Arts Festival and Accessories

Over the weekend I went to the Utah Arts Festival with my mom.  There were a lot of cool booths and I got inspiration of things to share with you.

I love when people have an idea, and can execute it well.  I love crafted, handmade, things, IF they are well made and don't look cheap or hand made.  Does that make sense?  If you are going to craft things and sell them, the quality should be good enough that others won't know that it's hand made.  No offense to kindergardners and their cute craft projects, but when I buy something, I don't want it to resemble those...

What are things that I loved from the festival?

The first booth that we went to was Mistura Designs (www.Mistura.com).

Eco watches.  Made of wood, leather, plant matter, recycled materials, etc.  These were very well crafted and very cool!  I would have loved to have bought one but they aren't exactly cheap (I believe they said they run from about $140 - $250) and I am broke.  They are very cool though.  The clasps and faces of the watches (except for the recycled ones) are carved wood. The watches are light, durable, and very comfortable.  You can see the different styles below.

Next on the list (and the list doesn't necessarily mean order of what I thought was best.  Just a list at random), You Got Mojo (www.yougotmojo.bigcartel.com).

They make jewelry out of metal from cars.  Above are necklaces and below are rings.  They also do mens accessories, bracelets, earrings, etc.  They are delicate and have a southwestern/modernness to them that is pretty cool.

Next up is Fat Cat Jewelry Studio (www.FatCatJewelryStudio.com).  Similar to the above, they make re-purposed jewelry but instead of from cars, their metal comes from vintage tins.  They had some cool things.  I was especially drawn to their bracelets.

This picture is one I took at the festival.  I love the bracelets.  I wish I had shown all of the one on the left.  It's a logo and I can't remember what it was for exactly.  Lemon Heads, Lemon cookies...., IDK, something.  I checked out their website and I don't feel like it was necessarliy the best website out there, which isn't bad but if I were going to buy from them, I would go to their Etsy store rather than their website to do so.  You can find that at: www.etsy.com/shop/fatcatjewelrystudio.  They had a cute business card too.  I'm loving it.  It's about 2" square (shown with another for size comparison):

Next is Bykali (www.bykali.etsy.com).  Up-cycled, unique belts and jewelry.  I believe I've seen these guys at the festival in past years and have always been impressed by their work.  Very creative and original and the quality seems to be great so that's even better.  Below is a picture of a belt and belt buckle that they sell. You can see that it's washers and nails.  Very fun.  Doesn't look how you wold expect if you were to just explain these to someone.

And the last one from the festival that I'm going to tell you about is, Octavia Bloom (www.octaviabloom.etsy.com).  Handmade jewelry.  Mostly bead-works from what I saw.  I am not normally too impressed with bead jewelry as most of what you find at craft fairs and things like that are not great quality and seem pretty elementary.  However, I did like these designs quite a bit.  They are delicate, simple, and have a soft, feminine feel.

I believe in supporting local artisans, craftspeople, small businesses, etc.  You can find more unique, one of a kind pieces when you shop that way.  Plus, it's just nice to support people that are trying to make it doing something they love.  I wish I had enough focus to come up with a plan for something like that.  My problem is that I have to broad of a range of interests so I can't seem to pick just one thing and stick with it.  Maybe one day....

One last thing before I call it a day on here:

There's a craft blog that I sometimes like to read called Stars for Streetlights.  You can read it at: www.StarsForStreetlights.com.  Some of her projects are really cool and some others I'm not very crazy about but I think that is just the nature of crafting in general.  Anyway, she posted Friday about something she's partnering with a start up craft company for.  It's for a magazine purse kit, see below (picture stolen from her blog):

I think that these are actually pretty cool.  You can buy the kit at: http://www.darbysmart.com/projects/magazine-clutch for $29, which I feel is pretty reasonable for the kit.  The kit comes with the current Vogue magazine.  I'm not in love with the cover so that doesn't excite me too much but it would be cool to do with a different cover.... not sure what exactly but I'm sure you could find something cool that matches your personality (and she talks about that on the site).  The site says that there are only 164 kits available left, so if you want one, you might need to jump on it.

That's it for today.  Support small businesses, crafters, local stores, etc. :)

Cleaning Out My Closets

So, my big theme for this year is to get organized.  I don't consider myself super messy but there is definitely room for improvement.  I haven't gotten my house organized as quickly as I intended but I've really been working on figuring out solutions and hope that in the next month or so, things will be clean and organized and beautiful at all times.  Part of my problem with de-cluttering and getting organized is that I have a small house with literally no storage.  I have a little linen closet with 3 drawers under it, and closets in the bedroom but that's it.  So, I have no room for food storage, camping gear, holiday stuff, etc.  But I've been buying cabinets to stick places so that will all change.  But all of that is irrelevant to this post, so pardon my rant.  What I am going to talk about is cleaning out my closet and sorting through clothes.  Super fun project!!

I wish my closet was organized and looked something like this:

(or even better - in my fantasies - something more like this:)

or:

But in reality, it is something more like this:

I was going to take before and after pictures of my actual closet but I didn't and am not currently at home so maybe another day.

The initial sweep through of my clothes was a piece of cake.  I just went through my wardrobe and pulled out the pieces I didn't wear anymore, knew I wouldn't wear, was too small, too big, etc.  I ended up with a decent sized pile, not as big as it probably should have been but still a decent sized pile.  Half of it I took to work for a girl that is smaller than me and could fit into my clothes that I've shrank in the wash or have grown out of, and the other half is in a pile for good will.

Now, there are other pieces that I wasn't so sure about.  I don't know why it is that we, or at least I, get attached to articles of clothing, but it happens.  So, I've decided that I am going to wear every item in my closet (season appropriate anyway) and if I am not excited about it, don't love it, it doesn't fit, etc, it's going out the door.  I'm only a couple days into it and have already gotten rid of a couple items of clothes so I think it's going to work.  And then I'll have to repeat the process in the winter to take care of the other half of my wardrobe that I'm not sure about.

I think this is a good challenge for anyone out there that reads this, take a week and clean out your closet, dresser, etc.  It helps to not feel cluttered, it's easier to find the pieces you actually do like and want to wear, and maybe you'll end up with enough space that you can buy more clothes ;)

Talk About Timing!

It was totally a fluke that I posted about Betsey Johnson last week.  Yes, she has her new show so that was relevant.  But man, her publicist must be working overtime.

Betsey was a host on this years Miss USA pageant that aired on Sunday.  I am not a big fan of beauty pageants with their big hair, sequins, and suspicious lack of brain cells (I know, that was mean and a major stereotype but have you heard these girls answer some of the questions they are asked?  Wow!).  But, I of course had to check out at least part of it to see the gown, see Betsey, and really that's pretty much it.

There were a lot of really stunning dresses this year.  And I was surprised by how short cocktail dresses were in trend this year rather than just the traditional ball gowns (at least when you are originally introduced to the girls).

I didn't watch the whole show but my favorite dress of the night that I did see was the dress Miss Texas wore at the beginning of the show:

This is the best picture I can find of it and it doesn't show off the whole thing.  I'm very disappointed that I couldn't find something better.  It was gorgeous.

I had to stop watching after the swimwear competition.  I just wanted to feed the girls crackers.  I'm pretty lean myself but a lot of those girls are way too thin.  Not hot.

If you want to watch the show yourself, you can check it out below:

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But back to Betsey....  I was checking out Groupon Goods last night and look what I found:

On Groupon for $28.99.  Can be bought here: http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-betsey-johnson-too-too-eau-de-parfum-spray

I considered buying it just because I love how punk rock the bottle is, but I don't wear perfume and I'm broke right now so I don't need to be spending money on things I won't use.

What else can I tell you about today....?

Piperlime is having their twice yearly sale.  That is worth checking out for sure!  www.PiperLime.com

Fathers Day & Bow Ties

So, it's Fathers Day.  If you are like me, you have a hard time figuring out what to get the dad that has everything.  I was racking my brain for weeks trying to figure out what to get, and what I could afford to get my dad.  Luckily, about a week before, my mom gave me the great idea to make my dad bow ties.  This seemed very manageable.

So, I pulled out my vintage Bernina (that I got at the DI for $15, complete with sewing table - not pictured).

Went to the fabric store and got WAY more fabric than I had intended but I was thrilled with all the fun prints they had in and couldn't decide.  This is after narrowing down the selection significantly.

And I went to town cutting, sewing, flipping, pressing, etc.

Almost done!  Pinning and pressing and hand sewing the flip hole shut.

Two of the finished products!

I was hoping to tie them up so they would be cute bows when I gave them to him but I apparently can't figure out how to tie a bow tie!  Luckily for me, there are sites such as the Social Primer (www.SocialPrimer.com - It's an interesting site, men especially should check it out.  It's like the guys version of Miss Manners)  that can educate people like me on how to tie a bow tie:

Now for some pictures of men in bow ties :)

Chuck from Gossip Girl.

Jay-Z.

Will Smith

Brad Pitt.

See, you just can't go wrong with a bow tie :)

Betsey Johnson

So, as I've said before, I am not super familiar with different designers and as a general rule, I can't tell you who designed what but there are a few exceptions to that rule.  Betsey Johnson is one of those exceptions and that may be just because of how unique, edgy, and rock and roll she is.  She is eccentric and is herself through and through.  I love that about her.  I love that in such a "serious" industry, she isn't afraid to be who she is.  She does cart wheels and splits down the runway at her fashion shows.  I don't know of any other designers that could get away with that.  I LOVE that about her.

Betsey Johnson isn't afraid of color, or print and while her designs aren't quite as edgy as she is (who else wears a tutu over boyfriend jeans and gets away with it?), they are edgy and classic in a sense not many could get away with.

Check out this lace inset dress on her website (www.BetseyJohnson.com)

It's a classic, fitted, sheath dress, but the turquoise in contrast with the black lace, really gives it a unique, young look to it.

This dress is super simple in the front with just a little ribbon and ruffle around the bottom, but then in the back, there's the heart cut out.  I think that is very fun and flirty.  Love it!  And honestly, who doesn't love polka dots?

Betsey also has fun jewelry, handbags, intimates, shoes, etc.  Definitely worth checking out her stuff from her site or at Nordstroms (it's the only place locally that I know of to get her things in SLC).  I've gotten cute earrings of hers at Nordstrom Rack and I love them.

Betsey has tons of personality.  Check out how awesome her perfume bottles are:

That's very punk rock.  I love it!  I haven't smelled it so I don't know how it smells but the bottle is awesome!

What else is awesome about Betsey?  She has a new reality show on the Style Network.  It started last month and is called XOX Betsey.  It's about life with her daughter Lulu, work, etc.  I don't have TV service so I have been watching online but so far I am really enjoying.  I just love that she is who she is (I know I said that already).

She has a couple of offers on her site right now:

• Free shipping on orders over $100 with keyword "LOVEBETSEY"
• Spend $125, get 20% off with keyword "BOLD20"

Check out her Spring/Summer 2013 runway show collection below:

Even her shows are rock and roll.  Her models are skipping, dancing, throwing things to the crowds.  So different from the usual predictable walk/stomp, straight faced models shows that you usually see.  Be warned that toward the end there are swim/underwear models, so young eyes may not want to watch as there are some scantily clad women.

Accessories, Accessories, Accessories

I've wanted to talk about accessories since day 1 but haven't quite known where to start.  I've taken a little time to think about it and am going to wing it so hopefully I manage to get the point across how I intend.

Most people know that accessories can make or break and outfit and can take you from "blah" to "wow" but accessorizing can be a lot harder than it seems like it should be.  I mean, all you have to do is throw on a necklace, a hat, shoes, something right?  What's so hard about that?

Well, there are a lot of things to think about.  What's the occasion?  What look are you going for?  Do your accessories match the style of your outfit?  How to combine prints and colors?  Etc.  But really, accessorizing isn't as hard as we make it out to be.

Start with your outfit.  Now, where are you going?

Work?  Wear practical shoes, either heel or flat, just something you are comfortable in and is appropriate for your work.  Good accessories for work are cardigans or blazers.  Keep jewelry keyed down for work.  Some good work outfits and accessory examples are:

Accessory wise, there isn't much to this outfit.  A simple cardigan, black heels, a belt, and a watch.  Easy.  But still a fun outfit.

I love this outfit.  Love the sharp lines on the blazer.  Simple necklace, bracelets, watch, belt, clutch.  Again, not too much to it right?

I could post dozens of examples for work but I think you can get the idea.  For work, keep it classy, keep it simple.

Date night is a little more fun.  You can use more accessories, brighter colors, just have more fun with it in general.  You still don't want to overdo it but you have a little more flexibility.

This outfit is fun for a casual date.  A statement necklace and a belt.  Super easy.

I love this outfit.  I could go from work to a night out pretty easily.  Work with a blazer and probably some different shoes. Date night, lose the blazer, sexy shoes.  Super easy.  You could add a necklace or some earrings.  Easy to put together and looking hot!

Summer casual?  Hanging out, shopping, going to the beach, luncheons, etc.

Simple eyelet dress is amped up with a belt, bracelets, a hat, simple jewelry.  Very cute.

Blazer, belt, bracelets, shoes.  Effortless but very polished and put together.

Accessorizing is easy, takes little time, but makes a huge difference.  Just keep colors, patterns, and proportions in mind.  Don't mix big, loud prints with more big, loud prints.  Aim for solids or simple prints instead (and yes, it is OK to mix prints with prints within reason).

Still not sold on accessories completely changing the look of an outfit?  Check out The Uniform Project (http://www.theuniformproject.com/year1/home/monthly/June.html).  A woman wears the same dress every day for a year and just styles it differently every day.  Some of her outfits are interesting to say the least, but it goes to show how differently you can make the same thing look depending on what you pair it with.  Here's an example of 10 days worth of her outfits:

I am sure I will do more posts on accessories in the future (I already am planning one dedicated to scarves), but I think this is a good, basic overview of accessories and the effect they can have.  Have fun accessorizing, but also keep it simple.  It's very easy to over accessorize and that can make you look like a little kid playing dress up (or worse, like a cheap hooker - that may have more to do with makeup than anything else but accessories can get you there too).

Side note, I pulled all my example pictures from Pinterest.  I generally try to search the pins back to their original source so I can give credit where credit is due, but I didn't have time for that today so I apologize for that and if anyone knows the source of the above photos, feel free to leave that info in a comment below.  I'll do my best to avoid doing this in the future.

"A woman makes an outfit her own with accessories." Oscar de la Renta

One last thing, Banana Republic is doing a giveaway right now.  You can win a $1000 gift card there, a 2 night trip to one of two locations, and a Fiat 500.  Enter here: http://on.fb.me/13qpRRI.  You can enter every day this month so be sure to enter daily :)

Louboutin My Love

Those who know me, know that I love Christian Louboutin.  His shoes are one of my few designer wants.  As I said in my first post, I don't generally want designer clothes.  I don't own designer clothes.  But there are a few things that one day I would like to own.  A pair of Louboutin pumps is one of them.  I love the traditional red sole.  I love the classics and if or when I ever own a pair of his shoes, they will probably be a classic black or nude pump so they don't ever go out of style.  I do however love some of his more funky designs as well - but, he does have some pretty ridiculous designs as well.  I do admit that.  That is true of pretty much every designer though.


These Lady Peep Strass' are cute for date night or special occasions.  They run $4,195.  Waaaayyyyy out of my price range for shoes.  Very fun cute though.



These Lady Peeps' in red patent are sexy.  I would rock these.  They're much cheaper than the Strass' and are priced at $945.  Still pretty steep for shoes in my book but very sexy and a red peep toe is pretty much always in style.



I think this Daffodile pump is pretty fun from the side.  It's comic book chic (Yes, I did just use "comic book" and "chic" in the same sentence).  Very fun and whimsical.  Priced  at $1,075.



I don't like them as much from the top though.  I don't need peoples faces on my shoes, unless I put them there ;)

I think these Lady Peep Spikes in gold are very punk rock and very fun.  Definitely not an every day heel but great for those days when you are feeling edgy.  I believe these run around $1,495 (at least the black version is that much.  The gold may and probably does cost more).

I could post dozens of pictures of Louboutins that I love but I won't spend all day doing that.  I think you get the idea.  Louboutins, to me, are the essence of shoe fabulousness.  They are the top tier as far as I am concerned.  And if you're going to rock a pair, go tall or go home.  Heels and pumps are where it's at with this designer.

What got me started on thinking about posting my <3 of Louboutin today is this post that louboutinworld posted on Instagram yesterday (if you aren't following them and you love shoes, you should be).

These are Hot Mouse.  I couldn't find them on the www.ChristianLouboutin.com website so I don't know how much they are but these are fantastic.  Definitely out there but WOW!  I love the pops of color.  I love the metal, textured heel.  I love the peep toe.  These are summer rock and roll.  If I could, I would be rocking these bad boys on the weekends.  Very fun!  Thumbs up from me for sure!

The Pink Suitcase

I just discovered a new store online that I think is going to be quite dangerous for me....

I saw this dress on Pinterest:



Super cute right? And it's the mint and white combination that I talked about in my last post.  This dress is currently sold out which is sad but it does come in mustard and navy so I just ordered myself up the navy.  They didn't have my size so I went up a size and am hoping it'll be something I can work with.  This fun summer dress was only $44.  I think that is pretty reasonable.

Some other things I found on the site that I love:

This Double Strap Chevron Dress.  I know it's pretty much the same as the polka dot above but chevron instead.  This one runs $48.

This Chevron One Shoulder Dress.  Another $48 find.  Yes another chevron print.  They have a lot of chevron prints in their store right now.  I have avoided one shoulder shirts and dresses in the past, mostly because of not wanting to wear a strapless bra (uncomfortable, always falling down, etc) but I think I would consider trying this out.  It would be super cute with a chunky probably gold tone, long necklace.

This Light Pink Bubble Necklace.  $26.

There are admittedly some strange things on the site that I'm not super crazy about but there are several cute dresses, tops, and accessories that I do love.  And the site is affordable which makes it all the better.

And!  They offer $5 flat rate shipping in the US.  That is pretty sweet.  I hate spending more on shipping than on my purchase.

Anyway, check them out: www.ShopPinkSuitcase.com

What A Week!

Oh my goodness!  I can't believe it's been over a week since I posted.  Last week was the busiest week at work that we have EVER had.  We did over a normal months worth of work in less than a week.  It was intense.  Lucky me though, I have a great team and we got through it.  However, it didn't leave much time or energy for blogging or really anything but work and sleep.  Eating even got moved down the list.  But now life can get back to normal.

Now that it is past Memorial Day, fashion law states that we can start wearing white.  I love white in the summer.  I love white pants, dresses, etc.  However, I don't really rock white often since I a) work in a warehouse, and b) have 3 dogs.  That's just a recipe for disaster on both accounts.  But I'm seeing a lot of white and mint, or turquoise color combinations for this spring/summer and I am really loving the pair.  I think they are very fresh, clean, feminine, and modern.  I have been incorporating mint into my wardrobe and love what I am coming up with.  I will definitely be adding more mint and white to my summer wardrobe.

Look at these fun examples I've found online:


This picture I found on Pinterest and love it.  The link takes me to a dead eBay link but it's a good example of what I'm talking about.


Another Pinterest find.  I love this one for a summer party or BBQ.  Just don't spill on yourself like a certainly would wearing this top.  I'm not sure where to get these pieces but I love the shorts.  I would get them if I knew where to buy them.  Super cute!  I love the texture.

So what are my new mint wardrobe pieces?

I got this Harper blouse from Alloy.  I wasn't sure about it or if I could pull it off but I love it.  I do wear it with a statement piece necklace and I do think it needs a little extra to really make it pop.  Next time I wear it I will take picture to share with you.  I didn't think about it last week when I was wearing it.

I got this Cloe dress from Alloy as well.  I wore it last night for date night with the hubs.  I wore it with a big pearl necklace and some floral flats.  I should've taken a picture of that as well but also didn't think about that.  I will do better in the future.

I also got some mint skinny jeans.  They haven't come yet and I'm pretty nervous about wearing a colored jean.  I love colored pants on other people but am not sure if I am comfortable wearing them.  I'm not sure why but I'm a little self conscious about that but I'm excited to give it a try.

Oh!  It's June, which means it's semi-annual sale time!  Nordstrom has already alerted me that their sale for women and children is on now.  Victoria's Secret is having theirs (that is very dangerous news, I can easily drop a few hundred dollars at that one).  I haven't been to the mall for a bit but I am sure several stores have theirs on now too.  I would bet that Express has theirs on.

Anyway, that's all for now!  I'll do better posting this week :)