New Job = New Clothes + New Shoes

Now that's my kind of math.

On my lunch hour today I went on a mini shopping spree. With a brand new job on the horizon (Marketing Coordinator for Corner Bakery Cafe), I wanted to update some old staples, replace some cheap and worn pieces, and just splurge a little to celebrate my accomplishment (and my birthday, which was this past Sunday). Living within my means on a daily basis makes an occasional splurge like this possible! Check out my booty:

FROM ANTHROPOLOGIE

FROM NORDSTROM

FROM DSW

FROM MY DISCOVER CARD
OUCH!

My Birthday In Navy, Coral and Lime

Saturday was my official "oh craps I'm 35" birthday, a.k.a. my second 28th birthday. I spent the day with my mom and Ian blowing money at Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. I so rarely buy myself nice clothes and live by the "spend your wage" rule (no debt, no worries). This means, I had some money in the bank to fuel our wavering economy! In other words, I was a good citizen on Saturday. Just lookie what I gifted myself and my country:

FLORALS

SHOES

NAUTICAL

Retail Blogs I Love

Anthro: In Our Own Words So not exactly a blog, Anthropologie offers fans and loyalists (hi there!) monthly blog-style email updates about what's brewing over at the mega-gorgeous women's clothing chain. Yesterday I received the February 2010 edition and was immediately blown away by the project they highlight: plastic bottles turned into beautiful flowers. They took it a step further and created beautiful clusters of these upcycled flowers in their shop windows. In case you can't tell, I'm gushing:

Fossil.Life.Style I was recently turned on to Fossil's newish blog after a big mega shopping spree at their employee shop, onsite at their headquarters right here in Big D. I love how they highlight designers (some known, some unknown, all fabulous), but their nod to The Who* is what won me over as a reader. My favorite entries so far on the Fossil blog are the DIY projects. Not that I have enough time to do anything in addition to mommyhood, real job, Tefi Designs, Etsy Dallas, and (whew!) the Handmade Bash. But, I love to see the possibilities of all the things I could be making if only my clone machine was working. *sigh* Free People: Bldg 15 I'm not a huge fan of Free People's clothing line - it's all a little too boho chic for me, but their blog is something else entirely. Sure, they often spend time blogging about their own goods, understandably so, but in between are great blog posts about local happenings, DIY projects and handmade news. Because I'm a little crazy about the ins and outs of merchandizing, my all time favorite posts are ones that give me a glimpse into their shop displays, like this one. Gorgeous! * For a good time, hang back and watch me rock out to "Pinball Wizard" on Rock Band!

These are really big balls, people.

I am so in love with this new piece. When I bought the beads at a recent bead market, I intended to keep them for myself because a) they are simply gorgeous, and b) they cost a whole lot. But after making the piece, called Big Country, I decided to photograph and list it in my Etsy shop and share with you guys. I used my new dressform, which I am currently in love with, and a sweet delicate shrug from Anthropologie. Hurry up and buy it before I decide to keep it for myself after all!

Revisting an Old Favorite

About five years ago I designed my signature piece, the Juicy Fruit, seen here with an beautiful mint green cardi from Anthropologie. It was my first sale on Etsy back in 2006, and I have sold nearly 50 since then. Everyone from my mom, to my coworkers and friends, to strangers at my craft shows love this necklace. Shoppers have bought the Juicy Fruit both for themselves and for loved ones. Some even splurge for the necklace-earrings-bracelet combo. In five years, the design has undergone some changes to fit the large number of customers who love it, but the price has not changed. At $28 + free gift box, the Juicy Fruit is a steal! This morning, while Ian napped (oh, thank goodness), I took some fresh photographs of my Juicy Fruit necklace using my swanky new dress form. This piece is designed to be adjustable from a choker length to approximately 18 inches long. As you can see, it goes with any outfit - from a colorful cardigan to a simple off-white top. Get a Juicy Fruit or two today and stock up on gifts for the upcoming holidays! Each one comes wrapped in a gift box, ready to give.

Wrapping It Up

One of my favorite blogs is calling it a day. Craving Anthropologie was started back in 2005 by a woman named Jade who loves the sophisticated urban-chic store almost as much as I do.

As most good things must come to an end, so too does her blog, which chronicles the latest offerings from Anthropologie and praises them to the sky. I'll miss you Craving Anthropologie. Perhaps I'll fill the gap with an Anthro-loving blog of my own...

Tuscan Blood Orange & the Super Sniffer

It all started with a candle. Browsing the floor at Anthropologie one afternoon, I came across an aroma that nearly knocked me down. It was heavenly. I found myself before a large oak table full of candles - on sale. (Sale! Is there no better word at Anthropologie?) I began opening each candle tin and sniff-sniff, sniff-sniff. Finally, I found the source of the smell: Pacifica's Tuscan Blood Orange soy candle.

(Now, for those of you who know me personally, you know I've got the nose of a bloodhound. I can sniff out just about anything on the wind before most humans can. Sometimes, I'm the only one to smell something like a fire or oil leak. I should work for Chanel. Or the FBI.)

I went back to Anthro a week later and bought a bar of Tuscan Blood Orange soap. Then I made another trip yesterday for a 1.2 ounce bottle of the perfume. I'm wearing it now and I swear - I can hear harps in the background...



Pacifica is an indie-owned company founded in 1995. They offer handmade candles, soaps, body butters, and perfumes in a variety of beautifully-blended aromas. Tuscan Blood Orange in particular smells like a tropical citrus garden on the banks of the Mediterranean. The soaps are a generous 6-ounce bar made with vegan glycerin, loofah bits, and natural oils. I've used mine several times already and it's still the same size as when I bought it. Ah, it's magical!

Oh, and when the candle burns itself out, there should still be some soy wax in the tin. Put the open tin in your undies drawer and BAM! You've got yourself an instant delicious sachet. Happy sniffing!

Elemental

Lookie what I bought yesterday!



Had a lot of "firsts" already in my new Element:

First song played on the CD player: "Strange Town" by The Jam
First CD played in full: The Boy with the Arab Strap by Belle and Sebastian
First drink in the cup holder: coffee - cream, no sugar
First thing hung from the rearview mirror: handmade bird softies from Anthropologie
First thing put in the front area: piece of wood from antique desk for knocking on, as needed
First thing put in the trunk area: Tefi's emergency kit (first aid, TP, flares, fire-proof matches, rain slicker, wet wipes, energy bar, solar flashlight, McGuyver Honorary Badge)
First route: from John Eagle Honda to my office building to say "adios way" to my Corolla, which is still parked in the garage til I figure out how to drive two cars home
First rider: my mom, who went with me and made this whole process fun
First animal passenger: Oliver, who loves car rides

I am still mourning the passing of my Corolla as my primary car. Nothing wrong with it, except that it's a bit (a lot a bit) dented, needs a washing, has an oil leak, and is from the ages of the previous millenium (1999). Yesterday morning was my last commute in the Ghetto-rolla, and I took this goodbye pic with my phone. It's from the Zang bridge into downtown, and I was a little stunned by the way the rays bounced off the argon building toward Reunion Tower.



So. I want to name my car, which is "kiwi green," according to the execs at Honda. I think it looks like a lilypad. Here are the names I've come up with so far. What do you think?

- Prince Ribbit
- The Lilypad
- Lil' Kiwi

Oh, Drool!

This past Saturday at the Urban Street Bazaar, I got so many compliments on my Koi sweater. Almost everyone asked me, "Did you make that?" Considering I had a booth selling my handmade goods at a craft show, it's no surprise. However, I did NOT make it, and I'm jealous of whomever did. It's a beautiful light-weight, gray cardigan with colorful bursts of applique all over the place. The sweater also has a nice trim of vintage-style fabric with a green and yellow floral print, along with large green buttons. This pic does not give it justice, but it's the best I can do. Guess where I got it!



I also paired the sweater with a couple of my mismatched fabric bobbies (see above) and BAM! Instant cuteness. I'll be selling more of my fabric and vintage button bobbies this Saturday at the Etsy Dallas Trunk Show. I nearly sold out last weekend and had to madly make more Sunday night, so don't miss out!

And here are a couple more cardigans to drool over, also from you-know-where:

Annie, Get Your Gluegun

I'm madly making fabric buttons and gluing them willy nilly to bobby pins, paper clips, pony tail bands, magnets, and thumbtacks. Just look at the madness below! Tomorrow my mom is going to help me package them nice and pretty for my upcoming OCA show. She's also got a show - a first for her! - at her Nia studio (that's some sort of yoga/tai chi/aerobics workout program) this Saturday and I'm helping her out by making tags for her scarves and business cards for her customers. Tit for tat, and all that.





And check out these great Xmas tree ornaments I made this past weekend while laying around in bed recovering from 2 birthday parties. I used felt, embroidery, sequins, polyfill stuffing, and ribbon. I will make more and debut them for sale at my upcoming Urban Street Bazaar. Yippee!



After taking these shots of my crazy studio, I swivelled around and took these shots of this grand dress and sweater I bought the other day at - where else? - Anthropologie. Now invite me over for an Xmas party already so I can wear it! (I promise to leave the legwarmers at home.)



Then I mosied over to the sunroom and look who I found dying for a T-R-E-A-T. (I think Oliver's learning to spell...)

VIX in West Philadelphia

I visited Philly in March of 2001, and it was love at first sight. The weather was cool and brisk, and offered a nice break from the already rising temperatures in Dallas. My girl Ellen was in grad school at Penn and she lived on Walnut Street, just south of Center City (read: downtown). While she attended classes on urban planning and government this-n-that, I'd hitch rides on their great bus system, headed for CC. I did lots of walking around, people gazing, and visited the original Anthropologie, a beautiful four-story colonial building on Walnut St. (Yes of course, I visited more than once.) I haven't been back since then, but now my jewelry has a chance to go in my stead.



Emily of Precious Meshes and business partner, Sean, are opening VIX Emporium in West Philadelphia. The VIX is not like "Vicks Vapo Rub" but like vee-eye-ex as in the Latin numeral 5009 (with a line over the V), which is their street address. To start, I'm sending them eight wire-wrapped pendant necklaces and four of my signature pottery shard pieces. Their Grand Opening is November 17th. Stop in if you're in the area!

Window Shopping at Midnight

What a weekend. Pretty uneventful, altho Jason and I went to see The Darjeeling Limited at the Angelika. It was very good. Even if Wes Anderson were ever to make a bad movie, I would still enjoy watching it b/c the visual themes and set decor are stunning. Remember The Royal Tennenbaums? Magical and sweet.

I also started crocheting a scarf, which was inspired by this (more on this later once I finish it - over halfway there!):


Tonite I'm trying to wind down and couldn't sleep so I decided to fill up my Wish List at Anthropologie. Makes me feel like I'm buying myself whatever I want, only sadly that package will never arrive...That is, unless you - my dear reader and hopefully secret admirer (?) - feels like indulging me. You can go online and view my Wish List. Let's pretend it's my birthday! Here are a few things from mine, in case you want to spoil me:

Craving Anthropologie

I love this blog. I stumbled across it by accident and found someone who is just as fanatical about Anthropologie as I am. I told Jason last night that when we have a baby and I begin working from home, that I will get a part time job at Anthro. He looked so sad. Why? Because he said then that we'd be poor. He's right.

So last night I returned a top I bought online. I found out that I could return it at a store - who knew? Man, that's dangerous, and the angel demons at Anthropologie know it. They know that if I go in to return a $40 top I bought on sale that I will leave with $100 of more sale merchandise - a brown top with poofed up sleeves, an embroidered floral skirt, a chartreuse sweater with flower applique, and ohmuhgod.....I'm blanking out on the last item! I've got Anthro overload right now.

My dream job: To live at home and make beautiful little nothings Anthro-style. One day.

In the meantime, I've ordered some beads in an attempt to emulate this design:

Is Anthropologie stalking me?

I'm flattered. I really am. So I get a message in my inbox just now about new Anthropologie clothes for the Fall season. Every time they send me an email I check out their jewelry to see what's new and exciting. Just now I was looking over some of their new necklaces and had several "Nuh-uh, no way!" moments. I swear, they ganked my designs and made their own! Okay, probably not, but the similarities are uncanny. Sadly, I can't post pics off their site b/c they are protected now, but I'll show you my design and then a link to their piece. Here we go; you be the judge-diggity:


Tefi's Dancing Koi necklace vs. Anthro's One-Act necklace


Tefi's Owl necklace vs. Anthro's Thinker & Feeler necklace


Tefi's Bloodstone necklace vs. Anthro's Chrysalis necklace


Tefi's Catch of the Day necklace with Anthro's Catch of the Day necklace (The eerieness is solely in the name, not the design.)

Aaaand then I sorta kinda like maybe just a little bit stole this idea from them:


Tefi's Farrah necklace vs. Anthro's Cloisonne Blossom necklace

Darnit I love Anthropologie. Commission me already! (Pretty please?)

Green With Envy

What a day! I need not one, but five beers please. Gonna meet my girl Laura at The Dubliner tonight to de-stress my work week. Let's hope the crusty old Irish regulars will be there to help pay my tab of Harps and Blue Moons (with orange slices, of course!). By then I'll have digested the ginormous Greek salad I had for lunch. (Went to Ziziki's on Travis Street and ate way too much feta and artichoke hummus. Wait...that's impossible.) On top of it all, I am so incredibly sore from last night's bout of kung fu. Instructor Goode kicked my patooty with round after round of the first 16-point form: bow-salute-down block-front kick-male punch-lather, rinse, repeat. I actually strained my hamstring, possibly pulled it a bit, about halfway through the exercises. But good ol' sir kept saying "Again," and I took it. I made it through and altho I can barely walk today, I feel great. I got to where I was doing the form without even thinking about what move came next. Once I started looking forward rather than at my feet, my body sort of took over, my kicks became a lot higher and stronger, and my balance was excellent. But enough about me. Let's talk about me...and my new sweaters! My mom and I lunched at Northpark yesterday. Rather than our usual tromp through Nordstrom's shoe department, we cut through Barney's. She kept making purple dinosaur jokes and in between giggles I asked her not to be such a peasant. I fell in love with a top that I can actually afford ($68) and I'm considering going back. It's cute and hip, a little gray off-the-shoulder number with a grassy print - perfect for my upcoming San Fran trip with my cousin, Jennifer, who always looks like a million bucks. Barney's Radioactive Back to the Future dress After eyeballing the creepy headless, handless mannequins at Barney's, my mom and I headed to my mecca, Anthropologie, where I exchanged a skirt for two sweaters. One is a knitted moss green, over-the-shoulder turtleneck, and the other is a sexy librarian-style cardigan with ribbon and a fitted waist. Sadly, I can't show you the sweaters, but here are two things that are on my Anthropologie wish list. Buy them for me, won't you? Gee, I love you. Wildflower Cardigan, $128, size M Wool Finch Skirt, $128, size 6

Babe-raham Lincoln

Abe meet Wolf Girl, Wolf Girl this is Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president. Isn't he da greatest? I splurged on a bracelet from Naughty Secretary Club, and by "splurge" I mean I actually bought jewelry from someone else. My money tends to pour into my own jewelry design venture so that I rarely buy from others. Gotta spread the love around a little more.

The first pic is from NSC's web site since her photo is in focus, and the second is a lame pic of my furry wolf-like arm that I snapped on my Nokia just 5 minutes ago.

This morning I actually built my outfit around my Abe the Babe bracelet. Unfortunately, I can only give you part of the picutre. You see, the top I'm wearing from Anthropologie is no longer on their web site so I'm gonna show you one that's very similar. Only thing is mine has green in it, like in the Abe bracelet. I'm also wearing my brand spankin' new skimmers from Sugar. Love love love them. I wish I'd bought a sailboat to go along with them. I'm picturing sailing around the world with Joan Wilder and Jack T. Colton and his new alligator boots...