Meow Meow Meow

Happy Halloween! This is my half-assed kitty cat costume. I already dressed up for realz on Saturday, but I'm still waiting on the pictures from that night. So here's me as a kitty cat. Yay.


What did you/are you dressing up as?

The Red Beret

I really don't mean to pimp out my new Etsy shop as much as I do (I swear!). It just happens. I find a lot of items that I don't really need, but would enjoy having the pleasure of wearing at least once. Just like this skirt. Because I need a step stool to reach things on the top shelf (that's my cute way of saying I'm a shortie. Not to be confused with a shawty), I don't think it does too much for me. But hey, it's kind of a cute outfit, in that I'm-on-my-period-and-just-want-to-eat-chocolate-and-mope way. Very Aunt Flo chic.

And plus, everyone loved my beret, including some guy who used to work at a Renaissance Fair and some other guy who told me I reminded him of Monica Lewinsky. Um. Thanks.

Sweater: American Eagle
Skirt: Vintage! Buy that shit up at my shop! YEAH!
Beret: Forever 21
Earrings: You can buy those too!

I am a Grecian Goddess. Right?

I picked this dress up online at Urban Outfitters last month, and it's a dream. It's stylish, it's lightweight, it's flattering...what more could you want in a dress? I mean, okay, it would be suhweet if it had the ability to cook me dinner and clean my room and fan me with palm leaves while I sip my umbrella drink in Cabo, but whatever. I understand. You can't have it all. But I'll take what I can get, and I've got this dress, and it's amazing.

If you would like it too, there's still some left. Tell 'em Ashley sent you. Who?

Dress: Kindall Almond for Ecote @ UO
Jacket: Doma
Scarf: J. Crew
Wedges: Jeffrey Campbell

And Now For Something Completely Different

Scouring thrift stores for vintage items has really opened me up to wearing things I never would have dreamed of putting on before (including a shirt that previously had someone else's booger on it. Yup). This dress is one of those items. I'm not a fancy girly dresser at all, but when I saw this dress, I knew I'd have to wear it at least once. And so I did, with absolutely no accessories besides my kinda greasy hair. I kind of dig the simplicity. The dress seems perfect for a casual, outdoor autumn wedding. You know. Minus the fact that it's super sheer and you can see my undies.

How's your weekend going?

Dress: Thrifted, you can purchase at my shop!
Shoes: Steve Madden

Aftermath

I've been planning this outfit since August (ahhh. The good ole days) and finally got around to wearing it. I love these rust colored trousers (I have the same ones in yellow), even if they are getting to be a bit too big for me in the waist. Since it's finally fall (I say that like I've been waiting forever for it but, as you well know, that couldn't be farther from the truth), I think rust colored clothes are finally appropriate. Damn straight.

I started a new job this week and I think I like it. I am officially a barista, and a cute one at that. Seriously. I look damn good today for someone who got up at 3 a.m. to open up shop. Just sayin'. But now I've got two jobs and am working about 50 hours a week total, plus I have a blog and an Etsy shop (shameless plug right thur) to run. It's a good thing I don't have a boyfriend to spend time with anymore, because hahaha! I don't have any time left. Oh no. I'm not bitter. Not me.

Lastly, a HUGE thank you to those who participated in Love Your Body Day on Wednesday! I was really impressed with all of the posts you wrote. And, even if you didn't author a post, I appreciate you taking the time and effort to read all of them. The level of support in this blogging community is amazing. I'm proud!

Blouse: Thrifted
Trousers & hat: UO
Wedges: Steve Madden
Bag: Fossil

Happy Love Your Body Day! How Do You Love Your Body?

Happy Love Your Body Day, everyone! It's finally here and it's time to celebrate! If you've written a post about loving on your bod, please link up below! I want to let each and every post do the talking this year, so I'm not going to write a long entry, but I do want to post a few little tidbits that will hopefully inspire you to love your body and all the things it can do. So, without further ado, let's roll!

• Don't let anyone stand in the way of you loving your body. Although it's hard, don't let anyone have that power over you. Focus on you and you alone. It's easy to compare ourselves and our bodies to other people ("Look at her thighs! Mine are like, twice the size of hers!"). But that's a recipe for disaster. I'm a positive person, but I realize that, no matter what I do, there's always going to be someone who has better looking legs than I do. And that's okay. As long as my legs are looking their best, I'm happy.
  
• Stop talking smack. Fact: we live in a sexualized world. Comments like, "Oh yeah, bra, I'd totally hit that shit!" are common. So are things like, "That bitch is ugly. I wouldn't fuck that with a ten foot pole." Insulting or degrading other people reflects poorly on you. And it's a clear sign that you aren't comfortable in your own body, either. Try substituting the word "heavy" for "fat" for a week and you'll be amazed the effects it will have.
  
• Stop talking smack about yourself, too. I talk about my body and weight quite frequently, but I do it in a positive way. Calling yourself a lard ass or fatty does what for you exactly? Nothing, except make you feel bad. When discussing your body, try to speak matter-o-factly. "I'm trying to eat healthier today because my tummy's looking rounder," doesn't have the negative connotation that, "Holy shit, so, I really need to stop pigging out. I'm getting sooooo fat!" does.
  
• Don't change your body for someone else. When I was 16, I was into this guy. He told me he'd never dated anyone over a size six and had no intentions to. I was a size 10 at the time. It came down to me (dangerously) losing over 15lbs in three weeks, weighing in at 115 lbs. Guess what? He and I didn't work out, and I gained it all back and then some. If someone can't accept you for who you are TODAY, they sure as hell don't deserve you tomorrow (or the day after that).
  
• Strive to be the best that you can be. Being healthy makes you feel good, physically and mentally. I've learned that, while I'm content at a size 6, I feel better about myself and have more energy when I'm focusing on what I'm putting into my body so I can fit into my size 2 jeans. The key is to not be excessive: as long as I know I tried my best, I'm not going to beat myself up in the morning when I see I magically gained 3 lbs overnight.
  

Now u:

Introducing...The Vintage Point

So. You didn't really believe that, during all those weeks of inconsistent blogging, I was just lying around in the sun all day, reading and sipping on iced tea, did you? Okay, well, I admittedly did do a lot of that. But, I've also been working on a super secret project for God knows how long, and I'm finally ready to share.

As you may have picked up on, I've really gotten into thrifting lately. Living in the backwoods of Minnesota has major perks, one of them being our thrift stores kick your thrift store's ass. I've been finding so many awesome things, and I just can't help but buy them, even if they aren't my style or size. So, I decided to create "The Vintage Point," an Etsy shop dedicated to sharing my great vintage finds with you.

So go. Check it out. I've got 35 items up so far, and I have a lot more to go, so if you don't see anything that suits your fancy right now, be sure to keep checking back!

P.S. Remember...



It's tomorrow! I'm going to schedule my post for around midnight, and then, throughout the day, you can stop by and add your own post to the list of links. Exciting!

Maize

I found these shorts in the Halloween section of Savers. I have no idea how they wound up there, but when I saw them, I immediately pulled them out and fell in love on the spot. They're vintage. They're silky. They have polka dots. What's not to love? I'm going to wear them tomorrow, too. Because I'm gross awesome.

If you have not been to a corn maze before, please go. It's fun, and nothing screams photo op like a girl in a corn field. You can pretend to eat the corn. You can creep amongst the stalks and end up looking kind of like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. You can do the I've-got-an-ear-of-corn-and-masculine-calves-woohoo dance. The possibilities are endless.

Congratulations to Tracy for winning the Call it Spring J.C. Penney giveaway! I ended up going through an intricate process to pick the winner. You can see it here. Thanks to all who entered: all of your outfits were amazing. There's no way I could have selected a winner by picking a single favorite, hence the awesomesauce process I went through.

T-shirt: Victoria's Secret
Shorts: Vintage
Boots: Jeffrey Campbell
Belt: ASOS

Wave

So, this weekend has been a punch bowl full of drama (I have no idea what that means, but it sounds like it should just be one of those sayings, doesn't it? It has a nice ring to it. No? Okay. Maybe I need more sleep), and it's been on a much higher scale than the Wal-Mart wouldn't accept my coupons "drama" I had that other time. But I'm not going to get into it right now, because I'm tired of talking about it (You should really follow my twitter, though), so here. Enjoy these pictures of me frolicking on the beach in a romper from last weekend, when all was well. Ain't I a doll?

You've got about 12 hours left to enter the J.C. Penney gift card giveaway, so make sure you get on that. Yo. And if no one minds, I might change how I pick the winner from choosing my favorite to choosing someone at random. I don't like bias, so I try to avoid it. Sound okay to you?

How was your weekend? Exciting fall activities for anyone?

Romper: Urban Outfitters
Sunnies: Juicy Couture
Boots: Jeffrey Campbell

Love Your Body? Tell Me All the Reasons Why!

Tell your friends!

Hopefully, I made the graphic as question-free as possible, but to clarify on the "where" part: on October 19th, I'll publish a post here where, at the bottom, you can add a link to your post. The content of the post is pretty open and up to you! Anything from a simple list of why you love your body to a detailed essay about how you got there is welcome. If you're in need of ideas, here are some probing questions to get you going:

1. Have you ever felt like you focused too much on your appearance?
   
2. How has society's view of beauty affected your body image?
   
3. When you look in the mirror, what's the first thought you have?
   
4. How have you helped improve your body image over time?
   
5. What simple things do you do that consistently promote a positive body image within yourself?
   
6. Have you always had the same opinion on your body, or has it been more positive or negative in the past?
   

The sky's the limit here! Those were just a couple of ideas. I've got a bunch more, too, so if you're stuck on a topic, feel free to contact me and we can work it out. ;)

And, if you're one of those people who like to include a picture with their post, I've made some banners for y'all. If you need any other sizes, just let me know and I'll poop one out!



<a href="http://2eyesinthemirror.blogspot.com/2011/10/love-your-body-tell-me-all-reasons-why.html"><img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a208/heartshapes/lyb11banner.jpg" alt="Love Your Body Day 2011!" width="400" height="178" border="0" /></a>



<a href="http://2eyesinthemirror.blogspot.com/2011/10/love-your-body-tell-me-all-reasons-why.html"><img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a208/heartshapes/luvurbody.gif" alt="Love Your Body Day 2011!" width="180" height="169" border="0"/></a>

Happy blogging!

The Editor

Hey look! I almost look kind of professional here. Like maybe I could be an editor for a semi-fancy magazine. You know. Minus the wrinkles.

Want to know a secret? I don't iron. Ever. I can honestly tell you that I have never once ironed anything I've put on my body before. I used to iron hankies for my grandma when I was 12, but that's it. I'm just not down with the ironing.

Maybe that's why I don't have a real job yet. Hmm. Now there's a thought.

This week = very, very busy. I didn't even shower yesterday, that's how busy it is. I have announcements for y'all, too, so I'll probably be posting every day this week. Yes dearies, you read that right. Everyday. You know, like how August was. Except the exact opposite. Get. Ready.

Oh, yeah. Remember to enter the giveaway, too.

Top: Tucker for Target
Sweater vest: UO
Trousers: Thrifted
Wallet: Fossil
Nail polish: Essie in "Very Structured"

$50 Gift Card Giveaway from Call It Spring by J.C. Penney

Last week, a representative from J.C. Penney contacted me to see if I was interested in hosting a giveaway for a $50 gift card to J.C. Penney. I like both J.C. Penney and gift cards and I'm hoping you do too, so I said yes. Here are the deets:

Call It Spring just launched their new handbag and shoe collection for Fall. This season, the collection is inspired by three main trends: British Country, Gotham City, and Northern Folk.

To enter the giveaway, you need to:

1. Create a Polyvore set using items from the new Call it Spring collection that fall under one of the trends listed above.
   
2. Follow my blog!
   
3. Post a link to your set in the comments (along with a way for me to contact you).
   
4. Live in the United States (sorry international readers!)
   

The giveaway closes Monday, October 10 at 11:59 p.m. CST . Myself and a panel of experts (which will probably consist of my mom and friend) will decide on our favorite outfit and contact the winner!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments and I'll get back to you shortly.

I chose the theme Northern Folk (since I am, after all, a Northern folk) and went to town, even though I've never used Polyvore. It's a great way to eat up a few slow hours at work. Just sayin'.

Northern Folk(s) by twoeyesinthemirror featuring knit shoes

Call it SPRING knit shoes, $70