"When the sun starts sinking on your beautiful soul."

C & C California top. C & C California cardigan. People's Liberation jacket.
Aerie dress [worn as skirt]. Hot Sox tights. Sperry rain boots. 

Being able to incorporate rain boots into fashion comes in quite handy when you live in the Pacific Northwest.  On days when I really want to avoid puddles, I throw on my Sperry rain boots (find similar ones here).  Not only are they black--making them really versatile, warm (they're lined on the inside), they are also wedges--making them more fashionable than the average pair of rain boots.  On the downside, they are not as comfortable as they are versatile, warm, and fashionable; I couldn't wear them all day unfortunately.  However, if you're only going out for a few hours and don't want to risk puddles and splashage (no, that's not a real word), I completely recommend these.  They are perfect for being stylish and practical.  I give them a 4/5.

I finally got around to watching Eat, Pray, Love and really liked it.  I'm going to point out the obvious here and say that Julia Roberts is an amazing actress in this memoir-turned-book.  She did a good job depicting Liz, a woman struggling through her life, trying to find both meaning and balance.  The movie was both relatable and inspiring to me.  The scenery is also astounding and makes you want to follow in Liz's footsteps and travel to those places.  It's amazing the amount of courage Liz Gilbert had to drop everything and leave in search of change.  I give the movie a 4/5 contrary to most other reviews I read.  I think most people were dissatisfied with how the movie depicted Liz's journey in comparison to the book, and I am definitely inspired to go read the book--which might change my rating, but we'll see!


Don 't forget to enter my giveaway!! 

The giveaway will be closed 11:59PM (PST) Monday, January 31st!  Follow me on here (via Google Friend Connect), Twitter, Bloglovin', or Facebook and just let me know where you're following me.  Each place is worth one entry--follow me on all places for 4 chances to win!



-S


P.S. Have you hugged a tree today?  :o)

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"And there's many shades of black."

Gap top. Whitney Eve skirt. Tulle jacket. BCBG wedges. Tarina Tarantino earrings. Marc Jacobs headband.

Another one of my monochromatic days.  I love wearing black; it's my favorite color (if we ignore the fact that it's really a shade...) and it goes with everything--including itself.  I've been working to branch out on my color palettes, but there are days like these where I'm in black almost head to toe.  I swear my closet is full of color, but I just have a strong attachment to black.  Besides, shades and neutrals are very "in" this season.  :o)

I just finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.  I had been planning on watching the movie and wanted to read the book first.  I really liked the book; it was a great read.  I was up until almost 7am because I wanted to finish the book.  I think the last time I was so engrossed in a book that I was willing to sacrifice my sleep was with Harry Potter (any of them).  That's not to say the books are similar because The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo with Harry Potter are on practically opposite ends of the spectrum.  However, as J.K. Rowling writes an amazing fantasy book, Larsson is an enthralling thriller novelist.  I recommend The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo to anyone looking for a good mystery/thriller.  The story is pretty intense and definitely not for the faint of heart.  I give it a 4/5.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

It is for a sampler set of Lancome Juicy Tubes!  Hurry, there's only a few more days to enter!  The giveaway will close at the end of the month.  Entering is easy, just follow me on here (via Google Friend Connect), Twitter, Bloglovin', or Facebook and just let me know where you're following me.  Each place is worth one entry--follow me on all places for 4 chances to win!




-S

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"Gorgeous ladies, there is no need to be actin' shady."

Lucca Couture dress [worn as a skirt]. C & C California top. People's Liberation jacket. Steve Madden heels.

This is my quasi-grunge-meets-girly look.  You're probably getting sick of seeing this jacket, but I'm sorry, it's my favorite!  I love its asymmetrical front, versatility, and its ability to add edginess to essentially any outfit.  Plus, considering how often I wear this jacket, it was totally worth the money.  Be proud that I didn't splurge and then simply stash!  

I finally got around to watching Eclipse and really liked it.  I'm not one of those die hard Twilight fan, but I really enjoy the movies.  I'm normally on top of reading books before they come out as movies, but I never got around to reading the series.  I normally like books better than their movie counterparts; and because I like the Twilight movies [so far], I don't want to ruin it by reading the books.  Otherwise, there will be the potential that I'll get agitated because they didn't do something right or cut parts out.  But if you haven't watched Eclipse yet or are simply looking for a good movie, I would definitely recommend it--it's really not that vampire-y either.  I give it a 4.5/5.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway in the previous post!!  Follow me on here (via Google Friend Connect), Twitter, Bloglovin', or Facebook and just let me know where you're following me.  Each place is worth one entry--follow me on all places for 4 chances to win!



-S

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"I'll give a little bit of my love to you."

Lucca Couture dress. American Eagle scarf. People's Liberation jacket. Zigi Soho boots. Target mittens.

I absolutely love to read, but have a thing about not buying books.  I always go to the library to check out books, and if I absolutely love a book and am willing to read it more than once, then I'll buy it.  I'm at the library in these pictures returning my copy of Lauren Conrad's Sweet Little Lies.  I give it a 3.5/5.  It was a pretty good read, but I wouldn't buy it.  I was also a little disappointed that it wasn't as good as the first book.  It irked me how Jane turned out (rather naive) and since she's the main character, it brought my rating down.  Overall, if you're looking for a nice teen drama book that's an easy read, give Sweet Little Lies a try.

I recently won a giveaway on Michaela's blog and thought I would pay it forward and do a giveaway of my own. 

I absolutely love Lancome's Juicy Tube lipglosses!  If you're ever looking for a nice, sheer lipgloss that glides on easily, Juicy Tubes are your answer!  This giveaway is for 5 sample size [0.28--it's actually a generous size; a sample size will last me at least a few weeks!] that is a combination of the Jelly glosses and the Smoothie glosses.




[Jelly] Bolole, [Jelly] Daiquiri, [Smoothie] Fruity Pop, [Smoothie] Pink Horizon, & [Smoothie] Beach Plum.

How to enter:
1. Follow me on here (via Google Friend Connect), Twitter, Bloglovin', or Facebook.
2. Comment this post and let me know where you're following me; each place is worth one entry.


Simple and easy!  :o)  Last day to enter is January 31st.  Good luck!





 
--S

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"Hush, hush, the world is quiet."

Heartloom dress. Kirra scarf. People's Liberation jacket. Da-Nang boots. CC Skye ring.

I'm working really hard to keep doing my outfit pictures, but I need to come up with indoor places to avoid the rain.  Indoor places are also much warmer; I'm trying to not become too attached to my sheepskin boots. 

But do let me introduce you to these Dâ-Nang boots!  I absolutely love them.  I bought them at a great price during a Hautelook sample sale (they have amazing sales, if you're not a member yet, join!!).  They are super warm and comfortable, and I love the dragon embroidered detailing to them.  The boots are definitely one of a kind, and I have yet to see these boots anywhere. I don't have a close-up shot in this post, but see this post.

I also love my leopard print scarf.  I bought it at Pacsun last year during an after-the-winter sale for probably $5 and is well worth the money! Not only is it super warm, I get tons of compliments every time I wear the scarf. 

I've been doing a better job updating my Chictopia, please visit!  :o)


-S

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"If my heart was a house, you'd be home."

7 For All Mankind tank top. Joe's Jeans.  Abercrombie & Fitch jacket. H & M hat.
C & C California long sleeve top. Tarina Tarantino necklace. Marc Jacobs flats.

I absolutely love this hat--the first hat I've ever really loved.  In general, I really like hats.  I see them all the time and thinking, "OMG, that is so cute!" and then followed by, "...too bad I can't really wear it."  :o(

My problem is my hair--mostly, my bangs.  I've had bangs since I was four.  My bangs have definitely evolved.  After all, when I was little, literally 50% of my hair consisted of my bangs (hardly an exaggeration, I had the total china doll look going).  In middle school, I was like, "Who the heck has this much bangs??" so I eventually grew them all out and left a wispy amount to call my "bangs."  High school came and I had normalized my bangs.  At one point in time, I experimented with side swept bangs but found them too high maintenance for me.  The bangs you see now are what I've had for awhile and probably will continue to have.  I have a minor widow's peak which is actually a major pet peeve for me so I keep my bangs to camouflage them.

I feel like I'm okay with having bangs for the rest of my life, but when it comes to hats, my bangs are hindering.  If you want to talk about hat hair, hat bangs hair is awful!  Hence, why I can never wear hats.  That is, until I found this super cute H & M one!  Because of its slouchy style, I can wear without having my bangs in the way!  I absolutely love this hat.  It's super cute and gives me hope that there may be other hats out there I can wear without my bangs getting in the way. 



--S



P.S.  Please visit my Etsy shop and let me know what you think!  You can still use the code "blogspot" to receive 10% off your purchase. 

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"Imagination, life is your creation."

Juicy Couture dress. House of Harlow ring. Nine West heels.

For my blog title, I looked up the lyrics to Aqua's "Barbie Girl" song (it came out in the late 90's) and was surprised at its in appropriateness.  We used to sing it all the time when it came onto the radio in 5th grade.  I also heard it all the time in middle school gym class because our gym teachers used to play an odd mixed CD that consisted of "Barbie Girl" and the SpongeBob Squarepants theme song (if there were any other songs on that CD, we never heard them) while we ran laps.  There was another version of the song that kids used to sing altering the verses so that they were more inappropriate (for example, instead of "life is plastic," Barbie talked about her rack being plastic), but I never realized that the original version of the song is bursting with innuendo! 

It seems rather common with kids, throughout generations, insisting on listening to the most popular pop and hip-hop stations/music and get hooked to songs without fully understanding what they're about--and if they do, they shouldn't!  Take Lady Gaga for example--how many of her songs do not include any innuendo?  I would probably say 5 at most.  When my [work] kids are going around singing about "taking a ride on your disco stick," I beg them to stop singing immediately.

But back to fashion stuff... 

Love this dress!  I've been obsessed since I first saw it in Barbie's 50th Anniversary Fashion Show.  Did anyone else watch/see the outfits from the show?  Some of them were borderline un-Barbie-like, but still, the fashion was absolutely amazing!  Can you imagine what it would be like to be Barbie (we're ignoring the fact that she is a plastic doll at the moment)?  She's clearly the most well-rounded and educated person considering just how many occupations she's had.  And furthermore, talk about fashionista!  Barbie probably has a gazillion outfits!  Can you imagine how big her closet would be it consisted of every single clothing item of hers?  Answer: HUGE. 

I still need to find a nice tulle underskirt to wear with the butterfly dress to really complete the look!  Anyone know where I can find one?  This is only the second time I've worn this dress (see here), but I would love a tulle underskirt.  I think it would a fun way to transform any skirt/dress!

I have a big interview tomorrow, wish me luck!  I'm debating whether to wear a jacket, though I really should because it will probably be below freezing, and there's also approximately 50% chance of snow.  However, I always feel awkward wearing a coat/jacket to an interview.  Are you supposed to take the time to take it off?  I hate having them wait for me to grab my purse before I leave; having to grab my jacket too would be even more time consuming.  Help me out, what do you do with your jacket at an interview?

Sorry for the long blog post!


--S



P.S. If you haven't already, please visit my Etsy shop and let me know what you think!  Use the code "blogspot" to receive 10% off your purchase.  It's my way of thanking my readers. :o)

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All I want...is a pretty little outfit.

Any other Pretty Little Liars fans out there?  I only recently started watching the show last month.  All my other shows were having their re-runs so I spent a couple nights watching all the episodes of Pretty Little Liars.  Teen dramas are my guilty pleasure, and I love this show!

Aria (played by Lucy Hale) has a fun, slightly boho style to her look.  Never in a million years would I have paired a colored cami--or colored anything really--with leopard print.  In my mind, it would just clash and look disastrous.  But Aria made it work, and overall, I am in love with the outfit she wore for Monday's episode ("Moments Later").

Obsession of the Week: Aria's look



Leopard cardigan: BCBG
Get the look with Mango cardigan

Purple lace cami: Forever 21
Get the look with Old Navy

Shorts: Free People
Get the look with BDG shorts


Necklace: vintage
Get the look with Forever 21 turquoise necklace

Boots: vintage
Get the look with Frye boots

Tights: unknown
Get the look with Forever 21


Do you have any show/celebrity inspired outfits?  :o)



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"There's a world out there that we should see."

Juicy Couture dress and rings. Kensie jacket. Forever 21 headband.
Givenchy earrings. Betsey Johnson socks. Calvin Klein heels.

I really do obsess over whatever is featured in my"Obsession of the Week" posts.  After I did my "All I want...is a pair of really cute socks!" post, I literally went out and bought about 5 pairs of over-the-knee socks.  They were all Betsey Johnson because I like the style and quality of her stuff, especially her socks.  :o)  But here is me actually wearing something I bought instead of storing in my closet for forever!  (Although I've had the other pairs of awhile now and have yet to wear them...)

How is everyone enjoying 2011 so far?  I started the new year with a splurge (I know, shame on me!) and bought myself 3 necklaces.  But in my defense, they were Marc Jacobs!  Who passes up Marc Jacobs?!
 


Visit my Etsy shop and let me know what you think!  Use the code "blogspot" to receive 10% off your purchase.  It's my way of thanking my readers. :o)

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"Come on show 'em what you're worth."

Jenny Han dress. Carole Juc earrings. Juicy Couture layered necklace. Steve Madden heels.

Kept everything black and gold New Year's.  :o)

Hellooooo, 2011!  I'm really excited for what this year is going to bring me.  I'm feeling pretty optimistic and confident about 2011 and hopefully such feelings will last.

I don't really remember what my New Year's resolutions were last year.  I feel like it was something about working out at least once a week, and I think I lasted until about March.  Whoops...

But here's my resolutions for this week and hopefully these will fare better; I tried to keep them realistic...

1. Go to bed at a reasonable hour--that is, unless being productive.  So while I'm probably going to bed after 4am "tonight," I've been really productive, doing a lot of cleaning and organizing and blog stuff.  Staying up until 4am playing Bejeweled via Facebook would not be okay.  Thus, if I must stay up late, it has to be really worth losing sleep.

2. Keep the closet minimal.  I've adopted the "one in, one out" mantra (inspired by December's Lucky issue (see here for more tips I liked).  Every time I buy/acquire an article of clothing, I get rid of one.  Thankfully, I gave myself a little of room to work with by only limiting the rule to clothes--thus, shoes, jewelry, and accessories are not included.  Those things don't take up as much space in my closet anyway!

3. Publish book.  A book, any book!  I've actually accumulated a number of novels and children's books now that need to be published.  I just don't look forward to the gazillion rejection letters.  However, I won't get desperate and publish with just any crappy company like I did years ago.

4. Find a good career.  I graduated early and literally years ago, but with the tough economy, it's been hard for me to land a real career.  The economy has been getting better though so hopefully 2011 will do it for me.

5. Have a successful blog.  In order to do that, I need to really commit to my blog and continuing doing posts, as well as visiting your blogs.  I really hope to increase my readers and followers this year by a lot.

6. Do what makes me happy.  Whatever that may be.  I have a really ambitious personality and have spent way too many of my years trying to be ahead of everyone else / chase success.   I feel like it's finally time to just step back and do things that I'm passionate about and will make me happy.



What are your current resolutions?
 


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All I want...is another fashionable year.

I started this blog in February but for a great while, it was simply my pet project and experience.  I blogged but didn't really share it with anyone.  It was really around July when I started exploring other blogs and exchanging links.  And as with most things, networking is key!

I'm going to jump on the bandwagon here and also do a 2010 fashion recap.  I've changed a lot this year in many aspects, and I definitely feel like my sense of style has also grown. 

You can also click any of the pictures to see the original blog post.  :o)

Obsession of the Week: 2010

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER


Here's to a great year!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to all my followers and avid readers.  I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart.  I hope that I can make this blog even more great for everyone else and gain more readers.  :o)

-Sam


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