’t going to let us into the event at Bebe because we were too poor. By some miracle, we easily found street parking right across from Bebe and nervously headed inside.



An employee in a fabulously large floppy hat and gift bags greeted us at the door. Sabreen commented on how she wanted to shop, and the lady was like, “Please do! We feel lonely; everyone is going up to bridal.” Sabreen zeroed in on a top she wanted to try on, but first, we decided to scale the steps to the third floor for the bridal event.

Tuxedo-clad men with champagne welcomed us as we reached the top floor. The room was pretty crowded with people and the beautiful gowns on mannequins along the center of the room and on hangers lining the walls, but there was still room to move around comfortably.





Sabreen's favorite


We spotted Rami from afar on the other side of the room talking to people and taking pictures, but then he disappeared behind a curtain. A few of the employees came up and asked who the bride was, which we immediately designated Sabreen for as the unmarried one of the trio, and she pointed out a couple gowns that she was admiring. One of the employees asked if we wanted to meet the designer, and we giddily replied that we did and proceeded to geek out as she went to retrieve him.

There he is!

When Rami came back, he immediately looked at me and said, “I know you!”

A look of terror, disbelief, and amusement crossed my face. “What? How?” I had tweeted him a couple times and left a message on his Facebook fan page, but surely he couldn’t recognize me from a tiny thumbnail, could he?

“You try clothes on and take pictures for your blog.”

Then, I was even more bewildered. “How do you know about my blog??”

“You tried on my blue dress from HSN.”

Phew! Not me. I corrected him, and we had a good chuckle about it, and I said I should’ve lied and pretended it was me. I told him that I do, in fact, have a blog, which is why I was so confused at first. He explained that this girl and I have the same hair and kind of the same face, and I had to wonder who this girl was and how I can find her blog. Maybe I’ll have to do some sleuthing.

I almost forgot, Rami also pointed to my dress and said, "That's a great color." Score one for the Pantone color of the year tangerine tango dress! Rami shook my hand, and I officially introduced myself, and a lady nearby offered to take our picture with my camera. Then, I stepped to the side to let the other two girls get pictures.


Sabreen complimented Rami on his talent and told him how she’s been a big fan since he was on Project Runway the first time. He asked her how she liked the line, and she pointed out her favorite gowns. I think at one point, Lindsey and I said we were already married, and he was like, “vow renewal,” but maybe that was another conversation.




After Sabreen and Lindsey got pictures with Rami, I jumped back in to ask a favor. “Our friend is nine months pregnant at home on bed rest, but she was the one who got me into Project Runway, and she always wanted to wear a wedding dress of yours, but she got married two years ago, “I babbled.

“Of course,” he said. I’m sure he’s heard that part from a lot of people. Heck, I totally would’ve bought one of his dresses had they been out four years ago when I was dress shopping.

I continued with my babbling and said something about this favor being silly, but I asked if he could call her and say hi. By the way, I texted our friend earlier and asked if she wanted a call from Rami since she was such a huge fan but couldn’t join us. She said no, but I didn’t think she really meant it. Luckily, the call went to voicemail, and Rami left a nice message...I can’t remember exactly what he said, but it was short and sweet. A minute later, we got a text from our friend, saying, “I said no phone calls.” Haha, oh pregnant ladies. She thanked us a couple minutes later, so hopefully she wasn’t too mad.

At that point, we had accomplished everything we wanted to accomplish, and Rami had moved on to talk to some more fans, so we headed downstairs to shop. I was still on my shopping ban, but Sabreen tried on and ended up purchasing the top she spotted when we walked in. Since it was still early, we decided to walk down the street and see what other purchases we could convince her to make.

We walked down the street a little and all ogled the Kate Spade window. Unfortunately, the store was closed. Probably for the best, in my case, but still a bummer. We figured Barney’s would still be open and wandered in there. I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a Barney’s, but I was in awe of all the luxury brands that were displayed around the store. The first floor was handbags and accessories, and we spied a purple leather Fendi wrap watch that would be perfect for Sabreen for the low low price of $2800. Yikes.

We debated going upstairs, but we had nothing else to do, so we went for it. Somehow, we stumbled upon another event with dressed-up waiters handing out hors d’oeuvres (spelled that right on the first try, booya) and champagne. The second floor housed shoes and some clothing, and that was even more fun, admiring the Manolo Blahniks, Miu Mius, Pradas, Christian Louboutins, and many many more. At one point, Sabreen asked a waiter what the event was for, but he didn’t speak much English.

While we walked around, we saw some books on display for whomever the event was for, so I went in for a closer look. I saw the name on the books, looked up, and who did I see but creative director for Barney’s, Simon Doonan! He has appeared on TV shows such as America’s Next Top Model; The Fashion Show; and VH1’s I Love the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s; among others. He was there promoting and signing copies of his new book, Gay Men Don’t Get Fat. None of us bought the book because we couldn’t decide what to talk to him about other than asking what Tyra Banks is like, but it was still so cool and random stumbling on an event like that.




Since the store was closing and everything else around was closed, we decided to call it a night and head back home to check out our goody bags and geek out about our luck. Our goody bags from Bebe included a leather luggage tag, perfume sample, mints, bridal coupon, signed card from Rami, and Brides magazine. Fun!


On our drive home, we jokingly decided that we’d have to return every Thursday and find events to go to and mingle with celebrities. If only! Haha.

Springy Florals

ModlyChic FBFF

My favorite thing about spring is that it's warm enough not to have to wear a coat, but it's cool enough not to be uncomfortable and sweaty.


Top: Old Navy; Cardigan and Sunglasses: Target; Jeans: NY&Co; Watch: Zing Accessories; Necklace: swap; Shoes: Amazon; Head Scarf: from ladies night gift bag

I couldn't resist dressing my mini me in her almost-matching Old Navy T-shirt, blue pants, and a white cardigan.

"Where's your bellybutton?"

And here's a bonus/random coordinating (not matching this time) mom-daughter outfit from Wednesday:

On Me - Blouse: Gap; Skirt: NY&Co; Shoes: Amazon
On Bridget - Dress, Leggings, and Socks: Old Navy; Shoes: Target

Happy Spring!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

wear*it Wednesday: Green

First up is Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, who says, "I decided to go all out for St. Patrick's Day, even though technically I have no legit reason to celebrate it :)" Haha, me neither except that it's fun! I love a good tone-on-tone look, and Salazar's gingham dress is adorable!


Next we have Kezzie of KezzieAG. She says, "We were asked to add something green to our all black outfits for our St Patrick's day concert but I decided to do it to my daytime outfit too! I wore green accessories (earrings, necklace) and then a green top and leggings! However, the leggings did inspire a lot of leprechaun comments! I've worn a lot of emerald green over the last couple of weeks in outfit posts!!!" I think the green leggings are great! They look very cute and comfortable.


As for me, I wore my green to the park and then out for the dinner with the family. Although it was nearly 80°F in most of the state this weekend, we barely hit 60 by the lake.


Thanks for joining in, ladies! The theme next week is How to Wear Bold Lipstick!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Week Nine Weigh-in

Current Weight: 196 (down .4 lb)

I have no idea how I lost weight this week (barely), but I'm not complaining! By Thursday night, I was fresh out of weekly points. Friday and Saturday, I did OK; but Sunday, I pretty much ate everything in sight.  My husband is on this new kick of walking to the lake and back, which is 2 miles round trip, so we'll see if he can convince me to do that this week. That would definitely help get me back on track!

Monday, March 19, 2012

What Should I Wear?

I need some advice. Thursday, I'm heading down to Chicago with a couple friends to check out Project Runway Season 4 designer Rami Kashou's bridal line launch for Bebe.


He's my favorite Project Runway designer, so I'm pretty excited except that I can't decide what to wear. I don't know what the dress code/attire is going to be, but I'm assuming somewhat casual. I can't buy anything new because I'm still in the midst of my shopping ban, so I have to work with what I've got.


This is the dress I think maybe I want to wear because it's the closest thing I have to "draped," which is what Rami's famous for. But what should I wear it with? Would a blazer be too dressy? Maybe I could use shoes and accessories to dress it down? Here are some options...


Black blazer. I probably would go with the long-sleeved blazer instead of this short-sleeved one, but the other one was in the wash.


Pink blazer. While I like the idea of orange and pink together, I think these colors are a little too close.


Fur vest. Too much? Defeating the point of the dress?


Brown cardigan, like I've done in the past?


Pink top. Go with a draped cowl neck top instead? And if so, what would I wear that with?

What do you guys think I should wear? I would love to hear your thoughts! Also, if any of you Chicago area readers are fans of the show, the brand, or bridal wear in general, you should come! It'd be fun to meet up and say hi! You can RSVP through tomorrow.