my shoes & me

Last time I wore crazy yellow-y footwear, I claimed it as sort of my companion in the title. Why not keep consistent? I don't really think they went with my sweater too well (yellow + fawn = ??), but I like them and I haven't worn them yet, so I disregarded any fashion rules that may forbid me from wearing them together. Take that!

i.n.c. sweater, j.crew shirt, citizens of humanity jeans, j.crew boots, gifted necklace (from bethlehem!), vonmirfuerdich bracelet

Here's a close-up of the bracelet I'm wearing. I got it at the I Made It! Market that the Original mag hosted last weekend. I love it <3

Here's a picture of the boots I should be wearing with this outfit, but can't because they aren't a part of my 30. Okay, you broke me down, between you and me, I actually did wear them for most of the day. Not because my dog ate my yellow heels, but because, let's face it, there's no way I'm walking 15 minutes in heels just to get to class and be overdressed. You don't have to cast any spells on me for cheating because karma already took care of that by making me slip on absolutely nothing in public. Satisfied?

(That's Rusty) -christen

scratch that.

Today is # 11. All it took was counting the outfits, it wasn't that hard, I'm not sure why I didn't do it yesterday. Either way, since I have the weekend to catch up for, I'm just going to post things and stop being confusing and complain-y about which day it's for. All you need to know is that there will be 30 outfits from the same selection of 30 items by the end of it all.


And speaking of which, I realized I never posted a nice little key with all the skirts, sweaters, shoes, etc. I'm going to be choosing from! I walked into my room with full intentions of doing so until I realized it looked like this (below) and decided to turn right back around. For all intents and purposes, this is my version of that remix key. 

Oh, and here's what I wore...some day in the not-too-distant past. It was fairly colorless so I decided to give it this nice jaundice tint. How's that for a word combo? Nice-jaundice. I may be the first one ever to have said that. I'm disappointed in myself for not wearing jewelry (how could I do a thing like that?) so I'm going to end this post as quickly as possible so that we can forget about it and move on.

uo shirt, aa skirt, target tights, frye boots

(Quick ending) -christen

miss me?

I hath returned! I bet you were worried. I had a serious case of no-internet, which is obviously an easy fix if you just press the power button a few times. You can imagine my confusion when I approached the internet box to find that there are no buttons on it. So I turned right back around and just clicked the Safari icon on my computer 15-20 times over the weekend, and frowned when it said there was no internet. Yes, frowned. It seemed appropriate at the time.


Today is 'Day 14,' but only outfit 11. I think. Oh no, now I can't even remember. Well either way, today is Valentine's Day! And all you folks out there who think it's a pointless holiday, to you I bear the palm of my hand and say "talk to the left, 'cause you ain't right!" (Okay, it's funnier in person.) It's supposed to be a holiday for nice things to happen, and that's it. A simple point, but not point-less. I didn't wear pink or red or anything for Valentine's Day, but I probably would have if my remix selection allowed for me to...I should've planned ahead. At least for this holiday I won't get pinched!


We had fun shooting today - it wasn't frigid for once, and it was nice to have a colorful background to cheer up the gloomy day. We should've taken a picture of the whole mural...darn it. Oh well, you should just go see it for yourself, it's on the side of Sorrento's. Go after 8pm because obviously nothing can beat a $5 pizza.

target flannel shirt, anthro skirt, lucky brand duck boots, vintage red beaded nekclace, j.crew enamel bracelet

-christen

dag nabbit...

I let myself get a day behind again. I have a feeling this is going to keep happening on the weekends (which start on Thursday for me). Gotta give it to bloggers who keep on schedule. [APPLAUSE]


Yesterday was one of those wonderful days that I sneeze about 6 times within the first minute of walking outdoors because it's so bright and sunny. Meanwhile, everyone else was sneezing at my sweater. What can I say? I have that effect on people...wink, wink.


Here are some, ya know, pictures of me. 

anthropologie sweater, hand-me-down-from-mom anthropologie pants, handmade necklace, jeffrey campbell c/o modcloth shoes

It definitely looked like the floor was going to crumble and drop me into a black hole via chute of colorful swirls and flying objects from my childhood, but alas, the floor remained in tact. 

(me unconvincingly pretending to fly away)

(me unconvincingly acting like a high fashion model (although isn't it cool that it turns into a hood?!))

This is an unbelievably cool necklace that my broski got for me at Handmade Arcade a couple years ago. It's a dude's tie twisted all up into a beaded necklace! I couldn't get it to sit right on my cowl neck collar thingy after that 'high fashion' pose, but eh, you get the idea...


And speaking of handmade jewelry, I'm going to use this opportunity to plug my aunt's handmade jewelry blogggg, Jewelry Snob! I'll talk about her again when I'm actually wearing a necklace that she has made. That might make sense.

That's it! -christen

because i don't care for this kind of wind (the 16 degree kind)...

I didn't go outside much today. However, I did...


   1. eat a yogurt
   2. make a sexy purchase for the upcoming valentine's day underwear exchange ('panties' is an uncomfortable word, and thus it has not made its way into my vocabulary)
   3. forget my mittens


...and those aren't things that happen every day. I also...


   1. would like to take a nap, but probably won't
   2. am seriously planning on making cookies later (choco chip, of course; from scratch, of course)
   3. realized a second ago that my flannel sheets from Costco are THE most comfy things on this continent and had to take a quick break from typing so that I could rub my face on them


...and those are things that generally tend to happen every day. Especially #2. And 1. Definitely 3. 

modcloth shirt, gap cotton vest, cookie lee wrap bracelet, jeffrey campbell shoes c/o modcloth

This picture ^ is totally just so you can see my shirt not all scrunched up. But it just gave me an awesome idea. Stay tuned.

B-T-dubs, isn't this chair the greatest? Shane & Tyler found it in someone's trash and took turns carrying it on their heads for about 4 miles so that my apartment could benefit from it. Wasn't that nice? I thought so. Its cushions are still fluffy and it doesn't even smell bad! It's also my sly way of blocking off that recently-made-infamous space behind my fireplace so that people aren't as tempted to go back there and wonder why it's so bare. 

smiles from christen (because smiles are more lovable than an en dash!)

day 8, for real.

So, umm, hmm...well, I mean, I...you know...the thing is...some bloggers are only cut out to write one post a day. I haven't yet reached that milestone of being able to think up infinite amounts of moderately interesting things to say about nothing at all per day. 


Here's what I wore today, anyways: an interesting combo of a flannel shirt & a cowl neck dress (plus my favorite tights). Ignore the scenery (I guess now would be a good time to admit that yes, I do live in the slums of Pittsburgh - but that doesn't mean good dancing and great pizza isn't right around the corner!).

target flannel shirt, aa cotton cowl dress, forever 21 belt, j.crew tights, lucky brand duck boots

-christen

a day late and a dollar...long?

Howdy, folks. We're a day behind. So pretend like this is Day 7, and then later tonight, when I post today's outfit, you can pretend it's Day 8. GOT YA! You don't actually have to pretend because it is Day 8. See what I did? I tricked you! Tricky, I know.


I was obligated to give you a trick because it's hard to give treats over the internet. Unless you're into...never mind. Let's talk about my post title. I am a day late, but I'm not a dollar short because we're not allowed to buy anything during this fine time called the 30 for 30. I'm the opposite of a dollar short. Get it? (Got it.) Good.

j.crew striped shirt, forever 21 burgundy blazer, anthro skirt, h&m mens socks, i.n.c. oxfords, h&m necklace

Jealous of my bare walls? You should be. This little extra space behind the fireplace was totes a selling point for my apartment, and yet we've done nothing with it. What negligent housekeepers are we. Suggestions on a clever way to decorate my behind-the-fireplace-nook (past the halfway point of me living in my apartment) would be greatly appreciated. Share your ideas with me in the comment box belooow! -christen

the rain turned to snow and set the city aglow!

j.crew black painter tee, american apparel mini skirt, aa yellow hairbow, aa yellow tights, frye boots

It's always a sad day when one of the proudest cities faces defeat. The streets turn gray, smiles turn to frowns and a certain gloom leaks its way into the ventilation shafts. Yes, I know we lost to the Packers in the heralded Super Bowl 35, but that doesn't mean we can't still have fun! On a little patch of greenery sitting in front of the mounted police unit (sadly no rioting called for their attention) we set up camp and found the light in the situation and shmaaw-zowww, we found loads of eerie greens, streaking reds and whatever other fluorescent colors you can pick out. We rocked our fan gear and held our heads high because there's always next year and what glorious times are to come until then. -shane

blowin' in the wind.

I felt much better yesterday; ready for day 5 of remixing! And if you're going to wake up at 2pm on a Saturday, you want nothing more than to look out your window and see wind and rain. And that's just what I saw! It was perfect, I cleaned my room, did some homework, edited a few articles for The Original Magazine, and watched The Princess and the Frog (which was GREAT) all without feeling bad about being stuck inside all day. I did get out for a little, though, and while most people probably wear pants when it's windy so their skirt doesn't fly up, I say why not pull a little Marilyn Monroe and have the opportunity to bashfully hold your skirt down several times a day? Why live a little when you can live a lot?!  -christen

j.crew black painter tee, macy's ruffled cardi, anthro bird skirt, forever 21 flower buckle belt, frye boots

:(

I had to take a 1-day sabbatical from the 30 for 30 because of an icky stomach thing. I hope that's not cheating! I definitely jinxed myself yesterday when I said "Bring it on, day 4!" 


Just for good times' sake, I'll let you have a peek of both my day (I was totally ROF but not L) and my shower curtain that I love so dang much (more than shower curtains should be loved). If all goes as planned, I shall be back in action tomorrow.

-christen

fall in the winter.

Sadly, for the sake of those who may have caught it out of the corner of their eye and chuckled to themselves for the rest of the day, I didn't fall today. I just feel like I'm wearing fall-ish colors. Or maybe Mardi Gras colors, which makes my outfit sound way more fun. These are two of my favorite colors (three if you count the earrings): eggplant (aubergine if you will) and olive-y green (and turquoise)!


I made a couple of friends this afternoon! They were folks from the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, and they were kind enough to snap these photos for me. The one lady said they get asked to take pictures often since they're always roaming around the parks surrounded in lovebirds. The one dude said I need to get out of the habit of taking sitting-down pictures, that it's not a good pose for optimal outfit viewing.

Okay, not really, but if he had said that, he would've made a good point. :)

j.crew ruffled t-shirt, free people skirt, anthropologie belt, j.crew riding boots

Day 3: tackled (early because I'm going kickboxing). Bring it on, day 4! -christen

my socks & me.

hello and brr. I thought I should complain about the cold today since it seems like everyone else in America is. Which is silly to me 'cause although the weatherman called for 40 and it ended up being about 30 instead, that's still at least 20 degrees warmer than it normally is in Pittsburgh at this time of year. It's called a winter coat, people. Truly does wonders for the chilly willy bo billies of the world.

Speaking of coats, I'm not wearing one! Instead I'm wearing these outrageous socks, and they make me invincible. That's why I managed to sit on this big green metal thing without my lips turning blue. That's also why I managed to chill in this strange hand-on-knee position without getting a drive-by slap in the face. Believe me when I say that strange hand-on-knee positions often secretly mean there's something unbelievably cool going on behind the scenes. Now you know.

urban outfitters tee, urban outfitters cardigan, urban outfitters gray jeans, j.crew socks, I.N.C. oxfords

Shout out to Day 2 of remixing, and to Lindsay H., who's whiz-bang (I just learned that word by typing 'awesome' into the thesaurus, haha!). -christen

le premier jour.

So there's this wall:

And I definitely think it's a hideous-looking wall (Shane thinks such a statement should be forbidden from the blog), but at the same time, I dig the concept of murals enough to not mind it when I walk past it every day. I thought the backdrop would be a nice alternative to my fire escape, which you will most likely see in enough of my pictures to start feeling like you live there. I think it would be a dingy place to live. But you may disagree.

In attempt to create a makeshift tripod, I drug a giant, wet, monster of a recycling bin into the middle of someone's driveway, somehow snapping what once was my necklace, and is now an abstract representation of my former necklace. I tried to fix it, but it outsmarted me. I tried to keep my act together on this dreary day of a solo photoshoot, but *sigh* I was overall damp and frizzy and I have a leak in my boot (everyone knows that wet socks=not OK).

free people charcoal blue sweater, forever 21 orange dress, j.crew brown riding boots, forever 21 necklace

So I screamed at the top of my lungs * and decided to go home. 

* Not really, I was just faking. Anyways, it was (is) time to go to aerobics! Now I'm going to kickbox brain-created holographic images of...hmm...I was going to say 'my former necklace' to stick with the theme, but I'm actually not that bent up about it. So I'll probably just kickbox air. That's what I normally do. -christen


p.s. happy day 1 of the winter 30 for 30!

is this a fashion blog or a cooking blog?

Somehow, again, something delicious (and other than pasta) was cooked in this apartment. And because of it, I'm insisting that the overall notion that I'm not domestic be un-notioned or whatever. Because this stuff was gooooood. 

It's called Pineapple Fried Rice, a Thai dish that my ole buddy, ole pal Noelle has ordered so many times that she decided to learn how to make it. I was her sous chef last night. So was her boyfriend, Desch. Shane was named VIP taste tester. Here's what came of our cooking extravaganza! 

Unlike the photos of my eggplant salad toasts, which were taken in terrible lighting, this meal was actually orange-ish in color. It matched my plates and bowls! I would tell you how to create such a marvelous meal, but the recipe is a page and a half long, and I don't want to take that extra step toward carpel tunnel for no reason. So email us (fthewoods@gmail.com) if you would like to recipe. Trust me, you want it. 

And as if that wasn't enough, we continued the gluttony by frying up some bananas and shoveling them into our mouths with ice cream & chocolate syrup.

It's better than a banana split. Because it's fried.

*And now, for something completely different.*

As you can see by our shiny and new pink badge to the left, we're about to dive into something wonderful, yet scary: The 30 for 30, dun dun dun. Read this post from Kendi's blog to figure out what the heck that is. And be prepared for February 1st, 'cause here we come, a dose a day.
-christen

[insert title here]

on him: urban outfitters flannel shirt, bullhead gray jeans, vans mt. edition seakers; on me: j.crew shirt, american apparel skirt, modcloth circle scarf, vintage belt, modcloth double buckle wedges

So, here's what happened. I thought we were looking kinda spiffy the other day, and we just happened to have our pal Lacy with us, so a light bulb lit up above my head and I said, "Hey! Since we only keep Lacy around to do us favors, we might as well put her to good use and stick her behind a camera," or something like that (or nothing like that). And because we weren't even doing anything cool, Shane's premonition of having nothing to write about surrounding these pictures ended up being quite accurate. Darny darn. Soooo, I guess all you have to gain from this post is warm fuzzies inside from looking at pictures of us being cute. No need to thank me. I live to please.

  

(These are a little blurry 'cause it was frrrigid out and we were all big bundles of shivers! We're all about equal opportunity for photos here; no place for hate)

-christen

oh my faijfi;emacijejfao

I need to tell you about this because it's awesome. Tonight, for the first night in maybe...my whole life...I cooked something other than pasta for dinner (successfully). Because, ya know, although I don't even have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I've told people I could eat pasta for every meal, some nights (like tonight) I realize that's just not true. Sorry for lying, those of you who I told. You're over it, I can tell.


So, look!

What we've got here is my own rendition of Smitten Kitchen's eggplant salad toasts:

   -Dice up 'dat eggplant, mix it with olive oil, a little salt, a lot of pepper, and roast those babies in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes (I added black olives 'cause, why not?).

   -When the roasting stuff is done roasting, mix it with chopped onion, feta (and I added a little shredded mozz because I was short on feta...and by "short on feta" I mean I stole as much of it from my roommate's side of the fridge as possible without her noticing) and throw it all on some toasted baguette slices (or old hot dog buns. Don't judge.).

   -Finally, I drizzled it with a bit of peach vinegar, aka Vinegar of the Gods, because for some reason I don't own any other kind. I could seriously drink that stuff out of the bottle. No lie. 

   -Eat and die. (Because it's so good, not because it's so bad)

And that appetizing little blob to the right of this eggplant-y creation is The Pioneer Woman's crash hot potatoes.

   -Boil some baby potatoes in salt water.

   -Put them on a cookie sheet that's drizzled with oil and smash 'em. Since I don't have a smasher, I just used the bottom of a glass (worked like a charm). Sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and herb of choice (all I have is basil), and slide them into a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until crispy brown. 

   -Eat and die. (See above)

And YUM! They were scrumptious. Disclaimer: no, I'm not a vegetarian, despite what 99.9% of the world thinks. Vegetables are just less scary to cook (no face-in-toilet involved if something goes wrong). (That's never happened to me before, it's just an irrational fear) (a phobia, if you will) (see that? 4 parentheses in a row. BAM!)

I wanted to include a picture of me eating this meal as evidence that I was actually responsible for all this. It's a very strategic photo, as it doesn't show how flat my hair was today, it proves that my counter comes up to my chest, which is just too tall for any counter, AND it's a little in-your-face proof to the few friends whose names will renamed unmentioned (*cough*Tyler*cough*Shane*ahem, excuse me*) that I don't always stick my pinky out when I'm eating or drinking. Sometimes I stick my pointer out instead. So there.

-christen

for your thoughts.

You know how you're looking at me right now thinking, "Wow, what a large smattering of color in Christen's outfit today"? Well, I equipped this outfit with a trick. It's called the ha!-I'm-still-wearing-earth-tones maneuver. I pull it all the time. Ornery of me, I know. 

Today you get to see magic happen in 'the woods.' Sit back and imagine the voice of Susan (the British female [the one with a deep voice] setting on your GPS) narrating you through this marvelous stroke of good fortune.

One day, Christen felt something peculiar about her shoe, so she decided to take a closer look and see what ever could be causing this disarray. Curiously, she found nothing.

She carried on, shivering in the winter weather, and hoping nobody would take notice of her elephant ankles. But, oh! Christen realized her upper body was not in the frame!

modcloth dress, anthropologie hat, anthropologie belt, rustic roots* bracelet, j.crew tights, modcloth shoes

She bent down so that her face could be seen, crossing her fingers (metaphorically) that none would regard the hole she mended in the knee of her orange tights, with brown thread, but quickly found that the pose looked terribly cheesy. Something needed to be done!

'Ah, much better,' she thought to herself as she kicked one ankle behind the other. But still, such a bothersome feeling under her toes. She took another look, and...

Aha! Nothing but a silly old penny. The end.

We need to clear one thing up. This isn't actually how the story went. Really, I found the penny almost immediately, and then everything else happened. But if I were to reveal the cool part at the beginning, you wouldn't have been nearly as electrified. That I know for sure.

*This needs to be mentioned. Rustic Roots was an awesome little shop in my hometown near Pittsburgh, owned by an even more awesome chick named Merrit. The shop is no longer there, I may have shed a tear over it, let's not talk about it. -christen