Where the Magic Happens

This post comes in two flavors! You can either take a look at my traditional post, or scroll down to the bottom where I experimented with video content.

Hey everyone! Today, I'm going to show you where I blog. I have a desk in my bedroom which doubles as my vanity, so it's kind of half makeup storage and half writing instruments, with a dash of inspirational nonsensery. 

I had initially intended for the desk to only serve as a vanity, but as I gradually started moving from blogging as a casual hobby to something I took more seriously I decided to allocate some space in the prettiest room in my apartment so I could feel more inspired while I work. 

I sit on a pink tufted bench which opens up for more storage space. I don't really like the color of it, it's a much brighter shade of pink than the rest of my room so I've been looking into fabric painting, anyone have any experience with it? 

Here's a closer look (with me in my lounging clothes in the mirror... class-ay) I keep my makeup brushes and drawers to the left side of the desk, as well as my palettes that you can see stacked next to the mirror. My organizational binder is open and ready to go -- it's been incredible for keeping track of all the minutia of running a blog. I'm terrible with sticking to a schedule but this cute, customized binder has kept me pretty on track. 

I don't have my laptop on the desk for this just because it's not a pretty little Macbook... it's a big, blocky Asus that I got for its gaming capabilities and kinda, y'know, ruins the overall aesthetic. Not every aspect of my life can be pink and dainty, but no one can say I don't try. 

I dug up some pretty books that I use for inspiration. The bottom is a book on Chanel's life and the top is The Last Unicorn comic -- the artwork is gorgeous and flipping through it puts me in a whimsical mindset. The movie has been one of my favorites since my childhood and this is my first venture into the world of comics. I've wanted to get into them for a while but for some reason I always felt really unwelcome any time I went to a comic store and never ended up getting anything. I digress... 

I keep my prettier makeup on display in a vintage candy tray. I've got everything from my Mor Cosmetic's order in there, as well as a YSL lipstick and a Too Faced lipgloss. I like to bask in my material possessions sometimes, so sue me. 

I also have a Baby, The Stars Shine Bright mug (which is a Lolita brand) where I keep pens, highlighters and dry erase markers. 

When I change apartments for next school year I'm really hoping I'll have an area I can designate as an "office" and get a desk specifically for blogging with more storage space for books, my binder and my laptop. All of the extras can be distracting sometimes when I'm trying to write, but I definitely think I manage to make due for now. 

Bonus Super Fun Exciting News: I acquired a point and shoot recently that has a video function, so I decided to experiment with giving the gist of this post in video form. I honestly had no idea what I was doing, but let me know what you think and I'll try making some videos that involved more foresight than just "Oooh, let's see what this button does!" Enjoy! 

This post was submitted to IFB Project #85: Where Do You Blog? 

Fashion Inspired by Adventure Time Part II: Fionna and Lumpy Space Princess

WHAT TIME IS IT? Time for part two of my Fashion Inspired by Adventure Time series! If you've never heard of Adventure Time, here is a quick description of the massively popular Cartoon Network TV show from my first installment of the series: 

Adventure Time is a strange "kid's show" on Cartoon Network that takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth known as Ooo. The denizens of Ooo are all mutated life forms as a result of the "Mushroom War" except for Finn, the hero and only known human. Despite its bright colors and simplistic art-style, Adventure Time's stories often have thinly-veiled adult humor and sometimes morbid themes which accounts for its large following outside its target audience. Adventure Time also tips its hat toward various geek cultures through references such as D&D alignments and video game-like "boss fights" and music. It also has ton of unique characters... 

I focused on Princess Bubblegum and Marceline for the first post, and now for part two I'm featuring Fionna and Lumpy Space Princess! 

Fionna

// Hat // Polka Dot Sweater // Shorts // Socks // Converse Chuck Taylors // Sword Pendant // Satchel //  Lip Balm // Watch (similar) //

In one episode, (two this coming Monday!) every character in the show was given a gender-swapped version of themselves, a sort of alternate-reality Ooo. If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil the reason behind the swap but I can tell you that some of the gender-swapped characters are insanely popular for only having been featured in one episode. 

Fionna is the gender-bend of Finn, the human protagonist of Adventure Time. I figured going with the female version of the main character would be the best route for featuring female fashion. An outfit inspired by Fionna was a little bit tricky to put together at first due to the risk of it seeming too costume-y, but by using a loose interpretation of her already very mainstream outfit I was able to create a look that definitely draws inspiration from her tomboy attitude and practicality while still being very wearable. 

This polka dot sweater is the perfect color to match Fionna's top, and adds some interest to the otherwise solid-colored ensemble. A pair of medium-length shorts are perfect for adventuring, and a green satchel in place of a backpack keeps the outfit from looking like a costume. Add a sword accessory, because Fionna is all about swords, as well as a white knit hat to tie in with the character's signature look and you're ready to fight some evil!

Lumpy Space Princess

// Dress // Bright Boots // Satchel // Star Necklace // Revlon Lipstick // Alien Perfume //

Like, lump off! Lumpy Space Princess aka LSP is a fan favorite and was specifically requested in the comment section of my previous post. If you've never seen Adventure Time, it's difficult to explain why LSP is so hilarious. Just, watch this video and you might understand. 

This was another tricky one to put together because Lumpy Space Princess isn't humanoid. She's just... a purple blob. So I had to look into her character for some inspiration. 

Set the color scheme with a purple dress, and then add quirky bright-yellow accessories. It's revealed in one episode that LSP is actually homeless, so I thought a dingy leather bag would be a perfect nod to that little tidbit. A bold, berry colored lipstick was the natural choice when I remembered an episode in which she smeared jelly on as makeup and looked lumpin' hot. 

There's another gender-bend episode coming Monday, be sure to watch!

What other characters would you like to see featured in Fashion Inspired by Adventure Time? I have a lot to choose from so I'm going to get to as many as I can. Make requests in the comments! 

Valentine's Day Date Outfit Ideas

Picking out an outfit to wear on Valentine's Day can be tricky. You want to look good, but you also want to dress to suit your plans. You probably wouldn't wear a skin-tight wiggle dress to a coffee date or a baggy sweater out for a fancy dinner (not that you can't if you want!) 

Below are some ideas for ways to dress just right for whatever mood you want to set for you and your date this Valentine's Day. 

If you're...

Keeping it Casual

// Sweater // Jeans // Flats // Pearl Earrings // Lip Balm // Essie Nail Polish //

Maybe your Valentine's Day plans are with someone you haven't been seeing for a very long time, or going on fancy dates just isn't your thing. If you're trying to keep things casual this Valentine's Day, this simple cozy but cute outfit would be perfect for visiting a coffee shop, going for a walk or a movie at home.

Try pairing a candy-colored oversized sweater with printed jeans and a pair of comfortable flats. Classic and understated accessories pull the look together without going over the top. Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable lipsticks are moisturizing, subtle and easy to apply -- perfect for low-key dates! 

Bringing Out Your Inner Bombshell

// Dress (similar) // Cap-toe Pumps // Purse // Diamond Earrings // Necklace // Lipstick // Nail Polish // Perfume //

If you want to turn heads wherever you happen to go, this vampy and eye-catching look would be perfect for you. And to be especially daring, try wearing a garter belt and stockings underneath. Allowing your date a subtle peek at the top of your stockings will definitely get their imagination running. 

Leopard print can look trashy if not done right, so keep the rest of the color scheme muted and use classic accessories like pearls or diamonds. The deep burgundy color is a great complement to the dress because it's equally sensual without overpowering the print. 

Staying Classy

// Dress // Blazer // Pumps // Clutch // Lipstick //

A flowy red dress is the perfect medium between sexy and sophisticated. This outfit would be great for a classic wine-and-dine night on the town. 

Keeping the accessories simple again allows the gorgeous dress to take the spotlight, and pairing it with a sharp black blazer will allow you the option of covering up if necessary.

What are your Valentine's Day plans? Tell me in the comments! 

This post has been submitted as an entry to IFB Project #82: The Season of Love. 

Fashion Inspired by Adventure Time Part I: Princess Bubblegum and Marceline

WHAT TIME IS IT? Adventure Time is a strange "kid's show" on Cartoon Network that takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth known as Ooo. The denizens of Ooo are all mutated life forms as a result of the "Mushroom War" except for Finn, the hero and only known human. Despite its bright colors and simplistic art-style, Adventure Time's stories often have thinly-veiled adult humor and sometimes morbid themes which accounts for its large following outside its target audience. 

Adventure Time also tips its hat toward various geek cultures through references such as D&D alignments and video game-like "boss fights" and music. It also has ton of unique characters, so for my first installment I decided to focus on the two main ladies -- Princess Bubblegum of the Candy Kingdom and Marceline the Vampire.

I love Adventure Time for characters like Princess Bubblegum. At first glance she's a typical pink-wearing castle-living princess cartoon character, but she has a passion for science and serves as a voice of reason  for the heroes as well as the citizens of the Candy Kingdom. That said, she can also do some morally questionable things such as attempting to bring deceased Candy People back from the dead. Twice.

Even though PB has a default costume, she has a range of other outfits ranging from casual to dressy that all play on the same color scheme of bright pink and purple. A bright pink dress with a purple sash sets the base for this Peebles inspired outfit, with pastel lavender accessories to tone down the brightness. A rhinestone candy necklace serves as a shout-out to her servant, Peppermint Butler.

Marceline is a thousand year old vampire who plays bass guitar and eats shades of red. Marceline is similar to Princess Bubblegum in that she can also be morally questionable, but Marceline doesn't hide behind any pretense of being righteousness. She's a pretty classic chaotic neutral who likes to play tricks that make her seem much nastier than she actually is.

Marceline has a casual goth style and usually dresses in black, red or grey. Plaid and stripes are popular prints in her wardrobe, and she can go out in the daytime with the aid of a sunhat or parasol.

Do you watch Adventure Time? What other characters would you like to see featured?

{Image Credits: Adventure Time title, Princess Bubblegum, Marceline}

Fashion Inspired by Game of Thrones

// Dragon Earrings // Bangle (similar) // Shoes (similar) // 

Daenerys is my favorite character in the books and the show. I find her interesting because of the tremendous amounts of growth that she goes through as a character. She begins as the property of her brother, then sold into marriage to Khal Drogo. However, she emerges as a queen (or Khaleesi) in her own right, with the weight of a dynasty on her shoulders. Sure, she doesn't always make the best decisions; but Game of Thrones is a series chalk full of bad choices, and I personally appreciate characters who aren't infallible.  Daenerys regularly switches between flowing, exotic dresses for special occasions and more practical roughspun clothing for riding through the Dothraki sea. I chose to emulate her more formal attire; all of the gowns that she's worn are absolutely stunning. I added silver accessories to this rhinestoned dress, including a pair of subtle dragon earrings to reflect her house sigil. I couldn't help adding the official HBO dragon egg necklace into the mix as well. 

// Dress (similar) // Earrings //

New to the game this season is the mysterious Melisandre of Asshai, a fire priestess from a distant land who has allied herself with Stannis Baratheon. There is something extremely unnerving about her. She's seductive, yet dangerous... and sometimes a little bit creepy.

Melisandre wears nothing but red, and is often referred to as "the Red Woman." The ruby on her neck is especially important, make sure to watch it whenever she does any freaky stuff. I went with a femme fatale look for my interpretation of Melisandre, going with a deep red wiggle dress and a scarlet scarf to be used as a wrap or shawl.

// Shoes (similar) // Necklace (similar) //

Sansa is another character that I'm very fond of, but the majority of fans seem to dislike. Sansa begins the series as a naive young girl with the hopes of marrying her prince charming, but she's dragged screaming into the realization that life isn't as romantic as she envisioned. Even though Sansa's tomboy younger sister Arya gets a lot of love for being a "strong female" character, I think Sansa is a great example of a different kind of strength, she demonstrates that strong women don't have to reject their femininity entirely. Sansa may seem delicate on the surface, but her strength comes from her resolve to hide her vulnerability.

I emulated the light, summery colors of King's Landing for my Sansa inspired outfit. Though, I chose to add small hints of the North such as the wolf ring and the snowflake earrings to illustrate how even though Sansa is out of her element, she still holds on to her identity.

// Dress (similar) // Blazer (similar) // 

Margaery Tyrell is another new character this season. She is Ser Loras' sister, and wife to Renly Baratheon. In the books, Margaery is a peripheral character and the reader never gets much insight into what she's actually thinking. HBO has made Margaery's intentions crystal clear, and I think they have done a good job of making her a more intriguing character. Though most of her screen time this season was in the first few episodes, I'm looking forward to seeing her be a viable player in the game.

For my Margaery inspired look, I went a little 50's housewife because of how... ahem, loving of a wife she is. And of course, the obligatory incorporation of the house sigil: the rose.

// Shoes (similar) // Dress (similar) //

I would be lying if I said that I like the Queen Reagent of Westeros. Cersei is cold, manipulative and almost entirely selfish except when it comes to her children. That said, I certainly find her to be an interesting character and I can empathize with her plight. Cersei is the only character who actively acknowledges the patriarchal society of Westeros, and laments having been born a woman only to be treated like a bargaining chip in forging alliances. Her husband, Robert Baratheon repeatedly rapes and hits her, and there isn't a thing she can do about it because she's viewed as his property. She wants to be powerful on her own, and not on the arm of a man and she finds herself battling an entire culture to have what she wants.

As the queen, Cersei dresses extravagantly, often in the colors of house Lannister: scarlet and gold. Most of the pieces I've chosen are very expensive, to reflect Cersei's status. I love the ruby and gold leaf necklace because her father Tywin's battle armor invokes images of ancient Rome and I thought the necklace would add a touch of that vibe to Cersei as well. The Lannister sigil is the lion, and Cersei takes great pride in being a lioness and of course would love to wear lion jewelry.


Do you watch Game of Thrones? What sort of looks would you create based on the characters? Tell me in the comments!

(Image Sources: Daenerys Targaryen, Melisandre of Asshai, Sansa Stark, Margaery Tyrell, Cersei Lannister)

Top 5 Style Inspirations: Kim Kardashian

The following is a five-part series on my biggest style inspirations, real and fictional. I've never been one for spot-on trying to copy another person/character/celebrity's outfit, I tend to aim more for the realm of "close enough" because I believe that style should first and foremost be self expression. Of course, it's never a bad idea to draw inspiration from those you admire. Thus, in this series my aim so to create sample outfits that are influenced by my inspirations, but not exact copies of what they're wearing. 

Say what you will about her intelligence or reasons for being famous, I still think Kim Kardashian is absolutely gorgeous. I love seeing celebrities with killer curves, and I take a lot of inspiration from Kim's style because her body is much closer to mine than most other well-known celebrities. Snaps of Kim on the street often show her wearing high-waisted skirts paired with blouses but at special events she wears gorgeous dresses. Glamorous, sophisticated and sexy sum up Kim's style pretty well, all of which I strive to reflect in my style, which is why Kim is one of my top five style inspirations.

(Blouse, Shoes, Earrings, Belt, Skirt, Tights)

This outfit uses an entirely neutral palette and mixes dress pieces like diamond earrings and a shiny blouse with casual pieces like a slouchy bag and leather belt. It's definitely a versatile ensemble, and could easily be worn to class or a nice dinner.

(Earrings, Purse, Dress, Belt, Shoes)

Leopard print can be tricky to pull off without looking trashy, but when done right I think it's very glamorous looking. The key is to balance the rest of the outfit with another neutral (in this case, black) with a few hints of gold, but the print is still the star of the show.

What do you think of Kim's style? Or the Kardashian craze in general? Tell me in the comments!

Top 5 Style Inspirations: Joan Holloway, Mad Men (Christina Hendricks)

(Source)

The following is a five-part series on my biggest style inspirations, real and fictional. I've never been one for spot-on trying to copy another person/character/celebrity's outfit, I tend to aim more for the realm of "close enough" because I believe that style should first and foremost be self expression. Of course, it's never a bad idea to draw inspiration from those you admire. Thus, in this series my aim so to create sample outfits that are influenced by my inspirations, but not exact copies of what they're wearing. 

I'll admit I've only recently finished the first season of Mad Men, but the main thing that drew me in to the series was the style. Va-va-voom is literally the best way to describe Christina Hendricks and her character on the show, Joan Holloway. I love 50's and 60's retro style, and as a shapelier girl myself it's great to see women with curves for days on television.

The way Joan dresses suggests she knows she's got it, and flaunts it accordingly. Belts, wiggle dresses and pencil skirts all help to show off Joan's amazing hourglass figure. She's also not afraid to experiment with color, which is fantastic inspiration for women who feel like they need to hide their shape in black and grey. Of course, you don't have to have a body like Christina to work gorgeous retro inspired ensembles.

Joan dresses in fitted dresses or skit and blouse combinations, usually made of heavier looking material in rich colors like berry, cobalt, emerald and coral. Her jewelry is generally timeless and tastefully chosen so as not to overwhelm her own beauty. Here are some Joan-esque outfits for inspiration.

(Dress, Shoes, Brooch, Necklace, Earrings)

The color, shape and side bow of this dress is very reminiscent of Joan's style. I decided to go with a simple gold chain instead of the dangly piece that Joan is wearing in the picture due to the cowl neck of the dress. I think a simple pair of black pumps with a tiny bit of detail pulls the entire look together.

(Necklace, Blouse, Shoes, Skirt, Earrings)

In this look, Joan wears a pussy bow blouse with a camel colored, textured pencil skirt. The dangly necklace makes a reappearance (I think it's actually a pen) which I think is an interesting choice considering there is already quite a bit of detail in the neck area, but I left it in with inspiration outfit this time. I'm not sure about the exact shoes that Joan wore in this episode, but I took some artistic liberty and thought that a light red suede would look nice.

Who is your style inspiration? Tell me in the comments!