Burnt Sienna

Next to pink, my other favorite crayon as a kid was Crayola's "Burnt Sienna" , this orange-brown color was constantly one of the most worn looking crayons on my desk. Every fall, this color creeps back into my life. It's everywhere! Not only found in nature, this shade is popular in fall fashion.

Here are some examples the fall 2011 RTW collections (all photos from Elle):

Michael Kors

Proenza Schouler (color detail in the pant)

3.1 Phillip Lim

Alice + Olivia

Here's how I'll be accessorizing with this color:

Anthropologie Triple Strap Tank

Halogen Ponte Knit Pencil Skirt

J.Crew Skinny Belt with Bow

Lulu's Burnt Orange Blazer (check out that lining!)

Anthropologie Sun Shaped Bangle (on sale!)

I am a huge fan of neutrals and brown tones, but add a bit of a burnt orange hue to it, and I'm just obsessed. My closet is kind of like a grown-up box of crayons, except instead of hanging my work on my bedroom wall, it's around my neck, on my wrist, and on my body.

August wish list

Every August, I start to get a little wish listy with things. My online shopping carts fill up with shocking balances expected to be paid, but will never make it further than the cart. I have to contribute this to one thing--my birthday is at the end of the month. While I think I'm the easiest person to shop for, my family tends to disagree. I have to start weighing out my options, and due to a horrible incident where my ipod died* the other day, husband got the easy gift by immediately suggesting that a new one would be his gift to me. I was slightly relieved because the ipod was going to be on the top of the birthday list had he not!

Here's what I'm wishing for this August:

Chanel nail polish in Peridot

 First of all, it's my birthstone, but what I really love is that depending on the light, the color changes.

Anthropologie Dots within Blouse

Free People Fluid trapeeze blouse

Marc by Marc Jacobs Francesca

 So spendy. But now that I take the train to/from work, I need a good bag for commuting. This will fit everything I need. My current cheapy bag is falling apart after 3 months. I'm saving my pennies!

Jessica Simpson Cheetah Pumps

Kate Spade No Sleep Till Brooklyn bangle

 I've had a year-long romance with this. I think it's time to pull the trigger.

Nikon 40mm Lens

Nine West Galactic

 Kind of like a pair of Sam Edelman shoes I wanted (but could never find in my size).

Anthropologie Pilcro Straight Ankle Chinos

We the Free Boxy Striped Sweater

I'd like this in the navy, but this picture is better.
 

I certainly wouldn't mind if any of these made their way to my door, that's for sure. I'm also working on my wardrobe, as always, and figuring out what I want to incorporate into it for this upcoming Fall/Winter and I'll be sure to share that one with you too. But not yet. Let's enjoy the summer. I have to say, my birthday at the end of the month, while still summer, is often associated with back-to-school, fall and pumpkin-all things I love. However, it also falls with the end of summer celebrations which often make me sad. Summer is my favorite season of them all.

*curiously, the last time I had an ipod die was right before Christmas, and once again he got the easy gift.

More nerd-ery

I've recently adopted!

It's a word!

A what? A word?

Yes, a word. I was recently told about Save the Words where you can go and adopt a word in an attempt to keep it from vanishing from our vernacular.

The concept is simple. You adopt a word and try to use it and save it from extinction. In times where "text talk" is more and more common, proper grammar and eloquence is fading fast. Move the little box around on the screen and click "adopt-a-word". You can select at random or search for one. I chose my little word at random.

The result: weequashing.

And then I searched again, because I feel if I'm going to be using this word, it should be one that I can easily use, and frequently. And really, the art of spearing fish or eels from a canoe by torchlight doesn't really come into my conversations...well...ever.

So, my second word (sorry cute little wee-word, you are fun to say!) is "vappous".  So there it is. The definition is flat, bland. Kind of like how my little bloggity blog has been lately. Sorry guys. I swear I still have some DIY's up my sleeve, and I will have them soon. They're summer fun ones, so obviously, you'll need them. What fun would they be when it's snowing out? Who wants to think of (spoiler alert!) tank tops when you're freezing?

In which I get bookish.

Okay, so I've already admitted my book nerd-ery to you before, but this is one of those instances where, I don't care if you love books and dream of a library where your books sit on shelves that smell of rich mahogany, (any get that reference? If so, 2 bonus points. For what? I'm not sure.) or if your books sit in a little electronic fake book. (Don't get me started on those e-readers, although I'm sure you can guess my stance.) I have to share this treasure of a book with you. This book was one of those books that just completely pulled me in, and is currently in the running for the best book I've read in all of 2011. It's that good. 

Let me introduce you to Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon:

This book is so beautifully written, it made me wish I knew Spanish so I could read it in the original language to fully admire the writing. A bit reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451 without the Sci-Fi, a bit of Moulin Rouge, a little bit of mystery. Nothing I can say about this book can do it justice, so just trust me when I say: READ THIS BOOK! As I was going through the book, it had my mind working and wondering and just when I thought I knew what was going to happen next, it didn't happen. I would love to see Baz Luhrmann do this as a movie. I could also see Tim Burton taking on a movie adaptation, but Baz would be my pick. So what are you waiting for? Go read this book!

Expect more book reviews. I've got a lot of time to read now that I'm taking the train to/from work.

Flip flop bracelets

I was just browsing Anthropologie when I came across this on their site:



Eternal Youth Bracelets

Which, reminded me of these that I bought for my cousins this past Christmas from the Paper-Source:

Flip Flop Bracelets

I don't know about you, but I'm saying they're the same thing. I loved the fun colors of these, and you've got to love that they're made of recycled flip flop materials (I live in flip flops when the weather warms up). There's a rather big difference in price. Anthropologie's set of 18 retails for $48 and on Paper-Source's site you can get 20 for $19! If you have a store near you, I believe they retail for $1-$2. Definitely check them out. I've got a few for myself and I love them. (Not to mention, if you always wear hair elastics on your wrist, these hide them so well!)

This concludes my little thrifty PSA.

Another giveaway!

That's right! My twitter/blog/now IRL friend Amanda over at Prim and Propah is having a major (handmade-focused) giveaway to celebrate her little blog's first birthday! (They just grow up so fast!).

So clickity-click yourself over her way and enter. You'll thank me.

And then it was June!

Where has time gone!? All of a sudden I was freezing cold and wearing sweaters, and then the next day I was bringing out the sandals and summer dresses. (Quite literally actually. One day it was 50 here, the next day near 80!)

I've been rather busy with stuff I'm sure would just bore you. But I figured I'd keep you apprised of some things going on.

Recent purchases I've mentioned I've had my thrifty little mind on:

1, 2, 3

I was searching for a few Spring/Summer specific items, these are my acquisitions from those specific posts. First up, the Seychelles Joan shoe. These were marked down on DSW (no longer though for some reason) to $50. I jumped at the chance, but only if I could find a pair of black shoes for summer. Turns out I didn't have to go much further than the Seychelles page on the DSW site, because I found these. I love them! (If you're looking for a cheaper option, try these ones from Target). So, the reason for buying the two pair from DSW was they were having a buy 2 pairs, get 20% off. Bringing my total from $109.88 (reasonable for 2 pairs of shoes, in my opinion) to $87.90. But then, I also had some rewards coupons to use (to the tune of $25) so my total was then brought down to $62.90. I am a rewards member, so I get free shipping, so I got two pairs for essentially the cost of one pair (the Gypsy Sandals were $59.94). You can't go wrong with that! (I may be a shoe whore, but I'm a smart shopper). I also purchased through ebates while DSW was at 8% cash back, so I've got that coming my way in my next check from them, too.

Lastly, my orange is not the new pink, but I'm loving it anyway purchase. The Boldly Brushed Peasant top from Anthropologie. I waited and waited and waited some more for this to go on sale, and had figured that after all that waiting, by the time a sale hits my size would be sold out. Well, I was wrong. For a change, an Anthropologie item I was coveting went on sale and I was able buy it.

In the world of petal & pink, I'm hosting a giveaway over at Violet Sage, so head on over there for your chance to win a pair of these. They happen to be a personal favorite of mine and I wear them at least once a week! Your odds right now are looking pretty favorable!

This post is kind of all over the place, but as things slow down, I'll be able to keep things brief in each post and get to the things you want. I've got a few DIY's up my sleeve, so watch out!