First Strawberry

Right after we moved to our house, my mother-in-law brought us 3 pots of strawberry plants. We were in the middle of ripping out the 1970s carpet to refinish the hardwood floors and unpacking, and gardening was the least thing I wanted to do. Being forced to was probably a good thing because I'd never think of planting strawberries in the backyard that hasn't been touched for 30 years (apart from mowing).
This spring, I found clusters of strawberries hiding under big leaves. Apparently, strawberries are low maintenance because all I did was stick the plants in the ground. A couple of days ago, we harvested our first strawberry, followed by two more in the next two days. A strawberry a day! What a treat to pick your own berries...

I love tomatoes more than strawberries, so I started 3 varieties from seeds in February. I babied them and now they turned into huge bushy plants. There are 3 tomatoes already and I keep checking them every morning. More on that in the next posts.

What would have thought I'd be posting about gardening. Owning a house changes your priorities and interests. Yup, there will posts on house renovations and we are not going to have any lack of them in the next 10 years.

Shoes. Nude Shoes.

Well, as the title intends, this is a chaotic blog, so there. Life has been busy. Lots of things changed since my last post. We purchased a 1928 house that needs a lot of work, and that has been quite distracting. I switched from fashion to house renovating/decorating and it is as challenging as picking a new outfit.

I have no lack of nude/white/beige shoes, and yet I still reach for them when shopping for new shoes. I can't help it. I have a black shoe aversion and have troubles wearing them. No problem with wearing nude shoes all year around, but summer is the best time for them.

You can see 6 pairs here but that's not all of them. I have a few more... Not enough, though.

Sometimes, I just enjoy looking at my shoes (and photographing them)...
The shoes above are Seychelles that I snapped at a ridiculous price at the local DSW. They are super cute with their vintage pattern fabric and orange heels.

And these are flats from Urban Outfitters that are very comfortable and make your legs look looong. I was very tempted to get another pair but got greedy. I'm thinking of trying them with a ribbon around ankles.

Craving Houndstooth Pattern

I've been craving houndstooth pattern for a while now, and I think it I now like it best in brown colors. Tommy Hilfiger's Fall 2012 ad campaign set me off, and I went hunting for those perfect patterns and textures in my wardrobe.

Well, I dug out my tartan shorts in black and orange and wanted to wear them with houndstooth tights but Z started arguing that I shouldn't mix patterns. I shouldn't have listened but his opinion matters...

I liked the result but it turned out somewhat boring because of the lack of patterns. I must admit, though, I'm terrible with any sort of pattern, and I prefer sticking to solid colors. I'm just afraid of loud patterns.

I must warn you - I tend to abuse brown colors in Fall. I have way too much brown in my closet but it does make it easier to mix and match.

Anyway...

The sun was just setting and extremely bright, so the colors turned out too bright in the first few pictures. Some day, I'll figure out this photography science.

Trying to settle on a rock - not an easy task in heels...

Alright, have I convinced you to get these houndstooth tights yet? They have a self-explanatory name (United Kingdom tights) and are also available in black & white.

Picnic in the Park

I had this outfit in my mind for a very long time and thought it would be an easy one and would look sort of village-girl style. Once I started dressing up, it felt like I was getting ready for a wedding. As a bride. Everything was off-white or ivory and these lacy socks only added up to the feeling. Then I curled my hair, and yep, the feeling got even worse. I think the hat and the picnic basket helped a little to get rid of that feeling.
Z took lots of pictures. LOTS. First, I thought there weren't that many I liked but then I got carried away...
The focus of the shoot: Sethunya lacy over-the-knee socks by Trasparenze. Obviously. You will see a lot of them. The rest was just to mix up a little. But aren't these socks lovely? Love the pattern and the ribbons.

Quill is munching on the grass while I'm trying hard to prevent my heels from sinking in the dirt...

It's much nicer to be standing on a solid surface...

Sit tight, there are a lot more pictures of these socks coming...

Whew, I'll have to stop here.
The socks can be purchased here.

Friday Dinner at Zingerman's

If you ever visit Ann Arbor, you must go to Zingerman's for their famous sandwiches. They are soooo good.
We don't go there often as they are quite expensive, but it is a wonderful rare treat. Quill-pup also enjoys going there as he gets a piece or two of the delicious crusty bread.

Post-dinner walks are a tradition, and even better when they are in a nice park...
Happy weekend!

Rug-Inspired Eye Makeup

I mentioned earlier my jewel-color obsession, in particular, teal/green shades. I saw this rug in a catalog and had to dump everything and try the color combo on my eyes immediately. Luckily, I had almost exact shades in my The She Space collection. Oh, it looks like that company is reopening soon; yay!

The colors of this rug are so vibrant, the pictures don't do any justice. It's extremely dark and cloudy today, so no good lighting.

These eyeshadow minerals matched almost perfectly...

And... if you own a camera with manual lens, you know how difficult it is to focus on something without looking... How do you take pictures of your eye makeup? I'm always amazed my some sharp pictures some makeup bloggers take of their own faces. It might be the time to purchase an auto-zoom lens... I also tried really hard to not wrinkle the closed eye to show the colors. Failure. What I see in the mirror is so much brighter than what the camera sees!

Cropped to see better...

Cropped even more for close-up. Excuse my hair post-washing flyaways...

Bottom color was the dark blue, then teal in the middle, and then green on top. But it shows as two colors only. The teal must be hiding in that eyelid fold that I tried really hard to avoid. Sigh...

Challenges, Challenges...

I have a tendency of picking a-difficult-to-style clothing and then trying to create a wearable outfit. This time it was metallic/silver leggings that were quite challenging because nothing in my wardrobe would work with them. They are sort of futuristic and a bit too edgy. They would look fabulous with faded pink or peach colors based on these pictures I saved from the web a long time ago. I forgot to write down the designer because I wasn't planning to post them on the web. Sorry about that!

So, I went hunting on yoox.com and saw this high-low shirt with a gray owl on it, and thought "it was it!". It is not pink but it seems to work still. Anyway, here is the final outfit...

I rolled up the leggings to make them look like pants! They are pretty long because you are supposed to bunch them up (plus, my legs are on the shorter side).
They are available here, and they are on sale right now for only $16!

Shirt by American Retro: www.yoox.com (think it's sold out)
Pumps by Michael Antonio: www.endless.com
Bag: thrifted

Setting Sun

This is going to be a picture overload, sorry guys. I had troubles choosing my favorites. This is the first time I have my pictures taken with my puppy dog, Quill, who is 10.5 years old now. We just enjoyed our walk while the sun was setting.

This outfit consisted mostly from my favorite clothes. A-line shift dress from Asos in chartreuse (I believe that's the name of the color, it's greenish yellow). B. Makowsky platform pumps that are very, very comfortable for their height. Very sad I didn't buy them in black, too, before they sold out. The Emmy sheer polka dot pantyhose from Marilyn is absolutely cute! They they are subtle and yet eye-catching in certain lights. I am currently in 60's mood, and hope this outfit conveyed it pretty well.

Asos A-line shift dress (www.asos.com), B. Makowsky pumps (www.dsw.com), Marilyn polka dot tights (www.thestylishfox.com)

Color Junky - Teal, Yellow, Green

I am so obsessed with bright colors. I enjoy just staring at them. I'd expect myself to be wearing them as well but it is a more rare thing. I went crazy buying mineral eye shadows a couple of years ago from a company that was shutting down. The She Space. I grabbed a lot of colors but later realized that they mostly were in the same color families - teal, green, yellow, orange, purple... Peacock colors. Unfortunately, I barely wore them after I bought them. Every now and then, I take them out of the bags where I have them sorted by these color families and just stare at that magic glitter that sparkles in many different colors.
I recently tried to find out if that company was still online, but it seems to have completely disappeared. Pity, the eye shadows are quite amazing and very finely milled. If you know if the owner has another website now, please let me know.

I love how there is even bokeh from sparkles in the picture below!

The brown below is amazing. It has teal, pink, and yellow sparkles in it.

I was taking pictures of the pantyhose color by the window for our store today (peacock color; hoping that someone else is as obsessed as I am). I looked at the pictures later and realized that the plates and napkins under the pantyhose are... well, you see yourself. This was not arranged; it is a coincidence that they all happened to be together. Plates are custom-made for me by my mother-in-law. See how obsessed I am? :)

But then, when you look at this least colorful love of my life, maybe things aren't that bad...

(Quill licking frozen baby food. Yummy snack for a hot day.)

And yet another look with suspender tights

There is no doubt, there are tons of outfits/looks with mock suspender tights on the internet. And surprisingly, these tights are not getting any less popular. They seem to make a huge statement and you don't really need to wear anything special with them. Most fashionistas wear them with a mini skirt or shorts to show those mock suspender straps. These tights are a bit too much for my age, so I tried to make the outfit classy but cheeky at the same time.
I wore one size smaller (which I strongly discourage you from doing as they turned into over-the-knee sock look tights later and were overstretched) and I was expecting them to rip at any time, but it did not happen. Whew. Why I wore one size smaller? Because that's the only spare pair I had laying around that wasn't sent to a customer due to a minor snag in the sheer part. The trick with these tights is to not pull, especially in the sheer part. Pulling your tights/pantyhose is a SURE way to making a run. Believe me. The right way is to gently stretch them starting from the very toe and up.
Anyway, here is what I wore on a chilly April Saturday (with Carisma mock suspender tights).

Happy Holidays!

It is the last crazy rush week before the holiday weekend, and I am glad it is about to be over! As much I like the new years holidays, it just gets overwhelming.
I can't get enough of these sweater leggings! Skiing trip soon, and I will totally be wearing this outfit again. Feeling like 80's, too!
Did I mention that Quill likes getting between me and the camera?

Sweater form France, boots from Spain, leggings from Poland (see in the previous post).

Happy Holidays everyone!

Nordic Print Leggings

I've been planning to style these leggings for a while. And of course, I finally was able to take pictures after 4PM, which means it was way too dark for good photography. Anyway, here is a minor result of my major efforts. In addition to poor lighting, Quill puppy kept getting between me and the camera. If you have a dog, you probably know what I mean. He ALWAYS needs to get between me and the camera. So, the dark spot on the right, is his nose.
Back to leggings. They are very easy to style if you have oversized cosy sweaters. I didn't have any. And yet I wanted the look to be all warm and sweater-y. The result is sweater on sweater on sweater... Lots of knits.
Oh, and I used remote control to take pictures because Z was busy watching football. Yay for remote control! No need to run back and forth to set the timer.

Wearing: Seychelles wedges, Juicy Couture cable knit sweater, DIY shrug, Miu Miu bag, Norwegian nordic print leggings by Marilyn

RIP, Quincy-Pup

I have lost interest in almost everything since we lost Quincy on July 16. Life seems to be slowly getting back on track but things are so different now. It has gotten so quiet without Quincy's whining and singing when he wanted to eat or go potty and without his intensely wagging tail that would knock down everything around.

I miss you terribly, puppy. I hope you have lots of unlocked fridges to empty where you are right now, and I am very sorry for not taking better care of you when you were so sick. We had no idea you were suffering quietly.

Hosiery in Vogue Magazine - Stock up Stockings!

Every time I get a new issue of Vogue, I start looking for photos with knit/crochet clothing and hosiery. Both are very rare I must say. The last issue, though, has surprised me with multiple photos with hosiery. Yes! Finally, this piece of clothing is given the place it deserves and doesn't have to be appreciated by Eastern European women only.
I've also noticed new hosiery companies popping up in the US and other countries. That should tell you something, too.
These are photos featuring vintage 1940's style. Very artistic and beautiful.

Take a note, vintage style lovers. Your outfit will not be complete without a pair of silky stockings. Bare legs weren't so popular back then.

I am very tempted to buy a pair of white pumps to wear with black tights now. I absolutely adore the last look.

What are your thoughts? If you disliked hosiery before, are you starting to change your mind? I hope so, because you may HAVE to get a pair of tights or two to stay fashionable this season. If that's your thing.

Crochet Butterfly Necklace

Finally finished this butterfly necklace. It was an unusual project for me but definitely fun.

I can't decide which way I like it best - braided or unbraided, with the butterfly centered or on the side. I didn't do a good job taking pictures. Just took them with whatever I had on today. Boo on lazy me.
It is listed on Etsy, so you can have a look here for more details.

It Is Spring, So No More Crocheting Wool Clothes :(

I love bulky yarns. The texture, the definition, the speed of knitting. But it is time to start playing with thin cotton threads. I like the delicateness of the result but it is soooo time consuming.

I crocheted this set to sell on Etsy but Z asked to keep it. He probably liked the Michigan colors. :-P
(The shorts photographed with sunlight, and the top - with a flash, hence the difference in colors)

There is such an abundance of this stuff on Etsy, and it doesn't seem to be selling well. Not sure if it is the price tag or just people not liking them?
I look forward to crocheting more bathing suits, though. They look unique and are so pretty when you add some lace.

My advice to you if you decide to crochet something like this and to use it for actual bathing - don't use cotton yarn. Use synthetic yarns. Cotton will get very heavy when it gets wet and it won't hold its shape. You may end up losing your suit in water, too. People around you probably would enjoy the sight, but... you know. Cotton bathing suits are good for just sunbathing/tanning and showing off on the beach.

I can't wait to crochet more for beach shows. :) Although, I should mention that I never swim or tan, but I dream that I will some day.

I made it to the Etsy Treasury!

I cannot express how excited I got when I received a message saying that my crochet skirt was added to the Etsy Treasury only a few minutes after I added it to the shop. I love green color, and it was very nice to see the skirt in the Green Treasury! :)

Thank you, PIGandFiSH!

I still get amazed how much difference makes proper blocking. I was about to frog it in the process. The skirt started making pleats along the "holes"! Eventually, I started liking them but decided to flatten the skirt completely during blocking. I love the result so much that I secretly hope it won't sell. :-P
OK, kidding!

I wish I took time to dress it up with my leather jacket. These photos were taken in a rush while Z was in a good mood. He doesn't like any extra work on weekends.

I have another skirt in my mind that I can't wait to start crocheting. It should turn out pretty unusual...