currently coveting: totes

With summertime fast approaching, the idea of lugging my oversized black and brown wool doctor-style bag around is terribly unappealing.  I've found myself lusting after pretty printed tote bags--from simple canvas to pricier, reworked feed sacks.

(I like "Beards are Sexy" mostly because I think it would be funny to walk around town with my bearded boyfriend on one arm and that bag on the other...)

All bags can be found on Etsy: (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11)

singin' in the sleet

I'm baaaaack! Yay! These photos are actually from yesterday, and in case you were wondering what it looks like to take photographs in a sleetstorm, this is it. Call me wacky, but I'd still take sleet over snow any day (if the snow can't even freeze, spring must be on her merry way)!

(dress/bag: UO; cardigan: ruche; tights: hue; shoes: seychelles; belt: bargain boutique; necklace: diy)

Last year on this date I had longer locks, a nose ring, and was feeling homesick for the city. On the first of February this year, I was setting "manageable" goals for myself that I mostly just managed to ignore (I haven't opened my journal since 2010, and I'm not even remotely close to finishing my pilot script). I did visit the gym 3x/week, but my overindulgent eating habits made that milestone a little less satisfying. My mini-goals for March are as follows:

1) Visit the gym 3x/week

2) Cut & count calories

3) Finish pilot script

4) Cease nail-biting

I'm a little bit disappointed in myself for stagnating on page six of my script, but I did feel like I needed to get quite a bit of research under my belt before I started my first draft (and I'm glad I did). Trouble is, my passion for the project has decipherably dimmed since the first glimmer of inspiration hit many months ago. I'm trying to power forward but it certainly feels like an upward climb from here.

As for my outfit, I really just wanted to showcase some of the items that arrived in my Urban Outfitters package this weekend (thank you, tax refund!). I'm officially in love with this bag, and the dress will be getting a fair amount of play in the spring and summer months. Sorry for slacking on commenting, I've been frazzled for the past few days! Hopefully I'll be able to get back on track this week!

I like my new shoes.

Today I opted for super-casual because it's Tuesday (and honestly, I think Tuesday is even harder than Monday...) and because I bought so many many great BASICS this weekend (and in the past I have been severely basics-impaired).

Since the beginning of time (it seems), I have been on the hunt for 1) a nice heather gray vneeck tee shirt that isn't too a) clingy, b) transparent, c) large and 2) the perfect pair of skinny jeans. The primary reason that I wanted skinny jeans was for boot-tucking, but I couldn't resist trying out my new Minnetonka moccasins (even if I did have to change into snow boots for the commute to work--it's blizzarding here!)

Maybe the skinny jeans aren't perfect, but I've looked high and low and I'm not sure if it's possible for them to fit me exactly right. I'm pretty short and I have skinny legs so they always bunch at the ankles&knees (and I don't necessarily want them to look like leggings). I got this particular pair (and the same in gray because it was buy-one-get-one-free!) at PacSun, which I have been hesitant to go in to, if not downright intimidated, because the kids working there look like they should be playing bass for obnoxiously emo teen skater-punk bands (or whatever it is the kids are calling it these days).

To top it off, the perfectly-plaid scarf that I found stuffed in my stocking :) I've been wearing it constantly since it appeared on Christmas morning.

Speaking of shoes (sort of), I would most definitely classify myself as a "shoe person" (also, a "dog person" and a "wine person"). While some girls will go out and buy gaggles of bags, I will a) steal bags, or b) receive bags as gifts. The only bag I have ever bought myself is my awesome straw purse, which hardly counts--it's not big enough to hold much of anything. I literally can not hold on to clutches (I put them down, they disappear... usually with valuables inside), so I don't buy them. My mother gave me a red leather bag a few years ago, and although it makes a great, classy carry-on, it's not terribly practical for daily use because it doesn't have any pockets.

For the purpose of practicality, I was ultimately forced to resort to theft (from my mother). Behold my beautifully-battered boho bag:

Don't get me wrong, I love my saggy bag (stains and all), but it isn't appropriate when I want to look... well, nice. And although I know I should invest in something basic and prac*YAWN*tical (and probably black)...

...I keep getting sidetracked by bags that are so much more interesting. Bags that have so much more character:

And then I moan and groan for so long that they sell out... and then I'm a little bit sad and I maybe curse myself just once or twice. There may be a "fun" in "functional" but I don't see it. Basics, Caitlin, basics...

But ooh, I kind of like this one: