Delicate Gold Bar Necklaces--on the Cheap!

 You've probably seen these little bar necklaces everywhere--the ones on the short, delicate chains where the bar sits right below the collarbone.  I wasn't sure how much I would like them on me, because short necklaces aren't usually my thing, so I picked up a gold plated one on Etsy with an 18 inch chain for $20-something from this little shop.  I got the hammered version, where the bar is slightly textured (you can kind of see it in the second photo).

I absolutely love this.  I wear it every day.  I think it would feel cheap, because it was pretty cheap, but it looks and feels pretty expensive.  The chain is so thin that it almost disappears on me, and it's just the gold bar floating below my collarbone, which looks really pretty.  I love it because it's the kind of necklace you can wear with everything--it's fancy enough to wear out or to a nice event, but it's simple enough that you can wear it with a tee and leggings.  It's just a great, easy to wear piece of jewelry.

I also super recommend that Etsy shop!  It shipped quickly, came in cute packaging, and it was super affordable.

Cheap, Adorable Screen-printed Tanks? I Say Yes.

I love Etsy, y'all.  I was looking to buy some cute, casual tanks for wearing around the house.  I love the American Apparel tri-blend tanks--we've gotten them for sorority stuff, and they are the comfiest and have a really nice fit.  I was going to buy some of them, when I realized that they were being sold on Etsy, for the same price as at American Apparel, but with adorable screen-printing! Actually, if you factor in the American Apparel shipping vs. the Etsy shipping, it's cheaper to buy them on Etsy.

Anyways, I found the Zen Threads Etsy shop.  They sell a bunch of American Apparel products, tanks, cardigans, hoodies, etc, and home-wares, like towels and such, with a variety of screen-printed designs on them.  You can choose the item color and they give you a few options for the color of the designs, depending on the shirt.

I picked up the California Bear tank in tri-black with yellow ink and the Day of the Dead tank in tri-lemon with white ink.  How cute is that bear?!  And it has a little map of California on it (I'm from California, so this makes me inordinately happy).  I love Day of the Dead related things, so I think the slightly creepy, slightly floral nature of that skull is awesome.  It's just the right balance of morbid and sweet.  I got it in a bright tank with white ink to mitigate the whole, I'm wearing a skull t-shirt factor.

Obviously now I need to buy more of them (I have restraint issues).  If I could pull off the American Apparel pullovers--that shape is the worst on me--I'd totally get the Honey Pullover.  I like the weird bee.  It has a slightly Victorian, taxidermist feel to it.  And I'm dying over the Moose in Snow Shoes tank.  It's a moose!  Wearing snow shoes!

So when I got these in the mail and they were so much cuter than I'd been expecting, I realized that obviously I'd have to wear them out of the house.  At which point my housemate chimed in, "You never wear graphic tees!"  And she was totally right.  I am not a graphic tee kind of person.  But I have to make an exception for these.  They are totally quirky adorable and non-obnoxious.  I've been wearing them partially tucked into a colored denim mini with a little leather jacket.  It feels casual but still polished and summer appropriate.  So yes, I do wear graphic tees!  At least for now.

Not Quite Notorious Etsy Shop

Guys, I have real life friends starting real life businesses (also internet and a house now, so I may actually blog!  On a regular basis!  These are exciting things).  My BFFster Maud just started an Etsy shop, Not Quite Notorious, selling original prints and paintings (and maybe other paper goods in the future?).  Check it out!  Use the code GRANDOPEN to get 10% off until the 8th.

Here are some of my favorite pieces from her shop so far: 
 
My Monocle Brings All the Girls to the Yard painting, $65 for a 6.5x9 at etsy.com, Had Cake, Ate it Too print, $15 for a 5x7 at etsy.com: Lots of her prints have Maud's trademark sassy wit.  My monocle brings all the girls to the yard?  Lawlz.  And I'm a sucker for any Marie Antoinette, Let Them Eat Cake reference.  I think she balances typography and kitschy, stylized illustrations really nicely.

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee watercolor, $40 for a 9x12 at etsy.com, Quentin Tarantino Cameo Print, $20 for 8x10 at etsy.com: Who doesn't love coffee?  Especially in triplicate!  She also has a whole series of filmmaker cameos with quippy sayings that are super cute and creative.

Long story short: buy my friend's awesome prints and paintings, and help keep her in coffee (she's an aspiring filmmaker, I hear they subsist solely on caffeine). 


Images via: http://www.etsy.com/shop/notquitenotorious?ref=seller_info

Etsy Loves

I love Etsy.  I don't think that's a secret.  But I find the best stuff on that website.  It's the best for somewhat personalized accessories, beauty products, and home decor.  Here are a few of the things I've gotten recently:

Mane Message Pantone Fall 2011 Package, $16.50 at etsy.com: I've wanted some of these hair ties for FOREVER, and they are a heck of a lot cheaper on Etsy than at other places.  These were actually an Xmas present from my brother!  The set is all the 2011 Pantone colors, mustard yellow, tangerine, pink, purple, green, deep ocean blue, brown, nougat, orchid, and quarry.  So they're fun, on-trend colors.  I got this set because it had a nice mixture of bright and neutral colors, but Mane Message's shop also has a ton of different, fashion-forward color options, including tie-dye.  These hair ties work out to $1.65 each, which is decent.  In terms of quality, they're the same as any other incarnations of this trend I've seen, but I love me these colors.  They look pretty on my wrist just as a bracelet, and they look much nicer holding up a ponytail than some ratty old elastic.  And they work well too!  I have tons of thick, slippery hair, and these manage to keep it contained in a bun with minimal falling out and no awkward hair kink marks.  Consider me a convert.

BirdAve Gossip Poster, $18 at etsy.com, Big Ben Skyline Poster, $20 at etsy.com: I finally caved and got these posters!  I've wanted the one on the left for at least a year now.  BirdAve's shop has a TON of adorable posters, including lots of city ones and some sassy quote ones.  The chair one says 'If you don't have anything nice to say, come sit next to me.'  It's perfect for me!  I got it in a pretty medium pink, and then I got the London skyline one in a royal blue.  I also got little white frames with glass from Amazon so I can actually hang them on my walls like a real person and not just haphazardly tape things everywhere.  I feel so grown-up.

All images via etsy.com.

Etsy Wants

Oh, Etsy.  How I love thee.  If you're looking for cheap but interesting art to decorate your walls with, Etsy is the best place.  All of these prints are under $25, and they're all so quirky and chic and would add so much character to any room.  Here are some favorites!  And a random mirror.


Chanel No. 5 Print by 8by10, $25 at etsy.com, Chanel Print by birdAve, $20 at etsy.com: I will buy any and every print with a Chanel perfume bottle on it, but this one is particularly pretty with the grey/white color palette and the little heart instead of the A in Chanel.  I'd do a series of three of these in antiqued silver frames in a dressing room/walk-in closet.  This second print is so chic,  You have the pink and the girly concept of the perfume bottle but then the execution is on the industrial, edgy side.

Coffee Isn't A Drug It's A Vitamin Print by birdAve, $20 at etsy.com, When Life Gives You Lemons Find Someone Who Has Vodka And Throw A Party Print, $20 at etsy.com: This is my life mantra.  I don't drink coffee for the caffeine, I drink it for all the nutrients.  Obviously.  I love these hilariously sassy prints.  The blocked out everyday objects are a little Warhol, and the witty quotes that it to a whole other level.  I could cover my room in these.  The quote on the lemon print? ADORABLE.  I'd put that one up in the kitchen.

If You Haven't Got Anything Nice To Say About Anybody Come Sit By Me print by birdAve, $20 at etsy.com, Rococo Inspired Tabletop Mirror, $29.95 at etsy.com: This chair print is my favorite.  I would love it for the cute chair alone, because it's totally my style, and then the lavender makes me love it even more, but the quote printed on it--LOVE.  Fits my personality, it's so quirky and adorable, and I want to buy it and frame it and hang it in my room right now.  How awesome and cheap is this mirror?  It's not actual mirror, it's some sort of laser cut reflective surface but it works like a mirror and it looks amazingly rococo.  I'd put it on a vanity and do my makeup in it in the morning--it adds such a fun splash of glam to the dreaded morning hours.



Images via etsy.com.

Favorite Things from Etsy

I love me some Etsy. Whenever I tell people about that they get confused about what I'd actually buy on Etsy. Well, here are some things that I'm currently eying.

iPad decal, $7.99 at etsy.com, Love Decal, $9.99 at etsy.com:

Leopard Print Decal, $16 at etsy.com, Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt, $15 at etsy.com: The trashy girl inside me loves me some leopard print.  And while it can be a little over the top, when it's done in a tasteful monochromatic black it can be quite cute. Chocolate chip cookies.  AKA my secret weakness. And when the chocolate chip cookies have dark chocolate and sea salt involved--it's a problem.  Browned butter too?  It's like Etsy wants me to be fat.

Cranberry Chocolate Clusters, $9.99 at etsy.com, Keep Calm and Carry On Decal, $4.50 at etsy.com: Cranberries + chocolate + sea salt.  I am already drooling.  They're the perfect little bite size morsel with just the right combination of sweet, tangy, and salty.  I love the 'keep calm and carry on' motif.  I have a big 'keep calm and shop on' poster in my room, a 'keep calm and party on' banner over my bed, and I could use a little decal for my MacBook.

Celestial Sweet Coconut Thai Chai Tea: I am addicted to this tea.  I can't drink caffeine, so I'm always looking for fun tea options that are decaf.  I like the spiciness of chai tea, and this one is fun in that it's a combo of black tea and red tea with coconut, ginger, cardamom, star anise, cloves, nutmeg, paprika, and black pepper.  I usually don't like thai iced tea or boba tea or anything of that sort but this tea is great.  It has the strength of black tea, the exotic twist of red tea, and the coconut and spice combo makes it all warm and cozy with a slight hint of the tropical.  Add some milk and honey and I am a happy, happy camper.

Images via etsy.com, celestialseasonings.com.