11 in 2011: Wrap up

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Diana

As the year comes to a close, I’m taking some time to reflect on my 11 in 2011 goals and how I did.

Work

1: Finish my teaching certificate: PROGRESS At the time I set this goal, I thought that it would be achievable in one year. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. However, I am on track with all of my certification classes and tests, and should get my teaching certificate in June 2012.

Food

2: Subscribe to local food co-op delivery: FAIL I looked up companies that I was interested in subscribing to, but I never got around to actually signing up.

3: Learn how to use kitchen knives properly: FAIL I just didn’t do this at all.

4: Cook one new recipe every month: WIN I tried lots of new recipes this year, and while I didn’t document every single one, I definitely expanded my cooking repertoire.

Health

5: Stop procrastinating doctor’s appointments: WIN I actually used my health insurance this year. I went to the doctor when I was sick, I saw the dermatologist, I’m setting up an appointment to get an IUD with my gynecologist. I got my vision checked and got contacts. Only thing I skipped out on was the dentist. Have to make sure I do that in 2012.

6: Go deeper in my practice of yoga: WIN I researched ayurveda, and while I wasn’t keen on it, it was fun to learn about. I tried hot yoga again and hated it, but at least I tried. I found a yoga instructor that I really liked and have started regularly attending classes with her. And I can almost do a handstand. Win!

Crafty

7: Knit myself a sweater: WIN It still hasn’t gotten cold enough in Florida yet to wear my lovely sweater, but it will, gosh darn it.

8: Plant a butterfly/bee garden: PROGRESS I planted a succulent container garden. That counts for something right?

9: Take more photos more often, and make them better: PROGRESS I did start taking more pictures when I switched out lens, but I haven’t done everything I’d like. I still need to take my flash and my camera into the shop for tune ups, and I’d like to get a fixed 50mm lens and a nice camera bag. Also, I want to get a point and shoot digital for fun casual shots.

Life and Money

10: Make a new budget and stick to it: PROGRESS (SORT OF) I made a budget for a few months, and then promptly stopped using it. This I do need to work on. However, I have gotten in the habit of setting aside my rent money with every paycheck. I also work on paying off my credit card and slowly building up a savings account with each paycheck. So not perfect, but still an improvement.

11: Hang out with In Real Life friends more often: PROGRESS I made new friends this year and tried to hang out with old friends more. I still didn’t do this as much as I would have liked. I’m such an introvert – I really need to try harder next year to break out of my shell.

So that’s my 11 in 2011 progress. There will likely be a 12 in 2012, but I haven’t decided yet. I like having a set of goals for the year, but I need to make sure I don’t forget about them if I do this again in 2012.

Etsy Love: Sparkles!

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Diana

*On occasion, I take a look at some of the beautiful items found at one of the best places for buying and selling hand-made and vintage: Etsy. Buying hand-made and vintage lets you own beautiful, unique objects with character. It keeps things out of the landfills and supports artists and small businesses who are trying to make a living doing what they love. If you have a particular theme you’d love to see, drop me a line and let me know. *

I’ve become mildly obsessed with sparkly and glittery things lately. Maybe it’s the holidays and NYE, or maybe it’s just that glitter is awesome. Either way, here are some of my favorite sparkly picks from Etsy:

Fine silver post earrings with iridescent silver sparkles $47

Tiny Galaxies (the whole shop is sparkly!)

Black Noir Resin Glitter Heart $20

I Sew Cute (lots of glitter here too)

Silver Sparkle Bow Clips $19

Janine Basil

Blackened Silver Sequins Clutch $45 (sale)

It’s So Clutch

1970s Sequin Dress $64

Wildfell Hall Vintage

A few of my favorite things

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Diana

Top: Ann Taylor LOFT (thrifted)
Skirt: Forver 21 (via Revolve)
Sandals: Dansko Neve (via eBay)
Necklace: Express
Bangle: Vintage

I had a pretty awesome Christmas this year. Lots and lots of family time (all within Tampa this year, yay!), lots of great food (turns out holidays are great for eating Paleo), lots of treats (not very Paleo) and lots of fantastic gifts. I wore the above outfit all day on Christmas, which turned out to be perfect. It’s really out of my usual comfort zone (midi peasant skirt, white top, heels) but I loved it. The simplicity of basic neutrals with turquoise accessories looked nice without being overdressed or too casual. The jersey skirt meant that I didn’t have extra discomfort after eating too many cookies. And the wedge sandals dressed things up and weren’t super uncomfortable.

This is what my awesome boyfriend got me. He had already bought the eBags packing cubes from Amazon for me (I’d been wanting these for years; I can’t wait to try them out next time I travel) and he wasn’t sure what else he should buy me for Christmas. I suggested he try Anthropologie. He went, found some presents for me, and told me that Anthro could be called the “Diana store” because he could have closed his eyes and pointed at anything there and I would have liked it

I’ve already been digging into the book he got me, and I absolutely love it. The other present I was super excited about. Carlo has a very sensitive sense of smell and most perfumes irritate him. Thus I haven’t worn perfume since we’ve been together for the past five years. But I was really missing wearing a scent. Without me eve telling him to, he found a perfume at Anthro that didn’t irritate his senses and bought it for me. And I love it! It’s light, floral with just a hint of ocean breeze. This will be a favorite for years to come.

Here’s some other random pics from the festivities:

This is the stuff I got from family.

Carlo and Elvis on Christmas day

I got this ornament when I was a kid, and it’s still awesome

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Posted on December 25, 2011 by Diana

No matter what you celebrate, I hope your day is wonderful and full of joy! Merry Christmas everyone!

It’s beginning to look a lot like…

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Diana

The last week before Christmas break, I challenged myself to wear red and green everyday without being tacky. I was also battling a cold that had me slipping into pj’s and going to bed the second I got home everyday, so unfortunately, this outfit is the only one I had enough energy to capture. Fortunately, it was my favorite, so it all evens out.

It’s not unusual to get compliments sometimes from people I work with. This was one of those rare, wonderful outfits that garnered compliments from total strangers. As I was leaving my dermatologist’s office, this cute little old lady stopped to tell me how much she loved my skirt. At the grocery store, a clerk commented on how I must be dressed up for something special. Thus, this skirt remains one of my all-time favorite second-hand finds.

Speaking of the dermatologist, I finally made myself go and find out what was making my lips peel and get irritated during the winter. Turns out, lip balm addicts like myself have a habit of licking their lips a lot, and in the winter, it dries them out to the point where lip balm stings and does more harm than good. My lips are better now thanks to some lotion my dermatologist gave me. She recommended that I switch to lip stick or lip gloss during the winter, since you’re less likely to lick it off. So here’s where I ask for your help: I’m a total lipstick noob. I’ve always been a diehard balm user, and I think I own maybe four tubes of lipstick (which I got for free in Clinique gift sets).

So here’s my questions:

How do I go about finding my perfect shade?
What’s your favorite shade of lipstick?
Do you use different shades of lipliner for different lipsticks, is there a one-shade-fits-all, or do you use it at all?

Tank: Target
Cardigan: J Crew (via eBay)
Skirt: Mix Noveau (via Revolve)
Shoes: Born Codder
Necklace: garage sale
Watch: Fossil outlet
Purse: Morelle Oyster

Monochromatic (sort of)

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Diana

I’ve never been a big fan of full-on monochromatic looks, so this is about as close as I get. This beautiful blue dress is one of my newest Boden pieces, snagged on eBay for a mere $50! (Boden dresses usually retail for over $100). I had get several alterations done to get it perfect, but now it’s set to become one of my favorite pieces. For this outfit, I buttoned up a cashmere cardigan over the dress, then took the sash and tied it obi-style over the cardi. Boots and tights stayed neutral, and I added my bright orange watch for a pop of contrast.

Dress before alterations

As you can see in the picture above, the dress originally had a much longer hem (this seems to happen a lot with Boden dresses). I got about 4″ hemmed off. Also, the sleeves had a blousy elastic thing on the hems, which I can’t stand, so I had that taken out and replace with a regular hem, and I had them take-in the sleeves a bit too to make them slimmer. Finally, the neckline was super low (another common occurrence with Boden). My tailor took up the shoulders a bit, which naturally raises the neckline.

This dress is another example of why I truly believe that you need to customize everything. It does require a slight investment to get things altered, but once you have an item that fits exactly the way that you want it to, you will love it more and thus wear it more and get more use out of it than if you left it without alterations.

Dress: Boden (via eBay)
Cardigan: Boden
Tights: HUE
Boots: Keen Bern Baby Bern (via Piperlime)
Watch: J. Crew & Timex

A neutral kind of day

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Diana

Okay, so I did in fact wear a very similar outfit last September. But hey, that was a year ago, and I have long hair and glasses now, so I think it’s just fine for me to post this version.

I had originally planned to put together a mustard and navy outfit. That is, until I realized that my favorite mustard cardi was in the wash. So I decided for lovely and elegant neutrals instead, with a pop of mustard in my bracelet.

I love how this little navy dress can work with just about everything. It really is a year-round staple for me. The fit is absolutely perfect, the navy color goes with everything (although I often wish I had it in brighter colors), the length is perfect for work. I can wear it alone in the summer, and layer it up in the winter. It’s definitely one of my best consigning finds yet.

Dress: Soprano (via Li da la )
Cardigan: J. Crew (via eBay)
Tights: HUE
Shoes: Dansko Sallys (courtesy of Dansko)
Belt: Vintage
Pearls: Coryell Design
Watch: Fossil
Bracelet: Vintage

Bento Box Saturday: 12-10-11

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Diana

*Welcome to Bento Box Saturday. Every once and awhile, I post photos of one or more of my bento lunches from that week. I use a Laptop Lunches bento box and I love it because it helps me to reduce the amount waste I create, since I don’t produce a lot of extra garbage from throw away packaging. I also love how it creates perfect portion sizes. To learn more about how I pack and carry my bento, check out this post and this post too*

Morning Snack: FAGE 0% Greek yogurt, strawberries, slivered almonds
Lunch: Beef stew, spinach and steak salad with bacon
Afternoon snack: Hard-boiled egg, cheddar cheese, pistachios

I’m still experimenting with the Paleo diet, and this bento is about 75% Paleo, which is how most of my diet is. There’s a lot of information out there about the Paleo diet; if you’re curious, I would recommend this Nerd Fitness article in particular. Basically, it emphasizes eating meat and protein and de-emphasizes carbohydrates. (my apologies to my vegetarian friends). For me, this means eating almost no refined carbs, and a limited amount of unrefined carbs. The reason this meal is only 75% or so is the potatoes (and small amount of flout) in the stew, and the sugars in the yogurt. It was tasty and delicious and I loved it.

Smiles go with… black accents

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Diana

Originally, this outfit got started as a way to mix black and cream. It soon turned into a colorful outfit with black accents instead. To me, black accents always make outfits look classier. This dress has seen better days; the color has faded and its started to pill a bit since I wear it constantly. But with a bright blue cashmere cardigan and lots of opaque black, it looks fantastic again.

This little blue cashmere cardigan was a Boden summer sale purchase. I can never afford full price cashmere, so I always wait until I can find it on sale or secondhand and then snatch it up. I have a feeling I’ll be wearing this little one a lot.

These gorgeous boots were my one Black Friday purchase this year. I’d saved up some money from selling some old shoes on eBay, and I’d had my eye on Keen’s Bern Baby Bern boots for months. When Piperlime had them on sale Black Friday, I decided to go for them and I’m so glad I did. I normally wear an 8 in Keens, but I size up to 8.5, and these fit perfectly. They’re super comfy, flattering, and my toes don’t feel cramped. They’re also dressier than most of my other boots, so they’re okay for work. My only complaint is that the soles don’t have much traction, but I never have to deal with ice, so it hasn’t been an issue for me.

Dress: Boden (via eBay)
Cardigan: Boden
Tights: HUE
Boots: Keen Bern Baby Bern
Purse: Morelle
Belt: Anthropologie
Watch: Fossil Outlet
Pearls: Vintage

Wardrobe Gaps List: Revisited

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Diana

My closet, Nov 2011 (this is why I have a limited wardrobe)

To help me focus in my shopping once again, I’ve re-created and updated my Wardrobe Gaps list. Some of these are repeats from my 2010 list, but many are new. My focus is always on getting quality key pieces that can really bring my wardrobe up a notch. This doesn’t always mean spending a ton of money though – I thrift, consign and scour eBay regularly for deals. For some of the items, I plan on going with particular brands, so I list them there. Here’s my new list:

Dresses:

¾ sleeve dresses (just bought 2 more of these, but these are such a staple that I could still go for more)
Short sleeve dresses
Solid color shift dress
Casual jersey dress
Sweater dress (plan to knit my own)
Tunics with sleeves

Pants: