Besides my general love for IGoByKatie, I was so excited that she posted about natural makeup products.  You remember I’d been worried about animal testing… well I can’t say I’m up for human testing either.  I’ve read too much about how lead poisoning from Victorian cosmetics to fully trust the makeup industry, but it’s hard to weed through all the greenwashing!

Thanks to Katie for this awesome post on natural makeup products.  BTW you might be able to mix some blush pigment with the chapstick to make a tinted lip balm.  I dunno, I obviously don’t manufacture makeup, but I do use my (apparently poisonous) lipstick on my cheeks/eyes a lot.

 

Liberty of London Sneakers… I die.

Aren’t these shoes adoooooorabllllllel!!?!?????? In the words of the great Rachel Zoe, I die.  I used to have a navy pair of Vans-looking shoes I loved.  Then I got a giant pair of bright green Elements that I felt gave me a lot of street cred.  And now these.  Queen-to-be of my shoe collection.

I don’t normally steal pictures, but these were so cute that I got the photo from Sneaker Freaker where you can see low-tops and other fabrics too!

Springy Steps

Headband and top: made by me.  Jeans: Kohl’s. Flats: Naturalizer via Dillards. Bracelet: thrifted.

Check out this snappy bracelet.  Black and gold tigers!  Whenever someone comments I like to hold up my wrist and move the tigers faces in and out while making kissing noises.  They are in love.

Baller.

Speaking of baller, have y’all checked out Picasa?  Muy helpful to me and my sad little photos, muchas gracias.

Miss Murple

Shoes: Antonio Melani via Dillards.  Tights: Target.  Dress: via Filene’s. Sweater: made by me.  Earrings: hand-me-down.

No relation.  I have orange earrings and he doesn’t.

I love that in the spring I can wear a blazer and pants one day and a short (too short for work? what do you think?) dress and short-sleeved sweater the next.  Supposedly this is how the weather always is in California… I can’t really even fathom that because my brain automatically assumes there’ll be a 3-month span of triple-digit temperatures somewhere in there.

The evening report

I normally post in the morning, and I’m normally not posting photos where I look this much like a newscaster.  The world is ever-changing.

Each of these were taken accidentally, but put them together and you get my frankenbody.  Shoes: thrifted.  Pants: Kohl’s.  Top: gift.  Jacket: Loft. Necklace: Made by Me!

This necklace is a recent creation and I’m loving it.  It’s like pearls, made of upcycled material.  I love a ribbon closure; I think it’s so elegant.  This ribbon was also salvaged, so it’s a super eco-friendly little item. 

5 Questions

I found these on Mucho Mucho Bueno Bueno (fellow Texans!) and thought I’d share.  Doing these little questionnaires can sometimes give me such a new perspective…

1. If you could live anywhere in the world where would that be? I haven’t been that many places in terms of  “the whole world”.  The most beautiful city I’ve been to was Granada, but I don’t know if I could live in Spain.  I really love the Texas Hill Country, and would probably love living anywhere with that kind of exposure to nature.  My boyfriend and I talk about moving to Jackson Hole a lot, and this summer we get to visit!

2. Are you happy with where you live? Dallas/Fort Worth has so much to offer, I really get a kick out of it.  It’s easy to find neat things to do or new things to explore.  My family is close and we are pretty centrally located to some great road trips if we need to ‘get away’.  If I could change anything, it would be the landscape– not too impressive.

3. How often do you go on vacation? It seems like the boyfriend and I go on little road trips every other month.  I have a few fun trips planned for this year, and part of working/living the way I do is so that I can travel at least a little.  I love it!  As a young adult, this may not be the most lucrative time in my life, but it certainly offers the most free time!

4. If you could change your profession and start all over what would you do? I might like to go into some kind of design.  I am fairly happy with my current career as I have room for creativity and developing both hard and soft skills.  I also really like the idea of architecture, or continuing on to get a PhD in comparative literature, but I may still do either of those things.

5. Are you honestly happy right now? Yes.  I have to commute a lot, but it gives me time to think.  I wish I worked less, but that is a temporary arrangement while I pay off loans.  In the meantime I develop my career(s) in many different directions and I’ve always found that to be a good thing!

What about you?

Miscellany

Cardi/ shoes: Target.  Blouse / Pants: Loft.  Earrings: Made by me.

You saw these earrings at the beginning of Me-Made-March.  Super fun and retro-looking.  I have an order for four pairs that I am probably going to fill this weekennd.  It’s from a coworker who pretty much wants to buy a version of everything I make, so who knows how serious she is, but  I take requests very seriously… so looks like she’s buyin’ some earrings.

Two things that have made me very happy lately:

1. Scoring big at Ann Taylor Loft last week– two jackets, the above pants, and the above shirt all for under $100!  I love– love– the quality of Ann Taylor and Loft garments.  I’m never quite willing to fork it over for their accessories, but I do think that store has lovely classic pieces, and the finishing makes me so happy.  You’ll probably see all 4 pieces this week… Yay!  P.S. Just found out they have deals for teachers.  Totally on that.  Teaching community college totally counts.

2. The Dermalogica skin care set I got at Shecky’s Girls’ Night Out.  I’d been gradually upping the ante on skin care over the years, starting to use moisturizer, starting to use toner, using a night cream, etc., but didn’t have any real idea of what I was doing.  At the Shecky’s event a lovely lady named Regina (works at the Ulta in Frisco if you want to meet her!) did a ‘facemapping’ where she basically just touched my face a lot and looked real hard at it.  She asked what I used to exfoliate and I told her “a washcloth” and she just looked back at me and repeated “washcloth” as if she were trying to think of other possible meanings for washcloth.  Nope.  That’s what I was using.

So, despite some feeling that I was being sold a bottle of snake oil, I went with some of her recommendations for usage and bought the Starter Kit.  It’s got a cleanser, a moisturizer, a daily exfoliant, an eye cream, and a weekly exfoliating cream.  I’ve been using it about two weeks and can really tell the difference.  Granted, probably anything used with regularity would make a difference, but my skin is a lot brighter, smoother, and even!  I’m super pleased!  Here’s me yesterday, with just undereye concealer, eyeliner, mascara, blush, and lipstick.

I didn’t have real skin problems before, but I have a lot less bumps and blotches.  Maybe this photo is lookin’ kinda shiny, but for no face makeup I’m pretty happy!  The set was $22, and I got a free ‘booster’ kit (another exfoliant and cleanser) for free.  I’ll definitely go back for more when this runs out.

Blogger spotlight #1– Recycled Fashion

Erica posts the coolest things over at Recycled Fashion.  From her own projects to cool ideas to upcoming collections, I learn a lot about different happenings from reading her blog.

If you’re an aspiring refashionista or just like hearing about sustainable trends, check her out!  I know I do.

Today she tells us about the…

… which sounds incredibly hard.

Synopsis

Full disclosure:  This weekend I wore the same outfit Saturday and Sunday– jeans, a striped tee, and a necklace I made from a stone shaped like a claw.

Today I’m replacing the jeans with a navy dress and calling it work-appropriate!

Dress & Necklace: made by me.  Shirt: Target.  Belt: Old Navy.  Loafers: thrifted Coach.

This outfit breaks all kindsa rules, but in keeping with I’m Clothed Much’s attitude, I say “rules are lame.”

Tomorrow: Some new clothes!

Back in Black

Me-Made-March Day 18.

No full-length mirror, but you know you love the black against the sea-foam green tile.  Flats: Naturalizer. Jeans: Target. Top: Made by me.

I wore this with a gifted neon pink, green, blue, and black striped headscarf for a pop of color.  Here’s a close-up of the top, maybe the second thing I ever sewed.  I made it from some black fabric leftover from making costumes for Man of la Mancha.