Showing posts with label Blog Awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog Awards. Show all posts

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Preppy Pattern Mixing and the Sunshine Award

Daily Outfit for Thursday, April 21, 2011

I feel so preppy in this outfit.  I suspect it’s not “true prep” and like my grunge look it’s probably my own special brand of prep…



… but I do feel preppy – I think it’s probably the striped Foxcroft shirt (thrifted).  I don’t wear button-downs very much (maybe ever), but I do like it paired with this zigzag-patterned skirt (Mossimo – thrifted).  I think the skirt helps make the shirt more fun than a plain skirt would.  I would have loved to have worn my orange sandals with this, but it is still not warm enough for bare legs, so I wore my trusty Born Crown boots (Nordstrom).  (That’s right, bare knees two times this week.  I told you I was a total Billy Bad Bottom).

This outfit, like Monday’s Prim and Proper outfit, was sort of fun for me because “preppy” is not an aesthetic I subscribe to very often.  The bright colors appeal to me, but it’s just so buttoned-up (dare I say repressed?) which I don’t love.  Again, I think it has a lot to do with how I view myself, which is more footloose and fancy free than prep usually indicates.  Truthfully, I think I am probably less of a free spirit than I’d like to be, and that buttoned-up repression is more my speed, but I’m in denial about that.  So even though prep does have the benefit of bright colors and the occasional whimsical print, I don’t think I’ll make this my go-to look.

In more exciting news, the ever fabulous Claire from Spinning Threads awarded me the Sunshine Award.  Thank you, Claire! 


As part of the award, I get to award it to some other bloggers.  So, here they are, 12 blogs that make me smile: From the Rez to the City, She’s Addicted to Clothes, Steffy’s Pros and Cons, Well Curated, The Chronicles of Lady K, Northeast Chic, Basic Cravings, dash dot dotty, Diversions, Rags Against the Machine, Destrehan’s Daughter and Lovely Apidae.  The rules say to choose twelve, but I could easily choose twice as many.

Tips for Giants: If you have a long torso, tucking your shirts in can be difficult.  A few tricks I use are wearing tunics (or short dresses) as tops – they’re actually long enough to stay put.  Or wearing high-waisted skirts (or pants) – these are getting increasingly easy to find in retail stores, and thrift stores are a great source.  And, finally, what I did today; I’m wearing DKNY Smoothies which are like lightweight Spanx in that they don’t cut off all circulation in your body, but still provide some assistance in sucking it in on those days you don’t feel like it.  They’re great.  They are also great for tucking not-so-long blouses into – this blouse didn’t come un-tucked once today.  If it's still tights weather for you (for which I am sorry) try tucking your blouse into your tights.

Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey

P.S. If you write “preppy” enough it loses all meaning.  True story.


P.P.S My camera broke today so I had to borrow my sister's which was difficult for me to work with and caused me to over-photoshop.  I have one coming, but you'll have to bear with me for a bit.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Stylish Bright Stripes and Black Tights

Daily Outfit 3/31/11

Full disclosure: I love this dress.  I plan on wearing it all summer, so I hope no one gets tired of it.  I really did intend to wait for summer to debut it, but who knows when summer will get to Oregon, so I decided to wear it today.



Fabulous, right?  I couldn’t believe my luck when I found this dress at my local Goodwill for only $3.50!  The dress is vintage, the belt is croc-embossed (Macys), the tights are Spanx Tight End Tights (Nordstrom), the cardigan is Gap, the earrings are of disremembered provenance and the booties are BC Shoes (via Piperlime).

Even though this dress screams summer to me, I really like it with the black accents.  I tried it first this morning with a bright cardigan and tights and cognac belt and shoes, but it felt like a little much to me.  You all know I love me some brights, I just think I might prefer them grounded with a neutral.  And black and brights are a match made in heaven for me.

Now, for those of you looking at this outfit and thinking “My goodness that’s one stylish giant,” you are not alone.  And I’ve got the badge to prove it:


The absolutely fabulous Claire of Spinning Threads has awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award on Tuesday.  The rules for receiving this award are that I have to share 8 things about myself and award it to 8 other stylish bloggers.

I had actually received this award from Sara Star rather early on, so you can read eight things about me here (which will give you a full 22 facts about me!).  I do, however, want to present some of my new-found favorite and stylish blogs with this award. 

In no particular order, these are some of the blogs I am especially loving as of late:
Again, if you don't already read these blogs, stop by.  They're definitely worth it.
 
In other news, I am glad to be back in my lovely, green Oregon.  It was pouring when I got home Tuesday night, but this morning’s ride was glorious.  Absolutely perfect – balmy temperatures, no rain, no wind and the trees are beginning to bloom.  Did I mention that it was perfect?

I hope everyone’s day was as wonderful as my bike ride was,

Gracey

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Know what? I’m versatile and creative. True story.

Hello All!

Last week the fabulous Gretchen awarded me the Versatile Blogger Award.  And yesterday she awarded me the Kreativ Blogger Award.   As part of the awards, I have to share some things about myself (I think I’m up to 17 – we’ll see if I make it) and award them to 10 other bloggers.




Okay, first up.  Random Gracey-facts:

1.      I’m of mixed heritage – my father is black and my mother is white.
2.      I come from a large family – four brothers, two sisters, one step brother and one step sister.
3.      I have always lived on the West Coast; in Oregon, Washington or California except for a brief stint in Nashville.
4.      I ran track and cross country from kindergarten through college and I miss running a lot less than I thought I would.
5.      I can’t sew, but I do it anyways.
6.      I’m not very patient (which is one of the reasons I can’t sew).
7.      I love food, but I don’t like cooking.
8.      My parents were hippies, hence my awesome name.
9.      I hate being told what to do.
10.  I am somehow surprised to find myself in my mid-thirties and never married.
11.  I think that it’s weird that I’m surprised about being single.
12.  I watch and read sci-fi, but only because I’m scared of zombies, aliens, robots and the future and want to know what to watch out for.
13.  I love books that make me cry and then I never read them again because they made me cry.
14.  I don’t have a favorite color.

Sorry, all, I can’t think of anything more.  But, I’d say 14 items is plenty to know about me.  It’s pretty much everything anyway.

Now for ten versatile, creative (sorry, I can’t keep spelling it with a k) bloggers:

1.      Rose of Well Curated
2.      Emily at Bellishment
3.      Fabienne of The House in the Clouds
4.      Steffy of Steffy’s Pros and Cons
5.      Claire of Spinning Threads
6.      Linda of Little Tin Soldier
7.      Linley at Dwelling and Telling
8.      Katie at Interrobangs Anonymous
9.      Dotty at Dash Dot Dotty
10.  Marella at Me Myself and My Closet

All of these bloggers are absolutely wonderful and if they aren’t blogs you already read, check them out.

Thank you again, Gretchen!

Gracey