Skippy Says: It's Morning Time (OOTD)

I am not a morning person. Consider that an extraordinarily generous understatement. When I was in high school, it was not unusual for my papa to have to resort to dumping a cup of cold water on me so that I'd get up in time to make first period. And my mama swears that the only time she's seen me wake up with a smile is when she and my brother waved a freshly peeled clementine under my nose. I may hate mornings, but I love citrus.

Not much has changed these days. Ryan routinely does a "morning-time" song and dance to try to put a smile on my face while I angrily grumble at him to stop. On particularly cranky mornings, I resort to growling and biting. What? I told you to consider it an extraordinarily generous understatement. Unfortunately for me, I've got an 8:00 a.m. doctor's appointment about an hour and a half away tomorrow morning. So if you hear that loud roar come 6:00 a.m., don't be surprised. It's just me welcoming the morning.

Shop:
- Target dress (Bought circa early 2011, no longer available. Buy similar here)
- BCBG sweater (Bought on sale circa 2008, no longer available. Buy kind of similar here)
- Hue textured diamond tights (Buy here)
- Anthropologie booties (Bought on sale circa early 2011, no longer available)
- Necklace gift from my aunt

Skippy Says: Travel Uniform (OOTD)

Internet, meet my comfy traveling outfit. Comfy traveling outfit, internet. Since we're making the four hour drive up to Tahoe tonight, I chose big used to be big but now fit just right thanks to the holidays jeans and a cozy sweater. Hey, I work with what I got. And I don't got any more jeans that are big on me. Hopefully we'll do some hiking in Tahoe to help out with that little problem. Though I'll be sure to compensate with extra mugs of hot cocoa to balance it all out.

Shop:
- Banana Republic Factory store petite jeans (Bought on sale circa 2008, no longer available. Buy similar here)
- Banana Republic chambray top (Bought on sale. No longer available online, may still be in some stores. Buy similar here, here, or here)
- Mango sweater (Bought on sale summer of 2010, no longer available. Buy kind of similar here)
- SF ThreadShow vintage shoes
- Earrings birthday gift from Ryan

Skippy Says: Greaseball (OOTD)

You guys like my new beautiful 100% silk mustard colored top? Me too. Or at least I did. I managed to wear it for promptly one hour before getting a grease stain on it. Which is probably a sign from the universe telling me I should lay off the greasy food. A sign I’m going to ignore, but a sign nonetheless. As much as I love silk tops, they don’t hold a candle to Burma Superstar’s samosa soup. 

Shop:

- Madewell top (Bought on sale, no longer available online, may still be available in some stores. Buy similar here or here)

- Target dress worn as skirt (No longer available, buy similar here)

- Anthropologie blazer/ coat (Bought on sale, no longer available online, still available in some stores)

- Anthropologie belt (Bought on sale, no longer available) 

- Hue textured diamond tights (Buy here)

- Necklace gift from my aunt

- Treasure Island flea market purse

- Shoes from random little store in Germany

Skippy Says: Happy Chanukah! (OOTD)

Last night was the first night of Chanukah, so in honor of that I dressed in blue and white. No, not really. More like I was still feeling a bit sick and not really up to picking out an outfit, so I had Ryan do it for me. Of course he picked out the most summery looking pieces in my closet- a thin striped t-shirt and white jeans. You know, forget that it's like 55 degrees out. And if all you East coast people want to hate right now and call me a big wussy...you're right. But I chose to live in California for a reason dagnabit. But you know I wasn't going to start from scratch. So I pulled out a jacket, scarf, and booties and called it good.

Shop:
- Anthropologie jeans (Bought on sale, no longer available. Buy similar here or here)
- Anthropologie top (Bought on sale, no longer available)
- Forever 21 jacket (Bought circa 2004, no longer available)
- Anthropologie scarf (Bought on sale, no longer available. Buy kind of similar here or here)
- Anthropologie booties (Bought on sale, no longer available)

Skippy Says: That's What Friends Are For (OOTD)

So you remember my BFF Alisa I told you about? Well, one thing I didn't tell you was that Alisa and I like to eat together. A lot. Oh wait, I did. But not the extent of it. You see, in high school, Alisa and I were hungry little monsters. We would regularly eat the packed lunches our parents made for us, and then head down to the cafeteria to wash them down with a piece of pizza or bag of chips. What? We were growing girls. Maybe not vertically growing, but growing nonetheless. One particularly hungry afternoon, we got home from school and ordered a large pizza. And then we ate it all while watching MTV's Dismissed. Can I get a yeah yeah from someone else who watched that deliciously trashy show? Please? Anywho, knowing Alisa's mom was going to be home to feed us dinner in about an hour, and knowing she'd be livid that we already ate, we quickly got rid of the pizza box in a neighbor's trash and then returned home only to eat a second dinner about an hour later. It was an impressive feat. Alisa, I hope you mama doesn't read this blog or we'll have some splainin' to do.

You shouldn't be surprised, then, to hear that our date a few weekends ago started out with some brunch. After our bellies were nice and full, we headed over the the San Francisco ThreadShow, which is a showcase of emerging local designers and artists. It was the funnest, girliest day we've had in a while. And productive too-- I managed to add a few pieces to my pathetically small jewelry collection.

Shop:

- Banana Republic Factory store top )Bought on sale, no longer available. Buy similar here or here)

- BCBG outlet cardigan (Bought on sale, no longer available. Buy kind of similar on sale here or here)

- BCBG blazer (Brand new via Ebay for $9! Buy similar here)

- Therapy jeans (No online store. Buy similar here or here)

- H&M scarf (Bought circa 2008, no longer available)

- Fergie booties via DSW (Bought on sale, not available online. Buy similar here, here, or here)

- San Francisco ThreadShow earrings ($5!)

Skippy Says: My Soulmate (OOTD)

This may come as a surprise to some of you, but I don't think Ryan is my soulmate. Clearly, I'm madly in love and absolutely crazy about him. But to me at least, that's different than a soulmate. My soulmate is my BFF, Alisa, who was in my life long before Ryan and I met. During all of high school, we were quite literally inseparable. From about eight in the morning until midnight we were by each other's sides-- talking, eating (a lot), and making up nicknames for boys we thought were cute so we could discuss them without anyone knowing who we were talking about. Our favorite was "Hrusha"- a boy named Andrew that we translated to "Andrusha" and somehow morphed into "Hrusha."

Although we both live in San Francisco, Alisa and I don't get to see each other quite as often as we used to back in the day. Grown-up life and work have gotten in the way, as has our desire to spend time with our respective significant others. We still get together a few times a week though, and this past Sunday was a particularly fun girls day despite the fact that she told me I dressed up like Blossom. And no, she didn't mean it as a compliment, though I took it as one. And yes, she is still my soulmate.

Shop:
- Target dress (No longer available. Buy similar here or here)
- Anthropologie trench (Gift from my mother-in-law, no longer available. Buy similar here or here)
- Anthropologie belt (Circa 208, no longer available. Buy similar here)
- Vintage scarf (From SF vintage expo)
- Hue tights (Buy here)
- Hue socks (Not available online but available in store at Macy's)
- Naturalizer outlet boots (bought on sale circa 2009, no longer available. Buy similar here)

Skippy Says: Lessons In Pattern Mixing (OOTD)

It's no big secret that I love the pattern mixing trend (trend?). Trend or not, I'll keep mixing patterns until the cows come home. And since I live in San Francisco, that's probably going to be a while. Lately, I've seen all sorts of "rules" about how to properly mix patterns on other blogs, and maybe I'm just dense, but I have to admit they don't make much sense to me. Instead, I employ the following 2 step foolproof strategy:

1. Pick out two pieces with different patterns that I think I want to wear together and lay them out on the bed. Look at them and, wait for it, decide if I think they look nice together. Tada!

If the answer to step 1 is "no," move on two step 2:

2. Angrily throw one of the pieces on the floor and pick out another one I think might work better. Tada! Ok, I lie. My OCD would never let me do that. Neatly but still angrily hang up one of the pieces back in my closet and then pick out another one. Repeat until satisfied.

Shop:
- Mango top (bought on sale, no longer available. Buy similar here, here, here, or here)
- Banana Republic factory store skirt (bought on sale circa 2006 or 2007? No longer available. Buy similar here or here)
- Purse from SF vintage sidewalk sale ($5!)
- Banana Republic Factory store scarf (bought on sale circa 2010, no longer available. Buy similar here or here)
- Target tights (buy here)
- Shoes from random little store in Germany
- Earrings from random little store in cape cod circa 2008

Skippy Says: If You Love A Woman (OOTD)

Ryan and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary a few months back by going to the Treasure Island flea market for part of the day. What? You have your idea of romance, and we have ours. Fine, this is just mine, but I married a pretty nice guy who knows the way to my heart and is willing to indulge me. I haven't been back since, but I scored so many great items (including the earrings and purse in the outfit below) that I really want to go back soon. Oh, and a really nice vendor gave me a free plate! I have no idea what I'm going to do with it since we got a set of beautiful matching china for our wedding, but you know the immigrant in me can't say no to free anything.

Shop:
- Anthropologie top (bought on sale, buy on sale here)
- Anthropologie skirt (bought on sale circa 2007 or 2008, no longer available. Buy similar here or an amazing (kind of) similar kate spade skirt on sale here)
- Treasure Island flea market purse (buy similar here or here)
- Treasure Island flea market earrings
- Anthropologie shoes (bought on sale, no longer available)

Skippy Says: Showin' A Little Leg (OOTD)

When I was little, though older than I'd care to publicly admit so I'll keep it vague, my cousin and I used to play a game called "CC." We were sisters, both named Kelly, since we both wanted to be Kelly Kapowski from Saved By The Bell. Who didn't, right? That hair, those cute little outfits, and that hunky Zack Morris for a boyfriend. Except we didn't know Kelly was spelled with a "K" and not a "C." Hence, "CC" for "Celly Celly." Brilliant, I know.

We'd most often play "CC" at my grandma and grandpa's house. Every Saturday morning after going to the synagogue, my brother, cousins, and I would walk the few blocks down to my grandma's house for brunch. And while I'd be lying if I said she was a good cook, I can honestly say I loved the food she made those Saturday mornings: boiled potatoes with butter and dill, Russian style tuna salad with cheese and walnuts, sliced Russian cheese, and tons of veggies. I know it doesn't sound glamorous, but the nostalgia for those tastes seriously still makes my mouth water.

When my grandma was alive, she often told me that I dressed too conservatively. "It doesn't ever hurt a lady to show a little more leg," she told me, and insisted that she managed to get her job because her boss "did not look uninterested in her legs." Grandma, I'm showin' a little leg just for you.

           

Shop:
- Target dress (paired with a different belt)
- Anthropologie belt (circa 2008 or early 2009? No longer available. Buy similar here and here)
- Vince Camuto shoes (bought on sale, buy on sale here)
- Vintage scarf (from San Francisco vintage expo, $10)
- Treasure Island flea market purse
- Earrings gift from my parents from a trip they took to Mexico