Want

cupcake key cover: wet seal $4.00

Two things: first, this is the absolute cutest key cover I have ever seen in my life. I'm trying so hard not to impulse buy it and wait until I get home for spring break to go to my local Wet Seal to find it instead of pay an extra two bucks for shipping it. Second, do you think Gala Darling has one of these on each and every one of her keys? I'm willing to bet that she does.

Titus Andronicus Ruins My Plans

Sorry I haven't kept my promise on the Valentine's Day advice! I should know by now that being in school and blogging don't always mix so well. I hope this picture of a cute doggie will make it up to you.

this is my doggie, bandit anne. she apologizes on my behalf.

Anyway, I should be back in a few days when the work-load is a wee bit lighter.

I'll try to upload some shots after Saturday of my ensemble to the Masquerade Ball we're having on Valentine's Day at my university. Perhaps I'll even be able to get the boy in on it.

If I can't make it back in time for Valentine's Day, I hope yours is lovely, beautiful, marvelous, fab!

Valentimes Again

Tip #2: Buy Used When You Can

I remember the olden days when a couple's idea of fun was to sit around an old transistor radio and listen to "The Masked Bandit" while eating Cracker Jacks. Well, not really, but I bet that's exactly what it was like. Here in good ol' 2009, though, entertainment has to be a little more interactive than that. Videogames are as big or bigger than they were when they were first cropping up in the '80s, so chances are, you or your beau are totally hooked by now. I know I certainly am! My boyfriend bought me a Nintendo DS for Christmas just so he could have his back (I had been holding it hostage for about a year)! Videogames are a lot of fun, and I really don't subscribe to the idea that they make people babbling idiots or violent killers, as long as parents are responsible enough to not allow constant playing and to mind the ratings on the box; and actually, in my experience, a lot of the smartest and nicest people I know are avid gamers. So there's how I feel about that.

Basically, that whole shpiel was meant to bring me to my second tip: it's okay to not buy everything new, and videogames-- as well as CDs and DVDs-- are great examples of this philosophy. If you're buying these kinds of electronics for your significant other, chances are he or she already knows that basically anything on a disc is pretty hard to break. The worst thing that can happen is that the disc get badly scratched, and stores generally check for that kind of damage when they're reselling products. So, if you're buying CDs or DVDs, hit your local Newbury Comics or facsimile therof; if it's a videogame you want, find a Gamestop in your area (and if you go to a Gamestop, keep in mind that if you get an "Edge" card, which is free, you'll save 10% on all your used games. Don't just let the card sit in the back of your wallet behind some Walmart gift card or something, though: if you're never going to use it again, think of it as an extra present for your sweetie).

Do keep in mind, though, new products can be hard to find used.

Happy hunting!


For the Hero Jonsin' for a Mission:

used at gamestop.com: $19.99

You can't go wrong with a Mario game! Everyone's favorite little Italian plumber runs around the Mushroom Kingdom, pulling up radishes or turnips or some other healthy vegetable, in hopes of defeating Bowser to rescue Princess Peach-- and you'd better believe there will be a whole lot of jumping along the way! This is a classic platformer that's sure the please any guy or girl who has a thing for old school Nintendo fun. Plus, I'm a big fan of Birdo. Who doesn't love Birdo?

My Valentine: The Recession

My boyfriend and I believe that you can celebrate a commercial holiday like Valentine's Day without breaking the bank. For the next ten days, I'll be giving you guys some suggestions for fun, recession-proof gifts for your sweetheart. Each day, I'll have one simple tip and one item prepared for your viewing pleasure, in hopes that you'll have a Valentine's Day that's more frugal, but still tons of fun.

Tip #1: Skip the Store-Bought Card
Okay, I know this is a pretty obvious tip, but I think it's worth mentioning. I also know that women tend to go ga-ga over cards, so, seriously, hear me out. I think we've all been in a situation where we spent an hour searching for the perfect card for the perfect person and realized upon reaching the register that "Wait, I just spent six bucks on a card and an envelope?" It all seems a little ridiculous to me; cards are always pleasantly vague, annoyingly specific, shockingly inappropriate, or pointlessly blank (isn't this what we have printers for?) If you really want to get your feelings across, take the time to write out your own Valentine's wishes. If you're good at art, make the front of your card your very own stunning work of art! You're not? How much more endearing is that! I can't draw to save my life, but stick figures holding hands with little hearts above their heads will elicit a smile from even the manliest of men. If you're a good writer, write a love poem. You're not? Just melt your cheesiest of feelings all over the page. Okay, okay, it doesn't have to be all sappy, but you get the point. Basically, it's more thoughtful if you create something for your special guy or girl on your own instead of buying it from a store. Seriously, what's he/she going to do with a giant card that sings the chorus of "You're the Inspiration" every time it's opened? (SIDE NOTE: if this card really exists, I take back everything I just said so that you can send it to me. I'll be forever grateful).

For the Budding Designer:


For only $12 at Fredflare.com, how can you go wrong? I think even someone as origami-inept as I am would love to get this kit all wrapped-up in a little pink bow. The best thing about a gift like this? You and your favorite Valentine can have fun with it together, of course! What's sexier than watching your boy-toy make a pair of paper Laboutins just for you?

Vogue: It Can Also Be a Plate

Perfect for organizing the marshmallows you pulled out of the Lucky Charms you stole from the cafeteria.

Oh-so sorry that I didn't post yesterday. I had an entry all planned out about how I would be writing a fabulous article for the style section of my university's student-run magazine, STIR, but that opportunity was ripped away from me by some girl who apparently e-mailed the editor in chief about how she wanted to write the article on the best style blogs. Who does she think she is? The section editor? Wait, what? She is? Damn.

Maybe I will spite STIR and write just that very article for this blog, except without the wicked cool layout and stuff, because I'm really not very good with html or being visually creative and stuff. Part of my idea had been to try and get in contact with some of today's more popular and fabulous bloggers to hear their takes on the best style blogs that the interwebz has to offer. If you know any great bloggers/have a kickass blog yourself and you'd like to put your two cents in, please email me at vformato@clarku.edu or leave me a comment about how awesome that really cool underground blog you read is. Blog blog blog blog blog.

So that was why I didn't post yesterday. I was too sad, so I just sat around eating a Three Musketeers Bar and playing videogames to numb my devastation.

Now's when I show you something I think is really cool.

to the top in the style of da vinci: $15 at shirt.woot.com

What's a Woot Shirt, Vanessa? I'll tell you. Woot shirts are designed by people like you and me, except often dorkier and with much more aptitude for drawing. Woot has contests where artists submit T-shirt designs under a certain theme (the above was for a videogames series) to be entered into "derbies." In these derbies, the public votes on the best shirts and then the site produces them. For one day only the shirt of the day (called "today's woot") is offered for only ten dollars on the main page-- after the first day, they're fifteen dollars and can usually be found by looking through the blog section of the site. That's right, for the price of two venti frappuccinos at Starbucks, you can get an awesome shirt that probably none of your friends have. My boyfriend has several and I can tell you that they're of great quality and look just as great coming out of the box-- and, almost more importantly, after a bunch of trips through the washer and dryer-- as they do pixellated on the website.

To save you the trouble of searching for it, the shirt above is available at this exact URL if you're interested. I've been resisting buying it for my gamer guy for awhile now. The pull is strong. It's really the most amazing Mario Kart shirt I've ever seen. It combines the vindictive fun of screwing your friends over by releasing one of those pesky blue shells with the novelty of mirror writing. This is truly a Renaissance shirt if I've ever seen one.

Not On My Budget It's Not

too cute, but for too much

Style.com has decided that "depression chic" is in. I guess that's appropriate, considering that America's economy is spiraling downward into oblivion at the moment. The thing is, I don't think Anna Wintour and her associates running the site truly understand what the word "depression" means. They claim that "silk fringe or faded sackcloth-- these looks will see you through our current economic downturn and beyond," but I think that they've done so much romanticizing that they forgot that a depression actually means people have less money.

I thought that maybe I would see a little practicality in the article, but of course not.

According to the people at Vogue, this is how to dress for the recession.

You need a $1600 DVF dress for nights at the speakeasy...

...a glamorous yet practical $6002 dress for waiting in line for rations at the local grocery...

...and, of course, a bargain $935 necklace made of genuine gold-dipped swan feathers for... erm... okay, what the hell?

*all pictures are screenshots taken from style.com

Leopard for Less

I'm going to admit right here and now that I truly believe that if you're wearing an understated outfit, leopard shoes are kind've fabulous. But you don't have to pay a lot of money to look like you have a little New Jersey mob daughter in you (call me crazy, but I associate that image more closely with the word "leopard" than I do a large cat dragging an antelope into a tree-- the second look, you wouldn't want to go for anyway).

Case in point.

pedro garcia at net-a-porter.com: $425

merona at target.com: $24.99

In my humble opinion, the Target flats are cuter, since I'm not a fan of flats with straps. The Pedro Garcias' straps don't give a faux-Mary Jane as you'd expect them too-- maybe they'd work if the straps were more toward the toe. In either case, whether you agree with me or not, the leopard-print flats from Target look very similar-- after all, leopard patterns really don't vary that much from one garment to another-- to their high-end cousins and are about four-hundred dollars cheaper. And, I mean, if you were really that motivated, you could take the cheaper shoes to your nearest shoe repair shop and see about getting a strap attached for a reasonable fee.

Clark University Pride

I don't really have anything to say about these. All you need to know is that they exist, and I think that's amazing enough in and of itself. Also, Clark University needs to get a million cases of these and serve them in the dining hall.

appease your oral fixation here

The First Step to Recovery is Admitting You're Wrong.

(this actually costs money at american apparel)

You're wrong.