Outfit Of The Yesterday (Denver Home & Garden Show)

 ♫: Sprawl II - Arcade Fire x Soulwax



The Great Remodel of 2011 was put on hiatus over the winter for a few different reasons, mainly being the snowy weather, travel, the holidays, and blah-bah-blah-busy crap. But now that the weather is warming up, we have been itching to get back into it.

Well. I've been itching to get back into it.  Husband just wants a functioning bathroom or two, he says. Whatever. It's hard being married to someone so high maintenance.

So! Our official remodel schedule for this year is still pretty big. We need to:

1. Finish two of our three bathrooms (one being our on-suite, which is getting a total gut and revamp)
2. Figure out what the heck to do with those ugly, unfinished stairs
3. Draw up some ideas for our broken main floor fireplace to make it both functional and pretty
4. And get some furniture and furnishings.
5. I mean any furniture and furnishings.
6. 'Cuz we have none.

(I should probably explain to my newer readers, hello by the way: most of the furniture to this point in our lives had been a cast of confused, well-used characters; disjointed and displaced enough to make any empty college sorority house, or frat house, or..or...Daniel Steel novel jealous. As we installed new flooring in our entire house last year, Husband and I donated & discarded most of the old stuff as we went figuring it would be easier to dispose of it sooner rather than later! Right? So smart! Yes!)  (Noooo.)

So right, furniture. Furnishings. Uhhh. I still have no idea what I want, guys. I am drawing a total blank.

But while it is very exciting sleeping on only a mattress + wheelie bed frame and digging my clothes and various valuables out of Rubbermaid Storage Containers sprinkled throughout our house, I keep losing shit because I don't know where it is. We have almost lost a few chihuahuas down the back of our bed as well, as it slowly shifts away from the wall now as there is no longer any carpet to keep it from rolling, but that is what those two fuzzy jerk-blobs get for hogging all the pillows on our glamorous pillows-turned-makeshift-headboard anyway.

(Pinterest DIY on this totally (not) coming soon.)

So to get our creativity cranking again we decided to hit the Denver Home & Garden show on Saturday to see what we could see. Which....truthfully wasn't much, as it seems we paid an $11-per-person entrance fee only to get screamed and yelled at by vendors shouting all sorts of irrational things as we walked along. Free! Win $1500! Not free! Windows! Floors! 5 Hour Energy!  Pens! Free! Slap Chop! Shticky's! Furnaces!  Free not free not free not free, but free, not free free free free not free not free not free but free but kinda free but not free free not free but free!

There appeared to be a lot of people there willingly enjoying the badgering however, as the place was pretty packed, and as I had never been to a home show before I will admit I found it...odd. 

Hadn't these people ever heard of the comment sections on websites like Youtube? ESPN? Jezebel? Any local news station? You can imbibe in all the irrational abuse that your little masochistic heart desires at those websites, for free, and you don't even have to leave the comfort of your furniture-less, kinda broken home. 

(And if you feel extra reckless and randy, you can even turn off your pop-up blocker and be the 1,000th-person-winner of a totally legit iPad, too!)

I guess my main point is this: who wants to do business with a company that feels that shouting at you (as you desperately pretend that you are a deaf-mute from Funafuti, Tuvalu, while your husband alwaaaays forgets to play along) to win something is the best way to procure your loyal patronage (and money) forever and ever?

'Cuz it isn't. I've worked customer service long enough to know all the dangerously dirty tricks: be nice, be informative, be honest, don't be pushy, and the most important, shocking thing of all: sell something I actually want to buy. It's a brilliant concept. Thanks.

So I digress. The Don-Draper-Asking-A-Very-Polite-Lady-Of-The-Night-To-Slap-Him-In-The-Face-on-Thanksgiving type of weird torture that that whole experience was (Sunday yay!) aside, we did actually find a few things of interest at the show.

Mainly a map that did nothing to tell us where the buried treasure was even though we looked really hard:

And some total (cute) weirdo in a yellow shirt warmin' his backside on the fire pit. Jackpot!

This is what I wore:

Blazer: Zara (similar here) (similar here) (similar at Forever 21)
Tank: American Eagle Outfitters (similar at Forever 21 in "olive")
Belt: The Limited (similar here) (similar here for $11)
Pants: GAP, old (similar by All Saints) (similar for under $30) 
Necklace: Forever 21, old (similar here) (love this, too)
Ring: Yves Saint Laurent Arty in Aqua (buy it here) (similar here for under $100) (another option under $100)
Watch: Michael Kors Oversized Rosegold Watch (buy it here) (similar by Fossil)
Shoes: J Crew Savina Studded Sandals (buy them here) (similar by Nine West) (similar under $100)
Bag: Marc Jacobs Cooper in Nude (buy it here) (similar by Fossil) (similar by Rebecca Minkoff) (similar at F21)

Outfit Of The Days (Goin' Green)

 ♫: Quarter Chicken Dark - The Goat Rodeo Sessions



I finally had a chance this past week to sit down and peek at some of the major upcoming Spring-Summer 2012 trends. Stores are beginning to quickly fill up with them (and how many e-mails are currently sitting in our inboxes, insensitively pitching sandals and shorts and brightly-hued dresses?), which I think is probably the most bittersweet thing about fashion--it's fun! It changes quickly!  And it's January, you nutty geekburgers, and I've never once needed a coral platform wedge sandal or colorblocked tank suit to wear in the snow! Not once.

Weird huh.

I must confess that I have been suppressing the overwhelming urge to yell things like, "oh YOU SHUT UP!" at the bright,  springtime objects as I walk through stores and as I frantically delete all of those offensively cheery, warm-weathered e-mails. There is no point in getting angry, after all--if you can't beat them, join them.

(And Husband also claims that shrieking at clothes to shut up isn't normal and really scares people.) (He has apparently never been a 30-year old girl in a dressing room with really bad lighting after a Haagen Dazs Cookie Dough bender, my goodness.)

Minty, seamfoam-y blues and greens are just one of the trends set to be a big for spring, which makes me as happy as a hippo. It has always been one of my favorite hues, and I think that the green-to-blue variations can flatter a lot of different skin tones! They also pair well with everything from neutral colors to pops of neon, too. Just make sure it doesn't make you look sicky in the face--if it does, then opt for a more bluer shade.

I was pretty happy when I found the pretty chiffon blouse that I am wearing below at Zara; it works well now with skinny jeans + pumps, but it's light enough that it should also work easily tucked into high-waisted shorts this summer, too.

I am also still on my tights-eschewing kick. As I have mentioned in previous posts, we've had enough 'warm' days sprinkled in between winter to go without. It can get a little chilly at times, yes, but I try my darndest to keep any unexpected 10-mile nature hikes or surprise cross-country skiing lunch expeditions off my schedule. If you happen to love tights and not pale, winter-anemic legs, however, this look could also probably work with black tights + black booties too.  Options!

Jacket: Forever 21 (similar here) (similar here) (similar here)
Top: Zara (buy it here) (a sweater option at ASOS) (a short-sleeve option at Lulu's)
Skirt: Urban Outfitters, old (similar here) (a longer option at ASOS) (and a longer option by Ella Moss)
Belt: J Crew (similar here)
Bracelet: Kendra Scott, c/o (design your own here) (pretty option here for $60) (and at urban outfitters)

Ring: House of Harlow 1960 Long Antler Ring (buy it here, on sale)

Clutch: Tory Burch 797 Clutch (buy it here) (similar by Coach) (this would also work, under $60)

Nail polish: Deborah Lippman Makin' Whoopee (buy it at Beauty.com) (& take $10 off on $50)

And then....we have a whole pile of kitty-cat-crazy:

Coat: Old Navy (buy it here) (similar here + take 10% off w/ "SALE10")
Top: Topshop, old (similar style) (similar here)
Cardigan: Urban Outfitters (similar here) (similar at Express)
Skirt: Forever 21, old (similar here) (similar here + take 10% off w/ "SALE10")
Belt: J Crew, old (similar here)
Ring: YSL Arty in Aqua (buy it here) (similar by Amrita Singh)
Shoes: J Crew Mona Pumps in Pale Peacock (buy them here) (love these in green for under $100)
Handbag: Diane Von Furstenberg Harper Evening Clutch (buy it here)
 Nail polish: Deborah Lippman Makin' Whoopee (buy it at Beauty.com) (& take $10 off on $50)

What trends are you most looking forward to this spring? Share in the comments!

Outfit Of The Day (Remodeling Updates & Such)

Oh let's see, where are we here?  I have spent the past several months immersing myself in nearly every single show on HGTV, the DYI Network, early Saturday morning TLC, and the Disney Channel (The Suite Life of Zach and Cody, duh--suite) to gather ideas to stuff into my rusty, can't-quite-lock-shut-tight-anymore binder of a brain for ideas on what Husband and I would like to do to this house, and if I have learned a few things so far it's:

1. Home remodels never go as planned.
2. Home remodels always cost more than planned. Much, much, much more.
3. Home remodels always take much longer than planned. Much, much, much, much longer.
4. If you think you're able to afford a 5 bedroom, 4 bath house smack on the beach of Turks & Caicos for just $2 and your cute American charm you can go right ahead and think again, nimrod.
5. The "show info" button is for novices--watch a show for a few minutes and as soon as a hired contractor gets on their cell phone you can tell exactly how old the show is and what year it was taped.
6. I am never moving to Toronto because I'm pretty sure it costs $1 million dollars down and the naming rights to your firstborn. 
7. I am never hemming my own pants with fabric glue again because having your hand stuck to the hem of your pants will (probably) never be in style. 
8. I said probably. 
9. And I've watched nearly every single darn episode of The Vanilla Ice Project and he still hasn't let out one "Now stop. Collaborate and listen." to his crew. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME.

So whew--I've been extremely busy.

The flooring debacle continues. If you live in a home that already has wood floors, please give yourself a hi-five because going from carpeting to wood floors isn't easy nor is it cheap. But after driving back and forth this weekend (while making a pit stop at a Roche Bobois in Littleton to gawk at furniture we will never be able to afford) we finally have a good grasp on what we want and hopefully  the flooring should be installed in the next...few...um...months.

We've picked out a pretty pinky-brown-gray tile for both the kitchen and bathrooms and a very pretty warm-brown-cherry-hued bamboo for the rest of the house, see pictures here and here. And before you go all, "GAAASP CHLOE NOT BAMBOO!" for some reason the stuff we've picked out has a Janka hardness rating of 2789, which is much harder than typical bamboo (which usually has a Janka hardness rating around 1300). Why this is, I am not exactly sure (see me gluing my own hand to my pants), but I'm going to beat the holy monkey bananas out of the sample we brought home with my pumps  tomorrow as a test.  You know--just to make sure.

But of course, after doing some quick internet research I've discovered that not only does the stomach ache I've had all day mean I have cancer, but that there are several more caveats that come with bamboo. As always, I appreciate any advice, comments, suggestions, concerns, or fluffy pats on the head of pity from you guys. If you have an experience with bamboo flooring, please share! <3

Next comes the ordering of the floor (which takes a few weeks), the acclimating of the flooring to the house (which takes 4+ weeks if we do actually decide to go with bamboo), and then the actual installation (which takes...a hot glue gun and some strong sangrias um, I have no idea), but with the warmer months ahead I am more than ready to get this party started.  Let's do it homies; it's time to hustle white-girl-with-a-redecorating-mission-on-her-brain hard.

Speaking of warmer weather, we've had the muckiest spring ever here in Colorado. It's been cold, dreary, windy, I'm going to Hawaii and never coming back, meh.  

Coloradans have to be extremely nimble at layering due to how many times the weather can change in a single day, and this waterfall blazer I grabbed from ASOS a year or two ago has been one of my favorite pieces so far this season. It has a fun jauntiness to it that I like, and it's perfect for cinching shut with a belt lest I want the wind to catch it and blow me away like a little Chloe kite:

Blazer: ASOS (similar style here) (and here) (and here, on sale!) (and you can do it with a cardigan like this, too)
Top: American Eagle Outfitters (buy it here + take 15% off with code "49204021")
Jeans: GAP Jeggings (similar style here) (and here on sale)
Belt: J Crew (similar style here in "cinnamon spice") (and here for $12)
Necklace: Forever 21 (buy it here) (and a smaller version here)
Shoes: ALDO Goodsite Heels (similar style here) (and here) (and a comfortable wedge version here) (and a splurge here)
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff : (similar style here) (and here for under $50) (love this from Matt & Nat, too!)