I splurged a little bit the other day by eating “beef” with broccoli at Chinese Buddha in Midtown. They offer the real meat version too, but since I was trying to kind of stick to my cleanse (all the salt and sugar in the sauce is not on the diet), I got the tofu beef instead. What would you call it? Beefu? Tofeef?

Here I am with the happy Buddha, which I’m now realizing I totally forgot to rub his belly for good luck. That’s a thing, right? Or maybe it’s just something my mom would tell me when I was little.

Outfit details: Primark knitted scarf thing, New York and Co sweater, Madewell jeggings (I know, jeggings, but it was the weekend and I wanted an elastic waistband), socks c/o Falke, Jeffrey Campbell boots and tote from Shakespeare and Co.

Love this ring that Lar got me for Christmas. It makes me feel fancy even when I’m wearing jeggings.

The fuzziness of these Falke socks make me feel like I’m wearing cashmere on my feet.

Guess where I got my Shakespeare and Co. bag? That’s right! At Shakespeare and Co. in Paris. I’ve been wanting to go there for years and didn’t make it on my first trip seven years ago. It’s as magical as I imagined – books stacked all the way to the ceilings, little reading nooks and rickety old beds on the second floor for traveling writers. I think Lar was able to sneak in some photos even though you’re not suppose to take pictures inside. Maybe you’ll see those in a future post. . .

_________

Dearest Lar,

Do you realize we spent 2 hours today video skyping? It barely makes up for the fact that we can’t really chat too much during the week since you’re in bed by the time I get off of work. It does help that we’re doing this cleanse together. I actually look forward to drinking my kale/lettuce/celery/cucumber/pear green juice every morning. Do you? I think it’s pretty fantastic that we can encourage each other to get healthy even though we’re an ocean apart. Maybe by the time you move back to the states we’ll both be complete health nuts – although that’s hard to imagine considering that I’m still craving some Chick-Fil-A. Nom, nom, nom. At least that’s not something that can tempt you in Scotland.

Sweet dreams,

Cath

Ladies and gentlemen, I am a lucky lady. Not only do I get to go to Paris tomorrow and meet up with my twin sister/bestie, I had the chance to attend a party full of Atlanta fashion bloggers tonight and got a free pair of shoes from Sole Society.

The party and free shoes are all thanks to Eboni of The Fashionista Next Door. That’s her with me in the photo below.

You know what’s so great about being around other fashion bloggers? No one gives you a weird look when you whip out your camera and start taking pictures of everything or get super excited over everyone’s outfit.

The party was at Sunny’s Hair and Wig shop, which I’ve been wanting to check out forever. I’m desperate for some clip-in extensions so I can have long hair again – whenever I feel like it. I got a little too distracted tonight by the good company, free wine and gorgeous shoes to really take a good look at the extensions, so I’ll be back after my trip.

Just want to do a quick shout out to all the amazing ladies I met tonight – and will be adding them to our blogroll once I find some place with wi-fi in Paris:

Lily Kai, Fashion Without Guilt, Makeup By Ren, Imperfect Concepts, Oh! Nikka, Curls Coils and Kinks, Charee Lenee, and Shandart Productions.

Speaking of local bloggers, Erica of Erica + Rice, asked me to spread the word about a great holiday donation program her high school is hosting:

Erica made the poster herself and she’s only in high school!

_________________________

Dearest Larbar,

I get to see you in 24 hours!!! I missed you more than ever tonight at the blogger get together and can’t wait to tell you all about it. I’m so buzzed that I’m supposed to wake up in 5 hours and don’t even feel sleepy! Although I also feel a little loopy and might have multiple spelling/grammatical errors on this post. Please feel free to edit while I’m flying over the Atlantic tomorrow.

See you in Paris!

love, cath

For those of you who live in states with more, er, progressive alcohol sale laws, this might not sound like a big deal. But imagine getting invited to a Sunday brunch and offering to bring mimosas then waking up on Sunday and realizing you haven’t bought any champagne. Yep, you’re S.O.L. Or how about you make a delicious penne alla arrabiata on a Sunday evening and you realize you don’t have an equally delicious red wine to pair with it. Oh well! Or what if your bf invites friends over every Sunday for some marathon NFL watching and you realize you have absolutely no beer in the fridge – only an old pitcher of pink lemonade Crystal Light. Curses!

You see? Life without Sunday sales in Georgia has been rough.

Look at Troy (below), happy as a clam with a box full of craft beer from Ale Yeah – our neighborhood craft beer market that’s within walking distance from our house. For those of you who are curious, we picked up a Sierra Celebration, Skullsplitter from Orkney Brewery, Bridgeport Kingpin Double Red and Unibroue Ephemere.

Am I starting to sound like a lush? My apologies, I’m just so excited by this change that will make my life a little bit easier. I know, I know first world problems.

Now on to some equally important stuff. . . my new sweater! I got it for Paris – it looks tres chic, no? I figure you can’t go wrong with black and white stripes in France.

Outfit details: Free People sweater, Blank cords, Asos boots (from Lar).

______

Dearest Lar,

Come to think of it, you can’t buy alcohol on Sundays in Edinburgh, right? I just vaguely remember the beer and wine aisle at Tesco being blocked off on Sundays. Maybe I’m just making that up.

I can’t wait until we’re shopping at Merci together – in our unfashionable winter coats! Less than three weeks from now!

Love, cath

I’ve been so busy the past few weeks that the only photos I have are from the Decatur Wine Festival. I usually try to dress decently for the wine fest (i.e. boots, nice jeans, a tailored jacket), but not this year! I ended up helping out/working for most of the day. This is what I wore:

That’s my dad on the left! He doesn’t even drink wine, but the free food enticed him. You can’t really see my whole boring outfit, so here’s a little collage of what I wore:

It doesn’t get much more blah than a fleece jacket, jeans and boots. The only little bit of style I had was the gloves I had just purchased from Vivid Boutique ($10!). They’re the kind of gloves that can be worn as mittens or finger-less gloves, which come in handy when you’re trying to text on your iphone/droid.

I use to have a pair just like these when I was young and have been looking for a similar pair ever since. I have a feeling I’ll get a lot of use out of them this winter.

Glove happiness aside, I am a little concerned about my cold-weather sartorial choices. Like Lar, I end up going for warmth over fashion once it gets below 35 degrees. I know, I’m a wuss, but I blame it on Atlanta’s temperate winters. Nevertheless, I’ll be spending a whole week in Paris in December and am super worried I’ll end up looking like this:

When I so desperately want to look like this:

Yeah, it’s a total pipe dream, but I’m holding on to it! I’m packing a mid-length winter coat and hoping some cute winter accessories like this Eugenia Kim turban headband and a brightly colored snood like this one might help things out. I’ll keep you all posted. I’m sure Lar and I will take so many photos in Paris you’ll be sick of seeing us wrapped up in our (hopefully stylish) winter garb.

——-

Dearest Lar,

What are your Paris outfit plans? I know you don’t have many clothes over there in Scotland, but you have that really cute J.Crew puffer and super cute scarves and hats. Plus, now you have those gorgeous new boots from that store with the weird name. I want to go to there!

I’m not as concerned about what I’ll wear in Scotland. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d love to go all Brigadoon:

But something tells me that’s not so practical Plus Edinburgh isn’t as much of a fashion capital as Paris. I wouldn’t feel guilty about wearing fleece in Scotland.

Love you!

Cath

My friends had better luck than me at Junktique, but I still had fun walking around and stopping by Oakhurst Market for some organic chocolate milk. It also gave me a chance to show of my new neon laces that I got at Target a few months ago:

I originally bought the laces to put on my oxfords – and I might still do that – but last Saturday I felt like updating my 7 year old Chuck T’s.

Not the most groundbreaking fashion change, but it put a little pep in my step.

This weekend is Steinbeck’s chili cook-off. I can’t wait to stuff myself with chili while drinking cheap beer and hanging out with friends. Any of you locals going?

———-

Dearest Lar,

I wish you could come to the chili cook-off with me! Your new outdoorsy-ish way of dressing would be perfect for an event like that.

You want to know what else is perfect? This tea combo that Lena introduced me to. I think I mentioned it last time we chatted on Skype: raspberry tea + a sprig of mint + honey. It’s delicious!

And the best part is you can make it for yourself in Scotland!

Just one month until I’m in Paris with you!

Love, Cath

Outfit details: Cardigan from Lar, Forever 21 top, Alexander McQueen for Target pants, Missoni for Target pumps.

Some of you local Decaturites might recognize where I am in the photo above – just outside Brick Store Pub. Troy and I love Brick Store and have been on a huge Flemish beer kick. We shared a bottle of Girardin Gueuze the other night and it was delicious.

Love the script on the glasses that the Gueuze comes in.

——

Dearest Lar,

Do you miss the Brick Store? Is there anything similar in Edinburgh? You might have cafes on boats, but Decatur still has its own Belgian beer bar.

I can’t believe I’ll only be in Edinburgh for five days. I definitely want to go to all the amazing places that you’ve been discovering. I’d love to climb Arthur’s Seat, but it might be a bit nippy in December! And most of all, I just want to spend some sister time drinking tea and maybe doing a little bit of shopping on Princes Street

xoxoxo,

Cath

In June we couldn’t tell you much about it, but now that it’s aired we can spill the beans! The filming was for a new TBS show called Trends With Benefits and we were extras in a beer and chocolate segment at Sugar Coated Radical:

A big thanks to Jonathan for including us in this amazing project and to Ale, Liza, Daniel and Chris for making such a fun afternoon of it!

See the comfy-looking scarf and hoodie I’m wearing in the photo above? Those are courtesy of Alternative Apparel. I went to their Holiday 2011 and Spring 2012 preview party at JCT Kitchen last week. Of course I wouldn’t turn down any invite to a party that promises good fashion and delicious food. What I hadn’t anticipated was all the great people I would get to meet. The Alternative Apparel reps were very friendly and I got to meet a couple of Atlanta bloggers that I’ve been wanting to get in touch with – including Jess of LadyFlashback. We’ve been blogger friends for years and although live in the same city have shamefully never meet until this party.

The Spring 2012 line (above).

It was so inspiring to see how much the Atlanta/LA-based company has evolved in just the past few years. They’ve always taken the quality of their materials very seriously, but now they’re branching out in a more feminine direction.

The fringe shawl from the spring collection and gray tank for the holiday collection both belong in my closet. So many companies brag about being fashionable and comfortable, but I think Alternative Apparel really gets it more than most.

I fell in love with their leather bags. I will take all of them, please!

The Alternative gang introduced us to their new magazine, Common Thread. It focuses on creative-types,  community and the people behind the brand. In the inaugural issue Young Blood Boutique, a great indie art boutique in Atlanta, is featured.

Outfit details: Alternative Apparel hoodie and scarf, Gap tank, Blank cords and AE booties.

One last word on Alternative Apparel, they’ve teamed up with Susan G. Komen for the Cure: for every pink ribbon item you buy, 10% will go towards Susan G. Komen through the end of this year.

Dear Lar,

I wish you had been in town to meet LadyFlashback and to get your hands on a super soft hoodie. Also, as you know, the Decatur Craft Beer Festival was this past Saturday. It was so fun to see everyone carrying around glasses with your logo on it. People loved it on the shirts too. It was so popular, all the shirts sold out within 5 hours!

Miss you bunches! I can’t wait until you get real internets so we can video chat again!

I was at Tarjay the other day when this hat caught my eye. I’ve been looking for a wide-brim fedora, plus I had an American Express giftcard, which means it was FREE! That, my friends, is some satisfying accessories shopping.

Troy and I have been working late this week, which means it’s usually too dark to take outfit photos once we get home. We were trying to find the best light in the house. Not a lot of options in a 900 square foot house. There’s the living room/entry area (above) with yellow-ish lighting. Then there’s the mini-hallway (below) with not enough lighting and baseboards partially chewed on by Wheatie.

Outfit details: Tarjay hat, New York and Co. cardi, Squash Blossom top, bib necklace from some children’s store in Las Vegas, The Limited skirt, and Frye boots.

Anyone else going to the Decatur Craft Beer Festival this weekend? Lar actually did the logo for the festival this year. I love it! And she gave me the two free tickets she got for being the logo designer. Woohoo!

Thank you Lar! I’ll get you a Beer Fest tee and glass!

Outfit details: DIY necklace, Derek Lam jacket from Lar, H&M skirt, Aldo shoes, Kate Spade bag and Wild Heaven Ode to Mercy four pack.

Oakhurst Market opened in the summer and it’s the type of intown grocery market you dream of having on your street corner. I feel pretty gosh darn lucky to live within a ten minute walk to this place – chock-a-block with local treats (hello High Road, Wild Heaven and Wynatte!). I ended up driving there tonight because I was coming from work and wearing heels – go ahead, judge me if you must!

I was laughing in the photo above because Troy and I had spent the previous five minutes trying to find a place in the market with enough lighting to take an outfit photo. Right before he took the photo, one of the guys working at the market walked by and said, “Pretty picture time!” or something like that and made me feel more at ease. I know I’ve been doing this style blog thing for a while, but I still feel awkward every time I have to pose for a photo.

I usually feel really self conscious taking outfit photos in a very public place. Most of my shots come out looking like this:

Luckily Troy is patient enough to put up with my antics and take photos using my not-so-great camera phone. I promise I’ll start using the better camera once I can remember to pack it with me everyday!

Do you guys remember Lar blogging about this necklace? She diy-ed it from a curtain tie and I love it. That and her Derek Lam jacket (she wore it here) are just two of the amazing things she left me as she headed off to Scotland.

Oh crap. I just dripped some sorbet on my keyboard. That’s a sure sign that I’m up way too late. I’ll leave you with these two other images from the market (and some botched outfit photo attempts) so you can get a better idea of what is offered there. For those of you who live in Atlanta, you must make a visit to Oakhurst Market! And for those of you who don’t, you can buy High Road ice cream online!

P.S.: Last night I went to the Alternative Apparel Preview Party at JCT and got to meet a few of the local style bloggers that I’ve wanted to meet for years. What a great evening. A post is coming soon!