Cue the Harmonica Solo

Posted in Fashion by Girl Friday

Two 12-hour work days left me a little loopy this morning. I pulled out this old favorite necklace of mine — a small harmonica — and while taking photos, I regaled B with an improvised harmonica concert. When I was done, he graciously clapped for me — and then the ham took over and I went into full-force bows and curtsies like I was at Carnegie Hall.

Too. Much. Work. Too. Little. Sleep.

This dress is a recent buy from Old Navy. I’ll use my mother’s favorite phrase: “It was on sale and I had a coupon!” What can I say, it’s genetic.

Old Navy’s been making dresses like this all year — a-line skirt, fitted bodice, spaghetti straps. While I hate having to always wear a sweater over these, the flow of the fabric is surprisingly nice and the fit is perfect. They also don’t all apart in the wash like so many Old Navy things do (like my awesome red pants just did this week — woe is me!).

We’re at that point in September when I don’t know what I should dress for. Monday through Wednesday this week, the temperatures were in the 90s, then yesterday is was in the low 70s and rainy. I decided to pretend it was actually fall and pair the frock with my favorite mustard cardigan, tights, and cutie Oxford flats. I think the colors all pulled together in the end and made this a playful, Friday look.

Dress: Old Navy

Cardigan: Anthropologie

Tights: Target

Shoes: Naturalizer via DSW

Harmonica Necklace: Marolsha’s Shop via Etsy

10Sep2015

I’m Berry, Berry Tired

Posted in Fashion by Girl Friday

Last night was my first shift back at the theatre, and, phew, I was beat today! I had forgotten how hard 12+ hour days can be!

Waking up this morning was a struggle, especially since it was so grey and dreary out. I think I changed my outfit three times — each one, unintentionally, having a polka dotted element to it. I finally settled on black on black, with a dash of pink to brighten things up. One of the ways of making sure today’s outfit worked was making sure I could stretch in it. Odd, right? I pulled out the old half moon pose followed by hands to feet posture from Bikram yoga, to help awaken some muscles up. My cats think I’m a weirdo.

Tank: Old Navy

Cardigan: LOFT

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: TOMS

Necklace: Kohl’s?

One of my favorite ways to look awake (notice I said “look awake” and not “feel awake) is a good old swath of red lipstick. I also couldn’t resist sampling the new vampy hue I received yesterday from Birchbox, called “Smitten” from ModelCo. I own two other great shades from this brand because they’re so highly pigmented and, even when they do fade, they still leave a wonderful tint. It was another helluva day — including a meeting I was not looking forward to and a second round at the theatre tonight — so I used some of my favorite tricks to look and feel professional.

9Sep2015

Stitch Fix #9 Review — Near Perfection!

Posted in Fashion, Review, Stitch Fix by Girl Friday

I love my stylist Alessandra! This my my fourth Fix with her: while not everything was perfect, she keeps nailing my style and my wants!

This time around, I asked for some seasonal transitional items — both for weather and for my return to my part-time job at the theatre. I wanted more separates, maybe one dress, no black and white or polka dots. Oh, and maybe a teal skirt, and anything in dark blue/teal, plum, or mustard yellow. I received my Fix three days early (a second time in a row!) and loved what I found!

Item #1: Brixon Ivy’s Dona Lace Sleeve Knit Top ($48)

This has to be a new Brixon Ivy top for the fall because I couldn’t find an image of it anywhere online.

I loved the color (a rich navy) and the lace yoke/sleeves — I thought it was fun, playful, flirty. Because of how idiosyncratic it is, I tried pairing it with a new skirt I just bought from Old Navy and booties. Not a great look, but sometimes it’s fun to push a limit and see what could/couldn’t work. Some of my favorite outfits are those that come out of “well, what if I paired…”

Anyway, back to the shirt. it’s about a half size too small and pretty thin (I notice it so much more when seeing these photos). It also has a weird hi-lo, shirt tail hem that, when it comes up at the seams is well above my hip. Weird. If it fit properly, I think it could have that casual sexy feel, but I feel kind of frumpy in it with the size being off. Returned.

Item #2: 41Hawthorn’s Lisbon Stud Detail Blouse ($58)

Love it! As you’ve probably noticed, I wear a lot of bright colors, but never much black. It’s from years of working at the theatre and always wearing black so I could slip through the audience unnoticed. I revolted when I got a promotion a couple of years ago: “no black unless I need to!”

I pulled this blouse out and loved it. The weight is great, so, despite being loose, it fits beautifully. I love the stud detail, as well as the cuff on the sleeves. I love it with jeans, and I could easily dress it up with slacks or a skirt. Kept.

Item #3: Papermoon Soldano Scallop Trim Blouse ($44)

The color is rich and lovely, and the scallops at the neckline and armholes are sweet. While I loved it with a more masculine, edgier (faux) leather jacket, this was really light and airy, making it feel boxier than I would like (unlike the heavier 41Hawthorn blouse) with other pieces. Returned.

Item #4: Margaret M Christiana Pencil Skirt ($78)

When I saw the price, I was ready to throw the skirt in the return bag without trying it on. “Almost $80 for a skirt!? No way!” I tried it on despite that reaction and loved it. It’s quite fitted, but the fabric is soft and the pattern is fun. I paired it with the purple Papermoon blouse above, a white one here (which I wore to work!), and I have so many fun ideas for this one into the fall! I had some credit, cutting down the price a bit. Kept.

Item #5: Kut from the Kloth’s Caleb Dress ($68)

Sound familiar? That’s because I received this dress back in June! (Actually, that’s when this photo was taken! I didn’t have a great one from today; sorry, folks!) The original I received was a size 12, but fit like a 14 or so. I was so dismayed that I emailed Stitch Fix to see if I could exchange it somehow. They were out of 10s, so they offered me a size 8. I accepted, then declined.

Well, Alessandra was great and tracked down a 10 for me. And it’s $30 cheaper than it was in June! It fits beautifully, the fabric is fantastic and the watercolor pattern is stunning! Obviously I had to keep it!

Hit or miss: overall, success! I kept three of the five pieces, though I now kind of wish I had kept the Papermoon blouse. It did look really nice with that jacket! Alas! I received pretty much everything on target of my desires: mainly separates, and ones appropriate for the fall; plus a dress I knew I would love in my size and $30 cheaper!

3Sep2015

Labor (Day) Pains

Posted in Fashion by Girl Friday

I couldn’t help playing “labor pains” off of my disappointment over summer’s end with Labor Day. Sorry, folks!

When I buy clothes, there are certain qualities I look for: comfort, ease and wearability over 12+ hour days; some originality and fun-ness (yes, that’s a word now, deal); a great shape. Pockets are a plus too — especially in dresses.

At one point this morning, I seriously questioned why I ever bought this dress. It is a full wrap style, meaning I was relying on a button to stay in place all day for this to work. Risky. To fix that problem — and the weird button-lump that was happening — I decided to safety pin myself in. Ladies with large chests with understand this: it is flipping hard to twist yourself in such a way as to see under your boob. I needed both hands for pinning so I couldn’t, like, lift myself out of the way. I instead had my neck and shoulders cranked and contorted around and kind of underneath… Really not glamourous.

After four (!!) attempts, I finally asked B to help. When he too failed, I pulled the frock off, laid it out of my bed, pinned accordingly and shimmied back in. And, wonderfully, that method worked.

Dress: H&M

Shoes: TOMS

Jewelry: Global Odyssey

The guffawing in the fourth and fifth photos are reactions to one of our cats, who is out of the frame. Sweetie was casually laying around watching this mini-photo shoot. As we weren’t paying attention to her, she flung her little purple ball at me — attempting to photo-bomb everything. She obviously elicited a reaction, so I guess she won.

1Sep2015

Chasing Summer

Posted in Fashion, Personal by Girl Friday

As you can see here, I’m not giving into fall pinings just yet! While I may or may not have bought some autumnal clothing recently, those daydreams of tights and booties just aren’t cutting it for the continual 90 degree weather in New England. That’s ok, I’m soaking up every ounce of the summer heat while I can!

I bought these fabulously bright jeans from a local shoppe recently. I was walking past to grab a coffee when I saw that they were on the $20 sale rack. I loved the color, so I figured I’d stop and look at the size at least. Well, they were (roughly) my size, so I thought, “hell, let me try them on then!” Tried them and they fit perfectly — minus the eight inches of additional leg length! But I eyed the original price tag: $128! No way could I pass up awesomely bright jeans that were marked down $108; even after getting them hemmed, I still saved $100 off the original tag!

Blouse: Old Navy (old)

Tank: Old Navy (old)

Pants: Yoga Jeans by Second Clothing at a local shoppe

Shoes: Toms

Like the jeans story, sometimes the world works in other ways exactly when need it.

On Friday night, B and I went to a gong bath, which is an alternative healing music therapy session. A gong master plays finely crafted gongs for a group of people with the intention that the music and resonance will penetrate your core and — essentially — shake away the bad stuff. We’ve done them a few times and, I’ll say, I always feel great afterward: I sleep deeply and peacefully; my body feels looser; I end up with a better outlook. They’re simply restorative sessions.

What really struck me was the narrative given by the two leaders afterward. One instructed the room that over the next few days, don’t be surprised if the world turns up messages for you in unexpected ways. And the other said, plainly, “You’re all adults: you’re responsible for yourselves, and that included your own happiness. Everyday you’re given the option to be the person you want to be — so do it.” And, well, that’s what the world told me in such large, varied ways.

B and I saw a stunning theatrical rendition of Jane Eyre Saturday night: a woman who goes against social norms and adversity, ultimately finding strength and confidence to be herself, as well finding herself on equal footing with her partner. As an almost-30-year-old, that story line rang pretty true.

Then I attended a long training session for the theatre on customer service skill development. In the crazy way the world works, the session touched upon (at least in how I read it): work/life balance; personal trigger warnings of stress and distress; honoring others’ dignities; reading and communicating with stressed/distressed people effectively; and visualizing your own personal and professional success. Phew!

Finally, I received an email about a meditation seminar happening in October: a two day event for those who have little or no experience with meditation on how to start a practice and use it effectively. I signed up within a day of seeing it!

I know that I complained about some really hard days lately, but I guess the larger universe heard that and answered pretty significantly. I can’t say every problem has been answered, but I’m certainly learning to come at a lot of those dilemmas from a different angle instead.