18-21 August 2015: Let it Go!

It’s that time of year again – our bi-annual Frozen singalong! And while last week when it happened was blazing hot, Elsa’s worked her magic and we’re back into the 70s. Delightful!

Max Studio tie blouse, JCrew skirt, BP cardigan, Arrow necklace, Avengers charm bracelet, Clarks shoes

I am super madly in love with how this turned out. I had a meeting with librarians I’ll be presenting with later this fall, so I wanted to look professional. (And of course, there we were all in our cardigans. STEREOTYPES AHOY.) The peplum of the shirt perfectly masks the waist gaps on this skirt and I love how the colors work together. Love love love.

Snow Queen racerback tank, Old Navy Flirt capris, H&M cardigan, snowflake necklace and bracelet, vintage blue wreath brooch, Clarks shoes

Do you want to build a snowman? I do. I was a little sad I couldn’t rock my snowflake dress, but I required pockets and comfort. I bought this at the parks last year, but find it hard to wear because it’s racerback. Turns out it does work with my sports bras, or just covering up the back. I’m tempted to turn this into a jogging top, though, and get more use out of it. I love the foiling and design, but I did have to pin it to my cardi to make sure nothing showed accidentally.

ALSO, Disney created an app to let you buy things from the park stores and have it shipped. They have WAY more on location than on the Disney Store websites, and I find myself wanting to buy so many many many things. Including my absolute favorite cookie ever, which is alas sold out. 😦 But I’ll keep trying. And I’m sure to get an ornament or two, as well.

Gap top, Old Navy Flirt capris, Mickey necklace, Avengers charm bracelet, BAIT flats

Comfort and ease, all I wanted.

Also, I thought my purple was totally gone, but turns out I’ve just been parting it wrong. And, also, it’s basically silver now. I rather like it.

Elie Tahari top, Old Navy Flirt Capris, Agent Carter necklace, Avengers charm bracelet, hairband, Clarks shoes

I super love this top. I wish all my fitted tops were this comfortable!

10 -14 August 2015: Fangirl

Anne of Green Gables is, bar none, my favorite book. I love a lot of books – A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betsy-Tacy, everything by Connie Willis – and consider many characters to be my friends, but Anne holds my heart like no other. I remember when I first met her: my friend Ruthie gave me Anne of Green Gables as a birthday present when I was 8. I have multiple copies (including a personalized Shelley of Green Gables and a special hardcover from my senior photos) and every time I move into a new house or apartment, it’s the first book I read there.

I also love the miniseries, and I’m sure most of you have heard or read me talking about meeting Jonathan Crombie when he toured as Man in Chair in Drowsy Chaperone. So you can imagine how pleased I was to see a modern YouTube adaptation popup last year called Green Gables Fables – and to see that it was really quite good. I was excited to have a chance to back the Kickstarter for a season 2 (and was in fact the first to donate, ha!) and my perks have come in.

I am, very clearly, a Kindred Spirit. ❤

Green Gables Fables tee, JCrew button skirt, Doctor Who bracelet, Aerosole sandals

Look at the cute little braids! I love it. I also got a cute postcard signed by the cast. Season 2 (based on book 3, Anne of the Island) starts September 2. I can’t wait.

Frozen/Doctor Who tee, Old Navy Flirt capris, Black Widow bracelet, Clarks shoes

I do love these mashups! It’s odd, though, how they all sort of make me look flat, in a way no other shirt print does.

Tracy Reese anthropologie Mompos Dress, Mickey Mouse necklace, Agent Carter necklace, Captain America bracelet, Clarks shoes

TWIRL! This dress makes me happy, looks perfect with the shoes, and lends itself well to my 1940s character jewelry giving me mental strength. Sometimes you need mental strength wherever you can get it.

Maurice’s top, Old Navy Flirt capris, Tardis necklace, Captain America bracelet, BAIT Iona wedges

I love these shoes so much, and they are so not comfortable. Maybe I needed to size up? It’s such a sad thing. My other BAIT flats are awesome, and I just love these t-traps so much. Boo.

Disney Snow White top, JCrew button skirt, Avengers charm bracelet, Aerosole sandals

And back to fandom. ❤

16, 23, 24 July 2015: Avengers Fun

Being sick sucks. 5 days since my fever and this is the first day I haven’t been totally exhausted by normal life. I’m going to be running from behind for a little bit longer, I guess.

 

Redbubble She Needed a Hero tshirt, Old Navy Flirt capris, Hawkeye bracelets, Keds, Avengers

I hired Cap and Hawkeye to come teach the kids cool skills – Hawkeye taught them how to use a bow and arrow, obvs, and Cap taught them stunt fighting. The classes were majority girls (aged 3-10), and you have not lived until you have seen tiny girls beating up Captain America. It was marvelous, and they were great with the kids.

We also had Anna and Elsa walking around, but I missed out on a photo with them because I was documenting the Avengers classes. Wish I could post some, they were so good.

 

Limited striped tshirt, River Canyon skorts, Hawkeye bracelets, Agent Carter necklace, Clarks flats

New shirt, on super mega sale. I adore the colors (lilac and navy) and the fit, yay! And it was like $10. I should have gotten more.

Limited lace dress, vintage star brooch, Captain America bracelet, Anthropologie hairband, Keds

First day back at work, barely made it 5 hours, endless love for my coworker who came back and did my night shift for me. New dress from the same megasale as the above shirt, I super super love it. And yes, I totally Disneybounded as Cap. Can you see it?

3, 5, 6, 7 July 2015: Fandom Fun

It was oddly soul crushing to work Friday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday this week, while everyone on social media proclaimed the joy of a three day weekend. Normally I’d have had Monday off for Sunday, but since much of my department took a four day weekend, I took today off instead. I thought it’d be no problem, but boy did it suck. People figured we were closed Friday and Sunday, so it was so incredibly slow and I loathe slow Sundays. I read comics, bitterly.

But I looked cute, at least.

Target Captain America tee, JCrew button skirt, Optimysticals Avengers charm bracelet, Aerosoles sandals

I mean, if you’re at work the day before July 4th, you wear Captain America. You just do.

Junk Food Captain America tee, River Canyon skorts, Arrow necklace, Optimysticals Avengers charm bracelet, Keds

And when you’re there the day after, it just makes sense to go Captain America again. Why not, right?

I always forget I own this skort, I think I pull it out once a year. But it was exactly what I needed, so, score.

Coldwater Creek shirtdress, Arrow necklace, Agent Carter necklace, Captain America bracelet, Clark’s shoes

This is my most favorite dress. I figured since it was 90 out for the second or third time this summer, it was a good day for it – actually it was overly sticky. The lunchtime walk to Trader Joe’s for groceries didn’t help. But I adore this dress and would happily wear versions of it 75% of my summer, I love the drape of it. For accessories, I threw in all three Marvel characters I love who are from the 40s, since it’s vintage style – Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter, Natasha Romanoff. (In the comics, anyway.) I just had the arrow and bracelet, but I woke up in a down mood so I needed the Peggy Carter value reminder. It worked.

Also, what is this style of shoe called? Need to figure that out.

Disney World castle tee, Old Navy Flirt capris, Gap boyfriend cardi, arrow bracelets, White Cliff flats

And then suddenly, it was barely 65 out. This summer is weird. It was so chilly at lunch that I turned around because I needed a jacket I didn’t have. I finally figured out how to give my hair a bit of poof at the top, which I’m super excited about. I spent the day listening to Disney World park music,  which always lifts my mood. God bless internet radio.

Redbubble On Your Left tank, Nike running shorts, New Balance gym shoes

SHORTS. SHORTS THAT FIT ME. AND LOOK GOOD. I have never experienced such a thing before!! This is exciting. I just started week 5 – week 4 was hit and miss, but I thought W5 would be easier than redoing W4. W4D1 went fantastically, and D2 and 3 went so so badly, from triggering my asthma to having to walk a bit during jog portions. It was super frustrating. But W5D1 went splendidly – 3 sets of 5 minute jogs were a manageable challenge, my breathing was great, and I cut over a minute off my mile. I think maybe going out in the evenings might be better than mornings – I did remember that I could never go PE in the mornings with my asthma, so maybe I just need to let my lungs warm up more. We’ll see how D2 goes.

Also, this lipgloss comes courtesy my friend Krissy – it’s Perfectly Posh Lip Dye in Dark Darling and holy crap, I love it. It’s super 90s, I think, in a good way. But because it’s a gloss, it fades quickly. Besame has a travel lip brush that would be handy, but I am rubbish at reapplying during the day. I wonder if I can find a dupe to use with it to extend it’s wear?

I used to have a wax tart melter from Yankee Candle, and I loved that thing hardcore. I like scenting my space. But it died years ago and I never replaced it. And then  a few weeks ago, I was like, WHY? Why wouldn’t I? I loved it, it was easy, and it gave me pretty scents I can’t get from candles because I don’t do flames. So I bought one, on clearance and it’s super pretty:

I love dragonflies. So when I was buying it, I recalled the absolutely amazing mythology of the Mountain Lodge scent, as detailed on Tumblr. It is hilarious, and validated by Yankee Candle itself, and since I tend to really love piney, outdoory scents, I had to go for it.
And yep. Friends, it is marvelous. I suspect there’s a stronger scent in candle form, but alas, that avenue is not open to me. I need more.

New displays at work:

High five to my friend who added Pizza Dog from Hawkeye, and thumbs up to Elsa, but I love that someone added Robin, with a rationale. ❤

And this is absolutely incredible, I should get a shot of the whole thing. It goes from 1 foot (Hobbits) to 9 feet (Hulk):

I question my coworkers measuring, though – this was me in 2-3 inch heels, and last I checked, I was 5’4″!

23, 24, 25, 26 June 2015: New Stuff!!!

And also, ack. Where did my week go? I was running from behind the entire time. But hey, look, every day I wore something new! When was the last time I wore new things? And best of all, what did I pay for all these new things? Nada. I love clothes swaps and consignment credit.

Karen Hallion Elsa meets the Doctor tee, Old Navy Flirt capris, Black Widow bracelet, White Cliff flats

And also gifts – I like gifts. My parents got this for me when Teefury had their big sale and I am over the moon. Elsa! Doctor Who! Yay!!!

Loft top, JCrew skirt, Minnie necklace, Optimysticals Avengers charm bracelet, Keds

Two new things! I love the print and drape, even if that odd seam over my chest is odd. Skirt is consignment store – it’s definitely too big, the waist gaps, but I love the color and I can work around the waist. It’s been such a cool summer that most of my summer skirts feel out of place, so I’m glad to have one I can wear.

anthropologie Scottie Dog tee, Old Navy Flirt capris, Optimysticals Avengers charm bracelet, Clarks shoes

New shoes! The exact style I’ve been trying to find for the last year! Yay swap! What is this style even called? They lace up over the instep, sort of like tap shoes. They’re retro and adorable and I need to figure out how to best style them, ha.

French Connection heart tee, Old Navy sweetheart skinnies, Optimysticals Avengers charm bracelet, BAIT flats

New top! Which makes me so happy. I love the stripes, I love the heart. Yay yay yay.

My friend and I went to afternoon tea yesterday to pre-plan our winter trip to NYC and it was marvelous. Just looks at this!

Seriously, we finished at 4, and I didn’t eat again until breakfast just now, 16 hours later. And I’m still not really hungry, ha! It was all incredibly delicious. My tea was Kyoto cherry, and absolutely perfect.

15, 16, 17, 18 June 2015: Maybe?

I honestly can’t remember what days I wore what. Week two of SRP. Brains dribbling out. I can give the spiel in my sleep, though. And I actually dreamed about it last night. I don’t want to dream about it. But it happened anyway.

Junk Food Captain America tee, JCrew Jackie cardigan, Old Navy Flirt capris, White Cliff flats

I forgot a bracelet and felt naked. I am so used to bracelets now. Where was my brain?

Oh, right – this was the day I tried curlers. I wanted ’60 Betty Draper curled ends and ended up with ’63 Peggy helmet poof. Heavy sigh.

Theory dress, Tardis necklace, Captain America bracelet, White Cliff flats

Yay Tardis. I got requested by a patron as, “That lady in the pretty dress.” I’ll take it.

Elsa tee, Old Navy Flirt capris, Optimysticals Avengers charm bracelet, Keds

Elsa it totes a superhero.

Old Navy dolman top, JJill tank, Old Navy Flirt Capris, Black Widow bracelet, Agent Carter necklace, Captain America socks, Keds

I unearthed this top in an unlikely spot and I can’t tell if I meant to swap it away or what. Thoughts?

The fun of donated Barbies for Barbie Club: you get a lot of decades represented:

I kinda like that last outfit. I’d wear the skirt, anyway.

4, 5, 7, 9 March 2015: Mishmash

Unintentional radio silence! I came home and promptly got smacked in the face with allergies and spent a week in a fog and on the couch. Then came the time change. But I am finally much improved! I have words again!

 

Gap sweater, Old Navy Sweetheart skinnies, Mickey necklace, Hawkeye bracelet, anthropologie hairband, Crown Vintage booties

New Mickey necklace! I’d hoped to find one I’d see at Disney World last October, interlocking Mickeys, but that was a no go. This one is equally adorable, though. There’s a wee little heart inside his head!

 

Gold top, Kate Spade Jillian skirt, Merona tights, Claire’s flower, Hawkeye bracelet, Crown Vintage booties

Eeeesh. Not as planned. I had tried cream tights, but they didn’t work. In retrospect, I think they worked and the shoes didn’t, but I wasn’t very clear headed. I like the idea of pink and gold, but this was a fail.

 

Elsa tee, Old Navy Flirt skirt, H&M cardigan, Old Navy tights, Hawkeye bracelet, Bass Heritage boots

Storytime day! I got asked my a girl to not leave my desk so she could go get her sister, who she knew would love my top, ha.

 

JCrew Factory dress, JCrew Jackie cardigan, Forever 21 necklace, vintage brooch, Hawkeye bracelet, Merona tights, Crown Vintage booties

An actual thought out outfit! Clearly my brain was back. The tights made the dots on the dress look darker, but I chose the sweater because they matched the dots! I might have made it all mismatch a bit, but I still like the color scheme. It was 50, and I didn’t have to wear a down jacket, and that deserves flowers and bright colors.

28 February and 1 March 2015: Dapper Day!!!

I’m back! And where am I back from?

Disneyland!!!! More specifically: Dapper Day. I met up with three awesome friends for a stylish weekend. For Dapper Day, the idea is to dress up in your best to visit the parks, like they did when it opened in the 50s and 60s. Most people dress retro for it (I saw everything from the 20s to 70s), but contemporary dress is just as welcomed.

You all know my mad love for Disney World, but this was my first time back at Disneyland since I was 4. Disney World still owns my heart, but I really enjoyed Disneyland. Especially once I found my dream ride, Indiana Jones – the perfect level of thrill for me, hee.

I flew in Thursday night and met up with my friend KC – I wore my Doctor Who dress and boyfriend cardigan for easy flight wear.

I can’t seem to find any full length pics of Friday, either. Hmm. I may come back to edit this. I wore my Doctor Who/Sleeping Beauty mashup tee and got a few compliments on it.

 

Disney Let it Go tee, Old Navy Flirt capris, tiara, rain jacket, Keds

Paradise Pier!! Our hotel room actually overlooked the wheel and Goofy roller coaster, it was crazy awesome.

Actually, the hotel itself was crazy awesome:

This was taken from the fire room. A whole room dedicated to the fireplace. We spent nearly every night down there after the parks closed.

So Dapper Day had a two day expo, too – tons of vintage shops put up stalls. So many awesome clothes, hats and jewellery! It was actually overwhelming, but I had fun trying hats on. I wanted to try the amazing Pinup Girl skirts and dresses on, but seriously, overwhelming.

And, okay. A lot of you have probably noticed that I’m a nerd, right? I mean, I wear Doctor Who shirts. And recently, I fell in love with Marvel’s Agent Carter. I was excited for the show just because it was set in the 1940s, but I figured I ought to see Captain America: The First Avenger first so I had the right background, and then I fell in love with it and ended up watching all of the Marvel movies, reading dozens of comics and realizing that I love Cap because of the 40s, but Hawkeye is My Avenger and most importantly: Agent Carter really is the best show yay. So I was excited to see this poster outside the park:

 

Hayley Atwell plays Peggy, and she is just the all around best. I love her twitter feed, and I love how she tells us what makeup, perfume and nail polish she wears on set. The makeup company is Besame Cosmetics, which does vintage reproduction. Sephora sells their Violet Powder, so I ordered that awhile back and totally love it. It does amazing things for my face, making it smooth and bright. But you guys, I really wanted her lipstick, which is only available on their website and is a killer shade of red. Specifically, Red Velvet/1946.

My friends, who was at the Expo?

 

Oh, yeah. And who looks awesome in Red Velvet from 1946?

 

Just call me Agent. They had her perfume, too, but it had sold out very very quickly. Boo. (Not that I wear it, but I wanted to smell it!)

And I have to say – the lipstick is amazing. I wore it to work today, and it didn’t even wear off! Super super impressive. Well worth the $22.

So, all that being said? This next picture won’t really surprise you.

 

 

Anthropologie Pleated Matilija dress, H&M cardigan, straw hat, Hot Topic Adventure Book necklace, Grape Soda pin, vintage purse, white gloves, sandals, Captain America

Yeah, we talked about Agent Carter. 😉 I super loved how this came out – I wish my hair had, but I tried wet setting it and it didn’t dry!!! Oh, well. I am loosely dressed as Ellie from Up. The Adventure Book actually opens up for the picture of Ellie and Carl, with her message to him. ❤ These used to be my favorite sandals, and I wore them so thoroughly that the heels collapsed and now they are more platform than wedge. And they aren’t super comfy anymore. 😦 I switched to Keds soon after.

I also posed with Mickey. He was very dapper, and kissed my hand.

❤

 

You guys, the people watching was INSANELY AWESOME OMG. There were about 10,000 people dressed up. This slideshow has some great ones: The OC. I hadn’t even seen most of those. I did see #18 walking around and loved how her hairband matched her dress.

I admit, I loved seeing all the Agent Carters walking around. This Peggy and Steve were my favorites:

I had also stopped to ask about the backpack, because I saw so many all weekend. (Mostly on guys.) It used to be at Hot Topic but is now on Amazon. I may need to get it.

One more cosplay:

The blue dress with red waist is also Peggy, and I seriously covet it.

Okay, another cosplay, different fandom:

Goofy (Donald is cut off) wearing a Tardis, being stopped by the Eleventh Doctor. So awesome.

Amazing colors and great hat:

I saw everyone from toddlers to men in their 70s dressed up in style. Check out this awesome coat:

It was like being on a movie set!!!!

California Adventure’s main street is set up like 1923 LA, and they have fantastic street performances. This couple was one of several spontaneously dancing to Five and Dime.

Super super fun weekend! A Disney stylista’s dream come true, basically. I still haven’t gone through all my pics from the trip, so chances are that more might appear later! I know I have more on my camera, rather than my phone.

Anyway, I’m glad I went to Disneyland, but I can’t wait to go back to Disney World. December 2016!

11, 12, 13 February 2015: Whee!

I’ve been on a major comics kick lately (EVERYONE needs to read Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye! So amazingly good) but I’ve also been updating my Reading Challenges and post. Reviews are linked from there. So far, nonfiction is kicking ass, with 7/15 read. I have 5 on my TBR list checked out, but I keep reading comics and nonfiction, so.

Meanwhile, my color scheme continues.

 

anthropologie Tracey Reese sailor net tee, Old Navy Flirt skirt, Anthropologie cardigan, Victoria Secret leggings, Crown Vintage booties

I needed something that would be easy to change in and out of in the middle of the day. The reason is at the end of the post. I do like how the colors look together, though.

 

Gap drape neck tee, Old Navy Sweetheart skinnies, Modcloth Airport cardigan, snowflake necklace, Bass heritage boots

I actually left off the cardigan most of the day – it’s one of my warmest and it was bitterly cold again, but the long sleeves on the tee worked pretty well. I like the collar and cut on this, but it tends to feel so boxy and blazery to me. Hard to make it work with a lot of my bottoms.

 

 

 

Disney Snow White tee, Old Navy sweetheart skinnies, Gap boyfriend cardigan, H&M flower bobby pin, Crown Vintage booties

Nice, simple, comfy for a Friday! I’m also feeling excited about Disney, so, there’s that.

And the reason I needed easy change outfit on Wednesday?

 

My friend and I spent our lunch hour ice skating! I though I’d spend a lot of time falling and wanted to be prepared, but there wasn’t really a need. It’s been 25 years since I skated, but I did really well. I wobbled a bit and clutched the wall for the first 15 minutes, then found my balance and skated without falling or holding on. I even picked up speed, and got complimented by one of the skaters on my improvement, ha. Awesome, cheap exercise and such a ridiculous amount of fun. We giggled like mad and came back to work all hyped up and ready to work. They open the rink at lunch during the week, and we need to make it a regular gig.

From the Librarian with the Lipstick

I sort of got out of the habit of making sure I took my daily picture after Disney – to be fair,  I had just taken at least 800 pictures in a week. But I want to stick with it, so here we go.

12/Autumn rainbow tree!

13/Decorated pumpins from a program at work

14/Our drop in space turned into an advice room for the month

15/Practice packing my backpack for the park, ha. This thing is like a Tardis, bigger on the inside. Still, next time, I want a crossbody version. It’d be easier to get in and out of than this.

16/Packed and ready to go!

17/French Quarter ❤ ❤ ❤

18/It’s a Small World! I love this ride. Happy 60th.

19/Be Our Guest snowy windows ❤

20/Canada Pavillion’s Victoria Gardens, my favorite place in all the parks

21/Hollywood and Vine of the 30s and 40s

22/Frozen projected onto the Castle during the Halloween show

23/Frozen sing-a-long

24/Unpacking souveniers!

25/Pumpin pie concrete, YUM. A full piece of pumpkin pie blended in.

26/Autumn building

27/Hello, jack-o-lanterns

28/Stormy night

29/A visiting falcon

30/Franken-frap from Starbucks, minus the chocolate. Turns out that green tea with peppermint is the best thing ever.

31/Halloween snow!!

1/Twilight

2/Homemade peppermint syrup (for green teas, ha)

3/Homemade pumpkin peanut butter chip cake (that I ended up being allergic to)

4/New Little Free Library in town

5/Christmas cups!!!

6/Half the street has bare trees, half totally full. What kind of odd sunlight do they have??

7/Bingo Baby

8/Homemade peppermint hot chocolate

9/Our drop in space is Rumpelstiltskin, with straw kids turn to gold. Looks adorable. Horrible for allergies.

10/Maleficent at the library – I quite enjoyed it.

11/Roaming gerbils!

12/Gourds set out to play tic tac toe – such a cute idea.

13/Jumbo reindeer at the mall

14/Pumpkin waffles from the waffle truck by the library! The guy screwed up my order, gave me classic instead of pumpkin. It was fine, they were delicious, but ten minutes later, he ran in the pumpkin waffles I had ordered originally and told the assistants at the desk they were for “the librarian with the lipstick.” No lie, I want that to be my tagline here now! I love it.

15/Snowy ground from flurries.