A Self Interested But Helpful Plug for the Giveaway to End All Giveaways

dear winona: i put a shoe on my head, so i think i should win.

You guys. I don't even know if you should be reading this right now when you could be entering Winona of Daddy Likey's current amazingtastic giveaway. This giveaway? It makes pigs fly. This giveaway? It makes brussel sprouts taste like your favorite candy. This giveaway? It brings your dead gerbil back to life, it does all your Christmas shopping, and it turns water into wine. Seriously, you're wasting your time reading this right now when you could be commenting, blogging, tweeting, facebooking, and photographing yourself to get up to 5 entries into this giveaway.

WHY ARE YOU NOT DOING IT YET?! YOU ONLY HAVE UNTIL DECEMBER 31ST GO GO GO!

Flowery Dresses

Two posts about dresses in a row? Awesome!

I haven't mastered taking outfit photos. I worked on finding a good place to set my camera on self-timer for longer than I'm willing to admit to myself, but I ultimately gave up and Myspaced it up. Just keepin' it classy.

I don't normally do outfit posts, but I got this baby at Target on Saturday, and I'm so in love with it that I just had to. I wore it to a wild 21st birthday party on Saturday night, and then I wore it part of today (some days I change outfits crazy amounts of time) with some comfy black tights. I can't wait to go back to Target and get its counterpart in black. After all, I got the pink using a gift certificate, so it'll be like getting two dresses for the price of one!

The price, you ask? You can grab this lovely little number for $25.

Oh, and you know how right now you think this is probably the end of the post? Well, it's not, because something really awesome happened today that I want to share with you lovelies.

A couple of weeks ago, I applied to become a new member of ModCloth's street team, the ModSquad. It's a group of everyday people that work as ModCloth insiders of a sort, getting special assignments and sneak peaks at promotions and contests. Well, of course, this sounded pretty darn fun and cool, so I applied and... well, I think you can guess that I wouldn't be writing this paragraph if I didn't get in. I'm super excited to have been accepted for the ModSquad, and I'm hoping that it'll be a really fun, educational experience. I'm also hoping I'll be able to share a lot of cool opportunities with you guys in the future.

And now I'm off to snag myself a nice big mocha to celebrate!


P.S. I hope you college kids are surviving finals all right! Promise you'll still try to get lots of sleep, okay?

You Rock My World, Sweatervest-Collared Shirt Combo* (after a shamefully long hiatus)

I swear, this outfit changed the way I walk, the way I talk. Try as I might, I'm sure I cannot explain. I mean, I searched for the perfect love all my life, an outfit like this to call mine, and then Express provided it to me for way more money than any sane person should have paid. Then again, I am clearly not sane.

See, the deal was that my boyfriend wanted to introduce me to some of his friends. Really, that should be all I need to say. If you're of like mind, your first thought would be: "HOLY GOD, WHAT DO I WEAR?!" And since, girl, I know that this is love, I had to make sure my outfit would be divinity in motion (not to mix metaphors**). Emergency shopping trip indeed.

The first thing I saw upon entering Express was the outfit of my dreams (second picture). Oh, I saw that mannequin and I could feel the magic all in the air. White collared shirt. Cropped black sweatervest. I've been lusting after this ensemble forever, because I think it's perfectly classy, wonderfully business-like, and smartly sexy. I never knew if I'd be able to look decent in my dream look, though, because, well, I have boobs. Large boobs. But "what the hell?" I thought, "I'm trying this on."

And I did. And... oh, God. I spent 79 bucks on two pieces. Hoo!

note: this isn't an Express dressing room. Or my house. I wish. Don't ask.

figured I'd say something in case you recognize the New York and Company garb.

When trying to put together a combination like this, make sure that you choose a shirt that isn't too short or too tight, since you'll look the slimmest when you add the sweater if the shirt is kind've flowy where it peeks out at the bottom. What I like about the Express shirts are that the collar is a little bigger than a lot of the ones you see. It's leisure suit worthy, that's for sure, and I think that adds a little academic flair (the collar's overlap with the vest). Make sure the vest is fitted close to the body-- after all, you're using it as a tool of sorts to show off your figure. This kickass top half is great to pair with nice jeans-- I try to go with the dark wash, since it's flattering to my womanly curves, to put it the nicest-- and heels. Dressed like this, you can go to class or go out on a date, and you look chic either way.

As for me, it seems my life is fully complete. I don't think I'll ever get enough. That's why I always have to you here, my darling dream-semble.

clothing:

vest and shirt: Express

jeans: Old Navy

shoes: Kohl's

*I listened to "You Rock My World" by Michael Jackson about 15 times in order to complete this entry.

**If you caught onto the Jacko-speak, you'd realize that this allusion was from a different song: "Dangerous"

Little Red Riding Coat

Question: What's better than being up at 2:15 in the morning on a Monday, drinking canned Arizona Green Tea and blogging?

Answer: a red coat.

I have wanted a red coat for months now, ever since I saw an anonymous girl walking to class in one on a rainy day. I had a purpose in life from then on: find a glamorous piece of the like to call my own. Covino and I got right on it, scouring the internet for all traces of crimson glory.

What with toggle coats being so popular, it was almost difficult to find a regular old double-breasted red coat. Also, I'm not a huge fan of wool. I know, I know, wool is great for winter and looks infinitely better than an equally warm puffer, but my delicate, princess-and-the-pea-esque skin simply cannot take a trace of itchiness. Also, I desperately needed a coat with full-length sleeves to brave the New England winter climate, since, to be honest, two of my favorite practical and fabulous coats are currently out of action until I put an end to my sordid love affair with the vending machine. Damn you, Oreo Cakesters, why can't I quit you?

Out-of-style Brokeback Mountain jokes aside, one day, I happened upon delias.com, which isn't one of the sites I regularly visit (I know almost every item on the Old Navy site, shamefully). Lo and behold, I saw the most amazing thing I ever imagined. Double-breasted! Cotton! Sleeves! Red like... oh, God, like something red! Like something red that I've dreamed about every night, only to wake up having disappointingly cocooned myself in my scarlet sheets. And compared to a coat I fell in lust with at J.Crew, it was a steal at only $68.50! That's incredibly cheap when it comes to making dreams come true.

I bought.

I waited.

And then one day, I received a package. And I took that package and ran like the dickens ("the dickens" being a phrase that needs to work its way back into popular language, by the way) back to my room in hopes that the damn thing would fit and I would be the happiest girl in the world.

It fits like a glove. I was afraid that it would be small, since Delias tends to run teeny, but it was exactly right. A single tear formed in my right eye. I thanked the Patron Saint of Outerwear-- Marc Jacobs?-- for his blessings.

me and the love of my life

This picture brought to my attention the fact this coat seriously needs an ironing, but I digress. And the shoes I'm wearing? Well, those beauties are for another post on the joys of metallics and Macy*s shoe sale racks.

As the owner of the best coat I ever dreamed of, I now follow several policies, set in stone, much like Hammurabi's Code.

1. Do not touch The Coat without authorization. Preferrably, you will be wearing sterile gloves.
2. The Coat is to be hung at all times when not on the body of its owner.
3. The Coat will not be lent out, unless dire circumstances exist.
4. The Coat will not be paired with scarves that shed tiny fuzzies, forcing its owner to cry and lint roll for long, tiring minutes.
5. Under no circumstances will there be spills that tarnish The Coat.
6. Under no circumstances will there be crumbs mercilessly tainting The Coat with their heinous touch.
7. Pray facing The Coat five times a day.
8. The Coat shalt not be compared with other coats. It is greater by far.
9. The Coat shall be praised aloud and with sincerity, no matter who's listening.
10. There is no Coat but The Coat, and God Himself is Its prophet.

Blasphemy? Where?

[unfortunately, this coat is no longer found on the delias website, last time I checked]