WHEW! This last week and weekend has been a humdinger! Just busy busy busy, all the time. I like it, but on the other hand I do enjoy my sleep!
I wore this to work a few weeks ago and while it’s probably a bit more casual than my office requires, I really liked it a lot. From the stares that I got as I went down the hallway I don’t believe that everyone agreed with me, but hey what can you do? I liked it, and that’s what matters!target camo tee (men’s section)//Free People crochet vest (hand me down)// Style Lately bull necklace c/o// 7th & West star necklace c/o// Evie J boutique bracelets c/o// Lucky ring// Forever 21 skirt, previously worn here// Target booties
This year Easter was a bit strange. My family always gets together and has a big family Easter lunch, with ham and deviled eggs and potatoes and the whole get up.
Due to scheduling conflicts we decided to have Easter lunch on Saturday which happened to be my brother’s birthday (happy birthday Garrison!). I’ve been helping choreograph a local production of The Sound of Music and I had practice Saturday afternoon which ended up running late so I missed Easter :( boo hoo.
BUT Jones+Jones sent me this darling little dress to wear for Easter so it kind of made up for missing out on the deviled eggs. And I bought my brother The Hobbit for his birthday so he wasn’t too upset either. Forever21 cardigan (recent)// Jones+Jones lace dress c/o// Evie J boutique bracelet c/o// FOrever21 ankle flats (recent)
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! In the end it’s not about the Easter lunch or the dresses or the candy, but it’s the fact that the God of all creation loved ME so much that He sent His son to pay for my sins and the sins of the world. A statement made on Sunday at my church really stuck out to me: If you were the only one who needed saving, if you were the ONLY ONE, Jesus would still have died for you. He loves you that much”.
Have you ever been meandering down a pointless path of thought and then suddenly stopped and wondered how the hell you got there in the first place? And why you were even thinking about it? Welcome to my life on a daily basis
i stopped by walgreens the other day, because it was one of those weeks and I only go into walgreens when it’s one of those weeks. If you haven’t caught on to what one of those weeks is my walgreens receipt usually consists of chocolate, a random makeup item (to give me hope for the future) and one other item that my mother will probably be mortified that I mentioned on public Internet but ok it’s tampons. (breathe mom, i’ll type it quite a few times in the next couple of paragraphs so just hold on)
i was in a mood and i was angry at the world (a common feeling during one of those weeks) for having to even buy these ridiculous wads of cotton at highly inflated prices anyways, so it wasn’t a perusing kind of day, it was a get in get out and get that chocolate in my mouth asap kind of a day. So of course I didn’t notice until after I had handed over ten washingtons for a box of cotton(as in $10 guys. keep up) that the box had been tampered with. the top had clearly been bent back and a handful of tampons were missing.
now as soon as i realized what had happened (to clue you in: i bought a box of tamponians that someone had stolen a few from. i.e they had stolen tampons.), i went into a kind of stupor. I just kept staring at that stupid bent up box thinking, “what in the world would posses you to steal tampons? how low a person would you have to be to get a kick out of stealing bits of wadded up cotton on a string? where was your life?!”
but then i started thinking, “you know what, i had just been complaining about having to buy tampons. if i had no Jimminy Cricket and didn’t care about my soul then I would probably steal tampons as well. I mean it costs probably less than 5 cents (why is there not a cent button on the keyboard?) to make these things, and here they are stealing ten freakin bucks from me, ugh society is so messed up”but THEN i switched gears, “oh my bless what if it was some poor starving woman who didn’t have $10 to spend on tampons, so she had to steal them and now she feels horribly guilty but it’s not like she can return them, oh why did she start stealing, it starts with tampons and next thing you know it’s a car.”
and then I stopped myself and began pondering my sanity and tried to back track and figure out how in the world I got from buying tampons to praying for tamponless girls stealing cars.
The happy ending of this story? I didn’t go back in and demand a new box of tampons. I decided to buy that half opened box to make up for the ones that the poor girl had stolen from the huge mega corporation that probably never noticed anything was missing.
Sunday afternoon I got out of church and received a barrage of mailer demon notices.
What’s so HILARIOUS about these notices is that I never sent anything. Some lovely citizen of Turkey had hacked into my account and sent just about every single person who had ever contacted me via email a spam letter.
Of course Yahoo sends me a notice of this activity…after it happened. Thanks for that Yahoo, I figured out that someone had hacked my account when I logged in and saw the 300 sent emails for Sunday that I never sent. forever 21 top//H&M pants//Target belt//Guess heels
So if you received an email from me, I apologize. If you’d like to contact me to chew me out or to offer condolences, my new email is aramblingfancyblog{at}gmail{dot}com. I’m currently working on removing my life from yahoo and transferring it to gmail. Turkey and Yahoo: I think you owe me Starbucks.
Across the street from my neighborhood is this huge field of absolutely nothing. Occasionally I’ll see a tractor out there or a truck next to this tiny little lake, but other than that: nothin.
It’s one of my favorite places to take pictures at because 1. it’s super convenient and I’m super lazy and 2. It’s this great big field of nothing right in the middle of town. It’s surrounded by neighborhoods and churches, a humongous high school and a storage lot yet somehow it has managed to stay pure and natural.
But it also kind of makes me sad. What will it look like in 5 years, in 10 years, this great big expanse of beautiful nothing? Will the owners sell it off to make yet another neighborhood? Will it become a park or a parking lot? (took down the trees, and put them in a tree museum, good song)My grandparens’ house in NC used to back up to this huge forest. At least when I was a kid I thought it was a forest. All of us grandkids would traipse around back there for hours, daring each other to go just a little bit farther in. My cousin Libby and I once went all the way to the other side which ended up being another neighborhood.
A few years ago the land was sold off and now just a few trees seperate my grandparent’s backyard from another line of houses (they don’t have fences in their neighborhood). My grandpa tried to fight it but he had no choice, the land was sold and the neighbors built and that gorgeous stretch of adventure was torn down.
I’d like to think that I’m fairly practical, and if the owner’s of my neighboring field decided to sell it to benefit the city, or if they were able to get a great amount of money for it then I’m sure I’d understand. Even if it became a parking lot, I’m sure I’d be excited if it was attached to a mall.
But the sentimental part of me, my eight year old self that hosted adventures in the North Carolina woods, would love if that great big field would stay exactly as it is: absolutely nothin. Target sunnies// Forever 21 sweater(old)// Lucky belt//Forever 21 skirt(recent)//Lulu’s heels//7th & West bangels
BY THE WAY, my hair is a mix of this tutorial plus two twisted strands and two braids, wrapped like maiden braids. I’ll make a tutorial one day!
So I was given an opportunity to style another dress from Eshakti! (first post here)
This time I decided to go all out on their customizable options. I chose the London dress with the Dahlia crinoline, but I chopped the sleeves off, lowered the neckline, and shortened the length. I love that you have the option to customize a dress with Eshakti. It makes each piece totally one of a kind.
I thought both pieces were just so cute, I had to style them as separate outfits! Get ready for picture mother flippin overload.
Option #1: The London Dress
Target sunnies//Primark chambray shirt// Eshakti dress//Target bag and belt//Guess heels
and Option #2! The Dahlia Crinoline
Primark chambray shirt// Eshakti skirt (with pockets!)//Target belt and shoes
So whaddyathink? Would you wear either one of the options?
FYI: The Eshakti girls are so sweet, they’re giving all ARF readers 20% off their purchase with discount code KLEGHHMLTN! YAY! Good through March 10th
Well what do ya know, I’m actually 2 for 2 on this whole Random Facts series! Someone give me a gold star. Or a Starbucks, which is the equivalent of a gold star in my book.
So on to the story. Let me just pause for a second and explain to you just how deep my love is for you, because I am currently on the cusp (don’t you love that word?) of telling you my most embarrassing, god awfully mortifying story of my life. It involves death (or something near it). It involves a hot paramedic. And it involves me crashing like Goliath and tasting the mall floor, something which no poor soul should ever have to endure. Are you ready? Because I’m not sure I am. Alright let’s do this.
It was my sophomore year in College and the end of my teenage adolescence (by this I mean I was 19.) I was working in the mall as a sales clerk at the most darling fashion boutique, Lucca (it’s also the store that my sister Courtney met her husband through, you should hear the story it’s quite precious) and I took my job pretty seriously. Not everyone can weild the tagging gun with such precision guys. It’s a hard job.
As we neared the end of a horrifically cold winter, I began getting the snuffles. A cough here, a sneeze there. Nothing too serious, I kept telling myself. Until suddenly I ended up not being able to survive the day without Dayquill, Tylenol, a box of Kleenex and a sweater or four. I went on like this for a few days, don’t even ask me why, I had somehow developed a really bad case of the Denials and refused to think I was actually sick.
I went to class one morning feeling utterly disgusting. I can remember sitting in class thinking that my head was going to explode. I considered calling in to work sick, but NO I was dedicated and I wasn’t really sick, so I was going in to work! I ran home after class to eat a bowl of chicken noodle with a side of medication and hauled my little tushy in to Lucca.
At some point in the afternoon I realized just how sick I was. I was shivering, my eyes wouldn’t focus, and I was having a hard time keeping my head from toppling off my neck. As I fought back tears I thought to myself, “just a few more hours and then someone will come in for their shift and you can go home. Just hold on for a few more hours.”
At that point I felt a cold sweat break out over my body and I couldn’t stand up any longer. I laid my head down on the cash register, thinking that I would rest for just a second, when I heard a hrrumph from the vicinity of the store floor. I raised my head about half an inch and blearily eyed the mom pants standing huffily in front of me. “I’m sure you’re super busy or SOMEthing but do you THINK you could get up and get me a dressing room, PUHlease?”
I hauled myself together, ever the customer service slave, and attempted to say “of course I can, I’m so sorry about that” but really all that came out was, “whimper whimper, I’m so sorry”.
I began walking blindly from the cash register to the dressing rooms with Huffy McMom Pants clacking away behind me when suddenly I just couldn’t do it. Little did I know that I was running a 100+ temp at this point; all I knew was that I had suddenly lost all control of my body parts and my mind was floating somewhere over the industrial lights. “Are you ALRIGHT?” screeched Huffers. I mumbled something along the lines of “I’m so sorry” and slowly began my Goliath impression, falling face first with a smack right onto the hard wood floors. I remember thinking, “where did the floor come from?” as Mommy Dearest screamed ” OH MY GOD SHE’S DEAD!” and ran out of the store.
My mind conveniently decided to return to it’s rightful place at this point, leaving me fully aware of the fact that I had just fainted in the MALL of all places and a wretched woman was screaming for a paramedic. I shakily pulled myself up onto my elbows and when I did, I noticed something lying on the floor by my hand. I picked it up and stared at it for a good 10 years before it finally clicked in my head that I wasn’t holding a piece of Chicklet gum; I was holding a rather large chunk of my front tooth. Yes, I now resembled Nanny Mcfee, and I was at the mall. My life was offically over.
I began trying to cry; I say trying because what came out of me was not sniffles and tears. No it was more like donkey dry heaves. There was no moisture involved, all of that was clogged behind the headache from hell. I just laid on the floor, making this horrible sobbing noise and cradling my poor broken tooth in my hands like it was a baby bird.
I felt a hand on my back; I looked up and realized that God hated me. Standing in front of me was the most beautiful Bay Watch of a paramedic I had ever seen in my life. Picture Brad Pitt carrying a heart monitor. I suddenly wished I could have knocked myself out again.
Paramedic Pitt began checking my pulse, asking me my name and where I lived and all the other questions you have to ask when you find a Goliath reenactment gone terribly wrong. But then things got even worse.
“Are you pregnant?” I just stared at him. My hazy sick/love/mortified induced brain was having a hard time keeping up. “Are you with CHILD?” Dude I know what prego means. “No I’m not”. “Could you be with child?” “um…no?” what does this have to do with anything Brad? If you want to know if I’m single just ask, don’t bring in the baby drama.
“I need you to give me honest answers ma’am” Paramedic Pitt said quite snippily. “If you have been participating in intercourse, you could be pregnant which could have caused you to faint.” You know when all of that blood left my head earlier? It all came rushing back at that point. Blush City. “Oh oh oh NO no no no no no, I’m not pregnant, I couldn’t be pregnant, I’m not…ya no, that, no I’m not…doing THAT.”
“Are you sure ma’am? Because if you’re lying you are only hurting yourself”. Suddenly Paramedic Pitt was getting on my ever lovin’ nerves. “No, I’m really NOT pregnant, I swear”. “Well do you eat?” Do I eat?! “Of course I eat, I love to eat?” “What have you ate today?” I just passed out and now you want me to recite my lunch choices? I’m weak. Literally and figuratively. “Um I had cereal this morning and then I had soup for lunch.”
“young lady that is not enough food, if you are trying to starve yourself you are going to end up dying, anorexia is a serious illness and you should not be treating yourself like this, you need to get help-”
“woah dude, I’m not ANOREXIC, I freaking love eating, food is great, I would have ate more except I think I’m sick, I’ve been sick for a few days!” lay off Paramedic Prick.
I got the beady eye for a few seconds before P.P laid his hand on my forehead and officially announced me sick. DER idiot.
At this point my sweet friend Taylor, who worked at Lucca with me, just happened to walk by on her way to return something to Sephora. She wasn’t scheduled to work but she volunteered to take my place so I could go home. We called my mom, since my legs still resembled The Little Mermaids (post sea legs). My mom picked me up and got me into the doctors office where we found out that I was running a dangerously high temperature with a severe case of Strep. I was also Anemic which, combined with the high temp, had caused me to pass out.
What was really lovely about this whole situation was that since I was running a fever, the dentist refused to see me until about 4 days later when I had been declared non toxic. So I walked about for 4 days with half a tooth, then two weeks after that with a temp tooth that looked yellow and was slightly longer than the rest of my teeth before they could get me a veneer in place. Needless to say, there was no smiling done in the month of January.
Probably one of the weirdest experiences of my life was being hyped up on cough medicine with my face numb from the dentist’s numbing gel. They drilled what was left of my natural tooth down into a stub to fit the temp over but before putting it in place the dim witted assistant asked if I wanted to see what it looked like. Somehow my hand extended itself and I found myself holding a mirror as it slowly made it’s way up to my face. “no, no no no no no,” my mind yelled at me but it was too late. I looked in the mirror and saw this horrible, puffy faced, drooling HICK with her front tooth missing and a tiny pencil eraser stub in it’s place. I think I made some sort of Frankenstein moan because the assistant quickly snatched the mirror from me and whipped the temp tooth into place before the histrionics could start.
Almost 5 years later I have a nicely proportioned and naturally colored veneer that you would never know was fake unless I decided to tell you. Or unless my sister called me Nanny McFee in front of you, as she so loves to do, and then I have to tell the whole story.
I’ve frequently been asked where and how often I shop, and I was just going to answer this questions in a FAQ post but I decided it needed it’s own post :)
So let’s break this question down:
How often do I shop? Well I’d have to say that I window shop quite a lot. Like 5 out of 7 days a week. But I don’t mean physically window shop. I mean cyber window shop. 98% of my shopping is done online. Whether I’m actually looking to purchase an item or I’m just looking for inspiration, a lot of my free time is spent window shopping. Judge all you want.
How often do I actually purchase an item? Hmmm maybe a few times a month? It really just depends. If it’s a new season than that number will be higher because I’m purchasing items to supplement any losses I have incurred. I tend to wear items until they’re falling to pieces, so a jacket that has grown too small, a pair of jeans that have lost their shape, a pair of shoes that are really scuffed. Those basic items are the things I’m looking for at the beginning of the season.
The farther we get into a season, the fewer purchases I make. I might order a new scarf, or a cute hat, or a simple tee. Items that can be easily worn with multiple outfits. Very rarely do I buy an item that can’t be worn multiple ways and even more rarely do I buy an item at full price.
And despite what people seem to think, I DO wear items more than once. I don’t know where that rumor got started, but believe me it’s not true. I have two simple rules when I go shopping:
1. Can the item be worn at least 5 different ways with items I already own?
2. Will I still like the item in a year?
If it doesn’t match those two criteria, it’s probably not coming home with me, unless there are extenuating circumstances like I’m shopping for a special event, or I’m just feeling low and need a pick me up lol.
Now, on to the fun part!
Where do I shop?
Like I mentioned before, I do a lot of my shopping online but I do occasionally go to the physical store, so we’ll break this question down as well!
Physical Stores:
Target and Pacsun are probably the two stores I shop from the most frequently. There are also three local stores that I LOVE so if you are in the OKC area, check out Lucca, Blue 7, or Cloverleaf! I also VERY occasionally check out the Gap outlet. I’d love to say that I’m a thrifter but live I’ve mentioned before, I just seem to be missing that gift. If anyone knows of some thrift stores with a great clothing selection in OKC let me know!
Online Stores:
I’m a HUGE online shopper. Some people can scour TJ Maxx for hours and find great deals; I scour the internet. So here’s a list of my favorite shops!
ASOS. if you haven’t checked this out yet you really should. Two words: free shipping. And don’t try to ruin my life by telling me that they factored the shipping into their prices, because then you would be a really mean person. Point is, it’s cheap and trendy and they have a great 70% section that runs almost all the time.
Forever 21: I don’t even go into the store anymore, unless I have called ahead and know for a fact that they have the one item I want and it would be cheaper to just go in and get it. Forever21 online is a much safer way to shop. It’s organized and you don’t have to deal with the weird employees. (Anyone else get the heeby jeebies from the F21 dressing room attendants? They like to hover outside the door and want me to model every thing I put on. Just leave me alone and let me try on my items, thanks!)
Urban Outfitters: Since Oklahoma is ridiculous and still hasn’t built an UO yet, I’m forced to either shop online or go to Dallas. I love UO and they have some great sales on their website, sometimes better than the stores.
Ruche: super darling, very feminine, and great prices.
Threadsence: a little more hippy style but still with great prices
Lulus: I have at least 4 pairs of shoes from Lulus, and I love that they carry vegan leather items. They also have one of the best dress sections I’ve found yet.
Polyvore: Not exactly a store but if you’re looking for a specific item it’s a great way to search.
Shop my Closet Sales: This is my new obsession and I’m not joking when I say obsessions. Shop my Closet sales are a great way to find gently used clothing for a great price. Some of my favorite’s are Ruby Girl, Kelli Murray, or Ascot Friday’s instagram sales. Just search #shopmycloset and you’ll find a TON of sales.
Yay! So where do YOU shop? Any great stores I should know about?
Forever 21 jacket, necklace, tee, and pants ( when does it become embarrassing to wear an outfit primarily purchased from F21? When you’re not 21? Whoops!) Target booties, 7th & West hand chain, Unexpected Expectancy feather ring
Target glasses//Forever21 plaid top// Windsor Store skirt// Charlotte Russe heels
Yes I’m wearing two prints. Yes it’s quite busy. Yes I resemble someone who got ready in complete darkness. No I don’t care. Yes I did it on purpose. Yes I like it.
YAY FRIDAY! This has been one of those dragging weeks. You know the ones that seem to go on forever? But now it’s over! Yay!
I have nothing of value to say today. I’m excited for the weekend. I’m ready to wear sweatpants and do nothing of any particular interest to anyone but myself. I do believe I shall make some cookies. And I’m going shopping. There’s my roaring weekend for you. Party Animal people. Party. Animal.
Forever21 jacket//Borrowed necklace// cape dress from Kelli Murray’s shop my closet sale (love her)// target booties
Don’t you just love capes? I felt quite super womanish in this, like perhaps I could have jumped off a tall building, or at least a tall chair. I didn’t try either, it was too cold. When I showed my mom this dress she was like, “um where are you going to where this?” ….everywhere, der! Why would I feel uncomfortable about wearing a caped dress to, I don’t know, let’s say work? Or church? Or a quick trip to Target? No shame my friends.
Let’s also note the fact that my legs are now nearing the shade of a 6 week old corpse, or possibly really milky {mushy} grits. I’m constantly hovering between yelling, “white is the new tan!” with an exultant fist pump included, or yelling, “turn the lights off it’s too bright! oh wait…that’s my legs.” and then slunking my way into the nearest cancer tanning bed. The fist pump will probably win, since tanning beds give me the creeps. You want me to lay down in a roaring light filled coffin NEKKID!? Where hundreds of other women just laid their sweaty bums? You know, grits are actually kind of pretty, I think I’ll keep my pasty legs, thanks.
Let’s not even get into the idea of a spray tan. The last time I tried it I came out looking like an ewok. No I wasn’t covered in fur and carrying a spear. My skin just happened to be the exact same shade as my eyebrows which was slightly terrifying. If you’re lucky, you can scrub the first 3 layers of skin off and look somewhat presentable for maybe a day before the dye starts fading and you look like you have some sort of scary polka dotted disease. And ALL of this gloriousness can be yours for the same price as a month’s membership to the cancer coffins(tanning beds)! No thanks.
Anywho, Happy Valentine’s Day! Otherwise known as Single Awareness Day. Or if you’re a cynic, it’s Our Societies Maniacal Attempts at Tricking the Unsuspecting into Purchasing Mass Produced Cheap Wares at Ridiculously High Prices, All in the Name of “Love” Day.
I kind of ride the fence on Val Day. I’m well aware of the fact that flower prices reach astronomical heights on the 14th, but if a guy wants to give me some flowers I’m sure not going to say no! And yes it’s a bit of a cliche to get all lovey dovey on Cupid’s holiday but who’s ever turned down some sweet words? Not this gal. So while I accept that most everyone is being loving only because someone at some point in time for some reason decided to make the 14th a romantic day, I will also accept any and all chocolates, flowers, mushy love notes, and dinner dates
And just so we’re clear, I LOOOOOOUUUUUURRRRRVVVVEEE you guys. You make this blog so much fun to write, I love talking to each and every one of you. You are the bees knees.
target camo tee (men’s section)//Free People crochet vest (hand me down)// Style Lately bull necklace c/o// 7th & West star necklace c/o// Evie J boutique bracelets c/o// Lucky ring// Forever 21 skirt, previously worn here// Target booties
