Frugal Finds: Jeweled Bug Earrings (but first, a digression about my hair)

In July of 2011, I went to the salon with a photo of  Dianna Agron's choppy bob, and got my long hair cut into this. I loved it.

In the 13 months that followed, my hair got really long and ratty again. So, I went back last week, to the same stylist, with the same photo of Dianna Agron, and ended up with this:

Yeah. I don't know either. In retrospect, I should've brought in the photo of my first haircut, but I forgot I had it until I got home.

Anyway, it took me a full day to calm down from my massive hair freakout and realize that it's actually a pretty cute cut. But it's so short that I need to adjust the rest of my style around it. In order to feel ladylike, I feel like I have to need to adjust my makeup and wear more feminine clothes. And after years of being a tiny stud gal, I need to embrace big earrings again.

So that's why I love these. They're big, they're bright, they're bugs.

ASOS Jeweled Bug Earrings $34

Introducing: Social Media Consulting

I'm kicking off a new endeavor and I'm so excited that I couldn't help but share with you all!



After a very unsatisfying year, work-wise, I've decided to take matters into my own hands and start offering freelance social media services. I've been working in social media since its infancy, and after fashion blogging, it's my biggest passion. My hope is to eventually consult full-time, but for now, I'll freelance part-time while continuing to pursue full-time work.

I launched my Social Media website late last week, and I've already gotten quite a few inquiries. My services include social media, community management, app development, blogging, blogger outreach, content creation, monitoring and reporting. I have experience with everything from small local businesses to Fortune 500 companies, and with brands in pretty much any industry you can imagine.

So, if anyone out there is looking for Social Media services (or knows someone who is), you can reach me through the site or email me at dana@dana-forman.com and follow my business on Facebook and Twitter.

I'm so excited to start this new chapter in my life, so thanks for listening to me gush about it!

xo

Dana

Meet the Guest Posters!

Today, I'm leaving to spend almost a week in the Netherlands. I've pre-scheduled some posts to run while I'm gone, but for the most part, I'll be leaving you in the capable hands of these lovely and talented guest posters:

Jen @ the Look 4 Less

Shen @ Shen Dove Style

Andrea @ Blonde Bedhead

Terra @ Stylish White Female

Katie @ She Likes Ruffles

Breck @ Fashion Without Guilt

Roxy @ Effortless Anthropologie

Jaclyn Day

Sara Zucker

Eboni @ The Fashionista Next Door

Journey to a Healthy Body, Week Two: A Setback

So, I reached a setback. Already.

I've ended my relationship with Lucille Roberts gym. It had nothing to do with the gym itself. It was more a matter of convenience. The gym was too far from my home and my office, and my trainer and I could never seem to be free on the same day. I wanted to work out as much as possible, but it was too difficult, so our arrangement is over.

Additionally, the past week and a half has been incredibly stressful. And as I've said before, I am a stress eater. And, so, I've been eating pretty badly. My husband is the cook in our home, and his meals are usually pretty healthy, but I've been so busy that I've had to eat a lot of meals on the run. That means fries. Or tacos. Or chicken nuggets.

I got really angry at myself, and I've been really angry for about a week. But tonight, I decided to forgive myself. I just need to get back on the ball.

So, I joined a new gym, one that has one location fifteen minutes from  my office and another ten minutes from my home. I am going to go back onto Weight Watchers, which has worked for me incredibly well. Twice. Counting points is easier for me than worrying about what type of metabolizer I am and keeping track of a do- and do-not-eat list.

And, next time I have a setback (and let's be honest, I totally will), I'm just going to forgive myself and get back to it.

How do you recover from a fitness setback?

Secret Style Behavior

Remember that episode of Sex and the City where the ladies discuss their Secret Single Behavior? Well, I was thinking about how I've got some Secret Style Behavior.

Yes, I look presentable when I leave the house (I hope), but I've got some dirty style secrets I'm going to spill - and in return, I want you all to share yours!

I always imagine fashion bloggers to be completely stylish through and through, including pajamas, loungewear socks, underwear, etc. Like, I can imagine all of the top fashion and lifestyle bloggers lounging around in  silk cotton pajamas that were handwoven by angels,  while I look like a hobo. I'll explain...

The Flannel Shirt: The second I get home from work, I change out of my clothes and throw on something comfy. In warmer weather, I usually wear a pair of the Mister's boxers with an old t-shirt, but in the colder months, I'm all about this flannel shirt that I picked up on sale at Old Navy a couple of years ago. I wear this thing every single day, from around 6:30 pm until I go to bed. I wear it over ratty leggings and a cami, and take it off when I go to bed, unless it's really chilly that night. I only wash it on weekends (don't judge).

This is it:

The Ratty Leggings: I've got a whole drawer full of black and grey leggings, and almost all of them are in horrible condition - they're stretched out, or they've got holes, or they're just coming apart at the seams. But I still wear them all the time. I wear them with the aforementioned flannel shirt when I get home from work, and I sleep in them. I wear them under maxi skirts when it's chilly. I'll even wear them with longer shirts and TOMS when I'm running errands on weekends. Leggings aren't expensive, and I could easily get new ones, but for some reason I can't let my ratty ones go.

The Socks: I'll be damned if I can find a single pair of matching socks in my dresser. I do have some matching athletic socks for the gym, but most of my socks are mismatched AND so holey that they're barely socks anymore. I wear them in my boots and nobody ever needs to see them. Sssshhh.

The Duct Tape: Right now, I've got two pairs of shoes that need to be repaired. My taupe cowboy boots by Steve Madden and my pointy black leather flats, also from Steve Madden, have holes in the soles (not cool, Steve. NOT. COOL) but I haven't had time to find a shoe repair place in my new neighborhood, let alone drop them off. I've got plenty of flats that I can wear in the meantime, but those boots go with EVERYTHING. My solution: the soles are duct-taped to within an inch of their life. This would be okay as a temporary fix, but I know me: I'm going to be rocking these duct-taped boots for the next six months, probably. 

I'm not too far from looking like this:

Source

Okay, so I've shared some of my embarrassing secrets. Now, what is your secret style behavior?

In Which I Search for New Glasses

It's time for me to get new glasses. My prescription hasn't changed, but my old frames are all banged up and my lenses are scratched.

I decided to try ordering my frames online, since there are so many online glasses retailers. I hear good things about Bonlook and Spexclub, but I couldn't resist trying out Warby Parker, because of their Home Try-On Program. It's such a good idea - they will send you five frames, free of charge, for five days, so you can try them on and take some time to make up your mind.

I got my frames today. I've narrowed my favorites down to two, and I definitely have a least favorite, but I'm not going to tell you which ones just yet.  I want to get your opinions as well. So here they are (forgive the horrible photos and my husband giving me the side-eye in the background. He thinks I'm crazy).

Which frames do you like best?
	Crosby
	Griffin
	Monroe
	Preston
	Webb
pollcode.com free polls

So tell me what you think, and feel free to elaborate in the comments if you like!

Seven

Several bloggers have been participating in this "Seven" series, and I came across it while browsing Bows & Sparrows (which you should totally read).

This was a lot of fun to put together, and I encourage any of you who have blogs to write a similar post, and link ot it in the comments! 

1. Japan

2. Spain

3. Greece

4. Australia

5. Egypt

6. Russia

7. India

1. Julia Child's Bœuf Bourguignon

2. This suede handbag

3.Curtains for our kitchen and living room

4. A vegetable garden

5. This bacon and cheddar arancini

6. A headboard for our bed

7. A baby

1. Tina Fey

2. Joss Whedon

3. Kurt Vonnegut

4. J.K. Rowling

5. Patton Oswalt

6. John Lennon

7. Paul Rudd

1. An iPad 2

2. A Macbook Pro

3. The Proenza Schouler PS1 Bag

4. A midcentury teak dining room set

5. These Chie Mihara shoes

6. A treadmill

7. Another dog. Or ten.

1. ppl who tYpe lyk dis, u no?

2. poor communication skills

3. people who don't teach their children manners

4. slow drivers and tailgaters

5. calling customer service for ANYTHING

6. airports

7. small talk

1. The Graduate

2. The Shawshank Redemption

3. Heathers

4. Harold and Maude

5. The Royal Tenenbaums

6. Amelie

7. Sideways

1. Being greeted by kisses from my dog when I come home

2.A big cheeseburger with bacon, guac and Swiss cheese

3. Long weekends

4. Central air conditioning

5. Ice cream - any kind

6. pedicures

7. marriage equality

1. "California Stars" by Billy Bragg and Wilco

2. "What Goes On" by the Velvet Underground

3. "Stay Out of Trouble" by Kings of Convenience

4. "You're My Best Friend" by Queen

5. "Tomorrow Never Knows" by the Beatles

6. "Niteclub" by Old 97's

7. "Just Like Honey" by the Jesus and Mary Chain

1. merkin

2. crapulence

3. nincompoop

4. titmouse

5. teabag

6. burlap

7. boner

This was fun! Post yours, please!

Choppity Choppity

It's been two weeks since I got my hair chopped off, and I just realized that I still haven't posted the photos of it. Oops. So here's a little before and after for ya:

You guys. I loooooove it. I still haven't managed to make it look as good as the day I left the salon (isn't that always the way?) but I'm so happy with it anyway. It's choppy and cute. It takes less than ten minutes to dry, and my entire head feels about ten pounds lighter.

Thanks to Lena at Fringe Salon for the kick-ass cut!

Hair, Down to There

Last week, I accidentally shut my hair in my car door.

And earlier this week, I dreamt about chopping off my hair not once, not twice, but thrice.

I go back and forth between long hair and short hair a lot. Right now, my hair is probably the longest it's ever been, although it's been this length many times. This is the length where I get sick of it and cut it off. And once the haircut seed has been planted in my brain, I can't kill it. I almost certainly will chop my hair off sometime within the next few months.

This is what my hair looks like now. It's long, but pretty ratty.

This is what it looked like two years ago, when I started growing it out:

And here is a collage of many of my haircuts over the years. Some were good and some were very, very bad.

I'm partial to #2 and #5, myself. As you can see, I'm partial to bangs and have had them almost consistently for about twelve years.

So now, I'm debating. Should I keep my hair longish but get more layers like I used to have, like this?

Or do I choppity chop chop like some of these photos I've come across?

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I love this video of Dianna Agron from Glee getting her hair cut. Hear how she screams "I'm so happy!" at ten seconds in? I know how she feels! It's such a rush to cut your hair off.

But on the other hand, growing your hair out is a bitch. And I'll be forced to have some awkward, unflattering hairdos when I decide to do that. And if I cut my hair short, I won't be able to wear my fallback summertime 'do, the fishtail braid.

Do you have any suggestions for what I should do with my hair? Do you like to vary your hair length, or do you tend to keep it long or short?

My Brooch Bouquet

Thanks so much for all of your comments on my wedding post about my brooch bouquet! I got a lot of emails asking me where I got it.

Photo by Morrissey Photo

Well, I made it myself!

I spent several months scouring shops for vintage brooches, but I had the best luck on Etsy and eBay. I bought most of the brooches in lots and even used some old vintage earrings. I wired them to some floral wire, hot-glued the hell out of it, wrapped it up with florists' tape and tied a pretty ribbon around it. It was time-consuming but not really that difficult.

There are a lot of tutorials, but I put mine together by taking parts from two different tutorials: this one from Glamour This, and this one from my friend Ms. Awesome.

If you're looking for a unique bouquet that won't die after a couple of days, I highly recommend you do this. The project cost me, all in all, almost $200, but that's about what you'll pay for a bridal bouquet of fresh flowers, and you'll have your brooch bouquet forever.

We Came. We Saw. We Married.

Since planning our wedding took so much time that I had to take a blog hiatus, I figured that I'd show you the results of all the hard work.

Even though we had cold, drizzly weather and couldn't have an outdoor ceremony, it was still an incredible day!

Photos by the incredible Morrissey Photo. All other details below.

Venue: Bartram's Garden

Dress: BHLDN

Cupcakes: Small Indulgences

Flowers: Precious Moments Design