Webster Skirt #1: Yikes!

It took me a lot longer than it should have to decide what to style for all of you this week. I ultimately settled on this eyeleted skirt, an adorable little number from The Webster for Target collection.

The weather has turned cold and rainy again here, but I categorically refused to wear tights and/or boots. So, I just pretended that it was sunny, and wore the skirt bare-legged with flats.

Skirt: Webster/Target (here)

Cardigan: Halogen/Nordstrom (here)

Cami: Herberger's

Shoes: Aldo (here)

Head band: Nordstrom (here)

Necklace: La Vie Parisienne/Blue Ruby (jewelry boutique in Vancouver, B.C.)

Mr. CP and I will be moving half way across the country in exactly one month. Eek! In the throes of a massive panic attack, I packed up a large chunk of my closet a couple days ago, including all but a few of my sweaters, which makes this cold snap more unpleasant than it might otherwise be. Oh, well! If perception really does shape reality as some philosophers would have us believe, I'll just continue thinking warm thoughts. I mean, thinking it's warm is the same as it actually being warm, right? Right?!

The move really snuck up on us, and now we're faced with what seems to be an insurmountable heap of crap to pack up. I've been using this as an opportunity to get rid of a lot of things we don't use anymore, but it doesn't seem to be making much difference. Mr. CP and I have been taking turns reassuring each other that everything will get done. Thankfully, we've managed to avoid joint freak outs, and I'm hoping that pattern will continue until after we're moved. Fingers crossed!

We will be flying the remaining two cats to stay with Mama and Papa CP in about a week and a half. Once we get back, we'll have a whopping 9 days to get everything packed up before we get on the road. We're currently trying to think of ways to turn packing into a game, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments! 

Blue Dress #2: Spring Has Sprung

Dress: Dorothy Perkins (here)

Cardigan: Anthropologie/Hibai Cardigan

Cami: Herberger's (winner of the Department Store With the Most Hilarious Moniker Award)

Head band: Nordstrom

Shoes: Aldo (here)

Necklace and earrings: DIY

I naively assumed that the Swirling Vortex of Weirdness that has surrounded me for most of my adult life had finally, at long last, dissipated. In my idealism, I assumed that whatever deity I had managed to royally piss off had deigned, in his or her infinite wisdom, to forgive any and all transgressions I had committed. It turns out that The Vortex (yes, capital 'T,' capital 'V') didn't go away. Nope. It was just building up a back log of weirdness to gleefully hurl at me at a moment of its choosing. Apparently, it chose yesterday.

Where to begin... I suppose the best place is with the least bizarre incident. It is very rarely windy here in Seattle. It wasn't unusual, then, that it wasn't windy in the slightest when I stepped outside yesterday morning. It wasn't windy while I walked to the car, or when I got out to walk to the ATM. But, conveniently, there was a single very large burst of wind as I was walking down the sidewalk along a very busy street. And that particular burst of wind was strong enough that it lifted my skirt up around my head. Naturally, I shrieked, "The fuck!?" very shrilly. Which wouldn't have been a problem if I hadn't pulled my skirt back down to the wide-eyed stares of an entire preschool troop walking to who knows where with their teachers. 

As a balm for my humiliation, I decided to head to Anthropologie to check out the semi-annual tag sale that started today. There I was, browsing the racks of items, when a woman came up to me and asked me who did my boob job. Um, 'scuse me? I don't even... What?! I toyed around with the idea of shrieking, "They came this way! Lay off!" But instead, I did what I do best: laughed awkwardly, and made an inappropriate joke. My exact response: "Mother Nature is my plastic surgeon. Who's yours?" She rolled her eyes, and looked at me disbelievingly. I'm choosing to take her question as a compliment. If I interpret it the way my brain is fighting to -- as a creepy, inappropriate query -- I run the risk of becoming even more disillusioned with my fellow human beings than I already am. So... compliment it is!

I finally made my way home to two very hyper cats (kitty number three is currently vacationing with her grandparents until we get moved next month). Anyway, Gabe (aka Boy Cat) and Luna (aka Fish) were chasing each other around the house like cats are wont to do. Fish was very naughty, and hopped up on the toilet seat, and before I could make my way to the bathroom to shoo her off, Boy Cat pushed her in. The toilet, that is. Fish fell in the toilet. Thankfully, I had just cleaned it this morning... but still. It's a toilet. Blech. So, I got to give Fish a bath today. Without the full body armor that such a chore typically demands. It was... interesting.

Anyhoodle, I'm hoping I'm all paid up on weirdness for a while. Fingers crossed.

Bright and Cheerful

Dress: Torchon Embossed Ponte Dress/Anthropologie - Gifted (here)

Cardigan: Anthropologie

Tights: Target

Head band: Nordstrom

Shoes: Aldo (similar here)

Sorry for the radio silence lately. The bleakness of winter and spring here in the Pacific Northwest tends to leave me feeling a bit apathetic and sleepy. As a result, I haven't really been wearing anything of note. I've pretty much been living in PJs, yoga pants, and shapeless t-shirts. I want to get better about posting regular OOTD's again, though, and this post is a step in that direction.

I wore this outfit to go shopping with Mr. CP over the weekend. It's easily the brightest item in my closet. Eye-searing tangerine isn't something I ever would have been drawn to in the past, in part because I live in a place where pretty much everybody wears variations of black and grey. You can imagine how much I stood out in this number! I felt a bit out of place for a while, until I looked down and realized how happy the color of this dress made me. And at the end of the day, at least in my mind, that's what fashion is about: wearing things that make you feel happy. I had random strangers stopping to compliment me on the dress, so it appears that it was a hit with other people, too. Even Mr. CP said this dress put him in a cheerful mood, so this is my new go to "happy dress."

Mr. CP has a conference in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA later this week, so we'll be flying down the coast to sunnier climes. One of my very best friends from high school and college is finishing up his PhD in the area, so I'm going to spend some quality time with him while Mr. CP conferences it up. Mr. CP presented at the same conference a few years ago, and we met some really wonderful people while we were there. Thankfully, they're all going to be in attendance again, so I'm sensing lots of group meals and laughs.

I'm planning on doing a series of posts featuring the outfits I wear while we're in Santa Barbara. I typically like to pack pretty light, so I'll probably be doing lots of mixing and matching. 

*Which brings me to a question for all of you! I really want to take my beautiful tangerine dress with me, but I'm having a hard time figuring out alternative ways to style it. How would you style the dress?*

Take Four: Saturated Hues from Coast to Coast

Dress: Hazel/Pink Ginger Boutique

Cardigan: August Silk/Nordstrom Rack

Cami (actually a cami bra): Le Mystere/Nordstrom (here)

Tights: Target

Shoes: Naya/Nordstrom Rack (here)

Earrings: Random boutique in Rome

Head band: Nordstrom

Oh, my. Oh, my, my, my. I don't even know how to explain all the colorful (?) things going on in the photos above. The first one starts out normal enough with me smiling cheerfully at the camera. I mean, that's what you're supposed to do, right? Smile at the camera as naturally as possible, presuming of course that you aren't going for candid shots? The second photo is essentially a pinched and clenched version of the first. I would imagine this is what my face looked like the first time I read Swift's "A Modest Proposal": equal parts amused, horrified, and shocked. And then there's the third photo. That face! That hair! This, my friends, is what I look like every morning when I wake up, minus the makeup, and plus drool. For the record, the photos on the camera were essentially this progression writ large. Instead of 3 photos chronicling whatever is going on up there, there were around 40.

In case the title of this post didn't tip you off, this is another Take Four post! Hooray! Huzzah! Woohoo! This week we focused on saturated hues. I have a cobalt blue dress that would have been suitable for this particular trend, but I ultimately settled this dress. As far as saturated hues goes, this dark green velvet number is a bit unusual. When I think of saturated hues, the first color that comes to my mind is cobalt blue. I wanted to wear something a bit more unexpected, though, and this dress fit the bill perfectly.

Be sure to check out Bekah, Gracey, and Karla's posts! Without fail, they always look absolutely adorable!

Bekah at Matters of Merrymaking
Gracey at Fashion for Giants
Karla at Frugal Big Girl

"Silly Pumpkin!"

 

Low flying seaplane!

Behold the very rare Kelsius Moosius in her natural habitat!

Dress: Gap Outlet

Cardigan: Halogen (Nordstrom)

Tights: Hue (Macy's)

Boots: Enzo Angiolini (Nordstrom Rack)

Sweater Clip Brooch Thing: CatRabbit

Head band: Target

Bekah the Merrymaker made me giggle the other day when she concluded an email with the phrase "silly pumpkin." She was, unsurprisingly, talking about yours truly. The phrase seemed very appropriate for this particular post since I pulled a very silly -- or bafflingly stupid, depending upon how you look at it -- move the other day. I pulled a muscle in my back... drum roll, please... putting on my deodorant. That's right, folks. I managed to injure myself while going about one of the most mundane daily tasks you can imagine. I'm sure you're wondering how in the name of all that is sacred I managed to pull such a magnificently klutzy move. I really have no answer. There's not even really much of a story to it which, frankly, makes it that much more ridiculous.

This one time, I forced Mr. CP to go to a yoga class with me against his will. Not only did the instructor end up putting me in the corner to do "remedial" poses (+10 humiliation points), but in an unexpected and fairly hilarious twist of fate Mr. CP ended up being considerably more flexible than I am (+5000 humiliation points). Despite the fact that putting on deodorant doesn't really require an extensive degree of flexibility, I'm tempted to blame my injury on my general inflexibility. It somehow sounds less ridiculous than "it just happened." Silly pumpkin, indeed.

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! =)

For Love of a Dress

 Happy boogie! 

 It's a bit fuzzy, but the image on the brooch is a dapper frog with a bouquet!

Dress: A to Z via Alhambra Outlet (not available online)

Cardigan: August Silk

Tights: Hue

Boots: Enzo Angiolini via Nordstrom Rack

Head Band: Nordstrom

Sweater Clip: DIY

Brooch: DIY

I don't embarrass easily. Once upon a time, as an awkward 12 year old, I walked into an iron post and knocked myself out. In front of my crush. And half the school. So, after that, nothing seemed terribly embarrassing. The fact that I lived through such a humiliating moment (that still leaves me blushing nearly 15 years later) means that, in general, I have no shame. That's why, when I recently noticed a woman wandering around Target in an exceptionally cute outfit, I had no problem at all stalking her through the store. I followed her from aisle to aisle -- maintaining an adequate spy-ish distance, of course -- eyeing her dress. Every time she would stop, I  would stop, grab the nearest item, and pretend to eagerly inspect whatever was in my hand. Among the items I inexplicably grabbed: men's deodorant, paper towels (which I actually needed to pick up anyway), and weirdest of all, Depends. I was a little confused when I looked down and realized what I had picked up. I tried to set it back down with as much imperious dignity as possible, but frankly, there's just no way to look imperious or dignified when you're clutching an industrial sized box of adult diapers in your hands. God only knows what I would have grabbed next. I decided that it was probably in my best interest to just ask her where she got the dress -- after all, nearly everyone loves being complimented. She ended up being really sweet, and we chatted at length about our outfits as we wandered from aisle to aisle together. I never got her name, but I always love meeting random nice people. At any rate, as soon as I was done at Target, I drove to the store where she got the dress, and was thrilled to find that it was on sale! It was normally $110, marked down to $49, and then marked down again to $27. I did my happy boogie right smack dab in the middle of the store (as pictured in photo #2 above). Because it was such a good price, I grabbed the dress in a beautiful green color as well. I'm regretting that I didn't pick it up in the mustard-ish/beige-y (eloquent, no?) color, too. 

I haven't done a DIY post for the brooch I'm wearing in this outfit, but I'm thinking I very well may. I couldn't find any tutorials for this type of brooch online, and it took me far longer than it should have to figure out how to put it together. Would you like to see a DIY for this?

Fly Away!

 

Please excuse my hair in this photo. It's doing something wonky... and yes, that is definitely a word.

Dress: eShakti

Cardigan: Halogen (via Nordstrom)

Earrings: Random store in Rome

Shoes: Rockport

Bracelet: Trollbeads

Sweater Clip: DIY

Headband: Nordstrom

This story begins, as many do, with a little known fact about myself. I snore. And not dainty, aw-shucks-isn't-she-cute snores, but my-God-in-heaven-how-did-this-trucker-get-in-my-bed snores. I don't do it often (as far as I know...), but when I do, Mr. CP understandably has trouble sleeping. Such was the case night before last, which is how Mr. CP came to be napping yesterday afternoon. I had a couple errands to run, so I quietly exited the house and started skipping my way down the steps (we have about 20 steps that lead up to our house from the street). Imagine my shock when I got to the bottom of the steps only to see a a homeless guy asleep/passed out/dead (I had no idea which at that point) at the base of the stairs. I really didn't want to wake Mr. CP up. It was my fault he was exhausted, after all. So my initial inclination was to try to step over the homeless man, but he was rather a big boned fellow, if you catch my drift. I also didn't want to risk pissing him off, as there are some rather volatile homeless people here in Seattle. I contemplated climbing over the fence into Neighbor #1's yard, but the fence is about six feet tall, and I'm really, really not at all agile. I thought about trying to climb through the ivy into Neighbor #2's yard, but that sounded like an even dumber idea than trying to scale the fence. Spiders?! Nuh-uh! No way! Not gonna happen! So I just sort of stood there... staring down at the homeless guy... willing him to wake up. Which he didn't do. I quietly ascended the stairs back into the house, and woke Mr. CP up from his peaceful slumber. At which point we both descended the front stairs... and stared at the homeless guy... and willed him to wake up. Which he still didn't do. Neither of us wanted to wake him, so we rock-paper-scissored to see who would call the Police Department (I lost... BLAST!). Because I wasn't sure whether the guy was asleep or dead, they put me on the line with the Fire Department... who came out with a giant truck, an entire crew, and three or four EMTs. And that, my friends, is how the Fire Department came to be at our house for the second time in two weeks. It turned out the man wasn't dead, just drunk and passed out, thank goodness. They were kind enough to bundle him up and take him to a local shelter, where I hope he's faring better.

Oh, yeah. I almost forgot to mention that the crew that came out yesterday was the same crew that came out when our pipe burst. I'm pretty sure they think we're raging fools. They were speaking to me veeeeeery slooooooowly like I was about four years old.

Floral and Elephants and Mustard, Oh My!

 

Please excuse the awkward proportions. I think I was standing on a slight hill, so I look ever so slightly like a hobbit.

Stop it! You're making me laugh!

 

Smirking just seemed like a good idea at the time.

Top: Old Navy

Cardigan: Nordstrom

Skirt: Coldwater Creek (you can find a similar one here)

Tights: Macy's

Shoes: Thrifted (brand spankin' new for $1.20!)

Head band: H&M

Sweater clip: DIY

Brooch: DIY

Earrings: Vintage (they're tiny elephants!)

As promised in my last OOTD post, I decided to go ahead and show off one of my colorful new purchases. I absolutely love this floral top. It initially had a bow in the back that sat between my shoulder blades, but I removed it. I don't mind bows on the lower back or on the front of my blouses, but inexplicable ties in the vicinity of the shoulder blades just confuse me. Why are they there? What's their purpose? What's my purpose? Who am I? Before long, I'm in the throes of an existential crisis, and find myself gasping for breath with a bag fixed over my face. So I figured I'd just hack the bow off and save myself the philosophical stress.

Perhaps one of you can help me with this. I love tucking my shirts into whatever bottom I happen to be wearing when the occasion or outfit calls for it, but how in the name of all that is holy do you keep the top from, well, poofing? My shirts always poof out and end up looking decidedly 1983 (I hate myself a little for saying that...) I thought a belt might help, but ultimately decided against wearing one, figuring that it probably wouldn't solve the problem. Have you discovered any remedies to the unfortunate poof?

Wakey, Wakey!

Dress: Ross

Cardigan: Nordstrom

Tights: Target

Head band: Nordstrom

Shoes: Born (really old)

Earrings: Random boutique in Rome

Giraffe and Rooster Sweater Clip: DIY

Apparently I decided yesterday that I did not want to smile in any of the photographs, and opted instead for my best sneer or, worse still, no facial expression whatsoever. I categorically refuse, however, to include any shots wherein I'm not at the very least grimacing. You know those women who can just stare into a camera straight-faced and look sultry, seductive, and impossibly sexy? I am most certainly not one of those women. I just look unapproachable and irate. In the second photo, I decided to ask Mr. CP a question about something that probably seemed important and earth-shattering at the time. The question was likely something along the lines of, "How would you describe the color green?" or "What if the Fork really did run away with the Spoon?" because, well, those are just the sorts of questions I ask.

I'm loving my new rooster and giraffe sweater clip, by the way. It's random quirkiness fills me with glee, and makes me smile every time I see it.

On a side note, I've come to realize that in every OOTD post so far, I've been a bit... color-less, so my goal for the next OOTD post is to put one of my new colorful floral-print tops to good use!

Sunshine

 My very own Marilyn moment.

Top: Banana Republic

Skirt: Vince Camuto (via Nordstrom)

Tights: Trade Chic

Shoes: Born

Bag: Mitchell Leather (thrifted)

Headband: Nordstrom

Earrings: Random boutique in Rome

Those of you who live in perpetually or frequently sunny climes are probably like I used to be: either indifferent to the sunshine, or sick and tired of it. Depending upon the day, I think I probably fell into both categories when I lived in Colorado. 300+ days of sunshine was all I knew, all I had ever known. It was familiar and overrated, nothing at all like the romantic, infinitely more atmospheric (in my mind) Emerald City. It took nearly two full years of living in Seattle for me to truly begin to appreciate the sunshine -- to relish the feel of it on my skin, the reflection of it off the water, the smell of it.

I have yet to meet a group of people who revel in and appreciate the sunshine like Seattleites do. Every June, for example, the Summer Solstice bears witness to the aptly-named Solstice Parade in Seattle's quirky and artsy Fremont neighborhood. Characterized by rampant nudism, wild costumes, and an almost Bacchanalian abandon, it is a fascinating (and often times very, very amusing) study in cultural tradition and human interpersonal relationships.

I tend to enjoy the sunshine in a slightly less risque, but equally enjoyable way. Mr. CP and I like to walk to our neighborhood's garden on nearly every sunny day. It's only about a block away, and because the garden itself hosts a very large p-patch (tiny plots of land that anyone, provided they rent the space, can cultivate) it's always fun to see how peoples' crops are coming in. It also provides a nice quiet place to take photos. If you look closely in the first picture, you can see Mr. CP!