Wintertime Dress

I have an obsession with dresses. They're basically all I wear in Summer. Even in Winter, when I know I cannot wear a cute little floral number, I struggle not to purchase dresses. They're just so darn flattering and breezy and elegant and classy! However, my prayers have been answered, as I found the perfect dress for winter.

 This dress I purchased from Nordstrom and then was whisked away by my mom to wrap and place under the Christmas tree. I've been waiting for weeks for the right moment to wear it and the brunch I went to this morning with my friends and Young Life leaders was just the occasion.

 For jewelry I wore my brand new Juicy ring, a floral piece that I got on sale for half off over the weekend.

  I wore a black Nordstrom belt around the waist to accentuate mine and break up the dress so it wasn't one monotonous color the entire time. I prefered leaving my hair down straight partially because I like the length adn also to give it a more cozy laid back feel.

 

Wore with tights, from Nordstrom (also featured here) to add a modern touch and my Giani Bini booties ( I could always use the height since I hardly make 5'2").

I love the oversized sleeves that have a narrow cuff, and are oh-so-cozy. The cowel neck also adds an interesting detail and the color goes with everything. To top it off it's super cozy and will be getting plenty of wear this season.

Hope your week is filled with laughter, joy and style!

-Leah

p.s. officially over 1000 views! yay!

5 things (but really 6)

 This is much delayed with all the camera misplacement and hectic homework schedules, but here are my five things from the last week or so:

Dogsitting these two lovely puppies. They're super friendly and love cuddling. Besides, who wouldn't want to get paid for playing with dogs and watching tv all weekend?



Sadie and Max

A warm cup of hot cocoa during our recent snow stoms. Only a few inches but more than we received in the last four months!

Marshmellows make all the difference

 Seeing country strong after a yummy Panera dinner with my young life leader Kara! The movie is a little depressing but the music was great and Gwyneth Paltrow was excellent. Not to mention how much I enjoyed spending time with one of my favorite people after not seeing her for a month.

 Building a giant dominoes course with my little sister. She got hundreds of them for Xmas and we've been making good use of them!

Of course, my hair appointment makes the list! I absolutley love getting pampered at the hair salon, where the go all out giving you sodas and magazines and temple massages while washing your hair. I get a few minor highlights like usual and my stylist, Connie is always nice enough to take the time to blow out or straighten my hair. I chose to straighten it and she did a great job as usual.

{Connie Diaz from Fringe Hair Salon}



6. I do enjoy people-particularly country singers.

Hope everyone is having a lovely three day weekend! Gotta love Mr Martin Luther King Jr for giving us a break from Monday classes.

Black (Pink) Swan

This is another one of my sketches I drew I believe in math or chinese or one of those subjects where the mind wanders. It's a little different, but if you can imagine it in real life I think it comes out better than I was able to portray it on paper. Just bare with me...I swear it makes sense...well at least to me. Anyways it was inspired by the Black Swan...which I have still yet to see but I get the basic gist about how the girl is a super-perfectionist and then comes undone at the seams, which is how I guess my brain came up with this.

Now for the explanation of why the skirt looks so odd. The idea was that it's a very pretty pink skirt, smooth fabric (but absolutley not shiny), and then there are rips in the dress where tulle is sticking out (not super far, more naturally). I couldn't figure out how to not make it look like the rips are totally visible with wierd circles around them because I wanted to show that there werent just random balls of tulle attached. The idea is the rest of the dress, specificaly the top, is feminine and pretty and perfect and the skirt is beginning to show signs of imperfection. The skirt is nice and full. As for the back, the v back goes straight down to the waist line with rosettes lining it and the tulle continues to stick out in the back too, (not obscenely mind you) because I simply hate when a dress has a pattern that is amazing in the front and then stops awkwardly at the sides and isnt on the back. Anyways, I'm not sure if this communicates perfectly, but in my head it looks simply fabuous, particularly on Natalie Portman.

Pretty 'n' Pink

Finally the first post of those shirts I talked about receiving this Christmas. This particular one is from Anthropology and is one of my personal favorites. It's feminine without going overboard and the draping is both flattering and oh so chic. It's also a very comfortable t-shirt type fabric, very breathable and I love the 3/4 sleeves.

Pink Juicy ring featured here and pale pink nail polish to tie it all together

 This is the wallet I found in my stocking at home once back from California. I love the design, as wel as finally being able to have a place for my permit, debit card, nordstroms card and cash, instead of having all of those things float around my purse.

Very windy and bright, which results in rather squinty eyes

all photo credits go to Louise for being my lovely photographer
especially this one since she came up with the idea of the doorway

To accesorize I wore this Betsey Johnson necklace my cousin gave me that is one of my very favorites. I'm trying to wear it while I can, as snowflake designs are not very fitting for spring and summer. I also curled my hair to play up the femininity this shirt emits and because I think it's always fun to dress up just a little bit:).
Happy Thursday!

Summer Nostalgia

Last night my friend and I stayed at home with my little sisters and after watching Nick and Norah's infinite playlist decided that despite the chilly weather, a summer treat was in order.

such an awkward and yet beautiful couple

 Chocolate milkshakes for everyone! Yay!

chocolate syrup, soy milk, ice cream, and ice

blend it all together

wellah!

I'm obsessed with my adorable green flower cups and the bananas made all the difference.

Just Keepin' It Classy

As I've been assaulted with plenty of homework my first couple days of school I haven't had time to take pictures (and also can't find the camera), I decided to feature another design I made for another friend. I showed it to her today after a mall-venture.

In case you can't read the print, the shoulder embellishments are pearls and the back is all lace. It's draped in the front and a royal blue color. Red lipstick and pearl accesories should be worn and hair is recomended to be styled up.

Testing the Waters

The past few weeks I've been delving into a new pastime and as this year is a year of new begginings and ideas, I decided to post it. It started out during finals week, after succesfully acing my Spanish final thirty minutes early. Required to sit in class the rest of the half hour, and equipped solely with a binder of paper and a pencil, I started sketching and doodling. This was the product of those thirty minutes (and a little more time afterwards).

So as you can see, I started dabbling in coming up with some clothes ideas, since I do love buying them so much. I designed for a friend, though I've yet to show her. But hey, one step at a time! More of this coming soon.