Feeling Festive

indianapolis fashion bloggercarmel indiana christmas treeindianapolis fashion bloggercarmel indiana christmas treeindianapolis fashion bloggercarmel indiana christmas treecute tightscarmel indiana christmas tree

I’ve really been feeling the Christmas spirit this year. I’m loving twinkling lights, festive flavors, and holiday hues. I’m glad I’m letting myself stop and smell the pine this year, because Christmases the past couple years have been too much of a whirlwind.

Tomorrow is my last day of work until 2013, and I am so looking forward to this vacation. We will be driving a lot to visit family, but I know that good company, good food, and relaxation await us at every stop.

What are you most looking forward to this holiday season?

Mrs Curl

whitney eve top

mrs curl greenwood indiana

whitney eve fashion

vinca diamond bracelet

What I wore: Whitney Eve Douglas Tank, LC Lauren Conrad grey capris, Old Navy sandals, “diamond” spike bracelet c/o Vinca

Where I wore it: One of my summer to-dos was to get soft serve ice cream, and I checked that off my list this past weekend when Chris and I went to the Mrs Curl — the cutest soft serve shop near Indianapolis :) Mrs Curl is located close to where I work,  so it’s usually an afternoon treat during the work day. But this time, I went on a Saturday with Chris, and it was so fun (and delicious). I got a vanilla cone with a raspberry stripe, and as one lovely reader commented on Monday: the ice cream matched my shirt!

After ice cream, Chris and I explored the sleepy street that is downtown Greenwood. We took some railroad pictures (because why wouldn’t you stand on a railroad track for a photo op?). And we poked around a couple shops.

Is your week going well so far?

Vinca Jewelry — Trinket Tuesday

vinca cat ring

Cat ring.

vinca diamond bracelet

“Diamond” bracelet.

squirrel hair clip

Squirrel hair clip.

Vinca USA

Vinca. Made in the USA.

squirrel earrings

Squirrel earrings.

Hermes the cat

Hermes loves Vinca!

Accessories courtesy of Vinca.

Sometimes all an outfit needs is a fun and quirky detail to make it more than just ordinary. Vinca is created by Amanda Dimova, an Austin-based jewelry and accessory designer who makes these fun and totally out-of-the-ordinary statement pieces. Vinca uses lasers to cut these cute adornments out of several mediums like acrylic, wood, and leather.

Vinca was nice enough to let me choose a couple pieces to try out myself. I chose the cute pearly cat ring because it’s so playful and you know I love cats. I got the wooden “diamond” spike bracelet because it’s half sweet, half edgy (and kind of ironic?). And I couldn’t resist the gold squirrel hair clip — because who could?

Hop over to Vinca and check them out! There’s something for everyone — from glittery deer to moustaches, cupcakes, unicorns, and foxes. And any Austin native will LOVE their Texas line.

What’s your favorite Vinca piece?

Stay tuned to see these whimsical little accessories incorporated into my outfits :)

Weekend Details

striped ice cream cone

Vanilla soft serve with raspberry swirl.

colorful beads

Beads on sale.

world market purchase

World Market buys.

aloe sprout drying

Aloe sprout.

fashion wall art

New wall art.

sunflower

Sunflower.

sleeping orange cat

Zzzzzz.

Weekend Highlights:

  • Winning a $25 gift card to Chile’s at our neighborhood pool party on Friday.
  • Discovering that my aloe plant, Rosita, had babies — she grew her first offshoot sprouts! My mom and I cut them out and are replanting them to grow new aloe plants.
  • My mom and dad coming into town on Saturday for lunch and an open house at my work.
  • Getting ice cream at Mrs. Curl and exploring south side Indy a bit.
  • Doing a bit of thrift shopping — no luck this time!
  • Discovering World Market — my new favorite store!!
  • A quiet Sunday morning while Chris was out fishing of kitty cuddling and catching up on blogs with Ciao! Manhattan on in the background.
  • Walking around downtown Zionsville.
  • Eggs Benedict for Sunday night dinner.

What are your weekend highlights?!

Mirror Mirror on the Wall — Trinket Tuesday

vintage etched frameless mirror

frameless mirror vintage

Remember last week when I wrote about trying to find wall art? Well, when I was visiting my parents this weekend, I picked up this sweet little mirror to get things started. This mirror always hung in my great aunt Mable’s house above her laundry room sink. My mom picked it up for me at her estate auction and now it hangs as wall decor in our bedroom.

This mirror is from the 60s, and on the back it says it’s made by Hamilton of Indiana, Inc. I think that’s pretty cool that it’s a vintage and local piece! I wasn’t able to find much about this company or other mirrors by them, but I did find a listing for the same exact mirror on Charlotte’s Craigslist. Kind of random!

I really like the idea of having a group of mirrors together on a wall, so maybe I’ll collect a couple more to hang around this one. Here’s some Pinterest inspiration:

mirror group

source

mirror group

source

mirror group

source

Anyone else love mirrors as wall art?

Starkey Nature Park

thrifted floral shirt

What I wore: Thrifted top ($1), Madewell shorts, Sam Edelman flats, Handbag Heaven bag, Kate Spade necklace, vintage pearls.

Where I wore it: To Starkey Nature Park in Zionsville, Indiana. And to dinner at Karin’s!

pearls gold white

starkey nature park bridge

starkey nature park zionsville

best friends

Weekend highlights:

  • Chris making delicious Yats recipe etouffee.
  • Walk for Wishes on Saturday morning.
  • Discovering a new park.
  • Dinner at Karin’s new apartment!
  • An iced caramel macchiato.
  • Visiting mom and dad on Sunday/Monday.

What are your weekend highlights?!

Spruce it Up

After Chris and I upgraded to a bigger apartment, I sort of took over the second bedroom. It’s where I keep my clothes, desk, and vanity. I have BIG PLANS for this room. Big plans. I want it to be a beautiful little space where I can relax and read or work on my blog.

Right now the room is pretty bare, but I’m wanting to spruce it up a bit with some wall art, seating, and decor. Here are some options I’m loving:

shabby chic chaise

A fabulous chaise lounge.

edie sedgwick print

An Edie Sedgwick illustration.

hermes tray illustration

An Hermes tray illustration.

andy warhol gold shoe

An Andy Warhol shoe print.

white garment rack

A garment rack.

Do you have your own little space? What do you have in it?!

Summer To-Do

nautical purse

wading in the creek

Can you believe summer is nearly half over? I feel like I haven’t done most of the summery activities that I love this time of year. Here’s my must-do list for the second half of summer.

  • Go to a county fair (preferably the Boone County, Kentucky fair!)
  • Go to a horse show
  • Go to the zoo
  • Go to an antique fair
  • Go to a farmer’s market for fresh and local produce
  • Go putt putt golfing
  • Eat a big soft serve ice cream cone
  • Go to Mug ‘n Bun
  • Make sangria
  • Get a tan (I WISH)
  • Give myself some  lemon juice highlights
  • Spend a day at the lake
  • Go for a night swim

What’s on your must-do list for the last months of summer?

My “Junk” Drawer — Trinket Tuesday

junk drawer trinkets

chocolate box that holds my bow ban.do / 2011 planner / travel jewelry case / vintage handkerchiefs / luggage tag / big bow ban.do / Kate Spade box / “H” tissues / mini sewing kit / vintage peace sign headband / necklaces / vintage powder makeup tin / lime wayfarers / fork bracelet / black flower hairpiece

I’m a fairly organized person. I keep our apartment tidy. I make our bed every morning. And I like for everything to have a spot. But I’m not going to lie: I have a “junk” drawer.

Our dresser has two slim drawers at the top where we each keep our treasures. Chris has his pocket watch, pocket knife, coins, and handkerchiefs in his.

In mine? Trinkets! It’s just random keepsakes and treasures that fit in this little catch-all drawer — far from junk, in my opinion!

What’s in your junk drawer?

Double Duty

maxi skirt dress

ohio river fashion photo

christian moerlein brewhouse

brandon phillips for president

You know my signature blue maxi skirt that I wear…well…a lot? I have the same skirt in black (seen here). This black maxi doesn’t get quite as much wear as the blue skirt, but I imagine when fall rolls around and my wardrobe isn’t quite so bright, it’ll get more wear.

This black maxi has proved very versatile, though. This past Saturday when Chris and I were in Cincinnati, we headed downtown for a dinner date at the Christian Moerlein Brewhouse. It was super hot on this day, so I wore the black maxi as a strapless dress. Talk about working double duty!

So it wasn’t just hanging there like a bag, I belted it at the waist with a vintage gold belt that I borrowed from my mom’s drawer. I paired it with my gold sandals, a black clutch, and I pulled my hair into a twisted side ponytail and knotted the base of the pony to make it a little fancier than normal for our date!

For our Cincinnati date, we parked at Newport on the Levee and walked across the bridge into Cincinnati. We hopped over to Fountain Square and sat for awhile, enjoying the breeze, and then we headed over to Christian Moerlein just in time for our reservation. After dinner, we headed home to play with Bella!

I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July!

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 6,059 other followers