Gifted

What a fabulous birthday! I should bake and throw a party every year! Being lucky as I am to have such a great group of friends, I ended up with an overly generous assortment of lovely things to show off here on the blog. I was especially excited to be given my first set of "real" jewelry from Boyfriend. I didn't expect it by any means, which made it even sweeter. He cleverly bypassed my birthstone (red is not my colour) and selected a set of blue topaz. The shade of blue is exquisite and will go anything in my wardrobe.

Also contributing to this outfit, my friend Tammie gifted me this awesome Target purse. The colour is a perfect neutral for all my pastels and is quickly becoming my favourite bag of the summer.
Amanda and share a mutual love for owls, and she picked out this gorgeous peachy pink owl brooch from Etsy. I anticipate using it often as it also lends itself pretty well to my personal colour scheme.

The last birthday goodie is this breezy, cotton dress. I don't think I ever noticed this online, but when I was grabbing up items to try for my birthday discount, I fell in love. Subtle cherry blossom print in a sky blue, machine washable (!) ... what's not to like?

Gifted;
Dress: Anthropologie Beau Ideal dress (on sale, give it a try!)
Top: H&M peach cropped cardigan
Bag: Target mocha shoulder bag
Shoes: Anthropologie Dearie Me wedges
Accessories: Cushion-cut blue topaz ring & necklace
Anthropologie High Prairie belt
Etsy custom owl brooch

Pride & Prejudice

I'm still soldiering on without a camera of my own, so thank you to all my readers for bearing with me! I've finally been able to borrow Boyfriend's to try and get back in the outfit of the day groove.

I wasn't expecting to love the First Hints blouse before I tried it on. I ignored it on the website despite the beautiful print since I figured it would be shapeless on me. I was surprised by how much I loved it, despite the shapeless drape. I was partially swayed by how many outfit ideas flew into my head once I had it on.

I've put on some winter pounds, so I've stayed away from some of my favourite pieces that I felt showed off the gain. My menswear shorts fell victim to that, but I knew this blouse was meant to be paired with them. I put aside my insecurities and proudly wore this spring ready outfit today.

Pride & Prejudice;
Top: Anthropologie First Hints blouse in ivory
Bottom: Urban Outfitters menswear tweed shorts
Shoes: Chie Mihara Alegra platform mary-janes
Bag: Coach Madison Sabrina in pale pink
Accessories: Hue opaque tights in black
Forever21 layering camisole
Forever21 drop charm necklace

P.S. I want to thank a local Anthropologie SA, Anna, for being so cheerful and sweet on my last visit into the store! Hopefully I'll get a chance to try on the Overwhelmed Aster Dress she recommended soon!

Dogs & Prairie dresses

2011 had started rough for my family and it seems it's determined not to let up yet. I've spent the last week wading through intense uncertainty my job. Everything has been, to say the least, unpleasant. On the bright side, it is amazing how much troubled times are soothed by coming home to a cute puppy.

Boyfriend and I took my new family dog, Ben, out for a walk at a nearby park this beautiful Sunday afternoon. He's a rescue who is part Black Lab and, we think, Border Collie. We couldn't have asked for a sweeter dog.

Dogs & Prairie Dresses;
Dress: Anthropologie Plains & Prairies dress
Top: Miss Selfridge pink and cream polka dot shirt
Shoes: Anthropologie Winding Ruffle boots
Bag: Coach Madison Sabrina in pale pink
Accessories: Urban Outfitters leather waist belt
Urban Outfitters metal hairband
Forever 21 pink songbird necklace
Betsey Johnson floral sunglasses

The Plains & Prairies dress was not something I initially coveted when I saw in last year. I found it alone in the sale room a bit after it was marked down and tried it on for fun. I was amazed and delighted at how well it fit me. The one complaint I had was that the top was a bit immodest on me. The adjustable straps help, but overall this was an item meant to be layered with a shirt. I barely ever wear the dress without this polka dot top under it.
The dress lightly lined and a bit long, making it perfect for spring. I love adding sleeves to make my dresses a bit more spring seasonal - the perfect thing to throw on without a cardigan for breezy, dog-walking days.

Sing Sweetly & lost imagination...

This will be brief, dear blogging world, because I must run off to do about a thousand things for Christmas preparation. I just had to check in with some new arrivals at Anthropologie and I was delighted to find this new dress. Oh yes, Sing Sweetly Party Dress, you will be mine. Anthropologie always seems to know there is no resisting birds. Their last bird themed dress, the Snowy Egret Shift, was a disaster on me, much to my displeasure. I think I will have far more luck with this frock. I have to tap into my restraint until after Christmas though and oh will that be tough. Are there any early January arrivals tempting your wallet?

Speaking of a lack of will power, I picked up a few sale and FP items during Anthro's unexpected 25% off sale. Sadly the item I was most excited to get, my blue Artist's Imagination Necklace (right), was canceled from my order. It's so small I'm not sure I'll track it down and pay for shipping on a charge send since that would negate the brilliant discount. I was dying for this necklace to go on sale and it slipped through my fingers. My local store never had this lovely thing so alas I think I'm going to go without it. I did at least pick up a few belts and a blouse for a tidy price. Did anyone else indulge in this rare percent sale?
The rest of my order; Floating Gardenia Headband, Celia Blouse ($28), Soft Bow Belt ($11), Dewy Dash Belt ($15), Climbing Ticket Pullover.

Little Women

Every time the seasons change, I decide the current season must be my favourite. Truthfully, they're all my favourite since I live in the lovely and mild Bay Area California. Our winter is about as cold as I like things to get. We get temperatures just cold enough to call for wool coats now and again which is all I need. I have some gorgeous outerwear, so it's time to show it off.

Little Women;
Hat: Accessorize (UK) crocheted beret
Hair: H&M pale pink bow clip
Outer accessories: Urban Outfitters bird applique scarf & lace fingerless gloves
Coat: Old Navy wool peacoat in bottle green
Cardigan: Anthropologie Blooming Lattice cardigan in green
Necklace: Silver birdcage (gift)
Dress: H&M ivory ruffle shirt dress
Legwear: Target heather gray leggings
Bag: Urban Outfitters BDG Primary Satchel
Shoes: Anthropologie Winding Ruffle boots

I haven't done a post for a Clothbound Classic book in a little bit so I'm glad to post the latest entry in my series. I took a break from the classics for a bit to read a book loaned to me by a friend ("Hello, I'm Special" by Hal Niedzviecki) and to catch up on some past New Yorkers, but I'm back to them now. I always like to read Little Women in the wintertime. The story makes me think of fireplaces, ice skating, and sipping hot chocolate. I am, in fact, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate as I sit here finishing this post.

Norwegian Wood

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Americans out there!
This is just a quick post because I'm currently in Florida with my family, lounging by a Disneyworld Pool or with a Butterbeer in hand in the Three Broomsticks. I hope your holiday has been just as fun!

Norwegian Wood;
Necklace: European Robin by N2  (Paris)
Hair: Urban Outfitters metal flower hairband
Top: Lace layering tank top and basic tee from Forever21 in blush
Bag: Pink lace bag from Etsy
Cardigan: H&M gold boyfriend cardigan
Skirt: Anthropologie Norwergian Woods skirt
Legwear: Topshop chunky knit otk socks
Shoes: Anthropologie Bouquet of Roses heels

Laced with floral grace

Laced with floral grace;
Hat: Accessorize (UK) crocheted beret
Necklace: Topshop (UK) love birds necklace
Dress: Anthropologie Laced with Grace dress
Bag: Pink lace bag from Etsy
Tights: H&M dusty pink floral pattern tights
Boots: Seychelles Four Leaf Clover boots in dark brown

I actually have a substantial little collection of hats. I need to make better use of them because they are awesome. There is one pink cloche in particular from Anthro that I haven't worn nearly as much I should given its high levels of beauty.


I also have a slightly insane collection of patterned and colourful tights that I have been neglecting. Being an Anthro addict, I find that my current wardrobe is now almost too adorned with embroidery, print, and bright colours, so I have a hard time mixing in loud tights.  I 'm trying to invest in a few more subdued dresses and skirts now that I've weeded out a lot of old items from my closet. It has been a struggle! I have a difficult time parting with a lot of cash for something seemingly "plain" as a solid coloured item.  I think this dress and the Waffle Weave in my previous OOTD post are a good start at bringing some solids into my dress collection.

Love, love, love

Love is all you need;
Skirt: Modcloth This Skirt is All You Need
Top: Anthropologie Rare Bloom tee in pink
Legwear: Hue opaque black tights
Shoes: Seychelles Kiss At Midnight mary-janes in black
Bag: Coach Madison / Sabrina in pink
Eyewear: Betsey Johnson floral sunglasses
Necklace: Silver birdcage (gift from a friend)

I never spend too much on sunglasses since I will break or lose them. Most of the time it is not through my own carelessness, just simple bad luck. I found this Betsey pair on Ruelala for a bargain so I decided to keep up the cheap eyewear tradition, but with a slight upgrade in quality. The detailing on them is adorable!

This skirt is one of my favourite purchases from ModCloth. I can't resist birds! Beatles inspired name aside though this skirt is actually a lot of trouble for me to style. I tried my best with this outfit, but I wasn't sure if I truly liked the silhouette with the shape of the Rare Bloom tee. I was more in love with the sweetness of the colour and flower than the shape. I need to keep trying to get something worthy of the LOVE embroidery. I really wanted to temper the sweetness with the black tights and shoes, but I'd really like to get some gray shoes to go with it instead!