Galatoire's...

What up, homies?? This weekend my mom came into Baton Rouge to visit me (and to shop of course!) and this is the outfit I wore on our trip to Galatoire's Bistro on Perkins for dinner Friday night. We had a wonderful time full of laughs, and I even saw an old friend, Will. Let's get to the outfit though, shall we?

 

Above is the Uncommon Folk art deco necklace I mentioned in a previous post, except this time I am actually wearing it. Isn't it adorable? I paired it with a simple black shirt, skinny jeans, and this killer thrifted Ralph Lauren blazer!! Can you believe this brand new, tags still on, probably originally super expensive blazer was THRIFTED? I can't believe my luck, either.

 

I rounded out the outfit with some of my favorite brown ankle boots. Today I scored a different pair of brown flat ankle boots that I will show you in another post, they are SO COOL.

 



Here are some pictures of my dinner. I began with a chocolate martini. Unfortunately, they were out of the chocolate syrup that usually garnish chocolate martinis, but it still tasted great.

 

My entree' was the Yvonne, which consisted of fish (not sure what kind, I didn't pay attention while our awesome waitress, Rosalyn, took our orders haha) with crab and mushrooms on top.

 

I think it's funny that fancy restaurants name their dishes after women's names. One of my favorite restarants in Lafayette, Mazon Grill, has a Della fish dish that is delish.

 



Finally, Mom and I shared a bread pudding with bananas and a liquor sauce, TO DIE FOR. When I was a child, bread pudding skeeved me out, but now that I am older I don't even listen to the other types of desserts because I already know I want the bread pudding.

 



 

We actually ordered a bunch more than I included here. My favorite aspect of the evening was the decor: Galatoire's interior is just so beautiful, I felt like I was in a palace at Versailles! This location was definitely modeled after the New Orleans' location, down to the tile on the floor. So, if you are looking for a taste of New Orleans and don't want to take the trip, Galatoire's BR is the place to be.

hello mr. anderson...

Above is a detail of a skirt I found on an impromptu Goodwill trip last weekend. It's pattern in the picture below is a little distorted, so luckily I had taken a detail picture so you can see it up close.  

 



thrifted top: Ann Taylor

thrifted skirt: Express

thrifed shoes: Ann Taylor

 

DING DING DING. ENTIRELY THRIFTED OUTFIT ALERT. AS A RESULT, ALL READERS GET TO BE MY FRIEND FOREVER.

 

I wore this outfit as my office said goodbye to our Institutional Research Director. She is retiring!! Congrats to you, Sandy, but we will miss your presence around the office. We celebrated her retirement with a trip to Mike Anderson's.

 



restaurant: Mike Anderson's

 

At Mike Anderson's, I ordered the Seafood Pasta Primavera with cheese sauce (if you go, add the cheese sauce, it's a $1.50 extra, but who currs, totes worth it). Holy shizz, this meal was DELICIOUS. The only problem, and it wasn't much of a problem, was that there were tons of mushrooms. I like mushrooms, but after I eat them I'm never sure if it was a good idea or not. Haha. I ate the leftovers for lunch today. Score. 

 

I would like to say I took this picture, but I stole it off of Instagram because I forgot to take a picture of my meal. This is exactly what I ordered, though, except I got angel hair pasta instead of rotini. Sometimes I am just so excited to eat that I forget about other things like taking pics for my blog.

 



 

My mommy is coming to stay with me tomorrow!! I'll be glad to have another human around the apartment :) . PLUS, we are sure to visit Urban Outfitters. I will probably make a post about my purchases. Gawd I lurv Urban Outfitters.

plants update...

I am not in a totally talkative/typative mood, so I won't say too much. I'm sort of exhausted, because I have been spring cleaning around the apartment! It's spring, so spring cleaning was a natural progression. Who knows, maybe I'll take it one step further and go through my clothes soon and donate some??

 

I won't be donating this dress. It literally works for any occasion: work, weddings, dressed up, dressed down, you name it. Plus, it's super cute. It has a generic brand name so I won't bore you with it.

 

Below I have provided you with a plant update!! They are finally flowering and showing signs of bearing fruit, and by bearing fruit I mean bearing vegetables, unless it's those vegetables that can double as fruits, in which case I have no idea which vegetables double as fruits.

Carrots!!

 



Squash!!!

 



 

Beans!!!! Oh my!!

jewelry post/FIL2013...

Welcome to my first jewelry post!! Except for the occasional food post, I have not really focused on topics other than fashion. If I want this blog to get off the ground, I need to expand my horizons. So, here we go! Hold onto your diamonds.

 

My mom ordered me this lovely art deco moth necklace recently from the Etsy shop Uncommon Folk. She had already gotten one for herself, and upon seeing it I had to get one too! The picture does not do it justice, as this necklace shines like the top of the Chrysler Building (ten points to Gryffindor if you get my reference).

 

I have been neglecting the blog! Eek! With good reason, because this past week was Festival International de Louisiane 2013, as if you didn't know. Below are some (yes, I bought more than two pieces, I really have a problem) of the jewels I bought this year! I try to get something from the festival every year because the selection is always so unique!

Above is my new LSU necklace! I mean, I work there and all, I guess I should represent. The LSU part is bronze and I am not sure if the pearl is legit or mother of pearl or whatever (gemstone enthusiast I am not). I got this necklace from the same booth with the lady who makes those ceramic replicas of famous landmarks around Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. I have no idea what the name of her business is and she didn't give me her card, but I really like her aesthetic.

Here we have some earrings I got at festival by a vendor called Mimosa. Don't these rule?? I was drawn to them because they look like the planet Jupiter, and also a beach with a setting sun at the same time. Planets and beaches are both awesome, so I love that these little objects have the power to let my imagination wander. I actually had a larger pair of these in my hand, but they were a little expensive, even for a bottomless wallet holder like myself (NOT). Then, luckily, I happened upon the same design in stud form (earring lingo) that were closer to my price range. Score!

 

Festival was SO amazing this year! I actually made it out downtown every day but Wednesday, which made sense because I was still in BR at the time. When I got home from festival Saturday night, I was like, no way am I going tomorrow, because I was so exhausted. Then Sunday came and I was like...I wanna go back! So I did! I am still on a high from the whole experience I believe. I think the best part about it is how much fun everyone is having, and also running into old friends.

 

I was able to see some great bands! In the photo above is Feufollet. Others I enjoyed were Brass Bed, The Sharecroppers, Sunny Duval, and Royal Teeth. Sunny Duval, from Quebec, in addition to rocking out, was hilarious, in that way that only people who don't quite speak English properly can be. I also ate lots of great food, I forgot to take pictures of the food though. I was able to eat crawfish etouffee (my absolute favorite meal of all time) every day that I went to the festival. That must be some kind of record, right?

hip to be a square...

pink top: Forever 21

sweater: Jason Maxwell (couldn't find a website!)

gray jeans: T Five

thrifted patent leather heels: Dexter

 



Hello again, readers. I thought I would share some of my glorious weekend with you all. Friday night I was glued to the TV as the Boston bomber was captured (as I'm sure most of you were, GRIPPING television, personally it was on par with the OJ Simpson Bronco chase and Amanda Knox's verdict). Saturday morning I went to eat at Another Broken Egg with my broski! I love spending time with him, and if I get a fabulous meal in the meantime, great. There is nothing like great coffee and brunch with your brother on a lazy weekend day.

 

Saturday night I hung out with my friends Laura and Brady at the Wine Loft in Perkins Rowe. I spend wayyyyyy too much time at Perkins Rowe, what with Urban Outfitters right there :) . Here is what I wore, an outfit I was proud of, for once:

 



Below is a detail of the shirt: I had been searching for a shirt like this for some time, and I finally got one at Forever 21. My mom also go a similar shirt the same day! I am pretty sure we each tried on the other person's shirt first and it didn't work out, but then switched and each got what we wanted.

 

I LOVE this type of shirt, especially on guys, I don't exactly know what to call them, but they're the type of shirts Vince Vaughn might wear. Like bowling shirts, I guess, but without all the branding. Does anyone know what to call them? They were super popular in the 90s, which may explain why I like them so much. I was happy to find a girl version of one.

 



 

Then, on Sunday, I went with my friend Lesley and her friends and family to take some Senior pictures! We roamed around downtown Baton Rouge, and we found awesome locations for backdrops. Below are some pictures I took along the way. We found some great spots!

 

The geometric pattern above and the blue wall below are right outside of Red Star Bar, which is currently going through renovations and should be opening back up in 30 days, or so the owner let us know. I have some great undergrad memories of going to Red Star Bar.

 

Isn't this blue gorgeous? I just love vibrant colors so much. My picture does not do it justice.

 



Below is another geometric wall we found. There were a few more that I didn't take pictures of, actually! Who knew people that own buildings in downtown BR were so into shapes. Maybe BR secretly stands for Badass Rhombus.

 



 

By the way...my title is a reference to a Sesame Street knockoff of "Hip to Be Square" by Huey Lewis and the News. I have provided the link because it's both adorable (old skool Sesame Street is da bomb.com, don't get me started on the Yip Yips) and goes along with the geometricity of my post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe3Hh8nvn4k. Do you remember it?? And, more importantly, did I use geometricity correctly???

 

Finally, Happy Earth Day, you guys!! Enjoy the beauty of your surroundings, and don't forget to preserve them for those who will be here after us.

tiiiiiight...s

 thrifted top: Missoni
thrifted skirt: Ann Taylor
shrug: no clue, I've had it forever!

Here is what I wore today! I finally rocked my chevron Missoni for Target top! Such a cute top. I paired it with a brown shrug, black skirt and taupe tights...which leads me to a question: do you ever wear tights or stockings in the spring and summer?? I find myself in a bit of a quandary! The weather is too warm for tights, but I want to maintain my professional look at work.

I think the best solution is to buy some not-so-thick stockings, in light colors, to wear in the springtime. What do you think? Is it ok to go sans stockings at work? I have gone without a few times in the past few weeks, and I feel like I look a little inappropriate for an office job. This may be all in my head, however...If you have any other ideas, let me know!


pinstripe wizard...

 

courtesy: MOVI Inc./Splash News, by way of my E! app

So...remember how I said that I was having trouble putting outfits together? Well, why not take my own advice and use a celeb inspiration photo?? I will be doing this often (so get excited and inspired), but the biggest problem I have with celeb photos is they are most often in street clothes and not work clothes, so it's difficult to copy what they are wearing when I'm getting ready for work. Salma Hayek, however, came through in the clutch and decided to wear dark jeans at the airport, which easily translate to dark work pants for me.

striped top: Forever 21

thrifted pinstripe pants: Banana Republic

 

Voila!! I had a white and black striped shirt, and some newly acquired dark blue pinstriped pants. I also wore a dark blue blazer like Salma, but I had trouble taking a picture with it on that was up to my standards, so I guess you guys will have to use your imagination. I promise, you have this outfit in your own closet, you just have to get creative!

 

If you don't have these pieces, this would be a good place to start making a list. A shirt like this is definitely a staple to a well-rounded wardrobe, so I suggest getting one for yourself. The best part is that I was able to tweak what she wore to match my own style, which is the whole point of all of this, really. If you ever get stuck on what to wear, celeb photos are a helpful way to go as I've said in the past.

steak quesadillas: Caliente

 

My coworkers and I are always looking for new places to eat. Caliente across from Mike Anderson's gets you great food for a good price! They have different lunch specials every day. I ordered the steak quesadillas. Delicious! One thing I like is that they butter their tortillas. Who wouldn't love that, right? It adds a little something to the flavor, and to your waistline! Haha.

Finally, a bean plant update! Jeez! They are growing fast. I should have included this in the "It's not easy being green" post for obvious reasons. This plant is getting super pretty, right?