Travel Layering

The weather while I was in Edinburgh (as is pretty typical for Scotland) was erratic. Sunny and pleasant one minute, it was chilly and threatened rain the next. My solution, especially when out hitting the sites all day (I’m visiting Stirling Castle in these photos), is to wear a light shirt, coupled with a warmer (but still lightweight coat) and then a cardigan or a chunky scarf that can be balled up and shoved into my purse. Layering!

shirt: Sheinside / pants: Zara / boots: Target / scarf: ASOS / jacket: Century 21 / purse: New Look

Posing Outside the Portrait Gallery

Oh, hello there. I’m just taking blog photos outside of the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, as one does, featuring the new jacket I bought and now basically want to wear all the time.

pants: Zara / shoes: Toms / shirt: ASOS / jacket: H&M / necklace: Aldo / purse: River Island

All the Frills: Brooches

Maybe it’s the little old lady inside of me who basically controls most of what I do on a daily basis but I’ve decided this fall and winter I’m going to start accessorizing with brooches more. I have a pretty decent collection of them but I don’t utilize them as much as I would like. There’s something timeless about them though…plus, shiny and sparkly!

Weekend Reading: 

• So many things about things about this review of Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet make me happy. Let’s hope there is an era of blockbuster Shakespeare!
  
  
• Artisanal hobo bindles! People who get self-righteous without actually reading things all the way through! This one has it all!
  
  
• I seriously love ridiculous light installations. Which is why I NEED this.
  
  
• This piece about the things you don’t see in choreographed Instagram photos is pretty neat.
  
  
• I love horror movies and can’t believe how many of these I haven’t seen. I think it’s a time for a movie binge.
  
  
• I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Cats are weird and awesome and awesomely weird.
  
  
• My fall wardrobe needs this…

Adorable Prints

I will never tire of the awesome print on this top – it’s just so cute!

shirt: Simons / pants: H&M / shoes: Target / necklace: Express

Tottering, Part II

So my friend, whose blog The Pretty Secrets is insanely awesome and which you should check out, was selling these shoes and I fell in love with them. They are incredibly awesome and totally impractical and will probably only be worn a few times by me (I wore them to work and managed to actually keep them for about 4 hours but I think that will be a rare occurrence).

shoes: Nine West / pants: RW and Co / jacket: H&M / top: ASOS

All the Frills: Nascent Globe Collection

Turns out I’m slowly assembling a collection of globes. And, you know, I’m pretty okay with that. Do any of you have a collector’s mentality and, if so, what are you collecting these days?

Weekend Reading

• The top movie villains, in one video countdown!
  
• Well, well, well - ModCloth to open a store.
  
• Speaking of, here’s their in-house line.
  
• I think I’ve become mildly obsessed with this Elizabethan costuming website.
  
• Does anyone want to buy me these earrings? Pretty please…

Tottering: Part I

In truth I barely ever wear these shoes. They are not uncomfortable but they are a pain to actually be mobile in. But I love them so much that I sometimes put them on for occasions like grabbing a drink where I know I’m being driven to and from the bar and only really have to walk around for like 10 minutes max. Luckily just such an occasion presented itself!

shoes: Nordstrom / jeans: Kensie / shirt: Old Navy / blazer: Calvin Klein, thrifted via Value Village / sunglasses: Aldo / necklace: Sheinside

The Great Skirt Quest of 2015

I don’t usually hit up Old Navy, mostly because the fit of their garments never seems quite right and the stores are a freaking madhouse) but I saw another blog where someone was sporting this skirt and it was just too good to pass up. I did wait in line for about 30 minutes to get it though…

skirt: Old Navy / shirt: thrifted via Value Village / shoes: Target / necklace: Claires

All the Frills: Shoes!

Welcome to my new obsession: these insanely awesome shoes.



Oh, and here are a few adorable things my cats have done recently.

Weekend Reading

• Are you a Seinfeld fan? Do you enjoy the odd Lifetime movie? You need to see this.
  
• A fascinating history of gender, class, and gin.
  
• The sperm bank situation in the UK is pretty weird...
  
• So this personal experience about the meaning of wearing something “flattering” is pretty interesting – just to see the range of items/looks that various personal shoppers selected for this individual.
  
• I know there’s something inherently weird about birthday parties for animals, but look how adorable!   

I'm a Pretty Surly Person

Side note: I'm in Scotland right now! But I was a very industrious blogger who pre-drafted all my posts for while I'm away so the blog will continue like I'm not even gone. Anyways, back to the actual post.

Every year when new graduate students enter university in the fall, my office organizes into teams of three and goes and presents to the new students about what services we offer for them and the advocacy work we do on their behalf. It’s great and high energy and I genuinely love it…but then there those days when we do 15+ such presentations in a day and, even just for a few moments, I’m so not feeling it anymore. And that was exactly when these photos were snapped. It’s basically me at my surly best!

pants: RW and Co / shirt: ASOS / jacket: found / necklace: Monserat de Lucca / shoes: Toms / glasses: Clearly Contacts

All the Frills: The Classical Bust

I’ve been looking for a Classical style statue/bust for a while now and I located this one a couple of months ago for a really good price. I feel like it sort of makes the mantle. Well, that and the antlers.

Weekend Reading

• This poor, poor kid. Art gallery/museum anxiety indeed!
  
• Pugs are beyond adorable.
  
• So a photo of one woman gets photo-shopped to meet the “beauty” ideals of a multitude of nations. It’s both creepy and makes me want to move to Columbia.
  
• Who wants to plan a vacation with me to what seems like a magical place?
  
• There was a great Frontline program about this horrific topic recently. And now this.

One Last Wear

I’m not at all sad to see summer pass (hello fall and winter, my two favourite seasons!) but I did want to cram in one more wear of this crazy awesome maxi dress that basically makes me feel like a Real Housewife of some bullshit place when I wear it.

dress: H&M / shoes: ASOS