Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree.

Outfit Details:
cardigan h&m
tank top aerie
skirt forever 21
bow belt forever 21
tights vera wang
charm bracelet juicy couture
bass saddle shoes

I actually felt too dressy walking out the door in this yesterday, but I stuck to my guns and damn am I glad I did, I received so many compliments and polite (not creepy) stares and smiles from complete strangers. It really made my day!

I've only ever worn this skirt twice maybe in the years time that I've owned it. I have a love hate relationship with this article of clothing, it's that certain shade of yellow that I'm a total sucker for and keep buying, but it is so thin and it wrinkles within the first five minutes of wearing it! Absolutely drive me insane, BUT I have not worn it since the spring/summer so I decided to overlook it's downfalls and slip it on for yesterdays shopping spree. I have also owned these saddle shoes for more than a year, can you tell that I've probably only worn these once or twice by how clean and almost new they look? I am a compulsive shopping, no doubt about it.. But in my defense, the last time (first time) I wore these shoes they gave me the worst blisters I've ever experienced in my entire life, so I've been pretty bitter towards this pair for many many months and yesterday for some strange reason I decided to give them a second chance.. and I'll have you know, it was a success! No blisters whatsoever, and my feet weren't even the slightest bit sore! I am a very happy girl, and I'm quite pleased to finally be able to induct these into my 'shoes I frequently wear' circle.

But quickly I'd also like to add in that yesterday Ben and I did a lot of shopping. Shopped some awesome sales too, so be prepared for that haul entry in the very near future! After that we went out to dinner then came home and watched a movie on netflix (Ben reactivated it! Hallelujah!). Tomorrow we're doing just about the same thing, only I'll probably apply to a few places here and there in between stores (still jobless....) and dinner will instead be at Ben's parents house since his older brother is flying back to California where he lives. But have you guys been doing any after Christmas shopping with gift money? Find anything good in the sales sections? For me the after Christmas sales have been wonderful! I'm so excited to show you guys what I got, but you'll have to sit tight for now ;) It will be posted within the next couple of days, promise!

New Purchases.

So a few days ago I mentioned I had done a little bit of shopping and to keep an eye our for a teeny tiny haul blog entry detailing everything purchased from it. I had originally planned sharing it with you after I had shared my Christmas gifts, a few outfit of the day blog posts, and probably also after I photographed my new years attire, but I've done nothing other than sit on the couch in my pajamas so far this new year, and my Christmas gifts are also scattered all over my house as well as some items being in my dirty laundry bin, so as usual, things didn't quite go according to plan so I'll have to share with you my buys from a few days ago first instead.

Simply Vera | Vera Wang Chiffon Lurex Cardigan : $47.60 (from Kohls)

Mossimo Supply Co. Triple Buckle Saddle Bag : $24.99 (from Target)

SONOMA Life + Style two tone bead drop earrings : $8.40 (from Kohls)

Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolor (color: wear something spar-kylie) : $7.04 (from Target)

Sonia Kashuk Nail Enamel (color: starry night) : $4.99 (from Target)

SONOMA Life + Style Oxford Shoes : $16.49 (from Kohls)

Happy New Years!

(Sonia Kashuk 'Starry Night' nail polish. Target $4.99)

I was so busy frantically getting ready for last nights festivities that I of course didn't budget my time very well so I wasn't able to pop in and wish you all a happy and safe last eve of 2011! So I am now hoping your evenings were spent with your closest friends and family, that you ate incredible food and had that special someone to kiss at midnight! My night was spent at a friends apartment with Ben, where we just drank lots of alcohol and enjoyed some live music in our friends basement. It was a nice way to leave 2011 and enter 2012, I'm glad I ended up deciding to go out rather than staying in and planted on the couch in front of my computer screen all night, the party was a very good time.

This black & silver speckled polish is a new brand I decided to purchase and try out. When I was debating on whether or not I would try to spend new years on my couch or all dolled up somewhere, I chose to paint my nails this color because I hadn't figured out my outfit for the evening if I ended up going out, so since this color works with everything, I figured it was my best choice! It's very simple but incase you hadn't figured it out by now I am all about simple, so it's a-okay in my book, for sure! ;) The only thing I disliked about this particular product is the brush was pretty terrible, and when I first bought this I thought the sparkles would be much more noticeable. To me, it looks that way when you're looking at the bottle in your hand, but painted on my nails I realized that wasn't the case. Not a bad thing per se, but I already own a polish similar to how this one paints on and I wouldn't have bought this color if I had known that. But oh well! I still enjoy this color and brand regardless. A worthy purchase I'd have to say.

Playing with fire.

Outfit Details:
cardigan target
woven tank aerie
tank tops victorias secret
skirt h&m
belt forever 21
leggings target
knee high socks forever 21
boots thrift

So big things happened today, Ben juggled his torches for the first time! And if you don't quite understand, he juggled fire. And he didn't burn himself or catch anything around him on fire. Therefore deeming his first go at it a complete success! I was pretty nervous for him, especially considering todays weather, chilly and very windy, but he juggled them flawlessly and totally nailed it. I am so happy for him :)

I sort of threw this outfit together very last minute, I've acquired this new awesome habit of sleeping through my alarms every morning now it seems, and by awesome I mean totally frustrating. I have no idea why I've randomly picked this habit up considering I am using the same alarm ringer as before, but it's been happening for over a week now! I really hope it doesn't happen to me tomorrow because Ben's brother just got back from being deployed in Japan for the past 5 or 6 months so his family is taking us into Boston to spend the day together tomorrow. So dear alarm gods, if you can hear me, please wake me at 7am tomorrow, please.

Other than that news, I did a teensy bit of shopping today which I am excited to share with you what I got! I know I sound like a broken record saying this, but I swear once the holidays slow down I'll have pretty pictures detailing my Christmas gifts as well as my recent purchases. I promise. But I must call it a night now since I've got an early wake up call ahead of me tomorrow, hopefully I remember to bring my camera so I can share with you how our day in Boston went. :) But for now, good night!

A Typical New England Winter? Hardly.

Outfit Details:
coat h&m
blouse forever 21
pants h&m
belt h&m
navy flats forever 21
handbag tj maxx

I am absolutely shocked by the weather we've been having lately, you know you're a true New Englander when you're actually bumming over the lack of snow on the ground! I can not believe how warm it's been! And still no snow! If this isn't an obvious sign of the effects of global warming, then I don't know what is.. We did have a spontaneous snow storm on October 30th which left us with more than a foot and a half of snow, but as you can tell it's clearly melted away by now. I just hope this annoying rain turns into snow by tonight! I would love to wake to see a pretty blanket of white covering the earth.. Oh how I wish!

This outfit which I wore yesterday sports two new items given to me by Santa Clause! The jacket which is from H&M, was na incredible 50% off which Santa just couldn't refuse, and the blouse is just to pretty to pass up on too! I am actually surprised how this outfit looks in these photos, I look so short! I mean, I am pretty short (5'4 1/2!), but the blouse is slightly cropped, so I thought by pairing them with slightly higher waisted jeans my legs would seem elongated, but that just doesn't seem to be the case! Either way, I pieced this one together because I needed to dress for two occasions yesterday, the first was the wake of a good old friend of Ben and I's who lost his mother tragically a week ago today (so close to the Holidays :( ), and the second event was a gathering of Ben's parents friends to celebrate the holidays, so I needed something dressy, but also some what casual and appropriate for the wake.


I also wanted to ask you guys what you'd like to see more of here on Indie Elise. Do you feel I should just keep on trucking with the usual Outfit of the Day blog entries with a little snippet detailing that particular day? Or perhaps more day in the life photos, or wish lists maybe? I'm open to suggestions! Indie Elise is still fairly new (although technically this blog was started this time last year, so she's 1 year old truthfully!) so I am definitely willing to work with you here to an extent to serve you with blog entries of your preferred taste! Just shoot me a comment listing some of the things your few favorite bloggers do that make them your favorite bloggers! I look forwards to reading what you have to say! But for now, it's 5:15 in the morning and I haven't had a wink of sleep quite yet, so to stop me from wasting my Wednesday and sleeping through the entire day i'm forcing myself off for now. So, Sweet Dreams!...?

The Coast.

Outfit Details:
scarf aldo
button down top f21
white woven tank aerie
jeans h&m
boots urban outfitters
belt h&m

How was Christmas for everyone?! I hope Santa was good to you all! He certainly was to me! Which I will share with you what I got very shortly, so expect a blog entry coming your way sometime this week! But anyways, Christmas Eve my family threw together a very last minute shindig which turned out to be a total hit! Everyone we invited came! (close friends and my dad's side of the family) There was every type of food offered imaginable, and I participated in my first every Yankee Swap! I ended up with 6 scratch tickets (all losers :( ) and a pair of 24k gold earrings. Ben and I ate tons, got very drunk, and mingled with the side of my family I was never very close with growing up, so it was awesome reconnecting and catching up after years of not seeing them. I think it's going to become an annual sort of thing, so expect photos from it this time next year!

But today was another one of those spur of the moment kind of days, which are rare, but I just love them so much. Ben and I had no plans for today, but his dad put aside a flyer for us early this morning which he thought would interest us, which, it very much so did! There is currently this festival sort of thing happening in Portland, ME which has a few days off, so a few of the performers have been performing during the days off in Portsmouth, NH to made a little extra side cash while the festival rests for the holiday. Todays event held a fairly well known juggler (although Ben and I had never heard of him, we figured if he was pretty well known it must mean he was very talented!) a magician and an illusionist so we figured "what the heck!" and made the hour + drive to Portsmouth. The show was wonderful! The juggler was the best I had ever seen (his comedy portion was hilarious!) and the other two acts were just alright, the illusionist being better than the magician though I must say! I am so glad we decided to go, we're even considering making the trip again later on this week since the festival will be off then too. It will be totally different acts but after todays we figure it's well worth it! After the show we went to Dos Amigos, a small chain of sort-of fast food restaurants spread out along the southern coast of NH to eat some very cheap quesadillas. And after that, we decided to just head home since there would be that the-day-after-Christmas-craziness going on. Now Ben and I are just watching re-runs of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia and munching on left over party food, tomorrow we're taking my cat to the vet for a usual check up, attending a wake to support on old close friend of ours, then spending the remainder of our evening at a Holiday party Ben's family attends each and every year. Now, I must go return to my program, my boy, and my drink.. Have a happy holidays everybody!

Burnt Orange.

Outfit Details:
cardigan target
denim tank thrift
pants h&m

aaaaaand worst blogger award goes to~ me! I can not believe how quickly these days have flown by me! I truly am sorry, the holidays have been keeping me and Ben ever so busy, so busy in fact that we haven't found a single second to stop and take outfit pictures.. Although truthfully I haven't been wearing the best ensembles.. But this one I felt was worth sharing! I am actually planning on recycling this one at my Christmas Eve party my dad, sister and I are throwing, so hopefully I will have better photos of it then! Hope the holidays are cheery and wonderful for you all!

Santa Baby

I was in total shock when I realized Christmas is only but a week away! These last few months have completely flown by me without me realizing how close we're getting to 2011's end. And although 2011 gave me many wonderful memories and terrific moments, it also gave my family and I many stressful months, so I am completely ready to bid farewell to 2011 and welcome 2012 with wide open arms! I am also expecting 2012 has an awesome job waiting for me, I mean, thats the reason why I haven't been able to find one yet, right? 2011 was a rough year and 2012 will be my best one yet? Yeah, thats what i'm thinking!

These are my materialistic wants and needs this Christmas. I'm hoping to find at least one of them waiting for me underneath the tree this year. Most of the items on my list I have been lusting over for several years now so hopefully the streak can end and I'll finally be able to call a few of these my very own! What are you guys asking for?

Rosy red.

Outfit Details:
cardigan h&m
crop button up thrift
dress target
boots fergalicious
tights vera wang
charm bracelet juicy couture

These photos don't really show it, but today's weather is pretty dreary. After Ben's gig we bid farewell to northern most New Hampshire and headed south to our second booked hotel. The town we're currently in for the night isn't anything impressive, plus not to mention it's been raining pretty steadily since 4am this morning so we're opting out of exploring our surroundings and just lying in our King size bed getting drunk. Sounds like a good alternative to me!

Fun fact though, our hotel is right next to the location of the first ever widely publicized alien abduction in America. I am slightly petrified though due to the fact that I am a definite believer of extraterrestrial life forms and when I was younger I researched them so much that I gave myself countless reoccurring nightmares.. so fingers crossed I am able to fall asleep tonight!