Hello again!

Eek! Sorry I’ve been MIA. At first I was prepping for a talk at a Social Media Analytics conference. But then my hard drive died the other day (gasp!) and I lost photos I had planned to use in posts! :( I’m still hoping I can recover my data, but in the meantime, I thought I’d share some stuff from my social networks. Let me know if you’re on these too!

1. Instagram I just got it when it came out on Android. Not thrilled that it was bought by Facebook, but I’m enjoying it for now. :) My username is katealamode.

2. Pinterest Definitely a fave. Lots of fashion, crafts, and recipes here. And I try to be super good about finding the original source for my pins. :)

3. Facebook I recently set up a blog page. Would love to connect!

4. Twitter just for some chitchat. :)

Those are the major ones for me! How about you?

Spring Mani with Julep Maven

A couple of months ago I signed up for Julep Maven. Once a month, for $20, I receive a box of nail polish/beauty products (either 2 nail polishes and a beauty product or 3 nail polishes). I’ve never done a subscription service like this before, but I’m really enjoying it!

Getting the package in the mail is a nice treat and I’m having fun playing around with the polishes. I used to paint my nails all the time but then I got out of the habit — this has inspired me to start doing my nails again! (Well, I’ve also been inspired by posts from other bloggers and pictures/tutorials I’ve come across on Pinterest.)

Recently, Julep offered a “Spring Mystery Box” – for $20, receive $60-$200 worth of polish & beauty products. I decided to spring for it (I swear that pun wasn’t intended when I started writing this sentence) and this is what I got:

Julep Maven Spring Mystery Box

I totally lucked out! Of course I had to try out my new polish, and I’m really happy with all of it.

Spring Manicure with Julep's Anne, Hayden, and Melissa polishes

I painted most of my nails using 2 coats of “Anne” (lightish/medium violet crème), and painted an accent nail on each hand using “Hayden” (peach crème). Then I added a coat of Melissa (opalescent shimmer), and topped my nails off with Julep’s Fast Dry Topcoat.

Spring Manicure with Julep's Anne, Hayden, and Melissa polishes

Also, I just discovered that if you sign up for Julep Maven and enter the code “PENNY”, you get your first box for $0.01. (At least for the time being!) So you can try it out for almost nothing, if you want. I definitely recommend it! I got my first box using a similar code and I figured I’d cancel afterwards, but I liked it so much that I kept the subscription. And it’s nice that Julep makes it easy to skip a month without completely canceling, if you want. (Or you can just outright cancel it.)

What do you think of subscription services? Is there one you love & would recommend? Or one to avoid?

Going Dotty

San Francisco is a little bizarre, weather-wise. (Okay, it’s not just the weather that’s bizarre – but that’s for another post!) It’s full of microclimates – so it can be sunny and warm in one part of the city while it’s rainy or foggy in other parts. And even within one area, it can be raining one moment, dry, and raining again.

That’s what happened when I went out with to take these photos.

I’m not a huge fan of rain, but I do love umbrellas! This one has a blue sky underneath – so I have good weather wherever I go. :)

Just a little bit of rain. Photo by Pat Zimmerman.

After a little drizzle, there was a very brief downpour. I ducked inside to wait it out (which only took a minute or two before the rain stopped), but in the meantime the camera got a little fogged up:

Fog after the downpour. Photo by Pat Zimmerman.

And then all was clear, if windy. I definitely had some Marilyn moments! Fitting, given the retro 1950s flair of this outfit.

Windy! But fun. :) Photo by Pat Zimmerman.

But I guess that’s what I get for wearing a full skirt in San Francisco. :) I just couldn’t resist – I love this polka-dotted one. It was actually a dress that fit beautifully in the waist but was tight at top, so I chopped off the top and turned it into a skirt.

I wore it with my favorite wide red belt, a black shirt, and red scarf – and added my Victorian mourning bracelet and this awesome Kate Spade pen necklace (a gift from my husband).

Photo by Pat Zimmerman.

I also wore my new Pedro Garcia shoes (don’t worry, they didn’t get wet!). I seem to have a thing for peep toes, and I also liked the shabby ribbon trim.

Pedro Garcia heels. Photo by Pat Zimmerman.

To be honest, I rather enjoy taking photos in windy weather. It creates cool effects! I just have to be a little careful with my skirts. :)

Blowing in the wind. Photo by Pat Zimmerman.

And of course, right after I finished taking photos, the skies opened up again. That’s San Francisco weather!

Skirt: modified from a ModCloth dress
Shirt: Banana Republic
Scarf: gifted
Belt: Calderon, thrifted
Necklace: Kate Spade (gifted)
Bracelet: Victorian mourning bracelet
Shoes: Pedro Garcia
Umbrella: Blue Skies Above Umbrella via ModCloth