June Shin

Among other things (ahem ahem, notice the photo quality on these), I got some amazing gifts from my handsome man this holiday season. We met June Shin at ICE Atlanta last month and I ooh-ed and ahh-ed over her necklaces and earrings and rings (!!!). But stopped myself because I wasn't buying for myself that day.

Apparently he was sweet enough to mentally earmark this piece and went to the trouble of tracking it down for me! He even met her in person to snag it. It was, um, basically the best surprise ever. Ever ever ever.

I love her pieces - they range from bohemian to baroque and even super edgy. Check out her things on her site at juneshin.com and on etsy. She also keeps a blog.

Thanks, lady! Thanks Mister mans.

Quick post

I have a bad habit of trying to post things as I'm on my way out the door. This is what I'm wearing to work. I'm trying to work out the details of my new camera.

lol Detail shot.

Top, H&M; leggings, American Apparel; boots, Minnetonka; cardigan, American Apparel.

OMG

So Santa brought me this present. By Santa, I mean, I bought this for myself because I was good this year. It is my most exciting bag I have right now and I can't stop touching it or looking at it or smelling the yummy leather. Yay!

I'm silly and wanted to pop the sea green so I wore black and white to work that day.

These are the patent trompe l'oeil mouse flats. I got them during Bloomingdales' friends and family event when they gave me 4952340% off and stacked a bunch of coupons for me.

Dress, H&M; stirrup leggings, Urban Outfitters; flats, Marc by Marc Jacobs; bag, Rebecca Minkoff.

h-h for Target

I was at my local Target store and they had these out last week! They should be out in most stores today. They looked just as yummy as in pictures, and even the pvc looked great on the faux leather styles. I picked up a flight tote for myself. I looooved the lining. Did anyone else get anything?

Or better yet, has anyone seen that umbrella? So cute!

Organization, pls.

I feel that lately my days are full and I'm busy every second, but I accomplish very little. It's the most frustrating thing - I like to keep neverending to-do lists and plow through lots of tasks each day. Then I realized I haven't been properly keeping said list lately. Then I realized the last two months of my Franklin Covey planner were blank. Then I realized it's almost the end of the year, which means I can pick out a new one!

Tangent: I love paper products and since I'm no longer in school, have to sometimes invent reasons to get new notebooks or pens. I have a fairly large stack of blank books waiting for me to write and doodle in at any given time. Last summer I went through two moleskines, one rhodia pad, and a small composition notebook. Even e-mails and memos I write in my personal life and work are prolific at times. I don't know what it is.

So I just admitted how geeky I am about these sorts of things. And then it was narrowing it down from all the choices I'd been eyeing throughout the year...

The past two years I'd been using FranklinCovey planning products. These are named for Benjamin Franklin and Stephen Covey (of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People books). The layouts are clean and designed to keep you super organized and there are so many different options to customize to your personal planning needs. I passed on these this year because (this is trivial) they did not print my favorite design in the size/style that I need and I refuse to use a six ring binder because I'm a klutz. Look how nice it is though, sigh.

FranklinCovey Passport design pages, two pages per day layout.

I was seriously bummed. So I explored some other options.

Since I was already spending $40+ a year on planning paper products, I decided to look in the high end stuff. I've heard that Kate Spade agendas were fab and this might go on the list for next year, assuming that I am more of a grown up, businessy lady. Or am in a year of Making More Money, ha. I have Kate Spade greeting cards that I use when I want to send handwritten notes, and they always go over well. Imagine "going over well" all of the time. Oooh.

Kate Spade Canvas Personal Agenda - comes filled with Kate Spade inserts.

The Korean brand mmmg (millimeter milligram) has really unique but simple paper products available. I've seen a couple different pieces they sell floating around the web. Most are undated and cost less than the two options mentioned above.

Past Present Future planner. See here and here for more photos and info.

Grafik planner- each spread has a different design!

Prompted largely by the organizers community and my hustle bustle lifestyle that leaves me changing purses more than outfits, I decided to go with a moleskine planner this year. Cheaper than all these options and will easily sneak into my currently existing lifestyle. My only worry is that I'll now have two or three identical looking notebooks floating in my purse and will constantly be searching for this one. Oh well.

Moleskine weekly planner plus notes. (Comes in three sizes, two colors.)

Merry Christmas!

Stack of things I gifted to one of my sisters. She was so excited. :)

Hope today was cheery and bright for everyone around the blogosphere!

I thought I'd take one last opportunity to show off my gift wrapping. They went over well with all my friends and family. Everyone asked me, "Can I keep this box?"

Of course. I made them for you guys. With love.

Christmas Eve Eve!

Photo taking is being compromised by the unnecessary rearrangement of my furniture I like to do so often. Fortunately, I think this means the end of the weird framed-in-doorway shots. If you have been paying close attention, you will see that I changed my doorknob and my roommate moved out. So, to add again to my reasons for neglecting the blogosphere, I was avoiding a small war in my home and more recently, have been redecorating (...and replenishing the kitchen).

Today was hectic at work, but fun as always. In response to something someone said to me recently, I dressed up as festive as I could for work.

"Why isn't Christmas like Halloween?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why can't there be costumes? And candy? Mmmm candy."


I mean, I think Santa can be just as scary as scary things on Halloween. But to be fair, I am kind of a scaredy cat in general and have been known to cry in scary movies, amusement park rides, and anything with children that are ghosts.

I guess I looked like Ms. Claus. It was worth it. I smiled real big at people and sold some soaps and undies.

Dress, Zara; cardigan, J. Crew; tights, Target (lol in the clearance section in a sandwich bag, with a price tag taped on); boots, Frye.

Is it Christmas?

I went to this super swank holiday party at a fancy art gallery Saturday night. I saw a lot of expensive black outfits on a group of extremely talented people and smiled and danced and schmoozed all evening.

They even had a photobooth station set up - and by photobooth, I mean the kind in Amelie with the flashes and red curtains and instant prints. Though, I will say, digital photobooths are superfun too.

Here is my yummy manfriend. We were being as silly as possible. Apparently these were also distributed to the entire office, who also thought we were being silly.

I'm wearing my fancy plenty by Tracy Reese dress I had snatched up in November in anticipation of holiday parties.

Hope everyone's safe and happy this week!

Whine Post

1. I wish I had more days off that were the same as days off that other people have.

2. There is this really neat looking yarn shop literally five minutes from work. They are only open 10:30-5 each day. I usually work between 10 and 8 on any given day. I just want to look at piles and piles of yarn, just for a little while.

I guess this comes from the fact that I've been working on small lots of crafty projects the past few weeks. Add this to the pile of excuses. I tend to get so caught up in making things that all other things sometimes get neglected. Like sleeping. Like eating. And well, now, blogging.

3. I'm tired of feeling broke. I am re-reading Confessions of a Shopaholic in preparation for the movie and as Becky Bloomwood thinks about, I am trying to either Make More Money or Cut Back. I mean, logically both make sense but the latter is the most reasonable right now.

But I want this.

Rebecca Minkoff Morning After Mini

And this.

Manoush Coat

And this.

Hello Kitty for MAC

And this.

Plenty Home (by Tracy Reese) Big Blooms print bedding

/end whine.

I promise photos soon of projects and some really cute shots from a holiday party I attended this weekend.

The Subway Stairs skirt

I obsessed over this skirt when Anthropologie had it over the summer in mustard yellow. I just couldn't justify a yellow skirt purchase, no matter how cute or special. I mean, I have my other yellow skirt (which I suppose I do wear a lot) but two? Two is a lot.

Subway Stairs Skirt, $148, Anthropologie.com

And then they came out with it in black. Black and I are definitely friends again. Black and I almost broke up after my "goth" phase in high school. Welcome back. I'm back in black.

I am even doing black and white. This is a huge deal because the furthest I used to be comfortable venturing into neutrals was navy and charcoal. I added on yellow accessories to make me feel better about the whole thing.

The white thing (haha the white blur I am wearing) is one of those no closure jersey cardigans twisted together in front and tucked into the skirt. I couldn't decide if it looked horrible or amazing. I decided it doesn't matter because it echoes the ~origami~ styling of the skirt. Origami! Stripes! Tulle! I love this skirt so much.

I apologize for the number of backlogged posts. This is an outfit from last week. I keep finding random photos I've taken on my camera phone. I retrieved my digital camera from the depths of, well, wherever lost things go, and hopefully you guys won't see another rushed photo snapped in the elevator again.

Cami, Old Navy; open closure cardigan, Old Navy; skirt, Floreat for Anthropologie; boots, Frye; watch necklace, Marc by Marc Jacobs; bag, Hayden-Harnett.

Kitchen gadgets, pls

I would like to take a moment to talk about how excited I am about having my own kitchen space to run. I have been quietly collecting dinnerware and kitchen gadgets as they've gotten marked down at work and as I come across them on trips to Target or T.J. Maxx.

I still can't decide on a color scheme. But still, more colors in the kitchen is fun, right? More colors means it's easier to pretend I'm Rachel Ray making something yummy and not just me making sandwiches. Ha.

The latte bowls (stack on right) went on special at Anthropologie for $1.95 a piece. I now have an embarrassingly large number of bowls, but now there's some spice in the kitchen. I can leave a set of these out on the counter with nuts or candies. They're also good for... lattes. Or eating yogurt out of. Or for charming self portraits of yourself eating breakfast.

Check out the matching mixing bowls and ramekins. I am really ridiculous. I barely even cook. I like having things for aesthetic purposes.

I love this confetti dinnerware! Pretty much I'm easily convinced to purchase anything that looks like Funfetti cake. Funfetti is my favorite. These went on sale too so I scooped up enough for four place settings. I think the rest are in the dishwasher.

The little bowls are mini latte bowls. These are perfect for sauces and ice cream portion control. These are on sale too! Ahhh, too much cuteness.

Scottie dog cutting board. This is so impractical, but really, so is my kitchen. Look at the dark countertops. It needs cheer in the form of puppies, am I right?

And finally some dessert plates I picked up at Urban Outfitters. If you have a UO store with a housewares section, they have really charming kitchen things. Plus plates are literally a third of the price of what they cost at Anthropologie. These are microwave and dishwasher safe. And make a reference to Marie Antoinette.

New boots!

I finally gave in to all of those posts on nitro:licious about these boots. I don't know what it is about over the knee things or grey suede that sucked me in. This sweater I wear tons and tons. It is starting to pill horribly from excessive wear. And gape at the buttons because I am eating too much dessert lately.

What is one to do when there are constantly homemade cookies and pie available?

Cardigan, J. Crew; cami, Old Navy; jeans, J. Brand; bag, Marc by Marc Jacobs; boots, Chinese Laundry.

Oh Pottery Barn

So I finally made it over to the new PBteen store to find that it was the Pottery Barn kids store (relocated. Oh.) PLUS PBteen. Which was a little bit of a letdown, but honestly, the whole space looked great. The display window is huge and rather elaborate for holiday. The store itself is built of little alcoves which are even more fantastic than in the old store.

The PBteen area was set up like a small apartment (oh gosh, could you imagine that furniture and sense of home design in your teen years?), with a raised platform area set up like a stage. Which I think would be perfect for having your band practice or playing guitar for hours in their cozy rocking video game chairs.

Frocked Out

This is officially one of my favorite dresses. Okay, to be fair, they're probably all my favorite. I found this on eBay and get a lot of questions about it when I wear it out. Also, I think there might be some magic to it. Apparently it makes my complexion rosy (according to a lady and her daughter yesterday) and helps seal the deal on making dates. So many good things.

Haha, and ignore the appearance of chew marks near where the puppy would sleep. This is why we cannot have nice things. I suppose also this is why I don't think I'm prepared to have children or dogs for a significant period of time.

Dress, Plenty by Tracy Reese; belt, Anthropologie; leggings, American Apparel; moccasin boots, Minnetonka.

Double Post

Feeling sicker than ever, so I'll make this quick.

This is what I wore to work a few days ago - it's nice to wear layers because the indoor heating and air is unpredictable.

Tank, Target; open closure cardigan, Old Navy; jeans, H&M; boots, Minnetonka; scarf, Anthropologie.

And this is what I wore on my last day off. This is my new favorite very cozy thing.

Deep v, American Apparel; shawl collar cardigan, Urban Outfitters; jeans, J. Brand; boots, Ugg.

Brrr

The cold is really creeping in around here. The heat is out in my living space and I am constantly huddled in socks next to my space heater. I wore this last week on my day off. My days off are spent running errands and feeling silly because I am off on a Tuesday (or Wednesday or Thursday) and feel unemployed.

You can't really tell in the photos, but I am wearing my new fun fringey boots. I pretend I am as cool as Agathe when I wear these. Speaking of StyleBytes... the blog is back up and we are once again free to dig through the archives.

Yes, this is a Mike&Chris jacket. It is the most wonderful piece ever. The bag was an impulse purchase - I came across it at an H&M on a roadtrip through Virginia and immediately thought to myself, "Ooh this is like those Anna Corinna bags that everyone's buzzing about."

Leather jacket, Mike&Chris; funnelneck dress, American Apparel; tights, Target; boots, Steve Madden; bag, H&M.

Hayden Harnett for Target

I feel like I've been out of the loop of the Target collabs lately, but maybe that's because I'm not really interested in what's available? I'm sure you've all heard about this one, but I thought I might as well make a point of How. Excited. I. Am.

Not only are the designs true to the h-h aesthetic, some of these are really interchangeable with the fullprice versions. Check out the flight totes - they will probably be the same size and padded enough for a laptop.

And the matching quirky umbrella. Too much fun.

Umbrella, $22.99 - This print is too cute!



Flight tote, $49.99

This may be the best piece. It is very similar to the Ibiza flight tote and could double as a laptop schlepping tote.

Hobo, $44.99 (canvas, $39.99)



Chain handle bag, $44.99

This reminds me a lot of the Vargas chain strap bag. Love love love this.


Double Flap bag, $29.99 - can be used as a clutch as well.

Clutch, $19.99

The collection drops in stores December 28th. I think I'm willing to brave the after holiday returnathon crowds to nab some of these.