Tag Archives: style

Potpourri

It was Easter yesterday. There’s something about the holiday that brings out the weird in little kids. Last year, it was a chore trying to get a picture of the nieces. This year? I think  Juju’s face says it all (she’s the one on the left). But, hey! It was my nephew’s first Easter.

When I think of Easter, I think of chocolate. Right now, I’m enjoying a mini Vosges Black Pearl Bar: ginger, wasabi, black sesame seeds, dark chocolate. Holy freakin’ crap. I impulse purchased this while checking out at Whole Foods one day. This is a perfect chocolate bar. It’s kind of pricey, though!

Speaking of pricey things, I love that I can mention $745 hi-top sneakers to my co-worker and not only does she immediately know what I’m talking about, but she goes on to say what I was going to say next: all the knock-offs aren’t worth it and we’d never wear them anyway. But seriously. I can buy 100 regular-sized Vosges chocolate bars with that money. Shoes? I don’t know about that.

Speaking of footwear, I’m thinking of getting a pair of TOMS. Is that female-douchey? They look comfortable and ugly-cute enough that I can wear them without looking like I”m trying too hard. Plus, they have a vegan version of their classic shoe. After searching for $745 hi-top sneakers, I’m thinking that TOMS aren’t a bad investment. Hmmmm….. HMMMMM.

Speaking of ugly-cute but comfortable, I had a hell of a day today in terms of how I look. Hello, fashion disaster! And, hello zit on my face! I also didn’t comb my hair. I should just erase the “cute” from “ugly-cute.” What’s really sad is that today is a prime example of how I used to look most days, until I realized that it doesn’t take a lot of hard work to look cute.

Speaking of cute, I think ASOS is my new favorite online store. I bought some pants and tops from them over the weekend. Free shipping, free returns, tons of stylish inventory and a PETITES section! Oh, perfection. Prices range from not-bad-at-all to would-you-like-my-first-born-child-with that.

Well, I’m going to try and enjoy what’s left of my Monday. This will be another interesting week for me. I’ll be training on some new stuff at work. I have tickets to a show on Friday but I need (want) someone to go with me. I don’t want to waste any time this week! Let’s do stuff and be alive, people.

Pretty, Funny, Mysterious

It’s technically Thursday, but I’m in Friday mode since I took tomorrow off. It’s been a roller coaster week of sorts.

I literally had a sleepless night because I was worried about work, which is just so wrong. I think my job is secure, I’m confident I do a good job, and I’ve learned how to deal with change and different personalities. But something happened this week that bothered me so much that I didn’t feel better until I sat down to discuss it. Unfortunately, I had to wait a day, and I couldn’t stop wondering how the discussion would go. Would I be upset? Would I get aggressive and be disrespectful? Would I lose my nerve and fail to voice all my concerns? It all ended up okay, but I never want to lose sleep over work again.

In more fun updates, I decided to be bold and wear my lip stain a couple days this week. My work BFF told me it was pretty, and “pretty” kind of became a theme today in the weirdest way. See, I couldn’t figure out what to wear this morning, and I ended up solving my problem in an unorthodox (and very non-Melissa) way. I got so many compliments: “Oooh, that’s pretty!” and “Wow! You look so pretty today!” and “I like your sweater!” So… what was I wearing? Um… black pants, black sleeveless top, and a floral cardigan–Talbots brand–that I took from my Mom’s closet. I felt pretty awesome with my clever fashion choice this morning, but my sister, the person who knows me better than anyone, brought me back to earth by cracking up when she saw me wearing the cardigan.

I guess my fashion tastes are definitely changing. I really need to go shopping for two reasons. First, I want clothes that are more flattering versus safe/fits OK/dark/hides my fat rolls. Alright, it’s not like I want to put my fat rolls on display. And I’m being a little hard on myself with the whole fat rolls thing. I really need to stop typing ‘fat rolls.’ I’ve gotten inspiration from a couple blogs that provide great fashion ideas and advice.

jillgg’s good life (for less) is a great blog with a lot of ideas, product features, trends, and style tips. I love all the outfit ideas and photos. I especially love that the products featured on the site are affordable and just very cool. It’s my type of style. She recently posted an outfit using stripes and florals (see photo above) that I cannot get out of my head! Must shop.

Stylywear features more high-end fashion, but it is focused on corporate style and provides great advice. I started a mental shopping list in my head after perusing the blog for 20 minutes. When you see me in slim pants, leggings, or high wasted pants, you’ll know that it’s because I followed the advice on this blog.

In other news, someone anonymously left a gift on my work BFFs desk. We tried to solve the mystery yesterday, but we still don’t know where the fruit came from. I’m not above admitting that I’m a little jealous that she got an anonymous gift and I didn’t. What the hell?! But the whole situation has inspired and motivated me to leave secret gifts on other people’s desks… Hmmmm….

Finally, I am super jazzed because I booked two trips today! One is coming up in three weeks. The other is in late July. I am really looking forward getting away and chilling out with some of my favorite people. How lucky am I that I can afford to visit my friends and am welcomed with open arms?! I’m very lucky.

Zooey Deschanel is a Charming Alien.

This is not a rant about Zooey Deschanel. It may seem like it is, but it isn’t. The truth is that I’m a little jealous of her. Ew, I can’t believe I admitted that. Anyway, I get the appeal of Zooey Deschanel —- to an extent. She’s cute, adorable, sexy. But she’s also completely quirky and, let’s face it, kind of out there. I can’t help but feel like all the dudes who get all unf about her are hypocrites. Most of you, anyway. I mean, COME ON. She seems so awkward and SHE NEVER STOPS BEING ADORABLE. Let’s not forget that she and Katy Perry and Emily Blunt have nearly the same face (not that there is anything wrong with that). In real life, Zooey would be your everyday cute weirdo. There’s nothing wrong with that. I would love to be an everyday cute weirdo but most of the time I’m a creepy, frowny weirdo.

There’s no doubt that ZD is intelligent and attractive. I want to be friends with her. I would also like to see her in a normal t-shirt and jeans without any makeup on. That’s the thing, though… the overwhelming reason for me to put ZD in the “Like” column of my Likes/Dislikes list is because she’s so her. It’s in what she wears, how she speaks, how she carries herself. Zooey is Zooey and Zooey is (or at least seems to be) 100% confident about her Zooey-ness. She knows what she likes, she’s not afraid to show it, and she has the face/body/brain to pull it off. God, I hope she’s not scamming the world by being “Zooey” instead of Zooey.

Are you still with me?

It’s only been recently that I have started to try and define my style. I used to call my style the “Soccer Mom Who Isn’t A Soccer Mom” look. It was really kind of disgusting and unflattering. I was a jeans and t-shirt and gym shoes kind of girl. My color palette usually consisted of black, grey, black, grey, and more black. Cardigans, cardigans, cardigans. No skirts or dresses unless there was a special reason for it (or it’s laundry day and I’m desperate). Hair down, no makeup, accessorize with simple earrings, a ring, and my watch. Alright… all of that still describes my style, but I’m wearing clothes that are more flattering instead of loose-fitting (showing off my assets, if you will) and opting to wear nicely cut tops instead of a standard t-shirt that says “YOUR FAVORITE BAND SUCKS” on it. YES, this just turned into a post about style!

I kind of adore ZD’s style. It’s girly, bold, sometimes a little too quirky, but like I said: she has the face and body to pull it off. Let’s take the bangs, for example. I HEART HER BANGS. If my hair would cooperate and make it possible for my bangs to look Zooey Deschanel’s, I would have bangs all the time. It’s entirely possible that she has a professional bang stylist, but still. It’s not fair!

I don’t think my style is as feminine and colorful as ZD’s. A co-worker and I were reading Cosmo during lunch today, and there was a “What’s Your Style?” page. We agreed that I mostly fall into the “girly” category with some “edge” but little “glam.” Let’s face it. Glam and I don’t exactly go hand-in-hand, and it’s not like I’m going to show up to work in a sequin skirt unless someone dares me or I lose a bet. I appreciate fashion but I’m mostly conservative. I’m not completely in love with my body and it’s hard to feel confident in something that’s too colorful or doesn’t fit right.

I’ve been incorporating more color into what I wear. I always had color in my closet, along with fabulous shoes and skirts and dresses, but I rarely wore any of them. I may have joked about having pants for each day of the week and rotating them week in and week out, but that was the reality. Why the change? I lost some weight and can actually wear clothes in my “Wear This When You Lose Weight” pile. My new-ish work environment made me want to step up my look and look more professional and put together. And this is pathetic, but I wanna look the way I feel and have my style reflect my personality. It seems so easy for most people, but it’s a challenge for me.

This above photo is very much a Me look. Quit copying me, Zooey. LOLJK. I truly do like this everyday casual look, though. What really slays me about ZD is the makeup:

Between the crazy blue eyes and the eyeliner/mascara? WHAT?!?! Stop it, Zooey. Just stop it. You’re putting my brown eyes to shame and teasing me because I lack any ability to apply eyeliner.

The point of this post is, Zooey Deschanel is attractive but unusual. She’s a charming alien. I think I’m a charming alien, too. I’m quirky. I act like a complete fool sometimes and I am thisclose to being brave enough to reflect who I am in what I dress and what I wear. Bye bye conservative soccer mom who isn’t a mom. No, wait! Come back! I can’t afford a new wardrobe! Dammit.