Goodbye, hair

No, your eyes are not deceiving you - I chopped off all my hair! I thought it was finally time to fulfill my dream of looking like Justin Bieber. (I'm kidding - although my hair does kind of look like the Biebster's now.) It's weird and sassy and kind of boyish, but I love it! Plus, it means I can cross #5 off my 30 before 30 list. And it means that doing my hair now takes ten seconds.

I went to Lucas Salon to get it done. I can't say enough good things about that place. Every time I've been there, they've done great things to my hair. If you're ever in the Portland area and in need of a haircut, visit Lucas Salon and ask for Shiloh - she's the one who cut my hair this time, and I loved what she did.

(Don't mind my red earlobe - my ears just don't like earrings sometimes.)

Sweater: Target

Skirt: Halogen from Nordstrom Rack

Shoes: DSW

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Earrings: B. Lee Designs

Necklace: free from my aunt

My (sort of) 30 before 30 list

I've seen tons of people make a "30 before 30" list, of 30 things they want to do before they turn 30. Well, since my 30th birthday is in just over a year (I'm trying not to have a panic attack every time I think about that), I decided to make my own list. I'm calling it my "sort of" 30 before 30 list because so far I haven't been able to think of 30 things. It's tough to find a balance between crazy things that are expensive, and fun things that don't cost any money. So as I think of more, I'll add to the list, but I wanted to get it posted today because I just did one of the things on my list, and wanted to talk about it in my next post!

1. Go skydiving.

2. Get another tattoo. I have two already, but there are several more I'd like.

3. Travel somewhere new. It would be too expensive to travel somewhere like Europe, so I'll settle for traveling to a new city in Oregon if that's all I can get.

4. Pay off all debt except student loans.

5. Do something new to my hair (that I've never done before).

6. Get a piece of writing published (or at least try really, really hard).

7. Sew another quilt.

8. Save up six months of expenses. Josh thinks this is overly ambitious, because even six months of limited expenses is a very large sum of money, but I'm feeling optimistic.

9. Learn to crochet.

10. Eat at a food cart. If you live in Portland, you know how crazy it is that I've never actually been to one.

11. Eat at Portland City Grill. It's a restaurant at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the city, and it's normally absurdly expensive, but recently I learned that their happy hour prices are reasonable.

12. Go to a shooting range and learn how to shoot a gun. I'm actually anti-gun and never want to own one, but I still want to learn how to handle one properly.

13. Knit something that isn't a scarf.

14. Take a self-defense class. I'm feisty and I carry mace, but it would still be handy to know some tips for defending myself against an assaulter.

15. Go rock climbing (at a gym).

16. Adopt another dog.

17. Stay a night at McMenamins Edgefield. (I did a post full of photos of it here.)

18. Visit the Portland Art Museum. (Another thing I probably should have done a long time ago.)

19. Make a cake from scratch (icing too) and have it look pretty. I have no problem making delicious desserts - I just have trouble making them look nice.

20. Learn to drive a stick shift. I think this is the goal that makes Josh the happiest, because he's been wanting to own a stick shift for years.

21. Switch to buying all organic milk in glass jars. I know this one sounds all hippy-dippy - but I am kind of a hippy!

If any of you have suggestions for 9 more things to add to my list, let me know!

A once-a-year dress

The last time I wore this dress was more than a year ago (here). I know people always say that you should have a closet full of clothes you wear all the time, but I think there's something fun about having a lot of dresses that I only wear a few times a year. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm easily bored - if I only had five dresses, I'd hate them all pretty quickly. Instead, I have about thirty, and still feel pretty excited to wear all of them.

Turtleneck: Kohl's

Dress: Sweet Jayne

Coat: purchased in China

Tights: American Apparel

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Earrings: free from my aunt

Necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Plain Jane

Here's a "plain Jane" outfit from the other day. Apart from the wrinkly skirt, I thought it was cute, even if it was a bit simple. During the afternoon that I wore this outfit, while I was snacking on some popcorn, part of one of my teeth broke off. Ahhhh! It was a horrifying experience, to pull a chunk of broken tooth out of my mouth. But thankfully I got it fixed yesterday, and I think I'll steer clear of popcorn for a while.

Also - where the heck did my eyebrows go?! I wish they would show up in photos more often...

Shirt: J. Crew

Skirt: Anthropologie

Jacket: Macy's

Tights: American Apparel

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hat: H&M

Scarf: made by me

Bald patches

I'm so tired of buying black tights and having them disappoint me. Both pairs of black tights I bought at American Apparel ripped (one pair ripped the first day I wore it!), and this pair from Target that I'm wearing in these photos appear to have bald patches. (And you thought the title of this post was referring to my hair, didn't you?) I just want a pair of solid black tights that have an even tone and don't rip the moment I put them on - is that too much to ask of life?

Other than the tights issue, I loved this outfit. I'm glad I found an excuse to wear my giant fuzzy black hat in a way that doesn't make me look totally insane. (Unless it does, in which case I guess I'm not very self-aware.)

Top: Old Navy

Jacket: MICHAEL Michael Kors from Nordstrom Rack

Skirt: Forever 21 brand, thrifted from Crossroads Trading Co.

Tights: Target

Flats: ShoeMint

Hat and scarf: Fred Meyer

Necklace and earrings: free from my aunts

Cozy 80's sweater and a shopping ban

It's been so cold here lately, so I've been wearing a lot of bulky, cozy sweaters. I love this gray sweater that my aunt gave me. She found it when she was cleaning out her apartment. I think it's from the 80's. It was more obviously 80's before I cut out the shoulder pads, but now I think it looks quite cute. One of my other aunts gave me this necklace. I get so much free stuff from my three aunts, it's ridiculous. Right now I especially appreciate their hand-me-downs, because I'm banned from buying clothes. Josh and I are trying to kill off the rest of our non-student loan debt, so for the next few months I have a clothing budget of $0. So far I've gone a month and a half without buying any clothes, and it's been rough. I don't think I've gone that long without buying clothes for years. I think my no shopping challenge will be good for both our budget, and my frame of mind when it comes to shopping. I don't need to be constantly buying things in order to have a good wardrobe.

Sweater: free from my aunt

Coat: Marks and Spencer

Jeans: Levi's

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hat: H&M

Necklace: free from my aunt

Bracelet: gift

Project Runway unconventional materials challenge

All photos from this source

I watched last week's episode of Project Runway last night. If you don't watch that show, I would highly recommend it - it's the only "reality" show I can handle. I love the clothes, I love the snark, I love the drama. Last week's episode was the unconventional materials challenge, which is always my favorite. The contestants are sent to an unusual store to buy the supplies for their outfits - grocery store, pet store, candy store. This time they went to a flower store and hardware store. I loved the results so much that I thought I'd share some of my favorites. (As well as the one I hated, because, well, why not?) Also, I had no outfit photos to share, so there's that reason, too :)

I love Kate's dress (pictured above) because it's so frou frou and over the top. Michelle and Richard's dress, below, is kind of bondage-meets-salad, which is weird and very interesting...

The next two dresses I only liked the backs of. I love the asymmetrical string straps and ombré flower petals on Benjamin's dress, and the exposed hardware on Amanda's...

Patricia's outfit was the one I absolutely loathed. I thought it was hideous and nonsensical, and I feel fairly certain that even though I am not crafty, I could have made something similar in a day and a half...

My favorite dress was Layana's - I think it's a work of art, and I could definitely picture someone wearing it on the red carpet....

Do any of you watch Project Runway? I'm sad that Michael Kors isn't one of the judges this season. I miss his particular brand of brilliant, witty snark. And I feel like all the contestants are being too nice to each other with this team challenge. I miss the days of people yelling at each other and calling each other names behind their backs.

Old news

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that these photos are from September of last year. I forgot about them, but stumbled upon them the other day and thought I may as well post them, because the weather has gone through its horrible winter phase and has circled back around to being semi-pleasant, so this outfit is actually something I would be able to wear right now. (With the addition of a light jacket, of course.)

The leaf in the background of the top photo is driving me nuts, but I couldn't erase it because I don't have mad Photoshop skills, so I apologize for the eyesore.

Shirt: Target

Pants: thrifted

Boots: Urban Outfitters

Necklace: Dress Barn

Bracelet: In Pink

A small dose of color

On Saturday I went on a cleaning spree in our bedroom, reorganizing things and getting rid of clothes I no longer wear. I arranged my tights in a vintage suitcase so I can see them all at once. I completely forgot about most of them. This winter I've been wearing mostly black and brown tights, so it was nice to rediscover these green tights. I've only worn them one other time (here), because I can only handle colored tights in small doses. I think the pop of green between the skirt and the boots was just right.

Sweater: Target

Skirt: Anthropologie

Jacket: MICHAEL Michael Kors from Nordstrom Rack
Tights: American Apparel
Boots: Urban Outfitters
Necklace: free from my aunt

All black

This outfit is from a couple weeks ago, but I've been a bad blogger lately and haven't been posting. There's so much going on in this outfit, I'm not sure what to call it. Spiky floral goth-splosion? I can't say I'm crazy about the way it looks in photos, but I had fun wearing it, and it was super comfy.

Sweater: Target

Floral blouse: thrifted

Skirt: H&M

Tights: Forever 21

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell Lita heels from Solestruck

Spider necklace: Bauble Bar

On the fringe

I love this fringe skirt that I got at Anthropologie about a month ago. It feels trendy without being too trendy - I think it's something I'll be able to wear even a few years from now. The only problem is that it sheds, which won't matter later in the year when I can wear it with bare legs, but when I wear it now with black tights, my knees and thighs end up looking all man-ish and hairy. Thank goodness for lint rollers.

And I decided to wear it with a blazer from the 90's because it just felt right. Also because I never had a chance to wear blazers like this when I actually lived through the 90's.

Sweater: Kohl's

Skirt: Anthropologie

Tights: American Apparel

Shoes: DSW

Blazer: from my mom, probably from the 90's

Necklace: gift

Bracelet: won in a giveaway

Psych

I guess I was just kidding about being back from my blog break, because I decided to take another week off. It's just so darn hard to care about what I wear when it's this cold outside. (For reference, "cold" to me is 30-40 degrees. I realize that many of you have to regularly deal with temperatures below zero, but I don't, so 30 degrees is pretty shocking.) When I wore this outfit yesterday to church and lunch, I was so cold I kept the coat on the whole time. At least my outfit looked kind of cute with the coat layered on top.

Sweater: Gap

Coat: Marks and Spencer

Skirt: vintage Pendleton, from an antiques show

Boots: DV by Dolce Vita from Piperlime

Necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Back from a break

After a two-week unintentional blog break, I'm back! My absence was due to many causes: absurdly cold weather that made me unable to put any effort into my outfits, a lack of interest in my blog (I've heard that's pretty typical for bloggers when the new year hits), and a wrist injury that forced me to stop doing anything involving repetitive movements (like typing and clicking on the computer).

I think I wore this exact outfit four or five times during the past two weeks, just switching out the sweater under the cardigan. I've been obsessed with jeans, sweaters and boots this winter. I love these boots, which I bought with some Christmas money. They have a slight heel (because I just can't get enough of my heels), but they're comfortable enough to walk all over the city in. Some people think suede shoes are impractical for someone who lives in rainy Oregon, but as long as it's not pouring outside, they'll hold up just fine.

Cardigan: Cynthia Rowley from TJ Maxx

Coat and scarf: Marks and Spencer

Jeans: Levi's

Boots: DV by Dolce Vita from Piperlime

Necklace: Forever 21

Belt: thrifted

In a rut

I'm in a jeans and boots rut this winter. It's been so cold lately, and that makes me want to wear simple, warm clothing - although I think the pretty pink shirt and vest kicked it up a notch from plain to interesting.

Shirt: American Eagle

Vest: free from my aunt

Jeans: Levi's

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

No bun in my oven

This is a maternity dress, but I'm not pregnant. There's no real distinct line separating normal clothes from maternity clothes at Target, so one day I wandered into the maternity section, picked up this dress because it was cute, and didn't realize until I was wearing it in the fitting room that it was maternity. I don't mind too much. The stretchy panel at the waist is nice for those days when I eat just a bit too much :)

And because it was too ridiculous not to share, here is what happened right before we took the first photo in this post...

Dress: Target

Turtleneck: Old Navy

Tights: American Apparel

Boots: Steve Madden from Zappos

Coat: purchased in China

Hat: gift from my aunt

Bracelet: In Pink

Spiky

I know Jeffrey Campbell Litas are kind of a cliché in the blogging world (or at least they were a year ago), but I love them anyway and have wanted a pair for years. So I was very excited that Josh got me this spiky pair for Christmas! They're actually really comfortable to walk in, and the spikes are sharp. (Watch out, muggers. I may not be able to run away from you, but at least I can stab you with my shoes.)

My shoe collection is a bit ridiculous at this point. I'd say about half my closet is made up of shoes like these - awesome to look at, but kind of impractical to wear for some of the activities I engage in, like running errands or walking to the library. I don't care, though - my crazy shoes make me happy :)

Dress: Nordstrom Rack

Jacket: MICHAEL Michael Kors from Nordstrom Rack

Tights: American Apparel

Boots: Jeffrey Campbell from Solestruck

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Monochromatic

I wore this outfit to church last Sunday, but was so cold during the service that I had to keep my coat, scarf and gloves on the entire time. (Seen in the bottom photo.) Good thing I had a cool, monochromatic look going on with all that brown.

Sweater: H&M

Skirt: Target brand, thrifted from Goodwill

Tights: American Apparel

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Hat: Albertus Swanepoel for Target

Scarf and coat: Marks and Spencer

Camel pin: gift, from Bethlehem