In Which It is Too Early to Write Coherently

Dear Readers,

I am writing to you bright and early this morning because I was woken by a startling realization: my fashion sense is going down a scary route called Country Farmer. Okay, yes, the heat in my dorm coming on at 6:45 am with a horrendously loud clanking has something to do with my early wake-up. And okay, yes, my burnt fingers are throbbing a bit as I type this (Why must I always investigate possible heat through touch?), but the literal wake up call that my styling sensibilities lean toward the Old MacDonald end of things makes for a much more dramatic story. So let's go with that.

Anyway, if you're a longtime reader, you know me to a certain extent. I was already halfway there. I live in plaid flannel and jeans. My hair is perpetually messy. I have a soft spot for motorcycle and/or combat boots. But oh, it gets worse.

Those shoes I was lusting after the other day? It didn't take long to realize that I didn't really want winter wedges. Inconvenient for walking across campus, and - let's face it - I tend to wobble a bit on anything taller than about an inch. What I really wanted was another pair of lace-up boots. Brown ones. Ones that didn't come up as high as my combat boots. Ones that were a bit more rugged. Ones like these:

I ordered them last night. And I'm excited about them. Real live work boots made by a company best known for selling "hand-crafted, authentic cowboy boots since 1879." Oh, the shame! But you have to admit, the details on the front are pretty damn cute. Can't you just imagine them with black tights, thick socks, and plaid flannel?

See? Farmer, farmer, farmer!

Please don't shun me.

Simply Beautiful

Hello, darlings! I figured it was time to make good on my promise to post again, so here I am posting the very next day. I know, I'm proud of myself too!

It feels like a good time to rave about the absolute best beauty purchases I've made lately. Usually I just wash my face with Burt's Bees orange essence facial cleanser, throw on some generic drug store concealer, and call it a day, but there are two new additions to my beauty routine that are so wonderful I feel that it's my duty to share. They'll change your life - err, well, at the very least they'll change your beauty regimen - I promise. Lucky you!

Okay, first thing's first. Has anyone else tried H&M's new lip balm? It is glorious!

I usually wear plain old chapstick, because while lip gloss is more fun, I can't help but associate slickly shimmering lips with my painful middle school years. H&M's lip balm finds a perfect marriage between balm and gloss. It adds a bit of shimmer, but not too much, and it soaks into your lips just enough that you don't feel like your hair's going to stick to your mouth all day. Plus, despite the fact that it's labelled as vanilla-flavored, it pretty much just smells like warm, faint beeswax. Mmm. Doesn't taste bad, either, which is always a plus. And my perpetually chapped lips have never felt so smooth.

Moving on:

A long time ago I wrote that I was not a huge perfume fan. It seemed to me an invasion of other people's noses, one that they may not actually enjoy. However, this was before I stumbled upon The Scent That No One Could Possibly Hate. That's right - such a thing does in fact exist. And it's called Vanille Eau de Toilette by L'Aromarine.

I stumbled upon the cute French vintage-style bottle at Anthropologie the other day, and a little voice inside encouraged me to try spritzing a bit on my wrists. I sniffed hesitantly, then enthusiastically. This was it! The cheap perfume I had been looking for since I realized Serendipitous by Serendipity 3 and Pilar & Lucy's The Exact Friction of Stars were out of my price range. It smells like vanilla - warm, sugary vanilla. It's subtle enough that you could almost convince someone you weren't even wearing perfume, just lotion maybe, but strong enough that it doesn't wear away completely within a few hours. Plus, when the initial sugary scent fades, you're left with a quintessentially vanilla smell (kind of like slightly sweeter vanilla extract) that feels a bit richer and deeper than before. Mmm. It's my new favorite, especially at under $20 a pop.

My next step is to check out the rest of L'Aromarine's scents. The packaging is just too pretty to pass up! See for yourself.

Alright, folks. Have a great 4th of July! I'm off to Montreal for the weekend!

Kicksss

Hello, lovelies. These are my new kicks:

I found them on sale at Urban Outfitters, with my size just sitting there waiting for me. Since I've spent about five years wearing various Chuck Taylor All Stars, it felt like a good idea to switch it up a bit. So I did. The silver is more silver-y in real life than in the picture, by the way.

Anyway, I took some photos of them. You may think the girl in the photos looks like me, but I assure you she is not. She is named Danielle Jones. She likes to be called DJ, but most people call her Dani J. 

Her favorite activity is dancing, and she often dances instead of walking. Therefore, she dresses so she can move easily and well. Her favorite color is purple. She likes to stand out, and so above is quite a typical outfit; her signature Nike kicks, black-and-silver-striped Hot Topic romper folded to look like a skirt, Zara T-shirt, Wet Seal silver leggings, and a rhinestone-encrusted cap worn sideways. 

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She loves standing out, which means lots of wild colors and patterns. Her idols are MC Hammer and Lil Mama. She abhors mp3 players and maintains that a big ghetto-blaster-style boom box is the only way to go. She often carries her boom box with her so she can dance. Above she is wearing a Zara tunic, Old Navy men's flannel shirt, Forever 21 pants, her signature Nike kicks, and a studded headband from Delia*s.

Fine, you caught me - DJ is today's alter ego. 

Background images: 1, 2. 

Shoe picture: Zappos

Le New Bag

I have a confession to make. On a day-to-day basis, the bag I most often carry is... deep breath... a knockoff. I didn't realize this when I bought it, but my crappy black $20 bag with its fetching gold hardware is a dead ringer for the Balenciaga Motorcycle Bag. Well, design-wise, I mean. It is clearly lacking in the real-looking leather and workmanship departments. Anyway, I've been meaning to replace it for ages, and the fact that the PVC exterior started peeling away from the lining was just the impetus I needed to find a replacement. 

I'm very particular about my bags, though, and the faux Balenciaga had really been working out for me. The replacement, I decided, had to be the same colors and roughly the same size. In the end, I lucked out when a return trip (as in, I was making returns) to Zara yielded just the purse I was looking for. Look how pretty:

It may be faux leather too, but it looks quite real. Not to mention the quality is eons better, and the fact that it has a sweet vintage design and adjustable strap. I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself; can you tell?

Also, this is my first fashion-y purchase in ages, and I do believe I've missed that having-new-things-to-wear/carry feeling.

Anyone else buy something great recently?

New Stuff

Well, grasshoppers, there's nothing like a bit of bio studying to encourage me to lug out my tripod and take a few shots of some new purchases. I realize that terrible lighting, a camera that can't focus on what I want it to, and practically nonexistent editing software do not great photos make, but I did my best.

Yesterday I hit the mall for a few hours, and walked away with two things I was pretty excited about. The first item was a pair of ankle boots. Black buckled leather with chunky 2.5 inch heels I can actually walk in . . . from Payless, of all places. Yes, apparently you can buy actual leather at Payless now. And they're comfy too! I realize higher heels would look much better, but I am a firm believer that constantly falling on my face would be far less attractive.

The second item was clearly fated to be mine. I had been eyeing this dress at Gap since the preview in the spring, and when I popped into the store yesterday, there was one left. In my size, and marked down from $58 to $23. It may not have been my original color choice, but that didn't stop me from gleefully rushing it over to the cash register and paying up. No, it's not flattering, but I like it anyway. Hooray!

Happily, my two buys look quite cute together, if I do say so myself.

Let's ignore the fact that I didn't brush my hair today.

In reality, I'm thinking the dress, with its easy, cozy feel, will be worn with sweater leggings, the trusty combats, and a bomber jacket on frigid winter days.

In this photo, we can ignore both the unbrushed hair and my disturbing facial expression, k? I knew you would understand. . .

Photos of my pretty new blazer are still forthcoming. I need to get back to that scintillating (I jest) bio studying. Believe me, I'd rather take photographs.