Meet Scalawag // Black & White Beauty

Today The Creative Closet is linking up 'Black & White Beauty' looks. So I thought, what better time to introduce our new, black and white kitten, Scalawag?! Well, briefly before the outfit post anyhow. :)

He is 6 months old, has a sweet little wink, and a big, cuddly personality. We adopted him a little over a week ago, and he is adjusting to our apartment (read: Duchess) pretty well. :)

They cuddle a little, and play pretty rough. But it's sweet, and I think she will be very glad she has a friend someday soon! :) - I could say more, and I probably will later.... but for now.....

....on to the fashion part! :) 

Since I'm introducing Scali... why not keep it cat themed? I thought I would use these old pictures from my very first fashion post, 'Black Cat'.

I love this look. It's really simple and clean. The leather tights, black and white oxfords, and printed scarf keep it from being too basic though! 

Blazer: TJMaxx, $30 - Old

T-shirt: J Crew Factory, $12 (sale price) (buy here)

Cat Print Scarf: Icing, $18 - Old

Faux Leather Leggings: Target, $25  - Old

B & W Oxfords: TJMaxx, $20 - Old

Earrings: Gift - Old

(at the time): Outfit Total: $105
Current Total: $0

We are heading to Nashville soon, and are super excited! :) 

I hope you all are having a great week so far! :) 

What is your favorite way to wear black and white?

Do you have any tips on getting cats to play together / adjust to one another?! 

XO,

Alexandra 

Snapshots of Seattle // Day 5 // October 2014

Here we are, finally at the end of our Seattle trip! ( Days 1, 2, 3, 4 ). On our last day in the city, we decided to head out to Fremont & Ballard. We didn't have nearly long enough to explore. But we managed to hit some good bookstores and vintage shops. We ended the day at the pier with a seafood dinner and ride on the new Ferris wheel.

Pastries and coffee... again.... because, why not?

After our breakfast we took the bus out to Fremont. We walked and shopped. We went to the Fremont Vintage Mall, which was very fun. I bought a lot of fun glasses. :)

We also visited Ophelia's Books, which was a fun little bookshop that carried used books. I rummaged around, picked out a book, played with the cat... :)

Then we visited a fun clothing store called Show Pony, that also had some used items. There was a lot of diversity. I picked out a really cute pair of gold studded crescent moon earrings. :)

We visited some more shops and then grabbed lunch at a quick Greek place. We had gyro and falafel sandwiches. They were so yummy. We ate them outside because the weather was gorgeous! :)

After that we walked down and saw the Fremont Troll. 

 Pretty crazy huh?! In his hand is a full sized VW beetle! :)

Remember that scene in 10 Things I Hate About You with JGL?!

Then we headed out to Ballard. We stopped at THE MOST BEAUTIFUL STATIONARY STORE ever (in Wallingford) on the way. It was called Paper Delights, I didn't get any photos inside... but please check out their website. It's flawless. Swoon...

In Ballard we rested our feet, grabbed coffee, visited another sweet bookstore, Sonic Boom music, a beautiful vintage shop called Trove, and KC visited a game shop. :)

After that we took the bus back to the downtown / pier area. We walked for quite a way to get to the pier. Little did we know it was under construction. So we had to go all the way around to get from the sidewalk to the pier. We followed the 'detour' signs and ended up on the wrong end with no way to walk through to where we wanted to be. We were exhausted and super hungry. It took what felt like ages. But we made it, waited to get a table, had dinner and then got on the Ferris wheel.

The ride was nice. I've always loved Ferris wheels though I hate most other amusement park rides. It was so fun to see the city at night. It reminded me of Chicago's Navy Pier, my first bigger trip when I was a preteen. :)

After that we got our suitcases trucked it to the light rail and back out to the sketchy hotel by the airport. Where I am pretty sure we saw a prostitute. Not quite what I was expecting.... We were so exhausted, and pretty ready to be home.

What type of shopping do you like to do on vacation?

What do you bring home as a souvenir?

All for now,

Alexandra

What Should We Do In Nashville? // Calling All Travelers

Happy Friday all! I hope that you have had a fantastic week. :)

via

Next week KC and I are driving down to Nashville to see Jack White (again!) with LORETTA LYNN!!!!! - slightly excited.

While we're there we will spend a few days exploring. We've never been and are super excited!

So, here's my question: What should we make sure to see/do/eat?!?!

Thank you in advance sweet blog friends!

XO,

Alexandra

Snapshots of Seattle // Day 4 // October 2014

Ah Seattle, there's noting like posts three months after the fact, right?

On our fourth day of our trip we explored Seattle's Volunteer Park, Asian Art Museum, and Japanese Garden.

I had mentioned before (here) that our trip was kind of difficult. Well this day (despite the gorgeous sights) is a prime example of this struggle.

We started out with more pastries and coffee, of course. :)

We took the bus, got off too soon, walked miles to the park. One the way were lovely houses, trees, and gardens, but goodness we could have gotten off right next to it instead.

The park was gorgeous, we climbed up the water/observation tower (seemed like a good place to shoot a horror movie). The view was nice up there, you could see the mountains and the space needle.

We got to the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM), (across from a gross man made lake or water treatment area....?) - I dunno but it looked like a prison in a dystopian novel. Or like the low-budget hunger games could take place there... ? The overcast sky wasn't helping matters.

Since the museum wasn't free until later in the afternoon we decided to go out to the Japanese Garden first. Which looked close on the map. - it was not. Again we walked for miles, getting tired and hungry. Plus the weather was nice, so we were getting warm in our jackets.

The garden was so beautiful, unlike anything I've seen yet. It was worth the walk, but again... we needed to get a handle on convenient public transportation.

After that we walked a short (yay!) way to the bus stop, that took us out to a retail area containing a bookstore I wanted to visit.

We stopped first at Lost Lake for lunch. It had a neat vibe, sort of reminded me of a VA or American Legion, but also a diner and a bit hipster-y.

We had shakes and burgers, the food was great and it was SO nice to rest! :)

Then we walked next door and explored The Elliot Bay Book Company. There I browsed and swooned over books. I ended up with a new journal and Home Style By City (which I read on the flight home.... and am now obsessed with!!).

After that we took the bus back out to the SAAM. We got in for free and explored the Deco Japan exhibit. It was gorgeous, though mostly filled with object type art (vases, clothing... etc.) -which is not my favorite. It was all still beautiful though! There were a few paintings I loved, but I couldn't take a photo to post. After that we walked through all of the galleries and were shocked when we were done! 

Displays of note include:

Watching the video works created by Chen Shaoxiong's Ink. History. Media. ink drawings

Al Wei Wei's Colored Vases. Really bright and lovely. - getting some color combo inspiration here! :) 

There was also a cool (but gross,) collection of snuff boxes. Beautiful... but snuff... not so much. Oddly enough we saw another collection in New Orleans when we visited the NOMA at the beginning of January. :) 

We were pretty tired and silly after we left the museum... yes I am thinking 'I'm gonna touch the butt!!' in this picture... 

Before leaving the park, we went back up in the tower and caught some lovely dusky views of the city. :) 

After that we walked back to a bus stop. Got on a bus and decided to eat at a Mexican place near our hostel called 'Mama's'. 

Though there was an enormous Elvis figure outside, and many Elvis items inside... so I'm pretty sure it was pronounced with Elvis's accent ('mahmaaa' -?). Meaning it's more like 'foxy lady' than 'woman who gave me life'... :) 

The food was pretty mediocre... and considering the quality of Mexican food where we live... it was pretty poor at this restaurant. But the kitschy environment was great!! Something I love in a restaurant. 

The prices were described as cheap, we found them to be pretty average. - but margaritas... am I right...?!

Exhausted from another rough day we tried to plan out the next day's travels before we passed out!

Have you ever been to a niche art museum? Which one? 

How is the quality of Mexican food where you live? 

Missed Victoria, BC - or other days in Seattle? Find them here: ( Days 1, 2, 3,)

Thanks for Reading!

Alexandra