My new-found design inspiration

Lately I’ve been wanting to re-do my room. Since I still live with my mom (we get along famously and it saves money while I’m paying off student loans and other such debts), I can’t exactly afford anything extravagant. But then again, what 22-year-old can?

But I’ve been toying with ideas of changing up the furniture, the art work, and the color scheme of it all. I live upstairs in my house, in a loft-style room, so the ceilings are low and peaked in the center, leaving my options kind of limited. However, I’ve been inspired to go the DIY route through reading various DIY home improvement blogs.

Take, for instance, this post on 2nd Floor Living. Most visions of Ikea furniture conjure up images of cheap particle board, but this just goes to show you that you can take something that’s inexpensive and make it look like a million dollars.  My favorites in this article are:

The Ikea Lack side table retails for $7.99–what a steal! They also come in a variety of fashion-forward colors. Other Ikea do-overs can be found at IKEA HACKER.

What trendy and creative ways to update the boring and generic Ikea pieces! Happy styling to you all…if I end up making any of these I will be sure to post pictures and recap the results!

A genius thing to do with old records

I know this isn’t really fashion-related, but it is a stylish thing to do with old vinyl records:

How cool is that?!? I want to stop by the thrift store on the way home from work just to get some records to give this a try…

Get complete directions over at Homemade Mamas. Happy crafting!!

It’s finally spring in Seattle!

I don’t know about the lot of you, but I am soooo sick of cold, gusty, wintery weather. I yearn for the days of being able to wear the fresh new spring pieces in my closet, and thankfully, to my surprise, I think that time has finally arrived! It’s supposed to be in the mid 60s to low 70s for the next 10 days, and if you live in Seattle–or anywhere where sun is a thing to be celebrated–then you probably have an idea of how excited I am.

I’ve been mentally going through my closet for what outfits to wear this week, and came up with a few so far using just one warm weather staple. I bought a dress similar to this one from Victoria’s Secret to wear for the summer. It was relatively inexpensive (about $40), and I expect to get a lot of wear out of it.

Now you might think that this dress would be too casual to wear to work or out during the day, but it can be easily dressed up. Jean jackets are all the rage this season, so why not embrace the trend and pair a simple dress like this one with a cropped jean jacket, like this one from American Eagle.

To make it more work appropriate, pairing this dress with a blazer is your best bet. Try this black blazer from Nordstrom, which adds the perfect professional appeal to any casual outfit.

To dress up your feet, pair either outfit with flats, sandals, or wedges. I happen to be in love with these gold wedges from Nordstrom, but any sandal or shoe that you find comfortable would work just fine. Here are just a few examples:

As far as other accessories are concerned, if you’re wearing gold shoes, then keep the gold color consistent in jewelry choices as well. You can add a little more flare for out-of-the-office occasions, but keep it simple if you’re planning to wear this at work.

Other than that, have fun with it! It’s finally warm enough to ditch the parka and boots and wear dresses and sandals…so do so while you have the sunshine in your neighborhood!

To wear or not to wear: the graphic tee

I went to a cinco de mayo party this weekend. It was a lot of fun, and in my quest to find something festive to wear, I came across this little shirt (pictured at left) from Urban Outfitters.

Now usually I’m more of a basic tee kinda girl, but I thought this would be a fun way to “dress” up a tee shirt without going too overboard.

Having said that though, I noticed something as I thought about wearing this to my party: I was actually kind of nervous. Nervous of what people would say about it, what they would think, would they think it was stupid, etc. Usually I’m pretty ballsy when it comes to fashion, but for some reason, wearing a shirt with writing on it was making me anxious.

I did end up wearing the shirt, and it was a hit amongst everyone, but it got me thinking: does anyone else have this “problem”? Now don’t get me wrong, I love wearing graphic tees with flowers or whatnot on them, but it’s the written word on a tee shirt that got my heart racing.

Does anyone else have this problem? Or am I the only one who’s paranoid and overly concerned about what other people think when they see words on my clothing? Feel free to share below!

So I know it’s sure been awhile…

So it’s been forever since I’ve posted on here…like seriously, a long time. Since 2007, I’ve graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in journalism, have entered the work force, etc. But my love for everything fashion has not changed, which is why I’m going to be writing on here a lot for frequently than I have been…

With that being said, let’s get back on topic. With the majority of my daytime being spent in an office, I’ve come to enjoy visiting various fashion and style blogs to keep myself entertained and keep my brain titillated with fashion chatter and knowledge. I’ll list a few of them below:

• Fashionista: One of the first fashion blogs I visited back in 2007, it’s one of my ultimate favs, and the perfect place to catch up on all things fashion related. Plus, the writing is witty and interesting to read…which we all know is important when keeping a blog!
• Shirt or Dress: One word: HILARIOUS. If you’ve ever cringed at girls wearing shirts as dresses, or haven’t been able to tell the difference yourself, then this is the blog for you.
• CheapChicas: The perfect place to go for deals and steals, this blogger is the perfect resource for the ever-popular recessionistas out there!

These are just a few, but you’d be surprised what you can find on the net with a little time and lots of imagination! Feel free to post more below in the comments. Till tomorrow!