What I Haven’t Worn Yet

Just a heads up: Though I love fashion and clothes and outfits and “lewks,” you probably won’t see a “what I wore” post from me any time soon. Know why? Because what I wore is jeggings, a Target tank top and a grandpa cardigan. Oh, except for last Saturday. That was when I was planning to spend the day outside in the sun, but realized that none of my shorts fit, so I threw a hissy fit until Brad let me cut up a pair of his jeans. He didn’t have a choice – his pants were the only ones left in the house that fit me, and I certainly couldn’t go out pantsless. Not before having a few cocktails, anyway.

No, I am not knocked up. Pick up your jaw from the floor. I’m just enjoying some post-wedding weight gain. All jokes aside, it is not cool. I love my clothes, and I can’t wear any of them. Not even my “fat jeans.” But it’s totally my fault – I spent three months eating everything in sight and barely working out, and that’s what happens. Time for me to face the consequences, and then, time for me to get my ass in gear.

I’ve got a (sort of) foolproof plan to drop the extra pounds, but until that happens, no fun clothes for me. All I can do is look … and sigh … and eat some Twizzlers … and sigh some more.

Here’s my “wish I was comfortable in my own skin” wish list.

1. Topshop Taupe Asymmetrical Jacket (To be paired with something dark and edgy, like #4.)
2. Topshop Self Tie Silk Shorts (To be worn with tights, ankle boots and a leather jacket.)
3. Robert Rodriguez Silk Sequin Panel Dress (To be worn in my dreams, in which I am very, very rich.)
4. J Brand 901 Waxed Legging Jeans (To be worn with EVERYTHING.)
5. Marc by Marc Jacobs Babylon Stripe Sweater (To be worn with jeggings, if they survive being stretched out within an inch of their life.)
6. Rebecca Taylor Faux Fur Bomber (To be worn for a maximum of two months, the only amount of time in which it’s cold enough to require faux fur in Atlanta.)

Sigh.

     

Scared of Stenciling

As I mentioned last week, I’m planning to refinish a big ol’ wood media cabinet for my office. Though we did buy it used, it wasn’t all that cheap, and I’m kind of terrified to ruin it. I should have started it this weekend, but a) I’m afraid, and b) I spent the majority of the weekend attending and then recovering from Music Midtown.

So, as I wait for the courage, I’m thinking more about what I’d like to do to it. Originally, I thought about adding O’verlays to the doors, but I’d have to get a custom size, and that’d be more than I’d like to spend. The other option is a stencil, but stencils are intimidating. I was never good with them as a child, and I wouldn’t expect to have any stenciling skills nowadays.

But when I saw this image today, the inspiration just hit me and I felt like I had to stencil this mother.

via Marcus Design

How pretty is that gold design? I love the way the semicircles mimic the demilune shape. I started thinking about my Cricut, which is a cutting machine that I spent a pretty penny on for my wedding. I spent extra to get the largest one available at the time, but never ended using its full cutting area of 12″x24″. You know what that giant cutting area is great for? … Making big stencils. I can do this.

I wanted a fairly simple design that would reflect the boxy shape of the cabinet. And luckily, one of my favorite designs just so happens to be overlapping squares. Have you guys seen my blog’s background? Yeah – that one.

I’ve wanted these West Elm chairs for ages. (I’m watching you, Craigslist!)

via Style at Home

I found a similar wall stencil on Etsy.

from royaldesignstencils

And I feel pretty confident that the design is well-suited to cabinet doors, based on this credenza from my new favorite dream store.

from Room Service

I dove right in and made some squares in Illustrator, and then imported it into my Cricut software, Sure Cuts A Lot. It looks pretty promising, I think!

I’ll just hook my Cricut up to my computer, load in some posterboard, and hit “Cut,” then I’m in business. I’m feeling pretty good about this, but I rarely take action without creating some sort of mock-up. You know what that means, y’all. Bust out the excellent Photoshop skills again!

God, I’m talented. By the way, it has been hinted that my genius mock-ups look more like a product of MS Paint than Photoshop. Well, friends, you are wrong. I work on a Mac. I don’t have MS Paint. So there.

Before I take a paintbrush to my cabinet, of course, I’ll definitely need to practice stenciling somewhere else. I’m thinking about making something with metallic gold chevron, like this amazing tray that the beautiful Sylvie of silver lining pinned a couple weeks ago.

from up in the air somewhere

Thoughts, friends? Does anyone know if stenciling is hard for naturally sloppy and impatient people? Got any great stenciling tutorials to share? Help a sister out!

EDIT: Perfect timing! Young House Love just posted a fantastic stenciling tutorial – complete with video – this morning! Thank you, blog gods.

     

Dahlias and Discoveries

My mom calls Brad and me “The Bickersons,” and our friend Mary Alice often has to remind us that she “hates when Mom and Dad fight.” We’re two strong-minded, passionate people who always want to be right, and sometimes (OK, a lot of times), that leads to an argument. But I do hope our friends and family know how great our relationship really is. I had a nice reminder last week.

  

When we were planning our wedding, I discovered that I absolutely loved dahlias, so when we moved into our new place, Brad planted some in the front yard for me. We didn’t really time it right, though, so while we had several plants come up, we only had one that bloomed. Brad wanted to make sure I was able to enjoy it, and he knew that I was stupidly excited about a vase I had “made” out of a Patron bottle, so he cut the flower and brought it in for me. Isn’t it pretty?

I wanted to take a picture of it immediately, just in case it drooped overnight, but the batteries in our external flash were dead. My friend Jess had just told me that fixed 50mm lenses can take better pictures in low light, so I gave it a try. I’d shunned the fixed lens in the past, because I didn’t like not being able to zoom, but man, was I missing out! It’s definitely a little harder to shoot with (especially because I’m clueless about photography), but I liked the results a lot.

I love these next three photos of Macy. I think I’m going to frame them and hang them in my office/happy place.

Isn’t she photogenic? My little model.

     

All Tied Up

I’ve never been a big fan of super-girly fashion. It’s just not my style, and plus, I don’t think it flatters my frame. I go for structured clothes and chunky accessories, all the way.

Having said that, though … There’s just something about the tie-neck blouses that are popping up all over the place. They’re fun and flirty, yet at the same time, so grown-up. I might be willing to break my No Blouses rule for these, but I’d have to pair it with something more structured and edgy on the bottom.

    
    

1. Top: Alice + Olivia. Skirt: AIKO.
2. Top: Zac Posen. Skirt: LNA.
3. Top: Diane von Furstenberg. Skirt: Aqua.

    
    

4. Top: Marc by Marc Jacobs. Skirt: Forever 21.
5. Top: Trouvé. Skirt: Gap.
6. Top: Alice + Olivia. Skirt: Zara.

And of course, all these outfits would be perfect with my new House of Harlow ankle boots.

Man, I’m liking pink one day and chiffon blouses the next! I don’t even know myself anymore!