To Learn

Today I instituted CASUAL FRIDAY here at Leaving the House in THIS?!?

Really it was just an excuse to wear comfy jeans and my new Chucks which were a much squealed over Christmas gift from my handsome hubby.

On top of realizing that "Casual Friday" isn't nearly as thrilling when there isn't a formal dress code to rebel against, I also learned something while looking at these pictures.

When one has legs that aren't the longest on Earth

and perhaps the longest torso known to man

slouchy boyfriend jeans that sit low on the hips should NEVER be cuffed just above one's shoes.

Unless, Hobbit is the look one is going for.

Lesson Learned.

And I'm passing that lesson right along to you.  I beg you to learn from my mistakes!!

Slouchy BF Jeans; Striped Tunic

Purple Cardi: 2nd Hand; Scarf: St. Louis Art Museum

Chucks & Key Necklace: gifted from my handsome hubby

I should also mention it is still frickin' freezing around here!!

How about where you are?

skeleton key necklace

To Deal With A Crazy Driver

Well, as promised yesterday, I ventured out into the icy tundra that has become our little southern city.

And as suspected, it wasn't the road that caused me problems.  It was a driver.

One Driver in particular, as a matter of fact.

Me.

White Sweater: Thrifted; Jean Skirt: Express

Hat: American Eagle; Pashmina: Gifted

Blue Tights: Target; White Socks: Target

Rain Boots (because they are water proof & have traction so they work in snow as long as you have several layers of socks and tights on under them): Steve Madden

At least I can laugh at myself.

I navigated safely out of my neighborhood.  I made it over the river and through the woods to Lexi's house without a hitch.  And then I, duh duh duuuuuh, came upon Lexi's steeply inclined and downward sloped driveway.

I knew as I was pulling in that it was not a smart place to park.  But I ignored my instincts and parked there anyway.  At least I knew enough, I thought, to park on a spot without ice to avoid the car sliding when I wasn't in it.  I wanted to ensure my car was staying put, so I drove way down into her driveway.

Well, stay put it did.  It stayed put even after I tried to back it out so that I could go home. My problem was that on my initial attempt to get up the hill, I hesitated to avoid hitting a car driving up her street.  Doh.  Everyone who knows anything about driving on ice knows that slow and STEADY wins the race.  He who hesitates is lost.   {...trying to come up with another cliché to put in her but I'm stumped}

Thankfully, Lexi's wonderful husband was willing to remove a lion's share of the ice from their driveway and move one of their cars so that I could shimmy over to the side of the driveway covered in snow rather than ice.  Anyone who knows anything about driving on ice knows that driving on snow is WAAAAY easier.

With a little help from my friends I made it home safely and learned the lesson that I've been saying over and over again over the past few days.  It doesn't matter how much experience you have driving on ice and snow.  Nobody drives well on ice.  And if I ~er ~ they try to tell you they do, they are most definitely kidding themselves.

To Plan Ahead

Confession: Once again, I'm sharing an outfit that I didn't wear YESTERDAY.

When reports of the upcoming storm started to bombard every media outlet late last week, I decided to bank an outfit just in case we got snowed in and I didn't want to get out of my jammies one day.

I mean, because really there is just NO WAY that these puppies could have survived 6 inches of snow that has been slushified and iced over.  I just wouldn't do subject them to something so treacherous.

Can you tell that behind that little smirk, I'm plotting a lazy snow day...

Black Velvet Jacket: Thrifted

Purple Button Down: Express (similar)

Black Vest: H&M (similar)

Grey Wool(ish) Mini: Old Navy (similar)

Grey Tights; Plaid Heels: Madden Girl

Necklace: Bracelet + Ribbon; Headband: Target (VERY similar)

Well, my planning ahead paid off.  These pictures allowed me to stay jammified most of the day yesterday and still have (what I think is) a pretty cute outfit to share with you today!

And without further ado, I'm headed out to brave the other drivers slushy roads and make sure the rest of the city hasn't perished under our blizzard like conditions!

What are you up to today?

To Enjoy the Snowchosis

Snowchosis: [snoh-koh-sis] –noun, a mental disorder characterized by symptoms, such as delusions of blizzards or hallucinations of snowpocalyse, that indicate impaired contact with reality.

We got six and a half inches of snow yesterday!

We knew it was coming MUCH earlier in the week so there was plenty of time to prepare.

You know, like bum rush the grocery stores and buy them out of bread & milk lay down salt and prepare trucks to scrape the roads in time for rush hour?

Except on THURSDAY, a radio DJ actually said, "Be prepared to go to sleep on Sunday and then to not leave your house until Tuesday."

Everything in the city was closed.  I'm not kidding.

Even. The. Mall. Closed.

It's like the entire city just gave up and said, "SNOW DAY!"

Black Skinny Cords; Grey Military Sweater Coat
Brown Boots (similar); Flower Ear Warmer (similar)

So rather than fight it, we decided to go with the snowchosis and enjoyed every minute of our day off!!!

**And just in case you're keeping score, my Pops got me that sweater for Christmas.  He picked it out! Impressive, yes?  And that adorable hat was a gift from my VERY fashionable (some might call her a muse) cousin, Amie. Thank you both for keeping me styling!**

Grey Double Breasted Sweater Coat

The Muse Project - Volume 3

Oh how I wish I could remember how I found WAKING LIFE.  If I could figure out whose blog led me there I would hunt her down and give her a big, fat kiss on the lips. And I'm totally heterosexual AND married... so, are you starting to get how appreciative I am?

Caitlin is the lovely style maven who illuminates the pages of WAKING LIFE.

And when I say "illuminate", can you see what I mean?

Caitlin's style is what I consider fearless.  Her outfits are edgy but her silhouettes are classic.  She mixes prints, textures and bold colors with such ease I'm often left wondering, "Why didn't I think of that?"

AND HER HATS?!?!

Lordy, lordy, lordy her hats (& other hair accouterments) will make your mouth hang open in sheer awe and utter amazement.  It's as if Caitlin was created to wear big furry, beautiful, vintage hats.

I'm so excited that Caitlin agreed to participate in my Muse Project, mostly because I learned so much about her through her answers to my questions.  OK, so, enough out of my big yapper ... here's the interview.

Q: What inspired you to start your blog?

A: I had started a new office job where we had a lot of free time to browse the internet.  One day I ran into a co-worker at the coffee machine and she told me that my style really reminded her of Jessica's (What I Wore), and that I should check it out.  I was hooked.  I started reading fashion blogs religiously, and finally decided it was time to get in on the action :)  That was that!

Q: Do you have a style Icon?

A: I wouldn't say that I have any single style icon, but I've always loved the fashion of the sixties and seventies, so the "icons" of those eras really inspire me.

Q: How would you describe your personal style?

A: My personal style is very thrifty.  I live in a small town on an even smaller budget, so I have to get creative--but that's the fun of it!  I troll Goodwill and other thrift shops weekly and I'm not afraid to buy something that looks ridiculous on the rack if I can visualize its potential (I'm slowly improving my alteration skills).  I keep track of trends but I definitely don't chase them, and if a particular trend isn't in line with who I think I am I don't try it.  Style should be an expression of who you are, not who everybody else is.  I do think that fashion is an art form, and I can appreciate some of the crazy clothes that come down the catwalk--but I'm not going to wear a Renoir to work.  You have to be realistic... so I interpret!

A: Something that I love about your blog are your gorgeous pictures! Do you have any tips to share or are there any "rules" that you stick to when shooting?

Q: It's funny that you say that because I always feel like my photographs are sub-par!  I was a film major, so I am very concerned with composition and if I had the time I would plan out elaborate shoots around the state-- but I just don't. I work a full-time job and generally just stop on my way to work and set up my tripod (an ancient wooden wonder that I purchased from an antique store to hold a vintage film camera) with my little Nikon CoolPix and shoot away (in ten-second intervals).  I try to take at least 20 photos of each outfit, and always get detail shots.  I was so glad that I found the abandoned driveway that I usually shoot in, because I wanted to showcase the Vermont landscape without going too far out of my way.  I would just say, especially for bloggers who work full-time and don't have willing photographer boyfriends/husbands, having a single spot that you shoot at on a daily basis eliminates a lot of the stress and allows you to really get into a rhythm.  Plus you can anticipate what the lighting will be like from one day to the next and adjust accordingly.  I know that if the sun is seriously shining I have to go to one of my backup locations.

Q: It's award season!! Since there are so many red carpets out there to walk, and many have a different vibe or feel, which one would you most like to walk and what would you wear?

A: Well, of course, as a would-be filmmaker I would love to walk the red carpet at the Academy Awards.  Since I spend most of my life in thrifted, repurposed clothes, I definitely take special occasions very seriously and tend to splurge.  I would love to wear yellow--I adored Michelle Williams' yellow Vera Wang at the 2006 Oscars--but as a young person I might go short and funky.  If it's not too presumptuous, I think it would be fabulous to wear the little butterfly dress from Sarah Burton's first Alexander McQueen collection.

image

Caitlin explained, "I love how the butterflies seem to be escaping through the neckline."

So, have I convinced you to check out WAKING LIFE? 

Wait, who am I kidding? You're already a huge fan aren't you? Caitlin really does have an amazing blog and her personal style isn't the only thing that it's about.  She writes movie reviews, makes book recommendations and even shares yummy recipes.

All that AND style like this?  I dare you NOT to check it out!

Thank you much for participating, Caitlin.

I look forward to continued inspiration.