for the one i love

why question, when it's so obvious?



images: google/le love/glamcanyon/etc and unknown

for the sheer fuck of it

i am having a tough time locating my "holiday spirit".. and it shows, right?
this is the last day at the office for 4 days, but i am in such need of a real vacation.
like a month? why oh why can't that happen?
i was pondering travel to one of my home states, but decided that the hubby and his fam could use all the love and support i might be able to muster up.. but that is becoming the problem. if i don't buck up and find some peace for the holiday inside my soul than i will become much more of a burden than any good to a family at the end of a grieving year.
so why can't i allow myself to relax? i could use any suggestions at this point as there is less than 48 hours until the big day..ugh!! please any words of hope and love..

inside out

the ubiquitous purse contents image..

it's a revolving door in there for: lip stuff, sunglasses and scarfs. and way to much space considering the amount of things that DON'T travel with me..

not my rodarte

i must take this time to report/place my useless opinion on the rodarte for target collaborative collection. since the very first launch of these inexpensive collabs, i have tried very hard to get to my local/the closest target in an attempt to be the first to walk away with something half designer related. i know it is cheap fabric and typically ill fitting, but i love the idea and feel that my small collection of these pieces will have some sort of nostalgic feeling for me in the future since i am not a fashionista/blogger getting free things sent to me nor have i made any sort of substantial amount that would allow for frequent perusing of designer showrooms or even barney's for that matter. i tend to stick to the usual: f21, UO, target and thrift..

anyway, back to the main purpose of this post.. i haven't really read what other people have to say regarding this collection but per the usual target collabs, droopy anticipation of bad fit and cheap fabric riddled any possible heart for the launch. and i thought it was coming out 12/25, so you could understand my surprise and subsequent freaking out while i was at work yesterday counting down the minutes until i was able to jet over to the store. . i had called ahead to have a few things held for me, as i keep hearing how fast it was going, but they surprisingly had a great selection remaining. i feel that i lucked out with my purchase of the pink slip dress. more of a nude if you ask me. but my vote is: the BEST collab yet!! fit is really.. WOW and the fabric chosen may be "cheap" but the options were cleverly chosen. my only complaint is the tulle on my pink slip dress was already with a hole. but i found why this was the case as i was trying on the black slip dress.. if not careful the tulle gets stuck underneath the slip and in the zipper on the side. so yes, i put a hole in the black one that i didn't buy, but i DID buy the pink one with a hole in the same exact location. you couldn't see it if i told you and even so.. add a few more for a roughed up look.. we'll see. all the hosiery was in fact sold out and that broke my heart.. but to my surprise, i struck gold when i found that someone had put 3 pairs on hold at the changing room. i tapped my nails on the counter not-so-patiently waiting for said customer to return and swoop up the beautifully perforated knee highs, but after 15 minutes when no one had returned, i tucked the mustard / nude pair under my slip dress and zig-zaged my way to a register so as to not be tackled by the hosiery hoarder.

now, why didn't i like the leopard dress? well, i actually LOVED this dress. the fabric was thick and not nearly as worrisome as the tulle; the fit was to-die-for. however, i felt very warm in the body-con dress and if i am just standing in target in a dress and feel hot, it is not going to be practical. ever. not in arizona. plus, i keep hearing a rumbling that the body-con train, which i never happened to board, is on it's way out of town.. and how!! i am not one to really follow trend, but since it was such a huge trend, i think it would be a bad idea to wear it so late in the game.

my rodarte

so in looove..

..to be styled for christmas eve. stay tuned..

only 3 days left @ the office

10 yr old j.crew booties; vintage hoisery and skirt; f21 top

sibling style

kingston and daisy
<3
love love love them in this

in the eye of the beholder

vintage equip / baubles

the coldest it gets

it was actually fairly chilly today in phoenix and we even expect rain this week! december rains. i have awaiting their arrival for some time. our august/september monsoons were extinguished by god only knows what and we have since been fairing as best as we can in the balmy warm autumn that's been given. weekend business as usual today. straightening of the new garage and trip to the grocers, and an extra strong dose of french pressed coffee to keep us moving. moving is easy in the soft, comfy knits and the boots have become a cool weather, weekend staple. 

my new home has been my focus lately and i am just happily enjoying the transition. it's peaceful and new without being a different neighborhood. it is comfortable. and i am happy! i am attending an event tomorrow and i hope to have photos to share. then, a fashion show, wednesday for an FIDM holiday party, so i should most definitely have photos from that. 

i hope every one is have a nice holiday and if in the northern hemi, i hope you are enjoying the cool. the opposite for those of you in the warmth of the south. and with 2010 on the brink i hope we all have good spirit and hopeful feelings for the time to come..

lightly jeweled

baby it's cold outside

a study of estonian icicles


all estonian ice from google images
CDG a/w 09 from style.com

do you see what i see?

ran across abbey's (tobaccoandleather) illustrations for school. i love them and find them (in a good way) inspired by the latest alexander mcQueen collection and ink blots. then today my friend emailed me this website with amazing wall paper, it all came full circle for me. i tend to steer clear of too much color, but i think this is how it can be done..these mesmerizing folded colors layered on each other is so natural yet it has a very modern and structured feel here in these images.

so this got me thinking about personal inspiration and by contrast, personal expression. i have been inspired by color (rainbows, sun light, photography etc..) for my entire life. it seems that whenever my life takes a huge change i see a rainbow in some form or another. this was recently confirmed for the event of moving into my new home in north phoenix, when i spotted a real rainbow within the rain clouds of a wussy storm last week. i find that in honestly expressing me, alyssa that moody colors is the best fit. i can't wear much color, or choose not to, but i am obsessed with it. i worked in the paint department of a home improvement store (no, not lowes or the depot) and i was surrounded in color. i wore a black apron and every time i had a spot of paint on my can opener, i wiped it on the apron. after a year of working there, i, myself, looked like a rainbow.. i understand that the world would not work or even exist if it weren't for color and so i stand by it relentlessly, even while swathed in head-to-toe black. i could consider myself more of an angry or aggressive person.. as opposed to say, a happy one, but color will always lift my spirits and find a way into my ever-dying soul.. so, whether it be the oozing cherry red in a homemade pie or the rich brown of my favorite vintage bag, i believe that color is one of the most necessary elements in our world.


pc: tobacco and leather, eskayel, style.com and here (for inkblots)