Art in Asheville

We went and had a lovely weekend in Asheville, one of our favorite places to visit.

Days of great food, gorgeous weather and finding new wonderful local artists.

I was drawn to this adorable owl locket by Marisol Spoon...

But was drawn to their amazing art in hand carved frames.  I had to take this lovely one home.

I love that the Fall art and antique shows are gearing up. There are always some great discoveries out there!

Le Sigh - Kate Spade Night Owl Bag

I'm not a huge purse gal but I am a sucker for whimsy and when I spied the Kate Spade Night Owl I was instantly smitten.

Yes, it's a bit silly.  Yes, I have no practical need for it.  Yes, it's a splurge. 

But just look at it!  I'm totally anthropomorphizing it.   Love the googly eyes, the plump "body", the glossy mesh. 

Must. Have. Owly.

Such a sweet polka dot interior too.

And look!  I can wear it fancy or with casual outfits too.  It's versatile, I tell ya!

I don't care what anyone (cough *my husband* cough) says... I need this!!!

Right?  Right?

Kate Spade Night Owl bag - $225 at Kate Spade

They're Here! They're Here!

Today's a very special outfit because...

They're here! At long last I have the tea cup heels in my possession!

The Outfit
Thank you to everyone to gave their thoughts on how to pair up the shoes with my outfit options. In the end I went with all grey so the red would really stand out. But don't worry, I'll be wearing these often so I'm sure to hit the other selections as well.

The top is a v-neck grey cashmere sweater and a grey a-line skirt. A simple and clean backdrop.



I did struggle with the jewelry. I wanted to add in some gold but not be too theme-y or try to compete with the shoes. After pulling out about 15 options, I ended up wearing this vintage owl pin. The gold is very shiny as are the eyes. What I like is that the shine goes with the patent leather but isn't the same color.



Okay, who really cares about all that other stuff. Let's get to the shoes...

The Focal Point
Let's guess, shall we???

Here they are! Oh. My. Gawd! If you want the full effect, click on the images for huge versions.



They have a bit of the naughty about them, don't they. I'm so happy I got red.

I love the angle from the back of the shoes. So cute! They look good with the grey too.

These are not for the faint of heart. You can not escape notice in these.

The Miu Miu store called me yesterday too. They are also getting these in pink and white, but with tie over the vamp, which Saks did not have. They are quite tempting too. But to get another pair would be seriously going over into excess, right? But pink!

Must. Hold. Out.

Ensemble du Jour

I just realized that, not only have I not posted up any outfit pics in the last few days, but that when I did them on Polyvore, they were all in shades of blues/greens.

On Wednesday I word a heather teal sweater from Old Navy with a brown skirt. I layered on a teal vintage bead necklace.



I did something to my ankle so I've been wearing flats the remainder of this week. On Wednesday I wore these tweedy flats from Target. They're actually from the kid's line, but, hey, they were cheap.



Yesterday I wore a black jersey tie-waist skirt with a black camisole. Over it I layered a bright blue vintage Lacoste men's cardigan. It looks kind of cute here, but I'm not sure I was really feeling it. The sweater is a great color but it's kind of bulky in the arms. I may have to experiment with this.





I'm hoping I didn't look too vintage fashion victim-y. For some reason, I was thinking wearing the bright blue, black and then these crazy vintage loafers looked kind of funky and cool. Maybe I just looked like I fell into a Rat Pack's Goodwill pile. Who knows.

I just got these loafers from eBay. They're a bit crazy. They're black patent with this faux leopard/giraffe "fur" accent. In a way, I kind of dig them but, then again, they maybe a "bit" over the top

After some of that craziness, I am kind of plain and just comfortable today. Gap jeans and a v-neck knit top in kelly green, my vintage Trifari owl necklace and some of the new satin-y printed flats from Old Navy.

I've had a few folks ask me if I'm celebrating St. Patrick's day early because of the green today. If anything, I'm celebrating my lovely new Alto bag from Dooney.

It's so pretty. I love the size and the color is a great emerald green. It has great hardware but it is something I will use

for a good 10 years.

Any big St. Patrick's Day celebrations planned?

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
I admit, this looks a little ridiculous here in my Polyvore collage, but in person it's a lot better. Really. I swear.

The top is a very dark forest green and is a lightweight sweater from Gap. The skirt is kind of a mouse-grey corduroy above the knee skirt from Old Navy. I'm wearing my Tabio socks that are a darker grey with dark green bands at the top and across the instep.



Here is what they look like:



I have all these colors:



I was struggling at first this morning with what shoes I wanted to pair up with this since the socks can be kind of tricky. I ended up with the cream and black Nine West "Ruffled" pair and needed jewelry to tie those colors into the outfit, so I decided to have the inaugural run of my Paraphernalia Anatomica Arm bracelet.

From far away you can't really tell what it is but up close you see the detail and its slightly morbid nature.



It's a bit scratchy though.

I didn't want to wear anything too frou-frou, so I am wearing my vintage Trifari owl necklace. It's pretty big - about an inch and a half tall. And he's very touchable. I love him.


Hoot! Hoot!
Someone as cute as me will never be out of style!

Here is a better picture of the shoes. They live up to their name and would be good with dark tights and a winter white skirt, or even really bright tights.



Focal Point
But the focal point has to be the socks. Mainly because they made me have to work for it this morning.




And on 4 hours of sleep that isn't an easy task. But that's how dedicated I was to getting dressed today.

- yawn -

P.S. The stylish Queen Michelle has these as well and I borrowed a few of her images as mine were not nearly as good. So photo credits are due.