winter essentials

Oh hey, it's been a while. Winter is here and within the first week of November, I pretty much hunker down to my usual cold dark depression/hole, and by the time February and March roll around, I crawl out from under my blankets and look like a Gollum's half-sister with jaundice pale skin, dry hair and candy wrappers sticking to my yoga pants. But not this year! I have spent the past several years honing down my favorite products that I can rely on to bring me out of my sad state. 

See below--the God sends:

After reading a ton of reviews, this has been my favorite nighttime moisturizer.
It holds on to moisture and brightens my face. I love you Cerave.

You can find me on a Saturday sitting on the couch with a pile of clementine remains.
I have been known to eat an entire crate in a day.

Dry winter means even drier hair.
This gives you the nice summer shine without the grease.

Grey jeans> Black jeans. It's okay if they fade and they go with everything.
I don't have these specifically, I'm still trying to justify a $150 pair of jeans.

My oxblood loafers. Just like my trusty jeans, these can go with all shades of neutral,
yet can look both dressy or casual.

Invest in some shades of knit sweaters.
Find ones that compliment your skin tone and they will be a life saver
when you're trying to bundle up in the cold winter months.

Hot beverage! I just like the idea of it.

winter style

i'm heading to nyc in 2 weeks so i thought i would gather some wardrobe inspiration for the colder weather ahead.

tips:
- colorful beanies
- basic bottoms
- bright scarves
- all neutral
- fur accessories
- bulky coats over jackets
- mixed prints

and for me.

write this down.
these are my sizes:
ring 5.5 // shoe 6.5 or 37 // dress xs or 0

i 1. wear the grossest sweat pants to bed everynight (but i love them and to adam's unfortunate eyes, i can't seem to part with them) so i could use a cute comfy pj set/romper

2. silver rings fo my fingas // 3. the best version of this popular bootie

4. i need practice tap tap tap // 5. make me a huxley that i can carry everywhere // 6. purrfect tank

7. a rain jacket // 8. hybrid grunge + scottish skirt // 9. continuuing my obsession with onesies

10. for the pair that huxly ruined, simple black sandals // 11. classic black satchel // 12. i hope your wifi dies
13. cat purrse // 14. fur collar coat // 15. more meowtal!

16. perfect pump // 17. what's a list without chevron? // 18. scottie tic tac toe

PBB or the Perfect Black Bag

hello. welcome the perfect black bag. and no it's not a celine or a mulberry or a balenciaga.

delicate statement

this week has been rough, i think it might be the combination of hurricane weather, stress, work, and my daunting list of "things to do" that keeps popping up on my phone. i thought i would add some sparkle to your mid-week...

catbird bangles // sharktooth rings // of a kind bronze sugar ring // pocket necklace

black & white fall

below are some of my top picks for fall.  i love the idea of mixing textures and creating balance...and what a better way to do that with than black and white?  voila! a pencil + a sweater...duh.

1. acne wool leather sleeves biker jacket

2. yellow pencil skirt
3. polka dots!
4. chunky booties
5. tassel satchel
6. leather shorts

and with money to spare and with nights at the end

i thought i would update you on how my summer has been. on a scale from 1 - 10 (10 being awesome) it's at a 8.75, that's pretty fair.  i did several things that happened on the regular and some that were the only events documented on my phone:

i had many puppy kisses and heard a lot of adam giggles.  i think i was in bed for at least 65% of the summer, basically doing nothing but rolling around in my bleach-stained sweatpants eating nutella out of the jar. i think we can also add that to my "favorite activities list" if i ever make one of those lists.

we went to the beach. a lot. we slathered on that spf 30, grabbed our chairs, 6-pack of budweiser, and a trashy magazine and headed out the door every weekend.  i think someone said we were "beach bums"? sure, if relaxing for 3+ hours while listening to ryan adams on your music bullet, sipping a frosty beverage and inspecting the creatures that walk up and down the shore is being a "beach bum," then add that to my google+ profile. i will flaunt my beach bum-ness all day long!

uh, we hung out in bed a lot. pretty sure this was after a marathon of "friday night lights" where we continued to speak like tim riggins and lyla garrity for at least 3 solid weeks post season.  my stomach still drops every time i think i won't get to see coach taylor give another locker room lecture in dillon texas. (side note: we also browsed a lot of internet memes whilst in bed--top 10 favorite activities list as well.)

frands visited! and every time a friend visits we have a "fat-kid-tour-of-norfolk."
this consists of hitting up our favorite places to eat:
- cogans
- no frill
- twest
- skinny dip
- ten top
(when britt and adam visited we added kelly's tavern, might i add that kelly's has spectacular fried potatoes AND they give you ranch without even asking. wtf!)

i went to the norfolk zoo and it was awesome. i will compare it to the san antonio zoo, which if you have not been to and you live there, go, it's fab. i got to frolic in my natural environment, as seen in the below picture. and don't confuse it with a rabies outbreak, that is just me in a state of pure excitement.

july 4th was cool because i could find a reason to wear/buy these sunglasses. that is all.

i went to new york! twice, and i will going again in september. this most recent adventure was filled with outdoor concerts, sketchy encounters, polish feasts, and smelly bus rides. we went to an after party where my skirt became the floor mop and several doughy hipsters gave us the evil eye. me no care! my budweiser was $4 and i got to dance to swedish band little dragon at this asbestos covered bar.

and don't forget the star of this blog, huxley bear. he turned one year old and he's not even showing any wrinkles. what a honey boo boo child.

(source: my instagram (follow me @helensta), anders sexcellent photo skills (@larssonanders), and seth's long arm (@seff86).