eShakti discount and how I occupy myself during seminars

Hey all- remember that dress I wore that I got to review from eShakti?  That dress continues to get wears even though I bought it in the summer and it's now the Houston version of blindingly cold (so 30s to 50s, and I'm fully aware that anyone from the North would laugh at me for saying that.  I would laugh at me for saying that), so I feel pretty comfortable endorsing how much I like and use that dress.  Well, the folks there were kind enough to send me a promo code- CUPCAKE0811- that was created for ya'll to get $20 off when they shop at eShakti, and it's valid till 31st December, 2011.  In the interest of full disclosure, I wanted to let you know that if you use this code, I would get store credits.


On an unrelated note, being a grad student means that I am encouraged to attend many seminars.  Some of these I'm totally jazzed about (like today where the speaker gave a really comprehensive view of drug development in my field of study- and it was a really well done talk).  Sometimes though, the talks that I attend are less relevant to what I'm working on or totally over my head, and I am plagued by the problem of zoning out during seminars (this happens even during talks that I'm excited about and interested in-it's something that I struggle with).  And so my careful notes start drifting towards to-do lists and clothing design ideas and lately, sketches of what I'm wearing.  

I actually managed to get a real-life comparison for the one of the right. You might notice that in real life, I have hands.  And facial features :)

I've actually tried doing some outfit doodles at home now and the bf saw them, asked me about them, and then asked me if I was going to upload them to the blog (which cracked me up, and I thought was really adorable).  Considering how well I'm doing on making time to take pictures and how often I'm in seminar, it might be time to change the format of my outfit posts :)


Outfit: Dress: La Posh Style/ Cardigan, belt, leggings, socks: Target/ Boots: Steve Madden Girl Via Delias

Triumphant return

Happy President's Day- hopefully you're lucky enough to have the day off, or at least surrounded by good people to work with (after being shut in for a week, I'm a little excited to be back).  I really appreciated your good wishes and comments while I was busy being sick!  Yowza, it's been a while since I've posted, but I'm excited to get back to reading blogs and taking photos again (and actually showing my face at work instead of being at my desk at home- yes, I was asked to leave when I came in on Friday, since my coughs were still frightening sounding (and I may have still looked pretty awful, considering people have told me I look much better today, and I don't look that awesome)).  Fortunately, I don't have to wait until after school to post, since I managed to snap a few shots right before the week that is now missing out of my life (too bad I didn't include leggings and pj tops in my 30, because I was totally rocking those all last week). 

Outfit: Dress: Ruche; Skirt under: Loft; Jacket: Banana Republic; Tights: We Love Colors; Boots: Steve Madden Intyce

Unfortunately, while I love all the stairs and the near location of this area, it may not be the best place in the world for outfit photos, since I was approached by someone who gave off a sketchy vibe.  I am admittedly not the best at people, but even so, I don't want you talking to me about posing (and especially not referencing emphasizing a little cleav).  How about ya'll- is one totally awkward experience enough to turn you off of a place, or are you willing to give it a second chance?  (And how do you handle people talking to you?  I can deal with staring, double takes, and awkwardly smiling at people, but not someone who wants to talk to me)

My favorite variation is Penguin suit up

So, Linda stole the title I had planned out for Blazer day (darn my getting posts up late!), and her blazer looks kinda similar to mine too...Wanna be twins, Linda?  So I thought I'd make a nod to my favorite variation on Barney Stinson's well-known "Suit up!"  (although, the pajama suit up and slut up never fail to crack me up).

Unlike Barney, I'm more appreciative of suits on others instead of consistently looking devastatingly attractive in them myself (okay, so I kinda have a thing for NPH in How I met your mother).  In fact, as adorable as blazers look on others, I struggle to wear them myself.  Even when I find one that fits well (and I'll be honest- this one fit better a couple years back when I bought it), I still find myself feeling awkward wearing a blazer for any length of time due to the restrictive nature of the fabric and cuts.  Nonetheless, it was fun to style it up for the day, and maaaybe having it as part of my 30 items will help convert me to more blazer-ing up.  And what do I wear with a hard to style item?  Of course, another item that I've found difficult to style. This dress has come to be known in my head as the "naked dress".  As in, I'm looking through the closet and pull it out to show to the bf and say, "Sweetie, will this dress make me look naked?"  "Yes Heather, naked and lacy, are you sure that's what you want to wear in public?"  And yet, I find myself unable to resist the lures of this dress, although it may be relegated to only being worn with something dark on my legs or a skirt pulled up over the bottom part of the attached slip, so that people are kept aware of the fact that I am in fact wearing clothes.  Unfortunately, it turned out that my dress choice wasn't the only awkward part of my day (I actually wound up feeling really excited to wear this dress).

Outfit: BLAZER: Old Navy, Dress: Ruche, Skirt: Loft, Boots: Madden Girl via Delias, Leggings, Socks: Target

Stripe-tastic

Hope ya'll don't mind that this posting of lots of pictures has continued.  It's nice to have more fun with the photoshoots again, and having the tripod has basically changed my life. And hopefully I won't turn into Awkward McAwkwardson now that it's warmed up and people won't be actively avoiding the outside.  Someday I might stop talking about the weather, but probably not any time soon.  For example, today- cold enough that I can still wear my new scarf (which I've been wearing basically all weekend), but warm enough that I can be outside with only one pair of tights and my hands might not get scary close to frostbitten during picture time.  Not that I don't enjoy the sort of effects you can do with two layers of tights- this day my under layer was maroon, so my legs looked like they were slightly glowing from the small amount that showed through the outer layer (which is Awesome).

Outfit: Dress: Modcloth, Jacket: Banana Republic, Boots: Madden Girl via Delias, Scarf: Made by me!: Tights: Target layered over We Love Colors

 

Wildflowers growing

Outfit: Dress, Earmuffs: Ruche; Shirt, Cardi: Anthropologie; Tights (2x): We love colors;= Boots: Madden Girl via Delias, Necklace: Tiffany's (gift)

Note, no wildflowers were harmed during the taking of these photos.  There was however, a sign up letting me know that wildflowers were growing (which is good, since I thought it was mostly grasses and stuff), so this might be a ridiculously pretty place come spring (Texas wildflowers are gorgeous).  A lot of the grasses had previously been tramped down, I'm thinking either by teenage hoodlums, drug dealers, or wildflower eating beasts.

Fighting crazy with crazy

Don't get me wrong, I love wearing bright colors, including colored tights, but sometimes, I just don't have something that feels like the right color (I knew I should have gotten more we love colors tights!) and sometimes it's 20 degrees out and you need to not freeze.  To tone down the bright green base layer I threw on a pair of teal/black patterned tights that normally receive a fair few comments on their own.  Their powers combined, I felt like it worked better (and kept me warmer) than either on their own would.  And honestly, having experienced WLC tights, I'm not sure if I can go back.  And someday, I will learn how to take actual detail shots (see Monkeyface and JoAnn's).

The upside of cold and windy days in Houston is that there are very few people in public parks, and the people who are around are just trying to walk through as quickly as they can.  I attempted to use this and my layering powers (I'm like a well-dressed onion) for good, and took more outside photos (hurray tripod, you've changed my life!), although by the end of it my coat had to go back on to avoid freezing.  Both yesterday and today, most of my body has been covered by 3-4 layers, which helps with temporary coatless-ness.

Outift: Shirt: express, Skirt: Anthropologie, Jacket: Banana Republic: Tights: We Love Colors with Target patterned over, Boots: Steve Madden Intyce, Scarf: Gift

I may be a little overexcited about finally going back to outside photos and having the freedom that comes with using a tripod, so warning, there are excessive photos after the jump.  I've also been trying to implement jumps to speed up load time and make blog reading a better, easier experience for you, so please let me know your thoughts on this or if there is anything that would make that happen for you.

Providing entertainment for the smokers outside the hospital

Guess who's got two thumbs, 30 items of clothing to wear over the next 30-40 days and a tripod?  This guy!  I was planning to do lots of research (i.e. reading last weeks FBFF posts on blogger tools), but decided to be a little more impulsive.  Instead I went over to the local Target and actually managed to find a tripod that is fairly lightweight and compact, so it fits in my everyday bag.  I generally take public trans or bike in, so finding something that can be transported pretty easily was my only real requirement.  I'm not sure if it would hold up to a concentrated cat attack, but it stayed standing in spite of the windy day.  I'm classifying this as a good impulse buy.

Outfit: Dress: Modcloth, Sweater, Leggings, Socks: Target, Boots: Steve Madden Intyce,  Scarf: Urban Outfitters, Necklace, Armwarmers: Ruche

The cold and windy weather worked to my advantage in shooting outside in public, since they weren't too many people around, even though the area near where I work probably has relatively high traffic for Houston (since most people drive everywhere).  In spite of the trees and park-like appearance of this background, the other side is actually a hospital outside which there are frequently patients/staff hanging out (often smoking) or people waiting for the bus.  So there's a lot of pictures where I have a somewhat vague or uncomfortable look on my face.  Like this one.   

Casual Monday

Today I was busy making oreos and being late for meetings, so this is actually and outfit from last week.  That day, I stared at my closet, pulled out a never-fail cozy sweater and a brightly colored skirt.  And then, I tied a scarf around my neck in way that everyone else does so easily (but I have never done before for a full day of wear), and tied together my outfit.  That's right.  Wearing a scarf in this way is an accomplishment for me.  I can now check that off my bucket list.

Outfit: Sweater: Gap, Skirt, Scarf: Urban Outfitters, Boots: Madden Girl via Delias, Leggings: Target

And now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go stop a cat from destroying the couch/couch cover.  I'll be back tomorrow with picks!

Muted primary colors

I admitted to my bf when I bought this and another sweater skirt at Anthropologie the other week, I was afraid that I wouldn't wear them as much as I liked them due to the fact that it's Houston in January (so spring is just around the corner), and that it might not have been the wisest decision ever.

And then I wore them three times in the last week (four if you count last night when I threw this on because my legs were cold and it's like wearing a giant sweater on your legs).

Outfit: Cardi, Sweater: Anthropologie, Shirt: Victoria's Secret, Tights: We Love Colors, Boots: Steve Madden Intyce, Cat: BF's

I think this is why I have a hard time with controlling my buying impulses and also getting rid of things sometimes- even though I didn't know whether this skirt would be totally practical, I've been seeking it out for wear already while more "practical" items will sometime sit unused for some time.  I also find that I tend to go through phases of heavy wear and no wear at all with a lot of things too.  The bf's advice (when I'm sitting on the floor in my closet frustrated and surrounded by piles of clothing, knowing there must be something I should be getting rid of) is to give away everything I haven't worn for 6 months (he doesn't really do anything different for seasonal clothing).  When I protest that I don't wear all my sweaters and tights in the summer, he'll sigh and say alright, how about everything you haven't worn in a year.  This causes me to dejectedly sigh and try to burrow further into my nest of clothing- there's plenty of things that I haven't worn in a year, but what if I start wearing it again all the time, or get rid of it and then realize that it would have been the absolutely perfect thing to wear?  I know, I probably sound like someone on Hoarders, but there have been items that I've set aside for a couple years and only then figured out a new way to wear it, or decided that it looks better on that I remembered- these instances make it hard for me to loosen my grip on clothes.

For those who appreciated the gratuitous cat photobombing on this post near the end of my 30 for 30, I thought I'd include the last photo- they haven't been coming up to me a lot during outfit shots lately, but they will frequently try to swat at the camera and stare at the flashing light.

Everybody Everywear- Breton stripes day

Hey guys, hopefully you've spotted a lot of stripes out there already today, and you can see a whole big collection of them posted up at Everybody, Everywear (you know, that awesome site that I mentioned in the last post that I'm sure you've already been too, right?).  You can get to the Breton stripes link using the badge at the post of the post (which also handily shows off my striping pride).

Outfit: Stripes: Anthropolgoie, Cardigan: Target, Skirt: Urban Outfitters, Leggings: express, Boots: Steve Madden Intyce

I was trying to capture the glorious combination of two bright colors, with one being somewhere along the pink spectrum and one along the red/orange, which I know that I've been seeing in plenty of places lately (a couple looks that I could recall that resonated with me are Audi's and Sal's).  I dragged this cozy cardi out of the closet after forgetting about it for a couple years to save a bright fuchsia sweaterdress a couple weeks back (that I failed to photograph) and loved how cheerful the combination made me feel (even though my red cardi is on the muted side).  This skirt isn't quite as bright, but between that and the scarf it's still a lot of color in my day.  My fun trick for the day- I usually wear this necklace as a doubled up bracelet since it's a bit small and makes me feel like a small monkey is choking my neck, but today I lengthened it using an actual bracelet for great win.

I hope ya'll aren't sick of these boots yet- I'm finding it strangely hard to consider alternative footwear in the morning to my two new favorite pairs of boots (except yesterday when I wore rain boots due to depressing Houston downpour).

How are you wearing your stripes?

Reasons why I should get a tripod

1.  So that I don't accidentally end up taking pictures of grass with me in the background
2.  So that my camera doesn't get blown over or fall off of things

Outfit: Cardigan: Gap, Cami: Anthropologie, Skirt, Leggings, Socks: Target, Boots: Steve Madden Intyce, Necklace: Express, Bike: Mommed

These were taken a bit back actually, and now that I'm looking at them, I think I actually like both them and the outfit much better than I did the day of- it's amazing what a little perspective can do to you.

Taking these ended up being a little more epic than I would have liked at the time- when I've taken outfit photos along my bike path, I've usually attempted to co-opt the seat of my bike as a tripod, which sometimes works better than at other times.  For example- when windy?  Not as good an idea.  Also, I had a couple bikers stop to ask if I was alright (you mean, people don't awkwardly try to take pictures of themselves in public all the time?)  So I figured I would go to the lower part of the bike trail and use the slope of the hill as a tripod, which, well- at least when it fell over it didn't have far to go.  Unfortunately, you may have guessed based on the above photos that it was difficult to find an area that didn't have grass that got in the way and provided a more attractive focus point.

This story could also function as part of the list of why I shouldn't have nice things- inevitably cheap things seem to bounce back better from falls (and they're easier to replace).  Another one to add to the list?  I broke the beautiful, nice (expensive) stand mixer the bf had thoughtfully given to me for my birthday this weekend.  I accidentally got a spatula too close and it won the fight.  Now, obviously this could have (and should have) been avoided by being more careful- but I'm pretty sure that something similar has happened to my $6 hand mixer from Walgreen's that I've been using for the past 4 or so years.  Sigh.  Anyone know how to go about trying to fix fancy household appliances (or at least figure out how much it'll cost)?

Wait, you're not supposed to take pictures in bright sunlight?

I had so much excitement about this outfit that I had to take pictures, even though it's not ideal to take pictures in bright sunlight.  What was I so flipping excited about?  New dress and new low wedge heel boots.  The boots arrived midway through the 30 for 30 challenge, and had I known that I would basically never want to wear my high heels, I would have totally reserved a spot for these guys.  Since we've been exeriencing the winter that Houston has to throw at us, and I've been biking in everyday I've basically been living in boots.  This has meant alternating between these and my brown boots for the most part, since my gray boots took a beating during the challenge and need to be resoled.  Unfortunately, these are terrible pictures to show off this dress, but lemme tell ya, it's navy, got a lace skirt, and it's both flattering and comfy.  It'd be great if it was a little bit longer, but at least I got it in the winter so that I can pair it with all the thick tights and leggings I want.

Outfit: Dress: Ruche, Cardigan: Anthropologie, Boots: Madden Girl via Delias, Coat: Old Navy, Scarf: H & M, Leggings: Target

As you can see by the cardigan, while I'm enjoying wearing clothes other than the 30x30, I still find myself going back to these pieces.  Yay closet!  The bf is out of town tonight, leaving me the apartment to myself which probably means it's time for some bad tv and an increased number of spontaneous dance parties.  Also a possible trip to see if there are any good sales items at Anthro and then picking up dinner on the way home- I love cooking, but sometimes it's nice to not do it.  Annnnd maybe getting around to a 30 for 30 wrap up.  You guys got any wild Thursday night plans?