Hat | Mascara or Motoroil

modern tux

I wore this number a few months ago and forgot to ever document it, so when I heard that I had to go to a family dinner I figured I’d rewear it. I was really too hot in the hat and coat, but one must suffer occasionally for fashion.

I got this amazing necklace recently, but the best part is the back!

My camera chooses odd things to focus on- like the foliage in the mirror instead of the mirror itself.

WHAT: straw fedora, forever 21

tails jacket, h&m

ruffle tunic, chicken lays an egg

mirror necklace, chicken lays an egg

big honkin’ ring, forever 21

jeans, forever 21

velvet heels, charlotte russe

WHERE: work at chicken and dad’s girlfriend’s birthday dinner

WHEN: wednesday, june 2

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hats and handbags

In my digging through some older pictures, I found a posts worth of pictures that I never put up! Last week the boy and I ventured out to Everybody’s Records to sell some of his vinyl that never gets played. Although it’s a bit peely, I really like their mural.

Actually in the last year or so ArtWorks, a local art non-profit group has been putting up some really incredible murals all around the city. This is my favorite one in Camp Washington just up the street from the old location of Chicken Lays an Egg.

"Campy Washington"

I’m so excited to see this move of more public art in the city. Recently Shepard Fairey even put up some of his wheat-paste pieces all over the city, and that to me seems crazy (in a good way). It makes Cincinnati feel like a real city!

This one is at the corner of 13th and Main St, in Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati’s oldest neighborhood. Originally it was inhabited by poor German immigrants who referred to the rank canal that existed there at the time as the Rhine; as in the Rhine River that cuts across Western Germany. For the last thirty or more years though it has been a predominantly poor African American neighborhood, but gentrification is turning it into the ‘Gateway Quarter’ featuring million dollar lofts. Ugh. I’ve been reading a bunch of blogs about Cincinnati, so forgive me if I’m in the tour-giving mode. In all seriousness though, urban geography became a huge interest of mine when my brother and I took some classes about it together; it’s just so interesting to me what factors go into a neighborhood turning over.

Anyway, here’s what I wore to the record shop:

WHAT: floral hat, boomerang thrift (nashville)

neat pleats dress, chicken lays an egg

gold belt, chicken lays an egg

green scarf, chicken lays an egg

square handbag, thrift

square lace flats, chicken lays an egg

WHERE: everybody’s records and lunch

WHEN: tuesday, march 6

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stripes galore

Confession time: I’ve been really dragging my feet about posting and even reading other style blogs lately, and I’ve trying to figure out why. I think part of it is sheer laziness, but there is definitely something else going on too. I get frustrated sometimes reading other blogs because I don’t think mine is up to the standards of my peers, and then I get discouraged. I also start to think that I am not being creative enough in my outfits. Anyway, I guess basically my own neurosis is getting to me. I do want to try experiment more with texture and more complicated outfits though.

Also since we expanded the page, I’m playing with making my pictures wider! AND I found what is now my new favorite place to take pictures – the back door at the shop!

My awesome men's Swatch watch!

WHAT: knit hat, stolen from the boy

glasses, forever 21

swatch watch, gift from friend

geometric dress, forever 21

fish necklace, thrift

stripe tights, h&m

wedge boots, forever 21

WHERE: work at the shop and lots of playing outside

WHEN: wednesday, march 31

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one last day

Hello dear readers, I promise you that I haven’t run off to join the circus (although I’m often tempted) I’ve just been crafting hard and enjoying my first week off! Maya, Dana and I are scrambling to get ready for the Crafty Supermarket, and we have lots and lots of stuff to make. I’ve been trying to make some stuff I’ve never tried before. I hate to be so cryptic, but I want it all to be a surprise for people who are coming to the show. I will post pictures after though!

As I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, my amazing boyfriend redesigned the site! I love all the custom buttons he made for me – I have the best boy ever.

However, without any further ado here’s the outfit I wore for my last day of work! What a fantastic last week too, my boss was out of town so I pretty much did whatever I wanted.

Yay! I'm jobless!!!

I got the coolest new watch!

It even does little animations!

WHAT: jockey hat, h&m

bourbon necklace, diy by me

jacket/vest, h&m

black t, rainbow

japanese watch, chicken lays an egg

engineer pants, forever 21

flats, target

WHERE: one last day of work at the library

WHEN: saturday, march 27

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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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fuzzy wuzzy was a girl

I have to say that I am uber pleased to present my new vintage fur collar! I had been hunting for one since early winter, ever since I saw how adorable Calivintage and Orchid Grey‘s fur collars were. Both Erin and Julie just made it look like such a great, effortless piece. And it is very warm, a major plus for me. There are none to be found in the vintage stores of Cincinnati, and the first one I saw in Nashville was way out of price range at $70. I picked this one up for $35, and I like it because although it is lamb skin, it doesn’t feel super real. While I have no moral problem wearing vintage fur since it’s long dead and recycled, I personally can’t handle the feeling of some furs on my skin. They just feel a little too much like someone’s pet sometimes. Anyway, all these pieces worked to well together, and everything but the sweater and tights are from Nashville! I’m sorry about how blurry they are too, I didn’t realize until the next day when I uploaded them.

I took a few shots at the shop too, although didn’t like how busy they are. One of the things I love about the store is that there’s definitely a lot going on visually, it just kind of works against me for this purpose. Although, since the other ones came out so blurry, maybe they’ll give you a better idea of the whole outfit.

WHAT: white post earrings, thrift

black knit beret, forever 21

fur collar, flashback vintage (nashville)

wraparound sweater, chicken lays an egg

blackbird ring, forever 21

suede skirt, lion’s thrift (nashville)

black tights, gabriel brothers

majorette boots, pre to post modern (nashville)

WHERE: work at chicken lays an egg

WHEN: wednesday, february 17

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local music

Even though I’ve known Dana for a while now, somehow I had never seen any of her bands play before. I had been to a few shows but always missed them by a few minutes. So when she told me that Culture Queer was playing last Thursday, I knew I had to be there. I was so happy to finally catch them! They all definitely blew me away. I see Dana as such a strong, balls out, get shit done kind of woman, that her soft, sweet singing voice really surprised me. It was nice to go out on a week night too, that almost never happens.

I was pretty stoked to rock my new dot tights with shorts, and thought it would be the perfect occasion. They aren’t exactly the kid I want, but they’re the closest I could find. I was feeling lazy though too so I just recycled my hat, shoes, and jewelry from the day before.

WHAT: gray floppy hat, borrowed from boyfriend

anchor necklace, thrift

egg shaped sweatshirt, target

white t, rainbow

jeans, hand me downs

dot tights, forever 21

WHERE: culture queer show at mayday

WHEN: thursday, december 24

Culture Queer in action

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photo booth fun

When Maya, Dana, and I made the photo booth in the dressing room for the holiday soiree, we kind fell in love with it. Consequently we decided to just leave it up. Of course I couldn’t resist having my own little photo shoot in there! This is definitely my super comfy lazy look, but I love it nonetheless.

WHAT: floppy gray hat, borrowed from boyfriend

gray turtleneck tunic, rainbow

anchor necklace, thrift

watch, borrowed from maya

stretchy geometric pants, gabriel brothers ($2!)

combat boots, thrift

WHERE: working at the store

WHEN: wednesday, december 22

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bows abound

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.

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sick lady

It seems somewhere along the way I picked up the latest cold that’s going around. Not too shocking really; I work at the downtown library, a clothing store, and I babysit toddlers. So basically I’m in a never-ending onslaught of germs. I really wanted to spend my entire day on my couch with Puffs (the ones with Vick’s are like crack) up my nose and 30 Rock on the TV, unfortunately I had some errands to run. It seems that the people who own my apartment want rent EVERY month or something. Weird.

So, I threw on this new dress and ran out the door!

i just wanna go back to bed!!