Technicolor Girls

After fully noticing that the last two outfits I shared on my blog consisted of mostly blacks and grays, I decided it was high time to play with some color. That's where Polyvore (the perfectly pleasing time-waster, as I like to call it) comes in. Sure, I have plenty of color hanging in my closet and folded in my dresser, but we all know its sometimes more fun to play with clothes we don't have.

I'd really like to recreate the look in the first set come springtime. I received those super cute green Keds for Christmas and would love to wear them with denim shorts and a yellow cardigan. Another Christmas gift I received is also placed in one of these sets. Can you guess what it is? I'll wear the item the next time I do an outfit post, so check back soon to see if you guessed correctly!

Yellow and other pre-Spring wishes by TranquilEmily featuring GAP

Dream blouse by TranquilEmily featuring Miu Miu shoes

Little red cardi by TranquilEmily featuring Pretty Polly tights

Show Me Your Heart project

This past week ♥ Much Love ♥ held a project on her blog as part of her Much Love Monday feature. The Show Me Your Heart project asked readers to do a blog post sharing a personal photograph of a heart shape and at least one thing they love. I couldn't pass on such a fun project (even if it's taken me all week to get around to it). Be sure to check back with Much Love's blog this coming Monday as she plans on compiling all the submissions she received!

♥ I love the scent of evergreen trees and how noble they look adorned with snow in wintertime ♥

Wallet-friendly Wednesday

For this installment of Wallet-friendly Wednesday allow me to introduce to you a 99 cent tweed skirt:

My wallet took a small risk with this purchase. A stain roughly the size of a quarter was quite noticeable on the skirt's front. I've been known to pass up stained garments while thrift shopping if I can't justify it price-wise. Depending on what the item is, I have a varying range of what I'd be willing to pay in attempts to clean it. At 99 cents (wee!), I decided it was a gamble worth taking and it was. All the stain needed was a little pre-soak treatment :) So, this leads me to ask all of you: do you purchase stained items while thrifting and keep your fingers crossed they'll come clean or do you leave them on the racks?

Here I am trying to remain calm and collected despite the wind and blowing snow... then I just couldn't take it any more and burst out laughing. Running back into the house promptly followed!

Cardigan: gift (TJ Maxx), Shirt and necklace: H&M, Skirt: Salvation Army, Tights: gift (Ann Taylor Loft), Shoes: old Payless

I found these mary janes tucked away under my bed. I've had them since high school (roughly 2002-2003, I think). Whenever I wore them with white tights or trouser socks my friends always called them my Alice in Wonderland shoes.

With a dreamy, far-off look and her nose stuck in a book

In 2009 I kept a tally of all the books I read throughout the year. My total? 23. I probably could have squeezed in a few more, but sometimes I like to pace myself through books and only read little bits at a time. Other times it may take me a while to get into a book, thus allowing it to collect dust for a few weeks before I give it another go. I did read quite a few manga installments this past year. Does that take away from my total? Maybe they should count for more since they're read right to left and impose on my accustomed left to right reading habits! ;)

I'd like to match my 2009 total or, ideally, exceed it in 2010. Currently, I'm reading Swing It! The Andrews Sisters Story by John Sforza and, after writing this post I decided to re-read, Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery. After those are finished I plan on jumping in to:

• Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (a friend of mine gave me this book for my
  birthday last year and I'm just now getting around to it. Bad, I know! Even more so since I'm a fan of Lahiri's other works, Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake.)
• Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (Okay, so I cheated and watched the BBC adaption of ''Wives and Daughters'' before reading it. In fact, I've only ever watched Gaskell adaptations - ''North and South'' and ''Cranford'' being the others. I'm excited to actually read her.)
• Gift from the Sea by A. M. Lindbergh (I picked this up at my town library's annual book sale this past summer. It ended up staying near the bottom of my ''to-read'' book pile, but I look forward to finally cracking the cover.)

I have a few other titles in mind, but the above three are all I am committing to at present. Both my mother and one of my aunts have suggested a few books to me, so I'll eventually work my way toward those. Do you have any books you would recommend? Do share!

P.S. Do you recognize where the title to this post is from?

I like the way snow photographs

Cardigan: gift (TJ Maxx), Dress: Marshall's, Scarf (worn as a belt): hand me down, Tights and shoes: Target

My day has consisted of two cups of coffee, reading short stories by the wood stove, mint tea, and homemade beef stew. This perfectly lazy Saturday has been just what I needed after a tiring work week. By tiring, I really mean that I was tired. Most days my work day begins at 7:00am. However, there were three days this week when it began at 6:00am. Not setting my alarm clock last night was a fabulous feeling. And sleeping in? Even better!

On a separate note, doesn't falling snow look a little more magical when its captured in a photograph?

Photoduplication

It's New Years Eve! I'm always amazed this time each year at how fast the months have gone by. As we usher out the old and welcome in the new, I decided to do a little round up of some of my favorite outfits and digital photos from 2009. I didn't include any 35mm photos here because, well, we'd be here for a lot longer ;) If you'd like a refresher in all the film photos I've shared this year click here.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Thank you for reading my blog this past year. I look forward to seeing you in 2010! Happy New Year!

All is calm, All is bright

The hustle and bustle of the Christmas weekend is finally winding down. It feels great to relax and I'm taking advantage of this down time with a cup of chamomile tea. How was your Christmas (if you celebrate)? Mine was nice as usual complete with lots of family and lots of good food. I broke away from my family for a few hours on Thursday to attend one of the Christmas Eve candle light services at church. I love singing carols in a church atmosphere; my favorites being, "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" and "Silent Night." Do you have any favorite Christmas songs or carols?

I mentioned in my previous post that I'd share some photos of my recent Wallet-friendly Wednesday finds incorporated into a few outfits. So, staying true to my word, here they are:

Christmas Eve

Blouse: Vintage via Salvation Army, Skirt: Old Navy, Belt: gift from Erin, Tights: TJMaxx, Shoes: Target

Sparkly tights! I hemmed and hawed over these beauties for a few weeks before finally deciding that they needed to come home with me. The tree in the background isn't our real and proper tree. My mother put up two trees this year; one in the sun room (pictured above) and another (blitzed out in color) in the living room. I just noticed that some of the lights at the bottom of this tree went out. Aww!

Christmas Day

Lace trim cardigan: H&M, Skirt: Salvation Army, Tights: Target, Shoes: Nina

I've had these houndstooth heels for a few years now and they seem to have taken on the role as my Christmas shoes. I need to try working them into more outfits. They're much too pretty to wear only once or twice a year!

♥ Luke 2:9-14 ♥