Syokilin Pictures

Monday, February 7, 2011

fab in february: week one

i love a good challenge! hope and melissa are challenging bloggers to list three positive things about themselves every monday in february. not too shabby, i can think of 12 things, right?

1. i'm funny. put me in front of just my friends and family (ok, mostly family. ok, just my sisters) and i'm a regular stand-up comedian. i think i'm quite funny, and even if i'm not, i at least have a very good sense of humor. i can laugh at myself, and if it makes other people smile, i will let them laugh at me, too.

2. i am a very good mom. sure, there are times when i don't feel like the best mom. but at the end of the day, my kids love me, they are well behaved and they know right from wrong. they are very accepting of everyone and would never purposely try to hurt other's feelings. plus they are goofy and fun and wildly smart. i know i can't take credit for all of that, but i will take credit for some!

3. i am a good listener. and a good problem solver. but most of the time, the problem is solved by listening. i take pride in the fact that people come to me when they need advice or just a shoulder to cry on.

ok, i know...this picture has nothing to do with me being a good listener. i just wanted to pretend that just once, john corbet came to me for some sound advice...

how about you? what do you love about yourself? i bet there's more than you think!

xoxo,
megan bird

new loves and old friends

one of my favorite things to look for when out thrifting are seemingly ugly blouses from the 80s. you know the style...like the ones your mom probably wore along with her tinted glasses with the amazingly large frames and her sweet afro-esque perm. or was just my mom??? (hi mom! i know you're reading!). i seriously wish my mother would have saved all of her clothes from the 60s, 70s and 80s and given it all to me. i would have the freshest wardrobe of all time! but then, i suppose, i would miss out on all of the fun that thrift store shopping has to offer...anyway, so i buy these blouses simply for the challenge...to see if i can style them to look cute. many many times i cannot. i have plenty in my closet that just don't work or i haven't found the right way to wear them (yet!). but some of them are really great! they are really versatile and great for layering. this is one of my personal favorites. i wear it a lot...

old friends

blouse- anne klein petites, vintage, thrifted

slip (tucked into pants)- vintage, thrifted

new loves

jeans- the gap

booties- F21

necklace- express

i realized as i was finishing up taking my photos that i hadn't done what megan calls my signature pose (that's right. i totally have a pose!)...so i quickly took one just for her. it turned out a bit blurry though...

and just so you know, she has totally stolen this pose from me! i have evidence!

i hope you're all having a great monday!

xoxo, nora bird

inspiration monday

good morning, all! i hope you're all having a great monday so far. i am, actually, i'm coming off a weekend where i did nothing, and i needed it! i love lazy weekends, when all i do is hang out with my family. i had a girl's date at nickelodeon universe with my daughter, which is a little theme park inside the mall of america. she is fearless and went on all the rides, and she even got to meet dora the explorer. this is her face when she saw her...

so now it's monday...and it's the week of our big sale! i can't believe it's already here. we are SOOOOOO excited! it's going to be awesome. if you live in town...we'd love to see you!

so anyways, on to to my inspiration. i realized that i hadn't done a carrie bradshaw inspired look yet. what woman wasn't inspired every sunday night by her wonderful outfits. if i could own just half of her closet, i would be overjoyed! or even half of her shoes. what do you think? wouldn't you love it??? so i found this cute little number and thought, why not...i'll try it out.

sorry for the double photo...i am only "inspired" by the one on the right today. unfortunately, i just can't do a body-hugging silk dress! did i mention i love her style??? here's my take...

did i mention my camera got stolen this weekend? sucks, but what can you do? so, i am back to using the phone for now (although nora was kind enough to lend me her point and shoot! thanks, sis!) does anyone have recommendations for a new camera?

well, there you have it. i hope you all have a fabulous week! keep your fingers crossed for a great sale this weekend!!

pants ~ Target

slip (shirt) ~ vintage, thrifted

sweater ~ Marshalls

shoes, scarf ~ ebay

ring ~ F21

earrings ~ Kohls

happy monday, all!

Friday, February 4, 2011

my thrifty valentine

who says you have to buy new on valentines day? thrifting is an inexpensive and original way to show someone that you are truly thinking about them on this holiday of love. regardless of you who you are shopping for (boyfriend, girlfriend, child, parent, friend, yourself), you can always find a fabulous thrifted gift. here are a few of my favorite ways to show a little recycled love...

jewels with a history. did one of these baubles once belong to princess grace, or madonna? you never know!

art can bring the outside in. a pretty piece always makes me smile!

fill a tray with coffee, eggs and fruit (ok, maybe a mimosa, too) and serve it in bed. can't.go.wrong.

write a love letter on vintage stationary. to your lover, your mother, yourself. go ahead, you deserve it.

fill a jewelry box with timeless pieces, or maybe just one that will last forever

cuddle up together with matching pillows and watch "Love, Actually" ahhh, smooches

you don't have to fill these with hats. they make perfect decorative storage for just about anything. use one to wrap a special surprise in!

make some cookies and fill these perfect tins with them. hand them out to teachers, coworkers, family!

see...it's easy. there are so many ideas. and fyi, all of these items can be found at the "it's a date!" valentines shop and style event. tell your friends (shameless plug!) most of all, let all those important people in your life know how special they are to you.

xoxo,

megan bird

go red!

we are going red for women on fridays in february to help raise awareness about heart disease! go ahead and go red today! i am!

xoxo, nora bird

FBFF: blogging events

this week's Friend Friday questions are all about blogging events. which ones do we decide to join and why? and how we maintain our own blog's voice in a community of hundreds, or even thousands, of other blogs? to read what others have to say or to join Friend Friday, head on over to Modly Chic!

1. With all the blogging events out there how do you determine which
ones to participate in and which ones to avoid?

megan and i really enjoy being part of this larger blogging community. it is so much fun to "meet" other bloggers, read their perspectives on things, see their amazing wardrobes, gain inspiration, etc. this is why we joined FBFF when we first started blogging. there are so many amazing bloggers and blogs and events going on within this community that it is sometimes difficult to choose the ones in which we should participate. we like to stay true to our blog and what it is and what we think our readers want to see and read about. we also don't want to feel burdened by the blog, or feel like we have to do something because, for us, this blog is all about having fun. we don't want it to feel like work. we really love the styling events because that is what we love to do. if you want me to style a particular item of clothing and post a photo on my blog and a link to your event, great! fun! i love it! no problem. that goes along with the voice of our blog and what we blog about daily. that is why we decided to the the Everybody, Everywear event. we also will join an event to support a great cause, such as going pink for breast cancer. so, basically, if an event sounds fun, is for a great cause, and/or can showcase what we love to do and we think our readers will like it and respond to it, then i say, why not?

2. Be honest, have you ever jumped on the bandwagon of some blogging

movement/event for the wrong reasons? How did that turn out?

no, i haven't. i know megan had expressed interest in possibly doing the 30 for 30 challenge this month (and ultimately decided not to do it quite yet) and she asked if i would do it as well. i know it is a great challenge and people love it and it may get us more readers and followers, but i was just not prepared to do it this month. there are some major things happening for two birds this month (sorry, shameless plug) and some things i want to work on with the blog and i don't think i would have been able to keep up or complete the challenge honestly. and when i do it i really want to do it for real!

3. How do you give your own flair to a blog event while still
maintaining the general mission and purpose?

we just keep our own voice and style and just blog like we normally would. we wouldn't participate in a challenge that would force us to lose our "flair" for that event's mission. and we wouldn't participate in an event if we didn't really love it or feel like we could be ourselves for it. that would just be silly. i think i pretty much answered this in my ramblings during question #1!

4. When determining the best content for your blog what criterion do
you keep in mind?

we blog what we love and hopefully our readers love it too! this is just super fun for us!

5. While everything will not suit your blog, how do you try and
support your fellow bloggers who are participating in something
worthwhile but not your style?

by reading and following and commenting on other blogs. even if we are not participating it is still fun to read other blogger's ideas and see how they are participating. i love to check the 30x30 page and see how others are remixing their pieces! it is very inspiring. just support the blogs you love and you will feel the love in return!