Tag Archives: fashion

How to refresh your old jeans!

April 30, 2013 By in love DIY Tags: , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments
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Before

I was sick of my only pair of skinny jeans looking faded and making me feel less than skinny. Black is slimming! Grey, not so much. So into the dye they went!

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Before detail shot

This may be one of my easiest DIY posts to date. Even if you’ve never journeyed into the wonderful world of tie-dye, you can figure this one out.

Supplies

  • Faded jeans
  • Clothes Dye (I’ve had good experiences with RIT dye, but this time I used Tulip.
  • Very hot water

Follow the dye manufacturer’s instructions since they may vary by brand, but check out the hints below.

after1

After!

Hint: I get the water even hotter than the package recommends. I don’t think water from the sink is hot enough to make the dye dark enough. I actually get the water to a very light simmer on the stove, then put in the dye and stir, stir, stir!

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After detail.

Also: Don’t wear anything you even remotely like when dyeing clothes. It may splash on you and it will never come out– that’s the point!

Have you ever dyed clothing?

love,
melanie

DIY Ombre Sunglasses

April 8, 2013 By in love DIY Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

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It seems like the ombre trend will never die, huh? Oh well. I love it and I’m not afraid to omber-ize everything– including my sunglasses.

Here’s the how-to:

sunglasses1Supplies:

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Step 1 (Optional): (Enlist your husband) to drill small holes into the ends of your sunglasses. This will allow the ombre effect to be carried to the ends of the sunglasses. If you skip this step, you will just have to end the thread earlier on the sunglasses and leave the behind-the-ear-part empty. (Fancy terminology, huh?)

sunglasses3Step 2: Place a piece of tape sticky-side up onto the back of the glasses. This makes the process much easier because the thread won’t slide around.

sunglasses4Step 3: Tie a knot on the end of the of glasses closest to the eye.

sunglasses5Step 5: Begin neatly wrapping the thread around the sunglasses. This is where you can be creative with the process and switch up your colors.

Step 6: End the thread by neatly wrapping through the hole drilled in the end of the sunglasses. Tie a knot and dot the ends with fabric glue for extra strength.

Step 7: Repeat on the other side!

sunglasses6Annnnnd done! We’re ready to hit the beach!

love,
melanie

 

 

 

Easy Before and After: Snow Boots

March 19, 2013 By in love DIY Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Boots_BeforeI know spring is on the way and I live in the south, but snow boots were a total necessity this year. For a couple of months, it seemed like I needed these boots every weekend. Normally, I don’t need snow boots, so I have a hard time justifying buying a pair of cute, new boots. I’ve actually had these boots since middle school!

I love the recent trend of colored laces, so I decided to do an easy, upgrade on my boots by replacing the old, worn laces with bright, pink neon laces.

boots_afterUpgrade! Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am!

Do you have David Bowie songs stuck in your head yet? Have you completed any SUPER easy DIYs lately?

love,
melanie

 

DIY Dolce and Gabbana Floral Sunnies

March 5, 2013 By in love DIY, love style Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

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Do you ever see something you want and you just can’t get it out of your head? That is how I felt about these sunglasses. It was irrational, but I after seeing them on Pinterest could not stop! I was a mad (and broke) woman desperate for a pair of Dolce and Gabana sunglasses. Knowing that my bank account & I are not friends, I decided to break out my trusty glue gun and get to craftin’!

I’m super pleased about how this DIY turned out. It was super easy & so, so cheap!

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Step 1: Break out your supplies. You will need a pair of sunglasses (I found mine at the Dollar Store), a hot glue gun, rosettes, scissors and spray paint (optional).

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Step 2: (optional) I loved the look of the black flowers so I spray painted them. You could leave the flowers as is for a more colorful look. You’ll notice I enlisted the help of George for this one. He is way better at spray painting than I am. He also had the brilliant idea to tape the flowers to a piece of cardboard, so they didn’t roll around during the spraying process.

Step 3: Let the rosettes dry & heat up your glue gun. I also cut some of the “leaves” off the rosettes to place them closer together, but that is an optional step.

Step 4: Working your way inward, place a small dot of glue on the sunglasses. Put rosette into the glue and hold for 10 seconds or until cool.

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Step 5: (optional) Hit the beach in your fabulous new sunnies! You’re a doll!

love,
melanie

Books and Looks: A Look Inspired by Weetzie Bat

February 21, 2013 By in love books, love style Tags: , , , , , , , 7 Comments

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Jacket: Valentine’s gift from George; Pants: vintage; Scarf: Free People; Moccasins: Minnetonka; Belt: vintage

I want to get back into posting outfits again. It is so easy to just put on a giant grandma sweater and go to work. My lack of enthusiasm for dressing lately made me think: “What am I enthusiastic about?” And the answer is books. So I thought it might be fun to combine something I’m not so crazy for with something I am crazy for and create “looks inspired by books.”

Most recently I’ve been reading the YA cult-classic, Weetzie Bat. I have to be honest with ya’ll, I didn’t love Weetzie. In fact, I’ve read other Francesca Lia Block books before and I didn’t like those either. I think the plot moves too fast and there isn’t enough dialog. But Block’s books do have plenty of rich description– and Weetzie Bat is no exception.

My look is inspired by not just the main character, Weetzie, but also inspired by her best friend, Dirk, and the city they love, Los Angeles.

What inspires you?
love,
melanie

Love Friday: June 8th

June 8, 2012 By in love friday Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

This weekend I’m traveling to the mountains to get wedding mess ironed out. I sound excited, right? I love traveling, but I’ve been doing a little too much of it lately. I need a long, homey rest.

10. 

This roasted peach lemonade by The Naptime Chef sounds so good right now.

9. These awkward, old school dance photos are far too real for me. I might have to dig out some of my dance photos when I’m home this weekend. So embarrassing.

8.  

I love this picture of Lauren Bacall from Filmjournalen magazine. I wish I looked that chic at work!

7. The annual American Library Association conference is coming up! This year it is in Anaheim. I’m attending, are you?

6.

I go through phases where I’m obsessed with gold. I adore this stationary by Brown Paper.

5. Gorgeous paper wedding backdrop on Style Me Pretty.

4.

I’m dying over the Dear Creatures Fall 2012 line. The cat ears! Spied via: Oh So Lovely Vintage.

3.  Erica Elizabeth Designs on Etsy may be changing my mind about wedding veils. Her designs are so dreamy!

2. 

These “Embroidered” cookies by SweetAmbs on Etsy are gorgeous.

1. Have you seen the trailer for The Perks of Being A Wallflower? It was one of my favorite books as a teen and the movie looks rather promising!

love,
melanie

Love Friday: May 25th

May 25, 2012 By in love friday Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

I’m a little late on the Friday Love because I had to go out of town for a doctor’s appointment. Doctor’s appointments are always quite the tragedy for me. I have a terrible fear of needles and I had to get stuck twice this time. Apparently when you are so nervous that you are sweating and crying, your blood doesn’t want to evacuate you body…

It’s embarassing, but good to share our fears, don’t you think? Anyway, these links are making me feel loads better.

10. 

This gorgeous ’40s hair tutorial from The Beauty Department and Lauren Conrad. 

9. 14 Easy Ways to get Insanely Motivated from INC. All easy in theory.

8. 

Etsy’s How-to Tuesday‘s 10 colorful crafts links. I particularly like this one by Hew and Sew, because it is EASY!

7. The Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction finalists look excellent. I’m especially excited to read Swamplandia! A surrealist story about 12-year-old gator-wrestling Ava Bigtree and her eccentric family. Sounds good, huh?

6. 

This kitchen is so gorgeous. I don’t even usually like green, but this is divine.

5. Since my tragic doctor experience today, I’ve been Googling how to overcome fears. I found this article from The Positivity Blog to be comforting.

4. 

Sparkly Lemon Cookies! By Martha, of course.

3. This summer, Barnes and Noble is offering a free book to kids who read 8 books and fill out a reading journal!

2. 

I’m thinking about buying a pair of Saltwaters for the beach because I despise flip-flops. Are Saltwaters too cliche? It seems like I see them everywhere, but they’re some of the only sandals I’ve seen that I don’t hate. The gold is kinda pretty, right?

1. 

I’m so excited about this movie! I hope it lives up to my expectations, it looks AH-MAZING!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend! Do ya’ll have any plans?

love,
melanie

Love Love: THE Dress

May 15, 2012 By in love love Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I was planning on writing a post today about our outing to the Great Dismal Swamp last weekend. It was beautiful and I took some pictures FROM A MOTORCYCLE AT 60 MPH! But instead, I feel the need to write about my first “ack” wedding experience. Judge me if you must.

As of this moment, I think I am going to wear this dress during our after-wedding party and buy another dress for our ceremony.

So, today I made an appointment to try on dresses. Le sigh. It wasn’t as I had hoped. I felt like I was judged on my budget over the phone. So before I am even at the salon, I’m judged. Am I overreacting? Maybe. Maybe the girl on the phone just had an annoying voice, or maybe she has no phone manners? Maybe, but…

  • The dress that I’m in love with online isn’t even available in their store or anywhere in NC until the fall. Ack.
  • I’m already nervous about my mom being judgmental about my dress budget. Ack.
  • I’m nervous about feeling fat and uncomfortable when trying on dresses. Ack. I’ve cried in a dressing room before. Ack. I’m sure most of you girls and maybe some dudes have too. Ack.

I can be a real Cathy sometimes. Rationally, I know this is a dumb thing to stress about. Really, it isn’t that bad. I haven’t even gone to the salon yet. Maybe I haven’t even seen THE DRESS. Maybe there is no such thing as THE DRESS. Maybe it is like Santa, he/the dress are real if you want to believe.

I just love fashion and I put a lot of importance on THE DRESS. I want to love it and feel amazing in it. ME.ME.ME.ME.ME.

Rant over.

Video Commence:

Cathy – SNL

Was your dress-buying experience a positive one?

love,
melanie

Love Friday: May 11th

May 11, 2012 By in love friday Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Welcome to the May 11th edition of Love Friday! A round-up of wondrous things I discovered from around the web this past week.

10.

4 Whiskey Sour Recipes. One of my all-time favorite drinks!

9. The Weekly Review: How One Hour Can Save You A Week’s Worth of Hassle and Headache. I’m thinking about doing this at end of each week. Does anyone do this? Does it help?

8.

Being Happy is Productive. I love this so much! I’m not sure if I have the original source linked or not. Damn, tumblr. If someone knows who the illustrated this, let me know.

7. 

Book People Unite! An adorable video from Reading is Fundamental. LeVar Burton makes a cameo appearance!

6.  How to start your blog with a bang by Elsie and Kinsey. I don’t really follow any of these guidelines, but que sera, sera.

5. 

Should you quit your day job to blog? Probably not. But the infographic is cute!

4. Freeze coffee in ice cube trays to make coffee ice cubes. I’ve been using coffee ice cubes all week in my iced coffee and it makes such a difference! I don’t know why I’ve never thought of this before…

3.

I’m dying over this Zac Posen dress. Of course, it is sold out. Anyone know where I can find it?

2. 10 Famous Fiction Writers and Their Cocktails. I swear I’m not a lush.

1.

Our president spoke out in favor of same-sex marriage!

I hope ya’ll have a lovely weekend. We are planning a motorcycle ride and a picnic. Are you planning anything fun?

love,
melanie

Love Style: Derby Day

May 7, 2012 By in love style Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Is it silly to get dressed up to watch a two minute horse race on tv? Yes, probably. But sometimes I need an excuse to wear a large hat.

I had big plans to make my own fabulous hat, and of course, share the details with you all. But I had bigger fish to fry. No really, I had to make lunch for George and myself.

Oh well. I can only do so much.

Did you watch the Kentucky Derby on Saturday? Did you dress up? If so, I’d love to see your outfit! 

Sweater: Vintage
Skirt: Anthropologie
Belt: Vintage
Hat: Target
Bow on Hat: American Apparel
Shoes: Target
Earrings: Vintage

love,
melanie

P.S. I’ve updated the photos. Do the colors look dull to you? I think it may be a mac vs. PC thing, but I don’t know. Anyone else have problems with the colors changing after uploading the photos?

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