On Rainy Days, We Wear...

 

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!

Fall Mashup

Saying an official Goodbye to Fall,

and a Hello to Winter! 

Happy December, everyone! 

 

I decorated for Christmas yesterday, really trying to get into the holiday spirit!  How about you guys? 
So, in order to cleanse my seasonal pallette and prepare to start the holiday season afresh...

I'm clearing all the Fall outfits I had stacked up in the coffers of my hard drive 

and setting them all free

in one big blogpost explosion!!!

Kicking things off with a bit of leopard sass never hurt anyone, right?  Ready?  Here we go!

 Hat: H&M || Sweater: thrifted (orig. J. Crew) || Tank: H&M || Jeans: Charlotte Russe || Shoes: thrifted (orig. Steve Madden) || Scarf: gift || Gloves: vintage (grandma's) || Bag: Rosetti

And next, here's a comfy ensemble with the grey, ruffled suede boots that have never failed me, yet!

 Scarf: gift || Sweater: Forever 21 || Jeans: Wal*Mart || Boots: old (Payless?) || Jacket: thrifted (orig. Ralph Lauren) || Gloves: thrifted || Bag: thrifted

 

And now some fierce sequins and a red lip...

 

 Jacket: thrifted || Tank: old || Jeans: Forever 21 || Shoes: old (Payless?)

Wore this little ensemble to church to sing with choir.  Never thought I'd wear these shoes to church!  Much less in November...

 Shoes: can't remember || Dress: thrifted (orig. Mossimo) || Cropped Tux Jacket: thrifted (orig. Mossimo) || Fur Coat: thrifted || Belt: thrifted || Bracelet: can't remember || Bag: Rosetti || Sunnies: Marshall's (orig. American Eagle Outfitters)

Some crazy colors and the debut of my new statement necklace.  I've been wearing this necklace (I bought it in mint AND in coral) constantly since I bought it!

 Necklace: Charlotte Russe || Sweater: Wet Seal || Pants: Calvin Klein || Boots: Steve Madden || Arm Party: Charming Charlie

Here's a little bit of a blurry photo of a casual weekend look with boyfriend jeans, a furry vest, and flannel!  Woo, flannel!  Add some heels and the aforementioned statement necklace, and you're set!

 Sunnies: gift || Necklace: Charlotte Russe || Vest: old || Shirt: American Eagle Outfitters || Jeans: Charlotte Russe || Shoes: thrifted (orig. Anne Klein) || Bag: Rosetti

 

Finally, here's a look I wanted to have a real photoshoot with, but ran out of time.  I was pretty proud that I put this risky, colorful thing together the day after I had a minor surgery haha (just an endoscopy).  Me in a beanie; who'd've thunk?

Beanie: thrifted || Sunnies: old || Jacket: old || Sweatshirt: thrifted (orig. GAP) || Jeans: H&M || Shoes: thrifted || Necklace: thrifted

Hope y'all didn't mind the casual outfit explosion...did you have a favorite?  Let me know in the comments!   :)

Nerdy Skirt

This was a beautiful day: both weather-wise and event-wise.  I took a nice long walk with my hubby and visited his family to watch the Packer game.

My burnished silver metallic cut-out shoes originally from Aldo. I had to buy new laces, but otherwise I'm pretty sure whoever had them before I did hardly wore them! Her loss, poor, unfortunate soul.

 I love Fall layers...denim shirt, leather coat, plaid skirt, and fun pops of color in my accessories!

The skirt is kinda nerdy, really, but I love the pattern and texture! 
I'm trying to dress like me, again. 
I know it sounds silly to blame a thing like this, but Lookbook really started to mess with my personal style; I thrifted thinking in my head, "Ooh! I don't really care for this, but it would get a lot of hypes on Lookbook!"  Whenever I catch myself thinking that kind of thing, I back off of whatever is causing it.  [I've said since the start of this blog that it's not primarily a FASHION blog, but rather a STYLE blog.]  So, I've stopped going on Lookbook completely.  Lookbook could have been a wonderful fashion and style tool, but I'm tired of seeing all the emaciated women wearing slutty clothes getting all the love! Ripped fishnets are not innately stylish; showing off long, thin legs does not mean a woman has pinache. Yes, of course I am jealous of those legs and the money required to buy all brand new designer denim to clothe those legs in, but that is not my chief qualm with Lookbook: my biggest problem is the lack of originality.  There are so many women who are regarded as international fashion plates who I respect and admire and so many pictures in magazines that I really don't believe would get majorly hyped on Lookbook (if they were unknowns like me).  And really, what are hypes to tell you what is cool and what is not?
Sorry for the rant, but it's been on my mind since I read similar thoughts on another blog I really like recently. 

Has anyone else had a problem with Lookbook?

or something similar?  

 

Skirt: thrifted || Purse: old || Scarf: old || Shoes: thrifted (orig. Aldo) || Shirt: H&M || Sunnies: Marshall's (orig. American Eage Outfitters) || Belt: White House | Black Market || Jacket: gift

 



The PIANO SIDEWALK. and a BIG thank-you!

My dear readers, I am filled with pleasure, pride, and gratitude to announce that...

I have over 100 followers! 

Having been blogging for just a year, with very limited funds/time and a crappy camera, and from my little place in the middle of nowhere, I can't even tell you how much this means to me! 

Now whenever my family members [rather snarkily] ask, "What's the point of this 'blogging' stuff?" I tell them, "Look at all the friends I'm making!  Look at all the people who care about what I share with them, and who share with me in return!  The coolest part?  I have a bunch of followers from other countries! direct connections with special people I never would have met any other way!" 
And who knows the wonderful places it'll go from here?  Social networking, FTW!  So I'm glad to just keep on keeping on: posting my blog posts, putting photos up on Instagram (@spritzy88), and sharing cool stuff on my Facebook page (link at right).  And this kind of feedback--100+ followers--makes the sharing even more fun.

So, my mom (who has been by far my staunchest supporter) took me out to lunch to celebrate my 100 followers.  :)  Here's the outfit I wore that day, incorporating a blouse she gave me to sort of honor her in return:

This is also the debut of my patterned pants from H&M.  :)  I was soooo excited to find a pair of patterned pants that I actually like and will be able to style with my pre-existing wardrobe.  And they're comfy, too.

As I'm posting these photos, I'm seeing the effects of Instagram and Pinterest and magazine subscriptions hahaha...

What I mean is that this is *gasp* a TRENDY outfit.
 
Patterned cropped pants, sexy statement shoes, a sheer hi-lo blouse, a cropped tuxedo jacket, burgundy lipstick, and even my bangs are all "IN" right now. 
Except for my Rolex and my eyes (lol), I don't think I'm wearing anything NOT trendy. 
How weird.

These photos were taken in the center square of a city next to my hometown.  Actually, the suburbs where I live are all kinda mushed together, sooo it's all kinda the same place, but I digress; the point is that the fountain and gazebo (which you've already seen) are lovely, annnnnnd the following photos showcase my favorite thing about this square:

The PIANO SIDEWALK.

 

 

 

And with that, dear readers, this post draws to its end.  :)  I'll put one more great big THANK YOU out there, throw out a quick Rundown, and see you later!

 

Jacket: thrifted (orig. from Target) || Blouse: gift || Pants: H&M || Shoes: thrifted (orig. from Charlotte Russe) || Watch: thrifted (Rolex)



Sofa, So Good.

Yes, that punny title for this post was COMPLETELY necessary.

My dear readers, I have discovered a new means by which to take photos: piling up a basket, a decorative vase, and a book and then placing my camera (albeit precariously) on top of all that lot and setting a ten-second timer.  That allows me to take photos of me laying and sitting on the couch.  By adding another book and shifting the camera from there, I can get me standing next to the couch.  YAY for ingenuity..? 

PLEASE let me know what you think of these shots: I was quite pleased with the results of my little photographic experiment.

opening things up with my favorite shot

Soooo church ended up--SURPRISE--being held outdoors today so they can do some remodelling.  You should have seen me teetering around on the grass in these shoes.  I spent the whole sermon furiously fanning myself with the bulletin, because the dress is black and a poly-blend that doesn't breathe at ALL.  Classy.

Getting "so SEXUAL," as Jenna Marbles would say...

Then there were a few shots that required more editing than simply being cropped (as all the above were).  The following photos were either that whole model-y "I have NO idea what she's doing, but I guess it makes the clothes look pretty cool" thing (you know that you've paged through magazines and thought that), or just...wanted some added filtering and arty stuff.

Really, though...what WAS I doing? 
Gimme a break: I only had ten seconds every time to press the button, run back to the couch, and get in some sort of pose.  Every once in awhile, I'd remember to set my face.  Not this time, though (hence my cropping it out of the frame).

My purse demanded some limelight.  It was unfortunately stuck in a dark spot for most of these photos.

Anyway, this was a fun shoot on a hot Sunday afternoon.  I did all of this in about 20 harried minutes; I wanted to be finished before my husband got home: he would have laughed at me something fierce for the bizarreness of my setup and coquettish posing.

Anyway, farewell my loves, until next time...

(...which should be Monday!  I've got some photos my friend, Emilee took of me and herself from a concert.  We look amazing, if I do say so, myself!  :)  Be excited!!!)

Dress: H&M || Shoes: Target || Bag: Aldo || Bracelet: Maurices || Belt: Express