February- What a Strange Month

Ok folks- I've gotten moved in, but it's still going to be a crazy couple of weeks. I have my birthday coming up, my boyfriend's got a HUGE (read: turning OLD) birthday coming up, there's Valentine's Day, I might be having dental surgery- anyway, posting will be a little bit less than regular for the month of February. 

I didn't post my inspiration folder for January and it is bursting at the seams. Get ready for a very image-heavy post of awesome.

Karlie Kloss took a while t0 grow on me ( I hated  her her first season on the runway), but she's gained range over the past few years and now I'm really impressed. I also just realized she's in Rodarte in both of these, which may explain the love as well.

Maybe it's the influence of couture week, but I'm loving big poufy dresses lately.

Fantastical settings. If you haven't seen the editorial from Vogue UK that this Helena Bonham Carter photos is from, you should search for it ASAP. It's based on Roald Dahl's children's stories, and it's one of my favorites in a long time. I highly recommend it.

More inspiration in the next post!

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What Are You Doing Here?

IT'S COUTURE WEEK.

Take yourself over to style.com 

Oh, and I'm moving this week, so posting will be sporadic. 

Thought for the Day

I hate snakes. HATE THEM. I live in an area where snakes are fairly common, and my reaction on seeing one is to go into full crying hysterics and scream things like, "Kill it! Kill it with fire!". I even have a hard time looking at pictures of snakes. I recently found two pieces that are snakeskin that I actually coveted though. Can I actually have snakeskin that close to my body without turning into a shrieking mess? Will somebody buy these for me so that I can find out?

VBH python bag

 Prada whipsnake and python heels

I Smell Like a Man

Note: GAH! I wrote this post almost a week ago and pressed Save instead of Publish so I've just been twiddling along congratulating myself on posting more regularly and generally being a dummy! 

I've been wearing the same perfume for about four years, so when I had a little extra money after Christmas, I decided to head to Sephora to try some new ones out and maybe pick up some new makeup while I was at it. As I was wandering around looking for Dior mascara (note to ladies with green or green-flecked eyes: Deep Plum Diorshow Mascara is your new best friend), I decided to play in the men's cologne. It was my Goldilocks moment. John Varvatos cologne smelled like a very manly library on the test strip- too woodsy. Hermes Terre d'Hermes smelled like the forest- too outdoorsy. When I sprayed Prada Infusion d'Homme on the test strip, I was instantly intrigued. It smelled clean and fresh. I'm no expert when it comes to fragrance "notes" but this review on Now Smell This really gives a great summary for those who understand those kind of things better than me.

So there I was, wandering around Sephora, trying to figure out what guy in my life was going to be lucky enough to get some new cologne, when all of a sudden it hit me- dude, I wanted this cologne! I put a little on my skin, cruised around Sephora for a little while longer, and then took a sniff- perfection! It was everything I like in a scent: a little citrus-y, a little water-y, very clean, and yet not overly manly (or even worse in my book, overly girly) at all. I had to have it! 

I got home, and there lay the real test- what would the boyfriend think? Generally I don't wear perfume very often, and he's not a cologne guy either, so I knew that a new smell on me would garner a reaction. But would he think I smelled like another man? Or would he even suspect I was wearing cologne? Within moments of our first hug, he commented that I "smelled nice". Once we had settled in a little, I made him smell my wrist- and then couldn't get him to quit sniffing it! He really liked the smell that much. He was a little confused when I told him I was wearing cologne, but was still really into it.

Lesson for my ladies- go play in the men's aisles. Don't be afraid to try on their smells. Yes, some would have you smelling a little too much like your dad, but give it a shot- you may find your next signature scent there.

I've Been Gone WAY Too Long

Sorry for the unintentional extended absence folks- I got the stomach virus around Christmas time and then went to visit the boyfriend's family for the first time at the end of the year. (Note to self: thirteen hour roadtrips in the backseat with two large Labs are not so fun.) Anyway, there's a whole lot that I want to write about now that I'm back, beginning with an editorial from a magazine that is more practical than aspirational.

InStyle Magazine really hit the mark with its styling of Keri Russell in their January issue. I'm pretty bummed nobody gave me what I really wanted for Christmas (an unlimited lifetime shopping allowance- seriously guys, where were you on that one?), because if they had I would definitely dress like this all the time. It's the perfect mix of masculine touches with an overall girly feel. I'm going to try to look to this shoot for inspiration for my winter wear since its finally gotten slightly colder here in the Deep South. Keep up the good work, InStyle! Maybe you'll finally tempt me to get a subscription this year.

Christmas Presents of Inspiration

Merry Christmas Everybody! My inspiration folder for December is really full, so I thought y'all would enjoy getting to take a peek at what's been exciting for me this month.

Amazing black and white photos.

Beautiful makeup photos. I love the big experimental makeup looks.

Childhood Daydreams Come to Life

This may be too obscure for some people, but did anyone else read Maurice Sendak books when they were a kid? Holy hell was I obsessed with these books! I think I had every one ever written, and some of them are still on my shelves today. Every last one of those books is absolutely on its last legs from being read and re-read so often. If you have not read these books, I'm telling you right now, add these and this to your Christmas list now. I don't care how old you are, and if you think you're too cool for kids' books- you probably read Harry Potter, and these books are so much cooler than Harry will ever be.

When I found out that they were making a movie of Where the Wild Things Are, I was ecstatic. When I found out Spike Jonze was directing it, I did my happy dance with glee. And then when I saw these stills from the movie that were recently released- well, I almost passed out with

giddiness.

I don't think I've been this excited about the release of a movie ever. I will be there on opening day to see this one.

The only thing that concerns me (and kinda makes me laugh a little) is that at screenings, evidently kids were running out crying and screaming. Obviously, this makes the studios a little nervous, so the film has supposedly done some reshoots and editing to make it more kid-friendly. But I don't want kid-friendly. These books are intentionally weird- that's what I loved about them as a little weirdo kid, and that's what makes me return to them as an adult. I hope that there will be a DVD release of the original version, and I really hope that the new version hasn't been too kiddie-fied to make it unrecognizable to its original fans.

In short, buy Maurice Sendak books NOW, and get yourself educated in the awesome weirdness before this movie is released. I'll see you on opening night- I'll be the one yelling "Let the wild rumpus start!" and wearing my crown.

Burberry Pre-Fall 2009

Christopher Bailey KILLED it with this collection. Usually I don't do pictures from just one collection, but this one was too good not to share. Plus he included more of the pants like the ones I'm coveting from this post, but in a great fall fabric. He also made those weird bucket hats from the spring show work.  What have been your favorite pre-fall collections so far?

Inspiration Folder for November

I keep an inspiration folder on my desktop that I fill with images that I pull from all over the internet. They're from websites, emails, ads, editorials, basically anything that I can find. Anyway, to make some space I've been trying to organize them, but I thought that I'd show y'all what has caught my interest lately. These have all been pulled over the last month.

This photo is currently my background on my computer. It reminds me of the place I went to camp as a kid.

Getting in the holiday spirit. 

Moody glamour. I never realized the similarities in color and lighting until I put these all together.

Devon Aoki and Daphne Guiness in Chanel.