winter notes

It's finally starting to feel like winter here in Alabama, and I'm loving it. Jaron and I decided to go out and enjoy the cooler weather by exploring downtown, stopping by a warm coffee shop, and then taking a walk in the park. By the time the sun went down we were ready to head home and cozy up with some blankets and hot tea. Check out the end of the post for a little video diary of our day.

valentine's day

Today I am off on a girl's trip with my two best friends, to spend Valentine's weekend in Nashville. It's our tradition to have a "date night" each year when Valentine's day comes around, and this year we decided to make a whole weekend out of it! I'm very excited to get away from school for a few days and spend time with my friends. Roadtripping and jamming to our favorite music, exploring the city, a sleepover every night, it's going to be the best weekend getaway.

For our fancy dinner date this weekend, I will probably opt for my classic red lip and winged eyeliner look that I go to almost anytime I dress up. I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to wear. I'd love to wear this sheer, beaded black dress I bought from Free People a few years ago, but it's going to be a bit chilly so I might end up going with something a little warmer.

As always, here is this year's Valentine's playlist. You can check out previous playlists here and here. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

xoJordan

stripes are my fave

You can never go wrong with a striped shirt and red lipstick; it's my go-to when I can't decide what to wear. It can be dressed up with a pretty black skirt and some heels, or dressed down with a pair of boyfriend jeans and sneakers


My favorite outfits are the ones I don't have to think to much about; messy hair, my denim button-up, and my worn out pair of keds are my staples. This striped tank dress from H&M is great because I can pair it with so many other things in my closet.


I love oversized button-ups because they look great with a pair or skinny jeans and flats (for an artsy-chic-parisian look, y'know?) but they also make great lounge-wear on a slow weekend morning. This blue striped button-up from Banana Republic is a recent addition to my wardrobe, and I can't get enough of it. You can never own too many striped clothes, right?

90's vibes

So I've noticed 90's styles have slowly been creeping back into fashion, and my feelings on this go back and forth. While there are some 90's trends that I think should stay in the past, I've started embracing the few that I do like.

A while ago I came across a tutorial for a stretchy, choker necklace, à la 1990's. I remember having so many of these when I was younger, so the nostalgia made me want to create a new one to wear now. I actually ended up loving it, and it inspired this entire 90's themed post. I made a video showing you the DIY choker, and some 90's beauty and fashion ideas to go along with it. I hope this provides some inspiration for bringing some of the 90's into a modern wardrobe.

b&w basics // summer ootd

My wardrobe staples are basic pieces in black and white, and anything with stripes. I put together this short outfit of the day video to show you what I've been wearing lately. It's super simple, but there are so many different variations you could do with a plain striped tank or a pair of black shorts (which is why I love them so much!).



I really enjoyed making this video, so maybe I'll do more fashion videos in the future?
xoJordan

ps. Check out my Youtube channel ♥

going pink

I've wanted pastel hair for the longest time (I fell in love with Kelly Osbourne's lavender hair a few years ago!) but I never did it because I didn't want to lose my hair color. But I kept seeing photos on pinterest that really made me want to change up my hair, so I finally decided to do a light pink, ombre color- that way I keep my natural hair color up top, but still get to have pink hair!


I found the exact rosy-pink color I was looking for at a beauty supply shop. It's the brand "Ion Color Brilliance Brights", in the color "Rose".


With some pointers from my aunt- who is a professional (thanks Vanessa!) and after watching a few youtube tutorials, I gathered together my supplies and went for it!


It surprisingly wasn't too difficult, and I really love how it turned out! I did not bleach my hair because I didn't want to damage my ends. My hair was already light enough anyway, and I think it blends in better without bleach. I call it "naturally pink" ;)

I'm so happy I decided to try out pink hair! If you're trying to decide whether or not to try it too, I would say go for it! And next time I do my hair, I might make a tutorial if anyone is interested!

keep moving forward {ootd}

I don't remember the last time I did an outfit post, but yesterday morning the light was beautiful and I had spare time before class, so I decided to photograph what I was wearing!

This is my favorite, mustard high-waisted skirt, and I paired it with a white, embroidered tank top and a cropped peach cardigan.

I love the aesthetic of simple, delicate tattoos- so I doodled one on my arm (don't worry mom, I didn't get a real tattoo).


I layered two of my favorite necklaces and braided my hair.


I'm growing my bangs out for summertime, and they're finally long enough for me to clip back!


And some sushi, because I love it (and the colors matched my outfit).

Skirt: Loft | Cardigan: Gap | Tank: American Eagle

fairy inspired: prom

 Today is very exciting because tonight is my senior prom! I meant to do a post a while ago about what I'm going to wear to prom, but I kept putting it off. So I'm finally doing it this morning!

So the look I was going for was just light and pretty, almost "fairy-like" as my friends and I have termed it. I started with choosing a dress. This was hard. I went to several shops in town, but I didn't like any of the dresses because they were too "prom-y", if you know what  I mean. Like lots of shiny satin and bedazzling and flashy colors and not my style at all. So I started looking online, and I eventually decided on the J.Crew Arabelle Dress in the color "Misty Rose". Then, I knew I wanted flowers in my hair. So I scoured the internet once again, this time looking for a floral crown. I looked on etsy and various online shops, and the one I found that I liked the best was a white rose crown from Urban Outfitters. Next, I searched for shoes. At first I was going to get super tall platform heels in an attempt to avoid having to get my dress hemmed. So I found some, bought them, and brought them home to try on with my dress. After walking around the house in them, I realized what a horrible idea it was to get such tall shoes because I felt like I was going to fall and twist my ankle at any moment. So I decided to return them, accept the fact that I would need to go get my dress hemmed, and just wear some nude, patent pumps (with a much lower heel) that I had in my closet. And finally, for my hair and makeup, I am going to go for a natural, "fairy-like" look: blushing pink cheeks; light, shimmery eyeshadow; soft pink lips; and long, wavy hair.

I might post pictures on instagram later today, so you can check that if you want to see how I pulled it all together! (My instagram is stellairestellar).

Have a wonderful Friday everyone! ♥

crochet lace collar

One of my New Year's goals was to crochet more often, because I love crocheting, I just need to make more time to do it. So my first project of the year is this crocheted collar! I love how it  turned out! It was pretty easy and quick to make, I don't think it would be too hard for a beginner crocheter! (Jade, you should give it a try!) I followed this pattern by Emma Escott of Lululoves. I used a smaller yarn and hook than she used in the pattern, so I increased the length a little (the pattern tells you how to do that).

This was while I was still in the process of crocheting it. The yarn I used was the Martha Stewart brand that I found at Michaels.

I attached a vintage, gold, rose button so I can take the collar on and off. This collar is plain enough that it goes with almost anything in my closet, but has a little bit of sparkle to dress up any outfit! I will definitely be wearing this a lot!

I really love it and it was so quick to make that I want to make lots more!

Have a wonderful weekend! ♥

getting ready for the first day of school

 Tomorrow is my last, first day of high school! Yes, I am starting my senior year and after tomorrow, I will never have another first day of school again (well, until college, but that's different). That's kind of a scary thought, but really exciting too. I'm nervous for tomorrow (who isn't nervous on the first day of school?) but I'm sure everything will go well. Last year I was the new kid, so at least this year I don't have to go through that again. I finally decided what I'm going to wear: a white, button-up henley with light wash skinny jeans, rolling up the bottoms. For shoes, a pair of gray vans, and for a bag, a small, Billabong backpack.


I love this backpack! I got it at a surf shop (Coastal Edge) in Virginia Beach a couple weeks ago. (Which is also where I got my Vans). We actually aren't allowed to have backpacks at my school to carry our books around, but this is small enough that I'm going to call it a "purse". So I still have to carry my books and binders, but this backpack holds everything else!

I attached my Ministry of Magic keychain and the metal goes perfectly with the rest of the backpack. Wondering what the Ministry of Magic is? That means you haven't read Harry Potter! (So go read it!)

I'll write about how my first day went tomorrow! ♥

shirt to skirt

I came across this tutorial on Pinterest recently, which shows you how to make a button-up shirt into a skirt. A while ago I bought a giant, men's, button-up shirt for $3 at a thrift store with plans to make it into something cool, I just didn't know what. So I'm really glad I found this idea! It was super easy and only took about 20 minutes to make (I spent most of my time searching for a safety pin to use for inserting the elastic waist band). It's really cute too, and looks good with just a t-shirt. I'm going to look  for more thrift store shirts with cool patterns to make more skirts. And I'm thinking maybe a bow-belt made out of the leftover sleeve fabric for the next skirt?

floral skirt

I started watching the new season of Project Runway on Friday (I know, I'm a couple weeks late) and it got me inspired to start sewing again (my last sewing project was making these for Christmas gifts). I had some fabric that I got on sale because it was the end of the bolt, so I got however much was left (I think it was a little over a yard and a half). I decided I needed a new skirt in my wardrobe, so I looked up some ideas online. I kind of followed this tutorial and kind of just made it up as I went along. I didn't have enough fabric to make it as gathered as I wanted, but it still turned out ok just using what I had.

The hardest part was the zipper. I don't have much experience with zippers, so I sat for a while trying to figure out how to place the zipper and sew it correctly. I used a metal zipper because I knew I wanted to have it exposed, and I like the look of metal rather than plastic. 

Another thing that made the skirt a little more difficult to sew was that I added a lining. I want to try making this skirt again, but with a fabric that is thicker and doesn't need a lining.

When I finished sewing, I was holding my breath as I tried  it on... and it fit! I plan on wearing it with a cream colored colored, vintage button-up shirt I found at a thrift store. (Bonus: it even has a lacy, peter pan collar, perfect!)

Can you tell I like floral patterns? ;)

DIY pink-dyed cutoffs

I've seen colored jean shorts all over pinterest and I've been wanting to make some for the longest time, so I finally bought the supplies and did it! This was my inspiration picture.

ps. And a bonus, this whole project cost me less than $10, while ones you find in stores are $30+!!!

You will need:

♥fabric dye

♥an old pair of jeans

♥bleach

♥vinegar

♥water

♥a bucket

I used the Rit liquid dye. I was originally going to do a light aqua, but when I went to the store to buy the dye, they were out of a lot of the colors. So instead I chose "petal pink". 

I bought an inexpensive pair of jeans from the thrift store to use for this project. Check your closet first though and see if you have an old pair of jeans/jean shorts to use. I wanted to make shorts, so I cut the legs off, but this would also work if you left them as jeans.To keep the shorts from unraveling, I sewed around the legs, 1/2 inch above where I cut them. I wanted them to fray, so I didn't hem them.

Next, bleach the jeans. I did all of this outside on the driveway so I wouldn't stain anything. I followed these instructions for bleaching. Mix 2 parts water with 1 part bleach and soak the jeans until they are white. (Make sure you wear rubber gloves the entire time!) The website I followed said to leave them in for about 30 minutes, but mine took about an hour to get them to the white I wanted. Just keep checking on them as they soak. After they are done, wring them out and transfer to a new bucket to soak in a mixture of 2 parts water and 1 part vinegar for 5 minutes to stop them from bleaching.

After that, I rinsed the shorts out really well with the hose because we have a septic system, which means we can't use bleach in the washer or let it go down the drain in the sink. Once I made sure they were rinsed well, I washed and dried them. I don't know if this is necessary, or if you can just go straight to dyeing them, but I didn't want to take any chances.

I almost kept them white, because I really liked how they looked, but I also really wanted to see them pink. I think I'll do this project again with a new pair of jeans and just bleach them white and not dye them.

***Note: As you can see in the picture, the threads did not bleach. I'm not sure if it is because of their material (maybe they're polyester?) or what, but it didn't make a huge difference in the end.

Then it was time to make them pink! I followed the directions on the bottle of dye, and mixed about 3 gallons of hot water with half the bottle of dye in a bucket. The only thing I didn't do was add a cup of salt. I'm not sure what exactly the salt does, but leaving it out didn't affect the dyeing process (that I know of). I wanted light pink jeans, so I put them in the dye for about 30 seconds. The bottle said to leave them for around 30 minutes, (I know! That's a big difference from 30 seconds!) but I wanted my jeans to look faded, not fully saturated with color. After dyeing, I washed and dried them again.

I'm pretty happy with the result. They turned a slightly different color pink then I wanted, (I was going for a soft, ballet pink, and they ended up being a bit brighter), but they are still cute. The only negative is they seemed to be bigger after the bleaching and dyeing process. They already were a bigger size than I wear (they were the smallest I could find at the thrift store), but now I have to wear a belt with them or they'll fall down. Other then that, I really like them!

I thought about adding studs to them (like in the inspiration picture), and I still might, but I kind of like them just plain. I definitely want to try this project again with other colors, so maybe I'll just save the studs for another pair of jeans.

Let me know if you make a pair, I'd like to see! ♥

finding the perfect dress

awards by stellaire

So I'm leaving soon to go on a business trip and during this trip there will be an awards ceremony that I have to dress up for. I searched and searched for the right dress and couldn't find one! Everything was either too dressy or too casual. Finally, my aunt told me she had a dress I could borrow, and it was perfect! It is light pink (my favorite color) and flowy and pretty and girly and I love it! I couldn't find it online (she got it at H&M a couple years ago) but the dress in the picture above is pretty close to how it looks. I'm going to wear it with nude pumps and gold dangly earrings. I'll put my hair up in a low bun and for makeup I think I'll do a simple cat eye. It's always fun getting to dress up, isn't it? ♥

Dress

Shoes

Earrings

Winged Cateye

Hair

Oscars 2012

Did anyone watch the Academy Awards last night? I mainly wanted to see it for the fashion, but the awards show was good too. There were some beautiful dresses on the red carpet, so I made a collage of my favorites. Pale colors were popular, so it's no wonder there were so many I liked. :D  Milla Jovovich was wearing one of my favorite designers, Elie Saab, but I don't remember who the other celebrites were wearing. What was your favorite fashion you saw at the Academy Awards?

ps. I used this paper texture for the collage.