Fallen Empires

 I'm so excited for the new Snow Patrol album dropping on November 14th. I've been listening to the few songs I've been able to scrounge up on the internet, this being one. Then I clicked over to their page and found this: The Fallen Empires Fan Video Project. I wish I had more time/ had known about this sooner. We'll see...                                     

Wood

 

Wood-Rostam Batmangli

This song is amazing. I guarantee you will not be able to stop listening. If you are fans of Vampire Weekend, this song is by Rostam Batmangli, one of their members.

A Dress for a Princess

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I can definitely envision Kate Middleton in this dress. Probably because it's sort of a conglomeration of everything else she likes to wear. In other news, the Luisa Beccaria collection was perfection.

Boots for the Every Girl

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If you know me, you know I've been horseback riding for the past twelve years. I love it and wouldn't consider my life without it. One thing I don't love, though, is that it's given me some monster calves that don't quite fit into the standard knee boot. My calves are a comfortable 15.5" around-making them about an inch or inch and a half too big for most boots. General calf sizes range from 13-15". From there, if you search for wide widths on a site like Zappos, you're pretty much going to be faced with boots with extremely wide widths. It can be hard to find to find the middle-range sizes.
If you're a girl who falls just slightly outside of the normal range, boot shopping can be about as embarrassing as bikini shopping. Luckily, I've found a few sites and brands that make attractive and high-quality boots with slightly wider than average calf circumferences.

In my own closet, I own pairs of Naturalizer, Restricted, and Steve Madden boots. The Steve Maddens were a lucky find. Most of them don't manage to fit me at all. But I've found Naturalizer and Restricted to be great for the above-average girl.

DSW: Their wide boots section features boots at those lovely DSW prices with shaft circumferences up to 16".

Shop Ruche: There are many things to love about this site, from the clothes to the jewelry to the bags. I own two pairs of boots from Shop Ruche and I love them both. I ordered both online and they fit like a dream. While these boots (below) don't list a calf circumference, they are lace up so I imagine the fit is pretty adjustable. Plus, aren't they just adorable?

Continental Crossroads Boots

Blowfish: I was browsing their website this morning and came across a beautiful pair of grey boots (the next on my shopping list!) that were not only gorgeous, but featured a 15.5" circumference. They have a slight heel that, while I normally only buy flat boots, seems manageable. These beautiful Beams come in lots of different colors. Most of the Blowfish boots seem to have a calf circumference of 15.5".

Do any of you have other problems finding shoes and/or boots? I also have a bunion on one of my feet that pinches the nerve on that foot. While I've been living with it for several years (5-6 at this point), at this stage I'm not considering surgery. It would take too much time away from the things I love (read: I could not possibly sit in bed for six weeks). Maybe I'll make another post about my shoe shopping challenges with that. There are so many shoes that seemed to have been designed without the foot in mind, which is a tragedy.

Jag Lever

                                                                    

Rio

                                                                        
It's pouring today. I'm inside with brownies, a soon-to-be cup of tea, and my homework. And listening to this song. I don't really know much about/listen to Duran Duran, but I really enjoy this song. The video I posted is in itself not very interesting. The actual music video of this song is so ridiculous I kind of can't handle it. It sort of kills the song for me. So, now I have given you a nice boring video by which you can listen to the song in piece without having 80's horror flashbacks. If you don't believe me, see for yourself.

Be Brave, Be Kind

I expect to pass through life but once.  If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.  ~William Penn

If we all took the time to make someone else's day a little brighter, we'd be living in a different world.

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This evening I got on the bus to head home after my first day of class. A girl sat down next to me, talking on her cellphone. I didn't pay much attention to her, thinking about how hungry I was and how my head kind of hurt. Then I heard her say a string of words that caught my attention.
"Do you have any advice about picking a psychologist?"
Boy do I, I thought. But she was still speaking on the phone. I shouldn't have eavesdropped, but really, we were right next to each other on a boring bus ride. I listened to her talk to her friend/mom/whoever and wished that I could talk to her as well. I pulled out my notebook and wrote her a note, offering her my number if she wanted to talk. At my stop, I handed it to her and got off.
I made myself a snack at home and came back to see a new voice mail on my phone. I hadn't heard my phone ring so I thought it was an old message that was popping up because my phone wanted to delete it. But it was her. When she said it was the nicest thing anyone had done for her in awhile, I felt so indescribably happy.

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I'd almost not said anything to her. It seemed awkward. We were complete strangers and I was listening in on her conversation. But I did it and I'm so glad. I hope she finds what she's looking for.

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
                                                                                    

New York Fashion Week

While New York Fashion week has come and gone, the rest of the world is gearing up for their own runway shows. Below are some of my favorite looks:

Oscar de la Renta

Theyskens Theory

Jenny Packham

TSE

Rachel Zoe

Luca Luca

Zac Posen

Pamela Love

Carolina Herrera

ADAM

Vivienne Tam

Rachel Zoe

Zac Posen

Tadashi

Wes Gordon

Carolina Herrera

Betsey Johnson

Donna Karan

Suno

Tory Burch

                          Elie Tahari

                           Herve Legere

 Pamella Roland

I could write a love letter to Marchesa, Anna Sui, and Naeem Khan.

Below: Marchesa

Below: Anna Sui

Below: Naeem Khan

All images from ELLE