The Ballerinas.

This weather is bizarre. It's hot, like, summer hot all blazing sun and iced tea, but without the benefit of leaves on trees. They're getting hazy with buds so soon enough we'll have flora (I've been stalking the pollen counts). 

Dress: J. Crew, Shoes: Anthropologie circa 2009, Scarf: Vintage, Pins: Bohemian Bisoux

The upside of it all is I've been wearing the summer things that otherwise would be waiting for real live summer. I didn't love this dress the first time I saw it, although something about it made me keep looking. It's not the color--bordering on neon though it is--but something about the waist or shape of it. I tried it on and loved it for it's being prim and neat. 

After the dress everything else fell into place. The pins needed to go with the scarf, because the little ballerinas on each match just too perfectly, and the yellows seemed right together. I can't be a ballerina, but I can live vicariously though pins and scarves!

Two summers ago I wore my hair like this a lot. I'm not sure why I stopped, since I still wear scarves on my head with alarming frequency, but usually I pin them to my hair until it won't budge. I think I just forgot about this method, where I pull the hair over the scarf so that it hides my ears (I hate when they stick out) and does that loose-romantic thing that make up-dos less proper. I'm quite pleased to have rediscovered it.

Even if I did decide to take my outfit pictures in the windiest spot in the city.

The scarf is still one of my favorite finds of all time. I think it was about 8$, and I think I uh, got it for my mother as a gift and then it (as several things have done) ended up in my scarf drawer instead. It's really just a pooling of scarf resources.

March Sponsor: poshlocket and Shorts.

It's close to eighty degrees out today. I don't know what's going on, but I'm okay with that. Soon we'll have bud-hazy trees, allergies to accompany them, and the glorious sight of leaves. I've never missed leaves so much in my life!

Shorts: H&M, Shirt: Forever21 circa 2010, Shoes: J. Crew, Earrings: Posh Locket Hampton Drop Earrings, Belt: J. Crew

Just in time for said weather, I bought some new shorts. I have mixed feelings about shorts. I want to love them, wear them, run around and get things accomplished in them, but I just feel so exposed. And these are quite short, and I don't have tiny legs. But then, when I saw them sitting in the store, I thought there, those shorts, that print, they are just what I need.

You may have noticed that this month I've dipped a toe into the world of sponsors (over on the right-hand side over there), and one of these first partners is poshlocket. I'd been waiting for just the right outfit to debut a pair of earrings they sent along a week or so ago, but they just seemed so summery, and try as I might I just looked out of place in a summer outfit while it was still hovering around the 50 degrees mark.

Until today. 

Hampton Drop Earrings

I used to wear earrings all the time. I used to wear big, loud, obnoxious earrings until somehow I stopped, and I've missed them. I don't feel like being quite as loud with them as I used to be, so these are pretty much the perfect little thing. They're larger than I usually wear, but something said do it, they called to me. That's how I end up with a closet-full of bizarre things, but these have integrated well. 

And really, they go just so perfectly with the shorts, that the latter had to be mine. So I supposed that's how I ended up with an outfit centered around a pair of earrings.

I'm having a seriously difficult time taking my own pictures. Least favorite activity.

Hello, Minnow!

Sometimes I meet people out in the world who know me from this little blog (or twitter, or tumblr) and after a few moments of conversation, this new person is usually shocked to learn that no, I don't actually have a cat. I did, but as these things go we have been without her for a while now. That didn't stop me from making friend with every cat I've seen since, taking pictures of cats in windows, planning my walk to work so I could run into the usual suspects on their steps, wearing cat clothing, watching cat videos, and all the rest. 

But last week we brought home this little lady! I'd visited this particular shelter several times, mostly just to visit the cats and look, and I'd had my heart set about a year ago on a kitty (who has since been adopted of course) and had a little bit of a feeling that I'd want one like her. 

But then this gal was the first one I was drawn to, with her gigantic green eyes, sitting straight up in her little cage. I deliberated for a little while, wanting to give most of the cats their chance, but in the end she's the one we took home. 

She's much more active than our last cat, constantly in motion except when she's sleeping, and refuses to be in a room by herself. She'll follow you around room to room, although isn't too fond of being picked up, and sleeps under the covers. She sits and walks kind of funny, her legs sort of splayed out a bit like a ballerina or, less gracefully, like a penguin.

Naming was hard, as usual. The last cat we had didn't really ever get a proper name. We just called her several things, the main one being Baby, so this time I spent a good amount brainstorming things to call her. It's hard, everything seems either too twee, or prim, or too lady-like for her. At first I thought I'd name her 'Cake' because it seemed like it sort of fit, but after a few days it just didn't really seem to be working.

At the moment we've landed on 'Minnow' because I liked the sound of most names starting with M, and the word is fun to say or sing-song, with a nice kind of weird, slanted symmetry. We'll see if it sticks!

Lunch Date.

This past Monday I met up for a lady date with my friend Jess  (who was super obliging and wonderful and took my pictures for me!) for a game of catch-up over lunch and some thrifting, something we made a bit of a habit of over January! I don't always wear something blog-worthy for these occasions, especially if extensive thrifting is part of the plan for the day, but I've been itching to wear this dress since I got it. It's one of the three I bought during my NYC visit a few weeks ago. I don't have anything else like it, and aside from the Peter Pen collar it's a bit of a different thing for me.

Coat: J. Crew circa 2009, Dress: Vintage, Tights: J. Crew, Shoes: Target, Goofy Smile: Birth

It was also supposed to be fifty degrees out that day, but somehow that didn't happen. So much for saving this dress for the nicer weather as planned! 

I don't know that it's the world's most flattering dress shape on me, but I sort of love everything about it. I think I needed it because it reminds me of a mid-sixties version of my Mad Men dress, except I can sit down and eat in this one. It's a bit wrinkled here, even though I risked my life and steamed it while wearing it (worst idea ever, but it has so many inside snaps and buttons the thought of taking the whole thing off, steaming it, and then putting it back on was not something I was inclined to do), from sitting down at lunch and I suppose I should have given it a better soak and mended other bits of it. I just can't be bothered sometimes, especially if I want to wear something very much.

Thanks a lot wind, for sending like, three stands of hair across my face.

The little cat buddy on my collar was also a gift from Jess, so of course I had to wear him. He's just the perfect size--some of my pins, and I do love them dearly--are a bit too strange, or big, or shiny for certain moods. 

We ended up stopping at an abandoned building on the way to a thrift store, and found a little empty house behind it. It was all boarded up so exploring wasn't going to happen--but mostly we were just cold. The good thing is there are always warmer days (we hope. At the moment it's snowing, something it hasn't done properly since October. But I know better. Spring is soon, even if the weather does decide to snow on us for days).

Pictures taken by Jess.

The Other Mother.

Jacket: H&M, Dress: Vintage, Sweater: Vintage, Tights: J. Crew, Shoes: J. Crew, Bag: Vintage, Pin: Vintage

I'm really struggling with this self timer thing. I sort of hate it a lot, but I've been wearing all sorts of outfits lately and have pictures of none of them, even though I dressed with intentions of documenting them. I'm trying to be better about it, honestly I am. I just need someone with  me to tell me to stand up straight, stop scrunching my shoulders, and for Pete's sake close my mouth! The above picture was the only one even close to acceptable of me with the trench on, and even then I start to feel it's really insipid the longer I look at it. 

I really had to do a post today though, not only because it's been so long, but because I've worn this dress about half-a-dozen times and it's never seen the light of blog. 

I got it three or so years ago at a vintage shop for a steal. It was was all wrinkled, having been balled up at some point, but it has nary a flaw on it! And the print! It's tiny buttons! So I call it my Other Mother dress, after Coraline. The sleeves are a little bit weird, and it was a bit too big for me so my genius mother took the waist up in the most clever way--not that you can see it, because of the sweater--but I really do love it. It was one of the dresses I brought with me to New York and didn't wear.

The sweater is one I snapped up while having a thrift date with Jess. She spotted it, and the poor thing had been sitting there on the rack for weeks. It's quite old but it's riddled with holes in the back and along one of the arms. I took it home, along with a skirt full of holes, because I get that thing that you have as a kid where you feel bad for stuffed animals that can't all fit in your bed at once, or the heels of bread that get left behind in the bag because no one wants them so you eat them even though you don't even like that part of the bread.

So I've rescued it, although I haven't entirely finished mending it before wearing. There are still a few holes that need some invisible mending or patching. I was pretty mad that I had to wear a sweater to begin with, I want spring and warmth so much, so I decided I would wear what I wanted and that's that. 

And my little mouse, another pin from etsy. 

Lincoln Center.

It's not likely that I'll fit in an outfit post until Monday, and seeing as I've already posted the pictures I took last weekend, some images borrowed from elsewhere will have to do!

Dress: Vintage, Coat: J. Crew, Shoes: Bass, Tights: J. Crew, Purse: Vintage, Pin: Vintage, Gloves: Anthropologie, Lipstick: NARS Schiap

I'm not miserable, despite what my expression here might say! It's one of those things, where my default face looks a bit irritated, although in this instance I think I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing. It's very strange to stand around, get asked for a photo, and suddenly more cameras pop up! 

In the flurry of activity that was last weekend, I (as you can see) toted my camera around and hardly used the darn thing! I was able to snap a few of Emily's outfit before being chided by a security guard that I was not allowed to take pictures without press credentials, which I am fairly certain was untrue, but, well, I complied. 

I am an over packer. I like to be prepared for every eventuality, and that's how I end up with nine pairs of shoes and seven sweaters (those number are partially made up. I don't have any idea how many shoes or sweaters I ended up bringing, but I didn't need as many as I brought). Even more typical is that I purchased three dresses during my trip, and wore two of them during it, so I didn't actually wear much of what I brought. 

Which is how I ventured to Lincoln Center in my un-ironed new dress, happy as a clam about the whole thing. 

Pictures from Teen Vogue

Visiting Flowers.

It already seems a sad pile of days ago, but just yesterday I was still in NYC with Emily, the kindest and most generous of hostesses (not to mention stylish, gorgeous, and all-around amazing!), for my weekend visit. I somehow, in true-to-me style, dragged my wretched camera around with me and hardly used the stupid thing. I did have enough wherewithal to get some use out of it when we visited Amy Merrick of An Apple a Day.

Amy is hosting a little pop-up shop at Castor & Pollux for Valentine's day (so I realized I had better get this post up asap in case someone wants to pay her a visit tomorrow!) from 12-7, you can see more pictures here at her post on the event, and also over at Emily's blog. But you really should go see it in person, if only for the lovely setting and wonderful people. 

I've been the biggest fan of Amy's since I first started reading her blog, and was so excited when Emily suggested we head over to say hello and grab some flowers. I think I've starred every single one of her posts in my reader. Her vision of the world comes through so strongly in her posts and photographs, and she has the occasional turn-of-phrase in her posts that makes me simultaneously enamored and poetically jealous (one time she used the phrase flower-drunk and for some reason it's haunted me ever since). And then she was just about the sweetest lady I've ever met, in the most effortless of dresses and just wonderful! I left the city last night overwhelmed by all the totally rad, beautiful, and charming ladies I got to hang out with all weekend. 

It was the best end to the best weekend! I knew that I've missed color and warmer weather, but I didn't realize quite how parched I was for green, growing things until we got there, and somehow I wanted nothing more but to be somewhere where things looked alive. It's not long now, and I suppose if I've got one thing to be happy about when it comes to time going faster, it's that I can hopefully make another trip downstate sometime soon!

Circus Shirt.

We're trying to solve the problem of outfit posts when it's cold outside, and when the light inside isn't very good, or when we are somewhere where taking outfit pictures is awkward and weird. Like in bakeries that I don't work in.

It's tricky, so in the end we settled on a few quick-shots in the doorway of the try-on room in my favorite antique store. It's not quite perfect, but it's January. 

The blouse is a total impulse purchase, but I don't regret it one tiny bit. Every now and then H&M has something I really love, and I would just kick myself if I didn't snatch it up, even though these days I've been a bit nonplussed by what they're offering (actually, I'm feeling this way about most stores lately. It's not that there aren't things I want anywhere, but they're usually way out of my price range, or involve shipping, the list goes on. But for the first time in a long time I'm really not thrilled by what's out there. I suppose this is something about growing up or a maturation of style but it's a bit frustrating, really). 

Blouse: H&M, Skirt: thrifted and altered, Belt: J. Crew, Shoes: No idea, they are ancient, it was muddy out.

Originally I had visions of pairing it with some skinny, cropped pants but I don't actually own any (I did, but I shrank them in the wash, darn it) at the moment. Next time, then. It feels a bit circus-y though, this top, in a strange kind of way. Mostly it reminds me of this dress, except this is a blouse and it was 25$. Still, it fills a need.

The skirt is the same one from this post, but since I have three or four below-the-knee wool skirts already, I decided I ought to put myself to good use and hem one or two. I'm on a hemming spree all of the sudden, finally tackling a few things in the to be altered/mended pile, which is good and productive (for once!).

Pictures taken by John.

Wishful Thinking.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the internet. I love it a lot, but these days there are so many vehicles for collecting and sharing things we love and are inspired by, that a lot of my links end up all over the place. My tumblr favorites are out of control (I try to go through and edit them every few weeks, but there are still thousands of posts in there), so I started to use pinterest as a means of making those a bit more searchable, but honestly that hasn't made it that much better. I bookmarks things, star them in my google reader, but eventually they all become so full that I can't really find anything. When holidays or birthdays come up I never know what I want, because I'm certain I saw something, but heaven only knows where that link is buried.

Maybe this will help. I try not to spend too much money most of the time, and generally I'll sit on a purchase for a few weeks before making it (thrifting and food not included) to make sure it's something worth it. Here are a few things I've been eyeing and might hand over my pennies for if there's anything left over after that next paycheck! 

1. I've been much more interested in watches this year, and this initial watch caught my eye a few weeks ago. Most of my watches don't actually work (somehow, I kill watch batteries) but I like the look of them. On the downside, the letter K is sold out in this one, but I could always go with my middle initial and snag the S. And it's from Urban Outfitters. On the upside it's cute, and cheap (but I hate paying for shipping).

 2. I have a pile of tote-bags that is to-my-knees high, but none with a cat on it. How adorable is this black cat tote? Maybe someday I'll graduate to real grown-up purses, but it is not this day.

3. I've felt kind of lukewarm about Madewell for a while now, but I want almost everything that's come out in their spring line. Especially the shoes, and especially these polka-dot flats. Polka-dots, for goodness sake. This is the one purchase from this list I might actually make sometime soon.

4. I feel a little weird posting a bra on here, although I'm not sure why. Whatever. It's pretty, it's mint green, and I want it. I'm also pretty sure the only thing holding me back from ordering things like this (because the price is reasonable, really) is shipping. I really, really hate shipping, totally irrationally. 

5. It was just listed this morning, but I'm a little obsessed with this cat brooch. Someone should buy it before I do.

6. Emily's book is available! Once I get my hot little hands on some extra pennies I have plans to buy this for myself some little kids I know who might just love it. I'm a little bit sad that I can't live in her illustrations, so I suppose this is the next best thing!

7. Ever since Anabela posted the contents of her beautifully curated purse I've been lusting after this wallet. I think I've actually pulled it up on my phone and showed three separate people. It will be mine, I am certain. Mostly because I need a proper adult wallet instead of the flippy thing I've been using that I can't actually fit anything in, and that I have affixed a cat sticker to, but also because between the texture and color I also kind of want to eat it.

8. I could lie and say oh yes, I would like to purchase this tie for John, but really I want it for me. Maybe I could get him the other color, but the pink/khaki is definitely singing some kind of siren song to me.

My next post will be less rampant materialism and more dressing up for a day out by recycling things in my closet. I'm trying to hem something at the moment, but I'm a bit worried that I've cut it too short, so wish me luck!

Going Outside was a Bad Idea.

Skirt: thrifted, Blouse: Forever21, Cardigan: estate sale, Beret: now-defunct French shop in Woodstock, Shoes: J. Crew

In hindsight, I probably would not have chosen today to do an outfit post. It was bone-cold today, windy,   the kind of day when I usually do my best to stay inside at all costs. Nevertheless, coat came off (because I knew I was not going to have the wherewithal to stand around and take pictures of that too) and I ducked out of the car to grab a few outfit shots. As a result we've got half-closed eyes and strange hands. It was all I could manage, and confirmed to myself that the milder weather posts are usually my favorites because there's a freedom of movement in nice weather that just doesn't exist in the cold.

I broke a rule when I bought this skirt. No more grey wool skirts, I said.  You have enough, I said, pawing through the racks. But nope, this one I needed. I might shorten it, to make it a bit more distinctive, just to the knees so it's still on the long side but a bit less difficult to pair with coats. 

It wasn't really warm enough for it anyway, but it looked sunny when I got dressed, so I suppose this might be a repeat outfit for a day when things are warming up. If I can just make it through February, I think I'll be alright. But goodness, do I miss the green. I'm thirsty with longing for some vegetation in the world. 

This bag is another of my mother's estate sale finds. It's vintage B. Altman, and one of the most delicious purses I've ever seen. It's small, but sneaky, because I can fit just about everything I need in it (well, almost. Extra shoes don't quite stuff inside, but I can usually fit my phone, rosebud salve, wallet, two lipsticks, bobby pins--everywhere, an extra scarf, my keys, and some other little odds and ends that have no point but it's good to be prepared for every eventuality).

You might also have noticed a little house-keeping going on around here! I'm slow, and my layout skillz are not fantastic, but I'll get everything filled in eventually, and until then, I hope you'll hang in there with me!