-NYE-

So, it's the last day of the year and I figured I might as well squeeze one last post in with my dress for the evening:



A year ago I never would have worn something like this. It's snug, short and slap-me-silly red. A year ago I would have crawled into something black, popped on a pair of flip flops, threw my hair in a messy bun and been on my way. Maybe by the end of next year I'll think this is looking sloppy as hell, too, but hey, for now, for this night, I'm proud of myself for the changes I've made.

-These Slacks Were Made for Slacking-

I finally found those pants I've been hunting for. Huzzah!


I also finally found yet another excuse to truck out my favorite The Kills shirt and my ridiculous black and white hippie dippy shawl that I got God-knows-where.

Hopefully, I shall now find a new color to fixate on. Perhaps sienna or aubergine or something else equally obnoxious to say. We shall see.

I also finally invested in a non-canvas gigamous purse.


I'm very proud of myself. Since I can't possibly carry every single thing around in this one, maybe I'll manage to go home more than three times a month.

My mother is known, nay, revered for her hair accessory collection. Baby girl collects these things like aging comedians collect vintage cars. They're jeweled and gaudy and I've absolutely coveted them for years. Only rarely have I managed to get her to part with one for an evening for a special event.

Well, while in Paris, my father, rather brilliantly, mentioned her hair was messy and in a fit of true Southerner drama she went and hacked it all off into a very cute pixie cut. Whether she'll stick to her guns and never grow her hair out again remains to be seen. However, it looks like this is possible since she gifted me (most) of her hair pin collection.




Like I said, gaudy and fabulous.

Also, Sephora gifted me an awesome $20 gift card last week and I opted to refresh my Stilla Smudge Pot in order to do cat eye liner. I'm sure pretty much everyone ever on the interwebs has seen this awesome tutorial, but I'll still repost it for those of you wanting a booster lesson.

How to Be a Girl: Cat Eyes By Magic! from The Hairpin on Vimeo.

-Black, White and Sloppy All Over-

So let's not beat around the bush. My arms look cray cray in this picture.


The problem is, I am forever doing this with my arms. For some reason my default is to lean back and prop myself up like I think I'm some kind of vixen in a James Dean flick when the reality is I look like some kind of bizzaro flipper woman from a Cronenberg low budget.

Maybe this picture will learn me not to keep doing that. It's not likely, but one can dream.

That said, I'm liking the look, which is simple as all get. Long sleeved v-neck with an awesome skirt I got on sale from Express during their Black Friday online sale. Black and white. Black and white. Black and white. Easy peasey.

The other week I found myself at the Bear and Bird Gallery here in Florida. They feature a lot of local and alternative artists and they have a cute little boutique filled with all sorts of stuff, which is where I found this kitschy little tin:

It immediately found itself my de facto storage box for all the perfume samples I collect, which is perfect because it holds a heap of them and keeps them dark, which is the trick to keeping perfume alive the longest.

Also, my bestie Petra went to see Dita perform live and snagged my this wonderful autographed photograph of her!