Jeffrey Campbell skeleton HOMG - they arrived!

[The skeleton HOMG's right out of the box and relaced.]

They made it!  And the best part - they fit!  Perfectly even!  I had a huge disappointment earlier in the week when the Doc Marten's that I had ordered showed up unbelievably too big.  They have been sent back in exchange for the next size down... so we will see.

But these, these shoes make me laugh when I wear them!  Too much fun, and I love the 2" platform on them.

[Excellent 2" platform.]

[Trying them out in my back yard, and I managed to get my skelemingos behind me too.]

[Shoe dork sitting on the kitchen floor.]

The boylove and I are off to the yearly family reunion and I plan on wearing these.  Hopefully I'll get another full shot photo with them.

Cosette's style

[Taken yesterday in our backyard and stolen from my instagram]

So I'm not one of those dog owners that dress their dog up for every occasion, but Cosette does have her fair share of sweaters and coats for the colder months.  Hey, when you have a 6.64lb smooth coat dog that has no fur on her underside from under her chin down, you need to help out!  I found this little gem while waiting inline at TJMaxx the other day.  Not bad for $4.99 and it's so soft lightweight enough that she just lounges around in it.. keeps her from stealing blankets from me!  Yeah her style isn't that much different from mine :)

I caved today.

And I bought these.  

So I've been on the prowl for awhile now for a good pair of combat boots.  I've been lost since my beloved new rock defenders died the other year.  I'm torn between two pair of doc's, but then I found these... and i caved today.  

I've been in love with Jeffrey Campbell shoes ever since I saw the "clinic" shoes and tracked down who made them.  The Lita will be on my feet one day when I can find the glitter, or solid black in my size, but until then, these will be my first JC's!  I still want a pair of "Nightwalks", but there are several places where I've seen a good knockoff to be able to try before spending on the real thing.

I hope they fit.  We will see.  It was recommended that if you are between sizes, to go up a size.  

I'm still on my search for boots.  I keep finding them, and by the time I decide to order them my size is gone.  That is why I went ahead with these.  I missed out on the skeleton print doc martens and I still regret it.

Just because...

I just found this and I had to share, so...

Good Morning!  Enjoy your coffee!

my style: skulls and purple

[9.09.2012 photo taken with jem's iphone]

[my favourite sunglasses]

[without]

[cosette!]

Breakdown:

dress -  forever 21. Several years ago and it's staple for me.  Very easy to layer and looks good with anything.

black shorts - spring street

purple iris tights - Target

shoes - Rampage

scarf - rue 21

purple lucite skull ring - Masks Y Mas in Abq, NM

I wore this on what felt like the last truly hot day of the summer.  It's been a tough one this year with the heat, and then the humidity doesn't help either.  Summer, I think, is when I mostly miss living in the desert because it's all dry heat and no humidity.

That being said!  Here in Virginia, we're now approaching(finally!) the days where it stays under 80 degrees with little to no humidity!  Fall is definitely on it's way and I couldn't be happier!

[manicure for the day]

I say manicure For the day because I was lazy and didn't bother adding a topcoat.  So of course by the next day and my job, I had some pretty major tipwear and just took it off.  That is not to say that I didn't love this polish.  It's Sephora by OPI's 212.  I know it's an older shade, and to be honest I'm not sure why it took me so long to try.  There is a lot going on with it - flecks, flakes, and micro holographic glitter!  I'd say a perfect colour for Fall with the flecks catching a gold, and the flakes on the blackish brown base looking like fallen leaves!

skull nails

[So yesterday this]

[Turned in to this]

I haven't done any nail art since I was in school last year. The other day was peeking around on tumblr, when I saw a very cute manicure show up on my dashboard with all of the nails in the style of the skull.  I thought "Hey, I can do that!".  I have to be honest, it's a simple design but the original is still so much better.  Maybe not as many teeth lines were used.  Nevertheless it's cute and makes me all the more ready for Fall and everything it has to offer!

What did I use?

Sinful Colors in "Amethyst"

Sally Hansen Xtreme Color in "White on"

Milani Design striper in "Black sketch"

Larger dotting tool that I found in a pack of 4 at Michael's Crafts.

Cosette and I

[My 8 year old chihuahua, Cosette and I]

[Being silly in the back yard]

Outfit Breakdown:

Zoya polish in Ivanka

Forever21 skeleton key dress

assorted jewelery

NYX Matte lipstick in Bloody Mary

MAC Carbon eyes

The weather today has made me even more ready for fall.  Even though it was still in the low to mid 80's, there was no humidity which made it so much more bearable!  

And I don't think that I have introduced my chihuahua, Cosette officially.  She has a huge part of my heart.  She's my best friend on 4 legs, and my fur child.  She's been through a lot with us, and been all over the United States either by car or plane.  It's really hard to believe that she turned 8 years old in  May, but she hardly shows it.  I honestly don't know what I would do without her.  I was once told that chihuahuas are healers, and I can honestly attest to that. 

good morning

[dia de los muertos dog from masks y mas in ABQ, NM]

Just a smile to say hello and good morning and thank you :) 

There has been so much that has gone on this summer, and I have managed to photograph just about all of it.    From the amazing vacation that week took, to the several shows we saw of good friends bands play, to the music video that was shot in our home, random drinking adventures and outings, the Olympics, more home improvements, and family visiting.  I have felt bad for not updating because I feel like the next post should be about the Vegas leg of my vacation, but it's so much and a little overwhelming.  It will come in time, and it will be beautiful. In the meantime, I will not let it hinder me from sharing other things before.

You can slowly start to see the end of summer which makes me so happy!

Albuquerque, NM 2012 6/9 - 6/12

I used to live in Albuquerque, NM.  Originally I am from Virginia, but I did spend nearly 7 very influential years in New Mexico and the desert.  What brought me there?  A long and old story, but easily, love.  I was accepted into an entirely new family and way of things.  I don't think that I could live there again, but I certainly took a lot from there and it shaped me for the better I think.

We left in 2007, and found ourselves back suddenly in July of 2010 for two weeks for one of the worst experiences that I have had to go through.  That was the last time I was there.

So I can honestly say that when Jem told me we were going to ABQ and Las Vegas for my birthday, I was nervous.  I wanted to go back, but I wanted to be able to be at peace and not think for the whole trip to ABQ about the accident and what we all went through the last time we were there.  Jem left a few days before me to go to the ABQ ComicExpo, and to spend time with family from out of town.  I got there on the 9th, and things just sort of fell back into place.  Sure, the thoughts were there but they weren't overbearing.  Jem and I were able to go off on our own, visit old haunts, see old friends, and spend time together there like we used to.

[From Charlottesville, Va to Charlotte,Nc]

[From Charlotte, Nc to Denver, Co]

[First things first : eat at the frontier]

[We went "sight seeing" and found sets from Breaking Bad.  Walt's house.  It was so crazy to see how close this was in relation to where we used to live.  A lot of the third/fourth season was filmed near our old hood.   I used to drive by the same Octopus car wash at Hoffmantown every day from work]

[San Felipe De Neri built in 1793.  One of my favourite places]

[In the courtyard of San Felipe De Neri]

[Inside]

[Highly edited photo of me from Jem's iPhone at San Felipe De Neri]

Just up from the San Felipe De Neri is one of my favourite stores in all of ABQ.  Hispane.  Full to the brim of folkart/masks/dia de los muertos.  <3!

[These were here before we moved.  I made a point to go and say goodbye to them.  So happy to have seen them again.  I wanted to bring one home, but they got way more expensive and I was afraid they wouldn't travel well.]

[<3]

It was so amazing to visit old haunts and to have people remember us.  I was surprised by this, but it also made me so happy.  With all the conversations and hugs, it was almost like we hadn't been away almost 5 years.

my style: black on black

[7.16.2012]

This was taken today in what will be our art room.  I have a feeling I'm going to love having a solid black wall for photos!

Also I am very much looking forward to having my hair cut next week.  I think I'm tired of trying to let it grow out, unless I can find a cut that keeps length and allows it to be messy messy.

our home

I realized the other day that I had somehow accidentally deleted my post about the move and into our new home!  Ooops!  While I thought about it and got annoyed, I realized that the photos I had shared for it weren't as good as they could have been.  Throughout the entire process, I tried to take as many photos as I could while I was here when changes were happening.  Jem was doing so much, and he even made time between big changes to take a photo of the before, which I'm so glad that he did!

Basically we started looking to move in January.  Not even sure we'd find anything, or where.  Charlottesville is where we spend a lot of time as it is, even when we lived in New Mexico.  When we would come back to the valley to visit, we would always come over to Charlottesville.  When we moved back to Virginia in 2007, we formed an entire second family.

So we got lucky!  By January 25th we were signing papers to put in an offer.  It went through, but would not close until the end of March.  The official closing date ended up being March 29 and then the whirlwind began!  Jem quit his job, and spent all April working on our home.  We had been making a lot of decisions before we ever moved in, and I'm glad that we did.  I can only imagine how far behind we'd probably be still.  A week before our move date, my great grandmother passed away unexpectedly.  This put a serious dent in our progress, but we knew what we had to focus on.  All I can say is that my little sister, Meg, who had flown in from California was a huge help to us.  

After that it took a bit to get back into the swing, but when you have a deadline with a crappy apartment complex, you go!

Thankfully we were able to say goodbye and good riddance to Harrisonburg, and hello to Charlottesville !  I'm so happy to say that now we live in an area where we don't feel stagnant, there are things to do, good places to eat, and amazing friends.

Sometimes I hold back because I don't want to jinx it, but I'm happy!

[The kitchen before and after. The z-brick back splash managed to work a space into our hearts long enough to give it a try.  We dig it!]

[Pretty much the same view from the front window in our living room.  Cosette is much happier now also]

[The living room looking toward the front window]

[The downstairs bathroom before and after taken with Jem's Iphone]

[The upstairs bathroom before and after taken with Jem's Iphone]

The bathrooms are where I missed a lot.  The upstairs was last to be finished by the time we moved in, so there aren't as many photos.  The upstairs was pretty much fabricated by Jem and a contractor that he found.  We had already moved in when it was being finished, but only details.  I adore our bathroom.

Even though it looks like we're done, there is so much more.  We have done an amazing job with the downstairs, and the upstairs is started,  but there is still a lot to do!  As we continue I'll be sure to share.  I think one of our next challenges is getting the art room done, and the black and white stripe wall paper up in the guestroom.

changing things up

so for awhile now i've been wanting to change up the look of things here because it was just starting to feel stagnant and not worth updating.  so today i sat down with my fidgety self to do some work to make feel happy with this again.  so far i like what i've been able to do, but i'm sure i'll be tweaking a bit more!

i appreciate all of you who have stuck through my dry spells, and who have even joined me during them <3

i've been feeling a lot more motivated overall lately, and i think it has a lot to do with my improved head space.

[me and my awkward self today 6.27.2012]

[my first sephora colours:  2 coats of "if you've got it, flaunt it", and one coat "beam me up hottie".  i won't lie, i bought the "haunt it" it colour almost for the name alone, but it does have black glitter in it soo..}

i instagram. do you?

if you do, i'd love to share with you there as well.  my username: myblacksdontmatch

things have happened.  a lot of things.  mostly good, some sad.  we have moved from sleepy harrisonburg, va to charlottesville, va.  we are still unpacking and fixing, but our home is quickly becoming just that: our home. 

i have tons to share, and since today is the first time i've been on our computer since early march i thought that i would peek in.  i was surprised to see a few new faces, and i want to say hello and welcome!  now that we have stable internet i'll be posting a lot more frequently again. 

<3

why i've been gone

hello all my dear hearts!


i just wanted to say thank you for sticking with me, even though there has been a serious lack of sharing from me.  there are A LOT of things happening in my life right now that has left me with my computer turned off for days at a time and only given time to check things from my phone.


my boylove and i are in the process of moving.  it's only an hour or so away, but a completely different city.  we have a place and we're in the process of fixing it up as well as packing up our old apartment.  i've been taking photos to share of before and afters so bear with me!


i'm excited to have a "home" of my own. 


i'll be back, i swears! <3<3

my style: sunglasses

[perfect sunglasses are perfect]

my style: 02.29.2012

the morning of the 29th started out dark and rainy and perfect.  the afternoon turned soo windy and bright, but still perfect.  

i am so sorry that i have fallen behind yet again!  there is much going on, and i have new things to learn, and work on in my life.  also i was gifted the most wonderful thing on st. valentine's day, but that will be a post of it's own.

<3

st. valentine's day

[02.14.2012 OPI glitters from the muppets holiday 2011 collection]

[02.14.2012]

much love to all of you today, but express it every day! <3