Friday, December 13, 2013

TREND SPOT

The Secret City Dweller

TREND: Chain Necklace


Chunky and perpetually chic, this gold chain link necklace is popping up all over the ready-to-wear scene, begging to be added to that cute blazer combo you're buying for work.








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lydellnyc.com


adidas.com









victoriassecret.com

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Exam Playlist

Awwww shit.

Finals are approaching FAST, and I have some real studying to do. I have a veerryy minimal attention span, so this should be fun. I'm going to need some serious backup for this brave endeavor. Perhaps some Iggy Pop?

Here are the songs that basically are going to act like my food, water, shelter, and Jesus for the next couple of weeks as I study (and cry) for finals.

A powerful playlist packed with only the best and most solid of my favorites, the ultimate recipe for success. I hope.

Enjoy!


1. Sympathique                       //   Pink Martini

2. Destroyer                            //   The Kinks

3. The Passenger                    //    Iggy Pop

4. To Sir With Love               //    Lulu

5. Oh No!                               //   Marina and the Diamonds

6. A Souvenir of London       //   Procol Harum

7. Je cherche un homme         //   Eartha Kitt

8. Under Cover of Darkness   //   The Strokes

9. Le Temps de l'Amour         //   Lucien Morisse

10. Pianni                                //   Mara Carlyle

11. Ribs                                   //   Lorde

12. Land of Gathering             //   The Ceremonies

13. Gap                                   //   The Kooks

14. A Dustland Fairytale         //   The Killers

15. I Say a Little Prayer          //   Dionne Warwick

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

TREND SPOT

Snowy Staples



TREND: Fur-Lined Waterproof Boots

Where comfort and practicality meet mainstream popularity, these boots are workman-chic and oh-so-warm!








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Pajar Brown Lace-Up Boots
infinityshoes.com







Fat Face coat
$160 - johnlewis.com






Sunday, August 18, 2013

Beauty is Pain (Not Always)

Hurry hurry hurry it's the end of summer get your last summer posts in!!



I chaperoned a middle school church retreat this weekend. We go to this beautiful camp in Michigan called Tower Hill. It's placement is really amazing. You take a 10-minute walk from camp through woods and a clay river to get to a public beach and enormous sand dunes. It's got everything.

After sweating my bootay off hiking up those dunes, I was thinking about how hard it is sometimes to find clothes that you feel comfortable in - in the sense of image as well as when you're moving around.

Personally, I find that tight clothes are often the cutest, and the least comfortable.

And that sucks royal shit.

But you know that one staple piece that you just feel so AT HOME in? It's comfortable as all get out and you feel sexy or beautiful or thin or whatever in it. It's the total come-at-me piece that you go to first when you need that feeling.
For me, that piece is ankle-length leggings.

It would be nice if all clothes were like that, but then the awesomeness and world-conquering attributes would probably wear off pretty quickly.

Either way, I've compiled a few staples that I think are a pretty good balance and helped me get through the summer feeling pretty good.

Cross Bodies (Fat Face)

Hi-Lo Skirts (Miss Rebel)

Bodycon Crop Tops (New Look)

Maxi Dresses (Object)

High-Waisted Denim Shorts (Rings&Tings)

Cat-Eye Sunglasses (River Island)

Bustier Tops (Sass and Bide)

Yoga Leggings (PINK)

Chunky Sweatshirts (Shop Jeen)

Bodycon Skirts (Shop Jeen)

Waterproof Mascara (Target)








Hope your summers were all good, and I know your falls are about to be fantastic :)

Fall Trend: LEGGINGS

My sister's middle school recently instated a new dress code banning tight pants (yoga pants, leggings) and crop tops.

Before I say anything else, I'm NOT a supporter of 11-year-olds' rights to wear revealing clothes. Even in high school there's a fine line between acceptably revealing and uncomfortably hoe-baggish.

But, the leggings part I feel is a bit overkill. Sure, when I was in middle school, my mom didn't allow me to wear them as pants and I didn't want to anyway. But when I got to high school I slowly warmed to them. Now I practically live in my yoga crops.

Saying that, leggings are a huuuuge fall trend, and you can get some high-end, high-priced ones from designers and department stores now. That's some classy shit.


The great thing about leggings is they're so versatile. You can dress them way up or way down, plus they're so darn comfortable. It's like wearing no pants at all. Which we'd all rather do, let's admit it.

Here are examples of two dressed-up and dressed-down leggings styles:
Dressed down

Dressed up

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Book List/Library Haul

Yes, I'm entitling this list as a 'Library Haul'. No, you are not allowed to cough 'nerd alert' under your breath.

I rarely get to visit the library, but they hold such a endless magic for me.
I love the rows and rows and rows of knowledge at my fingertips.
You can practically become an expert on anything and everything you might be slightly interested in.

So, with a prospective five days with no school ahead of me, I hit the stacks on stacks on stacks (of books).

Here's what I collected:

1) 100 Journeys for the spirit // Michael Ondaatje

2) Andy Warhol // Arthur C. Danto

3) Conversations with God // Neale Donald Walsch ( I heard this was more spiritual than religious)

4) Gluten-Free Cooking For Dummies // Danna Korn and Connie Sarros

5) Secret Societies // John Lawrence Reynolds

6) Teen Feng Shui // Susan Levitt

7) Oh My Gods - A modern retelling of Greek and Roman myths // Philip Freeman

8) The Mediterrasian Way // Ric Watson and Trudy Thelander


Thus far, I've only started Gluten-Free Cooking for Dummies book, which has so far proved to be a witty, to-the-point, perhaps a bit extreme overview of knowledge on gluten itself and a lifestyle without it. 
I'll update this post with short review sentences on each as I get into them.

Hope your Turkey Day was a good one! See you back to the grindstone tomorrow!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Michigan Dunes (sonnet)


Long grasses sift with heavy sand footsteps
Pink glow of the sky like a baby's cheeks
Hum softly lovers without love like me
"abortive mothers, we hate each other"
The shadow couple sit high and mighty
Lovers without love like me absent dreams
Mister hides his face, twinkle, she comes out
To play. Bright adjusted, stare and wonder
Real prescence, fake thoughts
    Makes no time for strain
Together we stand, freed in the sand time
Joy is the name of the game, if you miss