Mascara or Motoroil » bow

a casual day and cheeseburger filled evening

jessy — Thu, 26 May 2011 19:35:29 +0000

Some days I wake up and it looks as if I gave myself swirlies all night instead of sleeping, thankfully I discovered the amazing equation of crazy hair + sheer scarf + pea-sized head = giant bow to distract from crazy hair! It works smashingly well if I do say so. Last Tuesday was definitely a bow-of-distraction type mornings so I opted for some cheetah print to liven the whole thing up a little.

Nothin’ fancy, just a casual day at work

C’mon now, don’t leave a girl hangin’!

The real fun got started when my adorable boyfriend picked me up and we headed to Terry’s Turf Club, a restaurant I’d been hearing about for years but had never made it to. Wow, I was missing out BIG.

I immediately knew it was my kinda place.

We sat at the bar which was great because we got to watch them make fresh french fries (from whole potato to plated fries) and see our burgers cooking.

There was definitely no shortage of other things to look at while we were waiting!

And right when I thought my mouth could water no more, this came out.

It was INCREDIBLE. Probably the best burger I’ve ever had.

Of course before we left I had to snap a few more pictures of this haven.

I’ll definitely be back to Terry’s again very soon. As long as my arteries can handle it.

Thanks for reading!!

there’s no glitter in the gutter

jessy — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 02:40:18 +0000

Hellllllloo there, another addition of late night outfits for ya!

I love this shirt so so so much. I’m constantly afraid of ripping off the arms though. #Hulk-style

This coat was another fabulous free finds. Talk about a jackpot!

That’s all for today, hope your weekend was good!

WHAT: oval post earrings, chicken lays an egg

fabu shirt, chicken lays an egg

belt, thrift

high-waisted jeans, urban outfitters

brogue heels, macy’s

fur collar coat, free

brooches, gifts

WHERE: a night of drinking and dancing at Guerrilla Queer Bar

WHEN: friday, november 5

leos rule

jessy — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:08:57 +0000

As some of you may know, my brother is currently living in Seoul, Korea teaching English to elementary school students. It’s great for him not only because he’s great with kids, but also because this job can be for paying off student loans. You get paid pretty well and they pay for most of your living costs, plus you get to live abroad. We’ve had a few friends who’ve done this in the past, but a very good friend of ours, Melissa went over a year before him and helped him get over. Melissa is one of the most wacky, random, hilarious, good-hearted, and fun people I’ve ever met in my life. One day she just started calling herself Mommy and it really stuck, so that’s pretty much how most of her friends know her now. Well, because she is also really impulsive she randomly quit her job in May and flew back to Cincinnati so that she could go to her brother’s wedding. It was great to have her back for the summer, but she has gone back to Korea now. I was very happy that we at least got to spend her birthday with her before she left.

Mommy prefers a low-key, hole in the wall type place, so we went to Arnold’s to listen to some jugband-style blugrass. Arnold’s is the oldest bar in the city, and the perfect bar to have a beer and enjoy the courtyard.

While we were out that night I realized that the very first outfit post I ever did on my blog was from her birthday, so I knew I had to make a tradition of it.

The beautiful birthday girl in front of their Shepard Fairey mural.

All of us ladies

She never saw it coming.

Last year for her birthday we played bocce ball, which was a first for me.

All in all a fabulous night with my two best ladies! I hope I magically get to spend her birthday with her next year. Maybe I’ll have to go to Korea…..

WHAT: sheer scarf, chicken lays an egg

floral dress (as shirt), forever 21

leather belt, thrift

pleated skirt, chicken lays an egg

fakelite rose bracelet, thrift

vintage pink socks, talk of the town

wedges, aldo

WHERE: drinkin’, drinkin’, and more drinkin’

WHEN: friday, august 20

nothing without the kindness of friends

jessy — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:42:14 +0000

Whew! This has been a really fabulous whirlwind weekend for me, so I’m a few days behind on my posts. We had our first afternoon party and sale at Chicken Lays An Egg on Saturday and then I babysat all day today. I cannot WAIT to put up the pictures from the party, we had two of our photographer friends snapping pictures all day and they did suuuuuch an incredible job. Thanks Amy and Rachel, you guys did an amazing job!!

This post however is about how my wonderful friend Jeni really kick-started my love of blogging again. Jeni is an old friend of mine from high school and when we reconnected a few years ago, we really clicked. She is one of the strongest and smartest people I know. She’s so full of life and ready to do whatever fun requires, it makes me feel very lucky to be her friend. Jeni sent me this amazing package last week and it really made my week. She wrote me several really touching cards about how she reads the blog regularly and gave me some great tips on how to keep it fresh. It was especially cool because one of the cards she gave me was this awesome Charley Harper card; he was a very cool modern artist who specialized in wildlife portraits and coincidentally lived in Cincinnati! Here’s a little sampling of his stuff:

Anyway, her letter and everything really lifted me up and put me back in my groove. I actually immediately put on three of the things she sent me; a perfect mustard sweater, bracelet, and the ribbon she used to tie up some of my presents. Here’s how I started my day. Not bad, but nothing too special.

On my way out the door I saw her package, so when I opened it at the store this is what I threw together:

So much better!

It's so windy there!

How perfect is it that she tied up my present with a long white ribbon?!

WHAT: white ribbon, from jeni

mustard sweater, from jeni

little bows skirt, chicken lays an egg

brown balls bracelet, from jeni

leather belt, chicken lays an egg

square lace shoes, chicken lays an egg

WHERE: work at chicken, changing the window display

WHEN: wednesday, march 7

Thanks for reading, there will be more very soon!

i miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms

jessy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:26:04 +0000

As you may be able to tell, I’ve been listening to a lot of MGMT today. I can’t help it, whenever I’m in an excited-for-no reason kind of good mood (especially on a nice day) all I want to listen to is MGMT and Matt & Kim. And this is probably the most gorgeous day we’ve had so far this year! I decided to play hookie, so I called in sick and went on a super long walk with the boy and puppies. It was the longest walk that the little one has ever been on, so needless to say they’re both passed out on the couch cuddling.

It’s amazing what a 60 degree day can do for every one’s attitude! I saw that Mayday, a favorite Cincinnati bar, is having half price drinks tonight and decided immediately to go. I wouldn’t have even considered going out on a weekday before today, but it’s a beautiful day, everyone is in a great mood, and that’ll make for some cheap ass drinks, so out we go!

I was having such a good time on our walk that when I saw this giant tree, I decided I’d take a note from The Clothes Horse and my childhood self and climb on up. I think had been years since I climbed a tree, and that just seemed wrong to me somehow.

However, me being in a tree was seriously distressing my poor pup, Chopper.

So much whining!

So I came down and we walked on through the park some more. The park right by my apartment, Burnet Woods, encompasses an entire city block so you can waste some serious time there.

Everything I’m wearing today is new actually, the skirt is Bebe, but I got in one of the Nashville thrift stores for $3! And awesomely the scarf that I just grabbed from Chicken Lays An Egg matched the pink perfectly.

I really like this scarf especially because of the square polka dots, I feel like you don’t see that too often.

I had to wear the bird ring of course. Those things just match everything!

Not that I like bird jewelry or anything.

I love my new belt, the square in the middle actually turns to lock. It's unlocked in this one.

WHAT: square polka dot scarf, chicken lays an egg

bird necklace, chicken lays an egg

white t, fashion cents

linen bebe skirt, thrift

wide belt, fashion cents

double finger ring, forever 21

flats, target

gold bag, pre to post modern (nashville)

WHERE: walking around aimlessly and going out for drinks

WHEN: monday, march 8

Oh, I just happened to pick up the March issue of Vogue, and saw an ad for the Jean Paul Gaultier for Target line. My roommate and I are going to drive out this week- I can’t wait to go out and see it in person! I wandered over to Target.com and skimmed the collection, and I already found some things that I know will be coming home with me!

puffy sleeves

jessy — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:14:20 +0000

Here’s another little ensemble from last week. I just picked this adorable dress up at the store a few days before and was stoked to try it out. I got a ton of compliments on it, but I think I could have made a cuter total look out of this dress. However, I was running late for work and trying to stay warm. I have to walk a ways from the bus stop, and it’s always freezing and super windy, so I combat that as much as I can. The library is not exactly the warmest place either.

This was my gramma's charm bracelet but it's too cool not to be a focal piece. I just looped a silver chain through the existing clasps to make it long enough.

It's not perfect, but my gramma would be so proud of this bow. She thinks it's a very important skill.

WHAT: charm bracelet, my gramma

puffy sleeve dress, chicken lays an egg

chunky mustard ring, toko baru

white knee socks, target

mary janes, target

WHERE: work at the library

WHEN: wednesday, december 23

bows abound

jessy — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 05:43:00 +0000

Well, Christmas is over already somehow. It always sneaks up on me, but it really got me this time! The Holiday Soiree at the store went fabulously, and I’ll have the photo booth pictures up in the next few days. They turned out phenomenal, our friend Scott really did an incredible job.

My Christmas turned out pretty great, I actually got a bunch of stuff I wanted! Thankfully I got lots of grocery gift cards; I’m so glad my family finally realized that the best present you can get for poor kids is food! I also got a bunch of board games from my mom and a Dremel from my Dad, which was exactly what I wanted. Honestly though the best part of Christmas for me was just having some free time to spend on the couch cuddling with my boy and our puppy brigade. I’ve been running around so much in the last week or so that I’ve barely had time to do that.

Since I have quite a few outfits from the last week, I guess I’ll just do a few each day. This one is from last Wednesday at the shop. I just got this dress and hat from the store and I was dying to wear them. I just love the giant bow on this hat! Actually, everything I was wearing that day is from the store except for my tights and shoes!

WHAT: velvet bow hat, chicken lays an egg

white oval earrings, thrift

bow and pearl necklace, gift from my friend jeni

blue pleated dress, chicken lays an egg

stretchy black and white belt, chicken lays an egg

bird ring (as always), forever 21

yellow tights, target

black oxfords, payless

WHERE: work at the store

WHEN: wednesday, december 16

Just a little moment of awesomeness from my Christmas: these are gay pride Christmas bears that my straight ex-marine cousin made. Her mom told her she was ruining Christmas, and she said, “What mom? Gay people have Christmas too!” This was all while my biker aunt and uncle got sloshed on PBR, and everyone there continuously screamed over each other to be heard. That’s how every holiday is. I love my family.

RETROactive posting- part 2

jessy — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:18:07 +0000

This set of photos was from a particularly gorgeous fall day at Burnet Woods. I’m so glad I got in one outside shoot while the leaves were so beautiful!

WHAT: gray floppy knit hat, boyfriend’s

ohio necklace, from my gramma

black and white knit dress, birthday present from maya & melissa (do they know me or what?!)

red bow belt, chicken lays an egg

black and white stretch bracelet, chicken lays an egg

charcoal tights, gabriel brothers

red boots, thrift

WHERE: work and the park

WHEN: hmmm, good question….

a night on the town, a day with the kids

jessy — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:06:00 +0000

Last night Maya, Amy, and I went out to Mayday (the former Gypsy Hut) for the cd release party of The Minor Leagues, a really great local Cincinnati band.You can check em out at http://www.minorleaguesmusic.com/

(From left) Patrick Helmes, Josh Combs (I believe), and Hilly Kenkel

Amanda Lee Anderson of http://www.amandalee.org/

the whole gang

We ran all around Northside and had a fantastic little night on the town. Since Chicken Lays An Egg just signed up for a collaborative ad with Mayday, (as well as Sidewinder, Bughouse Video, Melt, and possibly Shake It Records) Maya and I were eager to meet Kim and Vanessa the new owners of Mayday and Sidewinder. They were as sweet and fun as I could have hoped for and I hope to do a lot of business with them in the future. Support your local female small business owners and go check out Mayday, it still has all the things you love about the old Gypsy Hut but better!

Anyway, here’s what I wore; I only wish I had gotten better ones of Amy and Maya’s adorable outfits too. Sorry for the image quality on some of these!

WHAT: black t with bubble sleeves, rainbow

orange patent belt, chicken lays an egg

paisley and yellow satin skirt, chicken lays an egg

black and white tablet bracelet, chicken lays an egg

green rhinestone ring, quarter machine

white knee socks, thrift

mustard mary janes, target online

WHERE: mayday and northside tavern

WHEN: saturday november 14

It was a completely accidental knee sock party!

And today I have an easy day of hanging with Max and Vivi, the kids I’ve been babysitting for most of their lives, so we’ve got a definite rapport. Not to mention that they really are really well-behaved, fun, and crazy smart. And if I ever planned on having a grown-up house, I’d love to have a gorgeous giant Victorian like theirs.

WHAT: floral shirtdress, chicken lays an egg

little bow and pearl necklace, gifted from my friend jeni

gold costume ring, my gramma

blue belt, gifted from my friend maya

sam & libby bow flats, thrift

WHERE: babysitting and errands

WHEN: sunday, november 15

moving day

jessy — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:57:00 +0000

I’ve been up since the ungodly hour of 9am moving the store to its fabulous new location in Northside, but it’s done. My god there are A LOT of clothes there. No joke, and my stuff isn’t even in there yet. It was really hard to avoid the temptation of shopping through Dana’s (one of my business partners) stuff, but I managed. So this week will be all about sorting and pricing. Anyway, here’s a little dress that my roommate Nancy actually got from Dana the first time I came to her store! I removed the sleeves to update it a little, but I love the giant buttons and, of course, the pockets.

I was pretty jealous of this dress when Nancy bought it, but it was a bit too stuffy. Once I took those sleeves off, it was perfect. And I turned the buttons from the cuff into earrings! (not pictured)

Nancy in the dress before I altered it

WHAT: funky real estate agent dress, chicken lays an egg

skinny black belt, forever 21

pointy-toe black flats, target

WHERE: work and after work drinks

WHEN: friday, october 23