Daily Outfit: Opryland Hotel You Warped My Senses!

Ok this week was insane. Monday I flushed my phone down the toilet and found out that I was going to a conference in Nashville the next day and staying for four days.  Tuesday maintenance extracted said phone and I headed for Nashville.  Wednesday I spent all day in sessions. Thursday at 9:30pm sirens started going off all over the Opryland hotel and a voice announced the we were under a tornado watch and everyone should go to the lowest level in find cover.  Therefore I spent about 20 minutes in a stairwell with a bunch of strangers.  It was RIDICULOUS.

I was happy to finally be home and have a down weekend. After spending four days in the Opryland hotel, which is like a magical bubble that messes with your mind in case you were wondering, the cold wind I have to endure to run the like 20 feet to the mail feel absolutely fridged!  Thank you Opryland hotel for warping my reality!!  It was glorious while it lasted though...





What:
Dress: H&M
Skirt: J. Crew (here)
Tights: We Love Colors (Mocha) (here)
Shoes: Marshall's

When:
February 23, 2011

FBFF: Blogger Awards

So this week for FBFF we are nominating our favorite bloggers for blogger awards. Here are my nominees! Enjoy and check out all these lovely bloggers, if you haven't already.

1. Creative Juices - most creative
Hello, Monkeyface and her cute little monkeyface! What a creative way to remain anonymous. And have you seen the great places she finds to take pictures? And her wardrobe? I’m definitely hooked on her blog!

2. The Real Deal - authenticity
Suze of Miss Vinyl Ahoy, of course. I don’t think anyone who reads her blog could call her anything but authentic. She was one of the first bloggers I ever had a conversation with, if not THE first blogger, and I feel like I’ve known her much longer than I actually have. I kind of pity strangers on the street that are around the first time we meet in real life. It’s going to be a lot of flailing, color, and just plain ridiculousness.

3. Spark Notes - most helpful
Angeline of The New Professional always has the best links on Fridays that lead me to all kinds of interesting information that I would never find on my own. Plus I love that love how she creates a conversation with her readers at the end of each post. It’s always interesting to read other people’s comments and opinions on the topic of the day. And you know, Angeline is just plain awesome, too. It’s not just her blog!

4. Newbie - best blogger less than a year old
I can’t remember how I found Kimmie’s blog Blue Paper Lanterns, but I am so glad that I did. She has the most wonderful style and has to be one of the nicest bloggers out there. I really enjoy reading her anecdotes and I always feel like I can relate to her while reading her blog.

5. Can You Hear Me Now - most connected
I got nothing for this one. Mostly I feel like this one is just too relative, depending on what kind of connected you mean, to pick one person.

6. If I had a Hammer - best DIY
I honestly don’t have an answer to this one, either. There are people who do good DIY posts, but I’m not sure I feel strongly enough about this to call one the best.

7. Tribe Leader - blogger who leads others and brings bloggers together
So I went back and forth on this one, but finally decided on Kendi Everyday since her 30for30 Challenge connected me to a lot of bloggers that I love and adore and would have taken a long time for me to find otherwise. I love her encouragement of community through this challenge. Other runners up include: Modly Chic for FBFF, and Auspicious Life and 26 & Counting for EBEW.

8. Practically Perfect - most fashionable
I would LOVE to spend the afternoon in Ana's, of Better in Sepia, closet. I am constantly drooling over her wardrobe and I’m always excited to see how she puts things together.

9. Paint by Numbers - best beauty blogger
For me the first person to come to mind is Super Kawaii Mama. She is the definition of glamorous first of all, and second of all her hair tutorials have been insanely inspiring to me. She has a great array of beauty and hair tutorials that are so easy to understand a follow and are just plain lovely!

10. Renaissance Woman - best all around blogger, fashion, beauty, lifestyle
For me this one came to me right off the bat. I have so much admiration for Keiko Lynn. She’s so honest and genuine in her posts, not to mention sweet and kind to her readers. I love the glimpses into her life (past and present) that she gives. Her style is beautiful and she has a natural beauty that her wonderful use of make-up only enhances. She is definitely a wonderful example of a well known blogger who has remained true to herself and connected to her readers since the beginning.

Head over to ModlyChic to find the full list of participants and check out who they nominated for the blogger awards!

Daily Outfit: Tearing Down Windows and Doors and I Could Not Find Eyes Like Yours

Long drives always give me all kinds of time to think. This time I was driving and listening to old school Shakira, hence the title of this post, and thinking.  I was thinking about how I used to write poetry.  It wasn't spectacular poetry by any means, but it wasn't bad either.  One of my poems won a contest in high school actually. Funny enough I wasn't, and still am not, too fond of that poem. 

I wrote tons of poems about one girl and then I bound them in a book and gave them to her.  Some of them were wonderful and loving, others were down right mean.  It seems funny to me that I packaged these poems up and gave them all to her when looking back she really didn't deserve the gesture that it was meant to be.  Maybe that's mean of me to say, but the truth isn't always a nice thing. I guess the reason why I find this funny is that I wrote poems about another special person in my life, and she never saw any of them.  I never showed her one, and there were many, and she definitely deserved the gesture. 

I think I was clinging desperatly to something the first time around and thought if I made the gesture somehow she would be worthy of it... but it was desperation not love.  And the second time around it was fear that held me back from the gesture.  Fear of losing love.. which inevitably was my demise anyways.  Because fear and love have no business in the same thought.

And now that I've randomly sprung all of that on you!  Something a little lighter?  These were taken at the Cumberland County Playhouse, or at least on one of their outdoor staging areas.  I used to come here to see plays with my dad when I was little.  It's the first place that I ever saw the Music Man on stage... and I fell in love with it in an instant.  It was nice and nostalgia to be back here.













What:
Blouse: Vintage, Spanish Moss Vintage
Vest: LOFT
Jeggings: Jessica Simpson
Boots: Gianni Bini
Necklace: Express


When:
February 22, 2011

Reader's Choice Dress Remix Wrap Up!

I had a lot of fun remixing this dress into five different looks!  It was a challenge at times, but I really like all of the outfits that I styled in the end!  I think I'll have to do another one of these in the future.  What do you guys think?  Did you enjoy the remix and the reader's choice aspect? Any thoughts on if you would like to see a variation of this in the future? What about ways to get you guys more involved next time?

Which one was your favorite?  I think My favorite is the third one.  I am a sucker for colors and pattern mixing and this combines them both!  Oh!  And I feel I should note that I didn't repeat any pieces throughout the remix, aside from the dress obviously! Alright, I can't wait to hear all of your feedback!

Daily Outfit: And I feel Right at Home in This Stunning Monochrome

Please disregard my horribly greasy hair... this is one of those days that I wish I had a Monkeyface. It was windy too, so my bangs look extra not right in these pictures! Don't judge me! I decided to go with a sort of monochrome here. I wanted all black and white and I like how it turned out, though I had originally planned it with my Steven Madden studded heels, but decided that 1) most of my remixes for this dress have involved heels and I should branch out, and 2) that it was super windy and I might get blown right off my platform stilettos.

So yesterday was especially full of awkward. First when I was scouting out the location I had decided on for this shoot there was a woman climbing around in a dumpster a few feet away and then a golf cart pulled up to the exact spot I was getting ready to go to for photos and started unloading things. Needless to day I decided to look else where. So I went with this location in my apartment complex and while I was finishing up taking pictures one of my neighbors drove up and then started talking to me about me taking pictures. It was so awkward and I may never leave my apartment again! Just kidding, but it was super awkward and uncomfortable.  And final awkward straw of the day?  I accidentally flushed my work cell phone down the toilet.  Yep, I didn't just drop it in, it flushed and is now stuck in the pipes somewhere.  The maintenance guys came and then announced they would have to replace my entire toilet. And while it was all a distressing ordeal... I was hysterically laughing through the whole thing, because who else could manage to flush their phone down a toilet. Epic Monday Fail!









What:
Scarf: Thrifted
Cropped Jacket: Unknown
Dress: Liz Claiborne
Shoes: Restricted, via Ebay

When:
February 21, 2011

Pixie Cooks: Super Bread!

Maybe you know, maybe you don't. I love to bake. I am a decent cook and I can follow a recipe just find, but when it comes to baking... that's where it gets better! I mostly follow recipes right now, but I also do a little tweaking and switcharooing when I feel like it too. I am working on creating a few recipes of my own and hopefully as time goes on I'll get better at that.



This one is a tweak of a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com. I have been trying to find a good whole wheat bread with flaxseed meal in it. I wanted something healthy to eat as toast in the mornings since I couldn't find my favorite english muffins last time I was at the store.

I'm not usually a big fan of whole wheat breads, but I remember absolutely loving this wheat bread with flaxseed meal that I had when stayed with my friend Rose's family in Washington on a ski trip. So I thought hey let's give that a shot with whole wheat bread. And let me tell you... it turned out incredible. And it's loaded with fiber and Omega-3s and Omega-6s. Yay healthy super bread!



And look at the sexy loaf pan that it baked in. I bought this baby a few months from Williams-Sonoma about and then never got around to making bread in it. It's seriously the best loaf pan ever. I am going to by a second one as soon as I can because it is amazing. It bakes so evenly and it cleans up so quickly. You'd think I was paid to say that, but no, I have no involvement with Williams-Sonoma.

Anyway, so I am now officially hooked on baking bread, so if anyone has an recommendation on bread to try and bake or any flavor combinations they think might be good shoot them my way and I'll see what I can do! There might just be some bread in it for you.



Flaxeed and Hulled Hempseed Whole Wheat Bread

1 1/3 cups water
1 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 1/3 cups whole wheat bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup hulled hemp seeds

In a bowl dissolve honey in water. Sprinkle yeast and let proof for 10 minutes. Stir in the oil.

In a stand mixer bowl combine salt, flours, flaxseed meal, and hulled hemp seeds.

Add yeast mixture to dry mixture.

Transfer to oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place till it doubles in size (about 1 hour). Punch down and form into loaf. Place in loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside till it doubles in size (about 45 minutes).

Bake at 350º for 40 minutes.

Daily Outfit: And There's Only One Thing Left to Do When They've Got You All Surrounded...

Oh you are not hallucinating, I am indeed bare armed and bare legged in February. I am taking full advantage of the 70 degree weather we are experiencing. My legs were thrilled to be sans tights today, even if I did spend most of the day cooped up in the basement of my office inventorying boxes of incentive items. Thrilling, I know.

So the first three remixes were pretty easy to come up with, but this one... this is where it got tricky. I wanted to wear the dress like a skirt, but since the fabric is too thick to fold the top down, I had to get more creative. While this is not exactly wearing it as a skirt, it does sort of get at the feel I was going for. I for one, really like how this turned out!













What:
Scarf: Gift, Lilly Pulitzer (Similar)
Vest: LOFT
Dress: Liz Claiborne
Shoes: Made by Me (Tutorial Here)

When:
February 18, 2011

FBFF: Body Image

1. Since you started blogging has your image of yourself changed? 
Not really.  I've learned what sorts of things look best on my body type and where certain things should hit on my body to be most flattering.  I've always had a good image of myself.

2. Are you self-conscious about any aspect of yourself? If so, do you go out of your way to avoid it or do you post it/talk about it anyway?
Not particularly.  Basically the only thing that I am uneasy about are the scars on my stomach from having moles removed.  My scars keloid, so they look all lumpy and weird and I don't really like them.  They've been there a few years now, and so I'm getting used to them and they are actually getting smaller, but I still feel a little self conscious about them.

3. Based on how you are feeling now, what do you think the future holds in the evolution of your body image?
I hope it stays the same.  I mean I know that I am going to have to work out and eat right to keep my body in the shape that it's in now, but reguardless I have always had the attitude that this is my body and it's beautiful.

4. Do you photograph yourself for your blog? If so, how do you feel about the experience when you're having your picture taken? If you choose not to post pictures of yourself, what prompted that decision?
Yes, I do take pictures of myself for my blog.  I am so much more comfortable taking pictures of myself with my tripod and remote than I am having my picture taken.  I feel like can do crazy things and try different angles and stuff much better when I am in complete control.  I always want to tell the person taking my pictures how I want them taken, which just makes for a long photo shoot because I can never explain it.  And I am also awkward, so having someone else take my pictures feels awkward to me.  I would rather just do it myself.

5. What would you want every person who struggles with body image to take to heart? 
You're body is beautiful. You are beautiful.  Seeing yourself as beautiful is the first step in having others think of you as beautiful.  Also, being healthy is more important than anything else.  If you face body issues surrounding weight, it's so important to face your issues head on and in a healthy way.  Quick, fast, secretive ways of dealing with body issues are never the answer and will only make your body image issues, and you health, worse in the end.

Head over to ModlyChic to find the full list of participants and check out what they had to say on this week's topic!

Daily Outfit: I'm Better Off Living with Memories

I love this color combination; grapey purple and mustard yellow.  It's pretty much my new favorite color combo.  Also, can we talk about how tough these tights are?  I was trying to climb onto this window and couldn't get a good grip and I kept falling back off of it and scraped my leg like three times.  Even though I scraped that skin off my leg UNDERNEATH the tights, the tights weren't harmed at all.  I was pretty impressed, after I got over the fact that my leg hurt.  Also, I am not THIS obscenely pale, I promise.  For some reason some photos were crazy bright and others were normal, so I had to just work with what I had and my trusty Photoshop to make the best of it.  Somehow that ended in very bright white skin.  I mean I am obscenely pale, don't get me wrong, but just not as pale as some of these photos would have you believe!

So I am looking for a few bloggers to do some guest posts for me. A few in March and a few more in May.  If you are interested please shoot me an email (pixie.in.pumps@gmail.com) and let me know!
















What:
Sweater: ModCloth
Dress: Liz Claiborne
Skirt: J. Crew (here)
Tights: We Love Colors (Rubine) (here)
Belt: Unknown
Shoes: Betsey Johnson

When:
February 15, 2011

Daily Outfit: Happy Valentine's Day!

 So here's outfit two of my little dress remix.  I think we all knew this skirt was eventually going to get paired with this dress.  It's like a pattern mixing staple!  And I love it.

So it's Valentine's Day, and while I don't have a significant other I am very blessed to have wonderful friends (hello my Wife and my Eternal Valentine!) and a great family.  My dad sent me an edible arrangement on Friday for Valentine's day, which was so sweet.  He's always been amazing about sending my sister and I things like this on Valentine's day.  I never felt like that sad high school girl with no boyfriend on Valentine's day because I was that girl carrying a giant cookie bouquet around school all day.  I think that's probably why I have never been one to dislike Valentine's day on the account of not having "someone to spend it with".  I've always enjoyed it as a time to show the people around me how much I care about them.  So happy valentine's day my lovely readers!  I really appreciate you all and hope you will be my collective valentine this year!











What:
Blouse: LOFT
Dress: Liz Claiborne
Skirt: Target
Belt: ModCloth
Tights: Simply Vera, via Kohls
Boots: Victoria Secret

When:
February 11, 2010

FBFF: Color Explosion!

I started to do a video for this one... but after recording it and listening to it my skin was practically crawling listening to it! I hope my accent is just exaggerated because I'm tired... becuase if not. I need to move out of the south and fast!  Anyways, We Love Colors is showing their support for FBFF and we as I am a lover of We Love Colors, I am showing my love for them!*  Enjoy my thought on color and some photos of me rockin' some of the colorful We Love Colors tights in my collection!

1. What color dominates your closet?

I actually just mentioned this.  There's an over abundance of blue! I do however still have a lot of other colors as well.  It just seems there is much more blue than anything else.

2. If money weren't an issue how would you change the color emphasis
in your closet?

You know I don't think I'd do much differently.  I have a lot of color in my closet and get use out of it.  I might buy a few things in different colors, but I wouldn't do any kind of major color overhaul.

 3. What is your mantra about mixing colors?

 Try it.  I'm not afraid of color or color combination.  The only ways to find out if you like a color combination is to see it on someone (or something) else, or to try it out yourself.  I often try things together that I don't end up liking, but if I don't try, I may never know.

4. For you, how do you incorporate color into your outfits?

Again I try it.  It might be in a shirt, skirt, pants, shoes, or other accessory... I never really know until I put it on.  I wear color in as many ways as I can.

5. Which blogger(s) do you think do a good job of incorporating color
into their wardrobe? 

Suze, of course.  She's the queen of color!

Head over to ModlyChic to find the full list of participants and check out what they had to say on this week's topic!

*I was not asked to promote We Love Colors products and have no affiliation with the brand other than being a avid buyer!

Daily Outfit: With Hearts Involved There's Way Too Much to Loose

Soooo... as you can see you guys picked the Liz Claiborne zig zag dress as the dress that I will be remixing.  The Green Anthropologie dress was a close second!  I am really excited to remix this dress and glad that it is made from a thicker material as we've apparently got snow coming in (Mother Nature... I'm displeased with you right now).  I have to say, one of us is going to go cross-eyed by the end of this remixing challenge from looking at this dress.  I'm pretty sure its going to be me!

Looking in the mirror I really was not completely sold on these colors together, but editing the pictures I was LOVING them.  Funny how our mirrors tell us lies sometimes.











What:
Blouse: Anthropologie
Dress: Liz Claiborne
Sash: Off of an Anthropologie Dress
Tights: We Love Colors
Boots: Seychelles

When:
February 9, 2011