Trumped

A Wind in the Trees

Shirt: UO * Skirt: Target, remixed * Loafers: thrifted, remixed * Tights: We Love Colors (charcoal), remixed * Scarf: gift * Belt: thrifted, remixed

I wore this exact outfit three times last week. It was ridiculous. I wore it to work one day, but by the time I got done it was too dark to take outfit pictures outside, and I just knew that this outfit deserved good photos. So I set it aside and figured I'd wear it over the weekend and get pictures then. So I wore it on Saturday, and Joe and I had a full day of mate-drinking, scone-eating, feverishly-typing productivity. Before I knew it, it was dark again (and cold!), and I just couldn't bring myself to use anything but natural light to photograph this outfit. So Sunday morning, before doing anything else, I threw everything back on, and Joe and I hopped across the street into the woods to get the photos I'd been waiting for all week. On the third day, we took the pictures. And it was good.

I want to hug myself in this outfit. Seriously, I love it that much. It makes me wish I had a twin, so I could dress her in this exact outfit (three times a week?) and hug her. It's partly the scarf, I think, but also the adorable bird print on this UO shirt ($5, what what!). And the complimentary color with the loafers and the scarf. And the lace skirt. No, honestly, I just love all of it. It's starting to get a bit too cold for these kinds of outfits, though, or at least it was this weekend. I was shivering and shaking my way through the day, and was extra grateful for my big chunky scarf. I got this scarf, and a matching hat, from dear friends (almost family) in Chile. When I went, years ago, I had underestimated how cold winters in the Southern Hemisphere could be, and was grossly unprepared for the chill. So they gave me this scarf, handmade by a friend of theirs, and I wore it diligently throughout the winter, and all winters since. It is phenomenal.

Sorry I didn't get better close-ups of the shirt, though. You can kind of make out the birdies in the picture above, but I know it's not great. I'll do better next time.

Also, as we were taking these, a couple walked down the path near us on their morning walk. I got uncomfortable, and then inevitably awkward, and started miming weird things (not sure why I thought that would make it less weird to be taking pictures...). Anyway, one of my ridiculous poses was captured on camera. I was miming that I had to blow on my hands because I was cold. I am ridiculous.

Title song: The Weepies, "Little Bird"

Stocking Up

Gals,

We have been spending quite a bit of time away from cyberspace ( hence the tumbleweed sweeping through the blog!) and tucked up in our studios in a blast of productivity. We are currently building up stock for an exciting venture about to be revealed and it's important to put as much effort into getting enough products ready in time.

Pictured above is a sample of one of the new range of items that we are busy working on, we have a whole selection of these in various different colour schemes and sizes coming soon. ( Would be an ideal Xmas Gift if you knew any fashion forward buddies who like to stand out from the crowd!)

This particular piece above is on it's way to Waterford Healing Arts Trust to sponsor an upcoming fundraiser for the local Waterford Regional Hospital. More about that event later for those of you who are reading the blog from the local Waterford area. (Promises to be a great fashion filled night of fun!)

Bonzie Vintage Inspired Couture Necklaces can be found soon on www.bonzie.etsy.com

Price €64euro

The Cold of a Winter's Day

Sweater: The Garment District in Boston * Jeans: Gap, remixed * Wedge loafers: Bass, remixed

So, remember my forest? With all the pretty changing leaves? This is it! All the leaves have fallen now (Joe says that most of the remaining ones were blown off of the trees during the storm of the century a couple of weeks ago). I guess that's what I get for not visiting for a few weeks. I still find it totally beautiful, though, and I love that you can see so much further through the trees now that the leaves have fallen. And the ground cover of the fallen leaves is just lovely. I can't wait to see it after the first snowfall (which, from what I hear from my Minnesota friends and bloggers, we barely missed this weekend!).

I'm actually going to miss another couple of weekends in the forest this November. Joe is coming to Chicago this week for a long weekend (yay!) and then next week is Thanksgiving, and we'll be off visiting his family. I'm actually really excited and ready for the holidays this year. I always enjoy the holidays themselves, but have often gotten overwhelmed by the Christmas season, with its tinsel and velvet and catchy songs. But I have to admit that yesterday while I was driving back into the city, I inadvertently found the Chicago-area Christmas radio station, and bopped along to Christmas music as I battled the suburban traffic. I'm a little ashamed, but I don't care. 'Tis the season.

I had a hell of a time taking these pictures. I got to Joe's place before he got home on Friday, so I trekked out into the woods with just my camera (I had forgotten my tripod this weekend). I found a few good fallen logs to prop my camera on, so that wasn't the problem. The problem was that with all the leafy ground cover, I couldn't actually see where the ground was, and I kept tripping and falling all over the place. I'm really happy with the photos I got, especially because they totally show off the adorableness of this new sweater (got it at the Garment District in Boston, and I just love the mauve color and adorable crocheted Peter Pan collar), but it was a bit of a thrash, literally, to get them.

Happy Monday, everyone! Only a week and a half until Turkey Day!!

Title song: Fleetwood Mac, "Bare Trees"

Weekend Clothesline: Meet Me on the Green Line

Disclaimer: it's about to get real photo-heavy up in here. If you have shit to do today, I'd plan to come back later. Or use this as a lovely distraction.

Enjoying a cold beer on my first night in town at Highland Kitchen

So I gave you fair warning up there in my handy dandy disclaimer, but this post is pretty photo-heavy. In addition to a couple of outfit shots, I took a ton of pictures in Boston, and thought I'd do a little roundup of everything that struck my fancy. Enjoy! And I've been loving reading all of your comments on the Boston posts, especially those of you who have frequented some of these places! Happy weekend, all!

Amazingly weird and fantastical radiator graveyard. We found this on the way to a tour at Taza Chocolate (at which I completely failed to get any pictures).




Some of the many lovely little coffeeshop/bakeries we went to. Top to bottom: My coffee and oatmeal pecan scone at Crema near Harvard Square; Sofra, a Mediterranean bakery where I probably would have sold my soul for the secret to their granola, and where I picked up some incredible tahini toast for the flight home; sitting in a cafe reading Ulysses and drinking rose tea as I wait to go to the airport to return to Chicago




Glimpses of Boston Harbor





Eating cannolis and clams. Top to bottom: happily displaying my pistachio cannoli at Mike's Bakery in the North End; it's delicious!; fresh clams from a vendor in the Haymarket; nomnomnom



Some people I don't know, eating at the Friendly Toast near MIT. Good gravy that was good eatin'! We both got the Healthy Henry cocktail, which was green fruit and veggie juice with blueberry gin and fresh blueberries. Yum!


The Garment District, where we were both overwhelmed by the "dollar a pound" fiasco, but where I found a couple of darling sweaters!


Posing with my hot apple cider outside the Harvard Square farmer's market. I had already polished off my apple cider donut, so there is no documentation of its existence.




Ending the weekend with some delightful beers, conversation, and assorted meats (I got a housemade bratwurst with the best damn sauerkraut I've ever had!) at the Publick House.

Title song: John Cena, "Beantown"

Is Your Sweater On?

Dress: thrifted, remixed * Sweater: Tulle, remixed * Tights: We Love Colors (charcoal), remixed * Socks: Target, remixed * Boots: Target, remixed

So I'm planning to post my major photo roundup from my trip to Boston tomorrow, but today I thought I'd post an outfit favorite from last week that somehow never made the cut. I've been a bit obsessed with the preppy look of layering sweaters over collared shirts and dresses, and it seems to have become my go-to way of making summery dresses a bit more cold-weather appropriate (though that's been hardly necessary this week, with Chicago's ridiculously warm weather). This dress never fails to impress me with its comfort, wearability, and flattering shape. Plus, the color is so delightfully autumn to me.

As predicted, my week has been pretty busy. Last night was a late, but actually really fun, night after a long day. It was one of those work things that didn't really feel like work, which was a welcome surprise. Tonight is another late night, and I'm still feeling pretty under the weather. But I know I'll get fed, at least, and the evening should be interesting as well. I've also been having to wear more "business formal" outfits this week, since we had a series of meetings with bigwigs. All the meetings are done for the week, so I'm going for a slightly more fun outfit, with a whimsically-printed shirt and lace skirt. Plus, tomorrow's Friday, so who am I to complain?

How have your weeks been going? When you have certain sartorial restrictions for a few days, do you feel the need to rebel after they're over?

Title song: Vampire Weekend, "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"

The Colored Stones and Troop Leaders

T-shirt: c/o Threadless Select * Skinny cargos: Old Navy, remixed * Cardigan: thrifted at the Garment District in Boston * Scarf: thrifted, remixed * Flats: Target, remixed

It's been absolutely beautiful in Chicago this week. Highs in the mid-60s, in November??!? I don't know what the eff is going on, but for now I'll take it. It's probably my last no-tights hurrah until Spring, so I better get it while the getting's good. It's a really busy week at work, with lots of high-stakes meetings and late-night events. I'm starting at 8:00 am now, and won't get out of work, for the next couple of nights, until at least 8:00 pm. I'm already ready for the weekend! I'm also getting increasingly suspicious that I've caught some sort of flu. Over the course of the day yesterday, my muscles got progressively more and more achy, my throat developed a distinctive scratchiness, and my head started to dully throb. After nine hours of sleep, I only feel marginally better. But I'm armed with loads of Emergen-C, so I'll power my way through one way or another.

K. and I took these pictures on Sunday, after heading out on the T to go to the Publick House (again, I'll have more pictures later). We got there just before the pub opened, so we wandered along the streets admiring the architecture, glancing at rad Russian bookstores, and laughing at babies (not in a mean way!). My favorite building in the area was this massive stone manor-looking place, that totally reminded me of a mental institution in the moors of England. It was probably just apartments, though. We took pictures at another cool building, with these big Romanesque columns. It was a lovely late afternoon stroll, and I just adored getting to see so many distinct, but equally charming, neighborhoods of Boston.

I busted out my new Threadless Select t-shirt in Boston, too! I was beyond thrilled when Threadless asked if I was interested in wearing and reviewing one of the shirts from their Select line. I'm a big proponent of graphic tees, but have kind of graduated from the sillier ones I wore in my teen years, so I love the aesthetics of the Select shirts. I almost picked one of the men's styles, with a record on it, but went for the streets of London design instead (perfect for scoping out a British mental institution!). The fabric is insanely soft, and eco-friendly, which makes me love it all the more. I'm so excited to keep remixing the crap out of this one. I think it'll look great with a wool skirt, thick tights, and a warm jacket once winter really kicks in.

Title song: Local Natives, "Camera Talk", off of Gorilla Manor (thanks again, Terra! I luuurve them!)