Another year, another…well, another year. Plenty of things change, even more stays the same, and it’s always nice to have a look back and reminisce a bit. Here are some of my 2011 favorites from The Style Sample:

Thanks for hanging out with me here in 2011. Here’s to a great 2012!

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The great thing about having a mom who reads your blog (besides the fact that supportive moms are the best EVER), is that they kind of already know what you want for Christmas. Selfish Wish List posts are like public letters to Santa!

I posted this query for flat boots and reader Tamu really came through with suggestions. I got these comfy Calvin Klein boots for Christmas!

After expressing my obsession with non-ugly camera bags, I found this Epiphanie bag under the Christmas tree. I LOVE this purse-bag! It works perfectly with the little gift I bought myself…

…A “used” new-in-box Nikon 18-55 VR lens to replace an old lens that was broken in a freak parking lot incident (the camera crashed to the ground and I swear I stood there with tears in my eyes willing time to move backwards for a good five minutes).

Yay for grown-up toys! Did you get anything good?

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I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

~T

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So, the Best Holiday Ever is coming this weekend, and I still have no idea what or who I want to be. I swear I had plenty of ideas back in June–what happened to them?

For inspiration, I looked at some of my costumes from years past:

I MIGHT take this whole costume thing too seriously sometimes…

I see a pattern here…maybe this year it’s Hammertime ? Any other suggestions? Help!

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AG shirt; vintage shorts and belt, Daniblack shoes

I picked up these shorts for 99 cents at the St. Vincent de Paul on Este Avenue (which is now clearly my new favorite store) and took them up a few inches during a DIY sewing kick. I’m not usually into dressing matchy-matchy, but I couldn’t resist wearing my striped espadrilles with a striped top–you know, as a nod to the whole holiday thing.

 

Hope tee, $90  |  Acne Aquata shorts, $89  | Madison Harding espadrilles, $165

Happy 7/4/11!

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Between hanging out with my family, acting as an all-you-can-eat buffet for mosquitoes, and perfecting my smoothie-making technique (I’m up to two per day. Seriously, it’s a problem), I spent most of the holiday weekend working on the new issue of Style Sample magazine. You can read the online version here, and order a copy of the print edition–which includes a pretty awesome bonus feature on personal styling–here.

I didn’t even get to see fireworks, and I love fireworks.  Ah, well. Maybe Labor Day…

How was your weekend?

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Hope everyone had a happy new year! Mine was spent in seclusion save a few sanity-preserving outings:

NYE

New Year’s Eve was spent hunkered down on the couch, swathed in a Smurf-blue Snuggie with my computer on my lap. There was a very klassy orange juice and beer toast with FriendBoy at midnight before I got back to work and finally nodded off around 3am. How exciting!
Quick tip: Do not try to use the bathroom while wearing a Snuggie–it won’t turn out well. Don’t say I never taught you anything.

Friday

On Friday, FriendBoy and I went to see his sister (who lives in Florida and was visiting for the holidays) and his new niece. The baby is only two months old and is such a cute little dollbaby! No, really, she’s a ringer for a Cabbage Patch doll. I almost turned her over to look for the Xavier Roberts signature on her butt.

Saturday

On Saturday, I had to drop foster kitty Beauregard off at PetSmart, where he will remain for two weeks or until adopted, whichever comes first. I have to admit, I teared up when they put him in the kitty crate in the adoption area–he looked so confused. FriendBoy had to practically drag me away, and it was hard not to cry at the idea that he might think I abandoned him. He’s just such a sweet little guy.

Both of those outings took longer than intended, so I really had to sequester myself from the rest of the world in order to get the new issue of Style Sample together in time. Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the blogging community (I really love y’all), a new cover girl and emergency writer came through and we’re ready to roll! Thanks Andy and Anna!

How was your New Year’s weekend?

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Hope everyone had a great holiday! I had fun spending time with the fam and giving and receiving gifts, including this lovely new Nikon D3000 that I have no idea how to operate (but thanks for the surprise, Dad!), a new TV and a TV cabinet from IKEA (thanks Mom!), which FriendBoy and I put together in record time. I’m telling you, trying to make 378 pieces of compressed wood and a smattering of screws into something resembling furniture is the true test of a relationship.

Setting up the new stuff made me want to clean out the old, and in the process of clearing out (some of) the darn near ceiling-high stacks of magazines I’ve accumulated over the years, I came across my prize publication: The September 1993 issue of American Vogue. Can you believe I still have this? A testament to my pack-rat tendencies.

There are some…”interesting” early 9o’s throwbacks in the issue, including Drew Barrymore’s Guess ad, an article about the revival of punk (I guess some things never change), and page after page of “New Romantic” looks–think Linda, Kate, and Christy sporting layers of velvet and paisley and Seinfeld-esque puffy shirts! It’s just too good not to share, so once I get my scanner situation figured out, I’ll post some images.

How was your holiday? Did you do anything exciting?

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I hope everyone has/had a wonderful holiday (depending on which ones you celebrate)! I’m looking forward to throwing on my eatin’ dress and spending time with my crazy/hilarious/wonderful family.

Merry Christmas!

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I figured I’d better let everyone know what I want, just in case y’all have extra money lying around. Because, you know, so many people do these days.

1. Alexis Bittar arrow earrings I love the tough-glam vibe these give off.

2. Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk and Art Direction & Editorial Design by Abrams Studio Motivate and create, baby!

3. Subscription to Lynda.com There’s so much out there to learn, and I’ve found the video tutorials here to be really helpful for learning everything from CSS to Illustrator.

4. SK-II Facial Treatment Mask Perfect, moist, glowing skin in 20 minutes? Yes, please!

5. Moroccan Hair Oil Yes, it’s made with argan oil, which is pressed from argan nuts retrieved from the poop of Moroccan goats. Obviously I’ll do ridiculous things for nice hair. ‘Cause I’m vain.

6. Reinhard Plank Alpino hat For the days I run out of Moroccan Oil.

7. IKEA Mysa Ljung comforter I can’t pronounce it either, but it’s so soft and snuggly. I’d wrap it around me like a cape and turn down the heat in hopes of saving on my electric bill.

8. XPress Redi-Set-Go Grill I could make Fancy Gourmet Meals in just 15 minutes! It has dual heating elements to cut cooking time in half! And I saw it on TV, so you know it must be good.

9. Aphrodite Pro Font Family Might as well embrace my inner font, excuse me, typeface nerd and move from the free stuff into paid. I love all the swashes and flourishes in this family.

10. Chloe Thigh-high boots In my dreams, obviously, but the green suede version has been haunting my footwear fantasies for the better part of a year.

11. Voluspa Burmese Rosewood candle Warm and soft, but not too sweet. Perfect for cold winter nights.

12. Subscription to Russh magazine One of my favorites (though, apparently, there are no black people in Australia), but it’s a bit costly to pick up at the newsstand every month.

13. Rachel Rachel Roy draped sleeveless top The print fits in with my color scheme, and I love the tunic length and assymetrical hem.

So, that’s my wish list for Santa. What’s on yours?

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