Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: 1 Outfit, 2 Events

So I have a couple of major events to attend in the next couple of days: Art Walk Studio with Book Signing and Painting Demo tomorrow night in Studio CRESCENDOh (which I hope you'll attend), and a holiday get-together with some friends. Rather than figuring out two different outfits, I decided I'd put together one killer outfit and use it for both events. Totally different crowds so I don't think anyone will notice.

So it's my trusty dress that is used as an overcoat, whcih I've been doing a lot of lately, with a super easy dress by James Perse underneath.

And to go with the dress are super high knee high socks and my trusty black boots.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Freudian Slip

Tonight's gonna be fun. I'm going to a pre-Halloween costume party with The Mister and a very fun crowd of friends. For my costume, I integrated The Dress by embroidering the word "Freudian" on one of the lapels.

Underneath The Dress I will be wearing a hand-dyed slip that was recently given to me by the lovely Sherry Mattia-Welch of Glamarella Junk. And so this year, I will be a Freudian Slip.

I've been a Freudian Slip before but this year, The Mister will actually be Sigmund Freud (with a beard, cigar, 3-piece suit, and all), which makes the costume truly completely. Keep up with my Instagrams tonight and I'll try and capture a few fun shots from the party.


Sherry does a great job scouting vintage slips that she dyes to perfection. So lovely. This is actually my third dyed slip from Sherry. they are perfect over jeans, as an under dress, as just a sun dress. Check out all of her offerings here.


Here's the most important part to all of this:

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Zoofari & Crocheted Bear Ears

Tonight is Zoofari. One of the best events that I get to attend all year, given that one of the things that The Mister oversees for The City of Santa Ana (along with all the parks, rec centers, and the library) is the beautiful Santa Ana Zoo. Zoofari is the annual black-tie gala where guests are invited to dress in black-tie with a twist ... in honor of the animals. So tonight, I'll be taking my dress to the event but it will likely be used late at night, when the heat dies down, as a jacket that I wear over this dress. 

For some reason, I had the darnest time getting a head-to-toe shot of the dress with my favorite pair of red shoes on ... but you can sort of see one of the shoes peeking out in the shot below.

Oh, and of course, my twist to the black tie will be my crocheted bear ears ... one of the many projects that will found in my new book, Crochet Love :: 25+ Zakka-Inspired Projects ... coming out in 2013. Super fun.

I'll try and snap some shots of the fun scenes from Zoofari tonight on my Instagram ... keep up with my Instagrams here.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Kenzie Mac & Co.

So far, we have raised $1575 to bring clean water to the world.

Today I am accessorizing my dress by carrying a fabulous tote made with a pattern from Kenzie Mac & Co.
For some reason, my office mates (Toby and Scout) wanted to join in on this particular photo shoot ... here the three of us are having loads of fun. :)


Here's Mr. Scout with his classic eyes half-shut look. So adorable.

Here's how the tote looks from top to bottom. Really the perfect size.
And here's how the inside of the tote looks. So cute, right? Kenzie Mac & Co is a Scottsdale-based mother/daughter company headed by Nancy Shamy and Lauren White.

I hope you'll check out their site here to see the products and patterns that they continue to release, including this Elite Tote pattern, which is what they used to create the tote you see here.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Heart

It was a hot night last night.
Which is why my dress became a jacket that I hardly used because it was so hot ...

Under the jacket was an outfit that came together in honor of Heart ... one of my favorite bands who we got to see in concert last night.

A simple black skirt, a brown cami, a black vest, and hot shoes.

So many wonderful songs ... but my favorite one of all-time by Heart is ... Dog and Butterfly.
It was a special moment when they sang it last night ... got me a little weepy to hear it up close and personal.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Hot Shoes by Kors

There's nothing like a pair of smokin' hot shoes to lift my spirits up.
This pair is by Michael Kors ... so simple yet so dramatic.

Today I am wearing them with my dress ... it's really all I need to make the outfit become  extraordinary.

And here I am in a blurry shot below, trying to squeeze into the tight frame to get the entire dress and shoes in one shot. Almost. Notice the mountain of yarn in this photo and the last ... on my office chair. Oh, this tangled (and sometimes blurry) life.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Vintage Pin for Sheryl Crow

Tonight, I'll be going to the Sheryl Crow concert with Gerardo. I'm so excited. And so I thought I'd try to dress up my dress with my favorite vintage brooch.

Here's a closer look at how the brooch looks. It's my favorite.

I love Sheryl. Her music, her lyrics, her soulfulness ... and her strength to survive so much that she's gone through. It'll be a great time for sure.

A note about my dress ... it has been in my seamstress' studio on a few occasions during the last few weeks as she has had to take it in here and there ... so that on the road to fitness, the dress doesn't completely look like a tent on me. (Thanks Sandra.)

Also ... in this blazing hot southern Californis, I've learned just how heavy and hot this dress is ... causing me on the hottest days to turn to my shorts and tee instead.

No matter.

We are on track. And so far, we are holding steady at $1550 raised to bring clean water to the world. Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Terri Neggers

Today,  I'm wearing a unique piece of handmade necklace with my dress. (I'm also wearing my trusty Anthropologie tunic over the dress.) The necklace was made by Terry Neggers whose art you can buy here, and whose blog you can visit here.

Here's a closer look ... a piece made with unexpected vintage parts ... all rusty and full of ingrigue.

Many thanks to Terri for stretching outside of her mixed media comfort zone to make this fabulous piece of artwear to support water.org.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Cori Dantini Skirt

You. Me. Us. $1550 raised (so far) to bring clean water to the world through water.org.

Today, I'm wearing my dress as a little jacket. What's beneath the dress jacket? Oh ... it looks like an awesome skirt. Let's take a look.

It's a skirt that my seamstress made for me, using the Girls in Bloom fabric panel by amazing artist, Cori Dantini. (I heart Cori.) You can find the panel here. One panel is what my seamstress used to make this skirt. BTW, I asked her to make me a plain pencil skirt with a zipper in the back ... and she took my measurements and then whipped it out like in a day. I call her magician.

I had a hard time shooting the back side, which is also quite amazing. (PS: I shoot these shots while looking at a mirror so the text in the fabric is reversed.) I've paired the skirt with a thick belt and a black cami and linen wrap and some pointy toe pumps.

Help me bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.

Project Home Ec Fundraiser for Water.org :: Belinda Fireman Pin

So far, you and I have together raised $1500 for water.org. That means clean, safe water for 60 people. But come on now ... surely we can raise more, right? :)

Today, I layered my dress with one of my favorite cream-and-black camisoles and tied a belt around the waist.

And the accessory I am wearing is a handmade pin by artist and friend, Belinda Fireman. I am a huge fan of Belinda's colorful, audacious artowrk and am thrilled to have her work featured in the upcoming book about visual journaling: Journal It!, which will be released this November. Shop for her work here.

Help bring clean water to the world and help me dress up my dress with your handmade accessory by sponsoring me here.