dressed for . . . A MADEWELL CATALOG

 Juicy Couture scarf | H&M rugby striped sweater | J Brand Kacie jeans | Vintage gold flats

Water In My Paint bunny in bowler hat

MY GOLDEN BIRTHDAY

Y'all, I have been busy. Like, so busy it's unreal. All with exciting projects, of course, but what else is new?

Well, I had a birthday this week. My GOLDEN birthday, at that! It totally sneaked up on me in between my Lucky magazine contest entries (see sidebar) and an event I'm planning with New York's #1 thrift shop, Vintage Thrift. ( Look at the awesome flier we made! Styled by yours truly!)

And now back to the birthday. I'm a very lucky girl in that I could totally not plan anything at all and still have a few loving friends who filled my day with all sorts of surprises. Just look at this cake! When I first sliced into it, I thought it was going to be strawberry, but as I kept going, so did the colors. Yep, it's a homemade pastel rainbow cake. Six layers!

My sis surprised me with gifts and treats galore, including this super cute new workout shtuff, caramel salty ice cream, rosemary/sea salt/and raspberry jam butter cookies (so yum), and these MISSONI FOR TARGET PIECES. I mean, how did she get them?!

Well, truth be told, my sister travels for work every week and happened to be in LA for opening day. Not the ideal city to be in, but perhaps slightly better than NY. After scrambling to three different Targets, she managed to scrounge up two pairs of zigzag socks and a gigantic mug (sorry, no pics, that one's already been moved to my office).

And this super cool bracelet was created by my friend Shelby, who also made the cake. Since I'm usually the one doing the gift-making, I was thrilled to get these awesome gifties. I think they are the first presents anyone has ever made me, save for a few valentines I can recall.

PREGNANCY TUNICS

No, there's nothing that exciting to report over here. Except that last weekend we invited some good people over for impromptu red beans and rice, a Louisiana favorite. The house specialty, however, was the creamed orange butter I whipped up. It's my secret recipe, and it is divine. We dabbed, smeared, and dolloped it on top of cornbread. I added mustard to my red beans, because that's just how I like 'em.

This vintage pregnancy lace overlay (think Betty Draper) has the best floral/rhinestone trimmed pockets. You can see some of the textural trimming taking over my arm there.

Vintage (vintage thrift) lace tunic, Mossimo black tee, Topshop bird shorts, Vince Camuto sandals

more of the lace skeleton.

FUTURE REFLECTIONS

Louisiana rules. Photo via

Exactly two years ago on this day I left my Louisiana and started building a home in NYC. I say my Louisiana because I had no idea just how beloved my home state would become to me. These last two years have been rough. BEYOND ROUGH. . . I've moved three times, had three jobs, slaved at three separate internships, and have often found myself in dire need of old friends who get me. There is not a day that goes by that I don't question whether I should be here, whether I can afford to be here, whether I want to be here. Needless to say, these past 730 days - like the never ending winters - have been dark.

I still don't have all the answers to those questions, and I'm not sure I wouldn't be living in the same sort of existential mania back at home. But at least now I have a thoroughly enjoyable, career path-type job(s), a (little) cash flow, and (A LOT of ) ideas. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and I think I'm beginning to see it. Maybe you've noticed.

So. . . I apologize for dragging you through those past two years of blogging. Documenting my struggles has been hard; being totally conscious of this struggle the whole time was even harder. I'm working on resurrecting this blog because I know it's a good place for me. It's kind of like being home . . . and that's something I desperately need.

Onward.

BOX TOPS

Hmmm... this outfit is from a while ago so I can't remember exactly what I was going for, except for that I'm all about a box-y top and a girly, fitted bottom. This little cropped sweater has metallic aqua stripes running through it and appears to be vintage. The belt is leopard Saks (thrifted) and the skirt is that same Silence & Noise one I've been wearing since the beginning of time. It's that great.

I went lazy on the shoes: simple black flats. On the weekends, I'd lose the undershirt and go bare midriff.

feelin' sassy.

THE MET GALA #RIGHTNOW

Trendspotting at New York's Met Gala: mermaid looks (Kerry Washington, Rihanna's hair) 1940s waves (Madonna, Elizabeth Banks, Diane Kruger, Tara Subkoff) , Russian royalty (Naomi Campbell, Beyonce, Daphne Guinness -or maybe it's just all McQueen?), Grecian goddesses (Blake Lively, Eva Mendes, Kristen Bell) and long sleeves (pretty much everyone). Red and black&white seem to be especially popular color choices.

Some images of the Met Gala via NYMag:

Red hot supermodels Doutzen Kroes and Giselle Bundchen competing with the red carpet (and winning).

Hot pink Calvin Klein?

The Anna Wintour

Rashida Jones is so cute, I thought she was Maggie Gyllenhaal for a second.

Naomi Watts in sheer sleeves.

Personal favorites:

Diane Kruger; just beautiful.

Zoe Saldana; whatever this sculptural double-knit fabric is that keeps popping up everywhere is full of beauty + I'm really into yellow right now.

Of course I would like the one with birds on it. (Michelle Williams)

Emma Stone, my new fashion muse. This print looks very similar to an Express skirt I have. That should be the biggest insult, but I absolutely adore this dress on Emma. Beyond gorgeous. It's perfection.

While there are some truly great looks in this group, I think my favorite might be Vera Wang.

Did you know that Vera is 61? SIXTY-ONE YEARS OLD, PEOPLE. With that hair! and that color! She looks 24! UNREAL.

A.L.T., Jennifer Lopez, and Freida Pinto get a WTF. Sorry, because I really like you all. Really, I do.

P.S. Why is Fergie wearing a wedding dress?

P.P.S. Where is January Jones?