Style Inspiration: Dum Dum Girls


After my last outfit post, a friend of mine told me that it reminded her of a band that we both saw at the Sasquatch Festival last year - Dum Dum Girls.

I went and checked a couple of my photos from the festival, and guess what? The comparison makes sense. After looking at a bunch of other photos of this fierce girl band, it made me want a leather jacket more than anything. 

 © Abby Williamson





 © Abby Williamson

I mean, not only are they a great band but they dress fabulous. I'm basically obsessed with Dee Dee Penny (the one sporting the sunglasses right above).

The tights and the lace and the black and the red (or black) lipstick, I love it all.
I might at one point seriously do a makeup tutorial inspired by these badass lady rock stars.

Best wishes!
-Abby


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Girl Crush of the Moment: Jennifer Lawrence

So I figured I'd change the title of this to "of the moment" instead of committing to monthly or weekly or fortnightly. Is fortnightly a word? Well Blogger didn't underline it, so it must be right!

I don't want to talk about the Oscars because I could go on forever about it, but I'm mostly still mad at the guy standing behind me at a club that night who spoiled the awards for me. I recorded them at home and watched them when I got back, in case you're wondering.

But this post is entirely relevant to the Oscars because JENNIFER LAWRENCE.

  Let me count the ways why I love Jennifer Lawrence.
 She's normal as hell, and down-to-earth in so many ways. I want to be her best friend. This moment made me smile because she played it off so well and funny. She's charmingly weird. I think that's a good description.
 She's naturally gorgeous. Like, if I were into girls I'd have sex with her. Hell I'd probably have sex with her now if I had the chance.
 She is not only inspiring as a young and successful actress that has been nominated twice for an Oscar by the age of 22 (what am I DOING WITH MY LIFE) but she's funny and sassy and... real.

I mean, did you see this interview post-award?
What kind of questions are those, anyway? "What were you thinking when you fell?"
"FUCK."
Some reporters are just dumb.

Let's just take a second to bask in the glory that is this Dior Couture dress. She was a big winner not only in the best actress category, but also in the best dressed category if I have anything to say about it.
I never saw Winter's Bone, which I need to do so soon, but J. Law did such a phenomenal job in Silver Linings Playbook. It was one of my favourite films of the year, and her character was so real and heartbreaking and funny and awkward and perfect. Ugh I just love her. I mean, Bradley Cooper is pushing 40 and she is just 22. You would have never known that by just watching their performances.
Also, can we not forget that Jennifer is KATNISS FREAKING EVERDEEN? One of the most badass female characters ever written. Seeing a young actress balance a huge franchise and independent Oscar-nominated films is inspiring.
2012 was her year, and hopefully we will see so much more of her. Any way for me to get to see more interviews of her being hilarious is good.

Watch this. You won't be sorry.


Best wishes!
-Abby
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Nightmoth Blues

I just realized when I was editing these photos today that I wear a lot of denim. Like, a lot. I swear there is at least one piece of denim in each outfit on this blog. Well it might be a little hyperbolic, but if you looked in my drawers - you'd be staring into a sea of blue.

What can I say? It's da best.

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LIFE LATELY: Seriously? Seriously.

The title of this post has all sorts of connotations, but the main one is referring to my beloved Grey's Anatomy. 
 Those were the good ol' days weren't they?

I used to worship that television show. It was my weekly dose of my TV friends, and it got to an almost unhealthy degree (at least I thought it was almost unhealthy). I own the first three seasons on DVD, and I still say that the second season is my favourite season of a television show ever. Hands down.

But like real friends, my TV friends and I grew up. And the tragic thing about growing up is that you sometimes grow apart. I have missed the past three seasons, ever since Izzie went crazy and George died. I've still got bitter feelings towards Shonda Rhimes for killing George, but whatever, the past is the past. 

One of my favourite things about Grey's Anatomy was the soundtrack. I discovered so many great artists from of that show, because I literally downloaded every song from every episode the first two seasons. That's when I spent a lot of money on iTunes. Tegan and Sara - Grey's Anatomy. Jamie Lidell - Grey's Anatomy. Roisin Murphy, Rilo Kiley, and Brandi Carlile - all because of Grey's Anatomy. It's amazing to think that one show can open your eyes to so many great artists. 

But why exactly is this relevant right now?

Well, this world has come full circle. My good friend Kris Orlowski, a Seattle artist, had his song "Mountains" featured on this week's episode. Seriously. It's so funny too because the first time I played Kris's Pieces We Are EP for my mom, she was all, "This song sounds like it belongs on TV, on like Grey's Anatomy or something." Mom called it.

Here are a couple of gratuitous pictures of Kris, just cause.


Finding out about it this week made me so unbelievably proud of Kris, and proud of Seattle music, and proud of Alexandre Patsavas for picking such an amazing artist to be a part of the phenomenal soundtrack. It gives me all sorts of warm fuzzies. And I thought it was cool with Givers (some more pals of mine) had their song on Glee.

In case you missed the episode last night, here's the clip.

Slow clap for Kris.

So while that was the most exciting thing this week - there is plenty more awesome stuff happening that is definitely worth a proverbial "seriously?"

In case you hadn't seen my channel page on YouTube lately, here's a screenshot.
 I have a banner now! But more importantly, this means that I am officially a network partner with Big Frame now! I've been talking with a couple of girls from the network for a few weeks now and it officially went into effect this week. I'm so happy that my channel has been noticed by big wigs and that it's "taken off" relatively well since I restarted my channel back in August. Soon I will also be joining the ranks of Wonderly, which had their official launch party last night in L.A. A few of my friends got to go, and I'm super jealous.

If you are unfamiliar with Wonderly, I suggest clicking on the link I provided because they do a much better job explaining it than I could, but basically it's a community of smart, witty, entertaining female content creators of all media, not just YouTube. I'm really excited to be in such great company as Kayley, Emily, Kassie, Morgan, and Chelsea. Seriously, go check out their channels. They're smart and wonderful and I like them a lot.

One last thing - if you live in the Seattle area, you should make sure your March 3rd is free. My boyfriend Andy Glover is playing his EP release show at the Rendezvouz in Seattle. The head of Andy's little indie label Grumpy Old Bear Norm has worked so hard to promote this thing, and they've done a really great job. I strongly suggest you come out that night - it's a Sunday night so there won't be a lot of other stuff going on, I can guarantee that. It will be worth your while. Plus, I'm having a meetup at Pike Place at 3 p.m. that day if you want to come hang out!

This ended up being a very long-winded post, but I will be back with a couple of reviews pretty soon (I put in an order for the Stila "In the Know" palette this week and I'm super excited about it).

Best wishes!
-Abby
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Stepping into Spring

I've been looking forward to spring for weeks now, ever since the groundhog saw his shadow. While it's still pretty damn cold out, I wanted to break out my floral dresses.

This one I found at a thrift store, and it's quite short. The last photo you can see my jean shorts that I wore on this day as insurance for how short it is. It definitely lives up to its "babydoll" style.
 Sarah and I went out to the apple orchard in University Place this particular afternoon, and caught the sun at a gorgeous time of day. It's just too bad that all the high school students decided to graffiti up this structure.
I just got this beanie recently from Zumiez, from the brand Neff, as an alternative to a bad hair day. I'm just not in love with the length of my hair right now but I don't want to cut it off again, so I've been investing in a bunch of hair accessories and hats lately. I realized that I didn't have any beanies, and had been relying solely on fedoras, so I got this one and a gray beanie from Coal.
I mean look at how cool this structure is.
I got this necklace from Karmaloop.com in a set with some earrings, and I've been wearing it constantly. I don't like to always follow trends, but I don't mind doing the skulls and crosses trend in one way, mixing it with something entirely unique and different.
My sweater is thrifted, and my sunglasses are my prescription Ray-Ban Meteors. Oh boy do I love these things. They've got the Wayfarer style, but they're just slightly different with the notch on the nose bridge. It just adds a touch of femininity and softness to the shape.
My tights are generic sweater tights from Target, and my shoes are Dolce Vita Mini Suede Oxfords that I got from Solestruck last year. They're so comfortable and I basically want all the colors. I could literally ogle at Solestruck for hours because of all the beautiful shoes they have on their site. Solestruck, I'd gladly take a sponsorship deal *hint hint*.
Sweater: Thrifted // Dress: Thrifted // Shorts: Levi's cutoffs // Beanie: Neff // Tights: Target // Shoes: Dolce Vita // Necklace: Karmaloop // Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Meteor

Apologies for my hiatus, but it's been a busy week and hopefully I'll get back into the swing of posting. Hopefully spring will inspire me to do so (god willing it doesn't snow in March like in years previous).

Best wishes!
-Abby
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Recipe: Reeses Pieces Cookies for my Valentine!

Andy and I decided that we didn't want to get each other anything really for Valentine's Day this year, since we're trying to save money and Christmas was a pretty big deal for the both of us. But because it is Valentine's Day, I wanted to do sooomething special for Andy. And I know that he is bringing lunch to work a lot more rather than going out to eat to save money, I figured I'd made him some cookies to bring in his work lunches!
As a way to make these cookies a little different, I used Reeses Pieces instead of chocolate chips, and I also added in a handful of honey-roasted peanuts as well. Andy loves Reeses Pieces, and he usually has a bag on his desk whenever I come over. 

I wanted soft and chewy cookies, and I still haven't perfected a recipe, like the amazing Otis Spunkmeyer cookies we had in the high school student store. However, these ones are pretty good and chewy. I'll keep trying to find the perfect recipe, but for now, I'll share this one with you!
 I based it off this recipe on Martha Stewart's website.
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons sour cream
  • ~2 cups (about 12 ounces) Reeses Pieces
  • ~1 cup of honey-roasted peanuts
 Before doing anything else, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Then add the vanilla, eggs, and sour cream and lightly mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold in the candies and peanuts. 

Drop by the tablespoonful on a lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. I forgot to line mine, so some batches stuck more than others, so I'd definitely recommend lining it with a Sil-Pat or parchment paper.
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown around the outside. My oven has terribly uneven heating, so if your oven is like mine, rotate the pan halfway through baking. If the middle is still too soft after the 12 minutes, transfer it to the lower rack for a few minutes while you start the next sheet of cookies. 

Once done, let them sit on the cookie sheet for a minute or two, and transfer them to a cookie sheet to cool. As you can see, some of my batches were more done than others, but that's just because I usually am double-tasking when baking and forget to take things out on time.
Wrap them up or put them in a tupperware container, bring them to your significant other, and enjoy!

Hopefully I get some shots of my Valentine's Day outfit, because it's pretty damn cute I must say. 
But for now, Happy Valentine's Day!

Also, two years tomorrow was mine and Andy's first date. We went and saw John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats and UW. But on Valentine's Day, Andy did this.
Best wishes!
-Abby
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LAVENDER LOVE: MAC Viva Glam Nicki 2

Now that headline might be a little bit misleading, because my relationship with the new Viva Glam Nicki lipstick is definitely a love-hate relationship. Kind of like my feelings for Nicki Minaj. Anyway.

After last year's bright coral pink, Mac decided to go a little cray and go for an all-out lavender lipstick. And they aren't skimping on the pigmentation. No lustre or glaze finish here - nope, it's a full on Amplified finish, which is both a good and bad thing.

The swatches below are one swipe on the right and built up on the left. As you can see, there isn't much of a difference in a swatch. It's pretty much the same on the lips. So this color is a very difficult one to pull off by itself. You either have to be ridiculously pale (even paler than me) or have a darker skin tone where this contrasts really well. Most other skin tones, from fair to medium, would want to definitely wear this with a lip liner, lip gloss, or layer it with another purple or pink color.
Here I have just lightly patted the color on my lips, giving it a nice cool lavender pink stain. Because of the incredible pigmentation and creaminess of this color, patting it on works quite well without it looking too patchy. You can definitely wear it this way without a lip liner, as it lets some of your natural lip color show through.

 
Now the next lip swatches are full on applied.
And while I have a cool skin tone, the base is so white that it's still just a little bit too much for me.
 
Had some issues here applying clearly. I was looking in the reflection of my camera, not a mirror, okay?
 I said that the Amplified finish is both a good and bad thing because while it is so pigmented if you apply a full coat, it will last for such a long time because you barely have to pat it on to get color. I personally like products that are really pigmented that I can sheer out how I like it - blush, eyeshadow, foundation, and lipstick as well. This is a perfect example of that. You use less product that way and you get more bang for your buck!
 Swatches below are compared to Mac Creme Cup (left) and Pink Nouveau (right). I realize neither of them are similar in the slightest, I just wanted to get a comparison to see how light it actually is. And I thought Creme Cup was light!
While it is such a difficult color to wear by itself, it's a fun color to have in your collection to mix with other colors. Plus, all the money you spend on a Viva Glam lipstick goes to the Mac AIDS Fund, so I don't feel bad in the slightest paying the $15 for a lipstick that probably won't get a lot of wear from me. But if you're into ombre lips, or super bold colors, I'd go for it.

You can purchase this lipstick for a limited time (I think for a year, not sure) from Nordstrom.com or Maccosmetics.com.

I did a Valentine's Day look with this lipstick (and I did a neat ombre truck with another lipstick), so you can watch it below to get some ideas!


I hope you guys enjoyed this post, and I hope you have a good week!

Best wishes!
-Abby
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GRAMMYS: Best and Worst Dressed

Can we talk about how amazing last night's Grammy Awards were? Justin Timberlake, Jake White, that EPIC tribute to Levon Helm with Mumford and Sons and Brittany Howard? I mean, I can say that I haven't been this pleased with a Grammys ceremony in a very long time. But I don't need to sit here and talk about how amazing the performances were or how childish Taylor Swift was or how great of a karmic moment it was when Frank Ocean beat Chris Brown (pun absolutely intended). I'm here to talk about the FASHION.

First, my best dressed. These are in no particular order, btw.

Love me some Frank Ocean, even though I was a little pissed that he didn't sing Pyramids or Thinkin' Bout You. I loved the all-blue ensemble. Classy yet casual.
Also, as much as I'm sick of the song Girl On Fire, Alicia Keys was on FIRE. It shows off her curves in all the right ways, and shows just enough skin without being vulgar.
  
I don't know how people were hating on Adele's dress. IT'S FREAKING ADORABLE. It fits her personality and it's something different and refreshing.
I love me some Beyonce, but I think her sister Solange out-dressed her last night. The simple body-hugging green dress mixed with her fabulous 'fro definitely makes her the hipper Knowles sister. Also, I freaking love the shoes.
  
 This was the first time my mom and I were actually excited about the country category, and Carrie Underwood's performance was fabulous, just as fabulous as her dress. It has this antique lace look that I simply love.
  
 I love Alexa Chung. Case closed. The cute summer dress paired with the "ba-BAM" red lip is just perfect and disheveled enough without looking unkempt.
  
Justin Timberlake is just made of class. He's dapper as hell in his bow tie and the hair slicked back and the black and white loafers --- ugghhhh I'm done.

 Now onto my worst dressed. I didn't include as many here, because I honestly didn't see too many hideous dresses from people worth mentioning.

Katy Perry, I love you girl. Your hair is fabulous, your makeup is fabulous, that color is fabulous, but when I saw photos of the dress originally on the catwalk, clearly it wasn't meant for someone as well-endowed as you. I'm all for cleavage, but I guess I just prefer cleavage from the top, not staring right at me in the face.
 I don't even know what Kate Pierson was going for here. Not only does it fit her breasts awkwardly, but it hugs her body in the wrong ways and give her rolls where she probably wouldn't want them. But I do love the color with her hair.
 And yet another example of unnecessary cleavage - Kelly Rowland. I mean, girl looks hot, but with all those cutouts, if you turn the wrong way you could be involuntarily looking at her lady parts. The shape is good, but if instead of entirely see-through, it was like a semi-sheer black fabric I would have loved it.
Wiz Khalifa, put a shirt on. Although, with all those tattoos you almost wouldn't even know that he wasn't wearing one.
Angelina Jolie's awkward slit pose was bad enough - now Jennifer Lopez has taken it to a new level. It's like half a gaucho pantsuit. And the topknot is strangely tiny. Girl looks good though.
 

So what did you guys think about last night's awards? Whether it's about the fashion, the performances, who got snubbed, tell me what you thought!

Also, here's an adorable photo of the best dressed band - Mumford and Sons. Seriously how cute are they? I'm more than a little bit excited to see them at Sasquatch this year.

Best wishes!
-Abby
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