chicfaced

a little while back, when megan first opened her store, i walked away with this dress as my first purchase:

i really liked the lavender color and the print, but the long puff sleeves and ankle length hem were a bit too big love. major potential there though. so i ended up taking off the sleeves altogether and taking it in at the sides a bit, and then had a tailor take a good 10 inches off the bottom. and i am very happy with the results. it is now light and airy, easy to wear, and one of my favorite go-to summer dresses:

dress - beaucoup vintage/necklace - f21/shoes - pour la victoire

next up, we have mike modeling the sweet ass mint green blazer that he picked up at bv last weekend (and he’s hardly taken it off since):

ain’t he handsome?

quite the vintage-wearing couple we were that day

xoxo,

laura

hat - anthropologie/ dress - diy/sandals - urban outfitters

just got back to town after a long weekend at home on the eastern shore with the folks and the in-laws, celebrating my 28th birthday and mike’s and my 2 year wedding anniversary. also a perfect excuse to pack all my favorite sundresses, like this one that i made a couple years ago and that has become a summer staple (it was inspired by the j.crew gypset-style dresses that came out around that time that were heart-achingly beautiful, but also upwards of $400. some of you may remember the multi-colored patchwork one, or as i like to think of it, the one that got away.) AND just the right occasion to wear this awesome hat! i’m so in love with the yellow-green plaid and the extra-wide brim. still available on the anthropologie website if anyone is interested…

so, now i just gotta make it through three days of work and then it’s back home again for round two of revelry with my college bffs. and my handsome husband of course. can’t think of a better way to kick off the summer!

till next time,

laura

wellies and vogues

phaleonopsis, paint swatches and an unfinished bedside table

pretty drawer knobs from anthropologie

scarves on a ladder

The Bags

the shoe-drobe

here are some scenes from around the new house that make me really happy. my latest pride and joy (and labor of love) is the shoe-drobe, a jelly cupboard that i bought from an unfinished furniture store and painted over the weekend. i really didn’t have a system for my shoes in the old place so they were just haphazardly placed wherever they fit, on shelves or in cabinets, often on top of each other (poor things). now they finally have a home, where they can be safe from dust and dirt, and where i can close the doors to keep the room looking neat. now that my room (ie clothes, shoes and accessories) is unpacked and in order, i can finally begin to feel at home.

xoxo, laura

top -self made/tee - aa/skirt and boots - j.crew/coat - banana republic

this is an outfit that i snapped from last week. now that most of the snow has melted i have finally been able to wear these boots that i got a little while ago (as debated over in this post), and OMG I LOVE THEM. they have the foldover detail like the chloes, which i was looking for, and the heel isn’t ridiculous, which means i can wear them to work. they are also begging to be worn with 99% of my wardrobe.

oh, and look what i happened to find the next day on olsen’s anonymous: MK rockin the (real)  fringe wrap with her gigantic ponyhair balenciaga:

i hope everyone had a fun halloween! megan and i went as margot and richie from the royal tenenbaums, which was great because we spent the night trying not to smile and megan introduced me to everyone as “my adopted sister margot,” and following that up with, “we’re in love.” oh so funny. overall, a big hit i think.

hard to see but megan has a tennis racket strapped to her back

my eye makeup had started to wear off at this point, but you get the idea

mike and chris's labor of love, candy corn on the cob

here’s a little diy project story for you guys:

a few years ago, when i was way more motivated about making clothing than i have been lately (just lazy, i guess), i fell in love with this jacket from the alexander mcqueen fall 2005 collection:

and i mean, fell hard. i think it ran for about $1500 dollars or some ungodly amount, and i don’t even know where one would have purchased it. so i, being of the philosophy of “if you can’t afford it, look for it on sale, and if you still can’t afford it on sale, make it yourself,” set out to replicate the piece as closely as i could. this led to a small self-education on tartans, done mostly by searching around online, but i couldn’t find the right plaid, and in cashmere (because of course it had to be in cashmere right??). then, as luck would have it, one day i was flipping through an issue of oprah magazine, where there was featured a cashmere throw blanket IN THE EXACT SAME PATTERN AS THE JACKET. OH MY GOD. fringe and all! there was a website listed, so i immediately checked it out. i was thinking i would just try and cut the pattern from the one piece of fabric. unfortunately, though, there was no blanket when i went to the site. BUT–they offered a scarf option. so, i figured, why don’t i just order several scarves, piece them together, and then cut the pattern out from that? naturally. so after purchasing six cashmere scarves imported from scotland, and spending more money than is sane (but way less than $1500!), i set out to recreate the pattern of the jacket. making that first cut was pretty f’ing nerve-wracking, lemme tell ya. oh god, and making sure the fringe lined up right and all the lines of the plaid. it makes me nervous just thinking about it. but amazingly, it all came together, and this piece has become a real treasure of mine. it’s not the real thing, but it’s the softest darn thing you’ve ever felt, and every fall i look forward to pulling it out again. so, without further ado, i present to you my beloved scarf blanket jacket wrap, a fashion hybrid of the best kind:

worn with bdg legging jeans, gifted ring, and pour la victoire shoes

there have been many other stories of crazy diy determination (replicating megan’s j.crew necklace, and hand-beading a belt with a million tiny wooden beads to look like a ysl rive gauche come to mind, but those are for another time). moral of the story is: if you put your mind to it, fashion dreams will come true!

xoxo,

laura

First up: for those on the fence about The Time Traveler’s Wife – my advice: go see it if you’ve read the book and can think about the movie as a complement to the book, rather than a straightforward depiction of the story.  Obviously, nothing could ever replace the book, but the movie did the love story justice, and it for sure pulled the heartstrings and got me crying. Sobbing, in fact, while the credits rolled.  It made me sad for hours afterward, too.  Doesn’t really sound like a ringing endorsement, does it? You know what I mean….

Second up: I know a lot of bloggers do the “what’s in my bag” post, and fill us in on the kind of make-up they carry around with them, but I thought I’d give a peek into what I carry around inside my “Mary Poppins” bag (coined by my friend, Maggie, who came up with the idea).  My friends make fun of me for the weird shit I tend to carry around in my bag, but it is so, so useful!  

Start with a small, colorful cosmetics bag and add any combination of the following:

(from top left to right)

• benadryl stick (for summertime bug bites)
• chewable pepto tablets (aka your friends will love you in the morning)
• extra bobby pins/barrettes
• blister band-aids
• nail clippers
• sample perfume
• eye drops
• travel sized toothbrush and toothpaste
• small lint roller
• oil absorbing sheets
• lip stain & chapstick
• shout wipes (or tide-to-go pen)
• refillable travel sized advil container
• small nail file
• hand lotion
• pocket-sized mirror

ta-da! amazing how much can fit into such a tiny space.

(that’s what she said)

of course this can be adapted for the seasons or depending on where you live, but these are some great basics to have on you, always.  I have a smaller bag for my smaller purses, and will only bring the essentials (advil, lotion, chapstick).  I get most of this stuff in the pharmacy/healthcare section of Target, since they have the best selection, but I think Ulta and most drug stores have a pretty good stock of mini-essentials.  

Does anyone else keep a bag like this?  Anything else you have to have with you?

While the other half of chicfaced was visiting the fam on the Eastern Shore this weekend, this half of chicfaced spent the weekend catching up on house cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping and the 1st season of Mad Men. Srsly, guys, WHYYY did I wait so long? I’ll have to share my (more detailed) thoughts after I watch the last 2 episodes of the 1st season.

This for sure wasn’t the weekend of fashion. Well, that’s not true.  While I didn’t get fancied up, I did score 3 (THREE!) freaking AWESOME vintage dresses from ebay – on the cheap.  One is a Nicole Miller from the 80s…I died a little when I got it. I can’t wait to show you guys!

So, tonight is about food, not fashion.  I decided to show you my guac recipe and then ask for your variations…

My version is pretty traditional, though I may throw in a few more ingredients than most people.  It is most assuredly for flavor-lovers and not for the folks who are about to go on a 1st date (onions, peppers and garlic – oh my (god!).

ingredients: avocados, scallions, red onion, vidalia onion, lime, fresh cilantro, fresh garlic, jalapeno (from totallymeat and anna’s backyard garden!), tomatoes (i used one regular and one heirloom for a local farm)

chop scallions, onions and tomatoes to small pieces,  mince garlic and jalapeno, roll a handful of cilantro together (with stems cut off) and chop, chop, chop

mash up the avocado with some s&p, and a whole lotta lime juice

then, just add in ingredients as you see fit and stir.  I don’t like to measure.  I also threw some canned corn kernels in at the last minute, cause why not? I also put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to “let the flavors get to know each other” (I just quoted Rachael Ray. kill me.)

and to finish…

Some delish lime flavored whole wheat tortilla chips, zin and some fresh blueberries for dessert.  A pretty heart-healthy dinner!

So, how do you make your guacamole?  I know there are a million ways to make it, and people are getting creative now, with peaches, mangoes and pomegranate – do tell…

xo

M

p.s. L, we need to go see Julie & Julia this week….let’s make it happen