Lar titled this post for me. I like to think of myself as a handy woman, but my handiness is mostly limited to interior decorating. My drill has only ever been used to put together furniture and hang up shelves. Let’s just say I’m aspiring handy woman. The other day my friend asked me to stop by her new place to help her hang some photos so I thought I’d dress appropriately. All I need is my own tool belt!

Outfit details: Uniqlo shirt, J. Crew belt, Gap jeans, old Target faux cowboy boots.

Hard work calls for a practical hairstyle. I usually put my hair up in a messy bun when I’m too lazy to wash my hair that day. TMI? Hope not.

Happy Friday everyone!

Ever since I started dating my bf he’s tried to convince me that L.A. is a great city. Whenever he’d talk about L.A. I’d usually role my eyes, snort and saying something like, “Yeah, a great city if you love urban sprawl and plastic.” He finally convinced me to take a trip with him this fall and I will totally admit that my bias against the city couldn’t have been more wrong.

Why did I love my L.A. trip so much? It could have been the fact that my bf knew every amazing restaurant in town or that the weather was heavenly compared to our never ending Atlanta summer or that everyone I met was incredibly nice and unpretentious. Highlights included tandem bike riding along the beach in Santa Monica, shopping along Melrose and eating the best sushi of my life.

I’ll be posting a few more photos from the trip in the next week and will be doing a postcard series on Danapop just like Lar’s Scotland postcards. A big thanks to Lar for keeping up with AsianCajuns – I missed you!

The Little Black Dress Experiment is coming to a close – I can’t believe August is already over! I’ve loved checking out how the 30 bloggers styled their Ann Taylor dresses.

On a side note, the grainy Mac photo booth photos are due to the fact that neither Lar or my bf were around to take my picture the other day. Thanks for bearing with me!

Before the Little Black Dress Experiment officially ends, I wanted to share two of the sponsor gifts that we received for participating in the project.

Gift #1: Hard Night Good Morning daytime moisturizer (pictured in the center on my bathroom shelf). I’m not a big beauty product junkie, but I have to admit that I love this stuff. It smells good, isn’t greasy and has SPF 20.

Gift #2: Michele Watch. I’m a sucker for watches and I don’t even need them. I have about 3 watches that I’ll wear even though their batteries are dead and I rely on my cell phone to tell the time. I just love how watches can make an outfit look so dapper. I’m sure you’ll be seeing me wearing this watch in many upcoming outfit posts.

The other day I wore my Michele watch with a dress and belt from H&M and Biviel shoes from Eviva. The best part about this dress is that it’s a knit material so I don’t ever have to iron it. I pack it every time I have to go to a work conference.

Hope you all are having a good start to the week. The Decatur Book Festival is coming up this weekend – I can’t wait!

I won’t go into the title of this post too much because, really, who isn’t inspired by Annie Hall? This outfit is an updated Annie Hall look sans hat. Actually it really came about because I’m so sick of wearing skirts to work. I miss pants and blazers and black tights, but we have at least another two months of hot summer weather in Atlanta.

Outfit details: Zara shirt, H&M vest, recycled CD necklace made by my talented friend Lena, McQueen for Target pants, shoes from Eviva boutique and a Saddleback bag.

I’m completely in love with my Saddleback satchel gifted to me through the Little Black Dress experiment. It’s probably the best quality bag I’ve ever owned and so well made that I’ll still be using it in 50 years.

Speaking of the LBD experiment (we mentioned it before here), Lar and I will be showing off our, um, styling skills with our little black dresses on the 20th. Check out how other bloggers around the nation have cleverly styled the same Ann Taylor dress here.

And because I couldn’t resist, here’s a photo of Boo Radley in mid-tail wag and his full-on Ewok look:

First of all, thank you to everyone for voting for us in Atlanta Magazine’s Head to Toe contest. Having such amazing support from the blogging community is one of the things that really keeps us going.

Now, on to some fashion/style/outfit talk. I’m always on the hunt for Rolan Mouret/Black Halo/ Victoria Beckham-inspired dresses (read: cheap knock-offs) that I can wear to  work. I love the lady-like lines and the fact that I can just thrown on a dress and look pulled together.

Outfit details: Cassius sunglasses, necklace from Vacation, Zara jersey dress, shoes from the Banana Republic outlet.

I swear I didn’t smear Vaseline on the lens of my phone camera – it just needs cleaning, which I didn’t realize until I pulled these photos up on the computer – eesh!

Lar got me this necklace a while back at Vacation, one of our favorite Atlanta shopping spots, and I love it. It’s got a kind of Flinestones feel to it but somehow it works with this dress.

Hope you are all having a great weekend! Lar is away camping. I don’t envy her, but I’m sure she’ll have some fun photos to share when she gets back.

1.) My new Dolce Vita Blakely top – asymmetric sleeves, soft jersey, loose fit around the middle (no need to suck in the stomach!) and perfect for work or going out. In the photo, I’m wearing it with a pencil skirt and heels, but I’d love to pair it with some super skinny, cropped black trousers and ballet flats.

2.) Arrow ring by Low Luv x Erin Wasson. I’ve been looking for an inexpensive gold ring that has stacking potential. Plus, Low Luv is Erin’s only design partnership now that RVCA has dumped her.

3.) Popeye’s Red Beans and Rice. I always love red beans and rice, especially when my mom makes them, but sometimes I get a HUGE craving for the Popeye’s version. I don’t know what they put in it, but it’s delicious, fast food, Cajun goodness in a cup.

Right after work on Friday my bf and I did a little bit of bar hopping, Brick Store Pub –> Young Augustine’s –> Palate Wine Bar. Needless to say, it was a fun evening. I’m blaming my cheesy, overly pose-y stance on the two high gravity beers I already had in me when my bf snapped this by Young Augustine’s – a great beer bar/gastro pub in south Atlanta.

F21 vest, Simply Vera tank from Kohl’s, AA skirt, Dolce Vita shoes and bag from Vivid.

I wear vests to work a lot in the summer and this Forever 21 vest is one of my favorite. I like the longer proportions and the slightly rolled sleeves. I bought it last year because it reminded me of that gorgeous blue YSL vest that Juliana Moore wore on the cover of Domino.

I should have asked my bf to take a closer shot of the sleeves and lapel, but the photo below will give you a better idea of the cut. I know Forever21 gets a lot of slack for copycatting, but I would never in a million years be able to afford the YSL version.

PS: The vest isn’t the only thing I copied from that Domino cover. I also painted my apartment with the same wall color, Benjamin Moore Iced Mauve.

Books and clothes don’t seem like much of a combination, but they’re two of my favorite things. If you made me choose between the two, I wouldn’t know what to do.  Lar and I grew up in a house filled with books and our mom got us hooked on reading at a young age (John Bellairs books used to be our favorite summer reads – pre Harry Potter goodness). It freaks me out a little when I go into house that doesn’t have any books. How is that possible?

In the photo below, I’m standing in my parent’s current library/sitting room. They gave away most of their books when they moved down to Atlanta last year, but with monthly trips to the local thrift stores, book sales, book festivals, local book signings and indie book stores, we’re building the collection back up.

Outfit details: Shirt from Evolve Boutique, Asos denim pencil skirt and Seychelles heels.

It’s that time of the season where I start getting really sick of the clothes I have. My summer work wardrobe consists of a small rotation of sleeveless shirts and skirts. Maybe once the summer sales start I can stock up on some floral pencil skirts and cute silk tanks.

I think I’ve shown this necklace on the blog before. The pendant is a prehistoric squid fossil. Don’t believe me? Call Vivid Boutique, they’ll make one for you!

Usually when I buy a purse I wear it for about six months straight. The last new purse I got was a Christmas gift from Lar. It was great for the winter and spring, but lately I’ve been itching to tote around something a little more summery. My search ended at Vivid Boutique where I found this gray, vegan satchel. Perfect for work and big enough to carry around a book or two on the weekend.

I’m sitting on my couch in my new studio apartment. You can’t really tell, but I painted the walls of my living area Iced Mauve. I think it brings out the green of my couch and the gray of my new purse very nicely.

Scoutmob happened to offer a 50% off coupon for Squash Blossom Boutique on our birthday and I took that as a sign that I should buy something. That’s only logical, right? Lar got some really cute sandals and I ended up buying this striped, ruffly shirt. The coupon was clearly meant to be.

The shirt is very light-weight, black and white (well, cream) stripes and tunic length so I’ll be able to mix it up a bit with future outfits. It was the perfect summer top for our July 4th picnic with the family: hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, 5-cup salad, brownies and watermelon.

Outfit details: Boater hat from Nasty Gal, Mystree shirt from Squash Blossom Boutique, Urban Outfitter shorts, Dolce Vita shoes, leash from the Animal Rescue Shelter and our family dog Boo Radley.

My favorite part of the outfit:

My bf made me this necklace for my birthday and I LOVE it. He knows I’m a huge Wizard of Oz fan (Lar and I have both been fans since we were 2) and couldn’t find anything Oz related that wasn’t super cheesy. So he cleverly made the pendant and attached the silver himself. I think he should have his own DIY blog!