HAPPY WEEKEND

I'm certainly looking forward to relaxing (wish I could say sleeping in as well). Only wish I were relaxing where ever this pic was snapped. In the meantime, Utahns head on over to my friend Ruth's new collaboration blog for a chance at winning a free one-hour style photo shoot--or non Utahns head over and check out her fun look at fashion style. I haven't got any style to speak of but I noticed that Facebook has (without my permission) posted a series of camp photos across the top of my wall and, really, this has just got to be changed.

photo via Connor Clark

SUMMERTIME

Okay so it may not feel exactly like it is just around the corner (only 60 degrees today--remember those cold days of Winter when 60 degrees was just a dream? Now I'm putting words like "only" in front of it!) but really summertime is almost here. And while I am not ready to be jumping into a swimsuit this weekend, I sure wouldn't mind having one of these in my dresser right about now:

on sale here

retail store in American Fork, Utah (if you're local)

use coupon code "GTU20" (online or in the store) for an extra 20% off today and tomorrow (May 4 and 5)

THE ROYAL WEDDING

I am an absolute sucker for a good wedding so of course I was well prepared to watch this one--or at least well prepared to watch a replay of this one (4 AM is just a wee bit too early for me). And I must say it did not disappoint in the least.

Kate was beautiful:

Pippa nearly stole the show (in a very classy understated way). I imagine we will be seeing wedding trends mirroring both Kate's and Pippa's dresses:

 

Beatrice (on the right) somehow NEARLY made this work:

Sadly Eugenie (on the left) was also a bit off.

Of course there were a few more rather sad mistakes such as this tent from Victoria Beckham who apparently thought she was attending a funeral in October rather than a Royal Wedding in the Spring (I'm told it was actually navy blue but it sure didn't come across like that on TV):

And Harry's on-again (?) girlfriend Chelsy Davy who somehow just looks a bit trampy (and with all the amazing hats in the world to choose from, why on earth did she pick that one):

All in all, I'd call it lots of fun and a smashing success.

Spring is in the Air...

(note: somehow this didn't post yesterday when I had written it so I am posting it today. But it was written yesterday before there was snow on the ground!)

...but only temporarily (as in snow is expected tomorrow). So today I decided to take advantage of the extra spring in my step and do some shopping. More specifically, I decided to pick up some new colors for my fingernails (a Christmas present from my sister--what is better than Christmas and nice weather? Nothing!). Those of you that know me well know that, apart from the color scheme on this blog, I just really don't do pink. Well, I've decided that is about to change (on my fingers at least) and picked up this fab new color:

But just in case that doesn't work out for me I also picked up this one:

And now I will be spending the rest of my evening walking around with fingers splayed.

colors and images via essie

Starlet or Streetwalker?

I have a secret (and slightly embarrassing) love of E!'s show Fashion Police--its funny and informative. And they have a short segment called Starlet or Streetwalker during which the co-hosts have to determine whether the girl in the picture (with the blurred-out head) is a starlet or a streetwalker. Recently my thoughts turned to this segment as I was considering the latest sewing project I undertook:

I sewed it and designed those black "trees" myself. But now I find myself asking, do I dare wear a bright pink skirt out in public (it is brighter than the picture here implies)? And if so, can I accomplish said wearing without looking like a streetwalker? I am entirely undecided. But, I am still loving this whole sewing phase I'm going through.

I Am One Who Sews

I do not look on "Reality" TV with much fondness. That said, I somehow got sucked in by two (yes, two!) "Reality" shows this summer. The first, Food Network's Great Food Truck Race (or something like that), ended in such a dumb manner as to cure me from ever watching that series again! The second, Lifetime's Project Runway, has taught me that I know absolutely nothing about fashion (and really that is okay judging by what they are calling fashion)--I am now watching the show mostly to see when they finally kick Gretchen off! However, watching Project Runway has sort of brought out a secret inner desire to be able to sew. It is a secret desire that most likely would have gone unrevealed (despite a New Year's resolution to sew a skirt this year--and a pillow) if not for my lovely cousin Jen who after throwing a fantastic baby shower (the homemade soup was amazing) invited me to stay and learn how to sew a skirt. Amazingly, I was actually able to follow her very good instructions and left with this fabulous little number:

Probably should have snapped a picture of just the skirt, but you get the idea. 

Thanks Jen! You are the best!

Organization

So one of my New Year's Resolutions is to declutter and organize my bedroom. Well the bedroom has been successfully decluttered (and stayed decluttered for an entire week now) so now it is on to organizing. Specifically, I want to organize my clothes (dresser and closet). To this end, this video clip has been something of a revelation (well the middle part was not particularly useful to me, but I loved the beginning and the end). I realize most, if not all, of you already know how to fold a t-shirt and then how to place it in your dresser, but apparently I did not know--did not even know that I did not know. If, however, you are more like me than you are willing to admit, you may just want to check out this clip:

How to fold a t-shirt

You might also want to head over to Cardigan Empire to check out all of her recent posts on closet organization.

Should the video not work (as it is not working for me right now) head over to this post at Cardigan Empire for a successful viewing.

Skirt Love

I got this skirt for Christmas:

I Love it.

It is the perfect length, a great color, and has a really nice fit.

It has snaps at the back to control the amount of leg that you want to show off that, as an added benefit, prevent me from taking stairs two at a time or taking long ungainly steps--too bad it doesn't prevent slouching as well.

I'm considering wearing it everyday this week.

And it is on sale here.

Wish they were selling those legs along with it.

The Letter J

My little sister (one of them anyway) has opened her very own Esty shop called The Letter J where she sells some pretty great headbands that I love (and am getting for Christmas).

My favorites of the available selection are these two hot little numbers:

Should you like either of these headbands (or, of course, any of the other headbands currently available in her shop), you are in extra special luck because she has consented to give my readers 20% off through Wednesday, December 16th. Plus, you will get free shipping within the US through Christmas.

To claim the 20% off you will need to check out, select your address, send a message to the seller (my sis) with the code:

Yankee Girl,

and then commit to buy. That is it. DO NOT PAY after you commit to buy. My sis will then send you an invoice (via email) with the discounted price.

(Email me if you have any questions or if you goof)

As a further bonus, my sister has offered a permanent discount of 10% for my readers. So after December 16th you can keep on using the Yankee Girl code for 10% off.

Thanks J.

Red Hot Lips

The Fly Lady recommends beginning each day by "getting dressed to lace up shoes." Roughly this means that each day should begin with a shower, getting fully dressed, doing your make up and hair, and then finally putting on your shoes. Of course she doesn't simply recommend any type of shoe; she recommends lace up shoes. The entire point of all this is that you will feel better about yourself if you do these things at the beginning of each day, feeling better about yourself will help you to be more productive, and doing these things will prepare you for whatever your day has in store for you. I like and agree with this idea completely.

I, however, own only 2 pairs of lace up shoes (tennis shoes and biking shoes) and neither of these shoes are terribly appropriate for the majority of what I wear day in and day out. Therefore I have pretty much opted out of the getting dressed to lace up shoes and replaced it with getting dressed to red hot lips. It is pretty much the same idea only I finish myself off with some red hot lips.

Red hot lips, though, have been a fairly new thing to me and have definitely taken some getting used to. However, as several 9 year old girls at church make regular comments to me about how nice my lipstick is (and if a 9 year old girl doesn't know what is fashionable, who does, right?), I believe it is something I will stick with.

Of course, in addition to learning to re-recognize myself in the mirror with my red hot lips I have found myself wondering about lipstick etiquette. Namely, is it okay to reapply lipstick in public?

A quick google search reveals that there is a bit of a continental divide on the issue. Apparently it is just fine to reapply lipstick in public in Europe. However, it would seem that there are some limitations to when it is appropriate to reapply lipstick in public in the US. For instance, if you are at a very nice restaurant or at a business lunch/dinner you should never reapply your lipstick in public. If, though, you are at just a nice restaurant with friends or family you may quickly reapply lipstick but never lip liner. (I found nothing on what is appropriate at McDonald's) However, there seems also to be an American line of reasoning that says if you can see a bathroom from where you are sitting you should use it to reapply your lipstick.

I am personally leaning toward the basic American standard here, but I would love hear/learn from your wisdom on this issue.

How to Tie a Scarf

It is that fabulous, chilly time of year when I get to pull out my winter scarves. I love my winter scarves but, sadly, I can't tie a good scarf. All that has now changed thanks to some passed along tips from the fab Reachel at Cardigan Empire:

And my favorite:

I've been trying out several of the knots with different kinds of scarves and it has been really fun and interesting to see all the possibilities. And go check out Cardigan Empire today for some great tips on wearing stockings, leggings, and tights.