Hit or Miss

Okay, I know this is two days of outfit posts in a row, but it's my blog and I do what I want to. :)

I am giving this outfit a shot today.  I'm not sure if I like it or not - I think it might be a miss.  But I committed and I am giving it a full day.

Also... crazy hair today... crazy hair.

On a completely unrelated note, the world's best ice cream place, Jeni's, is finally open in Chicago.  It is so exciting AND it is only a block away from where I play volleyball on Thursdays.  I celebrated the start of league with ice cream for dinner.  And it was delicious.

The flavors I had were salty caramel (my favorite), whiskey pecan and sweet corn and blackberry.  I know that last one sounds not so great - but it was delicious.

Dusting off an old favorite

I think I bought this dress the first year I started working.  Its BCBG and at the time buying a dress for over $100 was making a big investment.  I did it because its a classic wrap dress that I figured wouldn't go out of style anytime soon.

I was so smart back then. :)

It's been a while since I've worn this and it's a great fall transition dress - especially when it's going to be almost 80 and it's October.

*dress - BCBG (old), shoes - Target, necklace - old

Project DIY

Through no fewer than 3 blogs a month ago, I heard about M&J Trimmings Project DIY monthly subscription box.

I know there are tons of monthly subscription boxes out there - I used to have birchbox myself.  (Which was nice, but I wasn't using enough of it to keep getting it)

So the premise of Project DIY, each month you will receive all the supplies needed for 3-4 accessories.  The website also provides step-by-step instructions on how to make them all.

So when the box arrived just after I got back from vacation, I couldn't wait to open it.  Even if I couldn't really work on the pieces until after I got back from NYC. 

Here is a photo of the box.  It has a welcome card explaining the "theme" and then three little envelope boxes for each of the pieces.

I opened one of the boxes to see what was inside.  As you can see, it includes all the equipment and really nicely written supply list, measuring place and info on the piece.  The best part, Project DIY also has an option for you to by a toolkit with your first box if you don't have any jewelry making tools.  I had previously purchased a pack of tools at Michael's so I didn't buy that part.

 On Sunday, I was clearing off my dining room table and was finally able to start working on it.  Here is the finished necklace - a fringe necklace with equestrian details (the theme for this month).

Here is the wrap bracelet, the second piece.  I don't have a picture of it on because the glue was drying.

The last piece for this month was a tassel key chain.  I don't have any pictures of it because the tassels were all drying so it's not finished yet.

At $30 a month, it is triple what I was spending for Birchbox, but I like that I am actually getting some jewelry each month for $30.  That makes the price a little better.  You also have the option to "pause" your subscription if you need to take a month or so off, for whatever reason.

So far I like it, so we'll see what the next couple of months hold before I make a real decision.

A little reminder

Today is a day that reminded me how much better I feel mentally and emotionally when I make an effort to get dressed for work.  Not defaulting to jeans or something a bit more casual.  Doing my hair and makeup.  It makes a difference.  I need to remember this feeling for the rest of fall/winter.

Plus, I really missed you pencil skirts.  I am not exactly sure why I didn't wear you much during the summer - too hot maybe?  But I'm glad you are back in my regular rotation.

*sweater - Gap Mens, skirt - Jcrew (old), shoes - Nine west (old), necklace - jcrew knock off

Also, I forgot to tell you about my no-chip manicure experience.  I did a lot of research before I went on vacation, because I wanted something easy for my nails that I wouldn't have to worry about while I was gone for two weeks.  So after all my research and finding a location near me, I got my first no-chip the Saturday before we left.  The salon I picked had over 50 colors to choose from (which was refreshing from what I read in my research).  I picked a shimmery grey/green color.  It lasted a legitimate two weeks without chipping (just the typical grow out) and it wasn't until Monday of last week that I started to pick at looser parts.  So it was time to make an appointment to go in and get it properly removed (the one important piece for me).  In my craziness of coming home and leaving right away last week, I decided that if I was going to make an appointment to go get it removed, maybe I'll just get one more manicure for another two weeks and then I have more flexibility on scheduling a time to get it removed.  This time I picked a really deep hunter green color that really looks more like black in the dark and dark teal in the daylight.  I like it (see pic).

No-chip is definitely easy to deal with and the place I found took care to remove it properly so I didn't see any damage to my nails (I was checking).  I can see using this for special occasions or reasons (like vacation) that I would not want to deal with it for a few weeks, but I won't be doing it regularly.  Aside from the expense, I do like to change out my nail polish more frequently.

Goals Update: September

I think this may be the first time I am really, really looking forward to fall and fall weather.  Not sure why particularly this year as opposed to other years.  So the fact that tomorrow will be October is totally crazy.  It's officially the downhill slide to the holidays (yippee!!).

1. Complete at least 2 items from my 101 IN 1,001 LIST each month - Well, September was really the month of accomplishing things off my 101 list.  Five in total - this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one.  It was a busy month.

2. GET IN SHAPE - Hahaha... I hope my gym was happy to receive their free money this month since I didn't step foot in the gym at all in September.  I plan to get back into a routine in October.

3. EAT BETTER -  Better.  I'm not sure if vacation hurt or helped.  I am definitely eating smaller portions and some of that is due to the little snacking, lighter meals while on vacation.  Hurt maybe because I didn't eat the best food while we were gone.  Delicious, yes.  Healthy, maybe not so much.  I'm back to the regularly scheduled program this week.

I have to admit, it will be nice to not have to travel as much the rest of the year.  One quick overnight trip in October and a 3-day trip in November and that's it for work travel for the rest of 2013.  

Outfit post and new hair style?

Last week during random blog trails, I stumbled onto an old post on Love Maegan about DIY overnight curly hair.  While I knew it wouldn't turn out exactly like hers - come on, I do NOT have that much hair - I wanted to at least give it a shot.

So late last night, I washed my hair, dried it almost completely, and set it in the little knots for bed.  The knots were pretty tight.  I would probably do them looser next time.

In the morning, I got ready and then pulled out all the knots and finger combed them like Maegan did in her tutorial.  It looked a little crazy - very much like I imagine naturally curly hair is like - which achieved what Maegan said the intent was.

 See, crazy.  You know I love you internet, that I am putting this picture up.

After some messing with it in the car and a few hours to let it settle at work, here is what it looks like now.

So, overall, not bad.  I would probably do fewer knots with more hair in them next time and probably looser twisting, but I don't mind the craziness of it now that it's relaxed a bit.

Oh, here's the finished outfit for today.

Random Monday post

As you can imagine, I picked up quite a few things while on vacation to hang on my walls at my apartment.  So yesterday, while I was cleaning, I decided to just head to Michael's and get the necessary frames I needed.  I was already tired (after just one week) of having all of them laying all over the dining room table.

Here are things things I bought that needed a home:

- a small canvas painting from a Paris street artist
- an 8x10 print of the Sagrada Familia
- a set of 6 vintage pinup prints from Picasso
- two postcards of paintings I liked at the D'Orsay
- the bag from my purchase at Laduree

The canvas painting was definitely going in my hallway (sorry I don't have a picture of that).  I thought I could put the Laduree bag in the bathroom (that didn't end up working) and I had no idea what I was going to do with 6 Picasso prints.

After putting them all in frames, I found good spots for them.  I snuck pictures of a few of them, though they aren't the best photos.

The small canvas, the two postcards and two of the Picasso prints made it into my hallway collage.

I moved the canvas painting my mom got for me into the bathroom - the tile makes it really difficult to hang things.  I'm not sure it's perfect, but it's good there for now.

Then, I put the framed Laduree bag in the hallway.

I ended up putting two of the Picasso prints in the dining room (because I had two in black frames, two in silver and two in white).

Then I finished by putting the Sagrada print and the two remaining Picasso prints in the kitchen.  It's nice to have some artwork in that kitchen so it has a little more life.

So, almost a year and a half into living there - it is actually starting to feel a bit more like it's complete.  At least artwork wise. :)