Swedish Hasbeens: Let's Discuss

These pictures were taken during a rare, not-so-sunny moment in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.  Since they were just kind of off I enhanced the brightness by sliding the bar in Windows Live Picture Viewer that says "Brightness" a little to the right.  The red shown in the pictures is a pretty accurate depiction of this skirt, however, as it is insanely red.

Anyhoo, as I have alluded to before, I am quite the bargain shopper and I try to always be pretty fastidious about buying only excessively inexpensive items. I really have no choice now, but I will admit when I was working I was known to pay full-price for certain items that I felt I had to have.

Button-up: H&M

Skirt: Forever 21

Socks: Forever 21

Bag: the Goodwill by my house

Bangles: the Goodwill by my house

Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens

With that said, these Swedish Hasbeens are an example of something I paid full price for because I literally could not imagine that the earth would commence rotating upon its axis if I did not.  

Yes, they are super cute and it's true that I am a such a sucker for the story of how they are re-releases of clogs made in Sweden in the 70's... but still, these shoes are almost incredulously expensive considering the workmanship involves staples and unfinished leathers and woods.  I mean, they even came with a booklet that more or less terrified me out of the idea of wearing or even enjoying owning them.

Seriously, the included informational pamphlet just seemed to go on and on with this list of things that will ruin them and basically said in no uncertain terms that these shoes will undoubtedly stretch, fade, get permanently soiled and so on and so forth.  I wish I kept it, because holy crap, they seemed to be adamant about covering all the bases with these shoes.  

What I want to know is if there are any of you out there with success stories about how you've worn your pair to hell and back and they still look fabulous?  I basically want someone to tell me to just man up and wear them.  So what if they get dirty?  Also, I can't imagine them stretching would be a bad thing, right?  

So here we are a year and $150 later and I have only worn them three times, with the above pictures depicting the third time.

Looking at them melts my heart though, as they are quite the little cuties.  And that thrifted wicker bag was basically made to be worn with them.  Alright, I'll man up, these guys are becoming wardrobe staples.

So my mommy got to meet Bahb this Saturday.  We went to this little Italian eatery in Fountain Hills with SUPER creepy imagery all over the place... eeeeesh... but the food was pretty freaking good.  Anyway, my mom absolutely loved him, of course.  She said she could tell how crazy we are about each other, duuuuh Mom!  And then she and I went to the Clearance Dillard's on Sunday.  Oh the Clearance Dillard's... or the C Dubs as I call it because I'm just super embarrassing like that.  It's amazing, I scoff at regular Dillard's now.  Pfffft, you want me to pay $118 for this French Connection dress?  I think I will only pay $17, and you'll like it.

Since I'm a broke student once again, my mom was kind enough to buy me some pretty awesome Vince Camuto clogs and a French Connection halter top.  Oh heavens those clogs are wonderful.  I wore them all night around the house; does anyone else do that with new shoes?  Just stomp around the house in them just looking down at your feet the whole time?  I realized some time ago that I am basically a 6-year-old with a driver's license and a credit card.

Alright, I've got some school stuff to attend to (I don't wanna!)... but I hope everyone's Mondays don't suck!

Will someone please take me somewhere I can wear this?

You might remember from this post that I was trying to get my dad to start a blog so he could have a place to put his pictures. Well he did start a blog, The Attempted Photographer, and you can find it here!

Now, let's be clear before we go any further, I definitely did not wear this to school today.

I had on icky jeans and closed-toed shoes *blech* because I needed to go the lab today. I got there ready to test the permeability on these supports I made last week, but since I read directions good and stuff and I completely skipped the step where I dry them in a furnace for 24 hours, it would be impossible to accurately test the permeability.  Ah well. So I put them in the furnace and since there really wasn't too much else for me to do for the next 24 hours, I took off.

Since I had originally allotted this time for lab/school related activities, I felt I could justify sneaking in some thriftin' time.

So I went to a Goodwill I hardly ever go to, and I left with two fabulous 90's dresses and a purse made from a Navajo tapestry.  

While both dresses are pretty freaking sweet, the one pictured is absolutely perfect.  So perfect it warranted an unplanned post.

It's a soft, thick velvet that has no stretch to it whatsoever.  This dress fits because it is literally cut to the exact specifications of my torso.  It is a little shorter than I would have liked, but it doesn't ride up at all, so I can't complain.

Please disregard the horrendous mosquito bite on my back.  I would have photoshopped it out, but skills like that elude me completely.

Dress: thrifted today

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

Sun Glasses: Gucci

Wow, so I have been studying nonstop, not even breaking to sleep for a couple of nights there, since Sunday. I just had a chance to catch up with Yahoo! and I am amazed at what I missed.

First of all, who knew that Princess Di's kid got married? Good for him.  I saw a few pictures, and holy shit, Kate Middleton is probably the most beautiful bride I could imagine.  I am in awe of her, seriously.

And then, of course, there is the utter devastation from tornadoes and flooding in the south.  I mean whole towns just erased from the map?  What?  The highest death toll since 1932?  How is this possible in 2011?  The images are striking.  And unsettling. These are people just like me, who, up until a couple of days ago, would wake up in the morning and wander into their closets and wonder what to wear.  Maybe some of them did the 30 for 30 challenge?  Or had their own blahg?

I found a great website Clothes4Souls that will deliver your contributions directly to the victims of these recent tornadoes.  I have bags and bags I was going to give to Goodwill, and while the Goodwill is an excellent organization that I support fully, I want to feel like I'm doing something to help the victims of these tornadoes directly.

While I have no delusions that the magnitude of what was lost can be replaced by gifts of my gently used clothing, it still makes me feel like maybe I'm helping give someone a little bit of normalcy back.

Anyway, on that somber note... have good weekends anyone who might see this.

The Lover-ly Blog Award

Ok, so I have been having just the weirdest problems with this particular post. Like THE weirdest most random and frustrating problems ever... I have been trying to get it to work and it just won't!  Hopefully it works now! *Crosses fingers*

Anyway!  It seems that in the frantic flurry of crap I have to do before this semester ends I completely missed the wonderful award that Miss Gretchen at GretchTM so graciously bestowed upon me!  GretchTM is a blog that I have found myself completely enamored with as of late, so if it weren't GretchTM awarding me this, she would definitely be on my list of 15.

It is the One Lovely Blog Award, and just look at that little icon... it's so girly and pretty, and, well, lovely!

Now for the rules...

1. I need to link back to the person who passed me this award... Check!

2. Share seven random things about myself... See below.

3. Award 15 blogs... Also see below.

4. Drop them a note to tell them about it... I will do this... soonish, promise!

Seven Random Things by Alex

1. These people down the street from me have a zebra, two llamas, two ponies and two goats living in their front yard. This isn't about me, really, but they have a freaking ZEBRA!

2. One time, after finals my first semester as an engineering major, I decided to treat myself and buy this pair of Miss Sixty jeans I'd been eying (spell check says that's right, but I don't believe it) at the mall. I went in, walked right to where they were in the store, bought them and left taking no more than fifteen minutes and when I walked out I discovered my car, my perfect in every way dream car, a champion white, 5-speed, 1994 Acura Integra GSR (NOT LS with V-tech, but a GSR) was stolen. I miss that pretty little girl, she was so fast and clean and every Integra I've seen since then just pales in comparison!

3. My favorite candy is any variety of M&M's (except for maybe coconut, I can take or leave those).

4. I want to be a professor at a research university when I grow up. Can you still say "when I grow up" at almost 25?

5. My collection of jeans is worth over $6000, but I probably spent less than $500 total over the course of the last three or four years on jeans. Seriously, I know how to shop. That sounds obnoxious, but I don't mean it to be, it's just an irrefutable fact that I just require everything I purchase to be dirt cheap. As a good friend of mine used to tell me, "you just can't stop saving!"

6. I'm Polish and Italian.

7. My first car was a beautiful, gold 30 year old Mercedes, that got in so many accidents, and hit so many times in the parking lot by my dorm freshman year, that this is what it eventually looked like... I rocked that car for years with those stickers on it!

So there you have it. It's weird that two out of seven had to do with cars, sorry, next time I'll strive for greater diversity in my random facts!

Fifteen Lovely Blogs

and this is peak, all the fuss, baby budget blog, cryskay, diamond canopy, fake empire, fleur jane, nashville styled, oh my dior, quirky explosion, slightly noodles, spinning threads, that damn green dress, the daily fashionista, tinfoil tiaras

No pressure to do this yourselves, of course, I just like giving due credit to the all of the wonderful blogs I frequent.

So I was planning on wearing something completely different today, but when I walked into my closet and saw this pharaoh print Motel top I got at Buffalo Exchange forever ago and have yet to wear, I knew I had no choice but to reschedule the other outfit.

I had a long night studying last night, in fact, I haven't been to bed yet, I just kept on trucking until my 8:30 a.m. appointment with my advisor. So I am a sleepy guy.

Dress: Urban Outfitters (Pins & Needles)

Top: Motel

Scarf: thrifted years ago

Bracelets: Forever 21

Sandals: Dolce Vita

Bag: vintage Coach

Sun Glasses: Betsey Johnson

I make weird faces. In my defense I'm super tired so I'm seriously just staring off into space here... Aaaruuuugh?? *turns head to the side and blinks vacantly*

It's so windy out! I don't even want to think about what may or may not have made an appearance as my dress blew in the wind while I walked to school this morning. Oh good.

But that's no matter now, because muh mama is on a plane right now, that's right, a plane heading to Phoenix! Wooo! She and my stepdad are driving to Palm Springs for the rest of the week, and then they're coming back and spending three or four days in town. It's not a whole lot of time, but it will still be good to see her, and to shop of course.

Also, she will fiiiiiiinally get to meet Bahb! Hooray!

Alright, enough of this! I have to study more, fuss fuss fuss fuss fuss FUSS!

And I want to apologize that I'm really not bringing my blogging "A Game", as it were. I'm a trifle distracted with an inordinate amount of stupid school stuff. But summer will be here soon...

Have a wonderful day anyone who might read this :)

Tengo que estudiar para la física como nadie

That should say "I need to study for physics like nobody's business."

So my final in physics is Wednesday, and I didn't study at all this weekend because I had family in town on Friday and Saturday and then Sunday was Easter... I guess I could have started studying last week in anticipation of the busy weekend, but... naaaaaaah...

Dress: Betsey Johnson

Belt: it's old and from Nordstrom Rack

Scarf: thrifted

Open-toed Oxfords: Sam Edelman

Sun Glasses: Ray Bans

This dress was originally in the neighborhood of $250, the exact price eludes me right now, but it was marked down to $20 when I bought it! Freaking steal.

So I'm head scarfin' thanks to the ever inspiring Miss Lydia. Head scarves, although adorable, are not things I usually work into an outfit. I am going to have to start branching out with accessories this summer though, because when it's 117 degrees out for the 11th day in a row, you don't much feel like experimenting with layers or patterned tights. You really just want to wear a swimsuit and flip flops everywhere.

It's going to be a challenge if I'm going to pass off my incessant wearing of these high-waisted cut-off shorts as something with at least a modicum of fashion merit. I mean incessant, I am not embarrassed to say these shorts have been worn for almost a week straight before. They stretch out and fit so perfectly after the first day, that it's hard not to just keep picking them up off the floor every morning.

Enough about my gross and possibly unhygienic affinity for those shorts.

Did everyone have wonderful Easters? Or wonderful non-denominational springtime holidays of your choosing?

Was the weather nice and Eastery? In the Phoenix area it's unbelievably perfect outside right now, so I'm going to go climb on my roof and study for the rest of the day.

Have great Mondays anyone who might see this!

Antelope Canyon (Page, AZ)

These pictures were taken by muh dad at Antelope Canyon.

And one of the sunrise over Lake Powell.

So my dad always takes amazing pictures and I am trying to get him to make a blog, even if it's just for friends and family, so he can showcase them.