I Get Around

I don't really, but I figured Beach Boys lyrics were appropriate considering my Chicago/ Beach Boys shirt (The Beach Boys are on the back of the shirt). This outfit is a little on the simple/boring side, since I'm spending most of the day just doing tons of reading, and hopefully writing a decent poem. I went to campus to meet with my poetry teacher, and he told me that I did a good job with the poem I showed him, but a whole lot of changes need to be made. Oh well. At least I agree with him on most things. Anyway, I feel so stressed lately. School's been pretty intense, and when I have some free time I'm generally eating, watching criminal minds, or falling asleep (often all three at once?). So, unfortunately, I've been a pretty lame-o blogger, and for that I apologize. Hopefully once I settle more into school I'll be able to be around here more often. Here's hoping!

Shirt: Mom's old
Skirt: Urban Outfitters
Cardigan: Pacsun?
Boots: Target




I like to were these glasses when I have a WHOLE lot of work to do because they make feel studious. Or silly. Either/or, really.

Until tomorrow,
Nicole

Overall Assessment

So, I knew overalls were going to be a hard beast to tame. They're generally made for toddlers and farmers, of which I am neither, though I have been known to act like both at times. But, Urban Outfitters was having this SUPERMEGASALE the other day, and while browsing through the site, I came across this pair of corduroy overall shorts for a very reasonable price. My excitement over the combination of corduroy and overalls outweighed the rational part of my brain, which is already weak anyway, and I raced toward my debit card to claim them as my own. This outfit went through, oh I don't know, fifty stages before these pictures were taken. I switched tights, cardigans, undershirts, and shoes, and eventually settled happily upon this combination of yummy fashion ingredients. Did I feel a bit like these guys from the Ocean Spray cranberry commercials? Of course. Was that a problem? Of course not, because I love cranberry juice and would actually LOVE to work in a cranberry bog because they fascinate the hell out of me and they're wonderful to look at.

Top: Forever 21
Overalls, Cardigan: Urban Outfitters
Tights: Hue
Necklace: Gift
Shoes: Mom's





I hope you all have lovely weekends,
Nicole

We All Want Something Beautiful

School is wearing me out, man. You would think I was an elderly insomniac by how incredibly tired I am since starting classes. Today kind of wore on my nerves, since I had my first poetry class of the year and a meeting with my philosophy teacher to discuss my work. Both went fine, but it's how nervous I got before and how nervous I continue to be that's making me all crazy crazy. I have to be at school from 9 AM to 9 PM tomorrow, which is silly and lame, but at least I only have one half hour meeting on Friday. Bright side!

So, I'm going to keep this post short since I just want to eat and lay down under a few blankets while SVU episodes and Counting Crows music play because it's just that kind of night. But, I did really like how these photos turned out. I think it's mainly because I like snow so much, and I got to take these pictures as it was snowing, but before it had been tainted by shovels and car gunk.

Sweater: Forever 21
Dress: Modcloth
Tights: Hue
Hat: H&M





Until Tomorrow,
Nicole

Back to School Night

So, today was my first REAL day of classes, and you know what that means! Well, I guess there are a few valid answers. But, the one I was talking about was the return of poor quality indoor photos! Yeah, I'm bummed about it as well. Once again I found myself at school until it was dark out, and 8AM outfit photos were NOT happening this morning. I mean, at least they get the point across, and at least you can kind of see what I'm wearing, right? It's just that I can never take even halfway decent pictures indoors. The lighting is just no good in my house (though, it was probably a poor decision on my part to stand next to THE brightest light in my house) and my camera's all "no, sir" when I want to take pictures indoors. Oh well.

Right now, I should be working, but I just got home, so I'm not! That was a quality sentence. I'm going to fill up with coffee and maybe dinner, so I can power through a few chapters of The Odyssey and MAYBE get to watch some DVRed television later. Aaaaaaand, go!

Top, skirt: Urban Outiftters
Tights: Hue
Belt: Target
Boots: Steve Madden
Necklace: Gift





Until Tomorrow,
Nicole

Pink Lady

Hello there! I've spent much of this weekend being wonderfully lazy. After Friday's crazy adventure, I spent my Saturday over at Zak's house, eating delicious chicken pot pie and playing video games, aka how I generally like to spend my Saturdays. Zak's been feeling a bit down in the dumps lately (physically and emotionally) so I wanted to do something a little special for him. So, I stopped by the store and picked up some of his favorite foods for us to eat together, and I put on an outfit that felt particularly romantic and girly. We've been together for a long time now, and sometimes we take advantage of how comfortable we are around each other. I think it was nice for both of us to do something sweet and semi-romantic. Also, I got to wear a whole lot of pink ruffles. And even though he thought I looked a bit like a grandma, he assured me that I was, in fact, the cutest grandma. I'll take it.

Top: Vintage
Skirt: Nordstrom Rack
Sweater: Zara
Tights: ?
Belt: Target
Shoes: Mom's





Zak told me to be a cat. I gave it my best effort.

Until tomorrow,
Nicole

Missing In Action

Hello there! I've been all over the place lately, except for this blog. I've had a hectic few days, starting with classes beginning on Thursday. And then yesterday was such a silly, crazy day as well. Since I didn't get into one of the classes I signed up for, I had to attend the dreaded "Alternate Registration," in which you have to choose a class from a list of classes that no one wanted to take, and are constantly reminded of what class you did not get into. I was at school for hours interviewing, freezing, and panicking (the usual?), and now I wait for my schedule. And then last NIGHT I went to a Bayside concert! Oh god, was that something. I first saw Bayside four years ago at the same club. I ended up having a really nice time, screaming lyrics I somehow still perfectly remember after almost a year without their music, almost losing both a pinky toe AND a shoe in a very rambunctious crowd, and pushing sweaty, flailing boys away from me, and into the mosh pit. It was a lot of fun, and a very nice way to rid myself of the stressy nonsense I've been feeling lately. Most importantly, though, Josh had a swell time at his first show. He even got slapped in the face by a mosh-kateer! He makes me so proud.


This outfit is from Thursday, but I wasn't so thrilled with how the pictures turned out AND I came home from class, got covered in blankets, and turned in to a pile of mush for the night. Every now and then I like to throw on my mom's old, HUGE glasses, mainly because they make me feel studious and productive. And cool.

OH! And before I forget, I finally made a TWITTER! After much thought, and the fact that I kept coming up with things that I would tweet if I had a twitter, I've decided to jump on the bandwagon! I've started following some of you (I'm sorry if that sounds creepy, because it kind of does) and I'm all giddy with new social networking fever! Follow me if you like! If the link doesn't work, my twitter name thing is "CocoMariaaa" with three whole A's. Hooray!

Sweater: Delia's
Skirt, Boots: Urban Outfitters
Tights: Hue
Glasses: Mom's




And now for three quality concert photos!



That blurry dream boat is Fred Mascherino, formerly of Taking Back Sunday and The Color Fred, and currently of Terrible Things. I met Fred for the second time last night. He is really a swell guy.


I tried really hard to take a good picture of two hairy arms, but Anthony Raneri got in the way.


I'm happy I have a plethora of photographic evidence that I do not always look this demonic. I actually have a REMARKABLY similar photo of myself (but with Anthony Raneri) from my first show. I guess Bayside makes me all crazy.



Hope you're all having swell weekends so far!
Nicole

Lie Down With Me, My Dear

Hello there! This morning, when I finally forced myself out of bed and showered - it was a stormy day, and I think stormy mornings are best spent under a whole lot of blankets - I proceeded to go through a mess of outfits. Originally, I reached for a dress, then a different dress, and ended up in jeans and a sweater, but not this sweater. This sweater came a few minutes later, as I was shutting off the light in my room and running out the door/realizing I was less than thrilled with my sweater selection. I like what I (somehow) ended up with though. I felt very snow appropriate - snowpropriate - as well as comfortable enough for just a quick run to campus to frantically finalize and submit my registration form.

I actually ended up talking my own pictures today, as - once I'm out of bed - I do enjoy walks in stormy, cloudy weather. Plus, I figured with the snow we've been getting and the rain that was around today, the park would be quite empty. I have to say that I had a lovely time. Finding a nice spot for pictures, listening to Fleet Foxes on my walks to and from the park, laughing at the school-skipping hooligans who were laughing at me and my "documentary making." Good times. I forgot how much I just love walking around my neighborhood listening to my favorite music and nothing else. Few things clear my head better or make me more hopeful that I will, in fact, end up where I want to be (metaphorically and physically, I suppose).

Sweater: Forever 21
Jeans, Purse: Urban Outfitters
Oxfords: Steve Madden
Hat: Modcloth







Until Tomorrow,
Nicole

I've Been Thinking Out Loud

Hey there! I spent my whole day today running - read, delicately trudging - around campus trying to interview for classes. While the weather forecast I saw last night called for forty one degrees and cloudy. What I got was icy death rain. It was...an adventure? The most adventuresome of it all was walking up and down - successfully, may I add - my campus' steepest hill, that was covered in ice. Oh, and the banister was also covered in ice, which was really helpful in steadying myself. Luckily, it seemed that at every stop on my journey I found good company to travel, brood, and nearly slip with, and that made things much better (but no less icy).

This is about as practical an outfit anyone's going to see from me, I think. I put on my sturdiest boots (I kept almost typing "boats" instead. A mistake? I think not) and extra socks...and, you know, a dress. This dress is actually one of my "guilty dresses," a term I coined just now to describe dresses I buy then never wear. The other day, I decided my wardrobe needed more jumpers to layer shirts under, so I chopped the sleeves off of this dress, and I like it a bit more now. Semi-solutions!

Oh, and before I forget! I thought this bag deserved to be shone. I picked it up a few years ago from South Street Seaport when I was super into Robert Frost. I still think he's a swell guy, though I've read much more poetry since then, and this is one of my favorite bags that I don't use often enough.

Top, Dress: Urban Outfitters
Tights: Hue
Socks: Delia's
Boots: Steve Madden
Belt: Target
Hat: Hot topic?





Until tomorrow,
Nicole

Breath Easy

So, today is my last day of winter break. Tomorrow, it's back to super crazy registration process (though running back and forth around campus does make me feel purposeful) and then class. I'm not going to be all "I just need one more week!" because if I could keep saying that and having it keep happening I don't know that I would ever get a degree in anything. Well, it would probably just take me a really long time. I think the whole not wanting to go back thing stems more from my own fears of not being a good enough student (mainly for one class, as most of you know) as well as an uncomfortable feeling of regret as break draws to a close. It's kind of always this way, though. Make big extravagant plans to bungee jump and join a circus and road trip around the entire world, which isn't even possible (or is it?) but you get my point. Then break ends and it's just this feeling of...oops. I don't like this "feeling of oops," not one bit, but it seems like it's always around. Break has provided me with a lot (too much) time to roam the many dead end streets of my brain, and I've overanalyzed and re-overanalyzed a lot of aspects of my life. If there's one reason I'm thankful for school starting up it's because it'll give my brain something to focus on other than itself. I'm naturally a worrysome, thoughtful person, so with enough time on my own I start to doubt myself. And I've done that a whole lot in the past week. But, I like to think that I'm coming out the other side, at least for now. I know what I want. I know that I need to stop imposing standards on myself, standards that I'm CONVINCED people have for me when they don't. So, I'm just going to convince myself that I'm eager for this new semi-fresh start that I've got here in front of me.


I spent today, much like the other days of my break, just running some errands. I'm all out of Criminal Minds episodes on my DVR, but if I wasn't I'm sure that would be on the agenda for today. Also, this doesn't have much to do with today per say, but on Friday I'll be going to a concert, my first in a long, long time. As some of you know, I used to be super into the pop punk, emo thing, and I really went to small shows all the time. Now though, I'm kind of feeling...elderly? I'm going with my friend/brother to a Bayside show, mainly because he's never been to one, and by the time I was his age I had been to probably at least five. I figure he deserves a chance to see a band he loves live, because it kind of is a wonderful experience. Originally, I was griping about the sweaty people and the crowds and the getting smooshed into body parts and walls, but then I realized I sounded like an old man. I'm nineteen, and damnit, I should act like it sometimes (but only sometimes, because other times I'm content with at least dressing like an old lady)! This has been so ramble-y! To be frank (I used this phrase like eight times on Christmas Eve when talking to family members I don't see often. I can't explain why, it just happened), I've been a bit of a downer this week, but this is me trying to realize that, at least to a certain extent, I have the choice whether or not to be happy about things life throws my way, and I really should try to make the less downery choice.

Dress: Salvation Army
Sweater: H&M
Tights: ?
Belt: Target
Scarf: Macy's
Shoes: Toms!




Until Tomorrow,
Nicole

Guest Post!

Hey there! So, today I did my first ever "guest blog" for the lovely Amber Rose of Laughing With Broken Eyes! Go and check it out if you so desire :)

Until tomorrow,
Nicole

"I Just Realized My Wardrobe Is 70 Percent Corduroy"

So, I've repeatedly stated my determination to not give in to twitter. I spend enough time on the internet as it is, and most of my tweets would probably be me whining about being hungry. However, in the past few days I MAY have briefly toyed with the idea of getting one. In the past few weeks, I have been watching a whole lot of criminal minds. It seems that once I decide I like a crime drama, I need to watch as many episodes as I can (I'm pretty sure I've seen every episode of Law and Order:SVU. I'm also pretty sure this is a problem). It doesn't help that winter break has turned my into a very lazy person. Anyway, so yes, Criminal Minds is a very good show, with a lovely cast, which is what I think draws me to a show the most. So, how does this relate to twitter? Well, Matthew Gray Gubler is on Criminal Minds, and while I was watching an episode, I remembered coming across his twitter awhile back and that it was remarkably funny/a very good 140 character read. I remembered correctly, it seems, because when I made my way to his twitter a while ago, I couldn't stop chuckling over how witty and silly and wonderful all his posts are. The title of this post is one of his tweets, one that made me want to analyze the amount of corduroy in my own wardrobe/wear corduroy.

So, it turns out I don't have much wearable corduroy. I actually found a surprising amount of corduroy pants in my drawers (puns?), but they are now all 2-3 sizes to big and make me look slightly a youngin' who got into my dad's clothes closet again. So, I decided to wear this skirt, which is my favorite corduroy in my wardrobe, and which I wear more than I realize. The resulting outfit ended up making me feel like a corduroy bandito and/or vampire. So, I guess what I'm saying in this post is 1) Matthew Gray Gubler's twitter almost convinced me that I should also get a twitter, (I'm still surprisingly on the fence) and 2). Corduroy makes me want to dress like an outlaw vampire. Which could be just a vampire, depending on which one we're
talking about.

Oh, and I just wanted say a quick thanks to all of you who sent your well wishes to Zak. I just heard from his mom that the surgery went fine :)

Skirt, boots: Urban Outfitters
Shirt, Sweater: Forever 21
Hat: Modcloth





And then, it got really cold, and these happened:



Have a great weekend!
Nicole

I've Seen It All

Hello there! So, I spent pretty much my whole day today with Zak, which is always a good thing! I went over to his place early this morning to go with him to his pre-surgery interview. He's having surgery tomorrow (nothing too major, no worries), so I wanted to make sure I spent today making him happy and worry free. And what better way to make someone happy than to feed them pancakes? So, after a semi-stressful morning, we headed over to the diner and had some yummy pancakes for breakfastlunch. Luckily, I documented this occasion in great detail. Well...it was moreso me taking pictures to make the unbearable wait for pancakes go by faster! I even managed to get some outfit shots. Honestly, I kept it comfortable and simple since I was really only going to the hospital and eating.

Top, Boots, Jeans: Urban Outfitters
Sweater: Zara
Scarf, hat: H&M
Necklace: gift









Hooray!

Love and pancakes (Until tomorrow),
Nicole