Donna Draper

Glasses: Prada (ooh la la) | Necklace: gift from my parents | Dress: Anthropologie | Boots: Belk | Lips: NARS Funny Face

Okay, so a few notes on the things I'm wearing.

First of all, I have new glasses! I smudged them within five minutes of wearing them, which is par for the course for me. I feel very modern Mad Men in them. Trying on glasses is probably the only opportunity I'll ever have to wear things by the likes of Tom Ford and Prada.

Second, this dress was a Christmas gift from me to me, wrapped by my mom because I'm weird and like to buy things for myself for Christmas and then unwrap them. I stalked the green version of this dress online for a while but it was ridiculously expensive and I resigned myself to the fact that I would never have it. I ended up in Charlotte to get a new Mac power cable, and I swung by Anthro while I was at the mall and they had this colour version of the dress--and it was $40! WORTH IT.

Three--that pink thing on my arm is not some cool new thing. (If it is will someone please tell me so I know?) Over the weekend I went for a walk with my mom and on the way back I caught a glimpse of our neighbour's horse with her leg through the fence. We went down into her field to try and help her, and of course she bit me. Like the took a big old chunk of my arm. Nerves, definitely, but I wasn't too pleased. (We ultimately got her separated from the fence, thanks to a sharp pair of wire cutters.) I iced it but it actually turned slightly green--and I don't bruise, so greenish is bad for me--and it's extremely tender, sore, and slightly hard. I read online that KT tape sometimes helps with swelling and soreness, so I swung by the Cardiganland sports place and picked up a roll. So far, it's at the least stabilized the area and it doesn't hurt as much, so that's nice! And now I have a roll of KT tape in case (for when?) I get hurt running. Because let's be honest, when you run, it's bound to happen.

My kingdom for a brooch

Brooches: my mom's | Sweater: Kohl's | Skirt: Talbots | Tights: Target, no doubt | Flats: Target

Salazar always has amazing brooches, which makes me want to put a lot more effort into developing a bigger collection of my own. As it stands, almost all of my brooches--including the six (six!) in today's outfit--are direct hand-me-downs from my mom, which she wore quite often at her office job. One, a white fish, came all the way from my grandmother. The only "brooches" I've contributed to my own collection are Cape May beach tags, which is pathetic. (Not that I don't love my beach tags, because I do!) I made a huge mistake by going on Etsy, because now there are star shaped brooches in my eyes and I want to dump a pile of cash on everything from octopi and birds to bows (Salazar this seems very you!) and a station wagon with a canoe on top because why the hell not. Someone get me away from Etsy before I fritter away my entire massive public servant salary.

Frazzle dazzle

Bow: my parents' stash | Necklace: JCPenney | Top: J.Crew Factory | Skirt: Talbots | Heels: Urban Outfitters | Lips: Maybelline Are You Red-dy

I usually kind of wait until the last minute to figure out what to do for SIA, but this time around I knew exactly what I wanted to do: jack my hair up to Jesus. I think it's a kind of sourthern thing to tease the living daylights out of your hair, but considering this week's inspiration, how could I not do it myself? And I feel like I fit the theme. So I'm pleased. I picked blue shoes to highlight the itty bitty tornado in the woman's hand. I tried to find one myself but it's not really tornado season. Womp womp.

Check out 14 Shades of Grey tomorrow for Salazar's Style Imitating Art roundup! And just a note--SIA is taking a break for the holidays. We'll return on January 4th, 2016 (2016!!) with Jen's next pick!

SIA: PSA

Stressed Out by Layla Holzer
Ink & pastel on paper, 2015

This week's Style Imitating Art inspiration is compliments of an illustrated interview with Layla Holzer (click the title of the artwork to see the interview--it's really neat!). This is the perfect time for a piece like this: it looks holiday-y, but it's also all about that end-of-year stress so many of us encounter. I'm stressed right now about a billion different things, but it's a tempest in a teapot (see tiny cyclone) compared to so many other people. And I feel lucky to have so many things that are good in my life.

And one of those good things is SIA! Send your photos inspired by this piece to Salazar by Monday, December 14th to be included, and she will post the roundup on Tuesday!

Hello from the other side

Jacket: Target | Dress: Old Navy | Belt: Target | Tights: probably Target | Boots: Target

The other side of the holidays, that is. My boyfriend put up his tree, which is 100% decorated with ornament discards from my parents. I kind of love it though--it's like my tree, but somewhere else! And it's nice to look at all the ornaments and think of all the people that have helped make these ornaments, especially my grandmother. She died when I was only 5, but I have some fond and comical memories of her. In addition, we found a black Santa ornament, painted by her. She took me to an AME church when I was little and she drove an old Red Cross station wagon stuff to the gills with crap. So when I look at the tree, with all its unique and weird and cute and kitsch ornaments, I'm reminded of her and how funny she was. And then I look at the bottom of the tree and see a cat rolling around under it and knocking a poor wool cardinal off its branch. Perfect.

Style Imitating Art: Freedom from Want

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS. Everyone looks so amazing this week!!! AAAAAH! As a reminder, this week's SIA inspiration was Freedom from Want by Norman Rockwell but let's get to the outfits because I am dying.

Erin at Loop Looks took her photos by her parents' dining table, which is so perfect for this week's SIA! And she looks so stylish, too.



I love the comfortable but put together look Alison of Nouveau North Westerners submitted! And the blue is stunning on her--perfect for her skin tone, right?



Kezzie at Kezzie AG has a BROCCOLI BROOCH. Adorable!!



Mike looks super sharp in his suit! He managed to match his suit shirt to the blue in the painting. Awesome!



Noelle at The Classy Junk found a great backdrop for her photos too! And I'm pretty sure we own the same scarf. (Is there anyone who doesn't have a scarf similar to this one this season?) She looks great!



I love SIA curator Jen of Librarian for Life and Style's outfit--it's so classically chic. Yes please!



My SIA co-creator Salazar at 14 Shades of Grey looks really modern in her outfit. She said this silhouette is awkward but I'm not seeing it--I think it looks great on her!



And then there's me! Hiiiii from what feels like the wettest part of America.



I am blown away by how everyone nailed this week's SIA. I kind of want to photoshop us all together in one big SIA family photo! Thank you all for participating!

SIA: PSA

Freedom from Want, by Norman Rockwell
Oil on canvas, 1943

I get to choose this week's artwork for SIA, and I feel like for me, personally, it's a burden and a gift. I found out about what happened in Paris right before I went to bed that night, and I haven't slept well since. Our world is in crisis in so many ways, and now I'm being slapped left and right with reminders of the commercialism that has overtaken the winter holidays. Do people in America even care what Thanksgiving is about anymore? That two groups of people who didn't know or understand each other still assumed good faith and sat down together for a basket of corn and a pile of eels? To love, to care, to hope for better?

So I struggled with what to pick for SIA this week. I wanted something that would embody some happiness for the holidays, that compassion of family (even when they talk politics) and love and care for one another. Nothing screams that quite like Norman Rockwell, so here in all its glory is the famous Freedom from Want. I've always loved Norman Rockwell's ability to capture sentimentality, and there's no better example of that in his body of work than this one painting.

Send me your photos inspired by Freedom from Want by Monday, November 30th, to be included!

SIA: PSA

Capax Infiniti, by Faith 47
Paint on brick, 2014

To pile worse on top of bad, I was on vacation without access to the blog world because my computer power cord broke and I had to leave the computer at home! But here, belatedly, is this week's SIA, selected by Jen. This mural is part of the Forest for the Trees initiative to support public art in Portland, Oregon. I love public art, especially on walls of buildings--I'm always so impressed by the scale that mural artists are able to achieve--and Capax Infiniti is no different. It's absolutely beautiful, especially the draping and shading.

Below is a photo collage that Jen made when she saw the mural last year, which gives us a better idea of scale and the colours used in the mural. Submit your photos to Jen by Monday, November 16th to be included in this week's collection!

Sweet teeth

I hope you all had a happy Halloween! I had to work yesterday, so I went with something fairly easy to move in, and Sweet Tooth is now my favourite costume as an adult of all time. (Cousin It still takes the cake for childhood.) I tweeted Jeff Lemire, the author of this great comic, and he favourited and retweeted this photo. So I feel like Halloween was a success. Did any of you guys dress up? What were you?

SIA: PSA

The Seasons, by Alphonse Mucha
Colour lithograph, 1896

I was in the process of writing the code for this post and unceremoniously dumped a bowl of pasta on my lap. RIP carbs!

But anyway--this week's Style Imitating Art inspiration is compliments of Alphonse Mucha, whose beautiful artwork reminds me of a fantastical version of John William Waterhouse. The colours, the lines, and with this set, the group--everything is so well placed and has clearly been considered, but Mucha still manages to maintain some whimsy.

Send Salazar your SIA photos by Monday, November 2nd to be included!

Sitting duck

Top: handmade; shirt itself from Walmart | Skirt: Talbots | Flats: Target

I only wear this top once every four years or so. I'd say I don't know why, but I know exactly why: it's too short. You guys, it's practically a crop top on me. I was a moron and found the perfect shirt for making my own version of the 2008 ModCloth shirt above, and then chucked it into the wash and it shrunk. Of course, I didn't notice until I had spent dozens of hours stitching on strips of sequins, and was like I DON'T CARE I'LL WEAR IT ANYWAY. And then I didn't. But I should just sew a strap of fabric on the bottom to make it longer, right? Red, white, something different? I don't know. But I do know that this shirt has survived at least 6 serious closet weedings, so maybe I need to take it a little more seriously.

Runner's high

Shades: Party City | Necklace: J.Crew Factory | Top: J.Crew Factory | Skirt: this one from Modcloth | Wedges: Target | Lips: NARS Funny Face

I ran (like legit ran, except for a few walks) my second 5k on Saturday, and managed to not die! My only goal was to make it in less than an hour, and my time ended up being 45:48! I'm really pleased, because I'm generally a pretty slow runner. If I had known I was so close to under 45, I would have pushed it a little harder--but regardless, I'm happy. I loved the race I ran (it's a small one in Cardiganland), and now I have a legit 3.1 mile course fairly close to where I live that I can train on! I'm already aiming for a 5k in January and I'm hoping to shave my time down to sub-40 by then. Ultimately, my official year long goal is to run the Great Smoky Mountains Half Marathon on September 10th, 2016. I might be insane, and I might have to walk parts of it, but I'm doing it. And I'm really excited. Doing the math, it makes sense--I can spend the rest of this year focusing on my 5k work, then start nailing down a 10k training program. The half marathon training program I've found is a 16 week program, and that leaves me with the first five months of 2016 to really get ready for that. I have no delusions of grandeur here; I know I'm in for pain and misery and torture and long nights at the gym and a lot of hours on my sneakers, but I'm kind of looking forward to it.

I mean, I'm going to hate myself immensely while I'm running. But I'm still going to do it.

Style Imitating Art: Leopard I

It's Style Imitating Art time! Yessssss. This week's inspiration was Leopard I by Megan Carn. Let's get to it!

First up is Stephanie, who doesn't have (a lot of) leopard--but that doesn't matter! Her outfit still rings true to the painting, and even the backdrop matches!



Next is Erin of Loop Looks, who looks super sharp. I love that she licked a location that also matches this week's painting!



Noelle of The Classy Junk embodied this week's inspiration without the leopard! (Well, mostly.) I love that she still has a pattern in the same family going!



Carriehas a really cute top that emulates the same pattern as the leopard. It has a really cool vibe, and the colours complement the painting, too!



SIA co-curator Jen of Librarian for Life and Style found a light blue cardigan to wear with her leopard skirt. And red lips! Everything about her outfit works so well together!



And other SIA co-curator Salazar at 14 Shades of Grey is wearing burgundy, which I would have never even thought of. But Salazar knows how to class it up better than I do so I'm not surprised ;)



And then there's me! I dig this outfit, even if my pencil skirt kind of hung off me all day...



I love this week's entries. Everyone looks vibrant and bold (I guess leopard does that to you, even if you don't actually wear it), and these outfits are so stylish. Thank you all for participating!