Loving me some...

0EfbpC on Make A Gif, Animated Gifs


Here's another example of an unexpected store that has several pieces jumping onto my wish list: Express! They've just rolled out their spring collection and I was surrounded by bright colors the moment I walked through their doors. Not only am I tempted by these green pants, raspberry pencil skirt, and purple and teal wedges, but each of these pieces comes in a variety of colors too. How's a girl to choose?

If you were like me and wrote Express off as a shopping destination of your past, give them a second chance this season and we'll shake these winter blues yet!



(ps make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif)

Bueller...Bueller...Bueller...




Not since this have I laughed so much at a Super Bowl commercial. This was a purposefully leaked ad that will run on Sunday during the big game but it has me smiling from ear to ear right now. 

If you've ever talked movies with me, or sent me an email, you know I have a love for Mr. Ferris Bueller and his amazing day off. Since I was 13 my non-blog email address has had the word Ferris in it. I can't seem to let it go! I can quote the movie line for line, I can tell you fun facts about the filming of the movie, I've owned it on VHS, DVD, and BluRay, and it is my number one, all time favorite movie. 

No truer words were spoken: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." 

Friday Flick Picks


I bet you guys thought I had stopped seeing movies seeing as I haven't had a Flick Picks post in 2 weeks! In addition to the three movies above, I also re-watched some old and new favorites too: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Moneyball, and Midnight in Paris. And I'm sad to report that the old movies far out shined the ones I've never seen. Well that's not entirely fair; Jackie Brown was pretty entertaining. Tinker Tailor bored me to tears; I paid attention to the entire movie and still don't know what it was about! Jane Eyre didn't do much for me either. Jackie Brown is an excellent crime drama executed in perfect Tarantino style. If you haven't seen it I really suggest you give it a watch you'll be surprised.

I have to say right now in the movie world is my favorite time. We are in the thick of award season. Globes are behind us to set the tone for the trophies, Oscar nominations are out, and SAGs are this weekend. Now is the time to play catch up on all the movies that are getting some buzz and I am so excited that The Artist has come to Lexington and I have plans to see it tonight!

Pinterest Moves Me

pinterest- you can follow me here!
 A friend of mine recently shared some personal and family issues that she's going through, and they are really taking a toll on her emotions. She said that it was hard for her to stay positive right now and she wished she had more things making her happy. And my serious suggestion to her to improve her mood was to join Pinterest. I can literally be having a boring, bad, uninspiring day, and five minutes on Pinterest can totally turn my day around. Maybe I'm too much like Scarlett O'Hara when it comes to dealing with a problem; "I can't think about that right now; I'll think about that tomorrow," but escaping to a world of pretty images and quotes makes me forget about life's problems for a little while.

And what makes Pinterest even better is knowing the man behind it all, Ben Silbermann, is as inspiring and wonderful as the site itself. Many of my blogs I follow have returned from Alt Design Summit and besides the awesome parties, friends, and pictures they took, everyone can't stop talking about the keynote speaker: Ben Silbermann. Everyone has said the words he spoke really motivated and moved the audience. I wasn't present for his speech, but the quotes and bullet points other bloggers have taken away from him and shared on their blogs have motivated me too. To be moved by someone who was over a 1,000 miles away is a mark of a very inspiring and talented person!

sfgirlbybay

Conde Nast Travler via Design Crush
I was totally green with envy in the weeks leading up to Alt Design Summit and during this past weekend when everyone seemed to be there. But I am determined to make my way there next year! I'm not the best saver in the world but I am starting an Alt piggy bank and I will be there next January. I even have one of my roomies picked out, and we will dance Johnny and Baby style all night long!

(If you have no idea what in the world I'm talking about check out Alt's website and blog and get yourself excited for 2013 too!)

Va-Va Voom


Yowza! Winged eye liner and auburn tresses have been on my mind lately. Perhaps I'm trying to resemble a 40's Hollywood starlet. I got my hair trimmed the other day hoping to give my hair and overall look a little umpf, but I wish I had gone with a hair color change instead of chopping just a few inches off. Hair cutters remorse I suppose? I also wish I had an excuse (and could master the execution!) to sport the heavy winged eyeliner every day. Adele, Christina Hendricks, I envy you today.





Lex Local: Shorty's Urban Market


Today is the start of a new series here on little yellow apple entitled Lex Local. A place to highlight and brag about some really awesome places in my hometown of Lexington, Kentucky. Even though Lexington is your typical traditional small city we do have some neat places tucked away in our fair town.

Lex Local Spot: Shorty's Urban Market
Location: 163 W. Short Street
What is it? A grocery, deli, wine store, and street cafe all in one!
What makes Shorty's so cool is it reminds me of all the great little groceries and bodegas in New York City. With it's deli counter, produce, organic products, breads, cheese, and wines on display it feels like Lexington is a fancy cosmopolitan city. (we're fancy y'all!) The set up in this store is really original too. The space that Shorty's inhabits, I believe, was once an old bank. The giant circular vault door and and enclosed area where their refrigerated items are kept is kind of give away. The staff is super friendly and how nice and neat all their displays are I could wander around for hours. From coffee and pastries in the morning to paninis and sandwiches in the afternoon Shorty's has a great menu of yummy treats to offer when your tummy starts rumbling. And in the warmer months Shorty's is the perfect spot to sip a fruit smoothie and people watch from the cafe tables out front.

If you're a Lexingtonian like me, you should check them out!








Loving me...


Yesterday, I fell in love. About 3 o'clock yesterday it hit me. I completely feel in love with the idea of having a metal magazine rack. I can't explain it, or rationalize it, but it's what I feel in my heart. I am totally digging the more mid-century design. I think my favorite is the top one. It's something that looks like it could stand alone as an art piece empty or when showing off my latest reads. What do you guys think, anyone else want to get in on my love fest? 

I Tumble for Seasons


Even though I'm literally addicted to checking Pinterest, (seriously, someone I know should be making an intervention banner) I still love checking in on my favorite tumblr sites too. One particular site I love to scroll through is one titled "Winter." The site's author, Grace, fills her page with snowy sunsets, mittens curled around marshmallow filled coco mugs, and girls in fair isle sweaters. As much as I hate the cold weather, her site makes the bitter season a little cozier. And the good news is the popularity of her site has initiated a start of tumblr sites in the renaming seasons. So when I'm in the middle of a 20 degree day I can escape away to tropical beaches, gardens as far as the eye can see, or pumpkin patches. If you're in need of endless amounts of eye candy, check out Grace's sites.


P.S. it's also a great place to find images to pin to Pinterest too!    

Love for Old Navy


I am seriously in love with Old Navy's newest arrivals in their store right now. I am definitely an equal opportunist when it comes to the labels inside my clothes. If I like something I don't care what store it came from. So it comes as no surprise to me that I can constantly find good classic staples or the occasional inexpensive trendy items at Old Navy. Like that chambray shirt dress (only $19!) that would look amazing with a chunky cardigan, fun colored tights and wedge boots. Or the must have striped boat neck tee paired with navy trousers with the fun white piping. I would be excited to have all of those pieces in my closet right now. You may have written this big chain retailer off as a place to find fashionable pieces, just look past their wacky mannequins, but give it a second look and you might be pleasantly surprised!

Relaxed Polish




top: Ann Taylor loft (old), jeans: AE jeans, shoes: TJMaxx, belt: Forever21
What do you do when you get out of bed in the morning and have no idea what to wear? My solution to this problem is to scroll through my most recent outfitting pins on Pinterest. Is everyone else nodding their head in agreement? I noticed that I've been pinning a lot of outfits of girls in relaxed jeans with super cute heels to give the look some polish. So this is my attmpt to initate her and her. This is a pretty basic look: black top, heels and a lepoard print accessory. I think need more heels in my closet to pull together more unique looks. Like I need an excuse to go shopping!


Calendar Dreaming


I just realized that Jonathan Adler does calendars. Is there anything that man can't do? Created in his happy chic design his calendar has me dreaming of summer vacation plans. And I love the use of bold colors and retro images. I feel like I should wear my chicest maillot, Jackie O sunglasses, red lipstick, and do some sunbathing in the South of France. Happy dreaming!

image via seejanework


It's Unseasonable!



button up and tee: Urban Outfitters, skirt: Anthropologie, boots: DSW shoes
It felt like Spring had come early to the Bluegrass this weekend. Friday and Saturday were above 60 degrees! It had me happily out and about town driving with my windows down, music turned up, and rocking my sunnies like I was in the middle of June. The 10 day forecast says the warm temperatures will be short lived but this mini preview has me thinking winter will be over before I know it!

P.S. This skirt and sneak peeks of Spring must go together because I saw one of my favorite fashion bloggers recently rocking this skirt too! What would we do without Anthro?!

Friday Flick Picks


It was really hard to pick just one movie this week so I'm going to suggest three! And keeping in the spirit of ranking movies this week, I'll go in the order of how much I liked them. First up: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This movie is seriously sticking with me after the first watch. Rooney Mara blew me away in the portrayal of her character, Lisbeth. And despite the racy parts of this movie, she seriously needs to be considered for an Oscar. I was entertained and captivated for over 2 hours. Definitely go see this movie.

Next up: Young Adult. I am not a Charlize Theron fan but she really impressed me with this movie. She plays this character spot on. There are moments in this movie that make you cringe knowing how messed up someone would have to be to act like she does. And for someone like me who still has those teenage moments, seeing myself in some of those moments made me laugh.

Last, but certainly not least, was Win Win. There was such a humanistic way about this movie that I loved. The characters were rich and wonderful; every single actor brought their A game to this film. It was a real life funny movie if that makes any sense. Super touching; I really recommend this one too.

So there you have it, apples. To me, it is a sign of a good movie watching week when I have too many movies to pick from. I have sat through too many crappy movies lately and these three were a breath of fresh air.

Top Movies of 2011

When one year comes to an end my favorite thing is compiling all the movies I saw during the year.

Here are the rules:
* the list can only include movies I saw in theatres
* I can only include movies that come out in 2011 and that I watched between 1/1/11 and 12/31/11
* use comingsoon.net as a resource to compile the list of all the movies I saw (this is a flexible rule but I've always used their site to make my list)

This method does leave room for a black hole of movies. Usually victims of the hole are ones that come out late in 2011 and I don't get around to seeing until 2012. Unfortunately, I can't include them in the next year's list either. But this is the way I've always done the list and I'm a creature of habit.

I only saw 21 movies in theatres this year so coming up with the top third of the crop seemed like the best idea. For me, it wasn't the greatest year in cinema. My top two are really the only ones I could see myself watching over and over again. And don't hate on Harold and Kumar sliding into spot #7; any film with NPH automatically gets my vote!


Happy New Year



2012, it's finally here! I can't wait to see what this year has in store for me. I feel like I accomplished and succeeded on most of my resolutions from last year, so it makes me confident about setting new ones for this year.

Here are just a few things I want to work on: dedicating specific time to work on my blog every day, give the blog a mini makeover, get better at saving money, and discover things that make me truly happy.

I love writing this blog and I love every single one of you who come and visit little yellow apple too. Cheers to a wonderful new year!!!