JARVIS, SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA RUN BEFORE YOU CAN WALK

Since you all know my favorite actor is RDJ then it's probably obvious my favorite super hero is Iron Man. I saw some guy talk about the arm repulsor thing on youtube and it was so cool, that I nerded out and had to ask my Dad to order one for me online. (Actually I asked him to order the whole set with the mask and arc reactor but I couldn't resist!!). The repulsor lights up when you move your palm up and it makes sounds and actually shoots missles. LOL it makes me feel like a little kid again.

The top is from Target, and the pants are from H&M. It's sad because I got food poisoned today because I ate rancid meat... long story short, meat isn't supposed to taste flat out bitter and by the time I realized something was up, I had already ingested half of the bread pastry because I was so hungry. I thought the bitterness was a weird aftertaste from the juice I had just drank but nope. So now my stomach hurts really badly but I'm so mad about this I'm going to eat candy even if I'll regret it later.

WOODLAND CREATURE

Today I have on a burgundy, flower clip from H&M ($5), a teal tie-dye dress from Forever 21 ($12), a floral skirt also from F21 ($13), and fingerless gloves from Target ($12) which I wear everywhere and I love that I can still text in them! The leather harness is actually a combination of a really long belt that I bought from the Abercrombie outlet for $5, and a regular skinny belft from F21 ($3). I never really knew what to do with the long belt because if I wrapped it around twice, there was too much excess, and if I wrapped it around 3 times, I couldn't breathe! But I'm glad it finally worked out in the end. :) And the boots are Steve Madden.

I've been working on creating a visual journal and once I paste all the pictures I've collected into it, I'll post a few scans so you all can see how it's coming together. I also discovered the handy tilt function on my tripod, so I can tilt the camera downwards or upwards which makes photographing a lot easier.

On another note, I AM SO EXCITED FOR HALLOWEEN and can't wait to show you guys my costume! It has to do with Robert Downey Jr if you want a hint... I love him. I'm still working on putting together the finishing touches but it will be completely done soon!

GYPSY CARAVAN

This weekend, I raided my parents' closets and came back with so many unique garments to add to my closet! :P I have a lot of jewelry from my Mom already, and this time I found 2 vests, a lace jacket, and a brown suede skirt. I actually looked through my Dad's side of the closet and much to my surprise, I found one of those oversized, chunky knit sweaters that I've been wanting for a long time, and would have gave into buying sooner or later. But thanks to his taste in sweaters, I won't need to! :) It's a little too thick for the current weather being in the 80s still, but I've already go the perfect outfit picked out when it begins to get really chilly.

Today, I am wearing a brown, beaded headband given to me by one of my best friends, Rachel! The feather necklace was thrifted for $14. The black tube top is from Forever 21 ($5) and the circle skirt is from Old Navy ($6). And my favorite piece, the printed vest was one of the pieces I took from my Mom's closet hehehe

The black, suede wedge booties are from Macy's and are by White Mountain. We had a coupon and bought them for $55. They were a little more expensive than I thought they would be but they are so comfortable that the price was worth it. The sole/wedge part is this black rubbery material so I think I might wear them when it rains too since I don't actually own rain boots. Did I say these shoes were comfortable? I feel like I'm wearing actual sneakers, and these shoes will go with everything so I'm very satisfied with my purchase!

EXTRICATE ME FROM THIS WEB OF LIES

Today I'm wearing a studded headband from Forever 21 ($3), a vintage feather necklace (thrifted, $14), a sea foam maxi skirt also from Forever 21 ($10), and a tie dye, cut-and-tied t-shirt (that was a mouthful)! I made it for a school spirit day 1 or 2 years ago for Tie Dye day and recently resurrected it from my closet :) I used very diluted dye and I followed this Youtube tutorial to learn how to cut my shirt like this:




Julia (itsblitzzz) has many tutorials for cutting up your t-shirts so I suggest you check out her channel! She is extremely creative and her tutorials are very easy to follow. Her tutorials have helped me transform my boring, long sleeve shirts into fun and unique garments.

EMBERS BURNING

My hair looks two-toned in this picture because of the sun... I recently re-hennaed my hair, and because my hair is very dark brown in regular lighting, the henna only really shows up in the sun. But in the sun, because it's been henna-ed so many times, it's a nice fiery red/orangey tone. If you're looking for a cheap and gentle alternative for dying your hair red/with red tones, you should try henna! The only downside is it has a bad odor but you get used to it...

I'm wearing a new black, infinity scarf from H&M. I love this scarf! It keeps me so warm in the chilly mornings and it's like a portable neck pillow! The shirt is new as well, it was $13 at Forever 21. The pants are from H&M, and were $14. I also got new shoes as you can see! I got them at Target on sale for $8.

I definitely want to get a tripod soon... I feel bad for annoying my sister so much to come help me take photos hahaha

CROWN OF LOVE

Today, I'm wearing an old, chain headband that my Mom gave me, my gold cuffs, my suede Target sandals, and a Forever 21, slouchy tunic top. I originally bought the top last year when we had a Julius Caesar trial in Honors English but it's a nice addition to my closet. It's great for those days when you wake up and just want to throw something on, yet still look put together.

This weekend, I got 3 vintage scarves and I plan on adding some decoration to them so I'll post pictures when I am done! People often ask me how I have so many clothes and how I afford it. Half of my closet is from H&M and Forever 21; surprisingly to others, the most expensive item I own is actually only a purse from BCBGeneration that I bought myself for $85 and the sad thing is I never use it... The other half of my closet is purchased from thrift stores because I really enjoy looking through all the racks and finding that one item that almost feels like it was put there for you :) One of the secrets to staying within a budget is buying the bargain priced items from H&M, Forever 21 etc., or the ones on sale, and then taking them home and altering them the way you want them to be. For example, rather than pay $40+ for an asymmetrical maxi skirt, I took a $10 maxi dress I got from Forever 21, and cut and rehemmed the dress myself, which now doubles both as a dress but also a skirt. I will try to do a post on some of the items in my closet I have altered and maybe that will inspire others to try it out themselves!

DON'T WAKE ME UP, I AM STILL DREAMING

Finally, today it was sunny again, and it's going to be sunny the rest of next week! :) It's been a great finish to a busy week; I'm so happy that my request to transfer into Physics was approved. It's a huge load of stress of my shoulders, especially with the PSAT next Saturday. I'm wearing an asymmetrical, black lace dress which has a lace bell sleeve as well but it's difficult to tell in this photo. I purchased it for $18 over the summer at a thrift store, and I'm going back to the same place this weekend to look around for Halloween costume ideas. I'll post photos of my day trip and what I ended up buying so check back next week!

Even though my work load has increased significantly with extra curricular activities, the funny thing is they have actually helped me manage my time better: iCal is my best friend now. It's so much more effective than a typical planner that you have to write in because on iCal, you can see an actual timeline and move around events as you see fit, if you didn't get to it on a certain day. I recommend it, especially if you are a high school student!