The Importance of Shoes When Packing

So, as you know by now, I am currently on vacation. Going away means packing, and unless you have no problem carting around multiple suitcases or have someone to cart them around for you, packing means a limited selection of shoes.

Depending on the length of your trip and the activities planned, you will need different shoes, but this is a rough guide on what to bring for a vacation in the city that will last more than, say three day. When you pack your shoes, only pack shoes that will be able to work their way into any outfit, so you don't end up packing more than you really need.

The Walking Shoe

No, these are not usually pretty. I know that they will make some outfits a lot less fun. But your feet will thank you when you decide to take a stroll through town to look at all the pretty architecture. Wearing a pair of shoes that supports your feet properly when you are walking will mean that when you check out the night scene in four inch heels, your feet won't be sore the moment you look at the evening shoes.

The Cute but Pretty Comfy Shoe

These are the shoes you wear when you are sight seeing, shopping, going out for lunch, meeting up with your friends, ect. They are cute (or edgy, or classy, or whatever you want to project), but they aren't too painful. I would recommend a flat shoe, such as converse, flats, whatever floats your boat. If you have to wear heels for this shoe, keep them lower.

The Evening Shoe

These are probably high heeled, as high as you can walk in. They probably have a very narrow heel, and they are always very glamorous. These are the ones you wear to go out dancing, if you can dance in them. They probably leave your feet screaming with agony, but they make your legs look so amazing that it doesn't matter.

Voila, your traveling shoe wardrobe!

An alternative way to pack shoes:

Doc Martens

I know a lot of you are going to disagree, but they fit in all three categories. From what I have heard, they are comfy to walk in, I know that they look amazing, and they are very much sexy enough for evening wear, in my opinion. Ok, so you may want to pack a pair of heels too, but it isn't mandatory.

Thoughts? Requests?

Love, Rosie

Valentino Fall 2009 Ready to Wear

It's been a while since I talked about Runway Fashion, so I thought that I would dip my toes into the abyss that is designer clothing. This time I have selected my favorite pieces from the Valentino Fall 2009 Ready to Wear collection.

I really, really like this look. The pleated dress is somewhat complex, but because of the matte finish and the fact that it's black, it's understated. Paired with the dark stockings and red shoes, well, I love it!

This is another dress I love, because I find the colour beautiful, and the pattern fascinating. I don't think I could wear it like that, but if the bodice were a bit more fitted, it would be perfection in a dress.

The final dress that caught my eye is this beauty. Again, I think the bodice could be more fitted, but I am so in love with the pleating layered thing on the bodice that I don't really care. I would also make it a boat neck, but other wise, I adore!

(All photos from Style.com)

Thoughts? Requests?

Love, Rosie

(PS: Remember that this is a scheduled post, and while I will eventually reply to any comments or questions, it might take a while.)

Thoughts? Requests?

Love, Rosie

Crocuses in the Snow to a Walk in the Park

Remember wayyy back when I posted a bunch of pictures of crocuses growing through the snow? When I was trying to figure out what to post about, I happened upon one of the photos. I knew what I had to do. I needed to create a Polyvore set inspired by the photo!

The photo:

And the set:

Crocuses in the Snow by RosieUnknown

I originally decided that I would use a solid white canvas, but I knew it had to be this tunic the moment I saw it. I was also planning on including green, but that turned out to be too confusing and so I stuck with white, yellow and purple. I envisioned this outfit being worn for a day of sight seeing or a walk in the park, so I stuck to flats and a roomy bag. I really just had fun with the accessories, while trying to keep a balance between the purple and yellow.

Thoughts? Requests?

Love, Rosie

(PS: Remember that this is a scheduled post, and while I will eventually reply to any comments or questions, it might take a while.)

192 Zucchini Muffins

If you follow me on Twitter, you will know that a few days back, I embarked on an epic zucchini muffin baking fest. The result was 192 zucchini muffins and 4 zucchini loaves.

They are so yummy, so I thought that I would share the recipe with you. I give you...

Grammy's Zucchini Muffins!

Cream together:

2 cups whit sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cups apple sauce

2 cups grated zucchini

Add:

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3 tsp cinnamon

1 cup raisins or chocolate chips ( Use one or the other, or a total of 1 cup combined, but no more or they will have a funny consistency.)

Bake in greased muffin tins @350 degrees Celsius ( 662 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20 to 25 minutes. Yields 24 muffins. Enjoy!

Thoughts? Requests?

Love, Rosie

(PS: Remember that this is a scheduled post, and while I will eventually reply to any comments or questions, it might take a while.)

The Unknown Temperature Packing Dilemma

I left on a vacation yesterday, and I have to admit, I had some trouble when it came to packing, because the temperatures vary from 5 degrees celsius to 20 degrees celsius where I am headed at this time of year. If I am facing this dilemma, I'm fairly certain that there are more people facing it elsewhere. Here is my solution:

Vacation with Unknown Temperature by RosieUnknown

1. Wear dresses and skirts, instead of pants, but preferably skirts.

2. Bring mostly short sleeved tops.

3. Tights are your friend! This brings us back to point number one. You can wear a skirt on it's own when it is warm, and the moment it gets chilly, slide on a pair of tights!

4. Bring a cardigan to throw over your t-shirts and tank tops, because they, like the tights, allow you to wear a piece when it is warm and cold.

5. If it looks like it might get colder than your cardigan can handle, bring along a jacket, and a hat. I choose a beret, because I happen to really like them.

6. Don't forget the shoes! I choose a pair of tall Doc Martens, for chillier days, and because I love them, and a pair of cute pumps for the evenings or days when you will be sitting and it is warmer.

Does anyone else have any tips or ideas?

Thoughts? Requests?

Love, Rosie

(PS: Remember that this is a scheduled post, and while I will eventually reply to any comments or questions, it might take a while.)

The Number One Thing to Have When Flying

Besides a private jet, a giant shawl/pashmina/scarf thingy. Here is why:

- It can be worn like a sweater when you are waiting around or in the plane.

- When you get cold, you can use it as a blanket.

- When you aren't using it, you can fold it down to next to nothing and put it in your bag much more easily than you could a sweater or blanket.

- They are very warm for something so thin.

- They are oh so elegant!

What are you waiting for? Go find one you like and start saving, or if you can, just buy it! They are useful for much more than plane rides.

On another note, my giant scarf and I are jetting off for Umeå, Sweden, then Stockholm, Sweden, and finally Iceland. I will be gone until the 31st of August, but I am not deserting you entirely. I have scheduled posts for every other day, starting tomorrow, so be sure to check back often. As noted at the bottom of all the scheduled posts, I am away from my computer, and while I may be tweeting a bit, I will not be able to respond to comments immediately. If you do comment, I will respond, but it probably won't be till I get home. Thanks for being so patient!

Thoughts? Requests?

Love, Rosie

What I Wore: Since When is a Mini Skirt Considered Easy to Wear?

Skirt, thrifted; shirt, my dad's old; Shoes, Croc flats.

A pretty simple outfit, I was just running a few errands, baking and packing, so I wanted something simple and easy. And let this be proof of how far I have come recently, since sixth months ago, a mini skirt would have been troublesome and unlikely to see the light of day all that often.

Thoughts? Requests?

Love, Rosie

My Favorite Sport is a Science Competition

I just received an award from the wonderful Hanako66 of Through the Looking Glass, thanks so much!

As a part of the award, I have to post six things that make me happy today, so:

1. I just bought the new Green Day album, 21st Century Breakdown, and I absolutely adore it.

2. I got new tights the other day, and I can't wait to wear them.

3. I am leaving on vacation in two days time, and I am super excited for that.

4. I went to bed early and slept in later than usual, so I am feeling really well rested.

5. I have devised an awesome playlist for the several hour drive to the airport. It includes: La Roux, Green Day, Nickelback, Ladyhawke, Queen, David Bowie, and Cheap Trick. I will be putting some AC/DC in it too, if I can find some before I leave.

6. It is only 3 weeks till school starts again, which means back to school shopping. And, once school starts, my favorite sport starts up, Envirothon. (Envirothon is an environmental science competition, and so much fun. Better still, all of my closest friends are either on my school team, or, in the case of one of my friends, too old and a volunteer.)

So, I am passing on this award to:

Tangerine Umbrella on an Indigo Day

She Craves Mascara

Qin at the Disco

Inspirations I Have None

And because this has been a text heavy post, here is a picture of some of my favorite things, taken a while back:

Thoughts? Requests?

Love, Rosie

My Flower Child Shirt

Shirt, handmade by me, skirt, thrifted. A few days before my friend Fin came to visit, I had a shocking, and apparently wrong, realization that this shirt makes me look old and shapeless, and there for had no place in my wardrobe. He thought that it was a good shirt for running though fields and picking flowers, so when he was here visiting, we did a photo shoot with it. There was no running involved since I was wearing a mini skirt and heels, but there were flowers.

Apparently, I look like a hippie in this photo, but I can work with that.

I don't have much commentary, but thanks to Fin for taking the pictures and doing all the editing work on them. I very much enjoyed this shoot.

Thoughts? Requests?

Love, Rosie

What I Wore: Cat Ears and a Lucky Dress

Dress, Suzy Sheir; Ears, handmade by me, shoes, Indigo by Clark. I wore this yesterday while visiting with a bunch of friends, one of whom drove two hours to come see us. I would have posted this yesterday, but I forgot to put the batteries in my camera, my friend Fin took my pictures, and since he is awesome and edited them for me, I got them this morning.

I got a call from my friend Fin, who was coming to visit, just as I stepped out of the tub after shaving, asking if it was all right if he showed up early. That was awesome, but left me with approximately four minutes to get dressed and get my make up done, hence the lighter than usual eyeliner. Thankfully, my outfit was already completely planned, so I didn't have to worry about that!

I have deemed this dress my lucky dress, since it is the perfect dress: flattering, and it makes me feel incredibly awesome. Plus, it seems to be a very lucky dress.

I, well I should say we, got some strange looks today, since here was me in ears, a dress, and heels, and Fin was wearing his awesome ripped, painted jeans and a skin tight wife beater (he is one of the very few guys in the world who can get away with this, since he is thin but not weedy.) Anyways, we were quite the pair when we went down to the market in the morning, and towered over most of the people there, seeing as I am 6 feet in my heels, and he is taller than me.

Thoughts? Requests?

Love, Rosie

What I Wore: Mustard and Coral

Pants, Lululemon; Tube Top, Jacobs; bow, Hilltribes; Sunglasses, Rayban; purse, hand me down thrifted; necklace, gift.

I was very sad when most of the pictures I took were either a: very unflattering, or b: the lighting was all weird and you couldn't see anything. This one turned out just fine though!

Yes, I have a very, very weird tan line on my arms. That is not, however, the point of this picture. The point is that I am wearing the belt a bit lower than my natural waist line. I quite liked the effect.

Thoughts? Requests?

Love, Rosie

Shoes: the breaking point of an outfit

This is a photo I shot several months back, during class. Yes, yes, bad Rosie, I should have been paying attention. It was health class, and it was boring. Once they teach you how to put a condom on a wooden penis, there is nothing that isn't revision in health class.

Anywhoo, this isn't just a picture of a pair of boots. This is a picture of how an outfit can be made or broken by the shoes. I need you to do a little visualization now. Close your eyes, and imagine an average teenaged girl, somewhat skinny, pale girl with a dark pixie cut. she is wearing black skinny jeans and a graphic t-shirt. The finishing touch is the shoes. She could be wearing the "normal" shoe, a beat up ballet flat. Or she could be wearing gorgeous, grey cowboy boots.

See what I mean about a shoe making or breaking an outfit? So consider that next time you are about to slip into an abused flip flop.

Ack! A Duck!

First of all, thanks to everyone who gave suggestions for posts! I will be getting those posts out, and if anyone has any other ideas, please let me know!

Today's post is about photography again. During the same trip when I took a photo of the thistle, there was a duck on the boardwalk. I took some photos, and here is what I found.

First photo: Just plain camera, set to the sunlight setting, vivid colours.

Second Photo: Same camera settings, but with the lens held against my sunglasses lens.

Now, the reason I am posting this is simply because I thought it was interesting that while I see the world with just slightly more vividly and dark, but my camera sees the world with a green tint when I expose it to the same sunglasses. I guess I just found it interesting. And I do promise that I will have better posts soon, I just need to figure out which question to address first, ect.

So there you have it. A duck!

Thoughts? Requests?

A Thistle and a Somewhat Sad Announcement

I'm afraid I don't have any actual content for you today, just a picture I took a few days back.

Anyways, I really love this picture, and since I am taking a bit of a not vacation from everything I enjoy for this week, other than watching a tv show, Bones. That includes blogging, so I will try and post like usual, but I fear you may get more posts that are solely filler, like this one. If anyone has any requests for posts, please let me know. This may sound silly, but if someone gives me a question to answer, I will be able to give you more interesting posts.

Thoughts? Requests?

Love,

Rosie

What I Wore: Certifiably Insane

Warning: This post is completely me being vain and in love with myself.

Aliens are invading! Thankfully, my oversized bow is protecting me. Bow, Hilltribes; Shawl, Joe Fresh; Tank Top, Jacobs.

This is the picture from the card that certifies my insanity.

And finally, the monkey I alluded to on Twitter! I decided to use this old pendant to make a necklace, and I was so happy, I took a picture and put it on. I guess it is sort of a epilogue to the animal theme week.

There was very little point to this post, it's only purpose is to show you my bow and necklace.

Thoughts? Requests?

What I Wore: Sexy Secretary, I Guess

Skirt, thrifted; tank top, Smart Set; Shawl, Joe Fresh; Earrings, handmade by a friend; Book (A Secret Garden), vintage from my grandmother.

So you can see my eyeliner and

earrings better.

The pattern on my skirt, closer up.

And a final shot of the outfit.

I bought this shawl last night, when we went grocery shopping. I am in love. It's super long, and not too wide, around two meters by half a meter, and I have already found a gazillion ways to wear it, so expect to see it often.

For a while during the day I had my shawl wrapped around my shoulders and tied in back, sort of hard to explain, but I will show you some day soon, and it matched my top perfectly, so my clothing felt very sexy secretary.

My brother had his birthday party today, which was fun, because there was cake, but also annoying, since there were lots of preteen boys in the house. Preteen boys who are of an age where all of a sudden, my low cut tank top is very appealing.

Thoughts? Requests?

Yet Another Ten Things and an Exciting Announcement

Mega thanks to the Fabulous Girl, who gave me this wonderful award a week or so back. The award included sharing ten things about myself.

1. I love decorating and re-organizing house, apartments, or bedrooms. Basically anywhere I can.

2. I tend to gravitate towards older people. Not like seniors, but my friends are almost all at least a year, if not several years, older than me.

3. I am a control freak. I start yelling if someone puts something away in the wrong place.

4. I am an oldest child, although I wish I was an onl

y child.

5. I have an infatuation with anything black leather.

6. I am an avid Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan.

7. Of the characters on the show, I would say I am most like Willow. My style is very different though.

8. My favorite male character is Spike, with Oz and Giles fighting for second.

( Photo Credit. Spike is the one on the right, for those of you who don't know. The other one is Angel.)

9. I have an insane memory, which often creeps people out.

10. I can't sleep until I have flossed my teeth and brushed. I can sleep in contacts, with makeup on, hair still styled, but I simply cannot sleep until I have done my tooth routine.

I want to pass on this award to some wonderful blogs:

Pigtails and Blushing Cheeks

Echo Echo

Lisa's Likes

Louie in Wonderland

Mermaid in a Manhole

The second item on the agenda today is an announcement. One of my very close friends has just started a blog, and you should all check it out! Her blog isn't a fashion blog, simply a blog about life. You can find it at The Life of the Amazing Jessica Bo Bessica. Jessica is a kind, funny and, as the name states, generally awesome person, and I am sure that whatever she decides to post it will be both hilarious and informing. A hint at how cool she is: her most used phrase is "but not in a sexual way!"

What I Wore: Flutter by Butterfly

Shirt, Old Navy Kids; jeans, Old Navy; Awkward pose, 100% Rosie.

A close up of my shirt, so you can see the pattern.

I didn't feel like wearing long pants, so I rolled the cuffs.

You can't see them in the first photo, but these are my earring. I made them myself, and the bead is actually a little butterfly.

This is just after I got berry juice on my white top, making a smoothie. So I took my outfit pictures quickly, and I am now attempting to remove the stain. I really hope it comes out!

What I Wore: Chic Zebra with Pink

Zebra Shirt, Urban Planet; Pink Shirt, Old Navy kids; Pants, Lululemon; shoes, Merrell; hat, made by my mummy. Thanks!

I wore this while taking my sister to a sewing lesson, then I ran some errands. I was crazy over heated, since while it was overcast and looked cool out, it was quite warm. I obviously can't wait for fall.

In keeping with the theme, I am wearing zebra stripe. I think tomorrow will be butterflies!

Thoughts? Requests?

What I Wore: Mouse Ears!

Shirt, Stiches; skirt, thrifted le château; ears, DIY; sunglasses, Rayban; watch, gift; bracelet, gift; shoes, Merrell; bag, local leather worker.

I've been wanting to take some outfit shots in a graveyard for a while, and today it finally worked out. I love this little glade in the middle, so I took my photos there.

For reference, I wore this while out buying paler concealer in my boring town. You should have seen the looks I got from the rest of the population! One guy yelled nice ears out his car window.

A haze of black eyeshadow, because I was feeling creative, and was a bit bored with my usual eyeliner. I wore similar make up to my soccer game last night, boy did I get weird looks!

My grandmother got me this watch when I got accepted into the International Baccalaureate stream at my school. Thanks Grammy, I love it!

I decided that I was going to do a theme week this week, and my theme is *drumroll* ANIMALS! Hence the ears, and the butterfly bracelet. Please feel free to join in, if you post about, let me know, I would love to see what you come up with.

Thoughts? Requests?

Also, don't forget to follow on Twitter for an assortment of witty/stupid/strange mini doses of Rosie!