You're Hot then You're Cold

dress: thrifted and modified :: shoes: thrifted :: necklace: F21:: socks: Target

Living in IL for the past four years has taught me this: the summers here are wet, hot, and really humid. So, when the tornado watches and thunderstorms become more frequent, I set aside any thick, long-sleeved, heavy articles of clothing I own because there is no way I can survive in the heat wearing those. This past month has been really weird though because one day, it's a humid 85 degrees, and then the  next, it's a cold and windy 60.

I found myself (almost!) at a loss for colder-weather appropriate clothing one day when the temperature plummeted to a chilly 58 degrees a couple days ago. Thanks to my messiness though, I found a carelessly thrown plastic bag with this dress in it. I got this dress for a whopping $0.50. Before I hemmed it, it was actually a foot or so longer, which looked super matronly. But I really dug the print (which reminds me brocade) and the uber conservative neckline.

I actually ended up wearing a black oversized cardi over the dress since it was THAT cold, and I needed more protection against the wind.

And yes, I am once again tinkering with my layout. The Twilight-esqe-ness of the previous layout was really getting to me...

When Bloggers Meet

I am officially NOT a virgin anymore... a blogger-meetup virgin that is! Ok, that was bad, I know. But let's just let that slide since it's Friday.

When I was in Seattle, I got the most awesome opportunity to meet the lovely and intrepid shoe-lover Emma from Fancy Bella, who brought along her funny husband and her adorable boy! (I miss you, Yoshi. Like seriously, I would baby-sit you if I could). These two are the only pictures I got, so if you wanna see more, please head on over to Emma's blog!

I had such a fun time talking (for hours) about everything under the sun. It was funny that even though we're fashion bloggers, we talked minimally about clothing or shoes or whatnots. Emma is super sweet, hilarious, and adorable gal ever! I swear, if I lived in Seattle, I would be chilling with her all the time. And yes, we both are Hello Kitty obsessed. She's probably more obsessed that I am! hahaha. :)

Having such a great time meeting a fellow blogger has got me thinking about my blog too. When I started blogging a few months back, I wanted to find a creative outlet and a distraction from my thesis writing. Albeit slowly, I got to meet people (online) through comment correspondences and emails, for whom I've developed admiration, awe, and (dare I say?) friendships with. On the one hand, it's nice to bond over fashion and keep the bonding online.Goodness knows I have real friends with whom I only talk to online these days, and that works out fine. However, it was so nice to see through blogs people are able to find others willing to invest time to meet and form real-life friendships!

Tell me about your blogger meet-up experiences!

Flowery Seattle

I went to Seattle a couple weeks ago to meet up with my mom and sister. Though I was totally unprepared for the cold, wet weather, I had a lot of fun catching up with family, old friends, and new. I got to meet Emma, her husband, and her delightful boy (I will be posting about our meet-up in my next entry!). 

Since it was way too cold for me, and all the stuff I had was packed in anticipation of warmer weather, I ended up not taking any outfit photos. It was rainy most of the time I was up there, but I did manage to get a few pics of the gorgeous flowers I saw at the gardens by the locks.

In the midst of all this natural beauty, I decided to take advantage of the perfect, sunny lighting and snap a picture of myself. I wore pretty much the same look the whole time I was there.

Since I'm a broke recent grad looking for a job (hire me, please), I didn't spend a lot of money. I bought a few things, but most of them were zines, books, and comic books. Ridiculous. I did go sightseeing, though, demanding a photo with the famous troll:

Laura's got the Blues, the Denim Blues, that is.

denim dress: thrifted (Charlotte Russe) :: cardi: F21 :: leggings: JCPenney ::
clogs: Target :: bangles: Maurices :: cat necklace : F21 

I found this adorable denim dress while looking for a cheap blue dress/tunic for my Thor costume. I was so excited to wear it that I ended up with a ton of mismatching accessories to finish my look. I think it's a little hipster librarian on the little house on the prairie, if I say so myself. and 

I like it. 

In other news, last night I accidentally deleted the most awesome batch of outfit photos ever. I mean, I was jumping and smiling and crap, and I had the most awesome background! Ah well, that's what I get for being a lazy bones jones and not uploading my pictures directly after I take them. 

In other-other news, I messed around with the layout of my blog (again). Now I feel like my header looks like a Stephenie Meyer cover. Ugh. It's staying. 

Celebration Giveaway Winner

After pulling my hair over figuring out how to print screen from random.org, I finally picked a winner for my celebration giveaway!

Congratulations, Mochi!

I am sooo thrilled that Mochi won! But I was so happy that so many people entered this small giveaway of mine, that I decided to give a smaller award to another random entry! And the winner is...

Jo from Days Go By

I will be contacting both of you through email soon!

Thanks to all who entered! 

Back Home

grey top: JCPenney :: black tank: F21 :: tights: Hue :: shorts: Old Navy
Elfin boots: Urban Outfitters :: heart necklace: F21

Look who's back!!!

I'm sorry, lovelies, if I haven't been on in a long time! I went on a week vacation to Seattle to get pampered and to visit some family too. Last week was my first time ever in Seattle, and I have to admit, I really really really liked the place! except for the rain.... Seriously now, how am I ever going to wear my suede shoes if it rains every stinking day? 

It's good to be back home though, even though it's equally cold here in the Midwest, and due to high water levels, my train was cancelled. -_- 

I've been slowly getting back to the groove of things. I cleaned a bit, worked out a bit, and read a bit. Lots of bits here and there got done. I am now also applying for jobs, so I got oodles of stuff on my plate, but I am glad to be back blogging! I've missed you all so much!

I am kinda cheating here since I wore this outfit to celebrate my defense...almost two weeks ago. I wanted something casual and comfy, but I didn't have lots of time to switch outfits. So, I just changed my shoes and threw this oversized tee and shorts combo in place of the dress I wore.  I promise I'll get back to the updating pictures bit soon. :)

Have you entered my giveaway yet? You still have ONE DAY to enter!!!

MAster of the Universe

dress: Target :: blazer: Old Navy :: kitten heels: Madden Girl :: necklace: F21 ::
specs: Warby Parker, Sinclairs

Yes, I superimposed myself over Teela. But, really, I got more moxie (and style) than her anyway. 

It's been a while. I feel like I've missed a lot since I last blogged! I have good reason, my friends. During the past two weeks I have been prepping for my thesis defense that happened on  Friday as well as writing papers for a course. I am uber delighted to announce that as of two days ago, I am now a proud M.A.ster of the Universe. Alongside He-man, I fought to defend castle thesis, and by golly, did we stand strong.

All geekiness aside, I had an amazing defense. I had the best committee and the most wonderful director see me through. I got hurled a lot of tough questions, but I answered them all. I even read in Old English. The pictures were taken after my defense, after an hour-long drive, when I was very much in need of celebratory drink. On Friday night and yesterday, I celebrated with close friends, who are some of the most intelligent, supportive, and amazing people I have ever met.

I woke up this morning thinking, "Holy crap. I don't have to write anything that's gonna be graded. What am I going to do with my life?" It's an exciting time for me.

I should be slowly getting back in the swing of things. Expect a surprise soon :)