Very Stylish Girls- Fall/Winter 2010 fashion trends

I'm having problems with the html editor on my blog today, so to steal this button, just paste this into your blog:

<a href="http://pastaandwaffles.blogspot.com/search/label/very%20stylish%20girls"><img src="http://i1008.photobucket.com/albums/af204/pastaandwaffles/verystylishgirlpicniked-1.jpg" /></a>


I decided to launch right ahead with my new series.  I hope to do this perhaps once a week, but we all know I have issues with doing bloggy things when I set a schedule.  So let's not get our hopes up, shall we?

It's cold outside, people!  It's time to break out the coats and boots and warm socks, and this year's trends are really very cute.  This season's colors are absolutely my favorites to wear.

Of course, this little palette doesn't include the popular colors that are obvious, like black and white and navy blue.  Those sorts colors will never go out of style!  My favorite color is purple, so I'm thrilled that it's now considered very "in."

Now, we'll move on to types of clothing.

1.  Ponchos:

These are so fashionable right now!  I have this one, from H&amp;M:

Source

It's very warm and cozy to boot.  

I also like this style.  It's really a shirt, but it still has the poncho vibe, and is a more understated way to follow the trend. 

Source

2.  Boots

Boots are always practical, and luckily very cute.  Riding boots like these are very popular lately:

Source

Also, for fancier events, point toe boots never go out of style.

Source

3:  Jeans

Flares are no longer in style, and boot cuts are purely for function.  The trend now is skinny jeans all around.  It doesn't work for everybody, but if it works for you, rock on!  I love my skinnies, especially tucked in boots.

Source

The darker the better with your jeans this season!  No acid washes (EVER) or faded light blues.  And please, if you wear jean-leggings, wear a long shirt or a dress.  The tighter the pants, the longer the shirt, that's what I always say.  Actually, I made that up just now.  But it's true.

And boys, please refrain from wearing skinny jeans.  Please.

4.  Coats

Camel coats are really in, but other than that, coats will be coats.  No one is going to fault you for wearing a functional coat when it's cold outside!  But just for reference, I love this camel coat:

Source

That's all I've got for now, folks.  It's late and I must be going to bed.  This is really just skimming the surface, but it would take days to talk about all the trends.  But I hope this series will be fun!  Feel free to grab my button and make your own post on anything style-related.  Make sure to leave a comment below telling me you did!

Love,

Very Stylish Girls- Introduction

So, based on the positive poll results to the right, I have decided to do a series on style!

I have always had a passion for anything feminine.  I love doing hair, for myself and others, and I love doing makeup and getting dressed up.  I'd wear heels every day if I could, and I completely love to shop.

Therefore, I am starting a new series called "Very Stylish Girls."  Very stylish girl is a reference from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Audrey Hepburn was always known as this very thing after that movie, so I thought it would be a fun title because I LOVE Audrey Hepburn.  I'm really excited about this project.  I've always been inclined toward this sort of thing, and am glad to have an outlet.  My first post is going to be on this season's most popular styles.  I hope you like my series!!

I'll have a button up shortly, and you can grab it and do some stylish girl posts of your own if you like!  Just make sure you leave comments letting me know.

Love,
Caroline

To the Colosseum and Back

Today was a beautiful day.

The day itself was rather unsightly, wet, and cold, but the very living of it was simply beautiful.  I got up and got ready in record time, and my friend Lisa who's "babysitting" me and I were out the door.  We were nervous at first, because we tried to go see the Colosseum yesterday but the metros were shut down for really no obvious reason, though it may have possibly been because of the raucous university protester-students.  We were determined, though, to NOT let them spoil our day!

After purchasing new month passes and taking the bus to the metro station, we were thrilled to see they were open.  I may have squealed.

We got off the metro at the stop "Colosseo," which is, fairly obviously, the Colosseum stop.  It's always a surprise to me when I exit the metro station and the Colosseum is right there.  It'll give you the chills.

Traipsing across the street and down a few blocks, we turned into Palatine hill and purchased day tickets and marched directly back to the Colosseum, where we entered after being accosted by several chubby gladiators wielding menacing umbrellas.  To our delight, the visitors were few so we didn't have to be herded around like as much cattle.

We immensely enjoyed running around and taking pictures with her camera, but I simply couldn't stop the chills from creeping up my back all the way up to the roots of my hair.  At one point, we were able to go far enough down into the Colosseum that we could almost touch the arena, and my imagination ran wild.  I pictured the pain, the destruction, the torment, the stench of blood, and felt as if I could almost smell the perfume that the workers sprayed to mask the heady aroma of death that so seduced the onlookers.  The persecution that went on in the Colosseum is simply.... indescribable.  It's impossible to be unmoved.

Once we left the Colosseum, we went back to Palatine Hill.  We looked in the museum by Augustus Caesar's home, and it's just all so surreal.  We walked and noticed several olive trees and were intent on picking one, but they were all too high in the branches.  At the end of our tour, we finally found some low enough, and Lisa bit right in.

The look on her face?  PRICELESS.

"This tastes like paint!!!!!!  Ew ew ew ew!!!"  She screamed in horror while I simply, well, laughed till I almost cried.  They were not ripe.  I dropped my olive and we continued.

As we were walking back to the station, she stopped dead in her tracks and grabbed my arm.  "We have to get some gelato!"

My favorite babysitter ever.  When are you ever told that you MUST have gelato?  Well, of course!

We walked up the hill above the station, and purchased some gelato.  Hers was awful (she purchased what she thought was Nutella gelato, but it was actually Nutella and yogurt, and it was tangy) and mine was a delight.  I got mint and chocolate.  Good call.  She finally cracked and bought a new one, which she enjoyed.

Finally, we arrived home and had lunch and watched some Anne of Green Gables until my geometry class while we sipped some peppermint-chocolate tea.

See?  A truly delightful day.  We ended it by making some red velvet cake balls for a dinner we're going to tomorrow night.  But I'll reserve a whole blog post for those treats!

Have a wonderful day, friends.

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.... and a TAG

Rome has the best fountains in the world, don't you think?  It's been really rainy here lately, and so I find myself entirely enamored with water.  As of late, it's the only thing I want to photograph.  But, I do have pictures to share of water that isn't QUITE so pretty.

That is the Tiber river, and because of all the rain, it's completely and totally disgusting.  It looks like clay when it moves downstream!  It was almost unbearable to look at; it was so sad to see it that way.  It's never really a beautiful river; usually it's a harsh green with litter floating along with the current, but it's still a shame that it looks that way.

I'm going to tag Annie, Valentine, and Will to take pictures of water and post them on their blogs!  Have fun, guys.  And if I didn't tag you, feel free to play along anyway!  I'd love to see your pictures.

In which I love on my readers

Well, hello there, my dear readers.  I apologize for my poor posting as of late; it's been a little busy around here. I usually blog in the evenings, so the fact that we've been doing things every night until late made that rather difficult, to say the least.  But, friends, today I am a very, very happy girl.  Very happy indeed.

You see, I'm getting married.

Yes, in fact you are all invited to my wedding on January 2nd at.... oh I'm kidding.  Just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.  I'm not getting married.  I just like to keep y'all on the edge of your seats.

Moving on...

I'm incredibly happy because we have put up our Christmas decorations, my friend is staying with me for a few days while my parents are out of town for another field study, the weather is beautifully rainy, I see my breath when I go outside, and I'm sitting here with my fingers wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee.

Life is good, my friends.  It's just a little stressful what with me making wedding plans, and all.

...Just making sure you're still with me.  No wedding.

I'm loving my time in Rome right now.  I have the freedom to go out into the city and see the sights and show people around by myself, and I have the constant inspiration for poetry and books and pictures and everything.  We'll be here until a couple of months into 2011, so time is starting to slide through our fingers, but all is not lost, because we'll be moving to Brussels, Belgium.  That's going to be, dare I say, even more amazing!

I can't wait for all these adventures to unfold and keep unfolding, and I'm so happy I get to take y'all with me in my back pocket.  And by back pocket I mean my tremendous hot pink and black laptop case.

Basically, I just want to tell you all that I really appreciate you guys, and every time I get a new follower, I feel all warm and cozy inside.

Thanks for sticking with me, folks.  I'm going to keep on writing till my fingers fall off.

OH!  AND!  I'm registered for wedding gifts at Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, Targ....

Never mind.

'Ello, old chaps

Well, y'all, I had a lovely Thanksgiving.  Non-traditional, yes.  Bad?  No.  It was an utter delight.

Mummy and Daddy and I went out to an Argentinian (Argentish?  Argentineian??) restaurant with the members of Daddy's committee at work.  The food wasn't amazing, but the company was delightful.  Sheerly delightful.  I think it was a good idea, because I imagine it would have been a little bit lonely at the dinner table with just us while Will is in another country.

Friday, we went out to dinner with the British and Scottish members of the NATO defense college, and they are truly wonderful.  People from the UK have the best senses of humor ever.  I was rolling all night.

But do you know what made me happiest about Friday and Thursday?  I got to practice my British accent, and the actual British people said it was very good.  One young lady from Scotland said I sound like Hermione from Harry Potter, which, y'all, made my day.  My WHOLE day.  I've decided I'm going to speak like a Brit for the rest of my existence, thank you.

Today, we decorated for Christmas.  It was a glorious day, folks.  I got up at 10 or somewhere thereabouts, and I noticed there were dirty pans in the kitchen.  I was terribly depressed, because that means I missed out on my dad's yummy breakfast.  But, fear not!  I went over to hug him good morning and asked if he would wake me up next time he was making breakfast, and he stopped me.  "No, I left these dishes out so I could make your breakfast later.  I wanted to let you sleep."

Best Dad ever?  Yes.  As I noshed on my food, I read on my Kindle.  I put down the Kindle after a while and we set up the small tree and our few Christmas decorations.  I then read my Kindle some more.  Then I cleaned my room, since my friend is flying in tomorrow.  Then I read my Kindle some more.  Then I realized it was 3 o'clock and I was still in my pajamas.

If you're still in your pajamas at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, odds are there is no point in putting on any semblance of regular clothing.  So I resigned myself to my fate, pulled my hair into a ponytail, and read my Kindle.  In my pajamas.

So later, I was video chatting with my best friend forever and she wouldn't put her video up because she was still in her pajamas.  And I looked at myself, having put up my video already, and said, "Well, golly.  You've got nothing on me.  I've had my pajamas on since I went to bed last night.  It is now nine at night. I win."

Is this what my life has become?  Is my entire existence merely a contest of who can wear their pajamas the longest whilst using a British accent for twenty-four hours whilst also consuming mass quantities of mediocre Argentinian (Argentan?  Argentineananean?) cuisine?

I think I should go to bed.

Give Thanks!

Things for which I'm thankful this Thanksgiving:

My lovely parents, and the fact that after all these (almost 21!!) years, they still love each other deeply.

My brother.  Even though he's far away, he's happy, and he's the best brother I could ever dream of having.

My best friend.  Of course!  She's an utter delight.

My little apartment.  It keeps us warm (for the most part) and dry.

The grace of God.  I am continually amazed by everything he's given me.

My first cold Thanksgiving that I remember.  It makes the season feel more real!  (And today, it's *this* close to snow!!)

Hot tea.  I'm so enjoying this to ward off any chills.

EVERYTHING!!!

If I were...

I picked up this meme from Kaylee at thisiskaylee.

If I were a gemstone, I’d be a ruby. (only because it's my birthstone)

If I were a scent, I’d be vanilla.

If I were a pair of shoes, I'd be HEELS.

If I were the weather, I would be a breezy day with a 48% chance of rain during hurricane season.

If I were a facial expression, I'd be a raised left eyebrow.

If I were a car, I'd like to say I'd be a Rolls Royce but we all know that's not true.

If I were a time of day, I’d be night.  I'm a night owl.

If were a month, I’d be December.

If I were a place, I'd be an old theater.

If I were a liquid, I’d be coffee.  I'm practically made of the stuff.

If I were a taste, I’d be a blackberry.  I only say that because that sounds really good right now.

If I were a sea animal, I’d be a seahorse.

If I were a food, I’d be a noodle. (Probably a wet one....) :P

If I were a color, I'd be PURPLE.

If I were a musical instrument, I would be a set of drums.

If I were a flower, I’d be a pansy.  And I only say that because I'm a pansy.

If I were a song, I’d be "Sweet Caroline."  Exchange that "sweet" for "weird" and then that's an accurate statement.

If I were a planet, I'd be earth, because it's got people in it and I like people.

If I were an object, I would be a pillow.  I like sleep.

If I were a fruit, I'd be a kiwi.  I don't know why.  I just like kiwis.

If I were a sound, I’d just be plain ol' noisy.

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Friday.