Friend Friday: Inspirations

This weeks Friend Friday questions:

Inspiration - To further mark one year of FBFF we are going 
to answer the same set of questions asked this time last year as I 
think they are still pertinent today and usually ever changing.

Which celebrity (celebrities) do you look to for fashion 
inspiration?

Of course there’s Zooey Deschanel and I’ll leave it at that so I don’t further bother you with my girl crush on her.

I also really like Rachel Bilson, Eva Mendez, Diane Kruger, and Kirsten Dunst. They all have great personal style.

When it comes to your own personal style, what inspires you?

I'm inspired by classic movies, fashion editorials, you name it. I also have a TON of magazine clippings that I need to downsize. But also in the past 6 months, I've been really inspired by other style bloggers. I like seeing how they would style items from places that I shop like Target or the Gap.

How do you hope to inspire your readers? 

That you can have great style without having to try too hard and having fun at the same time. That ou don't always have to follow trends and be set in one style. Try new things and if it works out, awesome. But if not, it's not the end of your blog. I once received a Tweet from one of my readers that I inspiring them to wear more dresses/skirts in the spring/summer. I really appreciated that and it made my day.

Outside the realm of fashion who/what inspires you? 

Those who create things for themselves to be successful at and not waiting for someone to hand it to them. I do get comfortable and complacent with where I'm at in my life and I need to read about those who stepped out of their comfort zone and got things done.

One of those that inspire me is actress Felicia Day. I had no clue who she was until two years ago when I went to go see Dr. Horrible's SingAlong Blog with my then boyfriend. He then introduced me to this web-series she did called The Guild and the story behind it really cool.

She is awesome

 I'm probably going to butcher it, but here's a basic run through of the story. She had an idea about a show of World of Warcraft style gamers and was pitching it to TV producers. But none were interested and instead of giving up, Felicia along with her producer/friend Kim Evey, decided to produce it themselves as a web-series. The first season was entirely funded by them and eventually they ran out of money. However their fan base was so loyal that viewers would start sending money via PayPal and they were able to finish filming the rest of the first season. The second season they got sponsored by Microsoft and The Guild has been gaining fans ever since. They have just started filming season 5 and when I went to their panel at Comic-Con last year, it was amazing to see how many people where there to see them. It's reminds me that I shouldn't be afraid of pursing my passions because as crazy and stressed out it can be, following your dreams is also really rewarding. To bring it closer to home, our very own Katy recently published her book, Aurora Undefined. That makes me realize if she can get her book published, I can stop procrastinating and finally finish setting up my Etsy store. 

And since Idol is ending… Which songs inspire you?

I'm always inspired but this song from my favorite band ever...

Check out what inspires my fellow bloggers over at Modly Chic!

Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart, The Very Next Day You Gave It Away

It feels like once Thanksgiving comes around, the next 6 weeks are in overdrive. Christmas is already next week. I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping, just have the parentals left, which will be pretty easy. My mom has mentioned once or twice about wanting gift cards to T.J. Maxx. As for my dad, I usually get him a Home Depot gift card. Maybe I'll switch it up and get him a Lowes gift card. Crazy! I have my mini Christmas tree up, but I just need to find the decorations and I keep forgetting to buy a power strip so I can actually light my tree. Once I get that all settled, I'll take some pictures of it.

 I also found out that there's a outdoor ice skating rink 15 minutes from my house. I'm hoping I can go there when my sister and her boyfriend are in town next week. Although it probably won't look as fancy to them since they live in NYC, which has the beautiful ice rink at the Rockefeller Center. Now I just need to find a place with pretty Christmas lights and I'll have my little Christmas list complete.

You know what else I like about Christmas?

The music of course.

Here's a little list of some of my favorite Christmas songs.

Create a MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

I love Conan's and Chris Martin's version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."
Too Funny.

Three Chords

RuffleTop: Forever 21

Polka-dot Cardigan: Express

Boyfriend Jeans: Old Navy

Black mini-wedges: Payless

Necklace: Express

It was my last day off before a six day work week and the crazy last minute Christmas shoppers. Did I mention that I work 4pm-1am for four of those days? Awesome...not. So basically I woke up at 9am, but stayed in bed until noon watching TV and playing Angry Birds on my iPod. Eventually I got out of bed and starting getting things ready for my sisters visit next week. (yay!) Then I made my way to the library to drop off some books and DVDs. I also did some thrifting at my local Goodwill. It's been two months since I last stepped into a thrift store, so I spent a good hour or so exploring. While I was there I spotted this painting in the home goods area.

I thought about getting it, but I didn't have anywhere in my room to put it. But now when I think about it, I should have gotten it. Plus it was only $8 bucks. Argh. I'm going back to Goodwill tomorrow after work in the hopes it will still be there. So while I came home Bambi paintingless, I did end up getting a dress, cardigan, and jacket. I also got this...

A ukulele! Ok, it's a more like a child size starter guitar and it's horribly out of tune. But I can pretend that it's a ukulele until I get my real one. This makes up for the child sized accordion I almost got at the thrift store last year, but someone else got to it first.

I Hate when that happens, don't you?

Bonus! Jimmy Eat World was on Conan last night.
 Here's a video of them performing. :)
Oh and when a guy wears a button up under a v-neck sweater = swoon. :P

Ten

Bonus Sunday Video post! 

In honor of 10-10-10, here's my favorite "Ten" song.

"It's how the hustle goes, see what the jukebox knows..."

After my eventful concert experience and on the second day of three day weekend, I decided to do some thrift store shopping at the local Goodwill and scored some great deals. I found two really cute light wool blazers that were 50% off. The first one is this navy and green plaid. They have some major shoulder pads that I plan on taking out.

I also got this really cute bluish-gray blazer. It's a little tight on the arms but it was too cute to pass up,
so I plan on giving it to my sister.


I also got some new shoes. I've been eying them for some time and today during my lunch hour, I went to the Famous Footwear two stores away from where I work and bought them. Luckily they were on sale and with my 20% off coupon, I got them for around $50 bucks. Can't wait to wear them.


They have this 30's/40's vibe to them with the patent leather and ruffles down the front. I think they would look really cute with some jeans or khakis with the cuffs rolled up with a shirt and blazer/cardigan.



One more thing: I can just kick myself for not looking up when this was taken. I'm in the front row looking down next to the bald guy. I think I was trying to get a guitar pick or something. :-P

"Nowhere, going nowhere in the fake yellow light..."

I saw Jimmy Eat World at the House of Blues San Diego last night and I have to say it was amazing. They were touring to commemorate the 10th anniversary of their Clarity album which they played in it's entirety. It was great getting a chance to hear these songs live even the 16 minute, "Goodbye Sky Harbor."

The security guards at the HOB were really strict about taking pictures. They wouldn't even let the crowd take pictures with their camera phones. But I did manage to sneak in a couple with my phone.

Look... drums!

A very blurry picture of guitarist Tom Linton

To top that off, I got the set list. I didn't get it signed, but it's still great nonetheless.


I thought this concert called for a vest and chucks. :-PButton-up shirt: Old Navy
Vest: Gap
Jeans: Converse for Target
Shoes: Converse