Floral | Mascara or Motoroil

take a walk with me

Well dear readers, I’m sure you have noticed my serious lack of posts recently. There was an incident that happened a few weeks ago with my blog, and it really made me consider just deleting it. Without going into detail, I accidentally stepped right in exactly what I hate about the fashion world. I started writing this blog purely out of my love of being a fashionable lady on a very small budget, and I just need to stay true to that idea. Oh well, I’m over it now though and am back in action!

A few days ago, my very handsome boy and I went to see Inception at the movie theater up the street. Since it was such a lovely evening, we decided to just walk there. We have a really adorable little neighborhood, so I thought you might enjoy the walk with us!

The giant park by our house where our pups love to play (and where most of my pictures are taken), Burnet Woods.

You can’t catch me!

Not sure why it looks a little foggy??

Like those giant cuts on the backs of my knees? That’s what happens when you have your dog on a retractable leash and she wraps it around you and bolts after a bird. Thanks Charlie.

Just ignore those old lady socks sticking out. My shoes give me really bad blisters in the back without them. :(

Alright enough of that silliness- we’re gonna be late for the movie!

Almost there!

At this corner if I were to turn around, you’d see this really cool fountain!

Oh, look – it’s my roommate/business partner/fabulous friend, Maya! I really do see her everywhere I go!

Right behind her car is Skyline, Cincinnati’s most well-known regional food. Their specialty is chili with spaghetti and a giant mound of cheese, which is how we eat all chili in Cincy. I actually can’t imagine why you’d wanna eat chili without spaghetti under it, and cheese makes everything better, so… yeah. if you’re not a vegetarian and you’re in Cincinnati, I guess I’d try it. It’s not really the best chili, but after a night of drinking it hits the spot pretty well.

Here it is, the Esquire Theatre! It’s the local art house theater, and is very near and dear to my heart. One of the first jobs I had in Cincinnati was at the Esquire, and among many many of my other friends, I met Maya there. She actually trained me over six years ago and we’ve been friends ever since. Sadly, this is also where I leave you guys. I can promise that I will be back soon though!

WHAT: white ribbon, leftover from a gift

blue pinwheel button earrings, handmade by me

navy scoop neck, forever 21

floral linen skirt, chicken lays an egg

vintage brown belt, thrift

gold bangle, toronto thrift store

saddle bag, chicken lays an egg

old lady woven shoes, street fair

WHERE: our walk and movie

WHEN: who even remembers

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art museum blogger date

I have to start by thanking everyone who came out to U-Swap, it was such an incredible success! Molly and I had a great time and can’t wait to do it again (although hopefully in a less sweaty place and time). The fabulous Rachel Elliott took some shots for us, so I will post those as soon as I get my hands on em! Thank you so much to Kasmira, Tamia, and Paige and all the other Cincy bloggers for coming too- it was so great to meet everyone and see the people I did know again! As always everyone looked fabulous!

These pictures are a few weeks old now since I am a slacker extraordinaire, but Molly the Sister in Second-Hand Sequins and I went to the Cincinnati Art Museum recently to check out the temporary display of antique neon signs they currently have on loan from the American Sign Museum. They only had a few, but after I saw how huge they were I understand why! If you’re near Cincy you should absolutely make a trip to the Sign Museum – they have weird hours but are also open by appointment. We had a really good time running around though- thank god that Molly had her camera and Jacob didn’t mind being our photographer.

He's comin' for ya Molly!

Hudy - delcious Cincinnati beer

I must admit in a little disclaimer here that I don’t drink beer. It just makes me feel all sloshy and sleepy so I pretty much stick to mah favorite super cheap wine: Crane Lake Riesling. Mmmmmm….

Just look how softly he glows. Like an angel.....

They had one of the balcony areas all separated with matte wallpaper and these cool frames for people to draw in!

The museum also currently has some really beautiful Charley Harper prints that are really out of his normal realm. Most of his pieces are centered around nature and look more like the picture below, but these featured a lot more industrial scenes. It was a small exhibit, but I definitely recommend it if you’re in or near Cincinnati.

I love how geometric most of his work is.

Then we ventured around the little courtyard outside to enjoy the sunshine…

The low back on Molly's leotard top is so cute!

One of my many beloved veil hats

Ain't nobody here but us style bloggers....

If only the big swing in front of the museum wasn't anchored...

I love this one that Molly snapped of herself. Suuuch a cute outfit!

All in all a very fun excursion! I love these little playdates and can’t wait to do one with Paige the Midwest Darling too!

WHAT: white cage veil hat, chicken lays an egg

daisy dress, chicken lays an egg

je taime double ring, forever 21

mustard mary janes, target

white vinyl bag, chicken lays an egg

WHERE: art museum and then work

WHEN: tuesday, sometime ago…

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look ma, no scarf!

That’s right ladies and gents, for one day I am not wearing a scarf of any kind! I was glad to finally get to wear all of these pieces, especially since somehow have never worn any of them except the shoes. Now that I have such a massive closet that happens from time to time. The skirt was originally a gross old lady maxi skirt, but I love the color (and pockets!) so I brought it home and hemmed it, and the mustache necklace was made completely by me!

Remember Sam & Libby?

Seriously though, does anyone remember Sam & Libby shoes? I had a bunch of little bow flats like this in different colors when I was a kid and I loved them! I freaked when I found these at a thrift store.

WHAT: mustache necklace, diy by me

floral top, chicken lays an egg

i love you ring, forever 21

white belt, chicken lays an egg

silk skirt, thrift

sam & libby flats, thrift

WHERE: work at chicken and making pasties later!

WHEN: friday, may 21

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deja vu!

Ever since I bought this skirt from one of my partners Chicken Lays An Egg (our shop) last week I’ve been totally in love. I was thrilled to see how well it lays over my new crinoline that I picked up thrifting! What this means to you is that you get to look at the same skirt again. Lucky you!

WHAT: mustard sheer scarf, thrift

plum v neck, clothing swap

brass buckle belt, thrift

floral skirt, chicken lays an egg

vintage children’s crinoline, thrift

bangles, chicken lays an egg

ankle socks, clothing swap

green alligator heels, chicken lays an egg

WHERE: work at the shop and LOST (or since I don’t watch lost, drinking while other people watch it)

WHEN: tuesday, may 18

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another twofer!!

I was really happy to finally get a chance to wear the dress that my magnificent friend Jeni sent me! It’s so light and breezy, I was comfy all day. I’ve been rocking the sheer scarves as hair wraps all the time lately, they’re my new go to for a bad hair day or a need for color. Through some hardcore thrifting I have recently acquired one in just about every color of the rainbow!

I love how much this purse resembles vinyl upholstery from a 1950′s Bel-Air!

Yet again I ended up playing dress up a bit while I was at work. While I was getting in place before the picture, I fell off the step and this is the picture I got. I really like how it came out though!

I did end up bringing the skirt home, but the very cool suede belt is still for sale at Chicken Lays An Egg!

WHAT: sheer scarf, thrift

button pinwheel earrings, made by me

ginko leaf necklace, gift from maya

dress, gift from jeni

big black ring, forever 21

vintage handbag, chicken lays an egg

sunglasses, chicken lays an egg

socks, yard sale

mary janes, target

WHERE: work at chicken

WHEN: friday, may 14

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ikea daytrip

In my ever-increasing days off, I have actually had time to hang out with my wonderful boyfriend and do all the stuff we’ve been meaning to do for months and months. Of course it also helps that we have a mobile car again, hopefully my poor truck will be back on the road soon too! I’m really excited for all this time mostly because it means that I’ll have more time to devote to our store, Chicken Lays An Egg. I would like to look into having stock available on our website, but I still have some logistical issues to work out if we did do that. Thank you so much to all the very sweet people who have inquired though! If you do live in Cincinnati or just want to see some of our stock, become a fan of our Facebook page. I upload pictures of almost every new piece that comes into the shop. I also want to do a giveaway from Chicken Lays An Egg to a reader – any requests on what to give away? I was considering jewelry or a bag possibly…. Leave me a comment and let me know what you’d like to have!

Since I had Monday off, Jacob and I went out to play at Ikea. I say ‘play’ because we always end up having a really good time messing with everything and mocking ridiculous things that no one needs, which Ikea has no shortage of. Although, we were actually there to pick up some more pieces for my massive and ever-expanding closet. I cannot wait until he has time to put it together, I’ll finally have some storage for off season clothes. It also gave me a chance to debut my new favorite skirt from H&M and cool vintage pillbox bag from Chicken Lays An Egg! I love them both so much, and I can predict that you’ll see a lot of them in the coming weeks.

EDIT:

After I posted this entry, I found this picture in my Iphoto. Talk about subliminal inspiration!

This picture doesn't even get close to capturing how saturated the colors get in the light and the shimmer of the fabric.

Oh little yellow bag, you're so adorable.

WHAT: flapper hat, h&m

camera necklace, diy by me

ruffle shirt, target

iridescent skirt, h&m

je t’aime double finger ring, forever 21

black rose ring, pangea

seafoam h.u.e. tights, macy’s

yellow pillbox bag, chicken lays an egg

wedge booties, forever 21

WHERE: ikea and running errands

WHEN: monday, march 22

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so jersey 1982

This weekend I went out with my best girlie (my business partner and roommate) to celebrate the quitting of my job! It had gotten to the point where I was being ridiculously over-managed and spied on by my boss, and I just won’t put up with that crap. I am however very sad to leave this good of a job- fantastic pay, great benefits, and it could be very fun at times. I just have too much self-respect to be told how many times a day I’m allowed to go to the bathroom at this age. So I will be going back to my old job as a preschool teacher pretty soon, which I am really excited about. But the thing I’m really excited about is having time off!! I’ll be working fewer hours and I’ll always be off on weekends- what an exciting prospect! Now I’ll have the time to put into all the things I love, especially the blog.

Maya and I had a great time shopping yesterday, and we got some really amazing stuff. We finally got an H&M store here in Cincinnati, and in an evil plot to make me spend a bunch of money, they put it right next door to the Forever 21. Bastards. The biggest score of the day by far came when I strolled over to the shoe section of Forever 21 and saw the platform Chloe boot knockoffs that I thought were totally sold out!!! Of course they only had 2 pairs and they were both size 6, and I wear a 7 1/2. Somehow though the shoe gods were smiling on me and they fit. So of course I had to wear them out as soon as possible.

I really love these sleeves.

WHAT: chunky gold chain, chicken lays an egg

puffy sleeve roses, forever 21

giant oval ring, forever 21

gold clutch, chicken lays an egg

tuxedo skirt, chicken lays an egg

dot tights, h&m

platform booties, forever 21

WHERE: northside tavern and rollin’ with the homies

WHEN: saturday, march 20

And since Maya was looking so cute in her new duds, I had to include her too. You would not believe how differently Maya dressed when I met her almost 6 years ago! She wore only darker earth tones, no bright colors, very simple silver jewelry only, and never heels. I am so proud of how much she’s branched out, especially lately.

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the moon’s teeth marks are on the sky

Following the lead of many of my favorite blogger gals, I’ve been using song lyrics in the absence of good post titles. This one is from my favorite Tom Waits song, Ninth & Hennepin a spoken word poem about a the saddest, grittiest dive bar. Classic Tom Waits. The piano I posed with in this post reminded me of the broken lilting piano part in Ninth & Hennepin. I was really excited to find this piano in an alley we were walking through on the way to the bar, it made the perfect backdrop!

I really love the texture of this wrap sweater. It's actually made to be a bolero-style front tie sweater for a lady much larger than me, so it wraps all the way around me!

WHAT: purple dot earrings, chicken lays an egg

owl necklace, chicken lays an egg

blue tank, rainbow

wrap sweater, chicken lays an egg

rose ring, pangaea

floral skirt, h&m

purple tights, forever 21

black oxfords, payless

WHERE: art opening at Fabricate , The Lion’s Rampant CD release party, and lots of drinks

WHEN: saturday, march 13

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snow day!

Well I got up early this morning and prepared for the worst. We got hit pretty hard with snow early this morning and through the afternoon. Unfortunately I had to work a long shift at the library today so I dressed for warmth in my thrifted cashmere sweater and new crazy comfy booties. As I was driving in though I called my boss and luckily she agreed to let me make up today’s hours this weekend. So I turned around and went back home to the pups. The boy and I spent most of the day working on a website for Chicken Lays An Egg. It’s coming along spectacularly and I can’t wait to unveil it!