I've learned the meaning of the sun

I know I wore these tights yesterday, so sue me. They are rad. But sad news! There is now a run in them! Oh well, I'll live. Maybe I can get a new pair sometime soon. In the meantime, I will wear them with the run because who cares if I have a little run in my stockings!

This fur collar was one of my amazing clearance finds while I worked at Hot Topic. That store has way better stuff than most people give it credit for. The closure is magnetic so it's amazingly comfortable. The inside is lined with hot pink satin! 

I got this jacket years ago, probably the first time I ever visited Urban Outfitters. It's been sitting in my closet for years not being worn, but this season I decided to give it new life by replacing the buttons. It used to have plain black buttons and was frankly kind of dull. I'm not a skilled seamstress, but replacing buttons is something I've learned out of necessity. It's a great way to liven up old clothing!

I'm wearing these lovely heels again... never underestimate shoes and accessories you get for Halloween. I got these a few years ago for an Alice in Wonderland costume and they're actually the most comfortable pair of heels I own. I'm also wearing a petticoat under my dress that I got for Halloween a long time ago. Those petticoats are a lovely way to poof out your every day skirts. I have zillions of them in so many colors and lengths that I ought to be able to wear one every day. 

Anyway, let's get to the photos:

dress-urban outfitters; jacket-urban outfitters; rings-thrifted/pendragon jewelry; fur collar-hot topic; shoes-spirit halloween; tights-charlotte russe

some business: if any of you fellow bloggers are interested in swapping ad space in my "friends of gph" section on the right, email me at zakiue@gmail.com. Thanks to Sarah at Almost Delightful for the idea and the first button. The idea is that I will display your button in exchange for you displaying my button on your site. Any buttons I get before November 28th will be displayed until the end of December.

We can help each other build traffic!

Bye for now my dears!

the things we can't give away

Today was super freaking windy, but I think if it weren't for that these pictures would be my best so far on the blog. They might be anyway. I took a jog down to the storage shed where my mom shoved all my stuff when I went to college, and while I was there I took advantage of the setting for some photo time. It was mostly deserted which meant not a lot of stares from strangers.

I suppose some of my problems with my self-portraits might come from the fact that I'm not a model and have never been particularly photogenic. I need to figure out how to make my face and neck and hands not look so awkward. This blog is a great way for me to improve my photography and to develop some modeling skills. I by no means want to be a professional model, but it wouldn't hurt for me to stop looking awkward all the time.

So let's talk about the clothes.

These tights! I bought them on accident, thinking they were solid black. I was so happy when I realized they were the faux-socks kind that I've been seeing around so much lately. I've been wearing them to work a lot, so it's nice to finally wear them with something a little more colorful than my uniform.

I didn't realize until I got dressed that everything but the tights came from Forever21. I love that store and I did a lot of shopping there this summer, so it's bound to happen occasionally. In fact, I have a F21 voucher I need to spend... I could spend it online, but that store is so much fun to visit I might have to make the drive to Omaha.

HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS NOW

shoes/skirt/belt/blouse/shirt/necklace-forever21; tights-charlotte russe; ring-Pendragon Jewelry

pistol dreams

I love love love this dress. It's super short, but that's part of the charm I guess. The bell sleeves are the best part. It's actually a pretty warm material, too, so it's great for brisk fall days like today. 

I'm trying to incorporate these boots into more looks. I originally got them as part of a Nana O cosplay so it hasn't occurred to me to wear them often, but they definitely add a nice edge to some of my more feminine looks.

Today I went out again with my self-timer. I'm still pretty ashamed of my photos, but practice is what I need. That and a remote. I've been wanting one for years, and it's ridiculous that I don't have one because they are like $15.

Anywho, here are some photos:

dress-forever21; boots-Na*Na; rings-thrifted/claire's/Pendragon Jewelry; sunglasses-sunglass warehouse

some updates

Just a heads up, I changed my name on blogger/google/everywhere from Maggie to Madeline. They are both my name and I am the same person I was before. I just think Madeline looks a little better typed, and I'm trying to embrace it as my true name. Maybe next time I get bored with my name, I'll add the middle one. Madeline Opal, anyone?

I added some tabs just under the blog header. Right now it's just an about me page and a contact page, but I  will hopefully be adding some more content there soon.

I have been making a lot of small changes to the blog lately, but those alone aren't worth a post. I mainly wanted to mention that I'm on bloglovin' now and as of yesterday I have a twitter account! (you can find links on the sidebar). I have never used twitter before in my life so I will almost definitely do it wrong, but I thought it would be a good way to keep up with some of my favorite bloggers out there and maybe let a little more of my personality out into the innnernets. I'm always thinking of witty remarks about my surroundings and until now I had no way to share them with the world!

What do you think? Twitter sucks--yay/nay? How can I avoid "doing it wrong"? I'm kind of not sure how people actually communicate with each other via twitter. I'm still in the "shouting things to an empty room" phase.

I'll leave you with this crappy mirrorpic of me from I don't know, like two years ago? Lots of things have changed. It's embarrassing but my hair was glorious.

troubles will be gone

I have been trying to wear this dress for MONTHS. I bought it when it was still summery every day and I thought the warm days would never stop coming, and I tried it on almost every morning. But I couldn't wear it in a way that satisfied me. I got it secondhand, at a local clothing exchange called The Black Market. It's a medium and hangs very loosely on my somewhat scrawny frame, but it was so beautiful I couldn't pass it up. I just figured I'd belt it and it would work fine. None of my belts looked right, though. It wasn't until I got this beast of a belt out of my costume vault for Halloween that I realized they were a perfect match. Now I just need shoes in the same shade.

This is the coat I mentioned last time, by the way, which I've had since I was in middle school. I took a lint roller to it and I'm pleased with the results. It took about an hour but it's finally black again. I'd still like a new coat because this one fits a bit awkwardly around the shoulders, but it will do for now. I was killing time in the mall after work today and I noticed this yellow coat that's 30% off in the store right now. They actually had a lot of coats on sale that were not totally hideous. Maybe once I'm not so poor. 

dress-the black market; belt-my mom's; coat-old navy (8 years ago); boots/hat/socks-wet seal; necklace-forever21

today is a rainy day

Today is basically a rainy day, but for a while earlier it was actually SNOWING. My body went into panic mode when I went outside, so I bundled up under layers of scarves and coats and mittens and whatnot. My least favorite thing about the winter months is that I tend to look the same every day, since I only have one really really warm coat and comfort trumps fashion when it's twenty below. I try to spice it up with an assortment of hats and scarves and gloves, but it just doesn't cut it. I'm in the market for a new winter coat right now, since my current warmest coat was purchased in 2003 (yes I was in middle school). 

In the coming weeks you will surely see my few winter looks, but I couldn't bear to take any photos while I was all bundled up today. Instead you get what was underneath.

This sweatshirt is amazing! It was my mom's, and we found it in storage this summer. It's crazy soft and fits me perfectly. My mom is a great source of free interesting clothing for a variety of reasons: 1) we are very close to the same size. 2) she has interesting taste so nothing she has is boring. 3) she lived through the eighties (and shopped, too!). 

sweatshirt-my mom; jeans-urban outfitters; boots-wet seal; belt-forever21; fur collar-hot topic

Lazy tuesday

It's been a few days! I did end up dressing up for Halloween, but I didn't get any good shots of my outfit because I had some car trouble and the day got away from me. Before I knew it, I was asleep on the couch and my skeleton makeup was all kinds of smeared.

Anyways, it ended up being an exhausting long weekend, so today I went for comfy. I always feel comfy in grey, and nothing beats a sweater and sweater-knit tights. It's important to me to have a "comfy sweater," especially in the winter when I have to wear at least three layers every day. This grey sweater is by far the oldest piece of clothing in my closet--I think I bought it my freshman year of high school. I'm not the kind of person who can just revamp my wardrobe every season. For one thing, I'm super duper poor. But even though I've now discovered the magic of clothing exchanges, I still have a hard time letting go of pieces that have given me as much loyal service as this sweater. I think it's important to have items like this around to keep me company through all kinds of trends and seasons.

Two of my rings came from the amazing Pendragon Jewelry. I bought these in person a couple years ago at a renaissance faire, but a quick search for the purpose of giving credit led me to the artist's etsy and I am now certain I'll be purchasing from her again in the future (as soon as I'm not so poor). The jewelry is all of excellent quality and it is surprisingly affordable! These rings cost me something like $10 each and they are definitely beautiful, don't you think?

sweater-pacsun; tank-forever21; shorts-forever21; tights-urbanoutfitters; necklace-gift; rings-pendragon; bracelet-I've had it since I was a baby