little.black.sheep.shop

Green Boutique Shout Out

So I miss my home town from time to time... I miss it quite a bit, actually.

So when my friends and family in Houston all start talking about some fantastic new place there (restaurant, store, entertainment phenomenon), I get a sudden PANG of homesickness and wish I could click my heels three times and just BE there already!

Naturally, when I began to hear a steady stream of murmurings and rumors regarding a store selling organic, eco-friendly, and otherwise green products right in the heart of Clutch City, my ears perked up, and my homesickness went into full PANG-mode!

Found at 5160 Buffalo Speedway in Houston, this is a charming eco-friendly boutique that offers an array of green products that make my heart flutter!

And I have heard nothing but FANTASTIC things about this store... I was gifted one of their shirts made out of organic cotton for my birthday! (Many thanks to Mr & Mrs Holley!) It is seriously so beyond comfortable that I wish I had one for every day of the week!

My brother-in-law also selected one of their amazing purses for my twin for her birthday. It is not only made out of recycled materials - LOVE THAT! - but the kidney-shape and zippered straps make it oh-so-chic too.

(Two thumbs up, Keith!)

So if you live in (or are passing by) Houston, I urge you to visit this store and see what you can find to bring home with you (or to give to a friend).

It feels GOOD buying green... so it's not only good for Mother Earth, but it's good for your pysche too!

To check out One Green Street's upcoming events, visit their website. And if you are not lucky enough to live in H-town, you can keep up with the store's happenings from afar via the store owner's blog!

xoxo!

-h-

 

Cropped pants are evil

Ever since I saw Chris Titus' stand up special LOVE is EVOL, I have reconsidered cropped pants.

His claim was that all men hate cropped pants.

"They are, essentially, pants that didn't go full term."

I turned to my friend and asked, "Is this true? Do men really hate crops?" And he confirmed it.

What?! This was COMPLETELY NEW information to me.

And I've tried to see crops in a new light ever since - trying to see just what it is that men hate about them.

 

And it finally hit me when I got this emailed picture from White House Black Market last week:

 If you look at the large version of this picture... you'll see that first of all, the entire outfit looks just drab and sad.

Second, the model - while pretty - looks like she doesn't really want to be there. Her pose isn't exactly carefree and relaxed. It's more awkward and shy.

For now we'll ignore the blouse that is WAY too big for such a skinny girl (and leaves her looking completely shapeless on top).

And then... there are the crops.

They already look wrinkled as hell (these would not pass my Mum's crush-the-material-in-your-hand-before-you-buy test).

And they have a very odd mini cuff at the bottom...

And all-around they make this poor, pretty model look like she's 5' 2'' (instead of the 6' 1'' that she more likely is)!

I can already see how much better this chick would look in a pair of shorts OR pants instead of this awful get-up.

I think I've finally seen the light.

I have a few cropped workout pants that I will continue to wear (because I don't feel like I need to look all that attractive while I'm sweating my butt off!). But other than that, I will unlikely wear cropped pants in the future.

(On a sidenote, I usually love White House Black Market - they pick great pictures in their blast emails... I'm always enticed to their website to take a gander at their latest offerings. But this was very out of character and disappointing. "Sensational crops"?? I think not. Please do better next round, WHBM!)

xoxo

-h-

My Picks for Retail Cold Therapy!

With many people in the midwest and northeast stuck in the snow and ice this week, I thought I'd share my fav winterish looks - even tho many shops are pushing bikinis and shorts right now! Let us get through ONE season, retail peeps! Srsly!!

Some of my current favorite cooler weather get-ups:

{ heart the navy pants + mustard shoes! c/o anthropologie }

 

 
{ i bought this cute military-style corduroy jacket from White House Black Market this year - i LOVE it. very comfy and it is feminine + structured all at once. thank you, gift cards! }

 

 

{ the military-ish d'armee dress from anthropologie - cute paired with gray tights and a bright pair of red or yellow shoes...

 

... like these little cuties! }

 

 anthropologie actually has a free shipping offer right now (for a limited time) for those stuck at home due to the cold weather - just type in THAWOUT at checkout. you're welcome. :)

xoxo!

-h-

 

Never too late for Leela

So I'm trying to check in briefly before life completely runs me over...

I have returned home safe + sound after my trip. It is always nice to return home to your own bed... and even nicer when your puppy is so happy to see you home that he can't stop jumping!

I worked a lot while I was gone, but I was able to have some "fun time" too... in particular, I joined in the festivities at my sister's Halloween party this year. My first Halloween party in a number of years! I was PSYCHED.

I was very excited that my costume came together...

I was Turanga Leela for the evening... eye and all...

 

{ thanks to keith for my "moon shoes" }

 

My eye was made out of horse fly mask material, with elastic straps sewed onto either side to keep it on my face. I spray painted it white and then put a black circle in the middle (enamel paint). I also hot-glued some squares of felt onto the underneath part so it sat far enough away from my face that it didn't squish into my eyelashes all night. Pretty comfy!

My wig wasn't perfect... I had to get a blue one and spray it with purple hair spray. There is NO purple wig out there that has bangs and is long enough to put into a pony tail. Srsly. So I had to make do with the blue. And the purple spray unfortunately didn't want to stick to the synthetic blue hair. Oh well!

I made the "wrist computer" out of an old kitchen roll and duct tape (standard and black).

I bought my "gun" from Target. It was actually pretty fun because it had suction-cup darts as ammunition!

And I borrowed my brother-in-law's snowboard boots for the night - surprisingly comfy for being SO fracking big!

All in all, it was a great night. And a welcome respite from long days at work.

Maybe I'll be able to be there next year!!!

xoxo

-h-

A skeleton in our closet

Ryan + I couldn't resist picking up this little skeleton get up for our Riley...

And Ryan couldn't wait until Halloween to try it out.

{ He claimed he needed to make sure it fit... but we all know the truth. }

 

{ there are little treats and candy corn in his belly... so cute! }

 

{ a rare non-blurry pic of our furry little one }

I thought they looked more like pj's than a costume... and when we checked the label, it actually said "dog pajamas"!!

Which made me wonder... do people really buy their dogs pajamas??

For now, I've hidden away this "outfit" in the closet until All Hallow's Eve arrives...

:)

-h-

First Day!

Did you know? Today's the day! The First Day of Autumn!

*grins*

I am SO excited fall has officially arrived!

So far, this year has been crazy busy for us. Personally, I've spent most of my time working, traveling, and playing wedding coordinator...

So much so that there seems to have been little time to spend doing almost anything else.

(Srsly. I have a stack of books on my nightstand that have barely budged since March... poor neglected things...)

Now that cooler weather is steadily approaching, I'm looking forward to rescuing my leggings, woolen socks + tights, long-sleevers and light-weight sweaters from the back of my closet and from the nether-regions of my dresser drawers.

As a lover of layering clothes, autumn is definitely my FAVORITE season!

{   Sidenote: Anyone seen the new Anthropologie items lately? What a treat for layer-lovers like yours truly...! Wish I could afford to deck out my entire closet...    }

It does feel a bit odd to be stowing away my bikinis, tanks + shorts... particularly when we JUST got back from spending endless days on Jamaican beaches...

*sigh*

But... I digress.

The point is... now that I have more time on my hands, I'm updatin' the shoppe! And because it's fall, there will be a few encore appearances...

WOOHOO!

I'll reveal them oh-so-soon in a mini-update. :)

Project Runway 2010 - Results!

And the winner is...

SETH AARON!!!

Wow! For once... the judges didn't go the opposite direction from my opinions. Although Mila was the first to get eliminated of the three - and I would definitely have worn more of her clothes than anyone else's... oh well!

So... I was totally surprised that the judges had so few negative things to say right off the bat.

Ultimately, I have to agree with the judges this season: 

They called Seth's work impeccable, powerful, and a little heavy-handed with Seth's aesthetic. Here are two of my fav looks from his show at Bryant Park:

 

 

 

They loved Emilio's work, particularly his coats and that incredible dress... but felt there was a gap between the daytime sportswear and the gown he showed last. Also, maybe too much tailoring. I loved his red dress and would wear it in a heartbeat and his gown makes me wish I was a celebrity so I could pull off wearing that too:

 

 

Mila's work was beautiful and soft, she brought 60's design into modern times, and successfully brought some rock-n-roll grunge into her usually buttoned-up styling. Here are my fav pieces from her collection Including the aubergine shrug):

 

 

Wow... Usually the judges and I are NOT aligned when it comes to the finale! 

Way to go, Seth! I'm very excited that the show ended up with such a lovely person and designer. 

And I can't wait to see where Mila and Emilio end up...

Can't wait 'til next season!

Project Runway 2010

So I'm watching Project Runway a day late this morning over coffee - (my schedule has been so quirky and out of whack recently with personal stuff and work stuff).

And after seeing each designer's runway show at fashion week, I think I know who I want to win. Gut reactions from each designer's collection:

 

Seth: Creative, maybe over-designed?, sexy pants, too much going on in some pieces, didn't celebrate women's' soft features, expected

Mila: Boring black & white, pretty ideas, girly, cute, like a lot of pieces... 'specially that gorgeous aubergine-colored sheer-striped shrug! How beautiful was that?!

Emilio: Love the color, a little retro, wearable, pretty, thoughtfully put together, amazing flowy dress, some boring stuff I didn't care for.

 

I have to say PR always awards the top spot to the person who I think is the least deserving (not because of their design prowess... usually because of what a horrible person they are or have been edited to appear to be!)

So... My prediction based on PR historical choices? Emilio Sosa.

I actually did like his collection... It was girly and wearable. I think I could admire Seth Aaron's work, but I wouldn't necessarily have the hootzpah to wear most of it. And you couldn't really see the girls' curves in his clothes either. I would ultimately wear more pieces from Mila's collection than anyone else's. So I'm hoping she wins... but PR never picks my choices!

*  *  *  *  *

I'll check back in a few to let you know if I'm right...

Cute Gardening Shirt Designs

I planted a few more veggie seeds in my slowly expanding vegetable garden on Tuesday. And I have to admit, I've had gardening on the brain since the winter weather hinted at subsiding.

In my internet perusing, I came across some really cute gardening-related shirts...

Check out some of my favorites from Cafe Press:

 

 

 

I absolutely love these - super cute!!

-h-

Threads to carry Winter into Spring

We've had a flash of warmer weather here in Columbia this week. And while I can't completely banish my sweaters, gloves and scarves yet, I am starting to look through my closet and strappy shoes and lighter-weight fabrics and I'm getting excited for spring to come!

I window-shopped online this morning, and I'm sharing some of my favorite upcoming springy looks with you...

 

Casual & Weekend Looks...

 

 

Black & White Business Looks...

 

 

My Favorite Date Night Look...

 

I love all the layers, the versatile pieces, and the monochromatic textures. I still have a few gift cards in my purse that I haven't spent yet. Maybe now is a good time to use 'em!

All my best to each of you this Tuesday morning! xxoo!

-h-