A few weeks ago (or maybe months ago now? Gah I'm such a procrastinator!) eShakti contacted me and asked if I would be interested in receiving a dress in order to review it. This excited me greatly because I have always wanted to order from eShakti but have heard different things about them - one only has to google "eShakti review" to see how people have had widely different experiences with them! I figured I had nothing to lose however so I agreed.

For those who don't know, eShakti is an online retailer that let's you have it your way. Dresses are completely customizable. You can raise or lower hemlines, add or remove sleeves, pockets and embellishments and for a small $7.50 fee, have the dress created to your exact measurements! As a girl who falls under 3 different sizes on Modcloth's size chart (small for bust, large for waist and medium for hips) this seems like an amazing idea.

I ended up choosing the Anastasia Dress because I'm a sucker for pink. What I failed to realize is that it's a dead ringer for my skin tone. Derp. I had to play with these pictures a lot to even make it show up. However, this review isn't about my stupidity. I love the colour in person even though it doesn't photograph the best on sunny days on pasty people. It also comes in a host of other colours if you love the dress but would rather try another colour. Otherwise it's sweet and lovely and you can't help but feel like a princess. The best part is it can easily be dressed up or down. I tend to go the dressed up route but I think if you threw on sandals and a casual jacket, it could work just as well.

I got the mini length and I was surprised by how long it was still. I saw some other reviews where the skirt had ended up quite short but I believe the recipient was under 5'2". I think the length I got is a really versatile length. This could be worn to baby showers and such without being offensive but I still get to show some leg. I'm into that.

I posted my stats so anybody interested in ordering can compare. However, keep in mind my waist measurements are kind of deceiving. I can squeeze into smaller sizes because my fat tends to squish higher or lower. Since I didn't opt for the customized size this round, I didn't want to order something so large that my bust couldn't fill it out. However, the size 8 worked pretty good!

The dress is made of sturdy cotton and is lined. It also has a super sturdy zipper (which is the first thing I noticed when taking it out of the box!) It's still an invisible zipper, as it's the same colour of the dress and blends right in. It's not one of those super fragile ones that catch on the fabric and stop zipping the first time you use them. I can see this zipper lasting the life of this dress.

My only complaint is because it's cotton (which is lovely and breathable and such) it's also high maintenance. It wrinkles terribly. I had intended to re-shoot these but couldn't be bothered to have my mom re-iron the dress. 

Ta da! So that is my review. And because they are so awesome, here is a close up of my earrings.

Outfit Details

Dress - Anastasia Dress - c/o Eshakti

Shoes - thrifted Value Village

Earrings - Penny Jane Vintage

Purse - gift from my grandmother

Headband - Claire's

Necklace - Ardene's

Thanks again to Eshakti for the dress! I'm super pleased!

 

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links*

Flapper Finale

I'm finishing up my flapper week with a flapper print dress! I was originally going to do a flapper inspired outfit, but then I received this Myrtlewood dress in the mail (one that I had been lusting after in my previous post "Modcloth's Bea & Dot and Myrtlewood Have Stolen my Heart") and I decided to model a new outfit, instead of just re-creating a previous one.

I decided to include this post under Splurgy Sunday because it falls under a splurge for me! The dress retails at $89.99 but I found a large on ebay for $50 and altered it down to my size. Luckily for you readers though, it's currently on sale on Modcloth for $44.99! Total steal. It's a great dress. The print has a very subtle gold shimmer and when you descend stairs, the skirt very gently puffs around you. You can't help but feel like a princess.

(Shhh, don't mind the red eye. When I went to fix it, my editor thought my eyebrows wanted to be green for some reason.)

I also decided to try out some new make-up I got. It's 1920s style mascara by Besame. It's pretty darn nifty! It's mascara, eyeliner and eyebrow colour in one. It's cake style and activated with water. This is right up my alley because I only wear mascara 4-5 times a month. Tube mascaras dry out before I get my money's worth (although I try to milk them for all I can!) I tried this product out in all 3 areas. It's a little tricky on the eyelashes (it goops right at the lashline, so you have no choice but to wear it as eyeliner as well) but I love it as eyeliner. It's really subtle and doesn't smear. I might even wear it daily. And this is coming from a girl who wears eyeliner once or twice a year. It was a little dark for my brows, but I bought it in black. It might be better if I bought the brown colour. I might still keep using it, because again, it doesn't smear. My brow powders never stay in place. It's just a little bold and definitely makes my brows look way thicker than they actually are.

Also, while applying it, this tends to happen if you put the mascara on first (since the spoolie has mascara on it.) Will have to remember to put it on last next time.

Pictured: Cover Girl concealer in the lightest colour they have, Rosebud Salve, Besame Powder in Light, Besame Rouge, Besame Mascara

While doing photos, I kept running out of ideas for photos. So I tried to do the Charleston. If this is what made it in... you don't want to see the out takes!

Outfit Details

Fabulous Flapper Dress - Modcloth - original price $89.99, currently on sale for $44.99

Shoes - gift from my mom (they were her's)

Earrings - another pair of earrings from the Titanic collection (see more in my "Lots of Love for Luck Be a Lady Dresses"  post)

If you are like me and can't get enough flapper related goods, be sure to check out Unique Vintage's flapper section and Modcloth's "Gatsby Garb" section.

Well, that's all for me! I'm going to be taking a few days off to celebrate Christmas time with the fam! Hope you all have a happy holiday and I'll be seeing you soon!

Check out my other flapper related posts from earlier this week!

Three Gatsbys For the Price of One
Flapper Fun Brought to You by Etsy
Bright Young Facts
Modcloth Giveaway! Plus More Flapper Fun

The Dress at the End of the Tunnel

One of the greatest feelings for me (being a shopaholic and all) is finally being able to nab a dress that I thought I'd never be able to have because it was much too expensive and just out of my reach. Modcloth's Cabin Fever and Last Hurrah sales are perfect for scooping up my most loved items but I need to shop all year round! What's a girl to do? Ebay is typically my solution but when there's something specific I need, something that I'm lusting madly for, I wait for something I love to hit the regular Modcloth sale page and attack with 20% off coupons (courtesy of my Modcloth catalog!)

I even remember when I first saw the dress. It was this past Easter. I was bonding with my boyfriend's sister, who I was meeting for the first time. We were hitting it off pretty well. She was a model and into fashion naturally and seemed happy that I was into fashion too. Unfortunately, I lost her as soon as I showed her the Modcloth homepage. I guess not everyone shares my fashion sense. She thought it was too "hipster-ish" (NOOOOO!) Since I had Modcloth pulled up anyways, I surfed the New Arrivals and there it was. This beauty. I knew I had to make it mine.

I love this dress in person even more. I ordered the size 4 because they were out of 6s and it was a good call. It has plenty of stretch. I just love the shimmery fabric! Also, this was another photo session where I was doing the pictures alone on my tripod. I also forgot to pop the flash up completely. Oopsie. I tried to make it better by sharpening all the pics in PicMonkey but I don't know if that really helped.

Sitting dead pan in front of a camera by yourself is pretty awkward. And so is doing close ups of fabric. You should see the out takes!

Outfit Details

Dress  - Slant Rhyme Dress - Modcloth - on sale currently for $114.99 (at last check, there was one left in a size 2!!!)

Shoes - Rampage Women's Mariska Pump

Earrings - purchased at the hair shop where my Aunt Susie works

The dress is also available in black, but I'm not sure I dig it as much. The stripes are wider and well... I just like pink better! Plus, this pink is so dreamy. It's kind of cherry coloured and just perfect. The black version looks like it belongs in a Tim Burton film. Not that I have anything against that, just that pink is more my scene.

Overall, I'm so stoked that I went for this dress when I did. I went to Petrunia's website and they only sell to retailers. Plus, they listed their stockists and all they had listed were boutiques! They didn't even list any online retailers. I wouldn't be surprised if Modcloth were the only online store that carries them.

If you'd like to see all my best looks from the season, check out my wardrobe wrap up post!

That's all for me! Time to go stalk my next purchase. Talk soon!

Head Start on New Year's Resolutions

Another feature I want to start doing regularly is posting my monthly goals on the first of the month (and checking in on how I did on last month's!) Unfortunately, I didn't do so good but hey, that's the purpose of accountability right? I have to fess up!

Okay, so let's re-cap last month's goals (although to be honest, I didn't post that frequently this month. You could scroll down a little bit and see for yourself. But I will address that in my goals later!)

1) Whiten my teeth with at-home whitening solution. This sounds terrible, but they are so stained from drinking diet Coke, I've been using some PicMonkey magic in my pics so they don't look as bad. If all works out okay, I will have some real before and after shots for you.

Result - Not sure how to call this one. The instructions said to do it weekly and I did it probably every 4 days at first (because I kept losing track of when I did it so I kept doing it whenever my teeth felt gritty. The baking soda would scrub them clean. Then the last 2 weeks, I hardly did it at all.) I do think I saw some improvement (you can check out the before and after pics for yourself, although I think the lighting had some effect on how yellow they look) but my teeth feel weird, like they are somehow weaker after this experiment. Probably going to consult with my dentist before continuing!

2) Take the stairs at my apartment whenever I'm not carrying a load of bags (I often have groceries or overnight bags.) I figure if I do this, I may not need any other exercise - I live on the 16th floor of my building!
Result - not the greatest. I had my dog at the apartment about 10 days out of the month and taking the stairs was absolutely not an option. Other than that, I hardly left my apartment (full hibernation mode!) and when I did, I often  had bags (as earlier mentioned.) I took the stairs probably 5 times total.

3) Clean my house. Maybe I'll update later with some pics. Because it's so scary, it's worth documenting.
Result - sort of? I technically did clean my house. I'm not one of those people who clean day to day. I do it in one fell swoop. It was so bad, I enlisted my mom's help. We cleaned for 6 hours and we still weren't able to finish. When she left, I kept plugging away at it for about an hour a day for the next 3 days. It still was never finished and I was never able to take "after" pics. I took some "before" pics though. Sad thing is, it's probably even dirtier right now.

4) Buy one thing from Etsy, one really unique thing instead of always running to Modcloth as my go-to.
Result - ha! I did this one. Quite easily. Probably because it had to do with shopping. I bought that Lolita necklace I posted about, plus these Grumpy Cat and  Nyan Cat earrings, and this custom engraved business card holder (which was actually in my gift picks on Scathingly Brilliant's blog!)

5) Visit actual vintage and thrift shops for Treasure Tuesday to take pics!
Result - success! But only once. And I hardly took any pics because it was so busy. You can see some of what I purchased in this post.

6) Carry camera in purse to photograph life's little adventures. I do have the camera in my purse all the time, but it never comes out, haha.
Result - meh... fail. Hardly any pics taken. Although the camera is always with me.

7) Start cooking things using my oven and my stove. I'm terrified of fire/heat and this will be a big one if I accomplish this goal!
Result - technically at the beginning of the month, my mom did have me cook some garlic shrimp at her house and made me use the oven. Since then, I've reverted back to being utterly afraid and eating pudding and cereal if my boyfriend isn't around to cook for me.

8) Eat less pizza. I literally ate it 4 times this week. I ate it right before composing this entry.
Result - fail, fail, fail. I think I ate it even more.

9) Keep applying in banner swaps, but invest in one big time ad-space that will hopefully drive traffic to the site!
Result - pretty successful! I invested in ad space on Kate Gabrielle's blog over at Scathingly Brilliant and I'm enjoying the traffic it's bringing my way.

10) Renew library card so I can have books for Factoid Friday FOR FREE!!!!
Result - success! I took a huge stack of books out (plus bought 7 magazines for a quarter each) so that was a great trip I made. Only problem is that I've read all the books and need to return them... but I haven't made Factoid Fridays about each book yet. So basically I have to make a fact summary about each book before I can bring them back. Yay, it's like homework!

For December, I'd like to continue with these goals (except maybe minus the Etsy one! Need to lay off the shopping) but I also added a few goals.

1) Type up facts from those library books like I mentioned
2) Finish sorting through and uploading items to my Trend Trunk profile (yay money!)
3) Start using apple cider vinegar for all my health and beauty needs (I have a bottle in my fridge just waiting to be used!)
4) Start going to the bar more frequently. I know that sounds bad, but I don't drink. It's a social thing and I've been incredibly anti-social and isolating myself. I've been a total recluse lately. The difference between my blog and others is that other people go out and do things. For instance, there was a local fashion show that I could have gone to, taken photos to show what was going on in the local fashion scene and networked with people but I didn't bother. Also, this isn't related to the bar, but the Santa Clause parade was just outside my building the other day. I could hear the music, and I just stayed huddled inside. I need to get out! See people! I dragged my butt out last night so I'm hoping I can keep the momentum going.
5) Write blog posts more frequently, ideally 3 times a week or more. No more of this "10 posts a month" stuff!

If you're anything like me, having pretty journals, agendas and other stationery makes getting organized and motivated easier. Here are my top picks (more on the expensive side since it is Splurgy Sunday.)

Clockwise from left
2014 Medium Agenda Calendar - Etsy - GirlinGirlStudio - $38.50
Campo Marzio Filigree Fountain Pen - Kate's Paperie - $27.50
Hidden Pencil Notebooks - MoMa Store - $14.95
Knock Knock Sticky Notepads - Amazon - $11.75
Calligraphy Set - Victorian Trading Co - $29.95
Listography 2014 Weekly Calendar - Urban Outfitters - $15.99 (P.S. I love the Listography books! I have nearly all of them. OCD list maker here!)
Vintage Ruler Folders - Indigo - $16.00
2014 Planner - Etsy -StephanieCreekmur - $50.00

Here's to a great month! 

Mmmm... Marmalade

Hallowe'en was kind of meh this year. It's one of my favourite holidays (not because of all the scariness - I could honestly skip that part. It's the dressing up and the candy that I love) but this year it didn't live up to my expectations. I think it honestly had more to do with me than Hallowe'en itself. I went out to my favourite bar as usual and there were a ton of great costumes (my friend Sergio has some photos here and here) but I think part of the reason I didn't have a good time is because I was taking things too seriously. I felt so overwhelmed by how many good costumes there were and this new role I put myself in that felt I needed to document things for my blog. It felt like too big a task to take pics of every good costume (because there were literally a hundred more awesome costumes than those pictured) so I figured if I couldn't take them all, then I wasn't going to take any. I ended up calling it a night before 12 because I'm cool like that. I hardly even got any pics of my burger costume! And I was so excited! I only took one at home before leaving.

No amount of cropping can hide how disgusting my house is.

I don't know why I didn't just have fun, take a few pics and not be so serious about the whole thing. I'm very all or nothing about many things in life but I gotta learn halfway good can still be okay!

Which brings me to today. Today is a little busy because we are celebrating my niece's 3rd birthday. Isn't she cute?

Photo Credit - Grinvilla / Grinvilla Facebook Page

I didn't know whether to scrap this whole blog post and just put it off another week (because it was intended for Splurgy Sunday) or just be like, whatevs! I can write a so-so sort of post. I figured I shouldn't wait too long though. There's Hallowe'en decorations in the background of this photoshoot. Talk about being busted!

I scored this really cute dress from Modcloth when it randomly went from $179.99 to $51.99 in the middle of the night. I ordered a large and altered it down to my size... which is turning into a cruel joke because I could probably use the pre-altered large size now that I've put on some weight. Blast!

Outfit Details

Dress - Marmalade - via Modcloth

Shoes - vintage Ferragamos

Tights - Icings

Earrings - eBay

Headband - Ardenes

I was also inspired to make an outfit featuring items from Modcloth where each individual item is a splurge. Because that's how I roll.

1) Gale Next Door Cardigan - $58

2) Phoning in Sweater in Sage - $53

3) Mercator to Your Tasters Scarf - $65

4) Bow My Darling Heel - $210

5) In the Distance Necklace - $32

6) Working Lunch Pants - $65

7) Take a Dipper Necklace - $75

8) Forest Dream Bag - $148

Tis all for me! Back downstairs to eat cake with the fam. I squeezed this entry in little breaks between the opening of the gifts, eating dinner and eating of dessert. Time to stop being anti-social! Talk soon!

If you'd like to see all my best looks from the season, check out my wardrobe wrap up post!