Lately I've...

...been looking forward to a sneak peek at BHLDN's new store (how totally cool is that their first store is opening in Houston?).  The invitation was one of the cutest things I've ever seen and included paper dolls of some of their gorgeous items.  It's tonight, but I'm still trying to figure out whether I can go or not since I last minute realized it conflicts with singing practice, and we're performing on Friday (considering how much sadface I gave the bf this morning when I realized this, I'm leaning towards trying to find a way to make it work).

...been dividing my time between lab and the Art Show.  Helping to coordinate the Art Show and prepping my stuff has eaten up a large chunk of time, so while I'm glad to have volunteered my time, I'm excited for it to be over with soon.  The other two girls who I've been working with (and who have done even more for it than me) have been amazing, and I'm hoping that a lot of stuff sells (a little selfishly, since a portion of the proceeds go to an art program at Texas Children's, but also there's a ton of really talented people at my school).

...finally replaced my cell phone digitizer, since the phone's warranty is voided by the fact that it has cracks (it was cracked over 8 mo ago), but it's hard to use a phone that the touchscreen is only working 2% of the time.  I did it myself, since the 3rd party repair place wanted to charge 2x what they do iphone screens for, my warranty's already voided, and  I really like this phone.  It was a little weird to spend a couple weeks with a mostly-not-working phone, and made me think- I also ended up spending a week without my credit card earlier this month- another weird experience of doing without the things that I've been used to since I was in high school.  I actually only have one credit card, so when my account got shut down with no warning (while I was traveling, so I didn't have much with me), it made me feel really vulnerable.  I am pretty financially dependent on that little piece of plastic (by which I mean I feel uncomfortable carrying around the amount of cash I would need to do even the everyday things like buy groceries for the two of us for the week), but it's startlingly to actually find that out.

...gotten to visit my family in the suburbs of Chicago.  I went up for a local reception for my brother and sister-in-law to celebrate their new marriage, which was a great way to include family and friends.  While there I took advantage of spending as much time outside as possible in the slightly cooler/less humid climate, Midwestern grilled corn on the cob (one of my favorite foods), good beer and good company on the patio, and made this skirt from my sewing to-do list (as a gift for a friend).  I'm extraordinarily blessed by my family and close friends (a couple of whom were able to come to the reception, which was fantastic),  and while distance makes things more challenging, I cherish the opportunities that I get to spend time with them.  I also got some free time to play around with my camera :)

Pictured above: Some of the best friends a girl could have.

Lately I've...

... been kind of lazy in the kitchen since getting back from Cancun last week- BUT I found myself seriously longing for some oatmeal cookies on Sunday (and went to my old standby of Smitten Kitchen, recipe here), and I found myself missing the crepe station that was part of breakfast at the resort (and found this crepe recipe after seeing it on Food Coma).  Other ways that we've brought our favorite parts of the trip back with us include: the fancy bottle of tequila the boy bought at the airport in celebration of us finally getting on a plane back to the states 24 hours later than we were supposed to be, mimosas on Saturday (and Sunday...had to finish up the bottle), and a hammock chair from a flea market (as soon we figure out how to hang it up).  How have you brought back the good of vacation with you?

And here's a few pictures from our weekend awayt- it was nice to spend lots of time poolside and down on the beach (even though I don't look terribly tan and got that question a lot at work).   In place of a rehearsal dinner, we went on a sunset catamaran cruise (which was awesome).

My brother and his new wife!  So cute!
Since this post is picture heavy, I've included more pictures after the jump

Leaving on a jet plane

So, I may have decided to get a new toy prior to making the trip to Mexico...

A shiny dslr of my own! Naturally, the first thing I did was take a picture of one of the cats. Because cat photos are always a good idea right?

I also got to use it to show what I packed for the trip:

My typical packing method consists of pulling out everything I might want to bring with me, and then thinking about what I actually need and might reasonably use. Between that, the extra charge for checked bags, and my own healthy sense of distrust/ paranoia (I like knowing that my bags make the trip with me), I've gotten much better at packing.

So what did I bring? At last count, 2 skirts, 5 dresses, 4 shirts (I pulled one out post photo), 2 light weight button downs, 3 cardis, 3 pairs of sandals, and 1 bridesmaid dress and flippy floppies ( and one giant sun hat). I didn't do it intentionally, but I'm sort of tickled that everything is in the same general color scheme or neutral.

It's probably still more than I really truly need, but I'm anticipating a couple nice dinners balanced with plenty of time at the beach, so I want to be able to deal with both. In my tote went my new baby, books, and enough layers to deal with whatever weirdness the airplane climate deals me.

I thought I was doing pretty well, until the boy finished pulling clothes, looked at it, and said, I think I can fit this in my backpack, yeah, I'll just take that. Sigh. Look like I still have something to learn about packing light.

Long time coming

You would think that it wouldn't take me over a month and a half to put together a post using pictures that I didn't even have to take (or process for that matter since they came to me beautiful already by way of the adorable Suze of Miss Vinyl Ahoy.  Unfortunately, if you thought that, you'd be wrong.  I still have vague good intentions of finishing up the wrap-up post on TxSCC, but in the meantime, I couldn't wait any longer to put up the best pictures ever seen on this blog (and number 23 on the list of why I want to get a DSLR).  I struggle with other people taking my picture (and not spending the entire time making ridiculous faces), but it was pretty spectacular having someone who knew what they were doing taking outfit pictures.  I didn't get a huge number of pictures with the other attendees, but I'm so glad that I got one with Suze.

Outfit: Dress: Vintage via Etsy-Finders Keepers, Cardigan, Bag: Anthropologie, Necklace, belt, ring: Ruche, Shoes: Target

I can't remember if I've said this before, but it bears repeating. Meeting people at TxSCC was the best part of it all- I was worried about being the awkward shy kid in the corner, but after sending a tweet Suze's way she looked all over for me and even enlisted the help of Amy of Stylish Year (who just finished her first year- go check it out). She then endeared herself further to me when she offered to take outfit pictures the next day of one my favorite outfits that I've ever worn.

(Practically) internet famous

Hey ya'll- check it: I was lucky enough (and totally flattered) to be photographed by streetstyle blogger Mai of Fashionist during the last day of the TxSCC, and it got posted today! (Hi people coming here from fashioni.st, awesome to see ya'll)  It was definitely my favorite outfit of the weekend, and it's neat to see her other photos from TxSCC and SXSW (and I promise to post it soon as I catch up on my blogging, since the lovely Suze was awesome enough to take outfit photos for me).

These photos are actually from last weekend (see, so behind here) when I was up in Chicago to do family stuff, which is why I was able to get in my last few winter's outfits and pull out the tights and my new-to me corduroy dress.  Thank goodness I had them, since I have become such a wuss after moving down South, and had failed to pack any sort of heavy jacket or gloves.

Outfit: Dress: Anthropologie via EffortlessAnthropologie Trade Market, Tank: Limited, Tights: We Love Colors, Oxfords: Wanted, Necklace: Modcloth, Bracelets: Gift and Hawaii airport

Jacket: Old Navy Outlet, Scarf: Urban Outfitters, Dad: greater Chicago-area :)

That's right. I pulled out my trusty tripod and set it up to take tourist pictures of my dad and I after we hung out at the Art Institute and walked around Millennium park.  And then I got to show him what I do everyday.  I wouldn't allow him to actually take the photos, since he's notorious in our family for taking unflattering photos at inappropriate times, but he got a kick out of hearing about it and seeing me in action.  We actually wound up talking a lot about this whole blogging process, since my mention that I was traveling to Austin had opened up a line of discussion about it (and he passed along the url to a couple family members...feel free to say hi if ya'll are actually reading this!)  It was really nice being very open with one of the most important people in my life about something I'm doing that is growing to be more important in my life (that isn't shared with everyone in my life).

And this was the lovely view that I was blocking up after I decided to take photos in the middle of Chicago.  I love this city.

I'd like to refer to a Leprachaun movie here...

...but I've never watched them, so I'm not really properly educated to make a joke about it.  This may not have been the most ideal outfit shot, but I wanted to put up the shot of my obnoxiously bright green tights (that I loooove) in celebration of St. Patrick's day.  I was initially going to go for the black tights (guess that's the safe option), but then realized that if I was going out for breakfast on St. Patrick's day (at a bar! so much fun!) I should probably have some green on men (or risk getting pinched).

Outfit: Dress: Modcloth, Cardigan: Urban Outfitters, Shoes: Gap, Tights: We Love Colors

Unexpected benefit?  30 for 30 compliant and perfect for working part of the day and then spending way too much time on an airplane, but I'm finally home and excited for a family and friend-filled weekend.  It's hard to be away two weekends in a row, but hopefully I'll manage to fit in some work-related literature research to catch up while I'm away.  What are you looking forward to this weekend?  (sorry, neither my dad or I are going in to work tomorrow, so it feels like the start of a weekend)

Filler. Delicious filler.

Hey ya'll.  I'm back from the Texas Style Council Conference (and counting down the days until the next one) and I am planning for sure to do a wrap up post, but in the mean time I'm playing catch up with work and personal life (especially since I'm going to be disappearing again this weekend to go up to Chicago for family stuff).  And then after that, I am super excited to be able to start going around to all the blogs of people I got to meet this weekend (new friends!) If you can't wait to hear my personal take on it, I invite you to check out posts already up (by people more on the ball than I am) by looking for the #TxSCC hashtag on twitter and following @TxStyleCouncil (they're going to re-tweet wrap-up posts).  Additionally, Elissa at Dress with Courage was totally live-tweeting all the panels on Sunday, so check that out to find out what the panelists had to say.

In the mean time- this may be going on my to-buy list:

Dear Modcloth,

This was clearly made for me. 
Love, Heather

It's not snowing here...

But it was snowing heavily in Connecticut when we visited over Christmas.  The bf and I went out for a brief walk when the snow first started falling (when it's still really exciting, especially if you're from Houston and haven't seen any sort of snow in about a year), and I persuaded him to take some pictures of his crazy gf who tried to take her coat off for outfit pictures.  Needless to say, there weren't really any proper outfit pictures, and I couldn't smile without looking like I was in pain.  Clearly I should have aimed for a more aloof blogger-esque expression.  But I thought, hey, I enjoy seeing the sillier side of bloggers, and I didn't want to deprive you of the opportunity to see my ridiculous cold face (well the last one is mushy rather than silly).  Or deprive you of what I look like with an obscene amount of layers.

"You want to take your coat off?  Really?  Wait, I'm going to have to take my gloves off for this?"

Outfit: What you can see- earmuffs (Ruche), scarf (vendor in Montreal), cardigan (Banana Republic), sweaterdress (Anthropologie), skirt peeking out from underneath (Lucy), socks (Target), and boots (Uggs inherited from Mom).
What you can't see- tanktop, full slip, three-quarter length shirt with cowl (yeah cowls), two pairs of tights, and an additional pair of socks.

With all of that in place, I attempt to look like a seasoned pro at this whole posing in the cold and snow thing.  And fail.  But really enjoyed doing so.

The marks in the snow that you can see there were made by me attempting to twirl.  Sadly, no pictures were gotten out of this.  Luckily, I did not fall over at any point, even though me and gravity have long had a touchy relationship.

Day 27-28 of 30, Photos my host didn't know I took

After a much longer break than I had anticipated, I get to finish up the 30 for 30 in the new year. Happy New Year everyone! It's been a good one so far- the bf and I did a quiet night in with my Dad who's visiting post- Christmas this year, since the kids were split up for the holiday. Since I've been using whatever opportunity I can get to use the snazzy kitchen that's part of the new apartment, I was delighted. And we even got my dad to play a game on the Wii.

Outfit: Dress: Modcloth, Cardi: Anthropologie, Boots: Steve Madden Intyce, Shirt: Express, Socks, Tights: Target

I know, I know- this outfit looks a lot like one worn earlier in this challenge, but I'm wearing different boots!  And a shirt underneath!  I realized when I was traveling last week that I had quite a few 30x30 items in my bag, so I figured I would take some awkward artistically lit pictures of outfits that happened to be 30x30 compliant.

Outfit: Dress: Anthropologie, Shirt: Urban Outfitters, Leggings: Express, Necklace: Gift from bf, Bracelet: Gift, Slippers: ?

And yes, these photos were awkwardly taken at some point during the visit to the bf's house when no one was around (but the dogs) to watch me run around in the kitchen taking pictures of myself.  You'll have to forgive me for not having on my boots on in these photos- I was wearing them at some point since I was freezing in CT and spent the entire week in boots, but the price of sneaking around someone else's home taking pictures is being unprepared and not having on real shoes.  I'm hoping to finish this 30x30 business up this week, so I can join all ya'll challenge finishers! 

Days 15 and 16 of 30

I did end up taking outfit photos for the day, but I'm still catching up on outfits from Thanksgiving weekend.  I still need to recreate and photograph the missing outfits (pictures or it doesn't count).  Saturday was a day full of family/friends time, including a trip out for coffee with friends where I asked the bf to take a quick picture before we ran out of light.

Outfit: Skirt: Loft, Shirt: Express, Cardi: Anthropologie, Boots, Tights, Socks: Target, Sunnies: Urban Outfitters, Belt: From another dress, Smile: Inspired by the bf.

On Sunday the bf and I went back downtown to wander around, since the rest of the family was going to the Bears v Eagles game.  Fortunately, it wasn't quite as freezing as it was the rest of our trip, so I mustered up the fortitude to take off my coat long enough to get a quick picture while we were walking around.  I still had an additional pair of tights and threw on an extra skirt for warmth, but with all that plus the thick socks and boots, I stayed at a pretty good temperature.  I'll be traveling back to the frozen north around Christmas to spend time with the bf's family, so these pictures will stand as a testament for what I will need to bring with me (boots), what I need to buy after the 30 day ban lifts (sweater tights and more thick knee socks), and what I'm less likely to use on trip.

Outfit: Dress as skirt: Modcloth, Sweater: Express, Boots, socks: Target, Necklace: Urban Outfitter, Tights: We Love Colors

Frequently when I've gone downtown, we'll end up wandering around the shops, but in light of the shopping ban and the company I was in, we avoided them for the most part.  The bf got plenty of Heather sad faces, every time someone mentioned shopping, and at one point volunteered to do some early Christmas shopping of my choice, which was very sweet of him- but instead we tried to do things in the afternoon that would be enjoyable for both of us, so we spent a lot of time walking around the city and enjoying the nice(r) weather and went to the Kristkindlemarkt (German Christmas market).  The good company, scenery, and drinks made for a wonderful afternoon in my favorite city.  It's always exciting for me to show Chicago off, and I couldn't resist adding in a few more non-outfit photos from the afternoon.

Day 14 of 30, Sweet Home Chicago

Traditionally, my family goes downtown the Friday after Thanksgiving to walk around- maybe a little shopping (none this year), but mostly people watching.  We actually didn't spend a whole lot of time downtown since we had tickets to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in the afternoon, but did get some obligatory Bean pictures, and the bf was nice enough to take a full length picture of me with my coat (barely) open.  It's a good thing we didn't spend that much time outside, since it was freeeeezing.  I don't know how ya'll manage these months up in the north, but I ended up throwing on an extra shirt, skirt, scarf, pair of tights, and socks.

Outfit details: Dress, Cardigan, Bag: Anthropologie, Boots: Intyce Steven by Steve Madden, Scarves: Gift (pink), Vendor in Montreal, Navy Skirt, Socks, Gloves: Target, Tights: We Love Colors, Coat: Old Navy, Hat (below), Banana Republic- photo by bf

Following are some of my favorite shots, taken by either me, the bf, or my dad.  I hope all of you had a fabulous Thanksgiving and holiday weekend, and that none of you froze to death.  I seem to have forgotten everything I knew about staying warm in the winter since moving to Houston- what are you favorite cold weather tricks for staying with your usual style without ending up frostbitten?