My Funky Valentine

Skirt: Tinseltown, Macy's

Two Hearts Barrette Brooch

Sweater: Bar III, Macy's

Tights: JCPenney

Blazer: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Shoes: Guess, DSW

Bow: Belt from LC Lauren Conrad dress, Kohl's

Sweet Sequins Necklace

Bag: Sugar Thrillz, Dolls Kill

Jeans: Indigo Rein, Marshalls

Sunglasses: Wild Fable, Target

Tee: Elle, Kohl's

Superstar Necklace

Shoes: Katy Perry Collection, Zulily

Dress: Macy's; Coat: So, Kohl's

Bag: Simply Vera, Kohl's

Fascinator: Gifted, Barrettes: Handmade by my sister

Shoes: Mix No. 6, DSW

Red and Pink Rampage Necklace

Skirt: Mudd, Kohl's

Sweater: So, Kohl's

Rainbow bag: Zulily; Phone bag: Sugar Thrillz, Dolls Kill; Yellow bag: Betsey Johnson, Amazon

Shoes: Madden Girl, Kohl's

Wild Hearts Barrette Brooch

That's me, my own "funky valentine."  Partly because I used "punny valentine" five years ago, partly because it's a fitting moniker for someone wearing everything from cutout sweaters to what the husband described as a "Valentine's funeral hat."  Still, maybe there's a connection in there somewhere.  "Cutout" makes me think of "Cut it out," which makes me think of Dave Coulier on Full House, which makes me think of Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know."  And Alanis seems like the kind of woman who'd appreciate a Valentine's Day Massacre style topper. 

Not that I have any reason to be snarky about St. Valentine.  This lovely bouquet was waiting for me at my computer this morning:  

Oh, that husband.  As I type this, he's making us a seafood dinner!  Here we are at my parents' last weekend:

You'll notice that I swapped my hat for just the flower barrettes.  As fun as it was, it just wasn't conducive to scarfing down my mom's baked ziti, and I certainly wasn't going to let anything, fashion statement or not, get in the way of that.

So, whether you're in an Alanis or sweetheart state of mind this V-Day, I hope you had fun.  And that you ate lots of candy.

Exposed Seams and Bold Color Schemes: Living Life on the Wedge

Top: So, Kohl's

The exposed seam trend has been big this season.  So when I spotted this baby tee on a Kohl's crawl at the beginning of the summer, I thought, yes.  Yet at twenty-something dollars, it seemed overpriced.  So I bided my time and recently snagged it for just four dollars.  There's something kind of '90s about it, don't you think? (A little too ironic, yet I really do think!)  

Here are some other bargains I scored, although only the chair art was as cheap as the tee.  The blouse was seven dollars, and the shoes were close to thirty.  I ordered all the wearables online; if you've been out and about in the brick and mortars, then you already know it's slim pickins'!

Top: New York & Company

Wall art: Michaels

Shoes: Sugar, Kohl's

And just because I'm not done playing yet, here's a digitally enhanced pic from my craft room:

There's yet another nod to the '90s here in the form of this melted Coke bottle sand art.  Who else has one of these haunting her house?!

Until next time, friends, aloha!

Peach Pit Bit: Tassels and Feathers and Pompoms, Oh My

 Pom Flings Necklace

Sherbet Shenanigans Earrings

Hoodie: Macy's

Skirt: So, Kohl's

Boots: 2 Lips Too, JCPenney

Bag: Betsey Johnson, Boscov's

Geometric Electric Necklace 

Jagged Little Thrill Earrings

Top: Wet Seal

Shorts: Merona, Target

Bag: DSW, embellished by The Tote Trove

Shoes: First Love by Penny Loves Kenny, JCPenney

Scarf: A.C. Moore

Sunglasses: The Tote Trove

Seeking Sedona Necklace 

Feather Duster Earrings

Top: Zulily

Shorts: LC Lauren Conrad, Kohl's

Flip flops: Sea Star, Brigantine

Bag: Nordstrom

Sunglasses: Brigantine beach shop

I was going to call this post Coach Says Three Cheers for Coachella.  But Coachella was last weekend.  And also, I don't like that title.  So I went with this one instead.  Even though this post has nothing to do with 90210 except for two tops in the same shade as the show's namesake hangout, and tassels and feathers and pompoms, oh my sounds like the name of a southwestern strip club.  

Still, such boho accouterments make me think of Coachella, and Coachella makes me think of that cotton commercial where the woman in white takes off her big, floppy hat and dives down into the mud.  I'm all for taking chances.  But I can't help but think that this supposedly liberating act of rebellion creates more problems than it solves.  (And no, this has nothing to do with my distaste for cotton and my unapologetic allegiance to its nemesis, polyester.)  As in, where is she going to hose herself down afterward?  Certainly not in a yurt or port-a-potty!  Also, you know that that mud isn't coming out no matter how much fun Big Cotton wants her to have.  So she'll end up dirty and sad and most likely alone after her still-squeaky-clean girl squad ditches her for a pack of bun-wearing dudes who pointed and laughed as they watched the whole thing (you saw their faces; you know it's happening).  This is assuming, of course, that she didn't break anything and launch a lawsuit, the best outcome of which can be only a hemp sack full of beads and patchouli.  

Whew.  I don't know where that story came from.  I've never been to Coachella and don't ever plan to be, and the only yarn I know is the rainbow-colored kind in this Pom Flings Necklace.  Would you believe that the pompom started life as a giftwrap doodad?  Or that the pendant and charms in the Geometric Electric Necklace and Jagged Little Thrill Earrings were meant to remain -- horror of horrors -- unadorned?  Then there are the "jewels" in the Feather Duster Earrings and Seeking Sedona Necklace.  Some, I'm sure, would say that they would've been simply elegant on their own, but to me, plain Jane stones without the one-two fruit punch of kitsch and neon are like bread without butter.  

Oh, festival flare, you haven't a care, so fun to make, so easy to wear . . . so long as you stay away from the mud pit.  

Don't be like the floppy hat lady.  Always pick polyester.