Dark Paradise

How ludicrously charming is this lil ensemble?  The dress with its little print and cute sleeve buttons...the Audrey kitten heels...the lace gloves...the back-seamed pantyhose...

I've worn this dress before, but this is the first time I had a crinoline to go under it.  I never even realized how incomplete this dress was without a crinoline!  Holy moley! 

The cuteness factor was raised by, like, a billion percent.

And I'm really feelin' it in these pics...Can you tell?  :)

Found a new place to take pictures: I can balance my phone on my nightstand and stand in front of my BLUE wall. 
Just a little bit blue, right?  haha Yeah, this crazy color is actually in my apartment.  For now, it's confined to just one wall of my bedroom, but I have a sneaking suspicion this happy color just might overflow onto the rest of my bedroom's walls soon...

Preppy Gal

Here's a sticky-sweet prepster look for you all, my darling readers!  :) 

Like the photos?  My mama took them at Subway over lunch today hahaha... I'm so fancy.  -_-;;;

I do love this look though...I feel prettyyyyy, oh so prettyyyyy.  :D  My new (to me) floral embroidered carpet bag is magical!  Especially for around the holiday season; it holds SO MUCH STUFF while still being utterly adorable (and a semi-fad right now.  BONUS.).  I've been shopping and shopping and shopping lately...mostly for gifts for others, but I do give in to the [more-than-] occasional selfish purchase-whim.  *sigh*  I'm just a girl, after all. 
I've had a blast with this holiday season: writing and mailing cards, running to the thrift store for decorations, visiting the new Penzey's (spices and seasonings) shop downtown (ohhh the wonderful smells), shovelling snow (which we finally got!!!), singing at church and at concerts...it's all so quaint and lovely and gives me a legit warm, fuzzy feeling inside. 
I love Christmas time...it's so...I dunno...SPARKLY, I guess.

Headband: old || Pearls: gift || Rose Pendant: thrifted || Sweater: GAP || Tunic: H&M || Leggings: old || Boots: old || Bag: thrifted

 THANK YOU for reading! 

Sorry for so few pictures today, but just wait until Christmas Eve!!!  I have the cutest lil outfit planned...red, black, white and polka dots. with a hat, of course.  ;)  a fabulous "Sunday-go-to-meetin'" hat. 

HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING THIS SEASON AS MUCH AS I AM! 

Eeeeeeee I LOVE Christmas!

Pink Champagne puts a Feather in my Cap

I think we all know that I love me some glamour...

I wore this to my family's Thanksgiving party.  My hat was a big hit.  :)  Thanks for the inspiration, Anna Dello Russo!  Your fearless, fabulous example gives me the courage to put goofy things on my head, too!
I spent a long time on my makeup and used more than, like, the three products I usually use (concealer, eyeliner, & blush...woo fancy).  And I even curled my hair (I never do hair) so the hat would look its best.  I was INTO this look, people!!!

So, I've told you that my hometown offered some wonderful spots for photos...here's one right across the street from my building: the town's old train station.  They refurbished it into an office building, now, but left all its charm and a bit of the train track to boot! 
The next time I want to really pose some pictures, I'll have to find a steam machine and do some watery-eyed, retro, "farewell, lover"-type shots. heehee

I went shopping on Black Friday chiefly to get my paws on the above-pictured tennis bracelet.  I've always wanted one like that, buuut I didn't want to pay out the nose for my bling-bling.  And the sweater (that's so soft, it feels like bathing in pink champagne heaven a la Dita von Teese) was a bonus Black Friday find!

Did you have any luck on Black Friday/Cyber Monday?

Let me know in the comments! 
I hope to see your finds featured on your blog, soon...

 

Hat: Forever 21 || Sweater: Shopko || Skirt: Charlotte Russe || Tights: ? || Shoes: Payless || Tennis Bracelet & Cholker: Shopko || Bangle Bracelet & Ring: gift

All-Out EDGE---the day of Dance

 

Can y'all handle this little change of pace?
From your normally vintage-lover poster girl comes a taste of the extreme other side...the wild side.

 I haven't gone out clubbin' with my girls in awhile...but we heard about free cover and cheap drinks at a local club if you were to show up in an LBD.  IRRESISTIBLE.
Since the dress was pre-decided, the rest of the outfit needed to pack the punch.  
I bought new shoes for the occasion.  Quite the shoes, eh?  Inspiration for this outfit comes from Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj (I was thinking the theme song for these shoes is "Pound the Alarm"), and Anna Dello Russo.

My kicks are siiiiiiick!

Loving my Arm Party.

Edge isn't something you see from me a lot, but--as with anything--I stand by the old adage  

"GO BIG OR GO HOME," 

especially if it's something unusual.  

"There's nothing sexy like excess." 

--Anna Dello Russo--

Did my nails to match...you like?

I've got crazy nails, a fierce topknot, studs 'n spikes, dark eyeliner, and two-tone lips.  I'd say that qualifies as "excess."  What say you, ADR?

Anyway, the reason this post is subtitled "the day of Dance" is because I danced from 5:00PM until 1:00AM!  It was soooo much fun...

I used to go Swing dancing downtown twice a week and clubbing on the weekends, but when I got married to a non-dancer my own dancing streak kind of came to an end.
Luckily I can get my dancing fix now that my friend, Emilee (who has been featured on this blog before) is taking ballroom dance lessons!  On this illustrious day, she got me into her studio for an individual ballroom lesson, a group line dance lesson, and a dance party (and remember, all this was followed by going out clubbin').

Before I sign off, I want to share the following two photos of my girls and I us at the studio's dance party.  It was a Wizard of Oz theme.  Can you guess what our costumes are?

ANSWER: I represent...the Lullaby League!

ANSWER: Em is Glinda and
Piera (who also has been featured before) is the Witch of the East (lol)

You should've seen me Cha-Cha and Rumba in this makeshift tutu...it was poofing and flipping all over the place!  (Fear not: there were no wardrobe malfunctions.)  Phenomenal.

EDGY LOOK

Dress: Forever21 || Belt: Express || Arm Party/Rings: thrifted & gifted || Shoes: Paparazzi || Earrings: ShopKo

LULLABY LEAGUE COSTUME

Tank: old || Skirt: Forever21 || Petticoat: Hot Topic || Tights: thrifted || Shoes thrifted

NYFW Outfit Day 4

I had a tricky situation on hand this particular evening: I needed an outfit to go straight from church to drinks with friends at a casual pub.
Conclusion?  Skinnies and a blazer!  Works for everything.

Anna Dello Russo said: "There's nothing sexier than excess."  I decided to rock that vibe.  My outfit needed sprucing up since I went with all neutral colors, and I wanted to add some kind of trendiness to an otherwise classic look.

Rundown of the bling-bling:

Tiny angel on tip of lapel: gift (it's holding my birthstone) || All gold brooches: thrifted || Silver and Crystal brooch: handed down from my great-grandmother || Watch and Bangle: thrifted || Charm Bracelet: handed down from my grandmother

 

 Photo cred goes to my little brother.  He's always my best photographer!  :)  I gave him a hard time when he tilted the camera for the above shot, but look how cute it turned out!  Shows what I know, eh?  Thanks, boo!

Jewelry: see above || Skinnies: ELLE for Kohl's || Shoes: Dana Buchannan for Kohl's || Blazer: MaxRave || Scarf: thrifted || Clutch: thrifted || Sunglasses: Target

Thanks for reading!

"Fever"--Michael Buble

Play the video and listen to the song while you check out the following post.  :) 
It was my mood music for this outfit.

And now, for those in want, may I present to you a bit of:

(...with a little bit of leg.)

 (...OK, OK, with a lot of leg.)

This is what I wore to dinner on Saturday night.  The hubby took me out to celebrate my birthday.  :)  As such, it was a prime opportunity to be ridiculously overdressed. 

And so I was.

hoity-toity Queen for a Day

I really do think my husband's cache of combat boots classes up the picture, don't you? 
These photos were all snapped at my house by my loving hubby when we returned from dinner and drinks.

My accessories need a moment in the limelight here:

Faux fur wrap and lots of sparkly things!!!  Now THAT's a birthday outfit!

You get a glimpse of my nail art in this photo.  I am constantly updating Instagram with my nails, so please feel free to find me there!  I'm kind of obsessed with Instagram right now... @spritzy88

Some giggles...

 And now, ladies and gentleman, I have a question to put to you all:

Upon my recent perusal of magazine pages, I came across an article which informed me that slits were making a comeback.  I personally think a slit is a much more generally friendly way to display some leg (rather than a micro-minidress or whatever), so I'm content with this movement.  The only qualm I have is that I'm afraid of looking trashy, and slits can sometimes do that.

What about your thoughts, dear readers, on this matter?   
To slit or not to slit?

 I seriously want to hear what you all think.  Leave a comment or tweet @spritzy88 about it.

And now, dear readers, I will leave you today with "the Rundown" and the giggles.

Dress: Forever21 || Sparkles: gifted || Wrap: Gift || Shoes: Anne Klein (thrifted)

completely unretouched photo