Tiffany & Co

Well, I'm back! Flying home for the wake and funeral went smoothly despite a big snowstorm. It was all beautiful and terrible, but I'm so glad I was able to go.

I'm disappointed I missed Spirit Week at my school, I had a really awesome Clark Kent outfit planned for "Superhero Day" but oh well... today is color day, where each grade was assigned a color to wear. I didn't want to support any one grade, so while it was tempting to try to wear EVERY color, I decided to wear turquoise since no one had that color...



Dress - thrifted
Tights - TJ Maxx
Shoes - www.modcloth.com

I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend, sleeping in, doing a little screenprinting, cooking with the boy, and watching some football with friends. Guuuuh, and I don't know WHAT to get for Chritmas for my mom and dad... trying to think of presents for them is the pits.

love and sadness, grace and bravery

Sorry dudes, going to be absent for a few days... my aunt Carol died on Thursday. It's for the best really, she's had an aggressive and incureable cancer for seven years and fought a brave and graceful fight right up to the end. She was in so much pain lately; I'm glad she is free from that now.

She is my godmother and was a big part of my life growing up. The heiress to a spice fortune (exotic!), she married my dad's brother 28 years ago (my mom was pregnant with me at their wedding!)

She was always the definition of glamour and grace to me. My mother is a very simple woman who never bought anything fancy or extravagent for herself, always saving up for my sister and brother and I and our educations. I love her for that, more than I can say. But my aunt? She studied art and introduced me to the world of fashion, travel, and the finer things in life. She brought be a kimono from Japan when I was six and I thought it was the most special thing on earth. She gave me a diamond when I was confirmed in 8th grade and it made me feel like an adult for the first time, trusting that I could be responsible with such an expensive gift.

I babysat her three children all through high school and always looked forward to seeing what sophisticated dress she was wearing to what fancy party. I will never forget all the days spent swimming with her in the lake, toboggoning in the winter, spending the night on her condo's balcony in Chicago that overlooked the Lincoln Park Zoo - listening to all the animals after it was closed for the night, and picking raspberries every summer for hours at a time.

So rest in peace, Aunt Carol, and see you on the other side.

Hey Mickey! (actually, scratch that, that song is annoying)

I'm sure you all know by now I don't take clothing too seriously, and in case you weren't convinced already, I give you Mickey Mouse:

Cardigan - Bloomingdale's brand (inherited from aunt)
Mickey t-shirt - thrifted
Pants - Target
Shoes - Chinese Laundry

Well, it's official, winter has hit Minnesota (I know, talking about the weather - how droll!) That cold that lingers in your toes for hours after getting inside has arrived. Oh well, gives me an excuse to use my fireplace (I'm lucky, I know!)

Designer duds

I hate that word, "duds", so ridic. Anyway, I don't really have that many "designer" clothes... I'm just accidentally wearing a lot of them today...

Cardigan - Marc by Marc Jacobs (Plato's Closet, consignment store)
Blouse - Anna Sui for Target (clearance)
Watch - Michael Kors
Pants - Marni (Garment District, consignment store)
Shoes - thrifted
Hmm, I really should have taken a close up of the shoes... they are entirely covered in sequins and I wondered why they were at the thrift store- they looked like they had never been worn! The first time I wore them I figured out why - they are SO SLIPPERY! The bottoms are crazy, I don't know what they are made of - but it feels like I'm trying to walk down the bowling alley lanes... I'm pretty sure I'll fall down in them at some point today, and that will be the end of our time together. I'm wondering if I like sand the bottoms? IDK, probably not worth it to save $2 shoes - but sequined $2 shoes...

Today I yodel, yesterday I growled

I am a big fan of today's outfit:

Blouse - Thakoon for Target
Sweater vest - thrifted
Skirt - thrifted Liz Claiborne
Tights - TJ Maxx
Shoes - Bakers, forever ago

Yesterday, I woke up SO SO tired and just out of it... I thought making an actual breakfast would help, instead of just eating peanut butter toast in the car like I usually do... well I successfully forgot about it when I ran upstairs to do something and burnt it which is why my house looks vaguely smokey in the picture:

Lacking any ideas or inspiration, I decided to do Kimberly's inspiration calendar , which called for a black top with a dramatic skirt. Well, this skirt is saying something, and I'm hoping it's more "I wish I was Gwen Stefani" than "I'm a circus dominatrix", but when you're working with so many stripes and buckles and zippers, who knows?!?!

T-shirt - Target
Necklace - thrifted
Skirt - Marc by Marc Jacobs
Tights - TJ Maxx
Shoes - thrifted Enzo Angiolini

More importantly, I wore these shoes that look like a duck? made of snakes?


Oh! And in "the most exciting news of, oh I don't know, MY LIFE" front - I AM GOING TO SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA FOR SPRING BREAK! Which means, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO shopping under any circumstances. No going out to eat. No concerts. Keeping up with stocking the etsy, etc. $1200 plane ticket and I want to have some $$$$$$$ to blow while there. I am DYING with excitement! Oh yeah, I'm going there to visit one of my best friends who teaches English there! Huzzah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks but no thanks, Wisconsin

Thanksgiving was... fine... going back to a small town in Wisconsin is always a bit of a strange culture shock... not that it's so different from Minneapolis - it is just weird to be back in a place that is so the same, but also so different than when I grew up there. Sleeping in a twin bed in my old bedroom (which is now an office - with a bed), running into old boyfriends who never left town, hanging out with my little brother and his giant dog... it was fun but four days is enough. It's strange, but Minneapolis is now "home" more than my home is home... you know?

This color scheme is in no way an endorsement of the Green Bay Packers:

Shirt - Target ($6! yay for super-clearance!)
Cardigan - Daisy Fuentes
Skirt - vintage - www.stephaniegeisler.etsy.com
Tights - ??? The dawn of time itself?
Shoes - www.modcloth.com (free thanks to Daddy Likey costume contest last year!!)

My favorite hat... a thrifted vintage fox fur busby that allows me to run around in skirts all winter - as long as my head is warm, I won't freeze!


My second favorite hat... a newly thrifted French vintage wool and mohair hat (worn with earmuffs to keep my ears from freezing off!) I love this hat because it doesn't smoosh my hair puff and looks rather awesome with earmuffs, I think.


How was your Thanksgiving/Thursday?

still copying Kate Spade

I found this dress at a thrift store and it is so awesomely '90s but it also reminded me a bit of the big polka dots from Kate Spade, so I took it in that direction.

Cardigan - TJ Maxx?
T-shirt - Target
Dress - thrifted
Tights - Target
Shoes - Tracy Reese

With awesome thrifted coat:


Dear Tracy Reese, these shoes are crazy good (and not terribly uncomfortable for their height.) Keep up the good work.


This will probably be my last post for a few days... I will be updating the etsy tomorrow and running errands all day. I'm going back to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving for the first time in five years. I'm excited but also sad... my aunt/godmother has had cancer for about eight years and the chemo is no longer working, so she is stopping it and going on hospice. She is the most graceful and brave woman I know. Have a wonderful and thankful Thanksgiving everyone!