Local Art is OK.

Somewhere down the line Oklahoma got the reputation of being “behind the times” in the fashion industry. Someone once told me, “Europe invents it, California and New York get it 6 months later, and Oklahoma gets it 6 years after that.” “Noooo! Say it isn’t so!” I hollered (dramatization). I think I can speak for all of us fashion lovers in Oklahoma when I say, “We shall fix it.”
The Plaza District (16th and Penn for those of you in OKC) is an up and coming retail area with tons of local artists and business owners with original ideas on how the fashion world can improve in Oklahoma. There are antique stores, emporiums, and shops such as Collected Thread (everything sold is locally handmade or vintage), DNA Gallery (also handmade goods or redesigned vintage), JuJu Gallery (handmade art and other curious goods), Shop Good (a portion of EVERYTHING you buy goes to community development projects), and Warpaint Clothing Company, where my top is from. Warpaint’s apparel is all inspired by rock ’n roll and Oklahoma heritage.
My only beef with complaining about how Oklahoma will never be as cool/hip/trendy as New York or Cali is that we are doing nothing to fix it. These business owners and artists are! So, I simply ask we all do our part. For me, that “part” is simply buying from and supporting these and other local businesses that are striving to be different and original and yet still fashion-forward. For Derek and Travis, the owners of Warpaint, their part is creating and representing our beautiful Oklahoma heritage by screen printing their art in the back of their shop. Little steps, my friends!
If you aren’t from OK, you can still support these businesses.
The Plaza District: http://www.plazadistrict.org/
Message the Warpaint fellas on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/warpaint-clothing/186177218088
Collected Thread: http://www.collectedthread.com/
Also, I encourage you to find the local artists and business owners in YOUR city. Chances are the owners are awesome and want to be your friend.

Bones anchor top - $25 Warpaint Clothing
Distressed/patch denim shorts - $80 Lucky Brand
Dual-tone boots - $68 Urban Outfitters

Love love,
Staci

Cover.

So this is easily one of the best covers of ANY song I've heard in quite some time. Agreed?

"Anya Marina - Whatever You Like"

Well, my scuba class is really kicking off. This week we learned how to clear our masks underwater in case it were to fill up with water while we were on a dive. Let me just tell you, there is nothing more uncomfortable than this. It's almost impossible for me to keep "breathing normally" while trying to clear it out. We also learned what to do if our regulator (what feeds us the air) somehow gets ripped out of our mouths. We learned how to slowly breath out and then find the regulator and clear it of water then put it back in and breathe normally again. Can I just say that my first instinct is to hold my breath and swim to the top for real air...here's the scary part: if I were to stick to my instincts this would literally kill me. My lungs would burst. How terrifying! I'm just hoping the more I'm underwater the easier it will become.

I also went to a few intramural basketball games today at my school's Wellness Center. My goodness! I've never seen so many crazy competitive people in one place at the same time in my whole life. This includes girls! My sweet, tiny friend Natalie almost fought a 30+ year old trainer at one of these games. He was talking trash to her fiance and she was NOT having it. I had to jump in and remind him that he was a 200 lb man and she was a 100 lb girl and so he needed to call peace. Ha! It made for a pretty entertaining evening, though! 

My sweet parents sent me money in the mail today. Second time in 2 weeks. They always seem to know when I need it the most. I wasn't able to work at all last week because of the ice and they swooped in and came to the rescue. Lovely dears, they are. 

Ok, I'm off to write a paper. But I'll leave you with some eye candy! Love!

 

I believe I'll make this headband for Valentine's Day. Precious.

Why can't you be real? And in my hands right now?

I would love this at my wedding reception someday.

These two beauties are my next online purchase.

Beautiful picture. Beautiful couple.

  

  

Have a lovely day all!

XO, Staci

Girl Crush

I have such a girl crush on Evangeline Lilly! She is so classy. Just naturally pretty. I want to be her:

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

We're still snowed-in here in the Mid West. I just talked to three different friends who lost power in the last hour. It's been like this since Thursday. 

On the bright side, I have been able to finish the shoes and headband I was working on. I started another headband and an "Owl Man" painting. Hopefully I can finish them this week. 

I'm hitting up the gym in about an hour or so then probably doing Hip Hop Abs again. 

Oh, and my Forever21 package came in! I need to pick it up from the post office today, too. Here is what I purchased:

 Burgandy Velvet Leggings

 

Vintage Lace Top

Floral Flowy Shorts 

LOVE these!

Gold Crackled Oxfords

Have a lovely Monday! 

XO, Staci

Inspiration. Motivation.

I've been such a bum recently. Not in the sense that I've been lounging and getting nothing done, oh, on the contrary! Yesterday I deep cleaned my apartment, de-cluttered my room, vacuumed and washed my car, changed and washed my sheets, did another load of laundry, did Hip Hop Abs (wow! CRAZY workout! --Get it! I would totally recommend it.), tanned, and went to church. But I've been a crafty, artsy bum. I need to paint! Draw! Make! Design! Something! I found some shoes at Goodwill and I've decided to make a floral trim for them. I'm sick of being so boring...blah. So, I searched for something to inspire and motivate me. These are lovely pictures I found! Enjoy! 

Hope you enjoyed my dears! I'll post pics of the renovated shoes soon!

XO, Staci

Friday Five

This semester of school for me is a complete joke. I've finished my major (Mass Communications) and my minor (Marketing) and so I'm only lacking 5 free elective hours in order to graduate.

Needless to say the classes I am taking are quite pointless - just time-fillers, really.

One of these purposeless, but fun classes is Scuba. Now normally I would have no inhibitions about taking something like this, but this class is starting right after I've been gorging myself with holiday foods and no sun to lay out with - hence my inhibitions. My only fear is that instead of looking like this scuba babe:

I'll be looking like this diver instead:

I doubt it's necessary to tell you that I've been dieting and hitting the gym hardcore. I even am starting this 48-hour drink that's supposed to make you drop 2 pant sizes in 2 days. My friend is doing it with me and she lost 6 pounds the first day! I'll still be taking multi-vitamins and eating only naked fruits and veggies to make sure it's as healthy as possible!

Ok, on to my Friday Five. These are what's making me happy right now...

1. These vintage British telephones. I want that orange one for my apartment.

2. The fact that summer and summer style is just around the corner.

3. Fallingwater. A house built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Jealous. I want it. Goes right over a little stream.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallingwater

4. Pretty spring dresses! Give me bright, give me flowy, and give me floral please!

Christopher Kane, Peter Pilotto, and Holly Fulton.

5. Big, bold, crazy belts.

But one of my resolutions this year was to not buy anything designer (with the exception of Marc Jacobs = weakness). So, I will be thrifting for all of these wonderful items.

I want to know what you're most excited for this spring!

Love ya, Staci

Headband Galore.

Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's a trend, but whatever it is, I can hardly leave the house without a headband these days...

Case and point.

A few others I love:

 That last one may be my favorite.

This one is so festive! I'm definitely making it next year for Christmas:

These last few I'll be trying to tackle within the next couple of weeks...I'll let you know how that goes!

Back to school tonight. No work Tues-Thurs. So headband-making parties out the waa-zoo!!