Day 3: Birthday Cake and Hobbit Thoughts

Day 3 of my Birthday Extravaganza-Fest was definitely more low-key than Days 1 and 2.  There were no sequins, no feathers, no champagne and only a minimum of fire.  But, there was cake (yay, cake!) and there were thoughts on hobbits (yay, hobbits!).

The low-key nature of Day 3 meant, of course, a low-key outfit:

Especially since I had to go to work – yes, they made me work during my Birthday Extravangaza-Palooza; can you believe that?!  I wore jeggings (Bandolino), a striped tunic (Old Navy) layered under a caramel sweater (Goodwill) and riding boots (Born Crown “Sosie” via Nordstrom).  I also wore my new glasses, from Firmoo, but I'll post more on that later.

After work, I had dinner with my family and I had cake.  This was my cake:

The candles are a joke; I'm not 33.

It was a homemade chocolate Bundt cake drizzled with white and milk chocolate and it was delicious.

And, after cake, my brother-in-law and my nephew took me to see The Hobbit.  Here are my thoughts:

1. Aw, the Shire.  I still totally want to live there.
2. Wow, someone spent a LOT of time styling those dwarves’ head suits.
3. That lead dwarf is sort of sexy, you know, for a dwarf. 
4.  Orcs are gross. 
5.  Was Saruman reallyalways such an ass? 
6.  What’s with all the slapstick comedy? 
7.  Yes, but whywere the stone giants fighting? 
8.  The Gollum scenes were pretty great. 
9.  Orcs are gross. 
10.  Not bad, Peter Jackson, not bad.

What about you Reader Friends?  Have you seen The Hobbit yet?  Any thoughts?  None?  Well, then how about any thoughts/comments on cake?

Happy Friday, Everyone! 

Gracey

It's Weird, But I Like It

It being this tweed dress-tunic thing that I'm wearing:

I found it at The Sticky Thrift Store (aka Better Bargains, in Northeast Portland) and was immediately enamored.  I like its stiff, sort of paper-doll shape.  And I like how basic it is; no bells and whistles, just pockets:

And I love its overly detailed tag:

I'm just not convinced that I know how to style it yet.  I definitely needed the long-sleeve tee underneath (Gap) because it's unlined and tweed is itchy as hell.  I also added some jeggings (Bandolino via Macys), tall boots (Enzo Angolini via Nordstrom) and, my favorite addition, a butterfly pin from my friend, Ana:

I think that it probably could have also used a belt, but it turns out that tweed, in addition to being itchy, is hard to belt.  Or, at least this piece is.  But, belt-needy and weird as it is, I really do like it.

Happy Saturday, Everyone!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Gracey

It Got Cold, I Overreacted

Apparently the Oregon Weather Gods got tired of fellow Oregon blogger, Stacey, and I writing about our recent great weather, because it got cold last night.  And, as I always do when it first gets cold, I overreacted:

Did I really need both the sweater coat and a flannel scarf layered over the chambray tunic and jeggings?  Maybe not.  But, as I said, when the weather drops about 20 degrees in three days, I have a tendency to overreact. 

Also, this is the same DIY scarf I wore on Monday, and in Monday’s comments, the Menopausal Super Model asked how I made it.  The answer?  Crookedly.  Actually, that’s not entirely true.  In spite of the fact that I can’t draw, cut or sew a straight line (I have SLD, or Straight Line Disorder (it’s totally a real thing)) I still managed to do okay with this scarf by following the lines of the plaid for cutting.  It is sewn a little bit crooked though because my left arm is still weak and I can’t guide fabric in a straight line even when I don’t have the excuse of a broken elbow.

The good news is that it’s an infinity scarf and wrapped around my neck you can’t tell it’s crooked, which is why I knew this was the project for me.  I got the idea from the lovely Franziska at Franishh, who used this tutorial.  I used the same tutorial and it was really easy, especially if you don’t worry about your lines being straight.

Yep, looks straight(ish) to me!

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Shop The Look

Similar sweater coat

CJ by Cookie Johnson python print leggings

MIA “Roam” boots (on sale now at Piperlime)

Similar chambray tunic

Similar flannel scarf

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for the writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.

Misunderstood

None of my co-workers understand today’s outfit:

(Shop the look**: Wit & Wisdom Polka Dot Jeggings, Similar Blouse, Similar Shoes)

I think it’s brilliant, but I guess the mix of three different patterns sort of blew their minds.  Which I understand; triple pattern mixing is definitely a stretch for me.  But, I really, really do think it works. 

And I think the reason it works is because every piece is from the same color family.  The polka dot skinny jeans (Wit and Wisdom via Nordstrom) pick up the darker blue leopard spots of the shoes (Nine West “Naughty”) and the blouse (Banana Republic).  The bright blue of the shoes is also present in the blouse.  And, in addition to being in the same color family, I also picked patterns that play well together.  The blouse contains both paisley and polka dot, which makes it easy to pair with both the jeans and the leopard flats.

Or, I’m crazy and this outfit in no way works.  I have to say though; I don’t feel crazy.

But, what do you think, Reader Friends?  Would youpair these pieces?

Happy Friday, Everyone!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Gracey

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for it's writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.

It’s Hard, Y’All

As I mentioned yesterday, it’s freezing here in Oregon.  This is forcing me to find increasingly creative ways to layer so that I stay warm but don’t look like I’m smuggling a ham and two small children.  And it’s hard, y’all:

I think I did okay with this outfit though; maybe half a ham or so, but no children.  I think it helps that I kept the layers thin.  Today’s thin layers include: an embellished tank (Design History) over a black turtleneck (Gap) and a bright coral cardigan (Nordstrom) over both.  I paired them with grey skinnies (Gap), flat boots (Born Crown via Nordstrom) and a gingham scarf (Steve Madden).

For the record?  I’m still cold.  But, it’s Friday and I have a three-day weekend, so that’s pretty exciting.  Also exciting is the fact that I didn’t fall off my pilates mat last night.  Okay, it’s because we didn’t do mat work; we were on the exercise balls the whole time.  But, I didn’t fall of the ball either – I did, however, drop one on my face, but I still consider that progress.

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey

Caramel, Smoke and Lagoon

I’ve decided that using nouns as adjectives to describe my clothes is my new thing.  Take this outfit for example:

It was a rough week, but I'm much better now.  Also, my friends are hilarious.

I could have described it as brown, gray and blue, but I practically fell asleep at my keyboard just typing that.  So boring.  But, caramel, smoke and lagoon?  Now that’s an exciting color combination.  To this end, I’m describing my outfit as lagoon jeggings (Gap) paired with a caramel sweater (thrifted Land’s End) layered over a smoke-colored tunic (Tulle).  I added cognac lace-up booties (Nine West via TJ Maxx) and a multi-colored scarf (Nordstrom).  Fancy, no?

But, I can’t take all the credit.  Gap described these pants as “lagoon” on their website.  And do you guys remember back in the day when catalogs used words like “stone” and “haze” and “cayenne” to describe their clothes?  I remember J. Crew being especially fond of this practice, offering shirts striped in “melon” and “celery.”  When I was younger, I thought it was kind of silly, but now I realize it’s sort of great and far more fun. 

What do you think, Dear Reader Friends?  Ridiculous or fabulous?

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Gracey

P.S. If you haven’t already, don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a $50.00 gift card from Go Chic or Go Home!