Tuesday, January 31, 2012

MVP

In this outfit:
Cardigan: J.Crew Factory ($24)
Sweater top: Urban Outfitters (swapped)
Skirt: Urban Outfitters ($20 old)
Tights: AA Super Opaque ($20 ish)
Shoes: Vintage, flea market ($10)
Coat: J.Crew (last year)
Belt: Dior, thrifted ($2)
Franklin Necklace: "Dream Bigger" c/o Jess LC

This skirt was one of those purchases that I hemmed and hawed over while at the store, was it too basic? Would I wear it often enough? I ended up buying it, and since then I've worn this little blue skirt more times than I can count. It's one of those Most Valuable Purchases (I know, I know) that gets worn more than anything else in my closet. I've been thinking of those staple pieces lately, a concept that's a little difficult for me, since personally, I think my style is all over the place. But these versatile items are important to have, a good foundation for an easy outfit.

Do you have a wardrobe MVP?

P.S. Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! xo

Monday, January 30, 2012

A Sunday



Ohh, I am not ready for it to be Monday. Not ready at all. This weekend was pretty great, but as I looked over my photos last night, it seems only the ones from Sunday came out. A brief synopsis of what is not pictured: A visit to Phipps on Friday night where we bought a family membership ($75 for two people, for the year!), a much needed sushi dinner at Umi (so good!), a late night watching of Tangled (which made me want to cut my hair...even more), a lazy-ish Saturday, and a Midnight in Paris viewing (I loved it).

Yesterday was another lazy-ish day, with lots of cat time, breakfast at home, another (albeit fruitless) visit to Construction Junction, a stop at Espresso a Mano, and a visit to the art supply store (I'm feeling inspired!).

Inspired by Emma's cake, Chris and I baked a birthday cake from scratch (we used this cake recipe- substituting cake flour, and the frosting recipe on the back of the Ghirardelli baking powder can), and he made me the most amazing spaghetti and meatball dinner.

All in all, a very good, and very tasty weekend! How was yours?

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Happy Sunday!


Are you having a good weekend so far? We certainly are. I'll have more pictures to show tomorrow, the one above is from our evening back at Phipps Conservatory (where we're now members).

I've been slacking on posting Friday links, a habit I need to quit- I love sharing the things I love with you all!

Are you getting excited for Valentines day? I actually am, a rare occurrence. I'm thinking that we might actually choose to celebrate this year, so something like this might be nice to wear.

Have you participated in Ruche's new Shop With Us program? This dress was chosen and I think it's the perfect transitional piece: wear with tights and a collared shirt underneath for winter, and with flat sandals come spring.

Blowfish's new spring line is so cute, it's so exciting to see light colors again! Enter the code BFORCHID15 for 15% off!

Speaking of light colors, I'm kind of in love with this checkered knit dress from Le Lapin D'or! Who says you have to wear dark colors in cold months? Enter the code grey10 for 10% off!

This dress is insane
! Snake print is definitely not for the faint of heart, but the cut and draping of this one is pretty amazing. Enter the code orchidgrey for 15% off!

Speaking of V-Day, how sweet is this little leather bag? I might just have to get myself a gift (or really, realllly hint that I like this)!

I am SO EXCITED to be speaking at the Texas Style Counsel Conference! March can not come soon enought, Austin is one of my all-time favorite cities! Will you be attending?

Did you see Elizabeth's new haircut? She's so brave, and she looks beautiful! I'm trying to work up the gumption to cut mine.

I've been completely obsessed with Pinterest lately! I'm feeling so inspired to make stuff, and I want to post about it all at once, I need to remind myself to slow down a bit!

We just received the new LL Bean Signature catalog in the mail, and I'm obsessed with this shirt! Perfect colors for spring and summer.

What are you loving this week?

Friday, January 27, 2012

28


(My co-worker is very, very talented)
Yep, 28 years ago today I was causing a whole bunch of trouble.

ps- My usual Friday post will be out tomorrow, tonight, I'm focused on celebrating! We're headed back to Phipps tonight to look at more plants! Have a great night!

How To: Care For Long Hair



Pictured: Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger Shampoo & Conditioner, Paul Mitchell Brush 413, Moroccan Oil Treatment, CHI Nano Hair Drier, GHD Ceramic Flat Iron. Not pictured: Fish Oil vitamins.

As the owner of a large amount of hair, I get my fare share of hair-care and hair maintenance questions, so I thought I would share my routine with you today! I've been growing my hair out from a rather artistic (read: mullet) hairstyle since 2007, but have always treated it like my best accessory. To be honest, while insecurities about one thing or another will arise from time to time, I don't often feel bad about my hair, and it certainly comes in handy when my skin acts up: instant curtain. Just kidding. Kind of (not at all). Anyways, all true life confessions aside, here's the deal:

I wash my hair two or three times a week. I know this can be difficult for some, it's a habit that I got used to when I had super short hair in college, and it just stuck with me. The more you wash it, the more it dries out. I strongly believe in using high-quality products, lately I've been using Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger shampoo and conditioner and love it (the normal sized bottles have lasted since early October). EDIT: Sometimes I'll wash my bangs alone if I need to freshen up my hair but don't have time or energy to wash the whole thing.

When shampooing long hair, only shampoo your roots, the suds will run down and give the remaining length a good once over, but shampooing the ends will dry them out and cause splits.

Do the exact opposite with conditioner: focus on mid-hair-shaft to ends. Leave on as long as you can, and rinse. Conditioning your roots will just weigh them down and make them greasy.

Post shower, apply a quarter size amount of Moroccan Oil to hair from mid-hair-shaft to ends. My bottle of Moroccan Oil has lasted for about a year and is still going strong.

Air dry your hair as often as you can. I will typically wash mine at night, blow-drying my bangs so they don't get crazy, then allowing it to dry overnight. Heat styling dries out your hair and breaks it down, so it's best to invest in high quality hot tools- I like CHI and GHD, I usually flat iron at least my bangs and roots almost daily.

I like to use Paul Mitchell brushes as well, they're great quality (the one pictured above has lasted me since 2004) and glide through hair easily.

Coloring: I do get my hair colored, about twice a year. I know a lot of people can't wait that long, and I should probably go more often, but as I'm sure most ladies with long hair can attest to: it takes too freaking long!

A word on vitamins: I take fish oil vitamins and strongly believe in them. I can't say for sure whether they have a positive affect on my hair, but I feel like they do. However, I'm no expert, so consult your doctor before starting any new kind of vitamin regimen.

Getting your hair trimmed every six weeks will not make it grow faster, it just makes it so that there is less to cut off when you do go for a trim.

So there is my routine. Once again, I'm no expert and I'm not pretending to be. But I did work in a salon for my Mother in Law, and the above is a brief synopsis of what I learned there. Enjoy!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Waves of Grass







In this outfit:
Sweater c/o Free People
T-Shirt (under): Madewell ($10 sale)
Jeans: Marc Jacobs (Swapped)
Belt: Vintage (bought at a thrift store in high school)
Purse: Flea Market ($35)
Hat: H&M ($14)
Necklace: Flea Market and Dolly&Boy
Shoes c/o Lulu's


This was one of those mornings that, when I woke up, I was determined to just throw on an oversized sweater and jeans and go. Well, as most mornings seem to go, this sweater went better with these jeans, and these jeans required heels, etcetera etcetera, and before you know it, this is what happened. For the recoed, most of my weekday mornings seems to go this way. But all whining aside, this might just be a new favorite. I was comfortable, but still felt put together, I've been loving oversized sweaters lately, and the open knit of this one will be perfect as a transitional piece into spring.

I've been thinking about the older pieces in my closet lately. While I certainly was the farthest thing from stylish as a high schooler- rave pants, rainbow barrettes, and tiny No Doubt t-shirts come to mind- there are some things-two or three, maybe- that I collected during those years that stood the test of time. Like this belt. I found this vintage, tooled leather belt at our local church thrift store for probably a dollar, and in some 16 year old moment of clarity, bought it. and then forgot about it. Well my almost-28-year-old-self dug it up recently, and I'm thanking young-dumb-me for having enough smarts to know a good piece when she saw it! It makes me wonder, 12 years from now, what items will I be rediscovering in my closet?

Do you have anything from high school that you still wear? Something you bought long-ago and recently rediscovered?

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Whisk-er Me Away





In this outfit:
Dress: ModCloth
Shirt: Thrifted ($4)
Belt: Thrifted ($2)
Tights: AA (old)
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell (ModCloth)


Just so you're aware, expect puns anytime I wear the cat boots. Somehow wearing cats on your feet just causes a lack of seriousness. You know, I was wary of the tapestry trend at first, but I bought a pair of Bass loafers with a tapestry print awhile back and to my surprise found that it was more versatile that I thought it would be. With a closet full of brown shoes, I liked the change up in texture and color, almost like a camouflage. Or maybe I'm just forcing these to go with everything because they're covered in cats, that could very well be it too. It wouldn't be the first time my old lady tendencies got the better of me...and I'm sure it won't be the last.

When I add something this crazy to my closet, I always like to think about how much I loved (and still love) wearing crazy stuff of my mom's from the 70's and how, if I ever have children, I'll love passing stuff like this down to them.

What do you think about the tapestry trend, or even trends in general? Do you follow them? Do you not? Does it matter?

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Moth to a Flame







In this outfit:
Southwestern Dress c/o Everly Clothing
Cardigan: J.Crew Factory ($24)
Tights: AA (old)
Clogs: ModCloth (old)
Belt: Vintage Dior- thrift ($2)
Bracelets: gift from Punky
Necklace: gift


This dress from the sweet ladies at Everly added a much needed dose of color to last week's doom and gloom weather. Though, as happens often, just when I think I'm breaking away from "my colors", it turns out in fact I'm not. I'm just wearing them all together in a pattern. There is no denying my love for ochre, burgundy, navy, and brown, November through March, that's what I wear. But I can't help knowing what I like, if there's a long-chain necklace, 70's style platform, or pleated maxi-skirt or dress within 50 miles, I'm there. Scoopin' it up. Moth to a flame style.

Do you have go-to colors or styles you can't help but be drawn to?

Monday, January 23, 2012

Our Weekend in Pictures












The best kind of Sunday date: a late lunch and a stroll around CMU and PITT, and a visit to the most magical place ever: Phipps Conservatory. I could spend all day there. And how amazing is it to finally have a functional camera again? Pretty darn amazing. Other highlights: finally making some much needed changes to this blog (more to come), making a big Sunday breakfast, lots of cat cuddles, and one raucous post-Holiday work party.

And now it's Monday, and it's raining and I wish I was still curled up under covers. Story of my life. Get me five more cups of coffee, stat.

How was your weekend?

Friday, January 20, 2012

Style Muse: Francoise Hardy




Images via Google

Always lovely, always classic. She has that perfect tomboyish yet feminine look, plus she's married to Jacques Dutronc who I used to play on repeat 40 hours a week while working in a gift store in New Hampshire.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

How To: Have Soft Winter Skin

Hey! A new post topic! I plan on introducing some simple how-to's and DIY's once a week to Orchid Grey (including hair)! Let me know what you guys think, and if there are any specific topics you'd like to see!


Pictured: Eucerin Calming Oil Wash, Ayurvedic Dry Brush, Jojoba Oil, Alba Body Lotion

The other day, my Mother informed the that it was -17 degrees at her house in Maine. That's 17 below zero, people! While I tend to think 20 degrees is chilly, nothing compares to when the weather dips below zero. Whether your winter weather hovers in the negatives or doesn't drop below thirty, there's no denying that dry winter skin can be truly miserable. This year, I feel like I finally cracked the code for relief of winter skin, and I figured I would share it with you today:

In the shower, pair a natural bristle body brush (available at Whole Foods or a natural health store) with Eucerin's Calming Shower Oil. It may seem counter-intuitive to use oil in the shower, but it works wonders. Buff all over and, once out of the shower, pat dry with a towel.

Post-shower, use a body lotion that contains alpha-hydroxy acids (which help support cellular renewal) and an SPF. I recommend Alba Botanica Very Emollient Body Lotion (Also available at Whole Foods- one big bottle should last you a year).

If you're feeling really dry, add a couple drops of jojoba oil to the body lotion before applying. I like The Jojoba Company- they're based in Maine (and yes...also available at Whole Foods)!

Do you have any products that you swear by?

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Illusionist

Once upon a time, a vintage-loving girl found a pretty, green wool skirt at a thrift store, only to find that...






In this outfit:
Coat: Vintage thrifted ($25)
Sweater: Modcloth (hand-me-down)
Palazzo pants: Vintage thrifted ($9)
Shoes c/o Lulu's
Tights: AA
Bag: Swapped
Scarf & Bracelets: gift from Punky
Earrings c/o Noble Town Vintage
Belt: vintage (Dior!) thrifted ($2)

...it wasn't a skirt at all!

How could I resist? When I told my mother about this purchase, she just started singing "Free to be You and Me" and making Marlo Thomas jokes. Pallazzo pants were big in the 70's, which I'm sure was in my subconscious when I made the decision to buy them. The lesson here? Don't be afraid to try something new, even if it seems ridiculous, because these are crazy pants, but that's why I love them.


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On a more serious note, if you haven't already, I strongly urge you to send a letter to your senator urging them to vote NO on the SOPA and PIPA acts. You can read more here.