Christmas Time (Was) Here

And taking another moment to post up some pictures from Christmas at my house!  I've been MIA from blogging this way over the past few weeks because I still have family in town; while it's been a blast to get some quality-hanging-time in and do fun things with them, I'm not going to lie - I am looking forward to taking the longest nap EVER after they leave Sunday morning. I am beyond zonked at the moment and on Full Chloe Zombie mode, creekity-creek, chompity-chomp.

So!  One of the best Christmas gifts that I received this year was my dad and Husband finally hanging my new light above the fireplace! Our remodeling process has ground to a halt lately due to the craziness of the holiday season, Husband working a lot (and devoting most of his free-time to coaching a lot, too), and the fact that I'm pretty sure if I ask enough times Husband will finally get the hint and totally get Extreme Home Makeover (WITH MARIAH CAREY!) to come over and get it all done lickity-split during a weekend when I'm away traveling, as I'm pretty sure that's how most all home remodels work.  Hence, um...we've gotten nowhere.

That is until now.  Here's my new light, finally hung up in its spot:

A few of you emailed me inquiring where I got it from after seeing a shot of it yesterday in my pics; it's from Z Gallerie and retails for $399 and ohmygoodness- I love it!

A word to the wise, however- the way it's rigged in my home isn't the way it's meant to be hung. The light originally came with four wires that could be adjusted in length (one on each corner on top of the square metal grate that the shells dangle from) which would make it a snap to install on a flat ceiling.

But since nearly every ceiling in my house is vaulted, we decided to snap the wires, integrate the same pole from which a ceiling fan originally hung, secure that pole to the middle of the metal grate, and then hang the entire light off that instead.  It worked brilliantly, I think, and saved all of us the obnoxious trouble of adjusting wires all day so it'd hang straight at an angle.

Thank goodness for smart and handy dads, hm?  And super-thank-goodness for hard liquor, TI's newest album entitled No Mercy, and leaf blowers...as I'm pretty sure that's the only way to actually dust the sucker, envy me if you will.

More pictures from the jolly day; click the pics for larger sizes:

food.

married couple.

light Christmas reading entitled, Understand Rap: Explanations of Confusing Rap Lyrics You and Your Grandma Can Understand and/or otherwise known as THE BEST BOOK EVER

homeless yorkie under kitchen table.

homeless chihuahua in a dress, looking for her gift.

my dad was in charge of stocking stuffers this year and so he ransacked home depot and bought everyone the candy that only he likes.

my dad also ransacked my mom's purse and put her cellphone into my twin sister's stocking.

my dad thinking he's funny (mostly 'cuz he is).

my parents accidentally gave Husband my future car and he won't share.

digging.

snoozing.

big pimping.

outfit of the day-ing.

(more) snoozing.

snoopy dancing.

rudolph-ing.

stare-of-death-O-RLY-ing.  rudolph has a bad attitude.

hiding.

cheer-upping.

& a few of more of my favorite gifts. ♥

And I hope you all had a great Christmas too, full of family & friends & really great gifts.  I'll be back with some more updates and pictures later!

Outfit Of The Day (The Sweet, Sweet Shades Of Fashion)

Taking a quick moment in the holiday craziness here!  I hope you all had a great Christmas, and I'll be back later with a bit more of an update with pictures on Christmas in The Chloe Conspiracy household.

When I noticed that one of my very favorite bloggers, Anh of 9 to 5 Chic, was in the running to become Sunglass Hut's pick for Full Time Fabulous to win money, a gig, and an apartment in Manhattan for a year I was absolutely elated!  Not only is she incredibly down to earth and THE nicest and sweetest blogger out there, but she is one of those girls that could wear a paper bag and still look classy & stylish (and it has nothing to do with her fabulous collection of Chanel handbags OR her amazing shoes- trust me!).  Anh is also a huge CU Buffs fan, as is Husband- and those can be pretty hard to find anymore.  ;)

So when Anh decided to do a bit of a "Fashion Bloggy Sisterhood of the Traveling Sunglasses" and asked me if I would like to take part, I immeeeediately said YES!  Who wouldn't want to try on a few fabulous pairs of sunglasses at home and have a bit of fun with it? She sent a box full of shades my way (on loaner only, darnit!) from brands like Burberry, Tory Burch, Ray-Ban, Versace, and Prada and I had the chance to snap a quick few pics wearing them all.  

Here's a small sneak peek of the photos I snapped, shot beneath my (not) very bright and newly-hung living room light:

{ray ban aviators on loan from Anh - do I really hafta return them? hee hee hee.}

And since I live in Colorado and it IS one of the sunniest states on the map, I have quite the collection of sunglasses myself and so I also threw in a picture of my favorite pair of shades, my vintage Yves Saint Laurent Cat-Eye Sunglasses that I scored off of Market Publique a few months back:

{my YSL sunnies are crazy + pretty + fun all in one little fabulous eyesight-saving-package}

Want to see pictures of me AND Anh wearing all of the shades? There's also a little surprise involving Husband and Petunia, too!  Hop over to Anh's blog on Full-Time Fabulous for the rest of this post and PLEASE comment and vote for her- every little bit will help her towards a much-deserved win!

ANH IS FULL-TIME FABULOUS>>

Chloe's Capacious Closet (Let It Flow, Let It Glow, Let It Not Snow!)

Oh, it doesn't show signs of stopping; and I brought, some of comfy Miu Miu flats, for shopping...

So we headed out on Monday night to do some shopping for a "foster" family to spread a bit of holiday cheer. My twin sister's family actually lives out here in Colorado within 15 minutes of me, and her brother-in-law is a social worker in a county nearby.  While I'm fairly certain he doesn't read this blog himself, I know his parents do- and what a difficult career field to be in!  It is full of long hours, little pay, and an insane amount of stress.  

But Twin Sister's Brother-In-Law (TSBIL?) is extremely passionate about his job and helping others and the excitement he feels for it is contagious. I'm pretty sure he gets it from his parents- they're the type of people who will not only give you the shirt off their backs, but tuck some money into the pocket of it, too.

(You guys are the best, and A's fervor for helping others definitely doesn't fall far from the tree.)

So we all went out dinner, a big group of us; and then headed out to shop for the family, armed with a list provided by TSBIL of things the children of the family wanted and/or needed.  Talk about a bit of stress! There's a certain feeling that comes with doing good, but perhaps even more so if you know what it's like to have a spare Christmas when the gifts aren't quite as big or as plentiful, or are simply two very small ones meant to be shared with your twin sister due to a tough economy and a year of no money.

(As an adult I absolutely recognize and feel thankful for how hard my parents worked to put a roof over our heads and to give great gifts almost every single year. They're incredibly generous!  But as a kid?  No 4th grader wants to go back to school after Christmas break and show-and-tell a dictionary amongst the other kids with their slap bracelets, Nintendos, and Popples--it's an anxiety-inducing feeling that I remember oddly well, oh cruel world sometimes I hate you.)

Doing good and passing it along to others that might not be as fortunate is one of the best things about the holiday season, I think.  Whether it's because of job loss or illness and medical bills; and whether you help out through volunteering, or donating, or even holding the door open for someone--it's important and it makes everyone feel good, yes?  I also watched this unfold over at The Bloggess late last week, and it proves that you don't need to be obscenely-Oprah-rich to still help others in need.  It also proves one of the best things about blogging--that the sense of intimacy created within helps others feel like they really "know" them, even if they've never met, which in turn makes it a little bit easier to give.  

And it also proves that bloggers can also do some pretty great things that are bigger than funny words or taking pictures of their poor puppies dressed up as hot dogs.  Who knew, hm?

(Which reminds me--P-Diddly-The-Red Nosed-Saddest-Chihuahua-Ever will be making her Christmas debut soon!  Um.  As long as I can get her out from hiding underneath the bed, where she's been for the past 5 days straight.  Totallynoideawhy.) (And Kitty-Coconuts-The-Christmas-Hot-Dog may or may not be with, as she's gained a bit of weight and might not fit into the costume.)

On to the outfit!   Occasionally, I enjoy wearing something cool, or edgy, or super fashion-fashiony as a desperate and panicky attempt to still be a little cutting edge as I hurdle towards the big 3-0.

And then other times I enjoy wrapping myself up in bows like some sort of daffy Stepford Wife and that is okay:

 Cardigan: J Crew Perfect mix Tape Cardigan in Bronzed Twig (buy it here) (similar style here)

Top: Banana Republic Monogram Alicia Bow Tee (buy it here)

Skirt: Ann Taylor LOFT (similar style here) (and here)

Shoes: ALDO (similar style here) (these would be cute, too!) (and here, on sale)

Bag: Valentino Aphrodite Bow Bag (similar style here) (and here) (and here- sew a sash around the top and loop it into a bow!)

It's A Wrap!

And the way-too-easy ways that I amuse myself when I get a free moment or two. And ignore the mismatching trim, as we're in between THE REMODELING and unless Santa is going to paint all of my trim white for me and replace my sorely-outdated mini-blinds, it's probably not going to change any time soon.  

But hopefully soon enough:

{obviously fake tree, don't worry}

(Husband was humored.)

So while I was wrapping the real gifts to shove under the tree, I had to have a playlist to help me get my ribbon-curling groove on.  This is what I've been listening to lately- a little bit of holiday, a little bit of whatever, and a whole lot of...fun?

Enjoy!

And if you have any awesome jams that you've been listening to yourself, please share in the comments- sharing is caring, and I always love listening to new stuff.



(And I'll be back later with an Outfit Of The Day!  Two in a row- Christmas miracles all around!)

Chloe's Capacious Closet (It's Beginning To Look A-Not Like Christmas...)

 Capacious closet, capacious closet, capacious closet!

:)

I finally have a moment here to sit down and post!  First things first- I'm glad you all liked my post last week.  I received some great comments and tweets because of it, and it made me smile to know that it struck a chord with several of you.  It wasn't an easy post to write, because who likes making themselves all vulnerable?  But I'm human, and Husband is human, and Kitty and Petunia are weirdly-shaped-and-oddly-fuzzy-and-always-smell-like-dog-food humans (YES), and we're all human- and so I am glad I did it. You guys are the best, and thank you. ♥

This week has been crazy!  I'm "hosting" Christmas this year (I say hosting with quotation marks because really, I'm just inviting my family and letting my mom borrow my kitchen) and my twin sister and her husband are already here, yowza.

My Husband coaches a team of middle-school aged competitive basketball players, so we went up and watched a tournament game Saturday.  They did great- and I'm glad Husband has found something that he enjoys doing so much, even if it is a bit energy-draining and time-consuming.  Coaching isn't easy and is almost always a volunteer job, so all coaches out there deserve a fist bump or five.  I'm not a sports nut, but I can sit through basketball and at least half understand what's going on, bravo for me.

After that we did a bit of shopping, had a long dinner (Wazee Supper Club, woot!) and then we hit the Nuggets game.  As we were leaving the stadium after the game, click-click-clicking along quickly in the crisp cold to get back to the car, I had an odd thought wash over me- why was Invesco Field, all grand and majestic in the short distance, lit up in red and white and green like the Italian flag?

God, that's so weird. Were they trying to sucker Broncos fans back in with some pizza?  Spaghetti?  Everybody loves pizza and spaghetti, WELL PLAYED.

Oh. Wait!  Chrrrrrristmas!  Red and white and green!  Christmas colors. You know- it's apparently right around the corner, which is hard to believe as temps here have been mingling in the 50's with no chance of snow in sight.  I'm not a fan of snow, but I definitely need some on the week of Christmas or I apparently get all sorts of confused. 

And hungry.

(Ma!  Can we have pizza this year for Christmas?!)

On to the outfit- there are pretty awful pictures due to a gloomy day last week and me accidentally bouncing my flash off of a lit Christmas tree (read: talent, I have it), but you get the idea. The dress is a $16 H&M item that the lovely Anh first uncovered over over here; my fabulous and fantastic H&M dealer, Rosa (you might see her in the comments) found the dress shortly there after and offered to buy it and send it my way.  Done!  There's something fun about a "winter floral" pattern; while I love the leather jacket Anh wore with hers to pieces (and if I ever meet her, I might just request she wear it so I can steal it and run!), the dress is a looser fit and I decided to pair it with a fitted jacket to help give a bit of shape to my non-shapely body.

Hoppin' to it, homies:

Jacket: Forever 21 Bustle Jacket (similar style here) (and here for $25)

Dress: H&M(similar style here) (and here)

Tights: Banana Republic (buy them here) (and here)

Belt: J Crew (similar style here for $20)

Ring: Banana Republic (similar style here) (and here)

Booties: Dior Serpent Booties (similar style here) (and here)

Bag: Chloe Paraty in Rosewood (different color Paratys here) (similar style here) (and here) (and this would also match well!)

Outfit Of The Day (And Some Appreciation) (Some Very, Very Long-Winded Appreciation)

The (gorgeous!) Maegan over at Love Maegan posed a great question a few days ago after receiving a comment from her husband over the outfit she was wearing.  Her question was- who do you dress for?

I thought this was an excellent post and actually one I had been thinking a bit about over the past several weeks.  Not that I was staring up at the starry sky night after night and spending hours in toil over it, mind you, but it had popped into my head especially as it's the holiday season and I was trying to dream up some outfits for various holiday functions that Husband and I both attend together.

While most of us will likely say that we dress the way we do for ourselves and because we like it, (and because it's an expression of our style and who we are ha-ha-ha natch),  there's a saying that women dress for other women.  And it's probably true.   After all- Husband Husband doesn't care what handbag I'm carrying, or if the soles of my shoes are made of diamonds or painted bright red, or that my dress I'm wearing is made by one of my favorite designers.  He doesn't even know who my favorite designer is.

Husband will probably also be the first to admit that, like most dudes, he doesn't quite "get" my love of slightly quirky shoes, or why I tuck my skinny jeans into boots, or the hours I might spend matching things up, digging through my jewelery box to find the perfect accessories  and/or packing enough suitcases for a long weekend to make him wonder if I'm secretly planning on permanently moving into whatever hotel we're staying at, because who doesn't love room service and plush hotel towels, always perfectly folded and warmly waiting for use?  

And frankly, that's what I like most about him.

But no matter what, I think any married person (or person in a relationship, big or small) will admit that they  do love receiving compliments from their significant others, too- yes? It is important, even if it's not always obvious.

So I must get serious and mushy here for a moment, which I rarely do on this blog.  I've had a bit of a tough year this past year in many, many ways that have (purposely) not been documented here.  While I used to blog more in-depth about some of my personal matters when I first started writing, I've always said that this blog has been my escape. It's my little happy spot where everything is dandy- and as real life friends (and family members, and co-workers) now read this, I think it's important to once again reiterate what this blog and what I post on this blog means to me. 

This blog makes up a small percentage of what my life is actually about, as most of you know, and is simply a tangible placin to which I can retreat when I'm sick, stressed, or otherwise taking life too seriously and need to have a good laugh.  It's also a place where I can share my love (and hobby) of fashion with lots of great girls from all over this country and world, as I reside in a corner of this crazy continent in a state where so few others also share this similar passion of mine.

And for the thousands of you that read this and don't know me personally- well, I hope you understand this as well. You're only seeing a small and highly-edited snapshot of my life here, which is what all personal blogs are.  It's easy to build a false sense of intimacy as you read someone daily (or weekly) but it's important to keep in mind that we only see what the author wants us to see- after all, no one blogs about their entire life and every single thing that happens in it.  Because of this, we will never be able to fully know a person simply based on what they write or decide to blog about alone. It seems obvious but at times, I think it does need to be reiterated. 

But as I said above, this has been a bit of a rough year for me. For the first time as an adult I had to confront some fairly serious questions, being mostly- who am I?  What do I want to do with my life?  What is my purpose here?  And since I'm now a married adult, those questions were immediately followed with- and who are we?  What do we want from our lives?  And what is our purpose here?

I thought I had already answered these questions over 10 years ago, on a survey no one probably read as I was readying to graduate high school (which is a damn shame, because I thought my answer of  "Someone who takes pictures of herself and what she's wearing and posts it on a blog and jabbers incessantly about it and people actually read it and somewhat care and/or VANNA WHITE, BITCHES!" was brilllllllllliant) (but let's be honest and not kid ourselves here- no one would be able to see the Wheel of Fortune letters behind my oddly shaped, large head anyway); but  apparently the very serious answers I gave for those questions weren't meant to last my entire lifetime.

And so this year, I had to tackle those questions again. 

And it's a whole new feat when you're married. Being married isn't easy.  People always say that too, being married isn't easy, and I remember that during my first year of marriage I felt like if you KNEW it wasn't easy, shouldn't you do everything in your power to make it...well, easy?  Don't you have power or control? Shouldn't there be a solution to this common malady?  Perhaps giving lots of hugs?  And compliments?  And chocolate chip cookies?

In the beginning nice things are more common and happen naturally, as they're mostly fresh and new; but as the years go on in a marriage it's easy to let these little things slip away.  When you see the same person day after day it can lose its touch; as Mark Twain famously said, "Familiarity breeds contempt - and Vanna White er, chihuahuas er, children." 

Life happens and we get busy with other things, we take each other for granted, and we begin to simply expect certain behaviors and words.  As Husband and I have gone on in our marriage, this has certainly been true. We've had several discussions this year alone on how to reconnect, stay connected, and keep our marriage strong.  While these talks haven't been easy, they have been immensely important- perhaps even more important than the hugs, and the compliments, and even the chocolate chip cookies (gasssp!).

Husband has always been the strongest supporter of my blog and my love of fashion, and perhaps I don't tell him enough how much that means to me. I'm of a stoic Midwestern Norwegian stock, after all; we aren't known for being overly affectionate in words or in gestures or, or, or- or in much of anything.  We joke about it often in my family, slightly sheepishly as we know it's not right, but it takes time  and a lot of hard work to undo decades of misconstrued stand-off-ishness.

(Because....apparently not everyone realizes that even if I'm not physically touching you, I AM GIVING YOU A HUG.)

(I AM GIVING YOU A HUG WITH MY EYES SOUTH DAKOTA SPECIAL STYLE, HOMIES.)

And after my cousin passed away last year, we all promised to tell (and show!) each other how much we appreciate one another- but again, it's easy to let old bad habits slip back in as life moves along.

But I'm a lucky girl because in spite of everything, Husband has always been my number one fan.  And he's remained my number one fan as I've gone through this year trying to frustratingly figure out the answers to some of the harder questions in life. He's also my fan when he has no idea what it is I'm wearing, he's my fan when I'm sick and in my jammies and bunny slippers for 3 days straight, and  because of this Iam a very lucky, lucky, lucky girl.  And even though I think about this often, I probably don't actually tell him nearly enough how much I appreciate it.

So when Husband told me this afternoon how much he liked the outfit I was wearing today and then asked- "Did you take an Outfit Of the Day picture of it for your blog? I hope you did, because I like it"-  I couldn't help but be slightly tickled.  He liked it so much he wanted to make sure I documented it on the blog?  There's a new compliment I've never heard before- done and  done.

I love you, Husband.  And here you go; I know you really just liked the short skirt and you don't  really care where it's from (ha!) or even what I'm wearing it with- but I'm glad you liked it anyway.  Thank you.

Taking advantage of the freakishly warm weather and another super-sale find from Barneys:

  Cardigan: Madewell Sparkle Cardigan (similar style here) (and here)

Blouse: ASOS (similar style here)  (and here)
Vest: Banana Republic Outlet (similar style here) (and here)
Skirt: J Crew Marvelle Mini (buy it here, select colors on sale!) (similar style here)
Belt/Scarf: Old J Crew (similar style here)
Shoes: Christian Louboutin Lady Derby's in Gray (similar style here) (and here + take 20% off with code "notcot20") (and also a fun option here with lace)
Bag: Chloe Paraty in Rosewood (similar style here) (and here) (and here for under $100)



(Song Of The Day)

Outfit Of The Friday (Evening) (Shopping!)

Something I seem to get asked often is how to add designer items to a closet for cheap.  Well, for cheap-er, anyway.  While it can definitely take a bit of dedication (knowing when sales launch, waiting for the best sales, and hunting for the prettiest items without accidentally wearing a pair of, ahem, sales-goggles) (you know- like beer goggles; and like that one time you ordered that hot pink and lime sequined poncho for 90% off that hangs, quite appropriately I might add, unworn and hidden in the back of your closet) (wait, just me?), this is hands down the best time of year to add some fantastic pieces to your wardrobe at a discount.  Nearly everyone has been having sales- from Barneys to Bloomingdales to even Valentino.com; and most are offering free shipping and free returns on top of the deals.

I've definitely been partaking in a bit of it myself, and the shoes I'm wearing in the sets below are a good example- they were 40% off at Neiman Marcus. The color on the website showed them being a deep (and let's be honest- slightly ugly) mauve, but considering they were also offering free shipping and free returns, I ordered them to see them in person anyhow. I'm so glad I did- in real life they're a very pretty light suede pink that will be perfect in the spring.  Heck they're perfect now, as long as you aren't trying to prance around in them in slush and snow in the middle of Minneapolis.  Considering the high here tomorrow in Colorado is going to  be in the mid-60's, bragging intended (sorry Minnesota friends!), I'm wearing them right now mmhm.

The blouse I'm wearing was another find, and definitely not something I would have purchased if it hadn't been for Shopbop's sale a few weeks back and some gift certificates I had to use.  I also like the "gift certificate promotions" (Neiman Marcus has an excellent one right now!)- if you're going to spend big and not buy something on sale, you might as well still get something back to use on a future purchase, hm?  And of course - I also try to use Polyvore to keep a "virtual" closet of items I own, so I can instantly see if things will match what I already have, and I also use resources like The Purse Forum for any sizing/comfort issues- especially if I'm ordering shoes, as  the girls on the Louboutin forum are super knowledgeable.

Those are my tips in a nutshell.  And speaking of shopping, Husband and I had some last minute gift-grabbing to do last Friday night.  We did dinner first at one of my favorite restaurants for a little bit of a fancy-but-not-really date night, and then off we went to join the crazy-crazies at the mall:

Jacket: LaRok Luxe Cute Cadet Jacket (buy it here, on sale) (similar style here for under $100!)

Blouse: Lover Tilly Lace Blouse (buy it here) (similar style here)

Belt: Ann Taylor LOFT (similar style here + 40% off)

Scarf: Express (buy it here) (love this one at Topshop, too)

Bracelets: Target (similar style here on sale!)

Gloves: Target (similar style here)

Shoes: Christian Louboutin Declic Pumps (buy them here in black patent) (similar style here) (and here)

Outfit Of The Day (Baby, It's...Not Cold Outside?)

First things first.  While twitweetering earlier this morning, I asked a fairly simple question that seemed to cause a lot of confusion and chatter-

What (or how) do you tip for the holidays?

While there are lots of different meanings to Christmas (and Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, and whatever festive day you enjoy celebrating!), for me the thing I like the most is letting those in my life knowing how much I appreciate them.  Whether it's through saying something nice, or baking cookies to give out, or finding fun gifts to give or extra dog treats (I really don't know how Petunia doubled in weight this year- so strange!) (and Kitty went from 6 to 8 lbs...weird!)-  it's important and a great opportunity to take a moment to do that to those in our lives that might not get a "thank you" often enough.

Often times, these are people in the service industry. Garbage men, mail men,  gardeners, the United Postal Santa guy in the brown truck- these people often go the extra mile for us on a regular basis without much of a thank you. And in the impending snowy and icy weather, they more than deserve it!

The first tweets I received back after asking my question (how much to tip?) was....how do you decide who you should tip?  That's a great question, and one I definitely don't know the exact answer to, but my general guide line (as I've worked nearly my entire adult life in customer service) is that I do try to tip anyone that does something for me that I technically could do myself, but don't.  

For example- I could make my own food and bring it to myself, yes; but it's nice occasionally not eating frozen chicken nuggets and/or eating it after I've accidentally dropped it on the floor, so that's why I tip waiters and waitresses.  I also technically could cut my own hair, yes (and sometimes do - shh, don't tell!); but I also couldn't listen to myself blather on and on and on as my poor stylist/therapist/smile-and-head-nodder does, and so that's why I tip her.

Same goes for mail men, garbage men, and anyone else that has to do things that are often times tough physical, require long hours on the feet, and tend to come with few rewards and bonuses.  While some might not think these jobs are spectacular or that difficult to do, they (absolutely) can be - and don't you feel great when you're at work and someone pays you a compliment, or gives you a raise or bonus? Yes, you do- and so these people deserve it, too. 

So as far as deciding who to tip- tip whoever you think deserves it. There isn't a rule or a law saying that you must, but it's simply a nice thing to do and always appreciated around the holiday season.

Next question- how much to tip?  I have absolutely no idea, which is why I decided to get on Twitter this morning and ask.  No one else seemed to know, either, so after hunting around I found this great little article, which not only breaks down WHO to tip, but how much to tip (for example -  united states postal service mail carriers can't accept cash but can accept gifts up to $20....who knew?).  It's a fabulous list full of great info, hooray!

And my last question - HOW do you tip? You don't always have to do cash! I actually like picking out something a little bit more personal to show that I've been listening.  Now obviously, I can't do this with the garbage man (because believe it or not, he's been skipping out  and standing me up on our scheduled weekly chats) but I know my hairstylist likes Bobbi Brown make-up, so a gift card to Nordstrom's so she could stock up on it was my gift to her last year. She also likes to throw any extra tip money (above the usual 20%) that I try to give her riiiight back at me, which makes me feel oddly dirty and cheap (because...I mean...money?  thrown at me?  and "Pour Some Sugar On Me" isn't even playing? and, and, and...I'm not even dancing?!) but gift cards, she'll happily keep.  Whew.

So!  I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this; feel free to share away in the comments.

On to the outfit.  It was warm here today, so I pulled out some self-tanner (I DID- I know you all are thinking, "Wow, you are PALE, liar!" but I'm even paler without the self-tanner, which means I'm almost invisible, and I gross myself out sometimes by counting the blue veins I can see, and there is no foundation that matches my real skin tone, and it's a hard life) aaaand here we go:

Top: Dress from the fabulous Gruhche on Etsy (her shop is here)

Skirt: J Crew Marvelle Mini (buy it here, select colors are on sale!) (similar style here in lace for $29.50) (and another option for around $30)

Coat: Ann Taylor (similar style here) (and here under $100) (and here under $50)

Scarf: Express (buy it here, on sale + free shipping!)

Heels: Lanvin for H&M (floral pumps here) (and lots of options on Ebay) (and love these, too)

Bag: Marc Jacobs Kristina Crossbody (similar style here) (and here)

Outfit Of The Day (Casual-Chloe)

Checking in, checking in.  Between the impending holidays, and work, and trying desperately to not have a baby and/or any other adult responsibility or initiative plus getting ready for the end of the world in 2012 by stockpiling and hoarding toilet paper and Smart Food popcorn (the popcorn for obvious reasons, as it will apparently make me smarter)  (the toilet paper only because I think that when the world comes to an end, and Husband and I and the chihuahuas are the only four persons left on the planet, we will probably be really bored and need some form of entertainment since, you know,  I'm not entirely sure if VH1 will still work on the TV's) (and so if VH1 doesn't work on the TV's, and we can't watch Bret Michaels Rock Of Duds 9,  then we will need some sort of amusement, and what is more entertaining than toilet paper mummy-wah-wahs?) (Nothing!  Nothing is more entertaining! That's the answer!), WHEW. 

I've been buuuuus-y, needless to say, but I'm sure ya'll know how that goes what with your own holidays, and work, and trying to not have babies, and/or trying to have babies (if that's your thing I suppose, it's cool- somebody has to do it), and The Official World Coming To An End Planning 2012 and all.  I'm really glad I have you guys sometimes,  since we can all share and understand how stressful it is to live in this increasingly hard and difficult world. I just scooted across the floor in my bunny slippers and zapped myself on the light switch, can you believe it?  Me neither.  Can't believe it.

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The above two paragraph is the start of the annual Chloe + Husband family Christmas letter, whatcha think?  I mean yes, you're right- it  clearly does need more references to illness, health calamities, and pointless goals and/or epiphanies that were achieved  such as, "Husband passed his dental check-up  last month with flying colors, we are so proud of him!" and "In March Chloe decided she liked Grape Gatorade better than Fruit Punch Gatorade, but now she's back on to the Fruit Punch, except she still has 200 bottles of Grape just sitting here and isn't that always how it goes?"  

Because really- that is always how it goes. It's also how I saw my life flash before my eyes as a rock-solid frozen organic burrito came careening out of the freezer and right at my head one evening about five years ago, but we will save that story for another day, perhaps for when I can muster up enough energy to do the shadow puppets and that go with that dastardly story for the appropriate dramatization and the sad piano soundtrack to Hoarders on TLC for the appropriately-uncomfortable background music.  I'm working on it, sheesh.

So Husband and I finally put the Christmas decor up over the weekend, which makes the house look so pretty and festive!  There's nothing better than the glowy ambiance of white Christmas lights. It's also great because I pretty much skipped out on Christmas last year; In fact, I pretty much skipped out of the  entire last three months of the year last year, never mind that I-didn't-even-send-out-Christmas-cards-GASP; and so it is nice to finally feel a little bit of the holiday spirit again.

And I feel festive, readers!  I want to sing (off-key)!  And dance (badly)!  And throw snowballs (like a girl and miss)!  And raise a ruckus (by going downtown and not putting any change in the parking meters to see if I get caught)!  And eat lots of sugar cookies!  And get really, really drunk on New Year's Eve!  And have Husband stop looking at me like I've lost my mind! 

We're working on it here, but first I would like for winter to actually show up.  It's going to be so warm tomorrow that the self-tanner has been dug out and I am going TIGHTLESS.  More on that later.

Casual for today, and a bit boring.  It happens:

Cardigan: Madewell Sparkle Cardigan (similar style here) (and here) (and here for under $25)

Blouse: GAP Silk Applique Top (buy it here) (similar style here) (this top from Anthro in gray would work well)
Belt: Old J crew (you can customize something similar right here)

Jeans: GAP Jeggings (similar style at GAP here) (and here)

Boots: Frye Fiona Tall Boots (similar style here) (and here)

Bag:Fendi B-Bag (love this + it's under $100) (this would be cute, too + is under $100!)

The Capacious Closet (Dance Of The Sugarplum Chloe)

What have you wanted ever since you were a little girl?

For many women, it's probably some sort of grand wedding. As I was watching the fine TV drama "Married to Rock" on E! the other night, the one blonde lady (Wait- they're all blonde. Um. Josie?) kept announcing that she always dreamed of having a pretty princess wedding.  She wanted it to be a certain way, this pretty princess wedding of hers, with an overabundance of fluffy Hello Kitty decor and a swing that would drop her down from the very top of a rented castle and over her wedding guests so they could properly look up her skirt, as is the tradition now at most Californian Hello Kitty-themed weddings.  

And I'm sure we all know that there's nothing that reality TV loves more than a slightly crazy wedding, complete with 30-something-year old bridesmaids that look slightly despondent and downtrodden (the Botoxed faces preventing them from looking wholly despondent and downtrodden, I should clarify, thank goodness) in bright pink Hello Kitty necklaces.  And I'm sure that we all also know that reality TV also loves nothing more than having no recordings of what happens the day after the wedding when the bride realizes in a panic that it's over, all over and so very sad; and no one cares anymore, and she's no longer a perfect pretty princess but a sad married person (again- the Botoxed face preventing her from looking wholly sad, thank goodness indeed) wondering why she's always the one stuck doing the dishes and having the ucky dried-out-dish-washing hands.

For some of us it's a bit more tangible- having a home that looks a certain way (I've always wanted a colonial with columns and a white marble fireplace, for whatever bizarre reason for which I am sure I can place blame on either those Sweet Valley High books and/or Disney Movies).  And for others, it might not quite be so big- bath towels fluffed a certain way while hanging over a towel rack, or a scene with the family on an early Christmas morning that would make even a Norman Rockwell painting jealous, and etc. 

This seems to be a fairly gender-specific trait, the fact that us females always have something that we've wanted ever since being little; we've always wanted, needed, dreamed of something.  Have you ever heard a man, after all, declare to his guy friends that he always envisioned having a fluffy down Monogrammed pillow to rest his head upon at night?  Or a gorgeous dining room table with place settings that all match? Or a big, ridiculously expensive striped chair that hurts to sit in (but is so pretty!) to look at in his living room?  Or the soundtrack from Rocky to play while he's walking down the aisle at his wedding?  Or heated toilet seats in their home?  Exactly.  I'm not saying that men don't have dreams; they just know that for the most part their dreams sound ridiculous, and it's better to just keep it to themselves unless they're Kevin Costner and getting paid millions to make a movie about having a field of them.

And it's okay.  I wholeheartedly believe that this is one of the better traits us girls have, this ability to dream and happily vocalize these slightly fuzzy, kind-of-bizarre fairy-tale-like dreams and then attempt to produce these dreams in real life, no matter how silly or odd they may seem.  What's the point of living if you don't have something optimistic and pretty to dream about?

For me, I always dreamed of being a dancer.  It didn't happen- but I remember begging my mom for tap dancing shoes when I was little.  That did happen, and I would click-click-click around as an impostor while feeling slightly jealous of my classmates and friends that really were all in jazz, tap, and ballet; sitting rickity-straight in their desk chairs with the perfect posture only a dancer has while I would slump over and eyeball them, chewing aggressively at the end of a pen camp and realizing that the only dancing I had in my future would be the kind done while inebriated, hoping no one would remember it in the morning.

And as an adult, I still find myself drawn to these sorts of dancer-like things: puffy, tu-tu-like skirts, feminine shoes with bows, pale pink hues, and fashionistas with their hair coiffed into sleek-yet-pretty buns.  It's something I will probably always love.

A feather skirt definitely doesn't seem like the most practical piece to add to anyone's wardrobe, but for whatever reason when I saw it, I could envision it with no less than 30 things already hanging in my closet.  Throw in a big 2-day 40% off sale and a gift card that had to be used, and a slightly ridiculous dream has officially come true. 

One dream down, a million more to go:

Vest: Banana Republic outlet (similar style here) (and a ruffly version here)

Shirt: ASOS (buy it here)

Skirt: Haute Hippie (buy it here) (similar style here, on sale) (and here) (and here for under $30)

Tights: Banana Republic (buy them here) 

Shoes: Dior Serpent Booties (similar style here) (and here) (and here)

Bag: Chloe Paraty in Rosewood (similar style here) (and here) (and here. under $100)