Here I am!

I've quit one of my jobs. The idea here is that I'll have more time to focus on building my own business. This is the first week of not-triple-job having and I don't know what to do with myself. I spent two days doing a whole lot of Not Much, then I did some laundry, and today, finally, I began to work on the enormous backlog of photos that built up while I was working three jobs.
There's been some good stuff, too. Fun stuff and exciting stuff and dull stuff. I went with some girlfriends to Joshua Tree and we all became friends with a brilliant, famous photographer who was the nicest, most down-to-earth guy. And he bought me drinks, which makes him extra awesome. Tomorrow, or when I remember to, I will add a couple of photos that he's taken so that all of you can be impressed with my new best friend.
The third thing to mention is my engagement, and eventual wedding. It turns out that planning a wedding is CRAZY. I'm the first of my close friends to do this and lemmetellya, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I'll probably turn my currently defunct 30for30 blog into a wedding blog, should I feel the need to bloggify the ordeal.  So far, I've picked out six color schemes, eight venues, and forty-seven dresses.  Narrowing any of those down to just one breaks my brain.
So here's a picture of my dog, walking his dog!

Frocking Friday, 6 & 7

It's Official: I'm giving up on the February 30 for 30 Remix Challenge. I got supah-crazy sick and was out of the game for nearly two weeks. While that's kind of a flimsy excuse, I just hate to be so far behind the other remixers and (once again) so I'm wussing out of the rest of the challenge and will instead be ready to join up at the next one.
I'm still doing the Frocking Friday and Shoeper Shoe Challenges, though.

This dress (#6) was last year's Christmas gift to myself. I love the flared out sleeves and delicate lace.
The shoes were gifts from my mom and I'd shoved them into the back of my closet where they'd lain untouched for years until I found them again a few months ago. They moved into constant heavy rotation right away.
The red brooch was from a shop on Etsy - another Christmas gift from me to me - and the tights are from We Love Colors.

This dress (#7) is a summertime favorite. It reminds me of ice cream and it was twelve dollars at a vintage shop in Eagle Rock. Win!
The coat was another vintage bargain - $20 at American Vintage on Melrose. The white cardigan is also thrifted, the tights are from Target, and the hideous-yet-awesome boots are from Aldo.
That's two pair of shoes out of ?? for the Shoeper challenge. I've still got to get all my shoes together to count and photograph. Turns out I have no idea how many shoes I've actually got and I'm kind of excited to find out.

Rockin' the Moustache

After Sunday's break (had to wear a Work Outfit, changed directly into pajamas afterwards), I was back with my 30 for 30, here in outfit number six.

Shirt - Gogol Bordello concert; Skirt - gifted; Tights, Socks, & Boots - Target

The tights, socks, and boots previously mentioned, as seen by me all day.

My brother went to Thailand last year and instead of bringing me with him, I got this skirt. As far as consolation gifts go, it's a pretty good one. It was quite a bit longer with the colorful fabric starting mid thigh, having a darker plain fabric from the waist down. I hemmed it from the top so I could keep the bright fabric intact.I got the t-shirt at a Gogol Bordello show last summer. It says 'This Moustache Kills Fascists." Eugene Hutz, Gogol's frontman, does have a remarkable mustache. Magical moustachio + insane stage antics + thick accent + fantastic guitar skillz = A thoroughly smitten Banana.



~ Bananawacky can't actually play the piano

Five Frocks

Friday's frock was this green H&M dress, worn while giving my dog modeling lessons, complete with examples of model dogs.

Dress - H&M; Tights - American Apparel; Boots - Target; Sunglasses - stolen from boyfriend; Coat - American Vintage; Melvins album - stolen from boyfriend; Dog - rescued (don't buy from pet stores, always adopt from a shelter or rescue. They need you.)

Flaunting the stolen sunglasses. It's not so bad, really - he's always losing his sunglasses so he ordered a dozen pairs from Amazon. They're all over the place now.

Thursday's outfit:

Cardigan - Charlotte Russe; Tank top - F21; Pencil skirt - H&M; Tights - Target; Shoes - gift from my mom

Still rocking the 30 for 30 and this is the third outfit I've worn. I've got photos of yesterday's outfit, my fourth, and I'll upload those later. Today was a running around/work day and I'll get back to 30ing tomorrow.

The dog is rocking a new style and as this is my style blog, I shall post a photo of his ridiculous new haircut.
This is what happens when you tell the groomer, "Get the hair out of his eyes". He ends up looking like a bleached wookie.

~Bananawacky makes the nerdy references

The List

Here they are. The only articles of clothing I'll be in for 28 days.

Sweater and long-sleeve tops

Top row, l-r: Cardigan - Charlotte Russe; Sweater - purchased at Native Boutique; Sweatshirt - American Apparel
Bottom row, l-r: Military Jacket - vintage; Cardigan - vintage Lacrosse; Cardigan - gifted

Dresses

l-r: Tri-color dress - vintage; Green dress - H&M; Tube dress - vintage


Skirts and PantsTop row, l-r: Skinny jeans - F21; Capri pants - Anthropologie; Pencil skirt - H&M
Bottom row, l-r: Pencil skirt - vintage; Colorblock skirt - gifted; Denim skirt - vintage

Tops
Top row, l-r: Embroidered blouse - vintage; Knit top - F21; T-shirt - American Apparel; Print tee - Gogol Bordello concert tee
Bottom row, l-r: Flounce top - Stop Staring; Knit top - thrifted; Ruched top - gifted; Embroidered top - Zara

Shoes
I got tired of the picture taking at this point and put them all in a pile.

Tall boots - modcloth; Riding boots - vintage; moto boots - Target; Oxfords - gifted; Espadrilles - Tommy Hilfiger; Black flats (in bag) - thrifted

That's it. The items I will probably grow to hate in the next 24 days.
Just kidding. I chose a few of these things because I rarely wear them and I'm hoping I'll figure out ways to work them into my wardrobe more frequently. One of them, the blue and white embroidered blouse, was in the Pile of Things to Get Rid of and when I saw it there, I fell in love all over again, fished it out of the Pile, and made it part of the 30. Hoping it works out this time around. ;)

Keeping up with the Kendis

ANNOUNCEMENT!

Today, I photographed each and every item in my 30 For 30 list - and then I did a whole bunch of other stuff, like apartment-cleaning and errand running and working and stuff. I'm wiped out, folks, but the pictures, I have them and tomorrow I'll edit 'em and put 'em on the ol' blog, along with today's outfit.
I have to admit, I'm inordinately proud of myself for all the things I got done today (the apartment was really messy. The cleaning of it is a big deal, all by itself). I even cooked! Like, an entire meal! And some snacks! This whole "being productive" thing is kind of fun, huh? I should try it again sometime.


I REALLY LOVE HER AND I HOPE YOU DO, TOO

I'm rereading Victoria Beckham's style book, That Extra Half Inch. So much good. Hers and the Bombshell Manual of Style are the only style books I've ever read that I legitimately enjoy - they're funny, smart, and filled with great ideas and tips. What I love about Victoria's book (when we're best friends, I'm going to ask if I can call her Vicky. She'll say no because she's SO NOT a Vicky but I have to ask anyway. I mean, BFF's need cool nicknames, right? Maybe I can call her V. Or Tori. Or Ria. I'll have to work on it.) I've bloggily gushed about my love for her before but really, once you've read her book, you, too, will be convinced that you are destined to be besties with Posh Spice. She's just so great about dispensing the style advice - very straightforward and practical - Really, most of it is common sense and it's presented in a very conversational manner. She does promote her own clothing line frequently but who can blame her? If I had a line, it's the only thing I'd ever talk about. If you don't mind the self-promotion, you'll find that she's pretty spot-on with the tips and advice.
This is one of my favorite bits - nothing to do with fashion - she's talking about tattoos and describes her own:
...The five stars on my back represent me and David and each of the kids. They also mean I can survive three months in a freezer, which is handy.

Love her.

The negative reviews on Amazon are kind of hilarious. The positive ones sound much like me, just lots of Posh Lovin' but the ones who didn't like it? They HATED it. With burning, fiery hatred. Some people just can't appreciate that kind of awesome, I guess.

~ Bananawacky wouldn't last an hour in a freezer.

Frock Friday, the Fourth

Frocking Fridays is presented with its first real challenge - Kendi's 30 For 30 challenge. I'd thought I would avoid choosing more than a couple of dresses for the 30 For 30 because they're more difficult to remix and I don't want to wear an outfit more than once or twice but I also don't want to wear the same dress two or three or four weeks in a row during the Frocking Fridays challenge. Luckily, this outfit was from last Friday, before Kendi's challenge began and this dress isn't part of my 30. It's the last time I'll be seeing it for a month. :(
It's simple little mod dress I found in a thrift store. I shortened the hem and removed the strange little belt/flap/buckle/thing attached to the waist.

I wore it with the white sweater (also thrifted) because when I tried a black sweater, the black-on-black-on-purple-stripes thing made me look like a witch that moonlights as a hooker.

(None of these are hookers. Only one of them is slightly trashy but she's still adorable and I love them all.)

~Bananawacky is offensive to witches everywhere

Starting all over again.

So the 30 For 30 challenge started today and while I'm sort of unprepared, I accidentally wore a dress I'd planned to include in my 30 (it was in the last 30 For 30, too. It's my Stand-by AutoPretty dress). In an act of ultimate remixing, I'm going to remix the photo from last time, too. Yep. Same shoes, same belt, same dress. What? I had to get up early and "look nice". This outfit is fall-back "look nice". I don't need to be creative because it works. It's dressy without being too dressy and the boots make it seasonally appropriate. And I'm not capable of wardrobe creativity before ten in the morning.
I'll have the rest of my30 for 30 list finished in the next couple of days.

EXCITING NEWS!!
I'm going to be part of yet another challenge! This one, The Shoeper Shoe Challenge, asks me to actually wear the shoes I own. Intriguing.....

~Bananawacky recycles, reuses, reduces

Really?

Thanks so much to the lovely and stylish Cassy over at Living a girl's adventure tale for the award - the first time I've ever been awarded for going on and on about myself. It's awesome!

The RULES...

• Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post
• Tell us seven things about you
• Award seven recently discovered new bloggers
• Contact these bloggers and let them know they've received the award

Seven things about me...
1) I hate feet. So much that I have to look away from the screen whenever there's a shot in a film or TV show with bare feet in it. I can't stand to be touched by bare feet and I'm careful to make sure the that the sheets and blankets on the bed always have the foot-side at the bottom of the bed. Hate feet, love shoes.

2) I won perfect attendance awards all through elementary school. Except in Kindergarten when I was expelled, and in first grade, when I was suspended, both times for fighting. After that, I was a well-behaved bookworm with perfect attendance. Truthfully, I deserve perfect attendance awards for Kindergarten and first grade. I would have been in class, had it been up to me. It was the TEACHERS that threw me out.

3) I have at least a dozen pairs of black boots. They all look different to me - some are knee high, some are short, they are leather, vinyl, suede, there are cowboy boots, moto boots, dominatrix boots, pirate boots. So many black boots and I wear, maybe, two of them on a regular basis, one or two more once in while and the rest languish on the floor of my closet, waiting for those days when I'm rooting around down there looking for something and discover them. I don't wear them even then, I just admire them whilst feeling smug.

4) I organize everything. I'd even organize my ex-boyfriend's things. He'd come home with a new movie or book or album, I'd hover nearby, breathlessly waiting for him to walk out of the room so I could file it away. Alphabetically and according to genre.

5) I don't like to breathe used air. It has nothing to do with bad breath or crooked teeth. I just don't like breathing other people's used air. It only gets awkward at night when cuddling.

6) I collect things obsessively. If I like something, I must own all things related to it. I may never look at the other things again once I've acquired them, but acquire them I must.

7) I'm love dystopian anything. Zombie apocalypse, nuclear wasteland, blade runners, free jacks, Big Brother, or Captain Trips - if it's about survival during End Days, I will watch, read, or play the hell out of it. It doesn't even have to be good (I'm looking at you, Waterworld), I will love it, quote it endlessly, and pray for a sequel.

My seven award-winning bloggers...

Devore le beau monstre
Yours, Mine, and Ours
The Debonair Extraordinaire
ColKatFashion
Doo Wop Dolly
Hannah and Landon
Wearing It On My Sleeves

Inspiring and stylish, all.

~Bananwacky wishes you wouldn't wear flipflops

Frocking Friday: Part Three

Dress - Hourglass Lilly (modcloth), Gold Gladiator Sandals - Target

I am so on top of this Frocking Fridays. Lookit me, three weeks into it and still going strong. Even my cat is surprised. See the look of stunned amazement there on the back of his head? He's almost as surprised as I am that I've made it this far. Clearly, I've proven my commitment to things and it's time to make my bid for Presidency of the United States.

This dress is fantastic. It makes me feel all kinds of tall and Grecian. It's ridiculously comfortable and is a dream of a dress for those days when I'm feeling plump.
(Admission: It took twenty minute to figure out the shoulder strap the first time I wore it.)
(Admission #2: I do not live in a grey and white apartment. I live in a very dark brown and red one with all kinds of colorful, distracting things hanging on the walls. Those strings behind me? They are a hanging bead curtain painted with an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, all bright yellows and blues. They have been Photoshopped into oblivion so that the dress, and myself in it, are actually visible to you.)

I found this photo on Juju Mama's blog. I'm hoping she'll let me live in her house someday.

~Bananawacky for president

Fur realz? (HA! See what I did there? I am so funny.)

I was taking a stroll through CityWalk the other day when I saw this teddy bear hood and is there anyone who can walk past something like that without stopping, pulling it off the shelf, popping it on your head, and forcing your boyfriend to take a picture of them? If so, that person is not me.

Here's the thing: Some things just don't work for some people and the tragic truth is that animal heads sitting on top of my head don't work for me. In all honestly, this doesn't bother me very much because I've suspected for a while that this is a very stupid trend. The one thing that gives me pause? Those girls who actually manage to pull this off. They are few and far between in the real world but every time I see one (all two times), I am filled with Covet. They are SO CUTE! I mean, look at this girl! That's adorable. She is completely rocking that ridiculous thing. I wish to rock that thing just as awesomely! And this why she's a model and me and most of the people that I see wearing these things are not.

~Bananawacky will put anything on her head

Frocking Friday: Week Two

Dress - BB Dakota, Tights - Target, Boots - Aldo

This is a dress I don't wear nearly as often as I'd like to. I love BB Dakota but I have size issues with them - those size issues being that we don't agree as to what size I actually am. That dress fits perfectly through the waist and hips and squeezes the life out of my upper bits. I get all kinds of Crushed Upper Bust action going and have just a teensy bit of trouble moving my arms. All this, and I refuse to go a size bigger because the smaller size fits half of me. Ah, vanity. I might not be able to take deep breaths but I'll pass out in style.

Those boots are a whole other story. Love at first site. I walked into the shop, noticed them there on the shelf waiting for me and knew that they were my destiny. About two days later, I finally admitted to myself that they're really, really ugly. My bestie says they look like Little Orphan Annie shoes and she's right - they totally do. Also, they're not very comfortable. In fact, they're so not very comfortable that they're actually kind of painful to wear. They weren't cheap, either. They completely fail in all aspects of shoedom. And I still love them. LOVE THEM. Did I mention that they don't really go with anything I own? But it's OK. We'll work it out. They really care about me and want to be right for me, I know they do. They'll change. We can make it work. We can be happy...Le sigh.

First Week!

Dress - Eva Franco, Sweater - from Native Boutique, can't remember the brand but I'll update when I find it, Boots and tights - Target
Polar Bear - Los Angeles Museum of Natural History

This was my outfit on the first week of Frocking Friday. I wore it to First Friday at the Museum of Natural History and while I am a nerd that typically enjoys going to museums, going to a museum where they ply you with wine and there's a DJ spinning in one of the galleries and you're dancing to 70's funk while surrounded by a whole slew of taxidermied animals native to California... That's a whole other kind of fun. It's fantastic and if you're in LA you need to check it out.


My outfit for Week Two is still in my camera and Week Three hasn't happened yet. I feel I'm doing well on this challenge.

January Favorites

These are the people and things I'm currently obsessed with. I may or may not explain why.

Model Freja Beha. She's amazing and while this isn't her most model-y photo, I think it's gorgeous and I want to go to there.


I like to collect hobbies - knitting, sewing, gluing bits of things to other things, playing instruments - you name it, I have dabbled. That's why I couldn't resist Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People by Amy Sedaris. I loved her last book - full of tasty recipes and lots of funny. This book I also love but while she keeps the funny, the book is completely useless, craft-wise. This makes me love it even more.


The photography of Joseph Cartright. It's lush and vibrant and evocative and just.... I don't know. When I'm totally in awe of someone's artworks, I'm usually incapable of explaining just why I love it so much. This is one of many reasons I'm a terrible blogger. Lack of updates, lack of anything interesting to say when I do update, and lack of writing skill are other reasons. Blogging isn't entirely a lost cause, though: I have self-absorption and a compulsive desire to chronicle the minutia of my life going for me.


No one belongs here more than you. Stories by Miranda July. This is probably the third or fourth time I've read the book - it's been around a while - and every time, I find myself in one of her characters. The stories range from melodramatic to achingly sweet and many of them are just silly but man, it moves me every time. Miranda July is most definitely not everyone's cup of tea* but I'm a fan.




Difficult by Uffie. Her name is Uffie. And while I can't always understand the words, the song, it is catchy. And her name is Uffie. I'm not so hot on the video - if you're going to be derivative of the video Michel Gondry did with Kylie Minogue, well.... Do it better than this. This one is kind of boring. The song, though, is good. And did I mention that her name is Uffie? Because it is and that, my friends, is awesome.



*Seriously, though. Google M.J. and if you find some articles about her, read the comments. The absolute loathing this woman inspires is almost Jolie-esque.
I also love Angelina.

The return of FAIL

I've got another chance - spring remixing challenge starts on February 1st and I'm back on board. Currently, I'm two weeks into another challenge, Frocking Fridays. This one won't be much of a challenge because the dresses, I wear them a lot. In fact, I found out about this challenge after the first Friday had passed and remained blissfully unconcerned because I had worn a dress that Friday and just happened to have a photo of it (and a Polar bear) on my camera. I'll upload those this week to make the whole thing official.
So there you have it. Another not-really-an-update update.

Fun with makeup!

As is completely obvious by now, I've totally given up on the 30 x 30. Like Dance, Dance Revolution always tells me, I am FAILURE. I'll try it again, next time round, but this time was a bust. I made it about halfway through and just tanked.
Taking pictures of myself is hard! Crappiest excuse ever, especially from someone who claims to be a photographer but really! It's hard!! Next time, no excuses..... I'm gonna do it. Lots of photos, every day. Starring me, myself, and I. And my dog and sometimes my cat.
I did learn some valuable lessons about remixing, though. A skirt I've had for years, never worn, and have picked out of my Get Rid Of Pile on a pretty regular basis has finally worked it's way back into my regular wardrobe. Thanks to the 30 x 30 (it wasn't on the list), I saw it with shiny new outfitting eyeballs and immediately worked out a few different ways to wear it. Yay for me!

So the real reason I'm blogging is because I've fallen in love and want to share it with the world. Or at least the very few of you who may accidentally stumble onto this blog and have slogged through that entire first part. Hello! I love me some makeup but I don't vary my look as much as I'd like to. When I gussy up I stick to, and am very happy with, a smokey eye, lots of eyeliner sort of thing. Change is fun and when I saw this at Sephora, I thought I'd give it a whirl. After all, a girl can't do the smokey-eye-thing ALL the time. I like the natural look but I don't want to come by it naturally. The Too Faced Naked Eye makeup set seemed like the perfect answer. It's got all the colors I'd need, a brush, and instructions for three different looks. What could possibly go wrong? Anwer: NOTHING! It's brilliant, I've tried all three looks and I'm thrilled to death with the new(ish) me. The pigment is solid and stays true (I used to have constant issues with my eyeshadow creasing until I discovered Almays Bright Eyes - great stuff. Covers up the permanent dark circles I have under my eyes and keeps the eyeshadow in place)
So, you know..... If anyone's looking to try a sexy, naked eye and has no idea how to go about it, this is the stuff.
I have no real reason for this post except that when I love a thing, I want everyone else to love it to and Too Faced Naked Eye, I love you. xoxoxo