31 Day Chip

If I were in alcoholics anonymous, I'd be getting a one month chip right about now. That's right folks, I have now gone a complete 31 days without shopping! Whoop, whoop! Are you all proud of me? I'm proud of me! 31 days down, 334 to go! And hey, why not call my "Closet Challenge" my own personal form of "Shopaholics Anonymous"? I'm personally awarding myself my own 31 day S.A. chip! Anyway, now that I've gone a complete month without shopping, I thought it'd be a good idea to do an end of the month review. Outfit wise, I think I did pretty dang well if I do say so myself. Pinterest was a huge help, a HUGE help. Without all the daily inspiration I don't know if I would have made it! I have to admit, there were "tear my hair out" moments when I just wanted to really, really give in and buy a butt load of new clothes, BUT...I didn't. Eh, eh? That's pretty huge. The online browsing, though? That was tougher. Much, much, tougher. Admittedly, I online browsed a leetle too much. A couple of pluses, though? I actually wore a lot of the things that I used to just let lie around in the back of my closet! And, every time I went to campus to make a tuition payment, it felt so good. So. Good. It felt better than wearing any new item of clothes would have. Who knows, maybe I might even cure myself of my shopping ways and never shop again! Haha. Ha. Ha. Just kidding, but my "Closet Challenge" is definitely helping me get my priorities straight and realign my perspective on needs and wants. Now, onto the fun stuff! My top four favorite looks of the month! Drum roll please...

1//2//3//4

My top two favorites where my 'sweatshirt with a skirt' looks. I'm just really, really digging that combo right now, and forgive me, but you'll all probably be seeing variations of it a lot more! :) My third favorite was my leather jacket and plain white tee combo! There's nothing better than revamping classics! Although, my favorite thing about this look, are the cuffed jeans. I'm so glad cuffed jeans are making a come back because now the fact that I have to cuff most of my jeans anyway isn't so bad, never mind that the jeans pictured above are petite. ;) Also, baggy boyfriend shorts and a chunky cardigan? Comfy combo made in heaven, am I right? Need I say more? ;) Also, I have an emoticon problem. I add winky faces into my posts way too much. It's almost like I'm a sleezy mustache man. ;) Drat. Did it again. Just call me the winky face perv. ;) Gosh, I just can't stop, I'll just enroll myself in Emoticons Anonymous too while I'm at it. 

Much love!

Dear Little Brother

(That's me in the center. Blinking like always.)

Dear little brother, today you are 17. Today you stand at 6 feet tall and you are a lean mean little bugger of a teenager, but seventeen years ago? Seventeen years ago you were only 19 inches long and weighed a wee 6 little pounds. Dear little brother, seventeen years ago we all anxiously hopped into a car to head off to the hospital to meet you. The first time I saw you, I knew we would be best friends. I knew I would love you more than cookies and ice cream, I knew you were special.

Dear little brother, I know you don't remember this, but my favorite memories of you and me are the moments when you were but a few months old and I was five, and we would snuggle up on Mom's bed as I would rub your tiny little belly and tell you stories about what you would be like when you were bigger and I would sing you songs about your birthday (I wanted you to have a pink birthday cake for your first birthday). I remember thinking that there couldn't be anything better in the world than being a big sister to tiny curly haired you. 

(You were a little too heavy for Allison's small arms. You look like a constipated Korean.)

Dear little brother, remember when you spoke a mix of Spanish, English, and baby talk? I was the only one who understood you. For about a year I was your interpreter. You could only be understood with me around. Dear little brother, remember that time you saw that little boy from our neighborhood picking on me and you hurried over to stomp on his feet? You were 3. He was 8. You still won the battle. That was the moment that I knew, no matter how much smaller you were than your opponent, you would always have my back. Of course, now, there are very few people who you don't tower over.

Dear little brother?

I. Love. You.

Let's Have an Adventure

For the most part, I usually think January is a pretty fun month. It just always feels full of hope and exciting uncertainty about what the new year might bring. I don't know, it just usually makes me feel so alive or what not. This year, though? January has been pretty boring, and it seems there is nothing but more boredom on the horizon. There's this lovely little quote from Pride & Prejudice that is just pure gold, and I'd say describes this boring January pretty credibly. "Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed in love a little now and then. It is something to think of, and gives her a sort of distinction among her companions. Now, Lizzy, it's your turn to be jilted yourself." Let's get some crossed in love action going! That, or an adventure in general! Ya know, I think I'm actually just craving an adventure more than some crossed in love drama. More than anything, I'm just really really wishing for a getaway. Nothing fancy, just a visit to a beach, with plenty of time to relax, think, and just be away from the mundane cycle of the day to day. Ya know, just to hit pause and take a break. Anyone with me?

Anyway, like any sane girl, now that I've got an idea into my head, fantasizing about just taking off to the ocean has been occupying most of my daydreaming moments (which are often). I mean, honestly, nothing sounds better right now than jumping into a cozy outfit, hopping into a car, hitting play on some tunes, and just driving off until I hit water. (Yes, Allison, I realize driving to a beach isn't as simple as that. Just let me imagine for a minute and romanticize road trips, here, ok?;) Anyway, like any good daydreamer, I've got my whole road trip fantasy all planned out. The car? A 1998 red Suzuki Sidekick (click here for a pic!), roof turned down, for maximizing the wind whipping through my hair. Obviously. ;) The outfit? Baggy boyfriend shorts, an over sized chunky knit sweater, and some soft leather flats. (I'm thinking something similar to this, but with longer shorts.) Now, for the music, which, let's be honest is half the reason to take a road trip. ;)
                                                                                
Sigh, this playlist, my dudes. This. Playlist. It's the perfect combination of upbeat/excitement inducing and slower/pensive. I've been obsessing over Foster the People's new single (SO good you guys!) and I think any good beachy/road trip playlist needs to end in something slower, enter Sweater Weather (THE perfect beach song. I mean, he mentions all the fixins in my getaway fantasy, "let's have an adventure", "sand in my toes", "sleeves of my sweater", "high waisted shorts". The song was made for my daydream.) Oh, and the perfect way to end any playlist? A little Bob Marley. Nothing gets me thinking like a good ol' Bob classic, especially "No Woman No Cry". Reminds me of the good old days when my parents would play his "Legend" CD on our stereo. I have to say I'm pretty dang proud of myself for putting it together. In another world, I would totally love to be a DJ. ;) Give it a sincere listen and give me your thoughts!

 Top: h&m

Cardigan: F21 similar

Boyfriend Shorts: h&m similar

Chunky Knit Scarf: handmade by my sister

Shoes: h&m similar

Complete recipe for a perfect getaway? I think so. Now all I need is to find the car, hop in, hit play on my playlist, and take off till I can feel the sand beneath my toes, the ocean breeze tickling my cheeks, and hear the soft ripple of the tide just ebbing away all the stresses of the day to day. 

Much love!

The Amendment

Ever have a dream so good you wish you could just keep on dreamin'? I had one of those last week. I won't bore you all with the details, but let's just say I'm craving a good cliff dive in Italy with a beautiful fella. On that note, I'm also kind of wishing flying broomsticks were real because I also had a dream I was playing quidditch with my little brother and now I'm also really craving a good round of quidditch...on a Firebolt of course. Now, can I just say it's feeling positively Springy round these parts? If I didn't know any better, I'd say it feels like mid March! Kind of freaky, climate change and all, but hey, it's warm, I'm not complainin'. ;)

Now, onto the juicy stuff! I've been reading up on other bloggers who have done year long shopping hiatus', similar to my Closet Challenge. Now, I was a little surprised, at first, that there were so many other bloggers out there who had committed to a year without shopping, but now that I think of it, I'm surprised that I was so surprised. I mean, obviously I can't have been the only fashion blogger out there with a shopping problem. ;) Anyway, reading their year long journeys without shopping made me realize that my challenge was missing a teensy little detail. So, with that in mind, I've decided to make an amendment. There are certain things that are necessary to a closet, ie: jeans, plain white tees, pencil skirts, blazers, weather wear, undergarments, and an LBD.  So, what should happen if say, I'm missing one of these items, or one of these items gets lost, ruined, or rendered unwearable? Well, I should be able to replace it, right? Right. So that's my amendment, should one of my basic closet items be rendered unwearable I am allowed to replace it. Now, with all of this in mind, I also realized that I'm missing two essential pieces to any closet, a nice structured pencil skirt and a little black dress. To complete my Closet Challenge these are two versatile pieces that I'm going to need. Now, I'm going to set a budget for myself, so I don't get crazy. I will have $40 to spend total on getting these two essentials, and only these two essentials. I'm going to wait till February to get them, though, because I want to be able to say I've gone a complete month without any sort of shopping at all. And that's the amendment. :) No calling me a cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.

 Star Studded Sweatshirt: h&m similar

Midi Skirt: chic wish 

Shoes: charlotte russe similar

Glittered Gold Belt: american eagle similar

This month I've been really really into dressing up casual sweatshirts. I don't know why, but there's just something that I really like about pairing something as simple as a sweatshirt with something as put together as a skirt. I just think it's so fun! Plus, this star studded sweatshirt I got at h&m last summer is the embodiment of fun. ;)  Also, I'm not usually one to fuss around with doing elaborate hair do's. I'm just too lazy for it, and I'm always worried they won't look good, but today I decided to change up my usual loose and curled routine fur a fun, high, half up-do. Ya know, I actually ended up loving it! I might actually do it more often! The only thing is, that I pulled the ponytail up a leeetle too tight, so when I let it loose at the end of the day I got that achey at the scalp feeling. Ya know the one. The one that aches so much it almost itches? Bleeeeeeh.

Much love!

Nessun Dorma and Derpy Weeks

Sometimes I have these ideas in my head for posts that I think will be fun, or entertaining, or just be...I don't know, cool maybe? Sometimes they don't really turn out that way, though. In fact, here are some of the ideas I had swirling around my head for today's post that seemed cool, or what not, but are probably just boring. The fact that I have recently rediscovered my passion for Opera, more particularly my obsession with Luciano Pavarotti and his rendition of "Nessun Dorma" and Sara Brightman and Andrea Bocelli's rendition of "Time to Say Goodbye". I love 'em. Juuuuuuust love 'em. Actually, if someone (a date of the handsome, tall, bow tie wearing, male variety preferably) were to take me to see "Turandot" at La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy my dreams would be fulfilled. Well, see, that was idea number one and that only took a couple of sentences to discuss and was probably more boring than waiting for nail polish to dry.

Now, idea number two. Ever have one of those weeks when your hair just refuses to do what you want it to or just even look good? Or one of those weeks when your makeup just refuses to come out the way you want it to no matter how hard you try? OR, OR, one of those weeks when your face just looks totally weird/derpy and completely unattractive? For me, this week was ALL three of those combined, probably because last week was a perfect hair and makeup week. I guess it's just like that rule that what goes up must come down. A week of perfect hair and makeup must be immediately followed up by a week of ugly hair, makeup, and face. Blehhhhhhh. Let's hope next week is neither spectacular nor horrible in the hair and makeup department. I'm aiming for completely average, here. Let's balance these scales. ;) Whelp, that was idea number two. It was slightly more relatable and more entertaining, but it still wasn't a mind blowing piece of art, either. Oh well, I have an idea for a more spectacularly written post for Monday anyway. :)

 Faux Fur Vest: h&m similar

Top: h&m

Jeans: American Eagle

Booties: h&m similar

Oh, and guess what? ANOTHER outfit that's primarily from h&m. Is it sad to mourn a store? ;) In other news, though, my sister leaves for Canada in 10 days! TEN! We're working on memorizing the lyrics of "Lets Go to the Mall" from How I Met Your Mother in honor of all things Canada. ;)

Much love! 

Lint, Lint, Lint

Forgive my inability to lint roll my coat. I was just too lazy to do it and I figured that some minor photo editing would render my lint buried jacket unnoticeable. I was wrong. Just pretend it's lint free ok? Ok. In other news, my arms are complete jelly right now. Com. Plete. Jelly. Oh, and guys, my bench pressing abilities are abysmal. It's sad really, how bad they are. In fact, they're so embarrassing I don't even want to mention how little I can bench. But let's just say I'm basically benching a six year old...and I struggle with it. Please don't mock. I don't know why this fact is so embarrassing to me, but it is. I seriously left the gym wanting to cry from how embarrassed I was of my bench pressing. I just hate seeming weak in any way, except in this case, I actually am just plain old weak. Boohoohoo. ;( Why is my upper body strength such rubbish? I mean cardio comes easily to me and when it comes to endurance I can endure ten straight minutes wall squating, but ask me to bench press and it's basically like asking a puppy to carry a cow.

 Coat: h&m kids similar

Top: h&m

Beanie: h&m similar

Necklace: h&m similar

Leggings: h&m 

Booties: h&m similar

Guess what? This whole outfit is from h&m. I'm obviously a little obsessed with that place. If stores could cry, the h&m at The Fashion Place Mall would be crying buckets right now from the fact that I will no longer be gracing it with my paychecks for an entire year. Don't worry h&m, I miss you too. I miss you too. This coat, though, is the first winter coat I've ever bought myself. I picked it up from the kids section at h&m a little before Christmas for $20 and it has served me well! It keeps me warm and I love the fact that it looks a little more put together and blazer-y. This morning I actually did have a harder time thinking of something to wear, probably because I went and bragged about how easy my Closet Challenge had been so far. I probably shouldn't have done that. All I wanted to do this morning was head to a mall and get myself something new. I resisted, though. I actually would have had an easier time getting dressed this morning if I had been able to wear a skirt or a dress, but since I was going to ride the train today I figured it'd be safer if I didn't risk riding public transportation in a skirt. So sad. I hate pants. 

Much love!