Thank You, Internet

 Top: Gap / Sweater: LOFT (Buy here, currently 50% off, for $22.50! Small sizes unfortunately sold out, though) / Pants: LOFT  buy here, $59.50) / Flats: Target (similar with cap-toe, here for $19.99) / Necklace: bought in Italy / Glasses: Coach

 

I wanted to say a quick "thank you" to the internet today, and primarily to the style blogging community out there.

Overall, I have been AMAZED at the kindness, love, and support that flows through the style blogosphere; I have met some truly lovely women whom I greatly admire, and I completely enjoy making those connections. We all know that the internet (and, obviously the world), is full of not-so-nice people, but what this community has taught me is that it is even more full of kind, creative, and loving people, from whom I draw endless inspiration and support.

So, that's all to say a great big "thank you" to those of you who follow, comment, or just stop by for .01 seconds, and to those of you who put yourselves out there on your blogs every day and face the big scary Internet with humor and grace. You all inspire me to do it, too.

Hope your week is going well, and thanks, as always, for stopping by. :)

Ruff Stuff

Sweater: H&M / Vest: LOFT / Jeans: Gap Always Skinny 1969 / Boots: DSW / Bracelet: vintage, inherited from my Nana / Necklace: bought in Italy

Happy (belated) offical first day of Fall!! I, for one, am very happy that it's here. It seems as if New England got the message and is obliging us with blustery winds, a morning chill, the the first hints of changing leaves.

* * * * * * * *

My boyfriend calls this vest (and my other, very similar one) my "ruff." This is a reference to that part of my dogs that forms a collar-like mane around their faces....

Exhibit A:

 (That's Won Ton, the king of the ruff)

 Exhibit B:

(Won Ton and Mu Shu, whose ruff is only slightly less pronounced!)

Yeah, they're cute and all, but I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the comparison. :)

Hope you're all having a great Monday!

Blogging on a Budget: August

School has started! Fall is here! My cousin got married this weekend and it was beautiful! (and I took a much-needed trip back to California to be there!) I have a million German words to memorize! August is over, and I hadn't posted Blogging on a Budget yet!

Here is my monthly round-up of where I spent my money, August Edition.

This past month, I spent:

$49.10 on clothing (LOFT open knit sweater, green pants, and polka dot shirt, 

helped along with an old gift certificate)

$0 on hair

$0 on makeup

$0 on jewelry

I have a feeling now that fall is here, I'll be spending a lot more on clothing. This CA girl doesn't have any winter boots to speak of! And on that subject, anyone have recommendations for uber-warm but still cute snow/winter boots?

Can't come quickly enough

I absolutely cannot wait for fall. I am so tired of it being a million degrees and being stuck in shorts and tank tops. I'm boring myself to death with 100 degree appropriate clothing; I long for some layers. That's probably the #1 reason I've been short on outfit posts lately; I don't think anyone out there would be that impressed by my jean shorts and thrifted tank tops!

I know fall will be followed shortly by winter, and then I'll be longing for summer again and cursing my current thoughts, but as of now, I just want to wear some dark colors, comfy knits, and all of the scarves in the world. Plus, I've never had an East-coast autumn and I'm pretty excited for the crisp winds, dropping temperatures, and changing leaves. You with me?

Fall by petiteonapenny featuring a silver necklace

What are you most looking forward to in the fall?

Fitting Room: LOFT 40% Off Sale

LOFT is having a 40% off store-wide sale right now (online, enter code FRIENDS at checkout), so I popped in and used up a gift certificate that had been sitting in my wallet for months.

It's been sitting there because I haven't been very taken by LOFT's recent offerings, but this time around, I found so many things I liked! Their prints seem more youthful than they have been as of late (lots of dots and stripes, so I'm happy), and they have some fantastic skinny colored jeans (in petite, regular, and curvy reg/petite fits).

Polka Dot Print Short Sleeve Tee, xs ($23.70 down from $39.50) / Modern Straight Jeans, 0P in white ($30.00, down from $49.99)

Tee: I love this tee! The print is cute, the material is soft (85% rayon, 15% linen), the boatneck is flattering, and the drape fits nicely. Verdict: purchased.

Jeans: The white pants were close but not perfect. They fit well through the waist and legs with only slight pulling around the knees. I have kind of muscular legs (years and years of dancing), so it was great to find a pair that both fit at the waist and didn't suffocate my legs. Verdict: passed, I can't trust myself to keep white jeans clean. :)

 Colorblock Wedge Short-Sleeved Sweater, xs ($29.70, down from $49.50)

Top: This sweater was cute, but didn't do enough for me to buy. The color (excuse the horribly-lit iPhone photo!) is a light grey in front and a darker heather shade in back (I kind of wish they were reversed). Well-fit and soft. Verdict: passed.

 

Cotton Textured Open-Stitch Sweater, xs (can't find online) (found it, hidden in the lounge section!) / Petite Color Pop Modern Skinny Jeans, 0P in Teal Night ($29.70, down from $49.50)

Sweater: I wasn't sure about this sweater in-store, but looking at it in photos, I'm so bummed I didn't get it. I think I'm going to go back for it tomorrow! The open-knit was soft and comfortable, and the sweater was still quite warm. Size xs fit in a loose, comfy sort of a way. Verdict: passed in-store, but want to go back to buy tomorrow.

Jeans: I have been looking for another pair of affordable colored skinny jeans (to add to my collection of one so far), but had not had luck in almost a year. With the plethora of options out there, I know that seems absurd, but my problem has always been finding jeans that are small enough to fit my waist but loose enough to not constrict my legs, which are on the muscular side of average, I guess. I am so glad to have found these LOFT jeans, which definitely seem to do the trick! The material is a bit lighter than my Gap Always Skinny jeans, and a bit stretchy, too. The waist, hips, and legs fit great, but there is a tiny bit of pulling at the crotch, though not enough to keep me from buying. Length is great, and would still fit any petite shorter than me well, as the hem hits right at the top of my foot. Verdict: purchased, happily.

Let me know if you get anything at the sale!

Drizzly Days

 

Top: Gap / Vest: LOFT (gift) / Jacket: Forever 21 / Jeans: JBrand (second hand, $11) / Boots: Ralph Lauren / Necklace: bought at a farmer's market ($15)

Forgive the cruddy indoor shots; these were taken over the weekend when it was raining. And please further forgive my lack of posting recently! I've been pretty sick this past week, and collapsing into a stuffy-nosed heap almost immediately upon getting home each day.

I do, however, have some great news. I found out last week that I got into my top-choice graduate school program! Getting in to grad school at all was awesome, but getting into my #1 choice is even more amazing. :) I can not wait for the fall...

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Inch by Inch, Row by Row

Top: LOFT / Cardigan: Target / Jeans: Gap 1969 Always Skinny / Scarf: bought at a book store of all places! / Sandals: Gap / Bag: vintage Coach (via ebay)

  

I spent both days this past weekend shoveling, hoeing, raking, planting, and watering my new garden. A few weeks ago, this baby was a jungle of weeds, as demonstrated here, by Won Ton, who is dreaming of his past life as a tiger:

...ya. Not so good. So, my roommates and I  decided to finally get our act act together and do something about it. Two trips to the garden store, many hours, and a few borrowed shovels later, we finally had a garden. I'm already emotionally attached to these little plants, and also kind of terrified about killing them. So far, though, so good! Wish me luck with my first attempt at this whole being-an-adult-with-a-real-backyard thing. :)

LOFT 30% Off Spring Arrivals

I have a LOFT gift card burning a hole in my wallet from the holidays, so I did a bit of window shopping to see if anything in the new Spring line struck my fancy. (LOFT is currently having a 30% off promotion on all new Spring arrivals.) My window shopping confirmed what I had long suspected; I don't like spring clothes that much. Too ruffly, too florary, too girly for me, and I'm not so keen on pastel colors. Give me the dark earth and jewel tones of Fall (along with cozy scarves and warm jackets) any day, but the light and floraly hues of Spring? Not my favorite, personally.

A few things from LOFT did interest me a bit, though probably not enough to buy right now. (All prices listed are before the 30% off promotion.)

 

Hook-and-Eye Mandarin Collar Jacket ($79.50) / Grosgrain Stripe Full Skirt ($69.50)

 

3/4 Sleeve V-Neck Cardigan ($49.50) / Lace Overlay Ponte Mini Skirt ($69.50)

Stripe Dolman Sleeve Blouse ($54.50) / Isabella Canvas Heels ($89.50)

Pre-Valentines Day

 Sweater: H&M sz xs ($15.00) / Vest: LOFT (gift) / Jeans: Gap 1969 jeans sz 0 / Shoes: Target leopard print flats

 

 

Hello! I'm back! And you know what I've learned in the past week? Valentines Day is a Really Big Deal in elementary school. I went to a Jewish elementary school, where teachers "conveniently forgot" to give us homework on October 31st rather than acknowledge Halloween, and there was absolutely no talk about eating copious amounts of chocolate come mid-February.

So, imagine my surprise when, suddenly, my students are gearing up for the coming holiday with more effort and care than Thanksgiving and Christmas combined. I've already received five Valentines (Pre-Valentines? Rehersal Valentines?), and the promise of massive amounts of chocolate come the 14th. (Not that I'm complaining.)

To brighten up your Monday morning, allow me to submit the text of one of my favorite pre-Valentines that I have recently received (all original spelling and grammar preserved for maximum adorableness).

On the outside: Open it maybe it a dog i dont know open it open it [I have no idea what this means]

On the inside: Hey ms. Lauren I just wanted to ask who is your Valintine? Because I think I found you one it's a girl and she is ten and her name is [Reanne]. you filled me whith lot's of love Happy valintine. ms Lauren is the Best!

:)

Warm and Cozy

 Dress: from a local boutique / Vest: LOFT Petite faux fur collar sweater vest sz ??? ($79.99 $48.00 buy here) / Coat: Forever 21 (old) / Tights: H&M / Booties: DSW
 
 Finally, I am out of my backyard! I wish I lived in the small central coast town--and more specifically in the garden/bookstore--where I took these photos. Then you could see less of my backyard and more of this pretty staircase and green landscape.

I just got this faux fur collar vest as an early Hannukah present from my mom (review to follow shortly! And the vest is currently on super sale at $79.99 $48.00). I went shopping with mi madre a few weeks ago and convinced her to buy a gorgeous grey knit vest with a detachable collar to replace a slightly decaying old purple one from REI she'd had for years. Major improvement on her part, and major jealously on mine. Lucky for me, my mom is awesome, and returned the favor with this cute vest from LOFT. I've never owned faux fur before, being generally squicked out by the idea of even the suggestion of wearing an animal's fur, but this looks fake enough to make the cut, I think....

LOFT Sweater Dresses

There are some very cute petite (and tall, and regular!) sweater dresses for sale at LOFT right now. Each of them are $35, down from $89.50 and $79.50.

I think this particular sale is a short one, so get 'em now if they strike your fancy!

 Petite Striped Short Sleeve Sweater Dress $89.50 $35.00

Available in sizes xxs through xl

Petite Short Sleeve Sweater Dress  $89.50 $35.00

 Available in sizes xs and xl

Petite Cowl Neck Sweater Dress  $79.50 $35.00

Available in sizes xxs, s, m, l, and xl

I kind of really want that striped dress...but I'm not sure if it's the best use of my budget. Should I go for it? :)

Can you really dye my shirt to match my wall?

("Uh-huh!" "Jolly old town!")

Sweater: H&M sz xs ($15.00) / Skirt: LOFT A-Line Eyelet Skirt sz 00 ($69.50,  $32.99 + waist alterations) / Belt: Madewell ($48.00, $12.00, buy here) / Tights: Target / Shoes: H&M  sz 7 ($24.95) / Necklace: homemade

 And it FINALLY feels like fall in LA. Grey skies, a light rain, a crisp breeze....mmmm. I couldn't be happier. What better way to celebrate the fall weather than with a new warm & cozy sweater, tights, and black booties on a business-casual day? I'll tell you what's better....exactly matching your outfit to your tool shed, that's what.

Is it Fall Yet?

I think this outfit is clearly crying out for my desire for it to be September, already.

Dress: LOFT sz 0 (old, got on sale, similar, though pricier, here) / Sweater: boutique, sz sm ($20.00) / Shoes: White House Black Market sz 7.5 (old) / Belt: Bought in England

The weather two days ago was all grey and cloudy and cool in the morning (my favorite, seriously), so I decided to pretend it was fall while still keeping cool for the inevitable 20+ degree rise that would occur in the middle of the day.

The dress is actually made of cotton (though it really feels like an unfinished sort of silk) so despite the dark color, it's great for summer. And, perhaps even more importantly, it has pockets! The cardigan too, is quite thin, perfect for summer, even though the color makes
me think of fall.

This hereby marks the first time I've ever done the belt-outside-of-cardigan look. I think I can pull it off...? Sure, why not! I did have to take the belt off shortly after lunch, though, not gonna lie. Breathing became more important to me than fashion. I hate it when that happens.