I’m standing in Cath’s teeny little kitchen (isn’t it so cute?). She’s painting her (also teeny) dining room and living space this week, so there will be more sneak-peaks of her apartment in the not too distant future. All of these photos were shot with Cath’s new Evo: fancy phone, not so fancy photos.

Top and skirt are AA, shoes are from Payless.

I used to despise crop-tops. I’m not sure why. I don’t hate bare stomachs of any shape or size (outside of the work place and in really warm climates). Just something about them irks me – usually. But I bought this American Apparel crop-top a while back because I thought “Holly Golightly would wear this.” I’m not sure if she actually would, but we won’t let Truman Capote know (hell, he wanted Marilyn Monroe to play Holly and not Audrey- what does he know about his own characters). Anyways, who wouldn’t like this? It’s got zips on the shoulders (the shoulders!) and is more structured than your average crop top – it’s made with a heavier gauged jersey.

While I was at work, I had the skirt hiked up so high you couldn’t see any skin, but it affords just the right amount of ventilation for our Hotlanta humidity- without resorting to anything too scandalous. For the photos, I slid the skirt down just a tad (to my waist instead of my rib cage) just so you could see that the top and the bottom are separate pieces.

I can’t find the zip crop top online, but a looser crop top would work in more informal offices. Would you wear the crop top/high-waisted pencil skirt combo to work?

If crop tops still make you gag (apologies!), here is some distraction: these guys (above) live on Cath’s teeny stove. They are salt and pepper shaker beefeaters we picked up on our first trip to London many moons ago, but we’ve been told they look more like radioactive snowmen. They don’t wear crop tops. Neon green collars, yes. Crop tops, never.

I haven’t decorated yet, but I took a few quick shots of my new home:

Outside: New Orleans style patio.

Heavenly bed (that’s a faux fur throw at the foot of my bed that I lurve year round- even in Hotlanta weather).

Mid-century couch and coffee table (these are much more Cath’s style, but they didn’t fit in her apartment. That couch could comfortably sleep Yao Ming). All the artwork is just temporarily propped up until I can do something a little more exciting to the walls.

Me, oh-so-casually-posed, on “my” patio.

Now, how did I land such a gorgeous place 10 minutes from downtown Decatur/25 minutes to the heart of the ATL? It’s. well, it’s. my parents’ house. And to be more accurate, the basement of my parents’ house (hence the yellow-tinged interior shots- I only have one full-sized widow down there).

No matter how pretty/luxurious the place is, it’s no 20-something’s dream to live in their parents’ basement. Before I start collecting comic books and spending my days by the glow of my computer, I plan to save as much as I can. There’s the boring stuff: car up-keep, trips to the dentist, etc., but the fun stuff (travel, travel and more travel) is the real reason I’m here. Backpacking through Central Asia and (fingers-crossed) northern Africa, is not going to pay for itself.

Also, apart from it being a gorgeous place to live and a great place to save, there are plenty of perks: one of them being Mr. Boo Radley (see above).  I also (knock on wood), get along with my ‘rents really well. It helps to have parents who don’t mind you mooching for a few months so that you can run around the world for a little while.

Cath is about 10 minutes away from me, in a really cute little apartment. She’ll share pics once she gets unpacked and she lets me over there with a camera. (Miss you, Kitcath!)

I’ve been coveting this purse on the Moxsie website for months now, and finally snagged it. At first glance, I just thought “ooo ginormous leather studs- lovely! rahh!” but in hand they look Jurassic rather than trendy – which I love even more.

So I am now the proud owner of a dinosaur purse. Even better? The inside of this dinosaur looks like a boudoir: purple satin, gold embellishments, a sage green on the Deux Lux label- nice eh? I mean, usually 1930s boudoir and scaly monster don’t coexist, which makes this purse all the more delightful.

And what goes better with dinosaur gray than red orange and brown? (Well many things, like buttercup yellow and light coral, dusky purple, sage green. but my giant mound of laundry sometimes limits possibilities). Tunic/dress (Cath thought it a bit too short- eeps!) is from AA, the vesty thing is I think F21 as is the belt which I pulled off another F21 tunic, and the boots are Frye.

ps- You know how I was going on and on about hating to wear my glasses (see them in my left hand), here’s another reason for my disgruntled glasses-wearing disposition: I can’t take a good photo in them. They reflect the light and I look kind of eye-less.creepy. So in all my outfit posts from now on, you’ll probably see them tucked somewhere but not on my face. P.S. you guys had some terrific comments on the glasses post– thanks so much for the spec support 😉

A little side note about sponsorships and ads on AsianCajuns.com:
Some of you readers might notice that Moxsie also has a neat little ad in our side column. We’ve been fans of Moxsie for years. We love supporting independent designers, and we love that a percentage of each purchase goes to a charity of your choosing. We were glad they wanted to be a sponsor of sorts (we don’t get moola unless someone clicks on the ad and buys something). But if any of you are ever wondering if we promote something on our blog because we’ve been given something for free- we’ll let you know in the post and still give an honest to goodness review of it. I paid full price for this lovely purse monster, and I still think it’s the bees knees.

The shoe:

Cath and I mentioned Bensimon shoes over two years ago on AsianCajuns when they came stateside. You can now get them online at Shopbop and Moxsie and at Madewell.

Notice the lack of a heel.

You know Cath and I favor tall shoes. Me especially. My tallest are close to 6 inches, the shortest roughly 2.5 inches (not including necessary flipflops, etc.). We wear them because of our petite stature, but also I love the way they look. I can’t get excited about buying flats.

That said, I can’t walk miles in those gorgeous wooden/leather skyscrappers. So I’m trying to convince myself that I like ranch houses.

Ladies, which do you prefer for yourselves (flats vs. heels) and why? Gents, aren’t you glad that you no longer have to wear heels?

ps- Thanks for all the lovely comments about the art history/photography post!

Blue Stocking– is an educated,intellectual woman. Such women are stereotyped as being frumpy and the reference to blue stockings refers to the time when woolen worsted stockings were informal dress, as compared with formal, fashionable black silk stockings

Growing up I was always under the impression that being a blue stocking was a good thing. That could be because 1) my mom only told me the first part of the definition (educated? intellectual? I like that) and 2) I imagined smart women wearing bright blue (probably silk) stockings that looked rebellious under tweed skirts.

Actually, I think being a blue stocking is a good thing. I don’t care about the “frump,” and the word “worsted” is a little off-putting (do they make worsted stockings anymore?), but I like a lady or gent that has a large library. This library could be a double storied room with ladders, or the public library down the road. I just really like people who like books. If they wear literal or metaphorical blue stockings, all the better.

Instead of actual blue stockings, I opted for a blue dress (Rodarte for Target)- it’s already way too hot for stockings in the ATL. All of these photos are taken in my parents’ library. Oh, and you know how Cath and I like to color coordinate our bookshelves. Look who we got it from:

Our mom is actually covering the unseemly paperbacks with recycled paper (the hardbacks are color-coded, if deemed worthy of being.  disrobed de-jacked).

We definitely get our book-worminess from our mom. See that book in the photo above that looks like it’s been placed there to look like someone’s reading it? Our mom actually is!

Our dad’s job in the library? He outfitted the bookshelves. They used to be drab Ikea things, but he refaced them with a wooden veneer and copious amounts of molding and paint.

Speaking of book nerdiness, what are you guys reading now? I usually have about 5 books in rotation at once (usually I finish about half of them). My current favorite is by far Just Kids (the Patti Smith book I mentioned here).

This is a tad too summery for a 70 degree Spring day in Atlanta. But when the sun is shining and the birds are singing and the trees are blooming (and my eyes are watering and nose is running- damn you, allergies!), I push appropriate work attire aside. Who needs it?! Also, I  just got this LNA dress via Shopbop and had to wear it the day I ripped open the package, because I believe in delayed (by a few seconds) gratification.

Apologies for more kissy poses- after three years of blogging I still feel uncomfortable in front of the camera and the kissy-pose is my goofy response to awkwardness. Awkwardness masked by goofiness. Works perfectly every time.

I threw a vintage sweater over the dress to be a little more office friendly. The earrings are from Heliotrope, the belt is F21, shoes are from Zara a couple of years ago, the big yellow bag (in the top photo) is from a little boutique in NOLA.

For those of you readers that noticed Cath and I color-coordinate our bookshelves- well spotted! We know this method of cataloging may make literati cringe, but we find it pleasing to the eye and practical. I usually remember the cover/color of a book more than a title. I do love a good book cover!

Lovely little souvenirs from this week: flowers from the bf (le swoon) and a free preview cd of the upcoming Harper Blynn album (picked one up at their concert at the Drunken Unicorn on Tuesday).

Speaking of concerts.my cure to smoky-smelling hair? I washed it at night immediately after the concert and braided it when it was mostly dry- et voila! Next morning. textured, wavy things! I used to do this in middle school when I wanted curly hair, but I would do far too many braids and wake up looking like I’d slept with my finger in a socket all night.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend full of sunny, warm days and chirping birds and mounds of sleep.