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Dress: Forever 21+/Forever 21

Cardigan: Halogen/Nordstrom

Tights: Hue/Macy's

Boots: Abound/Nordstrom Rack

Necklace: DIY

Brooch: Oh My Cavalier! (here)

Earrings: Marc Jacobs/Nordstrom Rack

Head band: H&M

Mama and Papa CP have officially left Seattle. We had a marvelous time while they were here, though, complete with lots of shopping and even more eating. Perhaps my favorite activity while they were here was the holiday Christmas cruise we went on. Playing host to a group of incredibly talented Christmas carolers, the boat we were on stopped by four different parks where the city of Seattle had lit bonfires, and broadcasted carols to the shore. Along the way, privately owned boats joined in the procession, all of them decorated with holiday lights. By the end of the cruise, there were nearly 20 boats following our own. The four of us bundled up, grabbed hot chocolate and spiced rum, and headed to the top deck in order to better appreciate the view. It was a beautifully clear night, a rarity in Seattle this time of year, so we had a perfect view of the stars and the festively decorated ships. Hooray!

The high point of the evening was a lengthy discussion Mr. CP and I had with the onboard Santa Clause (heretofore referred to as SC). He was marvelous. Mr. CP, SC, and I had an intense discussion regarding what I have dubbed the "Philosophy of Santy Clause Beards." SC informed us that while he had been an amateur Santa for many years, he had only been doing it professionally for three. After much deliberation, SC explained to us, he ultimately decided to be a "more modern Santa" (his words, not mine), and as such opted for a short, neatly manicured beard rather than a "scraggly, unwieldy" one. The conversation was surreal, but thoroughly amusing.

I asked SC for a pony for Christmas, but he informed me that everyone has been asking for one. He encouraged me to be more creative with my request. So, I asked for a unicorn. Though difficult to procure, SC assured me that he would do his utmost to find one by Christmas. I shall name my unicorn Justin, and he shall be glorious in all his, erm, glory.

I Bet You Didn't Know...

Top: Lowland Rugosa Tank/Anthropologie

Cardigan: Halogen/Nordstrom

Jeans: Gap

Boots: Abound/Nordstrom Rack

Head band: H&M

Necklace: Aaaaall over the place

Bracelet: Gifted

First and foremost, allow me to apologize for the funky lighting in the photographs. Apparently I managed to stand in the only -- and I do mean only -- patch of sunshine to be found in Seattle today. What are the odds?

The last post I wore jeans in seemed to be a big hit with all of you, my beautiful, wonderful, oh-so-spectacular readers, so I figured I would post another jeans-centric outfit. I wasn't sure about pairing the dark blue top with the dark blue bottoms, but I think the cardigan and boots did a nice job of breaking up the monotony. You can't tell in the photographs, but the embroidered flowers on the top literally glow. Thank you, metallic thread! Swoon! I kept looking down at my shirt while I walked, and mumbling random phrases like, "Preeeeeeeetty" and "mmmphmmmph glooooooows! mmmphmmph." (Note: for the purposes of this post, "mmmph" = random mumbled noises) No one pulled their children away from me today, but I did get the stink eye from a couple people. It's okay, though; I had my beautiful glow-y blouse to soothe my wounded spirit.

The ever-beautiful and exceptionally sweet Alex of Delayed Missives recently gave me two new blog awards! Hooray! A fellow Scotch lover, I'm eagerly awaiting the day when Alex comes to Seattle -- or I go to New York -- and we can bond over our mutual love of malty, peaty goodness and, of course, fashion. ;)

These awards carry with them the requirement that I share 7 random facts about myself. Ruh roh... this could get interesting.

1.) I love coffee. Have I ever said that before? I don't think I have. I love coffee so much, in fact, that I have at my disposal at least a dozen different ways to brew up a cup and/or pot. However... ahem, unfortunately for Mr. CP I'm terrified of most (read: all but one) of the coffee-making implements we have -- I'm illogically convinced they are going to explode on me -- so until very recently it was among Mr. CP's many duties to make sure that I was caffeinated in the morning. In an effort to "empower my womanity" (his words, not mine), we bought an idiot-proof, user-friendly Nespresso machine. I can now make my own coffee. I feel empowered.

2.) I will maintain until my dying day that a three-pronged fork should be called a "threek." I therefore refuse to call it anything else.

3.) I have an inexplicable attachment to hoods. It's a fair bet that 9 times out of 10, if I'm sitting around the house, I'm wearing a hood. 

4.) I once got a concussion while having a nerf war. It's a long story, but I'll boil it down. Mr. CP stole my nerf gun and tried to run away from me; I latched on to his leg, and stupidly refused to let go (I'm tenacious that way); he pulled me along the floor (he's tenacious that way); I bonked my head on my jewelry armoire; I got knocked out. Fin.

5.) I talk in my sleep. Apparently my favorite thing to ask about is "cantaloupe." For the record, my favorite fruit is bananas.

6.) The absolute last place you ever want to find me is in the kitchen. I'll either end up burning the room down, or producing something so foul that not even alley-scavenging raccoons will want to eat it.

7.) I don't talk about it much on here, but I love reading. Lately, I've been wading my way through Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard (headache much?), and also re-reading the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. I recently finished re-reading Silas Marner by George Eliot (one of my very favorite books), Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin, and Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault.

Now I get to pass on the awards to some other lovely people! =D Hooray! In the interest of spreading the love, I tried to give these awards to a different group then last time. ;)

Kassi at The Closet Intervention

Laura at The Blog of Worldly Delights

Rebecca at The Plus Side of Me

Dotty at Dash Dot Dotty

Karla at Frugal Big Girl

Gazel at Bonjour Gazel

Sara at The Woollen Mitten

Loren at Frock Stock

Mosaics

Dress: Tolani/Nordstrom Rack

Cardigan: Rubbish/Nordstrom Rack

Boots: Abound/Nordstrom Rack

Tights: Hue/Macy's

Head band: H&M

Bracelets: Vintage, Target, Forever 21, and DIY

Earlier this year, Mr. CP spent two and a half months abroad in Italy doing research for his dissertation. I, unfortunately, couldn't join him the entire time, but I did manage to get over there for ten days. I had always wanted to visit Italy. In fact, I took several Italian classes in college in preparation for that far-off day when I would be able to visit. We had determined early on that we would much rather visit fewer places and explore them more thoroughly, and so we decided to spend 5 days in Rome and 5 in Venice. Below, I've listed my 4 favorite memories from our time in Italy. (Note: I know 4 is an arbitrary number. I was initially going to do 5, but this post is already super duper long.) 

1.) The food. May I just say that I will forever and always worship the culture that introduced both pasta and pizza into the world? I'm convinced that Italy possesses some sort of magical powers. I literally ate my body weight in pasta every day, and actually lost weight on the trip. Logic tells me that it was probably because I was hoofing it everywhere, but emotionally I believe otherwise. It was magic. Magic, I tell you!!!

2.) On one of our first days in Rome, we stumbled upon an amazing restaurant called Zeus. We decided to go back a couple times before we left, and ultimately befriended one of the waiters, and the crazy Sicilian chef. So desperate was the SC (Sicilian Chef) to converse with us that he brought out an Italian newspaper and started gesturing and pointing at it frantically. To this day, I have absolutely no idea what he was saying -- the waiter couldn't even understand what SC was saying, despite the fact that he was Italian -- but SC apparently liked us, because he sent out a special dessert he whipped up just for us as a going away present!

3.) Completely unintentionally, we arrived in Venice on the last day of Carnival. Our hotel was right off St. Mark's Square, but we had no idea at all how to get there. We headed in the vague direction of our hotel with our giant ass backpacks only to find that everyone else was trying to get into the Square. My solution: use my overstuffed backpack as a battering ram. It worked relatively well... until we got lost. Mr. CP had to dump me in an alley with our backpacks while he went off in pursuit of the hotel.

4.) I'm a huge art junkie. I haven't got any artistic abilities whatsoever -- even my stickmen look like shapeless blobs -- but I admire the artistic productions of others. The day we spent at the Vatican Art Museum was overwhelming and amazing. The mosaics, in particular, were astonishing. There are no words, and that's saying something for someone as long-winded and verbose as me.

Which brings me to the dress I'm wearing above. It was my love of those mosaics that inspired me to nab this dress when I saw it at Nordstrom Rack a while back. It reminded me vaguely of the beautiful, vibrantly colored mosaics I saw in the Vatican Art Museum, and brought back all the wonderful memories of my time in Italy. When I told Mr. CP this, he insisted that it doesn't look the faintest bit like a mosaic. I did the mature thing. I shrieked, "YES IT DOES, BUTT HEAD!" and dramatically sashayed out of the room. Because that's just how I roll. 

Take Four: Fall Accessories from Coast to Coast

 Woodland Creature Dress: Shana K/Frock Shop (here)

Leggings: Target (here)

Leg Warmers: Avenue

Head band: H&M

Earrings: Marc Jacobs/Nordstrom Rack

Scarf: Anniversary gift! Mr. CP made it! =)

Necklace: DIY

Bracelet: DIY

Boots: Abound/Nordstrom Rack

In this week's Take Four series, we decided to present our various interpretations of fall accessories trends. I chose to style a knitted scarf (they're everywhere right now!), leggings, leg warmers, and knee high boots. I have absolutely no doubt that Gracey, Bekah, and Karla's interpretations of this particular trend are adorable and swoon-inducing, so head on over to their sites and check out their interpretations of fall accessories trends! 

Bekah at Matters of Merrymaking

Gracey at Fashion for Giants

Karla at Frugal Big Girl

Things have been unsettlingly normal around here for the past few days -- which history has taught me means that something hilarious/shocking/horrifying is about to happen -- so I have exactly zero funny stories to share with you. Instead, I figured I would actually say a bit about my outfit for once!

Mr. CP and I decided several years back that we would handmake our anniversary presents. We both agreed that we liked the more personal aspect of handmade gifts. Last year Mr. CP learned how to make chainmaille, and gifted me with a stunning bracelet (which I'm ashamed to say has yet to make an appearance on this blog). This year, Mr. CP learned how to knit, and made me this beautiful lacy scarf. This Take Four post presented me with the perfect opportunity to debut my beeeeeautiful new accessory. I've pretty much been wearing it constantly since he gave it to me last week. Coats, pajamas, dresses -- you name it, I've worn this scarf with it over the past week. I think Mr. CP is a knitting savant; he's only been doing it for about 2 months and he can already make a scarf like this.

One of my favorite things to do when I'm sitting around in the evenings is whip up jewelry. I don't end up wearing a lot of it, so the vast majority gets shipped off to my girlfriends, but this week I decided to go ahead and wear a couple things I made last week. I had a whole bunch of rings sitting unused in my jewelry box that I've held on to for largely sentimental reasons. I picked out a few with the happiest memories attached, and created this bracelet. Who says you have to wear rings on your fingers? As for the necklace, I like to raid antique stores and flea markets for vintage components, and refashion them into new items. That's precisely what I did with this necklace. The two pendants started out as an earring, and a suffocatingly short necklace. Let me know if you'd like to see tutorials for either the necklace or the bracelet!

One of Those Days

Excuse my makeup-free face. I didn't feel like wearing any. It happens a lot. =P

 Top: A to Z Tees (Alhambra Outlet)

Cardigan: Halogen (Nordstrom)

Skirt: Vince Camuto (Nordstrom, and it's on sale right now!)

Tights: Target

Boots: Enzo Angiolini

Head band: H&M

Necklace: Marc Jacobs (Nordstrom Rack)

Earrings: Marc Jacobs (Nordstrom Rack)

I had a feeling yesterday morning when I woke up that I should stay in bed. I really should have listened to my instincts. 

We rent an old house that was built in the 1920's. It sounds nice in theory, but in reality it means that the windows aren't insulated, the outlets are outdated, and the closets are hobbit-sized. It was the latter of these that inspired me to pick up a garment rack at IKEA recently to hang some of my most worn items on. Oh, IKEA. I love you... but I also sort of hate you. Every time I try to assemble something from IKEA, I end up staring blankly at the supposedly easy-to-understand instructions scratching my head like those monkeys you see at the zoo. Or ripping the instructions up into tiny little pieces, and promptly taping them back together when I realize that that the only thing worse than having the insufferable instructions is not having them (this has actually happened... several times). It took me an hour, but I successfully assembled the garment rack. So what if the screws don't screw in all the way? Or if the base is a bit wobbly? It's done, damn it. Victory was mine on this, the first day of November.

I decided to reward myself with a walk around the neighborhood. There's a church about a block down from our house with an absolutely beautiful courtyard. While tiny, the space boasts a beautiful tree, some lovely flowers, and a tiny bench. I decided to sit for a bit and enjoy the view of the colorful blossoms and golden leaves. I was happily musing to myself about the crisp fall air when it happened. The sprinklers flipped on. Happily enough, there happened to be a sprinkler directly underneath the bench upon which I was sitting, and two more between me and the exit. By the time I screeched my way out of the courtyard I was shivering, soaked, and (who am I kidding?) amused. I looked like a drowned rat as I sloshed my way home. Because it's just the sort of luck I have, both of our neighbors happened to be outside as I walked by. They cast quizzical looks my way, and wisely decided not to ask any questions. I'm fairly certain they've just come to expect bizarre things like this from our household.

Oh! And behold the other two pumpkins Mr. CP and I carved on Halloween. He carved a mockingjay from The Hunger Games. In a random and entirely characteristic move, I carved a Kiwi. I heart Kiwis. They're such tragic and unlikely creatures.

Walk, Don't Waddle!

Top: Gap

Cardigan: August Silk (Nordstrom Rack)

Skirt: Thrifted

Tights: Gift from Mr. CP! (Modcloth)

Shoes: Old Navy

Sweater Clip: CatRabbit

Earrings: Marc Jacobs (Nordstrom Rack)

Head Band: H&M

I tend to fixate on things. It's just how I'm built. I get all worked up about something, and dwell on it. And dwell on it. And, for good measure, dwell on it some more. My current fixation centers on the relative lack of colorful and/or patterned tights available for plus sized women. At least three times a day in our house, I can be heard complaining at length about it. I usually conclude my daily rants with, "What the [insert expletive of your choice here]?!" (In my more PG moments -- which are admittedly few and far between -- I tend to favor, "What the crap?!") Poor Mr. CP is the one who has to listen to my rants. And let me tell you, it's the exact. same. rant. day in. and day out. Nothing really changes except the expletive I use. Poor, long-suffering Mr. CP. 

Because he's just that spectacularly sweet -- and also, I suspect, in an effort to get me to stop complaining -- Mr. CP put his mad Google Fu skills to good use and hunted me down two pairs of colorful, patterned tights! That's right, colorful and patterned. I got what I wanted -- two beautiful pairs of tights -- and Mr. CP got what he wanted -- silence. Okay, well, not complete silence, because I'm still me, but he no longer has to listen to my seemingly endless diatribes on tights. Hooray for Mr. CP!

I tend to be reeeeeally picky about tights. I want tights that are durable, that fit (dur!), and most importantly, that don't result in what I've dubbed Penguin Crotch. Penguin Crotch is best described as the result of a pair of ill-fitting and/or poorly made tights such that the crotch sits somewhere around the knees and causes the wearer to waddle in a rather unsightly way. I am pleased to announce that these Modcloth tights fulfill all three of the above requirements: they seem durable, they fit, and I do not waddle to-and-fro like a Pacific Northwestern penguin. Yippee!

p.s. I apologize for the wrinkly skirt. I had been sitting for a while. =)

For Love of a Dress: Green Edition

Dress: A to Z Tees (Alhambra Outlet)

Sweater: Urban Outfitters

Tights: Hue (Macy's)

Boots: Abound (Nordstrom Rack)

Head band: H&M

Dear Beautiful Green Dress,

I considered beginning this letter with a reference to Browning: "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth..." blah blah blah. I also considered Shakespeare: "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds or bends with the remover to remove..." yadda yadda yadda. But Browning and Shakespeare's respective odes to eternal love seem too trite and cliche. I decided instead to try to describe my love for you in my own words, insufficient as they may be, for that added personal touch.

When I spied your fern-y green folds at the store peeking out from behind other equally beautiful dresses, I immediately knew that we were destined to meet. To be honest, I hadn't been looking for you. I showed up on that fated day with the intention of buying your red hued sister. And yet, there you were... waiting for me... silently beckoning me closer...

I remember carrying you into the dressing room reverently, and trying you on for the very first time. You fit like a dream. And your color. Oh, your color! I felt like I was wrapped in the folds of a verdant green meadow. I knew then and there that you and I were going to make so many wonderful memories together. Picnics in the park, rides on the ferry boats, spins and twirls in the garden: the world would be our oyster.

I'm fully willing to accept that there are some out there who won't understand our love, who will mock it and judge it unfairly (coughcoughMr.CPcoughcough). All I can say is: they don't know us. They don't understand us. They simply don't understand the beauty of the love between a girl and her beloved dress. And that's okay. After all, I didn't intend to find you. You just sort of... happened.

I know deep down in my heart, my lovely green friend, that we're going to live happily ever after until that sad, sad day when you go to that big old closet in the sky. And in the end, that's all that really matters.

Yours eternally (or at the very least for many years),

Kelsey

A brief note about the outfit. I know the colors aren't your typical autumny colors (that one's for you, Jen!), but there's still something about this outfit feels really autumnal to me. Then again, I like this pairing enough that it screams winter, summer, and spring to me, as well...

Kelsey vs. The Skinny Jean

 Sorry the photo is blurry and jumbled... I'll try to get a better photo next time. Look! Birdies! Ooooo!

Blouse: Gap

Cardigan: Halogen (Nordstrom)

Skinnies: Gap

Boots: Abound (Nordstrom Rack)

Necklace: Juicy Couture (Nordstrom Rack)

Brooch: Oh My Cavalier!

Earrings: Marc Jacobs (Nordstrom Rack)

Head Band: H&M

I was reading Rebecca's latest post over at The Plus Side of Me a couple days ago, and found myself inspired. Rebecca explained that she had a long-standing fear of ankle-booties, a fear that she overcame to adorable effect in her most recent OOTD (which may or may not be recent as you're reading this). After reading her post, I tried to think of a trend that I was too self-conscious to wear. After ruminating on it for a little while, I decided that skinny jeans were to be my Everest. So, I rummaged around in my closet until I found this pair of jeans I bought ages ago for half off. I tried them on at Gap and thought, "Golly (because apparently I'm a pig-tailed six-year-old), these sure do look flattering! I look so tall! And so skinny!" Let me just say that I will swear until my dying day they have magic mirrors in Gap that make you look taller and skinnier -- and hell, why wouldn't they? It's a brilliant marketing strategy. The jeans looked completely different when I got them home. They made me look hippy. And, let's face it, ass-y. And also kind of short. So, into my closet they went, where they've happily lived for longer than I'd like to admit.

At any rate, inspired by Rebecca, I conquered my fear of skinnies and put together this outfit. I felt a bit uncomfortable running around town in it, but I think that's to be expected when you push yourself out of your comfort zone. I'm definitely going to keep expanding my (dorky and cliche) horizons, though, so I'm certain you'll see these jeans in future OOTDs.

A brief note about the accessories in this photo. I was so excited when I found this necklace on extra-special clearance for around $10. A couple of the charms were on backwards, which was easy enough to fix with a pair of pliers and a few minutes of my time. The earrings were on clearance for around $10 as well, I think. They may have been slightly more. The earring you see in the photograph above has a large gold branch, and a small silver branch. The opposite earring (not pictured) has the reverse: a large silver branch, and a small gold branch. I love little details like that! =)

Autumn Has Arrived!

Dress: Target

Cardigan: August Silk (via Nordstrom Rack)

Tights: Hue (via Macy's)

Boots: Fitzwell (via 6pm.com)

Bracelet: Fossil (via Ross)

Sweater Clip: DIY

Brooch: Nordstrom Rack

Head band: H&M

I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but I'm heading to Charlotte, North Carolina at the beginning of next month for a wedding that will feature, among other things, the colors black and red, and coffins. The politics of dressing for weddings always stresses me out. What's too casual? How fancy is too fancy? Will I end up looking out of place? I'm quite high strung that way. I had initially planned on wearing something suitably autumnal, but when I heard about the theme of the wedding, I figured that mustard colored anything was probably out. So I settled on a different outfit to wear. That's about the time I received further word that, in addition to avoiding the colors black and red altogether, guests are expected to wear elegant evening attire. Not only had I decided upon something that was predominantly black with accents of red (what are the odds?), it was also in no way suitable for an occasion that calls for "elegant evening attire." In fact, I have absolutely nothing suitable in my closet. So, using my limited totally awesome and completely impressive Google-fu skills, I figured out what elegant evening attire is, and dutifully started researching potential clothing items. To be honest, even after my research, "elegant evening attire" still seems like a fairly broad category. There are any number of different interpretations as to what that may mean. I'm going with evening gown, knee-length or longer, with fancier accessories. Which reminds me: they've also requested that guests wear "spooky accessories." I still have no idea how I'm going to pair spooky accessories with the fancy-pants dresses I have my eye on, so I suspect I'll be getting creative over the next few weeks in an attempt to create spooky, but still classy and situation-appropriate accessories. 

A note about the outfit: the cardigan is actually a lovely cinnamon color. The last two pictures show the color off better than the others. For whatever reason, the cardigan appears vaguely pink in the first few photos.

Ruffles and Stripes

Cardigan: Nordstrom Rack

Tank Top: Target

Skirt: Thrifted

Tights: Hue (via Nordstrom Rack)

Boots: Nordstrom Rack

Brooch: Oh My Cavalier! by Julia Swaney

Head band: H&M

Earrings: Vintage (gifted)

Mama CP is in town this week, and together we've managed to do quite a bit of damage at a few local stores. Primary among them? Nordstrom Rack. I grabbed this cardigan on the way to the fitting rooms fully expecting that I would hate it. Ruffles plus my (ahem) ample bosom typically equal bad news bears. Much to my surprise, however, I found that I really, really liked the style and the fit of this particular cardigan, so I carried it around gleefully for the remainder of our shopping trip with what was no doubt a self-satisfied smile on my face.

I wasn't entirely sure whether these boots worked well with the ensemble. I carried around a camel-colored purse with the outfit -- which obviously isn't pictured -- and I think it helped pull everything together. As an aside, I included the last photograph because I've worn this head band in a couple previous OOTDs, but never quite managed to get a decent photograph of it. You can find the previous posts where I wore the head band here and here.

Here's where I confess one of my deep, dark secrets to you. We all have those things about ourselves that bother us. Mine are those pesky "creases" that I get around the bra-area on my back. It used to drive me crazy... hell, sometimes it still does. But, really, who cares? If someone refuses to interact with me on such bizarre grounds, then well... they're kind of a weirdo. Beyond that, looking around when I'm out and about, nearly every single person I see -- regardless of size, weight, or height -- suffers from exactly the same issue. SO my general philosophy is that it's a part of me, it doesn't really matter in the long run, and that I just need to get over it (which I'm fully willing to admit is harder than it sounds).

Ah... I almost forgot: that second picture. Mr. CP asked me why I always strike the same pose. That was my response, captured on camera for the world to see.