Always a kid at heart

Not only do I find myself being attracted to the same things as little kids, e.g. Hello Kitty, Disney Princesses, and pink glitter. I also find myself loving their clothes from time to time too. Up until now I've been able to keep it contained to the girls Crew Cut line for JCrew, but it has now spilled into the Brooks Brothers kids line too. JCrew appeals to my quirky, frilly, girlie side, whereas Brooks Brothers speaks to the preppy, tennis playing, madras side of my personality. I either need to find a way to start shrinking or find a child I can kidnap for the afternoon to dress up with. The cuteness is maddening! 





Spring Time Blues



top: Old Navy, pants: Express, shoes: Miz Mooz
Don't worry guys, nothing is giving me the blues; except these pants! I am so on board with all the bright colors and neon colors of clothing I'm seeing everywhere. So I had to find a way to incorporate them into my wardrobe for spring. Straight, cuffed, and cropped, Express created the perfect style of pants for me.  The royal blue pants I purchased reminded me of blue jeans, so I could feel like I was easing myself into the trend. Perhaps by April or May I'll be ready for hot pink and banana yellow.

Oscar Night




kdHWqI on Make A Gif, Animated Gifs
make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif


The Oscars are coming! This is my version of the Super Bowl people. I do research, I read articles, compare stats, fill out ballots, and pride myself in watching almost all the movies nominated for big awards. I've seen The Artist, Midnight in Paris, Tree of Life, The Help, and Moneyball. Today is my final cram day to fine tune and tweak last minute winners to my ballot decisions. I would of course, love to see Midnight in Paris win but I'm thinking The Artist will take the best picture prize on Sunday. I usually do two ballots one for my "will wins" the other with my "wish would win." Brad Pitt, Rooney Mara, Jonah Hill and Jessica Chastain will be circled on that version. Jean Dujardin, Viola Davis, Christopher Plummer, and Octavia Spencer will be on the former. (I think, these are still subject to change!)

Print your ballots here, Oscar bingo card here (my favorite tradition), follow along with my twitter here to catch my thoughts on the show and how my picks come out. Happy Oscar viewings my little movie apples!

Animated Shorts

I have a soft spot in my heart for all things animated. Perhaps it's the light, child like nature it can take on but something about it makes me smile and look at life in a more simplistic way. Last week during the Grammy's when this (Chipotle, of all things!) commercial aired it stopped me in my tracks. Literally, I think I was in the middle of talking when this commercial started and then could not finish my sentence I was so moved by this animated short. It's a very powerful message about cultivating a sustainable food system for our planet. Emphasized by the fact it was actions over dialogue. Which I think is the basis for good animation: what you do means more than what you say sometimes.






In perfect timing, this short makes me think of my favorite category for the Oscars: Best Animated Short. Every year I search the Internet to find clips or whole pieces of each nominated film. Last year a movie theatre in Indianapolis was showing all of them right before Oscar season and it made my little heart happy to see them all together on the big screen. This year, to my surprise, a theatre in Lexington showed all of them together too! I think the Pixar short, La Luna, has my vote for the winner this year, but they were all sweet in their own way. Check out parts and pieces of the nominees here... La Luna, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, Dimanche/Sunday, A Morning Stroll, and Wild Life.

(PS to watch my all time favorite Oscar short winner from 2006 click here)

Television Fashion

I am a bit of a TV fanatic. Series, sitcoms, reality TV; I've been known to watch them all. The only thing that gets me excited about summer coming to an end is knowing new Fall shows will be starting. So it's no surprise that I take some of my fashion cues from my favorite television characters. Here's whose closets I'd like to be raiding.

Blair Waldorf-Gossip Girl. Blair is girlie, preppy, and her flair for the theatrics lead her outfits a little costumey at times too (which I love). Blair drips Upper East Side chicness in every outfit she wears. Pattern mixing, fun tights, she never met a winter coat she didn't like, and I am green with envy that she can pull off so many hats. She inspires me to get out of my jeans routine and embrace my girlie side with skirts and dresses, no matter what the temperature. Blair, take me under you wing as a minion in training and let me raid your closet!

Jess-New Girl. The bangs, the eyelashes, the voice...I have a total girl crush on Zooey Deschanel. I love Jess' sense of style on this show. Her clothes really speak to her personality: she's not afraid to be exactly who she is and to have fun with life, and her clothes. Bright pops of color, a shoe collection full of flats, fun pattern mixing, and Jess can never wear too many polka dots! Jess and I could totally be roomies, just as long as I can borrow her clothes.

Emma Pillsbury-Glee. "A brooch for every outfit, a chain for every cardigan," is the motto I'd like to think Emma follows when she dresses herself every morning. Longer hem lines and higher collars keep Emma's girly looks more conservative than Blair or Jess, but no less coveted. Even though the she typically keeps to the same shape and silhouette of her outfits she's not afraid to color block or go head to toe monochromatic. I love everything about her Kate Spade-Anthropologie mix of bright colors, vintage prints, florals, and fun shoes. If I were a student of McKinley High School I would totally be looking towards Ms. Pillsbury as my fashion mentor.

Whose closet would you raid?

Moose and Apple




coat: Abercrombie and Fitch, top and boots: Anthropologie, vest: H&M, jeans: AG 

I totally jinxed our weather the other week when I said winter wasn't showing up. Cold, windy, and (some) snowy days have plagued my week! Luckily I have a snuggly coat to keep me warm. Now I'm sure big name designers make a warm coat, but seeing as I don't have the budget for a Burberry coat, I challenge a coat to keep me as warm as my Abercrombie and Fitch does. I know, I know, their store is too loud, too dark, and  be prepared to smell like their signature scent for at least 20 minutes after leaving their store, but they make a good winter coat! The faux fur lining and collar and the longer length helps makes these last few weeks of cold weather bearable.

In Paris Videos

I am totally moved by these music videos. Not only do I love every single track on the Watch the Throne album by Jay-Z and Kayne West, but their "...in Paris" song is my jam right now! So I was super pumped to see their video finally drop and this sweet mash up of the song and the movie Midnight in Paris created by 2509 films. Watch and enjoy.

(Sadly these videos are restricted playback on most sites but click the links to watch on YouTube for the videos in their entirety)






Birthday Recap

A handful of Instagrams from my day of birthday celebrating
1. The perfect breakfast of coffee and donuts at Dunkin
2. Feeling nostalgic for old school candy while cruising the mall in the afternoon
3. I really felt like a princess for the day while watching Beauty and the Beast in 3D
4. Nothing finishes off the day better than a Gigi's cupcake

30 Before 30

This past weekend I celebrated a birthday. I have 363 days to have a last fling with my late twenties before I can usher in the years of my early thirties. I think that gives me plenty of time to mark off some of the fun things I plan to accomplish before then.


1. Get another tattoo
2. Dye hair red
3. Be brave enough to try a funky haircut
4. Volunteer for a charity
5. Buy a car
6. Have 3-4 months of expenses saved up
7. To be able to have a hard conversation or argument with someone without crying (I'm a big softie what can I say?)
8. Make an origami paper crane
9. Find the perfect shade of lipstick, and wear it!
10. Pay off credit card or at least get balance below $500
11. Do Jillian Michael's workout for 30 days consecutively
12. Take styled pictures of where I live for blog
14. Find a reason to wear my sequin dress from Anthropologie
15. Make a 3 course meal
16. Add new pages to my blog
17. Rent or own a shallow depth of field lens for camera and use it effectively
18. Make a cinemagraph
19. Own professional makeup brushes, and know how to use them
20. Get in a better beauty routine with my hair...not just letting it be naturally stick straight everyday
21. Own dishes I love to eat off of
22. Read a classic novel like Pride and Prejudice
23. Have at least 75 followers to Little Yellow Apple
24. Make some sort of progress towards learning French
25. Travel to a fabulous place like New York City, Los Angeles, Europe, or Disney World (or have plans to travel to one of these places)
26. Meet a celebrity (a girl can dream right?)
27. Go ballroom dancing
28. Watch all of Audrey Hepburn's movies since Roman Holiday (I only have 11 left to see)
29. Choose a handful of Pinterest challenges to replicate or try out and blog about the results
30. Have the best 30th birthday party!

What's My Age Again?


And tomorrow I will do just that. Yes, this little apple turns the big 2-9 tomorrow. A tiny part of me thinks, "I'm almost 30 am I getting old?" But the bigger part of me thinks life is just beginning and I'm about to have a whirl wind life adventure Carrie Bradshaw style. Including all the shopping and shoes, but with less relationship drama. No matter what the age milestone I'm hitting my birthday will always be my most favorite day of the year and I can't wait for it to start tomorrow!

Rust, Brick & Velvet




jacket and thermal top: j.crew, jeans: AG, boots: DSW
Me and my rust colored top are subtly trying to blend into the brick wall behind me. You gotta be sneaky in my neighborhood when trying to take outfitting pictures. Things could get rowdy at any minute and I have to protect myself and my wardrobe!

I've officially decided winter decided not to make it's way to Kentucky this year, and we're luckily being blessed with sunny 40-50 degree temperature days from now until March. Which makes me super happy but sometimes a little overconfident in the fact that I don't need a jacket when I leave the house. Layering a thermal and velvet blazer seemed to do the trick today.

Heirloom Cookie Jar


Most daughters wait for the day when their mothers pass down the family pearls or wedding dress to them. For me, it was a cookie jar. Growing up, we never kept this little owl cookie jar out; my mother believed her Tupperware kept our cookies fresher. My mom used it to hold her collection of cookie cutters. Every Christmas this cookie jar would make its way out of the dark corners of her cupboards to help us with the baking. There was something about his peculiar winking face that I found interesting.

Flash forward to a few months ago when my favorite store sent out an email about their vintage inspired cookie jars. I couldn't believe the sweet face of my childhood relic was being sold at Anthropologie. It made me realize I needed him back in my life. For once I was grateful that my mother never threw anything away. She was happy to rescue him out of her cabinets and into my kitchen where it could be loved and appreciated.



In keeping with traditions, I keep my collection of cookie cutters in him too. He's absolutely perfect; now all he needs is a name. Any suggestions?

(PS I am so sorry for the empty content of this blog post earlier!)

Friday Flick Picks


Can you guess what movie I saw this week? Yes, finally, Lexington got The Artist and I promptly made plans to see it opening night. I have to say I loved it. I loved it for how beautiful it was, how it was something new, and how incredibly adorable the dog (named Uggie) is in this movie. The plot dragged a little bit for me, but when you don't have monologues or dialogue to keep a movie changing and moving I'm not sure I can really complain about that. For what they working with, a movie with no sound, it's absolutely amazing. About 10 minutes in you don't even realize that you aren't  hearing any voices, or sound effects. You become completely engrossed in watching the actor's faces and actions. It's fascinating. But the real treat of this movie is Uggie the dog. He steals every scene, and he'll make you wish your dog could play dead as adorable as Uggie can. This movie's Oscar nominations will definitely give The Descendants a run for it's money.

And to be fair to the other movies I watched this week I also saw Shame and Contagion. Contagion was surprisingly good, but you won't want to touch anything for at least a few hours. And Shame...let's just say it really lives up to it's NC-17 rating. This is NOT a movie for first dates, girls night out, or to see with your parents. Even though I felt uncomfortable afterwards, I think that's what the movie wanted you to feel; it's very powerful in that way. I'd say give both of these movie a watch too if your eyes can handle it!

Have a great weekend!

Four Eyes Better Than Two

blouse and skirt: Forever 21, shoes: Payless Shoes, glasses: Spec Club




Call me a little bit nerdy...a little bit hipster...but I love my new glasses. The one gift I was desperately asking Santa for at Christmas was a new pair of glasses and the big man came through! Normally I'd choose my contacts over glasses any day of the week but I find myself turning to my specs as my new favorite accessory. Really anything can put a spring in my step due to 60 degree days in January. Notice how I'm going sans tights and coats? This time last year I was digging my car out of a couple feet of snow and ice. How I love the South!