My Closet: Madden Girl Pinup Boots

I love shoes. I mean, LOVE, them. Case in point, I bought 3 pairs of shoes for my wedding (these and this). I would have worn all three pairs had it not been for my reception dress fiasco. Here's another example: I turned down yellow sapphire (precious stones) earrings set in yellow gold that I could only buy in India at a ridiculous price (I haggle very well), only to buy 2 pairs of heels as soon as I got home. Those heels cost more than the earrings and will just sit in my closet. I should have bought those earrings...stupid, stupid, stupid.

Anyways, I'm going to start a new series in which I share one pair of shoes from my collection each week. I probably have enough material for 2 years!

This is only part of my collection. (Instagram)

For this week, we will start with my current favorite pair of boots. I purchased these because I wanted a brown pair of slouchy boots. I had previously purchased a very similar pair in grey so I knew these would be  super comfy. I have worn these way more than the grey one's to date.

Madden Girl Pinup Boot (also seen here)

Details:

• Slouchy faux leather upper
• Strap and buckle accents
• 12" shaft height, pull on
• 15" calf circumference
• 3" covered heel
• Synthetic sole
• Imported

My Notes:

• Runs large - I usually wear a 6.5-7, I had to go down to a 6
• Tall (heel height) but surprisingly comfortable
• Keeps you warm and toasty - I'm not a stockings/tights kind of girl, these boots alone kept my legs plenty warm
• Super cute with a dress or skinny jeans
• Great for gals with larger calves

Other:

• Purchased from: DSW
• Year: 2012
• Number of times worn: Numerous

Please excuse the lack of makeup and the tree growing out of my head.

~ Outfit ~

Coat - Corded Dobby Striped Trench, Loft (no longer available)

Jeans - Sweet'n Straight, Lucky Brand (they may have been replaced by these)

Bag - Sketchy London Print Grab Bag, Herrods (impulse buy at the airport terminal)

The Knot and other wedding write ups

I've been dragging my feet about adding a page that links to our wedding. The plan was to create the page when I started posting about the details of our wedding. But as you know, it's been over a year and there is still no signs of recaps. 

My new goal is to complete the recaps in 2013. I want to do it for us. So that we can remember our thoughts and feelings and also the reactions of our family and friends. My memory isn't so great these days and is only fading as time goes on. So, I definitely need to get on it. Huh, that reminds me, I need to get crack-a-lackin' on picking out photos for our wedding album; HA!

So while I've been dragging my feet, other people have done an amazing job sharing our wedding. Folks like our awesome wedding planner, our amazeballs photographer, AND The Knot! That's right, we are in The Knot Boston magazine (spring/summer 2013 edition)!!! Can you believe it? Hop over to the new page and check it out.

Day 8: London/Edinburg

J and I said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Him to the airport, homeward bound. And I to the train station onto my next adventure, Scotland.

Great minds think a like. We did not plan it, but we both purchased TimBuk2 bags for this trip. We also both had black jackets and grey sneakers. (HTC Droid Incredible)

Old school keys. Good bye London flat, you were awesome.

Pulling out of King's Cross rail station. (Samsung TL225)

Homer? I saw handful of these power plants on the ride up from London. (Samsung TL225)

Lunch on the go. (HTC Droid Incredible)

When the train arrived, I had my GPS out and ready to navigate the 0.9 miles to my new apartment. But I had exited from the back side of the train station and became disoriented. I was headed in the right  general direction, I quickly found myself overwhelmed by a giant hill. I stopped someone to ask them for directions. Funny how you can live in a place for a long time, but not know where a street is (or know it by a different name). It's OK, I have that problem when strangers ask me for directions.

Anyways, the nice man (later his friends would call him John) offered to drop me off at the street I was looking for. I was hesitant at first, but he was insistent. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. (He was.) We had to wait a few minutes for his friend. They had just finished attending a wedding service up the block. John and I chatted about Boston, Scottish history, and Braveheart. His friend showed up with two more friends in two - 2 gentlemen, a lady (Helen), and a red-headed boy (~8-10 years old). I wished I had taken a picture of them. One of the gents was older with a crazy beard. Helen was rocking fishnet stockings and one of those crazy British hats. We all piled into his tiny car with the boy crouched down and me holding the seat belt over my shoulder.

John drove wildly while everyone gave him shit. They joked about when the last time a woman looked him in the eye and trusted him. They were a blast! The best part had to have been when they were all pointing things out to me during the short drive. Imagine 4 people talking at the same time telling you what you should see and where to grab a pint. One of them said "You must go to the castle." Another chimed in with "But you've lived here all your live and you've never been." I wished that I could have hung with them all night. Our time together was short lived, but it's an experience that I will never forget.

After getting settled into my new digs, I pushed myself to explore Edinburgh with what daylight was left. I made my way down The Grassmarket, up Victoria Street, down the Royal Mile, and up Calton Hill to catch the sunset. 

My first glimpse of Edinburgh Castle.

Grilled veggie wrap from Hula Juice Bar.

Looking up West Bow from the end of  The Grassmarket.

St. Giles' Cathedral.

Tron Kirk.

Old Calton Cemetary.

Some building in the Old Calton Cemetary.

Nelson Monument.

Sunset over Edinburgh from Calton Hill.

Sunset.

Dusk. 

Scott Monument.

Dinner at Bar Italia Ristorante: Trofie Fagioli & Cozze and a glass of house rose.
Authentic and amazing Italian in Scotland! (Samsung TL225)

Previously:
Day 7: London
Day 6: London
Day 5: London/Greenwich
Day 4: London
Day 3: London
Day 2: Cambridge/London
Day 1: London
Day 1: London - prefunc

*All photos taken by me with Nikon D7000 unless noted.

Christmas 2012

Two years ago, I had wanted to a stop motion video capturing the behind the scenes setup for the family Christmas photo. This year I got my chance.

Stop motion still captured on Nikon D7000. 

From our family to yours:

Photo by Jason Angelini Photography

Stay warm and safe this holiday season. 

Day 7: London

Day 7 was very slow paced, especially after day 6. We slept in and caught up on our journaling while it rained outside. I also snacked on leftovers; one of the perks of having a full apartment while on vacation. Most of the rainy day was spent indoors roaming through the exhibits in the British Museum. And wrapped up our last evening in London with a second show, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. 

Oh, here's my disclaimer: please excuse the photo quality you are about to lay your eyes on. They were all taken on my phone (and I'm far too lazy to edit and/or crop them). I needed a break from carrying my camera gear all week. Who needs a gym when you lift a heavy bag over your head constantly throughout the day.

Artists at work. They were in every corner of the museum.

Amenhotep III

Rosetta Stone. It was underwhelming, just like when I saw the Mona Lisa.

Lunch at the museum cafe - quinoa salad with pomegranate seeds and pistachios.

Ah, alcohol sold openly. That 4.5 is the alcohol content.

Mummy pets.

Full Samurai amour.

Hoa Hakananai'a Easter Island statue.

Lion of Knidos.

Ceiling of the British Museum (cropped using Instagram).

Killing time at Starbucks. I tried multiple times to get a photo of a double decker in the background.
The pumpkin loaf did not taste the same as the ones in the US. Also, Costa Coffee is way better.

The Mousetrap at St. Martin's Theatre. Awesome production!

Chinese comfort food for dinner at Cafe de Hong Kong. Took me back to my childhood. 

Previously:
Day 6: London
Day 5: London/Greenwich
Day 4: London
Day 3: London
Day 2: Cambridge/London
Day 1: London
Day 1: London - prefunc

*All photos taken by me with HTC Incredible unless noted.

Day 6: London

I have a small obsession with the Tudor dynasty. Well, specifically, Henry VIII and all his wives. I watched all 4 seasons of The Tudors practically without taking a break. (I may be slightly obsessive-compulsive.) I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was about visiting Henry's palace, Hampton Court Palace in East Molesey. 

Breakfast on the go - organic porridge (oatmeal) with stewed fruits from Le Pain Quotidien. Holy crap was this good!

Hampton Court Palace, main entrance.

Base Court - imagine it full of people, drinking wine from that fountain. That's right, a wine fountain.

Courtyard outside Master Carpenter's Court.

Doorway in Henry VIII's kitchens.

One of the spits used to roast meat.

Ornate ceiling of the Great Hall.

Great Hall.

Board game.

Lunch from The Privy Kitchen - Traditional Cornish Pasty. It was just a meat pie with gravy on it.

Orange & raspberry juice. Yum!

Fountain Court. Interesting juxtaposition of (old) Tudor chimneys vs (new) Baroque facade. King William III and  Queen Mary II had planned to renovate the entire palace in the baroque style, but they ran out of money.

Great Fountain at the far end. How crazy are those trees?

New meets new: Baroque architecture of King William III vs Tudor style of King Henry VIII. 

Left or right? Hampton Court Maze. 

The Privy Garden. 

Iconic red phone booth outside Hampton Court Palace.

While we spent most of the day exploring Hampton Court, it was too early to just call it a day. J and I decided to see what all the hub-bub of Herrods was about. We ended up taking a 3 hour walk. It was completely unintentional. And completely organic. It wasn't until the very end that we were both like "HUNGRY", "TIRED". But after all that walking and searching for food that sounded good, we just ended going skipping dinner and going home. 

Harrods Department store. We got there after closing.

Crowd waiting for Lady Gaga. We later read in the paper that her Little Monsters weren't too happy that she was over an hour late.

We passed a McLaren showroom and proceeded to drool through the thick glass.

Sunset over Hyde Park from the east end of the Serpentine.

3 miles!

Previously:
Day 5: London/Greenwich
Day 4: London
Day 3: London
Day 2: Cambridge/London
Day 1: London
Day 1: London - prefunc

*All photos taken by me with Nikon D7000 unless noted.