New Girl - New Year

Hi lovelies! I am back - for real this time. I needed the break until the new year, well, almost new year. I am starting fresh. Just to clear the air - I have been dealing with a break up. I will be fine, but the holiday season was just too much this year and I didn't want to pretend to be happy about things. I also didn't want to bring anyone else down in the process. I never could have imagined that losing someone could hurt this much or for this long, but at least it is a reminder that what we had was real. Everything will be ok...in time. I just wanted to get this out and in the open so that I can start moving on with my life.

I had a nice quiet holiday with family and friends. I saw Les Mis Christmas eve and it was fantastic!! I also won front row tickets to The Book of Mormon the day after Christmas - IT WAS AMAZING!!! I definitely want to see the show again if I get the chance. Saturday was my brother's 21st birthday and we went to Medieval Times that was a lot of fun as well. Aaaand now I can't believe that the year is coming to a close. I am pretty darn excited though for this year to end.

Exciting news!!! I am moving to Chicago at the end of January - wahooo! Well...so long as everything goes as planned. I will be moving in with two guys from college and it should be an adventure. I am envisioning my life as Zoey Deschanel's character on The New Girl, haha. Alright, not really (to be honest I have only seen two episodes of that show), but it should be a fun change of pace. For today's outfit I thought I would use Jess as my inspiration -



I should have left my hair wavy to truly go for Jess's look, oh well. I got this dress for Christmas and I love it. It is simple, but the cute bow belt really helps jazz it up. Another positive from all the crazy that has been going on in my life is that I lost all of my college weight - wahoo. Bathing suit season, here I come!

Outfit Details: Dress - Modcloth, Coat, boots & bag - thrifted, Tights - Betsey Johnson.

Tonight I will be spending my New Year's Eve in the city. I am still not entirely sure what I am going to wear, but I can guarantee that it will be sparkly ;]

Have a fun, safe, and happy New Year's everyone!

Wardrobe Wednesday - Jackie O 2.0

Hi lovelies!! How's it going? I am super excited the week is half way over, that's for sure. However, tonight my work is having our Christmas party at the House of Blues....soooo I guess I can't really complain :] I am also excited for this weekend to get here because it is going to be packed full with old friends who I don't get to see often enough. Wahooo. Do you have any fun plans?

Today's outfit post might be the last one without me all bundled up for awhile. It has gotten so cold, eeep! I took these photos the other weekend when it was a beautiful 60 degree December day. I picked up this cute little mod dress at the designer sale back in October. I was so happy to find out that it fit me because it was one of my favorite items that I scooped up.



The dress reminds me of something that Jackie O would wear. I had to jazz the look up a bit though so I added a cute thrifted ice cream pin aaaand my new favorite hat. It is just a shame that I have to wait until next spring to wear this look out and about, oh well...

Outfit Details: Dress & pin - thrifted, Hat & tights - Target, Shoes - DSW.

I started setting up the ShyScout shop!! I am getting pretty excited about it. I hope to open it for the beginning of the year. I still need to make business cards though...ay yi yi! Any shop tips? I could use them all.

Have a great day everyone :]

Seeking Style

Hello Shy Scout readers! I’m so excited to be bringing you another installment of Allison and I’s Seeking Style series. 

This time, I want to discuss individuality and personal style a bit further. Growing up, as I said in my last post, I’ve had many different phases and styles. The lesson to learn from this trial and error system is that it’s very difficult to find one’s own unique style, and channel this into our daily outfits. My primary problem was finding something that truly fit “me”. 

After a few times of trying different outfits, I learned that I enjoyed a bit more of a grunge vibe, with ripped jeans, comfy shirts, and boots. It took me a while to get to this type of signature style. I tried being girly, I tried being preppy, I tried being sporty. Then, I finally realized that the one thing I wasn’t being, was me. One day I came home, took everything I owned out of my closet and drove over to the closest thrift shop and donated the rest. This cleansing of all these types of clothing that weren’t “me” enabled me to start fresh. I went shopping, with the money I got from selling the clothes, and bought a few simple pieces. I bought some combat boots, a few nice t-shirts, and some jeans. In this process, I learned that I love accenting outfits with bright colored jewelry too. And voila! I had finally found my own unique style.

photographs courtesy of google images

This was my method of going about it. But, I realize every girl is unique in how she approaches channeling her own style. I think a great way to get started is just sitting down with a stack of magazines and collaging together the pieces that stick out the most. This is an awesome way to mix and match, without actually heading out and paying big bucks for an outfit you might end up disliking. Take your time, channel your creativity, and find what really speaks out to you. Maybe stick up photos of some of your favorite fashion icons for further inspiration. A couple of mine are featured above. This is another method that I still use, and will always continue to use in order to channel my own personal style. 

Thanks so much for having me!
-J from My Life in Lavender 

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To check out my Seeking Style post from last week, please head over to J's blog :]

Wardrobe Wednesday - OOTN

Hi all! Happy Wednesday to ya. I am still working on getting back in to the blogging groove. Thank you all for the sweet and supportive comments - I will return the favor hopefully by the end of tonight. Anywho... what's good? The weeks seem to be flying by now that it is so close to the end of the year. Any of you afraid the world is going to end? Ha. Yikes. Random (but still on topic), for those of you who haven't seen 'Seeking a Friend for the End of the World' I highly recommend it. I saw it in the theater and loved it. Steve Carell and Keira Knightley are an odd combo but it works. It just came out in Red Boxes, just sayin...

Haha. Ok, I am just rambling now. Today I thought it might be fun to spice things up a bit. I have never really posted at night look so I thought I would give it a go. This outfit is one of a few options for New Years Eve. Black & sparkly? Check!



I was feeling overly awkward taking these shots with the neighbor boys climbing the tree right outside my backyard, so no smiles today. Also - black tights are probably a must unless I make it down to Cancun sometime between now and New Years, haha.

Outfit Details: Dress & Bag - thrifted, Hat & Shoes - Target.

Do you have any fun NYE plans yet?

To new beginnings

Hi all. I apologize that I took a bit of longer break this time... I needed some time to get my head and heart straight so I opted to wait and come back at the beginning of this month. Seems like my last post was the calm before the storm. I have been dealing with some personal things and major life changes. It will be ok. Please bear with me though.

Moving on... How have you all been? I missed the holiday fun in the blogging world when it comes to those of you in America. I hope you had a good time with your loved ones. For everyone else - hope you have been enjoying life in general. I have been keeping busy with friends and family. Friday night a group of my girlfriends and I hit up the town and it was a bunch of fun. I need to move to the city already!! I have created a life list and that's on the top. Need a roomie?

While I did not hit up the Black Friday sales like I typically would, this year I did manage to hit up a few of my favorite thrift stores. I found the sweetest little dress.



I needed a bit of sunshine world and this dress did the trick! Isn't the lace lovely? I don't usually like the color yellow on me but the the cut of this dress was just too good to pass up. For the upcoming year I hope to wear only vintage thrift finds... we will see how that goes.

Outfit Details: Dress & floral pin - thrifted. Shoes - DSW.

It was 60 here in Chicago this weekend. Pretty darn nuts for the beginning of December, but hey, I am not complaining :]

Have a beautiful Monday everyone!

Life Lately

Hello Lovelies!! Happy Monday. I apologize I have been MIA and might be until the end of this week. I have been busy creating Black Friday ads, rummaging estate sales, and seeing my brothers show (twice this weekend) - IT WAS FANTASTIC BY THE WAY!! I am continually blown away by how much he is improving in his music, dancing, and acting. I know I am his sister and all...but seriously, the kid is going to make it big. Haha. Seriously though! I wish I had some video to prove it. I feel a vlog coming on...

I have Thursday and Friday off this week and I am beyond excited about it. I have so many of your lives to seriously catch up on! Is it weird that my blogging friends come up in my every day convo's with people who don't even know them? I really just miss you all. I am so thankful for Instagram because at least I can stay semi up to date when I have been away from my computer.

Good things are happening this four day weekend:
1. Family, friends, and food - of course!!
2. Staying in my pj's and catching up on all of your lives in the blogging world!
3. Black Friday - mainly excited for the thrift sales.
4. Seeing Breaking Dawn pt. 2 &&&&& the new Abe Lincoln movie.

Abrahammy is equally excited about his namesake's movie - trust me! Tehehe.

5. Starting research and branding for my online store!
6. Creating an inventory of my pyrex....yeah, it has gotten that bad. On the plus side - it will help me figure out what is heading to etsy ;]

Pretty darn excited. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and have some fun things in store for the up coming week. Take care!

Thrifted Thursday - Feelin' Goovy

Hi everyone! How's it going? Have any fun plans for the weekend? I am looking forward to half off sales at my favorite thrift spots for the holiday :] Other than that I have no major plans. I can't wait for the following weekend because my brother will be starring in his fall play - Lysistrata Jones - a smart pop musical comedy loosely based on Aristophanes' ancient Greek antiwar comedy. The title characters, Lysistrata Jones, is a modern-day cheerleader who convinces her squad to stop "giving it up" to their boyfriends on the Athens University basketball team until the team ends their long losing streak and wins a game, Librettist Douglas Carter Beane was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and Tony Award for best book of a musical for Lysistrata Jones, "a musical about Faith, Hoops and Chastity." - Henry is playing the lead basketball player and love interest. I am assuming it will be pretty similar to High School Musical, haha.

Anywhooo... let's get back on track. It is Thrifted Thursday, and I have been up to a lot of thrifting. As I announced earlier in the week - I have decided to open up a vintage shop at the beginning of next year - I am pretty excited about it. I will have a legitimate reason to keep up my bad thrifting habits, haha. Here is a mini glimpse at some of my recent finds -



I found these groovy dresses on Sunday. They were half off since they had been sold as "Halloween Costumes", which meant I picked them up for $2 & $5. I really want to go to some ball with the Brady Bunch in the yellow dress, haha.



If you follow me on Instagram these books will look familiar to you. I scooped up copies of the 1957 edition of Oliver Twist, 1958 edition of Vanity fair, and 1960's editions of Little Men and Best in Children's Books set. They were all in beautiful condition aaaand I am totally a sucker when it comes to judging a (literal) book by it's cover.



I had to save the best for last (in my opinion). I added a huuuge chunk to my pyrex collection over the weekend. I found pyrex cups for 50 cents each aaand had a $20 coupon to use at one of my favorite thrift stores. This = mega pyrex haul (plus the two pieces of fireking and glassbake). I can't wait to make all of my Thanksgiving dishes with all of my new pyrex. It is going to be on pretty Thanksgiving. Tehehe.

Do any of you collect pyrex? It is quite addicting. Anywho. I hope you have a beautiful day.

Toy Army Tuesday - Restored.

Hi all! Another Toy Army Tuesday post here. This is the second part of my Kenner Blythe post from last week. I found Juniper (my 1972 Kenner Bltyhe) last weekend for $3 dollars at a flea market!! Basically, my dreams came true that night. Anywho, Juniper was a hot mess. Her hair was frizzy and tangled, her feet and face were dirty, and her dress was covered in dust. Juniper was in some serious need of some TLC. That night I went home and immediately researched how to fix her hair. These are some shots of her mid and post-makeover.



Before



Having her hair done.



Looking good...



Did I mention that her pull string works along with her eyes? Score!



She is the perfect addition to my collection. I am still in shock about finding her. Minor flaws and all - she is perfect to me.

I am completely aware that I am wayyyy too nerdy about my Blythe dolls, but when you search for a doll for that long it is bound to happen. Haha. Have any of you found anything exciting lately? I would love to hear about it and your collections :]

Give a hoot

Hi lovelies! How was your weekend? Mine was nice and relaxing. I had a fun date night with Brian, went to a drive-in, and got my thrift on - nothing to complain about over here. Life has been really good lately, just busy beyond belief. I can't believe we are already in to November. My one year blogaversary is coming up at the end of the month! Oh my. I am hoping to put together a special giveaway for you all. I am excited for this week - I have a weeks worth of posts! It has been far too long. I am finally getting in to the groove of my long commute and balancing life. Wahoo. Anywho... here is a mini glimpse in to my life lately.



For my instagram buds - you have seen this (sorry), but for those of you who do not follow me on IG - this is what I have been up to. Basically, a whole lot of thrifting. Something about the cold weather makes me want to rummage through old things. I have found a lot of goodies though! I have added quite a bit to my pyrex collection (I will show you more on Thursday) and I have been putting my thrift finds to good use - I absolutely adore the dress I am wearing in the photo above. I wore this dress out on my date with Brian. It is a silk number from an estate sale down the street from me.

I need to cut down on my thrifting. I have officially decided though that I am going to open up shop at the beginning of next year (so I guess disregard that first statement - haha). Why not put my thrifting obsession to good use and share my finds with everyone? I am pretty excited about it.

I hope you all are having a beautiful Monday :]

Dreams Really Do Come True!

Hi all! I have a very special Toy Army Tuesday to share with you all. It is the mother of all my Toy Army Tuesday posts honestly. Many of you who have followed my blog for awhile know that I LOVE Blythe dolls. I had two dolls (I even picked one of them up in Japan!). Ever since I fell in love with those big eyes I have been on the search for a 1972 Kenner Blythe doll at thrift stores and flea markets, mainly since they are far too expensive on ebay ($600-$2,500). For those of you who don't know - Blythe dolls were created and sold (originally) for only one year - 1972. Needless to say the originals are VERY DIFFICULT to find. I made it my quest however. I have been dreaming of finding Juniper for over a year now...and now she is mine!!!



Yep, that is right! I found my dream Blythe. A blonde 1972 Kenner!! Saturday night I attended the all night halloween fleamarket. It was freezing and half the size of the fleamarket in August, I was pretty bummed. I picked up some Pyrex and wandered inside to check out some stalls. I was drawn to a pile of old musty dolls. Running through my head was small hope that Juniper would be there. This time I saw some teeny feet and started to get excited. Next I saw a paisley patterned dress - WHAT?? And then I flipped her over and saw her eyes. It was her. I started shaking. OH MY GOODNESS!!! This is happening. I told myself I had to try to act as calm as I could and ask the man how much she was - I didn't want him to become suspicious. "Sir, how much is this doll?" I asked, "$3 dollars" he promptly responded unfazed by the situation, "Oh, ok." - AHHHHHHH. I unbuttoned her original dress and there it was written - 1972 Kenner. I kept checking her in my bag every 5 minutes just to make sure.

Phew. I could go on and on about that night. I won't though. Here she is as I found her. Next week I will show you her cleaned and restored look :]



Not a scratch, mark, or crack (aside from on her face where it looks like someone attempted to open it). She even still had her original polka dot panties on aaaaand proof that she is a 1972 Kenner stamped across her back. Oh - and guess what!!! Her eyes change effortlessly to all four colors!! Her pull string works better than on my other two Blythes, which is insane considering she is 40 years old.



This crack and her missing 5 tracts of hair are her only quirks.



This is proof that if you dream about and search for something long enough it is bound to find you.

Have a beautiful day everyone! Next week I will show you what she looks like after her makeover.

Duh nuh....Dun nuh....Duhnuhduhnuhduhnuh

Hi guys!! How's it goin? I am not much of a DIY'er, except when it comes to Halloween. I am not sure why I don't craft more in the every day...more stuff to put on the to-do list I suppose. Anywho - I thought it might be fun to share with you guys a quick little tutorial on how to make an awesome shark/shark attack costume (in case you are still looking for something to wear). I made this costume the day of last year and it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. Let's get started! Warning: If you need precise measurements or more in-depth directions please refer to Ashnola's shark tutorial - her tutorial inspired me last year. I am not one for precise directions and just went with the flow. If this is more your style follow the following steps...

Jaws Costume Tutorial


Materials:
- Grey fabric as tall as you are and twice as wide as your body.
- Black felt - a sheet or two to make eyes the size you want.
- White fabric - half a yard - yard.
- Red fabric - half a yard - yard.
- A bag of stuffing or foam to add to the nose and fins.
- Glue gun or sewing machine.


I simply purchased scrap pieces of fabric for this costume and lucked out. I have no clue what the measurements were - I just held up the fabric and could tell it would work. This is my approach to a lot of things....cooking, thirfting... Anywho! I also used a glue gun to put this costume together since I was down at school and sans my sewing machine. It worked out just fine! I hope this helped you out or gave you some Halloween costume inspiration.

Have a beautiful day everyone :]

Halloween: 2007-Present

Hi guys! I am keeping up with the Halloween theme this week since it is only a week and a day away, but who is counting, right? I thought it would be fun to show off some of my costumes over the years. At first I only had a couple in mind but I found myself getting lost in old facebook albums, aaaaand basically ended up with 5 years worth of costumes - haha. I really got in to making my costumes sophomore year of college and have been ever since. Anywho...here is a quick - kinda - overview.



2007: I was a newbie to the whole halloween thing so I bought a german beer maiden costume - cute, but pretty unoriginal.
2008: This year my bestie and I decided to go with an animal theme. We were wild cats the first night and a narwhal and lobster the second night. (I went to school where Halloween lasted a weekend and meant multiple costumes)
2009: This year was wild and I dressed up three nights in a row. The first night I was Mia Wallace from pulp fiction, the second night I was a geisha, and the third night I was cleopatra. I guess this year was a girl-power theme?
2010: The cat is out of the bag - I LOVE KATY PERRY. Get over it. I think she is so cute and her songs are so catchy. I was also in love with her hubby Russell. This year her California Girls video came out and I fell in love with the cupcakes. My most inappropriate costume, sorry, but it was a lot of fun. I was the only one dressed up as her this year, the following year they mass produced the cupcake costume - LAME. Brian also dressed up like Russell because they are practically twins.
2011: I was a my little pony and a shark attack victim this year. I wish I could have found a photo of my full pony outfit, it was pretty cute. I had a lot of fun making my shark costume. I made it last minute (the day of), but I think it turned out pretty cool.
2012: Last Friday Brian and I went to a friend's birthday/costume party. I had been sick all week so my Marie Antoinette costume wasn't (still isn't) complete yet. On the drive home I thought of possibilities and Bambi popped in my head. I picked up some makeup and the dollar store Brian Manages and was ready to roll :]

I will share with you all my Marie costume once I wear it on Friday night. I am pretty darn excited. I still need to figure out how I am going to do my hair. Anywhooo...

Do you all go overboard when it comes to Halloween like I do? Tomorrow I plan to share how to make that KILLER shark costume ;]

Back from the dead

I am back from the dead...so to speak.


Looking lively, huh? I apologize from my absence last week - I was hit with the worst head cold and spent the majority of my time in bed, not fun. I am finally starting to breathe through my nose again though, haha, tmi? Anywho... Halloween is quickly approaching!! Are you ready? I still need to hit up the store and find the finishing touches to my Marie Antoinette costume.

Have I ever told you how much I LOVE HALLOWEEN? It is hands down my favorite holiday - EVER. What is better than dressing up, eating candy until you are sick, and watching movies that make you nearly pee your pants? Haha. But really. I like to go big or go home when it comes to Halloween, so this week I will be sharing with you my previous costumes and possibly a tutorial or two to make yourself a sweet last minute costume (they tend to work out best that way anywho).

So let me explain the photo above and the ones to follow - three years ago my friends and I thought it would be fun to dress up the weekend of Halloween as zombies and walk around the mall (as zombies would of course) just because. I simply rolled outta bed (sweet bed head, right?), and threw some red, white, and black paint on my face. Woohoo.



We got quite a bit of stares, some photos taken, and unfortunately made a little boy cry - whoops. Overall though it was a fun outing. Have you attended any zombie functions lately?

Designer Charity Sale

Hi guys!! Happy Monday to you all. How was your weekend? Mine was FANTASTIC!!! I went to a designer warehouse sale aaaand saw Perks of Being a Wallflower with my friend Lindy. Both were so good. I really enjoyed the movie and want to see it again with Brian this week, haha. As for the warehouse sale...

Awesome - pretty much sums it up. You can purchase two bags - either their small bag for $20 or their large bag for $75. Once you purchase your bags you can fill them up with whatever designer goodies you want (they had a whole hall full to the brim with new and gently used designer goodies). All of the proceeds went to the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago. Anwyho...

I sat in the cold rain for 6 hours alone to make sure I got my hands on the goods. It was intense. I was supposed to go with a friend, but she ended up missing in action at 2 a.m.. Having come so far for the sale I decided to brave it alone. Thankfully, there were about 30 or so people already in line when I showed up at 3 a.m. so I wasn't too afraid. I also made good friends with those sitting next to me. We bonded over Dunkin Doughnuts while we took shifts to go in to DD's to use their hand dryers to warm up and dry off. Around 6 a.m. the sun rose and our spirits were all lifted. 7:30 was around the time when people started to get scary. People were calling out others for cutting the line and calling in security to kick them out - yikes. People also really started filling up the line around 7 - by 9 nearly 1,000 or so people were in line. They ended up opening the doors a half an hour late and I thought a riot might break out. Thankfully we were across the street from a police station. I was soooo glad I was so close to the front of the line. Once I got inside I went to town and filled up two large bags. 20 minutes later I made my way down the stairs so relieved it was all over. I knew I had found some good stuff, but was too tired to sift through everything until Sunday morning. Here is what I thrifted...

Bag one- Bag two-

Yep - that's right - Manolo Blahnik's - and in my size!!! Made nearly losing a toe or two worth it all :] My life will basically resemble Sex in the City from here on out. I scooped up so many incredible brands - Manolo Blahnik, Betsey Johnson, Armani, Coach, Julie Haus, Philip Lim, Milly, Paul Smith, Barney's, N.D.C., Cordani, Brigids Bags... I really didn't think I was going to be able to carry it all by myself to the car, thankfully, I found the strenth...but my arms and legs are so sore. Haha. I need to start working out. Anywho...

BEST THRIFT HAUL - EVER! Hands down.

Next year I plan to be in the front of the line. Who's with me?

I was away from my computer all weekend, but plan to catch up on everything Tuesday night - my free night. Have a beautiful day my lovelies :]