2012, best of, OOTD

Best of 2012: Favorite Outfits

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With the New Year only a few hours away, I figured I’d do a little roundup of some of my favorite outfits of 2012. Looking through the pictures I don’t think my style has changed much this year, still pretty simple and classic. But it does give me a lot of ideas of different silhouettes, styles, and accessories to try in 2013. I also may need to experiment in different poses and change up my hair a bit. I see a hair cut and possibly a color change in the near future. Have a great New Year’s eve and I should be back here tomorrow with my first outfit of 2013!

My favorite outfit of 2012

2012, OOTD, worst of

Worst Outfits of 2012: What was I thinking?

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I don’t actually have a lot of outfits that I dislike from this year, but there definitely are some. So in the spirit of end of the year lists, and my personal love of lists in general, I figured i’d make a list of my least favorite outfits of 2012.  These outfits aren’t horrible, but looking back there is something about each of them that I just don’t love. Next year I’ll try and re-style some of these and see if I can come up with outfits I like better. Until then, enjoy my worst of list and look out for  another list my favorite outfits on New Year’s eve.

2012, haul, thrift, thrift haul

Best of 2012: Thrift Finds

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Can you believe that next week it’ll be 2013? It seems like this year has gone by so quickly. 2012 was a pretty decent year for me, not great but not bad, so to give it a proper farewell I figured I’d do some best of, and one worst of , lists before the new year.  So here are my favorite thrift finds of 2012:

 1. Broyhill Brasilia Dresser

This is my favorite thrift find of the year by far. I’d been obsessed with brasilia for awhile so when I found this beauty at the salvation army for $85.00 I couldn’t believe my luck. Yes it was a pain in the ass to move but it makes me happy everytime I see it. Love this dresser.
 

 2. $30 Couch

This was another thrift find that was a bitch to move but I love it so much! That funky design, I even love the ugly green upholstery. We finally moved this into our TV room and it looks really good.

2. Cathrineholm!

I found these on my first trip to a new-ish thrift store and I love them so.

4. Fish TV lamp

 I mean look at all that fishy goodness. #totesamaze

 5. Snowflake Pyrex

6. Green Wheat Pyrex

7. Ugly Mushroom Canisters

 I saw a whole collection of these for $118.00 on Fab.com I got these for maybe $10 total. Gotta love thrift stores and ugly mushroom cannisters.

8. Blue Haven Cinderella Bowl

9. Flower Print

 Pretty sure I saw this in Bryce Dallas Howard’s character’s house in The Help. Just sayin.

10. Haeger Baby Planter

11. Siesta Ware tiki cups. 

12. Newest Thrift find: Target vintage inspired bowl

This is the only non-vintage item on the list and my most recent thrift find. I’d admired this collection from Target but knew if I was patient I’d probably be able to find some pieces at the thrift store and I found this bad boy on Christmas eve. Patience is a virtue, especially at the thrift store.

2012, Halloween, polyvore

Halloween Costume Ideas

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Hey guys! Sorry my posting has been rather sporadic lately, it’s been due in part to my social life temporarily becoming more interesting and light being in short supply around these parts. I promise i’ll try to get my butt in gear and do more outfit posts. I have at least 4 to post! Anyway since Halloween is just around the corner, I figured i’d do a few Halloween costume idea posts for you and yours.

1. Betty Boop. Somebody once told I looked like Betty Boop, I’m still not sure if that’s a compliment or not. I never really understood Betty, to be honest, but she sure is an easy costume! All you need for this costume is a strapless red dress, Gold accessories (especially gold hoop earrings), black pumps and a garter. Do your make up super sexy, pop on a Betty wig, and Bam! you’re Betty Boop, girl. 

Betty Boop

Betty Boop by cleopatrajonez featuring suede pumps

2. Honey Boo Boo. I’ve never been good at pop culture costumes, for some reason my extensive knowledge of pop culture seems to vacate my brain every year when trying to come up with a costume. But with the crazy redneck fun of Honey Boo Boo it’s hard not to notice this gold mine of a Halloween costume. Grab a pink prom dress from the thrift store ( cut hem as needed), grab yourself a blonde curly wig, pink bow, frilly socks, white flats and your ever important go-go juice and take the night by storm, honey boo boo chile.
Honey Boo Boo

Honey Boo Boo by cleopatrajonez featuring max factor cosmetics

3. River Song.  This one’s for the nerds, y’all. As you know i’ve recently become sucked in to the tardis and am huge Doctor Who fan now. While trying to think of a good costume that would work with curly hair suddenly I had it, River Song!! River is Amy and Rory’s daughter (spoilers!) , she’s the doctors wife (I think),  an archeologist (sweetie), kinda crazy  and amazing! She’s definitely one of my favorite characters on the show.  One of my favorite River outfits is the one below, so i decided to go with that one, but there are plenty of other options to choose from if you want to be Melody Pond for all hallows eve.
River Song

River Song by cleopatrajonez featuring a leather wrap belt

4. Psy. Who doesn’t love Psy? I mean you have to be dead if you hear that song and don’t smile a little. Psy is also a pretty easy and fun costume. If you’re like me and you already have black pants and white button down all you need is a bow tie, sunglasses, blue blazer and oxfords. There are a ton of great costume ideas from that video so if Psy isn’t you cup of tea you can always be random guy in yellow suit, pelvic thrusting cowboy or one of his many backup dancers. Sexy Lady!
PSY

2012, Halloween, OOTD, pub crawl, zombie

BRRRAINSSSS

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Dress/ Apron: Garage Sale  Blood on Dress: Ragstock Makeup: thrift Sweater: my grandma
          Last saturday I participated in the 8th Zombie Pub Crawl. It was definitely an experience. The shuttle experience was less than stellar but it was pretty  fun. I don’t know if i’d go again unless I had a friend that really wanted to go, but I’m glad I went. I didn’t take many pictures there (just the one) and was running late to meet my friend so I didn’t end up taking outfit photos. So these myspaceian bathroom mirror pics of me looking like hot mess housewife zombie will have to do for now. I promise at the beginning of the night my makeup was better and I had an extra “wound” on my neck. I was a 50’s style zombie housewife, if you were wondering.

2012, haul, junk bonanza, thrift haul, vintage

Junk Bonanza

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 Last year my mom and I found about a local event called the Junk Bonanza. It’s basically just a big bi-annual antique,vintage, retro, and re-purposed three day shopping event.  We found some good stuff at pretty decent prices last year so we decided to go again this year. I had to work the first two days of the event but Saturday I closed so I had some time to browse and shop. We got there around 11/12 and the place was pretty packed. Things were pretty congested when we got through the gates but it got better as we went. This year it seemed like a majority of the booths had  re-purposed and/or shabby chic type items. Those items were ok but they’re not really my style. The shabby chic stuff is a lot of painted furniture (mostly in white, grey and pastels), a distressed look (real or faux, genearlly faux), and florals. It’s generally pretty feminine.

Example of a Shabby Chic-ish booth. loved the blue jay picture

 The re-pourposed stuff is kinda cool. There were definitely some really cool re-purposed items, but generally I like things to be kept the way they were.

Baseball bats and balls re-purposed into American flag wall art.

 There were definitely some serious trends going on. The “paint something with chalkboard paint” trend has apparently taken off like a rocket, there was a whole booth full of stuff painted with chalkboard paint.  Every time I saw chalkboard paint I thought of the Portlandia sketch “Put a bird on it!” except it would be “make it into a chalkboard!.” I don’t hate that trend, It’s just not for me. I’m not a huge fan of the look of a dusty chalkboard (you know after you erase whatever’s on the chalkboard) and constantly wiping down something seems like it’d be annoying. But I have seen it done really well. Anyway there were also a lot of vintage biology posters for sale. I like them but I’d like to find one super cheap, preferably in a thrift store.

some vintage biology posters for sale

There seemed to be a lot fewer antique/vintage booths, which was kind of a bummer. There were a few cool booths, one in particular was really cool with lots of mid-century stuff. My favorite booth had this slightly creepy monkey blowing bubbles that I kind of wish I had bought.

He’s kind of ragged and creepy, yet adorable. I mean he’s blowing bubbles!!! aww. 

 There was also a cool Heywood Wakefield side table in that booth that was cool but I didn’t see the price on it. There was also this really cool giant malt mixer.

I have to admit I kind of wish I had gotten this guy. His face is so funny and very expressive. But he wasn’t in the greatest condition. Maybe next time. 

 I love old portraits, I thought these were pretty cool. Look at all the cool 40’s (?) hairstyles!

You don’t see many plus-size mannequins, so I thought this was pretty cool.  But, if I read the tag right they wanted like $1000.00 dollars for it, way outta my price range.

 This sign was really cool too. I love the colors, but it was a tad out of my price range. But, it’s from a local vintage store so If I start to obsess I can always go there and see if they still have it, or some other cool signs.

 A cool mid-century light. I love mid-century lights but now that I have a few I’m looking for lights that are a little more unique/cool or that I can’t live without. The lights in this booth were cool but fairly similar to the lamps I already have.

Anyway,  we walked around for a bit and saw some cool stuff but nothing we couldn’t live without. So after  we made the rounds and saw all the booths we left empty handed. It was fun to see all the stuff people had for sale and some of the re-purposed stuff. But, I didn’t see anything really unique. Most of the stuff I saw has been trendy on a lot of design/ vintage blogs for awhile. But it’s always fun to see cool vintage stuff. I have kind of a hard time at vintage/antique type stores. They have lots of cool stuff, but for me one of the best parts of getting vintage stuff is finding it in a thrift store or at an estate sale. There’s just a high you get when you find it “in the wild” that you don’t get in antique malls. But antique fairs/malls etc are great for finding stuff that is harder to find in thrifts like vintage lamps, some vintage furniture and signs. There are also some vintage/antique stores that have pretty good prices. But in antique fairs/malls you just don’t get that same high and I always think in the back of my head that I cold find that item for cheaper in a thrift store. Nonetheless I do love browsing antique/vintage stores, though it can be a bit overwhelming, even if I don’t tend to buy as much.  All in all it was a pretty good time and we’ll probably be back next year.

         

2012, fall, wishlist

Fall Wishlist

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Fall Wishlist

Can you believe it’s almost September? seems like summer just flew by. As sad as I am to see the warm weather slowly fade I am excited for a new season. This season has me particularly excited as many of it’s trends are a bit edgier and things I wouldn’t normally wear but have always wanted to add an element of to my wardrobe. Below are the four trends I’m obsessed with this season:

1. Leather Skirts: I’ve been kind of obsessed with leather this season and it all started when I saw a leather skirt on Asos. The Asos one is currently out in black and is a tad expensive so I’m toying with the idea of getting one from leathercult.com or going the affordable route and getting a faux leather skirt from somewhere. I’m leaning towards the former, but we’ll see. I love the look of the pleated skirt as well as the pencil skirt. I think a leather pencil skirt could be easily thrifted so I’m keeping a look out for those in the thrifts, but I’m more skeptical about the pleated version that i’m obsessed with so I may buy one new.

2. Chunky Knits: I’m currently in love of the look of oversized knits with skinny pants. I already have some cardigans and sweaters I know will work well with this trend. Luckily this is also a super easy trend to thrift. So, I’ve been searching the thrift stores for some and know i’ll find some great sweaters soon.

3. Lady Blouses: I’ve never really been one for blouses, but I’m kind of in love with them now. They work well with pants and skirts and sort of bring a aire of sophistication to any look (in my opinon). I have a few blouses I’ve thrifted that will work for this trend, will keep looking for blouses at thrift stores, and may buy a few new ones as well.

4. Skinny Pants: After a season of flouncy skirts and dresses I find myself craving structure and pants. I love these skinny trousers that are hot this season. I love the more modern twist on a wardrobe staple and plan to add a few to my wardrobe.This is harder to thrift so I think I’ll end up buying most of these new.

2012, olympics

Memorable Olympic Moments, so far

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Sorry for the continued blog absence, I’ve been super busy and not wearing anything interesting. So since I have nothing else to blog about, I figured I’d share the most memorable moments on the other thing that I’ve been doing instead of blogging, watching the Olympics. So here’s a round up of the most memorable moments of 2012 London Olympics (in my opinion) so far.  (warning most of these are pretty team-USA centric)

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1. Opening Ceremony. London 2012 had the incredibly difficult task of following the Beijing opening ceremony, probably one of the best in recent history. Honestly the opening ceremony was just OK for me. Though I was happy to see a multiracial family, during the British music segment, that doesn’t happen as often as you’d think. I was kind of hoping for a spice girl cameo during the music part but got over the lack of spice girl-ness when they showed Amy Winehouse. The Queen/ James bond video was pretty sweet too.

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2. Jordyn Wieber doesn’t make all-around. My heart broke for Jordyn when a few points kept her from even being able to compete for all-around gold. I suppose that’s the olympics but they should really re-think that rule since the 4th best gymnast (in the qualifying) and reining world champion isn’t able to compete because she’s on a strong team and made some minor mistakes. phooey. No images because it’s just too sad to show again.

3. U.S. Men disappoint. I had high hopes for the U.S. men’s team and could barely watch as mistake after mistake slowly crushed their Olympic medal dreams. Hopefully some of the members of this relatively young team will be able to comeback in 2016, but it’s just heartbreaking to watch. I was almost glad they stopped showing them after the vault as it was just so painful. Though I still think we should have seen the rest of their events. Way to cheer on the home team, NBC.

4. Ryan Lochte’s grill. I mean really Lochte? really? 2004 called they want their trend back. Also this article pretty much sums up all my feelings on Lochte.

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5. Mckayla Maroney’s jaw-dropping vault.

literally jaw dropping
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6.  US women’s Gymnastics team gold medal. nuff said.

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7. Aliya Mustafina’s eye makeup. Is it heavy? maybe. But I have to admit I kind of love it. Not too sure about the glitter hair though.

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8. Gabby Douglas Wins GOLD and is the first African American woman to win the all-around!!!!! whoot!

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9. Phelps wins 22nd medal, ends swimming career.

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10. Very formal track and field officials. If you ever watch the track and field events all the officials on the field are always in grey dress pants and blazers. Every time I see them I think they should also be wearing top hats and manacles. They just look so out of place compared to all the athletes in their colorful uniforms, I suppose that’s the point.

11. Interesting track intros. The Jamaicans also win gold in intro creativity.

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12. Usain bolt is still the fastest man in the world.

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13. Serena wins gold!

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14.  Oscar Pistorius becomes the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics.

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So what are your favorite moments of the London 2012 games so far?

2012, blog-o-versery

A Verry Merry Blog-o-versery to me!

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        Today is Black Cat Lies’ 1st Blog-o-versery! I had originally planned to  start this blog on July 1st but I just couldn’t wait.  My blog has had a slower start than some, due in part to the fact that last year I was sort of getting my feet wet with the whole blogging thing and wasn’t sure if I was really ready to give it 100%. But, at the end of last year I decided I did enjoy blogging and am very proud of my blog and how it’s evolved in just a year. Even though my blog is still very small I’d also like to thank all my followers. You guys rock, thanks for following! So here’s to another year of thrift finds, outfit posts and whatever else floats my boat. 

2012, ceramic, frank lloyd wright, mayan revival, print, road trip, siesta ware, thrift haul, travel

Taliesin Trip Day 2 part 2 and Day 3

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     After Taliesin we drove around a little bit and ate Lunch. Then we went back into Richland Center to go to a few thrift stores. One of the few perks of having a hotel in Richland Center instead of Spring Green was that our hotel was near a Goodwill. The Richland Center goodwill was actually a pretty good store. Here’s what I got:

1. Donkey/mule/ Horse (?) planter

2. Vintage Floral Print

       After that we went to another Thrift store in downtown Richland Center which was pretty good too but I’m pretty sure they only took cash and I didn’t find anything I was willing to try and find a cash machine for. When we were on the way to the downtown Richland Center thrift store we saw a sign for a historic site that my mom remembered was supposed to be kind of cool. so we drove around Richland Center trying to find this warehouse building and gawking at old houses. When we finally decided to turn around a go back to where we saw the sign first we happened upon the building.

       The Building is the A.D. Germen (pronounced Jarmon) warehouse. My mom was convinced it was a Wright building so we took out the Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie style in Wisconsin Book and it was. Wright was notorious for having money problems and owed German money. Instead of taking money. Germen agreed to have Wright design him a new Warehouse.

close up of the Mayan inspired concrete blocks.

This was the first building in which Wright utilized his Mayan Revival concrete design. Wright has a bunch of Mayan Revival houses in California that are really cool, they’re some of my favorites of his designs. It was a pretty cool building and it was cool to see the beginning of Wrights Mayan Revival designs.

 The building is not currently in use, It seems like it used to be open to tours but no longer is. It is also in a bit of ill repair, though that kind of makes it cooler. It would be kind of interesting to do some urban or I guess rural exploring in there. Hopefully someday soon someone will buy it or use it for something.

        After we gawked at the warehouse we decided to go to La Crosse. We hadn’t really planned what to do after Taliesin, but since it was only tuesday and I didn’t have to be back to work until Thursday we decided to go to La Crosse, stay there for the night, explore the city Wednesday morning and then go home. So, we drove on a very scenic highway to La Crosse where we searched for a cute motel to stay in. My mom and I are always attracted to old 50’s motels so we searched around a bit and decided on a cute motel. It looked cute on the outside but the inside wasn’t as cool and retro as we had hoped. It was nice and clean though so we decided to stay.  This hotel proved to contain a few comedies of error. First we had a little mishap with the air conditioning . The first room we stayed in the air conditioner didn’t work at all and this was during a very hot and humid heatwave where air conditioning was necessary. So we changed rooms and the second rooms air worked but it didn’t get real cold like a good air conditioner. By then we were too tired to complain and it was working well enough that we just lived with it. The hotel had been remodeled but it seemed like it had been remodeled cheaply. You could tell the shower had been glued over the previous one and when my mom tried to adjust the shower head it fell off, which wasn’t great for my shower after hers.  Anyway despite all that the guy at the front desk was at least friendly and nice. I guess the motel used to be super retro with pink bathrooms and the like but the bathrooms were in such illrepair that they had to re-do them.

         Wednesday morning we checked out, got some breakfast and drove around a bit. With the Frank Lloyd Wright in Wisconsin book we located a few of his houses in La Crosse and looked at them. Then we went to a big antique store that was nice and had some cool stuff. My problem with antique stores is that unless they’re very well priced or I find something I’m absolutely in love with (and it’s in my price range) I can rarely pull the trigger and buy something. I usually look at all that stuff and think I could get a better price if I found it in a thrift store and then just get overwhelmed by all the stuff in the store. It’s almost too much. Anyway after that we did a little thrifting at a salvation army we had passed the day before. That Salvation army was pretty good too. Here’s what I got:

1. Siesta Ware Tiki Mugs. I thought these were pretty cool, I like the colors and the Hawaiian-esque details.

2. Fire King Blue Heaven cinderella bowl. For vintage dishes I generally go with pattern & color than brand. I’d seen this pattern before online and knew it wasn’t Pyrex but I love it anyway and think it’s really cool. So I got it.

3.  Blue Pyrex Divided Dish. My Pyrex/ vintage kitchen wares search has cooled off in recent months, but this divided dish was in such good shape and had such a bold color I had to get it.

         La Crosse was actually a really cute town. It has retained a lot of it’s older buildings and is definitely a place I’d go back to. Anyway after thrifting we decided it was time to go home and we drove off into a thunder storm. We got about halfway home before it started to really rain and we had to pull over. Thankfully the rain stopped after awhile and we finally got home. So that was the end of our Taliesin Roadtrip. I’ll probably post a couple outfits from the trip on Saturday so watch out for those and have a great weekend!