Something New and Sparkly: Feminine Fancies Straight from the Horse's Mouth

 Fabulous Felt Teeth Barrette

Top: Marshalls

Skirt: Strawbridge & Clothier

Shoes: Not Rated, Journeys

Bag: Xhilaration, Target

 Fabulous Felt Chocolate Chip Cookies Barrette

Blouse: UK Style by French Connection for Sears

Skirt: Macy's

Shoes: Bongo, Kohl's

Bag: Candie's, Kohl's

Scarf: Gifted

 Fabulous Felt Cupcakes Barrette

Sweater: Sweater Project, Macy's

Dress: Annie Sez

Shoes: Guess, DSW

Bag: Wet Seal

Fabulous Felt Glamour Girl Barrette

Top: Express

Jeans: UNIONBAY, Kohl's

Shoes: MetroStyle

Bag: Journeys

Scarf: Nine West

Fabulous Felt Bows Barrette

Top: Marshalls

Skirt: City Streets, JCPenney

Bag: Bisou Bisou, JCPenney

Shoes: Barefeet Shoes

There's something girly about bow-wearing teeth, cookies, cupcakes, makeup, and bows.  There's also something girly about horses.

A few weeks ago I happened upon the Saturday morning cartoon "Horseland."  It was, unsurprisingly, about a bunch of tween girls who hang out at a stable and ride talking horses.  The lesson of this episode was resisting the evils of cell phones, as one particularly chatty equestrian-in-the-making becomes so entrenched in her conversation that she neglects to cover her horse for the night, almost causing her to catch her death of cold.  For some reason I couldn't look away from this technologically-touched morality tale, continuing to quip about it for weeks to come.  It's no wonder, commented the bf-turned-fiance, looking meaningfully down at my horse book.

The horse book is my pocket calendar, chosen not so much for its equine cover as for its availability in that retail wasteland of a month known as February. Of course, I can't help but think that it's the fiance who's been struck by horse fever, seeing as he scrawled the following (cropped out) ad libs on three of the 2012 calendar pages:

"Mom, slow down!"

"Yes, here is my glamour shot."

"Some say I look like a cow."

I'd like to say that there's a felted horse (or unicorn!) barrette in my future, but horse shapes are kind of tricky.  No matter; it gives me something to leap for. 

Something New and Sparkly: Fiesta Forever

Felt Flower Fiesta Corsage Necklace

Top: Kohl's

Skirt: Steve Madden, ROSS Dress for Less

Leggings: UK Style by French Connection for Sears

Shoes: Ann Marino, Marshalls

Bag: Marshalls

I never imagined I'd quote a Lionel Richie lyric, much less on the blog.  But it happened.  Still, "fiesta forever" seemed like a good descriptor for my new Felt Flower Fiesta Corsage Necklace.  Like so many of my neckpieces, it turned out bigger than I expected, although not in a bad way.  Its tropical vibe makes me think of an exotic bazaar (sounds so much better than flea market, don't you think?) crammed with colorful tables yielding secrets.  Well, not so much secrets as oddities.  Crumbling, one-eyed statues.  Tinsel-shot scarves.  Perfumes that smell more like potions.  And of course, decades-old, can't-find-it-anywhere-else jewelry.

**As a disclaimer, this necklace is brand new and comes from no such place, but rather a smoke-and pet-free seaside cottage.  Even so, it's nice to paint a picture. :)