RIP Domino

Conde Nast has decided to close Domino magazine, announced yesterday. When I heard the news, all I could do was go AUGHHH inside. First there was Jane, then there was Budget Living, now Domino? What next? I daren't ask.

Atleast I have like the past five years of back issues of Jane stashed in my closet. And I was planning on getting a Domino subscription this year, too. What a major bummer. For now, atleast the book is still available for sale and the site will be up for a just a little while longer.

Some Fashuns

So my biggest fan (okay, I am her biggest fan too) - err, my baby sister complained that all I post about lately is the yarn I'm buying. Hahaha. Which is partially true. I mean, that and I've had a lot of days off during which I don't do or wear anything particularly fashionable.

For example, today, I put on pants and a scarf with basically what I wore the day before to head to a doctor's appointment and the post office. I didn't even use my new cute Hayden Harnett umbrella.

At the current moment I am in full lounge mode in yoga pants and a tank top I found stuffed in the back of one of my drawers (haha! didn't get packed up for Winter!). Sorry, I'm running out of occasions for which to get properly dressed.

Here is a filler post in the meantime. I wore this yesterday to have lunch with an awesome lady friend of mine and to check up on said sister, who was at home sick. I basically throw on a version of this each time I have to step out to the store lately.

OH and also, I found one of these scarves crammed under a stack of other scarves in the H&M Trend clearance and snagged it. Haha! I was so excited, but now I'm wondering if this negates all the knitting prototypes and research I've been doing lately. Oh well.

Tee, Urban Outfitters; scarf, H&M Trend; cardigan, American Apparel; jeans, H&M; shoes, Converse.

Sorry I'm in a Craft Bubble

Sometimes I get fully fully absorbed into projects. To say, this is the only explanation I have for being so blog-negligent.

The mobius is a tricky thing. I have reworked my current knitting project five or six times. I just can't be satisfied with it. The first time it was way too long and the second I twisted it an extra full twist and then I kept on doing weird funky things that looked fug. And now finally I think this time it's for keeps and it's wrapping up quickly.

While I'm on a scarf roll, I think I may just start on one of these next:

Cosmicpluto's Just Enough Ruffles Scarf

I've seen a few of these on various blogs and it looks great in a lot of different colorways. And it's a little more advanced to keep me occupied on my days off (which are tedious and long sometimes - especially since I don't have a television at the moment...).

The pattern is available here as well as on Ravelry. I can't wait to get started! It is craft time all the time here.

Yet more Adventures in Scarfland

Also I've been feeling uninspired fashion wise (still, I guess) and am currently in a deep v and skinny jeans/dress with grandpa cardigan/top with leggings rut. That and I've been distracted trying to Get Things Done while still remaining creative and making awesome things.

I did some reconnaissance missions for craft supplies and am excited to start crafting up a storm! Sadly my current arts and crafts box is filled with silly things like glitter crayons from the 90's and half finished Harry Potter scarves. Hopefully I will get my act together and even set up shop. Right now I just have a list of things I want to make for myself. (I keep having this daydream where I win the lottery so I can open my own boutique and make everything - woodwork, metalsmithing, pottery, glassblowing.)

Here is a progress shot of the mobius scarf. I'm on skein 2 of Malabrigo chunky in Marron oscuro. I like it so far. I think this is the one I'm going to keep and actually wear. I had to wind it into a ball so that my cat would stop rolling around in my mass of yarn and get it ridiculously tangled. I need to do more practice projects so I can make more complicated patterns. I want to try some lacework designs on this.

I've been working on it in half hour spurts. I get easily distracted and am anxious to see the final product! I also joined Ravelry and spent most of the afternoon looking at other people's project pages.

Mmm it's getting all thick.

Whoops

Sometimes I run around town looking like a rumpled hooligan. Actually this is what I ended up throwing on before going to work. Prior to that I was being lazy and just wearing this bodysuit (the cranberry thing) under a long coat and traipsing around town.

I actually made it to the boutique warehouse sales in Atlantic Station and so much goodness was to be had! Did anyone get anything awesome? I ended up caving and getting myself a Virginia Johnson scarf, which has become my new best friend/shawl/blanket/beach towel.

Bodysuit, American Apparel; tunic dress shirt, Rogan for Target; boots, Minnetonka; no closure cardigan, BDG for Urban Outfitters.

More scarf goodness

This is the result of circle scarf project, prototype #4 (I think it's four, it could be five or six?). I think it turned out okay considering I'm really still a novice.

I finished a scarf!

The finished edges are a little funky - I have issues casting on and casting off at a good tension. But it was a fun and quick project and one step closer to making what I want. This one was knit in the round on circular needles (as was the last one) and took two skeins of the thickest and least expensive "practice" yarn I could find.

Next up is the magical (but horribly frustrating) mobius scarf.

Ugh I finally got that sucker cast on.

Cat Bordhi's mobius-cast-on instructions are a bit mystifying. I finally had to track down a video and realized that she has her own channel on YouTube. Here is the full length video, which I found super informative.

I think I want to track down a copy of her Treasury of Magical Knitting books next. Eccentric, yes, but also magical.

Boutique Warehouse Sales

I was thinking to myself earlier this week, "WAIT a minute... Isn't it almost time for the boutique sales?" And then just today I got the DailyCandy email that told me to go hit them up this weekend. And so it's here again!

Twice a year hip boutiques in the city gather in warehouses to clearance off their remaining goods from the season at amazing prices. I've nabbed things for 80-90% off at these sales! If nothing else, it's a fun adventure if you're into that hectic competitive shopping for sport kind of thing (I am!).

It's at Atlantic Station in the same space above Z Gallerie as in July. Some of my favorite boutiques in the city will be participating, including Jac, Boogaloo's, and Drew Lewis. I'm really not supposed to be buying anything, but since I don't have to work that morning I might go take a look... Let me know if you're going!

More details and information at the Boutique Bargains ATL site.

Hawaii now, pls

As I've already mentioned at least once, I'm over winter. Now all I can think about are trips to the beach, lavish pool parties (with homemade guac and sangria, ahhhh), and so much sunshine without the interruption from frigid breezes.

So because I'm tired of wearing clothes that cover me head to toe, I'm dreaming about my summer wardrobe. Maybe I'll move to Hawaii and do hair wraps on tourists and airbrush t-shirts for a living. This way I can be in a bikini and on the beach all day. Hmmm...

Juicy Couture Beach Shirred Bandeau Swimdress, $160, Nordstrom

I've been obsessing over this one. I love the retro styling and the little skirt on it. I'm not girly in the way that Juicy girls are most of the time, but this really gets me. And look at the little tie! So cute. SO CUTE. I believe it also comes with a halter strap. Thank God because my chest would not hold all that material there.

VS Very Sexy Twist-back halter top bikini, $34 per piece, Victoria's Secret

I looove the twist detail on this. And the green color is really fab. My only concern is that it's likely to be more skimpy in person than online. Oh well, sometimes you need a skimpy suit. You have to look nice on your days off when you're sunning. And what about the tanlines? Whatever, just rotate swimwear.

Despi Racerback one-piece, $160, Urban Outfitters

Look at how incredible the detailing is! This is for top deck sunning only. I'd be too afraid that the hardware would rust. Or get ice cold. Or get burning hot for that matter! Whatever, as long as you look fabulous it will be fine.

Alexander McQueen for Target, drops March 2009

Xhilaration Checker multicolor bikini, $14.99 per piece, Target

This is probably the only one I will end up dropping dollars on this season. Ha. Not only because it's the least expensive, but because it matches my Built by Wendy knockoff sundress exactly. Because I grew up in the South and sometimes you just want things to match.

This list might grow as more preview photos from the Ashley Paige diffusion line for Target surface. The last photos I saw were all very fifties and sixties inspired swim costumes and some hi-waisted bikinis! So excited!

Soft and Hard

So the weather finally settled down and officially Winter with a capital W here in the South. So what? Well this means wool and layers and boots everyday. Which is what I wanted oh say in August, but now I'm itching for swimsuit weather. And pool parties.

Today I decided to throw different shades of grey together. I wear what I want.

A fun surprise in this outfit- I turned the pockets of the skirt inside out and was shocked (!!) to find the lining is white with red polka dots.

And the boots.

Cardigan, J. Crew; skirt, Anthropologie (like two years ago atleast); boots, Chinese Laundry.

Little Princess

Um so rule one of recession chic? Shop in your own closet. Holy crap I forgot I had this jacket and these shoes. Whenever I wear this jacket I feel like I'm in a princess movie. And yesss, I found my sweet Ferragamo knockoffs and stomped around work feeling more empowered than yesterday. ("Oh hale no I am not your servant lady.") I don't know what's the matter with me lately.

New goal for life? Start biting my tongue because if I start sassing people outside of my inner circle it could be trouble. Most of the time I can keep it contained to eyerolls (9 to 3) and generous malicious smiles. No, not really, I am sweet as sugar and dressed as a princess. Oy.

Dress, H&M Trend; jacket, Alice Temperley for Target; tights, Target; shoes, Nine West.

Infinity Scarf experiment, part 1

So I actually had the time to whip up a little scarf yesterday. It turned out okay. It's warm, and that's really all I can ask for. It's supposed to snow/freeze tonight!

This is actually the third trial of knitting one of these crazy things. This is the most successful of my past three attempts so far. For this run I used most of a skein of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick (leftover from holiday wrapping, lol) and size 13 circular needles. I used moss stitch because my previous experiments resulted in horrible looking ribs and weird uneven knit.

I think for the next round I'll make it a little longer and wider. For now, this is enough to keep out the cold.

When I pulled the finished scarf out of my purse my cat immediately went to town. I think he likes it!

I made it over to the Needle Nook on Briarcliff yesterday and and got enough goodies to make another one in luxurious Malabrigo Chunky. The I will post the final awesomeness when it gets finished. I think it will be lovelier and warmer than anything I could buy. So exciting!

Scarfity scarf scarf

A selection of my scarf collection. Yikes.

I don't know when I converted into a scarf person, but apparently I am. I feel naked without one and now have an unnecessary number from which to choose when I get dressed in the morning.

The only thing missing? One of those cozy loopy double/triple wrap infinity scarves. Apparently H&M had them this past fall, but I didn't shop there at all when they had them. And Madewell had some really really sweet ones with sparkly yarn, and I dropped the ball on that one too. They had one when I checked last week but it was bright purple....which I already have a scarf that fills that need.

So I even went as far as searching for patterns and making my own. I made two different prototypes out of yarn I had laying around, both of which were not satisfactory. So I'm going to try again. I'm going to scout out the local yarn shops (finally!) and try to get it right this time. If all else fails, I might take one of my lesser favorite scarves and sew the ends together...

In the meantime I'll just keep pouting over this picture which started my obsession:

The everhip Betty

All scarves I am wearing in the first photo happen to be from Anthropologie. (Oh man I didn't even notice that...)

Recession Chic

I think recession chic may be the theme of most of my posts until swimsuit season. Yikes.

Good thing, though, I'm shopped out (eh January blows for shopping) and my summer clothes outnumber my winter clothes by a ton. I can't wait to break out the colors again.

What does this mean as far as the blog goes? Ha, I'll keep posting outfits, but they might be weird and mismatched. No new things for awhile unless they turn up secondhand or I make them myself.

This is what I wore to go window shop at Ikea and Target and mope about being poor. And then I guess I wore a variation of the same thing to work yesterday. Because I am lazy.

And yes, I am wearing shiny leggings. It was legitimately wintry cold!

Accessories detail.

Dress/tunic, jovovich hawk for Target; leggings, American Apparel; velvet blazer, J. Crew; bangle, Kenneth Jay Lane; bag, Hayden Harnett.

Orla Kiely for Target

I got a text from my bff yesterday: "Orla Kiely is doing a Target line of homegoods!"

So I go ZOMG and look up preview pics straightaway. Apartment Therapy had the scoop first. Have I sung the praises of Orla Kiely here? Orla Kiely is a fab label (and lady!) that includes womenswear, accessories, travel gear, and homegoods based in London. She is probably best known for her colorful stem and leaf print that is often seen on her popular coated canvas handbags (I have one!).

I was close to caving and buying some Orla Kiely wallpaper from the Anthropologie site (for what room and space, I cannot say...), but now I can save my precious pennies and score so many more goodies for that price.

I might have to break my self imposed shopping ban so I can have cute kitchen canisters and that apron - don't you think it could be a cute dress or jumper?

Hm do I work at Urban Outfitters?

Apparently on my days off I like to dress more age appropriate.

And hip. Or something.

No outfits to note in the past few days because I wear pajamas on my days off from work. Or am busy doing kissy stuff and can't be bothered to take photos.

Haha I was on the phone in the first shot. It was the test shot to mess with lighting and framing but it works.

Tee, Threadless; jacket, H&M Divided; jeans, H&M; shoes, Converse; scarf, Ruehl.

Chocolates

Can we talk about novelty chocolate items for a moment?

I will admit I'm not a chocolatechocolatechocolatechomp kind of girl, but I do go out of my way to find certain goodies. I've been at home and in that mood where I want to eat so much dessert. Maybe this will make it better.

Here are my favorites, in no specific order:

Kinder surprise

I've only ever seen these in Western Europe. I think you can order them online and find them in Canada, though. For those unfamiliar, this is a hollow egg-shaped chocolate shell (milk on the outside, white on the inside) that comes with a little "easter egg" inside with a toy.

They're apparently banned in the States because the toys are so damned small. While this makes sense, I love them, and the toys are brilliant considering how tiny the packaging is. I make sure to buy extra boxes to bring home in my suitcase whenever I'm abroad.

The last time I was able to get my hands on a couple of these, they had a magic set you could collect. Magic! With real magic tricks, like disappearing dominoes and floating genies.

Kinder hippo

These are another quirky part of the Kinder chocolate family. I guess this isn't chocolate-chocolate per se, but they're delicious. These are little bite-sized hollow hippo shaped wafers filled with a hazelnutty creme. Their bottoms are covered in little white styrofoamy wafers and all of them are fully of delicious.

I don't know if it's just me, but I've found these IMPOSSIBLE to find when I want them. When I was abroad in 2007, I went to several countries before finding any. I then proceeded to buy and eat the whole box.

Best part? Hazelnut filling? No. It's shaped like a hippo.

Cadbury egg

I don't know why I like things shaped like eggs. To be honest, I hate eating real eggs. But a chocolate egg always seems to hold something more special than unmade baby chickens, right?

I am disgusting and HOARD these babies each year at Easter time. Hoard them. They are sooo delicious and sugary and magical all at the same time. I mean, how do they keep the yellow sugar yolk from oozing into the white sugar white? It is mindblowing.

I was told once that there is a Cadbury cafe (!!!) somewhere in London that has these year round. Could you imagine? A Cadbury egg instead of one of those little chocolate tabs at a cafe? Delish.

I was also told that these are released as "ornament" eggs at Christmas time. Look, I don't remember who told me this, but I have scoured the candy aisles for the past two holiday seasons and found nothing. Lies. Good thing they'll be pushing the Easter candy as soon as Valentine's Day passes by.

Serendipity frozen hot chocolate

First off, this is not the same thing as a frappe blended beverage. Neither is it the same as a milkshake. It is just as the name suggests, a frozen hot chocolate. And it is full of delicious.

This concoction is served at the fabulous Serendipity 3 on the Upper East Side (NYC, duh). But you can occasionally find recipes and gift sets with the drink mixes on the web. I believe gift sets come accompanied with the spoons and goblets as well as drink mix!

The cute little coffee shop Urban Grind here in Atlanta served it for a bit, I don't know if they still do. They're still worth a visit for their sweetheart owner, Cassandra, and their constantly stocked case of Jake's ice cream. Yummm.

Godiva Chocolixir

This is my mother-of-all-chocolate-cravings, had-a-really-bad-day-at-work, feeling-really-cranky-and-bloated cure all fix all weapon of choice. This too is different from the above mentioned beverages. This is just pure chocolate goodness.

When blending the drink, the chocolate ladies even throw in a few chunks of actual Godiva chocolate, which gets blended with the ice in the drink. It is so decadent and so satisfying. Sometimes I skip meals so I can have one of these instead. My favorite is milk chocolate with caramel.


And note: I had to stop during the preparation of this post three times to hunt down chocolate in my room because the pictures were too much.

In Navy

I loooove navy blue so much. It is one of my staple neutrals and I would choose to wear navy over black or grey or brown any day. If only I could track down some navy shoes I could just go monochrome.

I don't know why I've been gravitating towards these longer skirt lengths lately. It must be working in public and catering to a more mature customer. That and I feel like "hip" things feel shorter and skimpier and too high heeled more and more as I get older. Am I turning into a prude?

Maybe not. Also what the cool kids wear sometimes makes me look like I'm in middle school. Too many bows or frills or schoolgirl details make me look like I'm 12. I can't explain it.

The skirt is a result of H&M's buy one get one free for sale items promotion. I almost paid full price for this before Black Friday!

Silkblend tank, H&M; cardigan, J. Crew; skirt, H&M Trend; flats, Old Navy; belt, Urban Outfitters.

Girls love RM

Upon receiving my Rebecca Minkoff bag (see her here), of course I touched all the zippers and pockets and admired the lining.

Apparently I missed this little bit:

I found this little card in the inner zip pocket.

Haha, at first I was like, "Hmm, maybe I accidentally purchased a used bag. Oh well. Get it girl!" And then I was like, well, maybe it's the guy that sends out the bags from wherever Rebecca's bags come from.

Then this morning I was browsing the Purse Forum and discovered other gals had the same query - Who is this Vincent and why is his phone number in my bag?

Theories ran the gamut from, "I thought the card might be some adult service," from a girl who got hers in Vegas to, "Oh I thought I had collected that from a hot guy after a fun night out."

Apparently the real story is that Rebecca decided to print pictures of cute boys onto cards and tuck them into her bags with a phone number. Rumor has it if you call, "Vincent" answers in a French accent. Cute, and even cuter for her Morning-After bags - imagine finding this the morning after a night out in your Morning After bag. So funny!

On Staying Home...

Sometimes on my days off I feel unemployed. Sometimes on my days off I pretend I am some kind of retro housewife and do domestic things in frilly dresses. And heels!

By domestic I mean napping and reading and giving my cat so many pets. Well, I suppose I also baked some cookies. It would have been more fun if someone else were coming home for me to serve them to in said outfit with apron and bells on. More peanut butter cookies for me! I think the cat was licking the bowl.

I love this dress and find it entirely appropriate for many occasions. The shoes are another story. I forgot the evils of patent leather and how binding shoes made of it can be. Ouch. Good thing I really didn't have anyone coming home from work to wait for.

Dress, Weston Wear for Anthropologie; mary janes, Nine West; bag, Hayden-Harnett.

Quick post

Another one while I'm on my way out. This is what I'm wearing to work today. It is still super warm (almost 70 today!). I almost wore sandals with this but had to decide against it, because it is still January after all.

I feel a little Meg White when I wear black and red together. Even though this is not her aesthetic at all. I don't know.

The colors and lighting are still funky because I haven't properly played around with the settings on the new camera yet. I'm not really blue and look frostbitten all the time!

Tank, Old Navy; skirt, H&M Trend; shoes, Zara.