buttons and bows

i've been finding myself listening to r. kelly's ignition (remix) whenever i need to start something. whether it has been getting ready for school/work, starting a paper, or this long, and overdue blog post.
hello. i'm alive.
while i seem to have lost my will to take 'outfit photos', as well as every day life photos, i am still around.  here is a list of things:

• i have moved: i moved to a new 2/1 with my bestie/new roommate, caitlin. i have mentioned this happening before. i flew to her in jan, and we drove back to california from connecticut together. the drive went smoothly. now i am still getting settled, while she is completely unpacked. i can look to my left and see a pile of clothes and cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other. one of these days i will finish. oh yeah, i've been here about a month now. so. probably not.
• work is picking back up again, and i am not ready. the boyfriend had stopped working at the nursery briefly (that's where we met!), but is now employed there again. so although we work together, we don't get to spend nearly as much time together as we once did. also, i am not ready for the spring season. i know i can handle it just fine, but being a seasoned employee, and not a newbie this year, a lot more is expected of me (more hours included). this last week was 40 hours with my 12 unit school schedule. while i've done this before, it being my last semester it is a bit much, but nothing i can't handle. 
• school! i graduate! i am so ready for it. 
• pistachio is loving having all the room to run around now, sometimes he looks so happy running around, chewing on boxes. but i'm pretty sure i discovered a part of the couch (in the back luckily) that he has decided to chew, this is of course after i had covered all available cords. oh well. 
• the boyfriend (okay, he has a name, it is michael) is the best thing ever. more on that later. 
• instagram, still the one place i am semi-active.

in terms of clothing: this is one of my favorite cardigans ever of all time ever. thank you thrift store. shrunken wool cardigans have become a staple in my wardrobe. especially in lovely colors like this. the dress came from the modcloth last hurrah sale at the end of august, and i hadn't worn it until this. and i've worn it quite a few times since. 

now, it isn't as if i am not getting dressed. but with working 5 days a week, i prefer to go home after 8-9 hours of work and put on leggings and oversized sweatshirts than get dressed (especially when it is completely dark when i get home) and i haven't felt the need to photograph the outfits i wear to school the other two days a week. hopefully this will change, or maybe this blog will change. i'm not sure. 

details:

cardigan: thrifted

dress: modcloth

belt: forever 21

shoes: asos

yet again

i am still posting things from 2012. so, sue me.

this outfit. i was really proud of it? if that's a thing one can be about wardrobe choices. i got these pants at target for some ridiculous low price, like $12 dollars or something. and i was like. WHY NOT. i don't own colored denim, and this would make them the third pair of pants i own. (one pair of jeans for work, one nice pair). this shirt, i thrifted a while ago, and never wore, it's slightly too big now, but it was so cheap, and something i wanted from target when when they carried it. plus favorite shoes. 

this outfit is also from october. we had some WEIRD weather in october. including a couple of 100 degree days?! i don't understand. but anyway. yes. i liked this outfit. i even got random compliments from strangers in it! so that's a win. 

in real life, big girl news, caitlin, my bestie of besties, is moving to california. i'm flying out there in just about a week, and driving across the country with her. it'll be crazy, and amazing. then we are moving in together. so i'm excited to have a place that will be more of a home, more room for pistachio, and a kitchen again (i currently don't have an actual kitchen). 

other than that, i got a 4.0 last semester (5 classes! plus working a lot! plus pluses!) and i'm pretty proud of that. i am beyond the moon happy with the boyfriend. (we just spent the day together with coffee, breakfast, and adventure time). and other than currently not working, at all (cold/no one wants plants/management is stupid!), everything is awesomesauce. 

details:

cardigan: target

blouse: thrifted (tucker for target)

pants: target

shoes: asos

also, i added a spot for sponsors on my page now. including ad swaps! check it out! 

this is something new i am trying out, i'd love to keep blogging, and to have the time to do it, and make it feel worthwhile. 

state of grace

i'm still posting outfits from 2012, i'm listening to taylor swift all too much, it's the first day of the new year, and i'm happy.  a lot went wrong in 2012, but then it all shifted to a whole lot of great. i rarely am one to utter the phrase, 'everything happens for a reason', but when things happen because of REASONS, it starts to make more sense. 

good things that happened: i started my new job, i met michael, i moved, michael and i started dating, i finished two semesters (one more to go!), did my first sacramento based craft fair, ~lost some more weight~, and made new plans for 2013 (which i will speak of later). 

i spent new years eve with michael, eating snacks, watching a documentary (marwencol), and parks and recreation and cuddling. it was perfect. 

this outfit contains many of my favorite colors and items. and i don't have much else to say beyond that. it seems a lot of people are losing their blogging spirit, and i might be in that group as well. i got busy, i got lazy, i preferred to sleep in with the boyfriend rather than get dressed for school. i'm not sure where this blog will go, i'm surprised it has gone as far as it has, but i love some of the people i've met because of it. so, why not keep it up?

details:

cardigan: target

shirt: forever 21

skirt: american apparel via asos

shoes: payless

barrette: charlavail

i also updated my etsy shop with lots of new stuff! and i'm currently working on even more!

solid ground

i am finished with school for the semester! i am very excited to be done. because this means i actually have days off! i haven't had one yet, but they start tuesday. my other sister is coming back to california for the holidays, and i'm picking her up from the airport. and i've also got plans to maybe see a friend or two, and i am taking the boyfriend to meet the rest of my family. nuts! we've been dating for almost 7 months now, and i don't know when is the right time to do stuff like this? i'm not a very good adult. but we are pretty serious about each other, so i guess as long as it feels right. 

i got this skirt from asos on sale, and now i can't stop wearing it. i was eyeing it on the american apparel website before i saw it on asos, so i was stoked to get it for less than $20. 

i am still working at the nursery, which means i'm an ~official~ employee, seeing as how now we are well into winter. it's so very slow and cold working outside there, but i do enjoy it. spring will then come and we will be super packed with a bunch of fresh faces. the boyfriend went with me to my work party (that's actually where we met, we used to work together), and it was nice to see everyone out of polo shirts and jeans. 

details:

cardigan: forever 21

cami: forever 21

skirt: asos

tights: target

shoes: asos

light pollution

we have successfully made it into october in terms of outfits! it was still a little too warm to be wearing cardigans, but this day in particular, i had gotten out of school or work early, and got dressed to photograph michael and go eat dinner. he's been such a good sport for me this semester, being the subject of numerous projects.  but we will get to that a bit later. 

i love this dress. the side buttons may be near impossible to button, but i'm so glad i got this one at the last minute during the modcloth last hurrah sale. it has a slight sheen, or sparkle to it in light.  i wasn't sure how to wear it this day. because it wasn't cold, and i really imagined it with a mustard cardigan, but that's still something i don't own. 

right after taking these photos, i took the lipstick off. it used to be something i wore a lot more often, but now it doesn't feel like me as much. but i do miss it.  

details:

cardigan: target

dress: dear creatures, via  modcloth

shoes: payless 

now, to add some recent and present light onto my life, this past weekend i had that craft fair i mentioned! i did well! better than i thought i would seeing as how i had never shown around here. this is definitely something i am going to keep doing.  michael (the boyfriend) attended with me and was the best. he dealt with me being weird and anxious very well, and manned the booth well enough on his own so i could go walk around and talk to people and warm up (we were in the shade the whole day). 

if you follow me on instagram, you've already seen these. 

this is a bit of my booth, i've slowly varied and learned the best way to showcase my things. i'm still learning.

this is what i wore. along with a coat. and gloves. and a scarf. 

you can't see, but i'm wearing over the knee socks OVER my tights.

and internet, this is michael. 

simplest

this outfit is from september. that's all i have to say about that. this semester has been the worst the the best all at the same time. i've been working about 30ish hours a week since it started, along with taking 5 classes, this blog has seen better days. 

right now i am currently preparing for a craft fair! i usually do one the saturday after thanksgiving, but it was cancelled this year. so i found one in sacramento, and i am going to try my hand at it. you can visit my etsy shop, in which i am selling these items at the craft fair. 

this outfit was simple, and perfect for the hot september days we were having. lately, it's cooled off enough for me to wear tights and cardigans and sometimes a coat. i've been enjoying spending my free time from school and work with my boyfriend. he's kind of the best thing ever. 

i hope everyone had a good thanksgiving. i went home and visited my parents, and went target shooting! there will be photos eventually. 

i bought this plain white t shirt from everlane, where i also got my tote bag from. and it's very soft, but i have a hard time with plain t shirts. and i haven't worn this since, but i plan on breaking it out very soon. they were just out of any of the other colors i would've worn more, and i should've gotten a medium, not a large like they said. 

details:

tshirt: everlane

skirt: thrifted and altered

belt: forever 21

shoes: vans

glassesusa review

now this post took me a long time to get up. but i wanted to make sure i was completely done with everything before i finished it. 

i was contacted by glasses usa to do a product review. but i was not just sent glasses. i was sent a giftcard code so i would go through the entire process like any other person. 

it all started out okay, i got the code, and i had picked out glasses, waited a little too long (i get busy what can i say) and the giftcode expired! the person i was in contact with has been more than happy to fix that and work with me, so she did, and i picked out a pair of glasses:

i was pretty excited! they looked adorable on the screen, and i had just dealt with firmoo and the quality of those were awesome! so i expected even better from glasses usa. 

but unlike with firmoo, after i entered my prescription, glasses usa needed to verify it, and instead of emailing me first, they called my phone (which is a huge pet peeve of me with companies, especially when i order online!) and i don't answer numbers i don't know, and i rarely listen to voicemails, so that added a couple extra days onto it before i could find the scanned copy of my prescription and email it to them.  

when i did get the package i was so excited! i went to go try them on right away. and i took these photos right as i was opening the box. 

they came in such a nice little case and everything. 

but this is where the unfortunate stuff starts, 

first, they were CROOKED. this happens to me a lot with cheaper glasses. they don't sit straight on my face. but i did not have a problem with that at all with the pair from firmoo. 

if you can see here, my fingers are not even on the same level. 

so i started going about the process to return them. there is no reason to keep glasses (especially when i spent extra on them) that do not work for me. i looked all over the website, and they say:

i could not find a return service area, but instead i had to go to customer service, and contact them, and wait for a reply. then they did not initially start the return process. instead asked me if there was anything else i could do for them (which i understand, but start it, and ask that in the same email). and when they created a 'return ticket' for me, it also had an expiration date! so of course, being me, i did not get to it in time, so i had to pay for return shipping back to them, even with their 365 day return policy. so i sent it off, emailed them. then there was some more stuff that happened where they said they hadn't gotten my glasses i returned, and could only offer me store credit, but with an email back saying i did not want store credit, because i would not be shopping at their online retailer anymore, they somehow got the glasses and returned the money i had spent extra (beyond the gift card) on the glasses. 

so in the end, this company was not for me. it seems i am unable to operate within their time frame of purchasing and returning glasses, and i was not satisfied with the product. i know i'm not the only one who did not have a positive experience this company, i don't want to say now, don't try this company, but do so at your own risk, and make sure you have time to deal with it! i didn't, so it caused unnecessary problems.

but, if you're willing, they constantly have sales, including currently, getting half off, plus free shipping.

this was a sponsored post, i was given a gift card code, and was instructed on using it to purchase glasses and to review the process. these are my honest opinions and i am not being paid for my opinions, or to write this post, i was only given the gift card in exchange for giving my review. 

indian summer

as i make this post, obama has just been re-elected president of the united states. 

it is safe to say i am very pleased. 

i've been really awful about actually taking the time to take photographs of my outfit, other than instagram, and then take the time to edit and post them. but i am trying. i'm finally getting the hang of my schedule, even though the semester is halfway over. i've been going back to the gym, doing surprisingly well on things in class, and learning new/old photographic techniques (cyanotypes/van dyke).  

today was nearly 80 degrees here, but the end of the week should be 60s. but what i am most excited for is friday and saturday. friday, my boyfriend and i are going to go see delta spirit! my favorite band of ever, and his newly appointed top band. we haven't done anything fun or roadtrip-y yet, so i'm excited. and saturday, i asked for the day off so i can sleep in, and hang out with him, and just do normal things that people who get days off get to do. i am very excited. 

sometimes i get leaves in my hair.

details:

cardigan: forever 21

dress: modcloth

shoes: asos