The Perfect Red Dress

I have been looking for the perfect red dress forever. Okay, I haven't been actively searching for one... but it was one of those things on my list of "someday I'll find it." Know what I mean? My dreams came to life when my favorite independent clothing designer, Jessica Louise, designed the burlesque coquet dress! Yeah, these were taken a little while ago, before I got my hair redone... roots galore!

Absolutely love the shape and all of the details. Bold red with vintage white strawberry trim. Sweetheart neckline and so many ruffles! I had fun pairing it with lots of skulls and sparkles.

Dress & Earrings - Jessica Louise; Necklace - Hookerfeathers

Ring - Blush Envy; Hair Accessories - Tarina Tarantino; Shoes - Guess

Even better, I just saw that Jessica Louise has a coupon code available right now - use "FALL12" for 15% off everything in her shop until the 22nd! I have a lot of her clothing - she really is the best!

Pandas and Bows

Remember when I mentioned that Jacob got me a dress as one of my birthday gifts? Let me tell you, this is no ordinary dress! It was made by I'm Your Present, a ridiculously cute and awesome indie shop that is quickly growing in popularity. If you haven't visited their store, do it. You can thank me later. =)

These photos were actually taken while on a weekend trip to Port Ludlow with a group of good friends. Nice change of scenery... and the view was gorgeous! Olivia suggested that Jacob should snap a picture of me getting ready. Soo... shoes half on.

It is quite a short dress! No room for modesty here... haha.

The house had all sorts of grand windows looking out into the beautiful forest.

The front of the house was pretty too!

Panda dress - I'm Your Present; Hair bow - Chubby Bunny x Acrylicana; Necklace - LORiOLA; Shoes - BCBG

I was also super psyched when I saw this Chubby Bunny x Acrylicana limited edition bow release. Michelle Nguyen of Chubby Bunny makes these adorable hair bows, and for this collaboration, Mary Winkler (Acrylicana) did the illustration printed on the bow. Also available in pink!

The super cute glass bird necklace is by Lori Flanders of LORiOLA. I have purchased quite a few necklaces from her and they are the best! Cute, great quality, and they come with this adorable lock and key toggle clasp.

And... the ring. Made by me! Artwork by Hannah Lynn. I'll be selling it on my new website when that finally launches... =)

Zombie Unicorn Dress

At last! As promised in my T&TT - Zombie Edition post, I present to you... the zombie unicorn dress! I first saw Helena, one of the Locketship girls, wearing another version of this dress at Unique LA (photo near the bottom of the post). Of course, I asked her where she got her amazing dress. She told me about Hell Bunny, the brand, and suggested I look on punk.com, where she got hers.

Getting it was a long ordeal. Hell Bunny is based in the UK and appears to sell exclusively through retailers (no direct retail sales). This means two things: 1.) availability in the U.S. is limited and inconsistent, and 2.) sizing is different. I waited weeks for it to become available, then ordered as soon as it was up. Ended up exchanging for size, only to find that it had become unavailable again in my desired size. GRR!! Waited over a month for it to be back in stock. Finally, it was, so I ordered immediately. At long last, it arrived. And fits! It's a tiny bit tight, but I'll take it. Frustrating, but I daresay it was worth the wait. =) I was also excited to wear some of my Callow Lily accessories, including one of my all-time favorite necklaces!

FACT: This isn't even the most ridiculous unicorn dress I own.

Naturally, I had to try some zombie poses. Necessary, right? Of course, I don't have the first clue how to make an appropriate zombie facial expression. So Jacob made fun of me as I tried out a few.

Slow motion shouting zombie?

Ridiculous/crazed zombie?

Being a zombie is serious business.

Zombie Unicorn Black Petal Dress - Hell Bunny, via Punk

Necklace - Callow Lily

Hair Bow - Callow Lily

Ring - Locketship

Shoes - BCBG, via Nordstrom

Or... maybe I just need some practice. Clearly, it is not going to work to try to blend in when the zombie apocalypse arrives. Guess I'd better start practicing distance running.

This dress comes in four styles: black petal (what I wore), pink petal, black halter, or pink halter (what Helena wore). If you want to join the zombie unicorn world domination movement, you can get your own dress here (black petal style), here (pink halter style), or at various other retailers around the world. I signed up for the Punk.com newsletter, and they frequently send out sizable discount codes (often 15% - 20% off). Plus, free shipping over $75. The Hell Bunny team is also extremely helpful if you just ask questions on their facebook page. Just remember to read some charts and measure carefully (if there aren't any local retailers near you)! I am usually a US size S and the dress that ended up fitting me best is size XS.

Ready to take over the world with me?

Friends Float Together Tee + Kitties!

Yep, another outfit post featuring an adorable Newbreed Girl t-shirt! I posted the last one in early July. This one cracked me up so much when I first saw it... alright, not going to lie. It still cracks me up every time. Yes, it's true. Real friends float together!!

I wish I could say I had photo scenery this beautiful for every time I took outfit pictures, but this is from Jacob's parents' gorgeous backyard. He has quite a few family members with woodworking talents, including his dad, who made the swing set.

And... just like last time, Clark the kitty popped in to say hello! His brother, Lewis, was nowhere to be found, as usual. Cats crack me up. Clark is such an attention-monger ("How come people are taking pictures of HER? Take one of me too - I want to be famous!"). He actually snuck into two pictures... can you spot the kitty? Lewis is a lot more independent and anti-social (he disappears for most of the day and reappears right around dinner time - makes sense to me).

Thanks again, Newbreed Girl!!

Shana Logic - Cuteness Overload Outfit

Ready for an overwhelming explosion of cute? Visit Shana Logic! It has been one of my favorite websites for a long time now. Shana Logic is all about supporting indie - it's an online boutique selling a variety of goods, all made by small businesses and independents artists. And Shana, the owner/curator, is so sweet, positive, and friendly! She occasionally gets requests for little sketches on the packing slips she sends with orders... and she actually does little drawings for her customers. Shana also rescues squirrels as a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. But I diverge (I just think she's really awesome). Anyway, I have acquired quite a few Shana Logic pieces over the years... so this outfit is chock full of SL gear!

Magical unicorns and pink octopi have lots to say to each other. Duh.

Deers in Love T-Shirt by Apple Noggin

Fluffy Bunny Necklace by Locketship

Little Lamb Belt by MyMimi

Alice Charm Bracelet by Locketship

Fairy Tale Unicorn by WonderForest

Octo-Plushie in Love by Jayne Danger
Makeup (eyeshadows & lipstick) - Lime Crime

Except for the jeans (which are from Guess), everything was from ShanaLogic, of course. =)

Shana, you rock. Thanks for bringing so much cute to the world and helping support & promote independent artists!

Balloon Photoshoot - The Silly Side!

If you were here from the start or read back to The Beginning, then you saw the balloon photoshoot Zoe and I did for my blog launch. It was a crazy hectic day, some of which you can read about here. Anyway, all of the excitement, adrenaline, exhaustion, and the sheer ridiculousness of wearing a fancy Betsey Johnson party dress and carrying black, white, silver, and pink balloons around random places in Portland led to some serious pictures, some weird pictures, and some crazy silly pictures! It was interesting - we got some weird looks, a lot of smiles, and some sweet comments from passersby.

Once Zoe figured out it was her opportunity to tell me what to do and have me actually listen, she started thinking up some fun ideas. And then some funny ideas.

Fight those balloons!!

It was randomly windy at times. Ever tried to control a giant bunch of balloons? Yeah, it's more the other way around.

Somehow we stuffed all of those balloons into her car. Along with her snowboard and all sorts of things she stores in there... We went to several different locations, so we had to keep carefully stuffing the balloons in and taking them back out of the car. Oh, and Zoe was smart enough to remember to crack a window for the balloons, lest they pop and die!

Somehow, amidst all of the crazy photoshoot poses we were thinking up, we started talking about tae kwon do (which I did for three years in junior high and high school). I think it was something like this:

Zoe: "LOOK POWERFUL!"

Me: How? Hehe... Like the tae kwon do power stance?

Zoe: HAH yeah. Oooh you should totally do an intense kick!

Doing tae kwon do on railroad tracks in heels is hard work. Sometimes a reward nap is necessary. Which then turns into "try to look like you're dead!"

So much fun. Thanks again for the amazing photos Zoe!!