Oh it's this guy

I'm wearing this cardigan again. So far, three of my coworkers have threatened to snatch it off my body while wearing. I find this shocking and hilarious.

We were supposed to dress to the nines today. Instead I ended up breaking a bunch of rules. I dare you, fashion police, to come find me. I could use a laugh midday.

I also think this is the first post that includes two pets. Meet the pets. Aren't they darling?

Dress, H&M; sweater, Plenty by Tracy Reese; boots, Frye; over the knee socks, J. Crew.

I heart... my eyebrow lady

Sweet camera phone picture. Sweet glare.

Since I am in the suburban mall so often now, I keep discovering Really Great Things happening in the hallways. Chocolate fountains in the food court, a new and comprehensive Forever 21 (this carries all the lines, guys. Shoes! Twelve by Twelve! Heritage!), and a magical looking cart that does threading and henna tattoos. (Would it be wrong to get henna done on a lunch break?) However magical it seemed, I decided it would be better to go see my eyebrow lady. Tattoos or not.

I love getting my eyebrows threaded. It is this wonderful, sort of mystical experience that-- as an added bonus- doesn't involve medieval-looking torture devices or scorching liquid near my precious face. What you get is a sweet looking brown lady and a piece of thread.

All of the sassy ladies in town come by here every so often. It's a nice little break from the Salon - no water with slices of lemon or New Agey music. It's a brisk business with little nonsense. Be warned, however, the wait on Mondays, at lunchtime, in the evenings and weekends can be atrocious. Call ahead. Make an appointment. Ask for Bansi. You won't be disappointed.

Hair Images
1622 Woodcliff Dr NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
(404) 248-0446

Whoops

I am going to apologize for my incredible lameness and general absence. I don't have any excuses, really. My irl life exploded (maybe imploded, rather?) and I have been filling my social calendar, seeing old friends, and being doted on tremendously.

I plan on returning to the regularly scheduled Jinah show next week.

Today's my birthday and I feel like the weekend will be filled with cupcakes and good company and devoid of the internet. I'll plug back in soon, promise.

Fashiony things

Cath and Lar of Asian Cajuns invited me to a fashiony event earlier this week, and I made it my business to go. It was super fun and swanky as hell - if you feel like witnessing the level of swank in person, go to Whiskey Park in the W hotel Midtown.

Interestingly, and well I guess, logically, all the stylish people I know in the city were present. This includes boutique owners, the ATL glitterati, and independent music makers. Everyone was in frocks and looked sharp.

Cath and Lar were precious in person! They were fantastic in the show, too. Check out their blog for better and more detailed photos. We giggled and took group photos.

Basically the cutest ever.

I decided to dress to the nines. Really, when do you get to dress up so much?

Dress, Anthropologie; purple velvet jacket, J. Crew; necklace, Anthropologie; sandals, Chie Mihara.

Lenora Dame

This little number is causing a stir. Handpainted wooden animal beads, those glorious little carved wooden beads, and those pearly cotton and shiny glass beads... it's almost too much. I, like everyone else who saw the September Adorned special catalog, wanted this necklace immediately. I was wishy washy about it at first because, well, it looks expensive. Like, goes behind glass and must request price expensive. It's less than $100. There is only one left at work as of today. They are all unique and have different patterns of animals and bead placements. You need this. I know I did.

After a some closer inspection, I realized that the piece was by Lenora Dame. Lenora Dame rules. She makes simultaneously retro, romantic, and bohemian jewelry that looks completely handmade and is ultimately affordable. I brought the animals home and was surprised to find I have two other Lenora Dame necklaces. She created that incredible wire and glass grape cluster necklace and the precious little bowerbird necklaces.

She has a beautiful website here and also has pieces for sale through WinkNYC and at Bluefly. I get overexcited about what she's going to put out each season. I'm not even a very bling jewels girl, but these get me every time.

1. Pearl Menagerie necklace, $68, Anthropologie.com.
2. Bowerbird necklace, $24, sold out online - try brick and mortar Anthro stores.
3. Bella Uovo necklace, $48, Anthropologie.com.
4. Facet and Timer locket, $38, Anthropologie.com.

Penelope

Today's dress-up day for work is Penelope. Penelope is one of the concepts in the store this season and is based on ruffles, romance, and womanly shapes. Colors that come to mind are plum, mustard, black, grey, and jewel tones.

This is what I ended up pulling together. It is supposed to be 80ish out today and I hope I don't feel foolish and sweaty midday wearing this many layers and wool.

Oh, and I got a haircut. It looks the same from the front but infinitely more awesome in the back. This is the best haircut I've had in years!

Top, Odille for Anthropologie; sweater, J. Crew; paperbag skirt, H&M; tights, Target; ankle boots, Seychelles.

Ketchup Mustard

We are having dress up days at work. Too bad this coincided with a huge "I have nothing to wear" morning. Today we are supposed to incorporate accessories. I decided to opt out of jewelry and wore this cardigan instead. I tried to look cool and make a bracelet out of a scarf. And wore paprika colored socks. I doubt I'm going to win any prizes, but hope that they are giving out candy regardless.

Cardigan, Plenty by Tracy Reese; skirt and socks, American Apparel; riding boots, Frye; scarf, J. Crew.

I love Paul Rudd

Let's have a brief chat about this.

I love Paul Rudd. I loved him in Clueless. I loved him in Wet Hot American Summer, The Baxter, Anchorman. Through some twist of fate I got passes to an advance screening of Role Models tonight. (I believe this is some kind of reassurance that I am meant to be at the mall at all available moments, as this is where they were handed out.)

At first glance at the flier, I scoffed and almost passed. The theatre was a bit out of the way, and the photo had Seann William Scott (Stiffler. Ugh.) and a chubby looking Paul Rudd looking like they were in the next "college" market movie. A friend with similar taste in movies assured me that trailers promised it would be good. So we went.

And while yes, it definitely fit the same genre of movie as I had originally thought, it was good. Amazing, masterful, even. Rudd and Scott are two energy drink reps sentenced to 150 hours of community service doing a child mentoring program. Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Fogell/McLovin') plays the nerdy kid who wears capes and wields (duct tape-covered foam) swords. And Rudd is not chubby, it was just a bad choice of promo photo.

I think it is going to be big, much bigger than I thought it was going to be. For reference, I liked Knocked Up and Forgetting Sarah Marshall both okay and hated Superbad. Though, this preference may or may not have anything to do with the fact that Paul Rudd makes appearances.

If you love the sarcastic asshole scene stealing Paul Rudd, then this is his shining moment. For those of you who missed out (hello, I had two extra passes), I would pay to see it again.

It's Fall, I said so

Despite the fact that most people around are still able to wear sundresses and sandals and feel just fine, I am freakishly cold natured and am regularly wearing boots and wool. Luckily I work indoors where I can ignore the fact that it is over 80 outside.

This is my favorite go-to throw on and start the day dress. Today I woke unnaturally early (maybe it has to do with the sunlight?), and made a run to the pet store. I knew if I went early I wouldn't be sucked in by the precious babies up for adoption later in the day.

Today's outfit survived a full day at work, peoplewatching outside the club, and puppy pee.

Dress, Zara; belt, Anthropologie; boots, Chadwick's.

ETA: I feel like I get a lot of questions about the boots when I wear them. Women gasp and ask how much they cost and where they come from. A lot of my clients asked me today where to pick up a pair for their daughters. To which I reply, they are cheap overstock $14 shoes. Then I tell them to try Steve Madden.

I abuse these and am surprised they have held up considering they are probably made of paper. They have survived torrential downpours, tramps through mud and manure, salt and snow, and venue floors covered in all sorts of yummy things. To say - sure it's not fair (to the guys) that women's fashion can come so cheap, but most of it doesn't last. These are some kind of fluke.

H&M, you are ruining my life

To echo dreamecho, I am personally hurt that H&M isn't sending out the Comme des Garcons capsule collection to Atlanta. Clearly this is a personal attack.

No but seriously, New York, LA, San Francisco, and Chicago, send some goodies to me! I understand about basic economics and how retail business is (right now? Fast fashion is moving slowly), but recession chic is kind of gross. Yes, it's Fall, but I feel like many of the things being pushed right now are a little too bland and safe for my taste. I look stupid in plaid and natural greige colors. And now this? I can't buy outrageous drop crotch pants and frankenstein seamed skirts and dresses? Life. Ruining.

Finally an outfit

I've been celebrating scoring half a tank of gas by going on joyrides around town. Today I made it to Little 5 and Whole Foods. I made quite a chunk of change at Rag O Rama and scowled at the many, many employees at Home Depot that kept insisting on helping me. (What a wonder, a girl shopping for hardware. It happens.)

It was cool enough to wear leathah. This is the yummiest leather ever.

Oh and isn't that the cutest puppy ever? I take him for walks a few times a week. He's like a teddy bear and everyone loves him.

Deep v, American Apparel; jacket, Mike & Chris; jeans, Diesel; kicks, Converse; bag, Anna Corinna.

Fabric! Finally!

I have been struggling with my curtain making project for a few reasons. First, I couldn't find a crucial piece of my sewing machine. Okay, well it's still missing, but I'm sure it can be replaced for cheap now. Then there was the fruitless search for fabric. Hundreds of gorgeous, suitable prints were available in varying price ranges. I looked everywhere from the designer warehouses, to Ikea, to all the sites I could dig up online.

I did the math, I measured the windows, I calculated the fabric needed, and it became even more ridiculous. The windows I am working with are huge and wider than most bolts of fabric. This means that I would need almost 12 yards and each panel would have a seam down the middle. A simple little project quickly turned into a $100+ project that would turn out less than great.

So I considered some plan B's: using fabric shower curtains as panels (too short), using flat king-size sheets as panels (too expensive, still), giving up and buying the $50 for two solid color panels at Ikea. But I held out.

Today at Urban Outfitters, I came across their selection of tapestries. (The one on Ponce. The one at Lenox no longer carries the full range of housewares.) They were on special. They had a reasonable selection of colors and prints. They were big enough pieces of fabric for the weird windows. They meant that my window treatments became a less than $50 project again. Rejoice.

I chose this damask print with little forest critters throughout. These are $10 off right now. Phew, project back on. Another update when I replace the thing that holds the spool on the machine.

Oh and I got this sweet little tree branch hook at the Container Store.

Proof: I am Asian

I think I sometimes fit into that category of Asian girls that looks cute in schoolgirl uniforms and enjoys really cute things. I have a mild Hello Kitty obsession and have had miscellaneous Hello Kitty knickknacks since I was four. This is fun, most of the time. People ask me if I am Japanese. I was told once by an adult that I am New York/London/Tokyo. (I always thought I was Atlanta/New York/Paris.) I squeal when I see outrageously cute things. Most of the time I don't indulge this part of myself and tone it down. See: capri pants. See: the number of solid black pieces creeping into my wardrobe. See: smart looking read I tote around on the bus.

When I saw these, I couldn't stop myself.

I definitely went through a vinyl toy phase and thought I was over it. I would pore over the pages of shiny shiny things at KidRobot and customized a Munny or two. But oh. These are Hello Kitty. And the Simpsons. Look at the details. The Simpsons ones are glorious. Urban Outfitters got these in and I feel like I might end up buying them like normal people buy lattes. Maybe I can justify my toy collection by telling myself that I'm not eating out or buying coffee drinks every day.

My only issue is well, what do you do with them? I don't have the time or energy to play house with my Hello Kitties. I know a shelf or shadow box would be cute, but I have a pretty curious cat who would undoubtedly sit on either and knock all of them off.

I don't have a desk job or a cubicle, otherwise I'd probably keep them in a pleasing arrangement there. What to do what to do.

Speaking of toys, I can't seem to find my vast Kinder egg surprise collection or my set of Heatherette figurines.