KELLY JOHNSTON

bits & pieces

some random bits & pieces:

1. Yesterday I started a new knitting project: this simple ribbed cowl found via Ravelry.

Mine is a deep blue and I hope I finish it before spring (I knit slow)

2. I saw a girl wearing clogs like these this morning and now I’m obsessed. Are clogs back? I haven’t worn clogs in at least 10+ years and suddenly I think I need them.

3. This reminds me – I’m also obsessed with a blouse I saw somewhere (I can’t remember where – maybe Lucky magazine? – but the image is stuck in my head) It might have been this blouse by Alexa Chung for Madewell?

I’m not sure, but I found a dusty rose version at H&M and it will have to suffice for now.

4. I read this article on Wayne Thiebaud in the NY Times last Sunday – I love his work.

5. Today I tried Starbucks’ new Cinnamon Spice Via C instant coffee and I was surprised to discover (I’ve never liked flavored coffee before) that it tastes almost as good as a Cinnamon Dolce latte. This is great news for me, as I love Cinnamon Dolce lattes!

6. And I really like this clutch:

costumes of Halloweens past

We’re way into Halloween at our house this year and very excited for the big event tomorrow. It’s all about the kids these days though – I never seem to get around to figuring out my own costume anymore. But once upon a time I did enjoy Halloween quite a lot and so I thought it would be fun to revisit some of my better costumes from Halloweens past. In chronological order here are a five of my favorites:

Me as Cinderella (pre-Disney licensed!) + with my loot and baby sister Kyle. 1980

 

My sister Kyle and me as witches. 1982

The Beastie Boys - Intergalactic video. 1998

The Golden Girls. (I’m Rose. Dorothy’s in drag.) 1999

Lovey and Thurston Howell, III. (note the re-use of my wig here – so versatile!) 2003

preparedness

See my new rain boots?

I bought them along with a parka and for the first time ever I’m feeling ready for fall. I didn’t own a parka before and can I tell you how much I love wearing it already? I’m sure everyone but me knows this, but it’s like a sleeping bag that you can wear! Maybe this was my trouble with cold rainy weather all along – I was just too cold! Well, problem solved. I’m prepared for the weather. And I’m gonna be warm. 

wedding + jewelry

My sister Kyle’s wedding was last weekend and I guess based on how long it’s taken me to write about it I’m only now feeling like life has returned to normal. The wedding was a huge success – soo much fun and Kyle looked absolutely gorgeous. I wish I had more photos to share, but I was too busy to take very many since I was in the wedding and both Jane and George were too! Here are a few that I did manage to take:

Fiesta themed rehearsal dinner on a rooftop deck overlooking Lake Union

Bridesmaid mani-pedis + lunch on the deck

Kyle’s amazing bouquet

I was honored to make the bridesmaid jewelry and it was a treat to work with Kyle’s favorite color: green. She decided on bracelets and earrings and I think they looked great with our bright green dresses. Juicy watermelon and Kelly green vintage Lucite beads and olive green and gold Czech fire polished glass for the bracelets. 

Pale gold Swarovski crystals and gold Czech fire polished glass made up the earrings.

 * Congratulations Kyle + Chandler! I am so happy for you! *

playing favorites

I made this new geometric necklace last week and I can’t seem to stop wearing it. See – here’s proof:

me last Friday

and me again earlier today 

I don’t know what’s come over me; I’m usually much more fickle with my jewelry affections. I think it’s safe to say I have a new favorite.

did you watch last night?!

Well yes, the debate, but I meant Project Runway? If not don’t click here:

arrrgh!! oh - I guess it's arrr!

Well shiver me timbers. I swear I had no idea when I put this shirt on George today, but Aye! It’s National Talk Like A Pirate Day!

And this is for The Dad . . . “Them that die’ll be the lucky ones” 

it’s official

I went shopping yesterday and I came home with two . . . 

. . . sweatshirts. 

Yep. It’s official. I’m a mom.

But I have to say – they’re awfully cute sweatshirts (I got the one on the right in red). And I’ll probably wear them daily this fall. Perfect for my momiform.

my mascaraddiction

I like mascara. I feel naked without it. I wear it practically every day. So over the years I’ve tried a few and I’ve definitely had my favorites. I'll admit I’m excessively picky about my mascara. (that’s probably an understatement.) It can’t be clumpy. It can’t flake. And the brush is important – lots of bristles are key since I like a nice natural evenly separated application. Like most girls I learned about makeup from my Mom and I started with her mascara of choice, Maybelline Great Lash.

It was all right. I know the pros supposedly love it. But I didn’t like the texture – too thick? And the brush made my lashes look like Twiggy, a look of which I am not a fan. So I moved on and eventually settled with L’Oreal Voluminous. I really liked this one – good brush, good consistency, good price. I stuck with it for years. But, it flaked. And it ran a little bit. So one day I decided it was time to make a change. My next choice: Fresh Supernova.

It has a really good brush. And I love pretty much anything made by Fresh. So I was hooked for a while. But the flakiness continued to plague me, despite the higher price tag. And then a friend told me about a new one. Yves Saint Laurent ‘Volume Effet Faux Cils’ Luxurious Mascara. Oh, it’s luxe all right.

I think it may be the blingiest of mascaras. The brush is awesome and I love how it goes on – I swear it made my lashes longer. And it smells like ROSES! Sooo fancy pants. But of course it has a price to match. I felt like I was getting taken spending that much on mascara.

And then: I saw the ads for the new Cover Girl one, lashblast volume blasting mascara. And I starting seeing it mentioned in articles and random places. Then one day while shopping at Target I decided to take the plunge and try it. The price was right and the bright orange packaging was fun.

I have to say; it’s my new favorite! It’s great! I love the brush – it’s a big fatty with a bazillion little bristles. Good lash separation. No flakes so far. And the price! I may actually buy new tubes when you’re supposed to, what is it, like every three months? Anyway, I know this is a ridiculously long post for something as trivial as mascara, but I figured I should share my wealth of knowledge and experience on the subject. Give back to the community. We all have to do our part. (smile. wink, wink.)

Uh oh. Just saw this new one. Tempting . . .

* I apologize for the horrible text formatting issues with this post. I got in a fight with the new Typepad Compose Editor and it won. But I think I've figured out how to beat it next time. Wish me luck.

just browsing

I spent a few minutes in a J.Crew store a couple weeks ago and I’m still thinking about some of the great stuff I saw there . . . lots of bright neon yellow done as an accent – perfect! You may remember I've been waiting for this neon thing to arrive for a while . . . 

And possibly my favorite color combination: chartreuse and a bright spring green. I LOVE mixing different shades of the same color family – and the gray background doesn’t hurt.

Good too – love that chartreuse with a bit of bright Kelly green. Just noticed that the top underneath is a subtle silvery metallic - oooh it's this. I like! Especially with the white jeans.

This suit is sweet – and very ladylike! Totally reminds me of that evil girlfriend from The Parent Trap – I think her name was Vicki, right?

I would sooo like to fit into my normal pre-pregnancy size right now so I could do some serious shopping. Definitely a difficult pregnancy side effect: the painfully long wait to buy new clothes. There’s really no point when you won’t fit into anything for longer than a few weeks or months. It's almost been a year! If I could only wave a magic wand . . .