{ sequinly } awaiting

although it was a cloudy weekend down in east florida, we still got dressed up and enjoyed ourselves with a long lost russian friend and a few of his coworkers by grabbing a few fabulous dinners and drinks and ending the nights at a few of their favorite clubs.  even though the weather was slightly disappointing, i was still thankful for the 80 degrees (compared to the 24 and frost back home) that allowed me to wear one of my favorite skirts. however,  once we reached the clubs, i had discovered that i had dressed way too conservative for an all hallows eve down in those parts.  next time ill have to remember that clothing is optional rather than required.  another note to keep in mind: down there, people do not go out until after midnight... so getting ready at eight is not ideal.

{ forever 21 tank & necklace, j crew sequin bell mesh skirt, ash sandals, vintage gucci watch (i inherited from my grandmother) & clutch, essie in stitches & deborah lippmann boom boom pow (fingers), opi no spain no gain (toes) }

im in { miami } trick

my boyfriend wanted to go visit some offices in florida to determine if those are places he would prefer to transfer to once his program is done in the next year.  we started off down in palm beach last thursday but then shimmied on over to miami for the weekend.  we stayed at the four seasons down in the financial district, but spent most of our days down on south beach people watching the most interesting characters i have even seen (given that it was halloween weekend) while sipping margaritas.  although the weather wasn't very welcoming, it still was an entertaining trip that i hope we can do again sometime soon withing the future.  

 { my favorite part of a vacation... sunday breakfast in bed }

{ last minute }

if your anything like me, you leave halloween costume determination and design to the last minute.  i always am finding myself scrounging around the few days before for the most perfect costume to wear.  im not one to go out and buy one of those $50 pre-made ones that you can buy at the halloween stores (and look like about 80% of the people at the party).  instead, i like to use clothing items that i can reuse.  last year i was a peacock where i used a bright blue dress and attached feathers to it.  it turned out beautifully and cost my about $20 overall.  i have worn the dress since such as in the summer for a dinner party (the blue looks great against tanned skin).  i figured i would supply some of you last minuters with a few ideas as well.  if you already have one, share with me.... what are you going to be??

the walls have { eyes }

{ long necked swampskipper }

i grew up in a hunter home, surrounded by the trophies my father had gotten that year and those prior.  i have never minded them hanging on the wall, however, more than one can become a little overbearing (especially if they are real... talk about creepy when walking around alone at home).  i  was open minded to taking one once i got a place of my own, but i think i have found something a little more fun and a little less morbid.  horrible adorables has me absolutely 'awwwing' over there dr. seuss-esque taxidermy decor.  they are more adorable than the real deal with the plus side of not having to had killed anyone to fulfill my interior decor needs.  my favorite is the one above (i have always been dying to catch my own 'nessy'), but i can't ignore the ones below:     

{ sherbert fox }

{ wooly bool }

{ giant hedgie }

{ horned dolphin }

{ curly horned antelamb }

{ sherbert otter }

{ images via horrible adorables }

{ aerosal } art

can you believe these are done by spray paint?  watch how brandon mcconnel does them:

{ images via space paintings }

coming { home }

the last two weeks and weekends have been crazy. they started off with my second anatomy exam followed by me playing catch up with the rest of my life. last weekend, a few of my old roomates and their boyfriends (or fiancé) came up to stay with me and tailgate for the michigan game. we had a blast spending the day frolicking around campus, bypassing bar lines and having shark bowl races at our favorite local bar (aka hole in the wall called the landshark). the city was packed with alum as people from all over the country came home to cheer on their beloved college team.  this weekend, two of my friends came up for the homecoming game against wisconsin where we basically had a repeat of the week prior (did you get a chance to see the hail mary?? check it out).  i tried catching up on sleep last night, however, my high anxiety for my third anatomy exam this wednesday got the best of me.  i am anxiously awaiting this weeked where ill be spending my halloween in the warm weather of florida (a much needed vacation).

{ loopyboopy } dolls

{ lola }

with halloween a week away, i feel as if i can share these strangely goth art dolls by loopyboopy that i have secretly been coveting since i had found them on etsy about a year ago.  as i had stated here, the nightmare before christmas is a regular flick around this time a year.  but just because it is halloween does not mean that i do not watch it consistently throughout the other months.  i love the gothic-esque ambiance tim burton develops while incorporating a more modern design to what would otherwise be a victorian style.  each doll is hand sculpted, painted and dressed in the finest handmade costumes.  wouldn't it be cute to get one personally designed to resemble yourself?  if you are interested in looking at others that loopyboopy has previously designed, you can check them out here.

{ bridgette }

{ sonya }

{ sophia }

{ isabella }

{ storyville mathilde }

{ hazel }

{ x-traordinairy }

thanks to honestly...wtf, i was introduced to these extraordinary pieces of art that slightly remind me of tim burton's corpse bride (which is a watched regular, along with his other film the nightmare before christmas, every halloween).  with a needle, mathew cox has combined the living and the dead in his embroidered x-rays; mixing the soft, warm texture of rich colored thread with the hard, cold-to-the-touch, black and white, dreary plastic.  if you have fallen in love with these slightly creepy masterpieces as much as i have, you can look at more of his pieces here and here.

{ images via my modern met }

easy-peazy { lemon } squeezy

i have always been one who has been very self conscious of what my skin looks like, especially my face (who isn't??).  it seemed as if the random zits would mystically appear at just the right times.  i would overly wash it to try to banish them as quickly as possible, only resulting in an overly dry face like the sahara desert and splotches from the different locations of where i start to peel.  over the summer, i had came across a natural remedy for a toner for such a skin type (or any other for that matter).  the ingredients:  lemon juice and water.  the acid in the lemon juice not only kills bacteria but also is a slight bleeching agent and can help fade those awkward acne scars.  it also doesn't dry you out like other facial toners that have alcohol.  i have to admit that my skin has never looked so good since i began using this secret.  (fun fact: did you know your skin status/acne is associated with your skin care regime and health habits of weeks prior to the day, not just last week?)

{ top } it off

the weather took a turn for the worst this weekend and decided to gift me a little cold while tailgating (but michigan state did win against their rivals so i guess it the cold was well worth it).  i realized that my panama hat would not suffice the bitter mornings when my hair is being unruly and i am too tired to battle it.   i have been noticing the extensive wear of the felt fedoras and am starting to think of investing in one.   here are a few choices that I came to love (especially that embroidered purple and ribboned teal one):

{ left to right: } 

rag & bone leather-trimmed wool-felt fedora $150

steven alan janis wool-felt fedora $150

pachacuti wide-brimmed wool-felt hat $80

dorothy perkins black felt fedora $31

whistles felt wide brim hat $79

eugenia kim carly velvour felt cloche $365

madewell fulton felt hat $45

helene berman felt floppy hat $95

phase eight floppy felt hat $71

etro embroidered rabbit felt hat $360

monsoon felt fedora with contrast band $41

anthony peto rabbit felt trilby hat $195

{ jaded }

my parents have an obsession with 'j' names and, actually, it seems as if the rest of my family does as well (total of 10... not including the pets).  both of our dogs that recently passed were also 'j's': joni (for the remarkable personality resemblance to joan rivers) and jasmine (for her resemblence to princess jasmine... only because she was black haired, courtesy of my sister).  my family has always been strong dog lovers and with the recent passing of our last one, they could not hold out for  more than a week... welcome jade, the fun loving fluff-ball of a malti-poo.