leos rule

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

September 7, 2010 | jessy | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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

August 13, 2010 | jessy | Tags: , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

out of africa

I cannot believe that I failed to mention this in my last post- sadly, the hard drive in my computer has died. I took it to the Mac store on Saturday to make sure and they confirmed. It was a very sad day for me. Luckily my wonderful boyfriend is quite adept with computers and he can replace it for much cheaper than they would. Unfortunately, you still must have some money to buy a new hard drive which I do not. Long story short, I will only be able to blog on days that I am working at the shop for a while. Sorry guys!

I finally fixed the zipper on this cool pseudo tribal print skirt, I’ve had it for almost a year and never worn it! I thought I’d roll with that theme and thew on this cool goofy mask necklace. Yesterday I had to get up at 6 a.m. for the first time in several years, and I’m still reeling from that. Since I was so exhausted when I woke up this morning I didn’t put that much effort in my accessories, and I think my outfit is a little boring. No big deal though, it would have been too hot for much more clothing really.

I love the little rhinestone eyes on this guy!

WHAT:  mask necklace, chicken lays an egg

mustard ruche top, rainbow

wide belt, rainbow

tribal skirt, chicken lays an egg

flats, target

WHERE: work at chicken

WHEN: wednesday, may 25

Thanks for reading!

May 26, 2010 | jessy | Tags: , , , , | No Comments »

dance yourself clean

OK I have to say right off the bat- if you like dance music you need to check out the new LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening. Per usual they do the 8 minute song thing a little more than I’d like, but it’s really damn catchy! I’d recommend skipping about 1:30 into the first track “Dance Yrself Clean” for a serious jam.

Also, I updated my links categories on the right- please check out some of the amazing sites I added! Presently the favorites category is all style blogs, including several other Cincinnati style bloggers! The other friends section is mostly compiled of my friends who have cool blogs about other topics. So give ‘em a read!

When I went into work at Chicken Lays An Egg on Wednesday I was just wearing a sweater and jeans due to my hungover state when I woke up. However once I got to the shop I saw this skirt though and knew I had to have it! I trimmed off about 4 inches and have since hemmed it, and luckily I had on the brooch and cute scoop neck under my sweater. So I grabbed a belt from the rack and borrowed a pair of my own shoes to create this! I can’t wait to see what I can do with this skirt once I get to play around with the stuff I have at home. Not too shabs though…

WHAT: scoop neck t, rainbow

bird brooch, chicken lays an egg

patent belt, borrowed from chicken lays an egg

gold skirt, chicken lays an egg

jessica simpson slingbacks, borrowed from chicken lays an egg

WHERE: work and my dad’s birthday dinner

WHEN: wednesday, may 12

May 14, 2010 | jessy | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

twofer

I really hope that everyone’s spring has been going well; mine has been spectacular! Honestly that is probably why I’ve been posting so little lately. I’m glad that things turned themselves around though because the year started off kinda rough.

Since I am behind on my posts, I have quite a backlog of outfits. Now I know what you’re thinking- what does this mean to me, the average blog reader? It means that you get not one but TWO outfits in this one post! I know, it’s an amazing deal. This first outfit is from the Friday of the Kentucky Derby, and I actually completely forgot and still ended up with a very Derby outfit. I just wanted to wear my new hat! I was also really excited that day because while I was getting dressed my fancy new blue shoes arrived! I’ve been on a big kick to buy more brightly colored shoes after being incredibly inspired by Iman of Mishaps & Miracles, she rocks the best head to toe color that I’ve seen in a long time!

I am really happy with my new shoes, I was debating between the ones I got and the Steve Madden version:

As you can see the ruffle down the front is a little more well made, but for $20 less I figured I could deal. Actually when I got them I liked them better than I thought I would. The color was more vivid and they just looked more well made than they did in the picture on the Target website.

WHAT: floppy wool hat, thrift

w.a.s.p. dress, borrowed from maya

green rhinestone ring, gumball machine

double buckle belt, chicken lays an egg

ruffle shoes, target.com

WHERE: work at chicken lays an egg

WHEN: friday, april 30

This second outfit was a little something I threw together to work with the head wrap thing. Haiku Ambulance rocks them so well and since we have the same haircut I wanted to give it a try. Unfortunately this was one of the days that my camera decided it couldn’t focus on things. For some reason it’s been doing that lately and I don’t know why, but please bear with me until I figure it out.

Also, A little shout out to my girl Haiku Ambulance for getting Weardrobe‘s Spotlight this week!

I used a square-ended 1980's necktie for my hair wrap



WHAT: 1980′s skinny neck tie (as a hair wrap), chicken lays an egg

banana republic oxford shirt, thrift

wide belt, chicken lays an egg

checkered skirt, chicken lays an egg

knee socks, target

mary janes, target

round purse, chicken lays an egg

WHERE: running errards and drinks with some friends

WHEN: tuesday, may 3

May 10, 2010 | jessy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

selling tires, inspiration.

The first thing I saw when I got to my blog today was that I had a spam comment. As I am a clean freak in every way, I went to delete it when I noticed that it simply said a few things that made no sense then “… keep on blogging”. Although it was without a doubt a spam message, it kinda kicked me in gear today. So thanks random spammer trying to sell me tires!

It’s been kind of an odd week for me, everything has just been off by a little bit. Whether it was dropping my camera face down and smashing it to little pieces or being a little later than I usually am to everything, it’s all just been off. Although I did completely ruin my camera, I am the luckiest girl ever because my boy literally has the exact same one, and he has generously offered up his for me to use as long as I need. I guess that means I’ll have to start saving up for my DSLR sooner than I thought, which I don’t mind too much.

It was a hard day, but at least I looked good. I was especially bummed about the camera since I had already found this perfect location in the park to shoot myself for the day when I broke it. So after I sat in the park and had a meltdown I went back home to get his camera, but I just was too mentally exhausted and upset to trudge back up to the park.

Although I normally hate holding my purse this way, it seemed the only appropriate way for this outfit.

WHAT: grey sunglasses, thrift

button earrings, diy by me

spring scarf, chicken lays an egg

tube dress, thrift ($6!!)

orange belt, chicken lays an egg

pillbox purse, chicken lays an egg

coin machine ring, from my gramma

flats, target

WHERE: just hanging out, surprising a friend at work

WHEN: tuesday, march 6

April 8, 2010 | jessy | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

i miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms

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!

March 8, 2010 | jessy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

seein’ red

I know I’ve mentioned it recently, I’ve been really unhappy with my outfits lately. While I like this one, it’s not totally up to snuff. I had been looking pretty hardcore for a drape cardigan like this though, so I was pretty stoked to find one I really like. I was also pretty happy to take advantage of the warm day and not rock a coat.

WHAT: gray scarf, target

birds in the sun necklace, chicken lays an egg

drape cardigan, tj maxx

white tank, rainbow

red stitch belt, chicken lays an egg

white bird ring, forever 21

jeans, forever 21

red boots, thrift

WHERE: running errands and enjoying my day off

WHEN: saturday, january 16

January 19, 2010 | jessy | Tags: , , , , , , | No Comments »

a night on the town, a day with the kids

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/

minor leagues

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

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

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

the whole gang

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!

curtsy

check out the awesome yellow lining!

braclet & belt

best quarter machine ring ever

knee highs & mary janes

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

amy

amys shoes

miss maya

knee sock party

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.

look at that wraparound porch!

porch

bay window

gold necklace

gold ring

flower print dress belt

white bow flats

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

little baby lady

pillow cave

tickle time

scary viking

November 15, 2009 | jessy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

cincinnati red legs

I’ve realized on going through old posts that I am in a bit of a pose rut. I seem to always only use the same one for most of my pictures, even though I take at least ten per outfit. I’m sure most of this is due to my awkwardness on camera. Oh well, I’m gonna try to work on it!

I got my fantastic new yellow mary janes in the mail from Target today! They’re even more perfect than I imagined. Fear not, I will definitely be sporting them tomorrow. I’d have worn them today but I was already dressed when by the time I got them.

hot legs

IMG_0866

bracelets

And the toasty warm version for my long walk from the bus stop….

all bundled up

WHAT: blue beads, yard sale (50 cents!)

gray gap dress, thrift

color dot belt, chicken lays an egg

bangles, yard sale

red tights, cappel’s costume shop

bdg oxfords, uo

gray scarf, target

plaid coat, thrift ($6)

WHERE: work

WHEN: thursday, november 12

November 13, 2009 | jessy | Tags: , , | No Comments »
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