Thursday, November 29, 2012

Christmas plaid for all occasions

I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas style (I know, it's blasphemous). I love pretty, classic decorations, but the cheesy, over-the-top stuff I could live without. A foolproof way to look festive without embarrassing yourself: tartan plaids (or as my friend Jeanne cheerily calls it, "Christmas plaid"). Some Christmas plaid for everything on your list:

For trimming the tree and addressing Christmas cards, a tartan shirt.
For parties and cocktail hours: fancy pants (in regular, petite, and tall)!
Pinned Image
For your tree: a tartan Christmas tree skirt. (I've been looking for a simple tartan tree skirt for YEARS.  I'm so excited about this one!)
Skirt_Tartan_Plaid
For making any boring outfit holiday-party-appropriate: a darling plaid clutch.
Christmas Plaid Clutch Purse Bag
And finally, for your gifts: tartan wrapping paper.
Red Plaid Wrapping
Merry merry!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Incredible images

The National Geographic Photo Contest ends this week, and some of the entries are just amazing.  (I can't get over the giraffes.) 
Enjoying the sunlight
You can see all the pictures here, and editors' picks are here.  Who gets your vote?

PS: Remember these amazing travel photos?

Giraffes by Niklas Passman; Japanese commuters by Phillippe Bouthiere (do you see the "speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil" reference?); deer on train tracks by Callum Snape; jumping dog by Santiago Belaunzaran; bride by Matas Jūras; biker on pier by Mohd Nadly Aizat Mohd Nudri; Paris by Mario Porchetta

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Stocking stuffers

I'm working on a few Tall and Salty gift guides to help out with your holiday shopping, but in the meantime, a few ideas for stocking stuffers to give before Christmas:

For the fellow (or whisky-loving) woman in your life, the Whisky Advent Calendar is cheekily - although unfortunately, not cheaply - awesome.  For every day leading up to Christmas, there's a shot of whisky behind the little door.  How fun is that?  (Order soon -- Advent starts this Saturday!)
Whisky Advent Calendar
And for your ladyfriends, sisters, moms, or anyone else who sends out Christmas cards, a beautiful calligraphy address stamp will make her life easier and a little prettier.  (Throw in a bottle of wine for card-addressing purposes and she'll really be grateful.)  Lots of pretty stamp options here, here, and here.
Self Inking Custom Rubber Stamp - 3 in x 1.5in - Calligraphic Stamp

Monday, November 26, 2012

Holiday pieces for work and play

With the holiday party/cocktails/gatherings/visits/trips season upon us, two pieces that will see you through all of them, even if you're dashing there from work:

A black watch blazer.  Three important items of note: 1) it's got a fun pop of red under the collar; 2) it is a total steal; and 3) it comes in regular, petite, and tall.  
Holiday away.  

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

What to wear for Thanksgiving

This time tomorrow, I hope you're either enjoying a Thanksgiving feast with people you love or preparing to do so.  In either case, remember to wear something with a loose (or better yet, no) waistline!  A pretty take on a midsection-forgiving outfit (assuming that Thanksgiving pants won't pass muster at your gathering):
Spanx-005B-BittersweetBlack_325.jpg
Sam Edelman 'Petty' Bootie
Pinned Image
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For a different look, swap out the tights and booties for these leopard pumps (just back in stock -- they've been sold out everywhere).  Drawing attention to your feet is a great post-dinner strategy, too.  

Spanx Reversible Tight End Tights, $34 (totally worth the money: these last forever and are extra warm since they're double-layered.  Plus, come pie-time, you'll probably be glad for the Spanxage :)). 

PS: A great fall lipstick that's not fussy (i.e., won't end up all over your teeth and you can discreetly reapply without needing a mirror).  

Monday, November 19, 2012

An embarrassingly girly Go Irish shout-out.

Anyone else in the mood for a celebration manicure?  On top of supporting the presently-number-one-ranked Irish, this is completely Thanksgiving-appropriate if you stick to one or two sparkly fingers (just the right amount of "holidazzle," as my friend Sarah would say).  
These colors come from this Kate Spade holiday mini set; or try this navy and this gold glitter.  Go Irish (or Go Thanksgiving, whichever your preference may be)!

Image via the Kate Spade blog.

Venice, then and now.

Have you guys seen the crazy flooding that happened in Venice last week?  It's called the "acqua alta," which means "high water," and apparently happens every year around this time.  This year's flooding, however, is much worse than usual.  The pictures are just insane.  I think I find them so fascinating because we went there a little over a year ago.  Comparing what things looked like then, as opposed to now, is mind-boggling.    

Here's St. Mark's Square at night, when we went in September 2011 (pardon the blurry nighttime photo).  The ground was wet because it had just rained, but this past week, the flooding was so high that the cafe chairs are almost submerged.
On the last night of our trip, we went out walking late after dinner.  It poured, and somehow we ended up with St. Mark's Square totally to ourselves (and ScarJo up there, of course).  It was magical -- the kind of moment where you think to yourself, "this was worth 15 miserable hours of traveling to get here."  Now people are knee-deep in water!  (Looks like Ms. Johansson is still high and dry in her new ad, though.)
This was taken from out in the canal, on our water taxi, looking into St. Mark's Square.  You can see people on all the walkways behind the gondolas, but now they'd be wading in water up to their hips!  I can't get over it.

Random travel tip: we considered skipping Venice during our trip, but got some great advice: don't stay too long, but you just can't skip it.  We only spent two nights and one full day there, and it was the perfect amount.  Even though I knew that Venice was built on the canals, there is something absolutely incredible about seeing a city with no roads or cars, built entirely on water.  You have to see it to believe it!   

(Each of the top photos was taken by Tall and Salty; the three bottom image credits are: Reuters/Manuel Silvestri via The Atlantic; Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images via The Atlantic; AFP/Getty via The Telegraph.)

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Fake braids: do or don't?

Don't we all wish we could braid our hair like this?  There are plenty of tutorials out there (two good ones here and here; don't even think about going to Pinterest because your eyeballs will probably fall out there are so many!).  But they all fail to take into account a) people like me who are simply hopeless at doing our own hair; and b) people like me who simply don't have enough hair to do this.  

A (possible) solution: a braided-hair headband (like this one or this one).  
I'll be the first person to admit that I'm not completely averse to using hair extensions: I have ridiculously baby fine hair and I wore clip-in extensions for my wedding that made me feel like I had Gisele's hair on my head.  It was glorious.  But for some reason, these braided headbands seem odd to me.  I think they might be kind of obviously fake-looking, even though the pictures are lovely.  What do you think?  Would you give them a try, or are my instincts correct that these are sort of odd?
odette mother's day

(Images via weddingchicks.com; Hershesons.com; and bottom image by Jennifer Sarkilahti for Wiksten.)

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Ready or not, it's just around the corner.

I might be in the minority, but I hate how the Christmas season now starts in October.  (Ever heard of Thanksgiving, Target Christmas commercials that have been airing for the last month?)  I'm firmly in the camp of waiting to start Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving.  Whenever I see one of these signs at Nordstrom, I want to high five the window.  

The trouble with this approach is that I never start my Christmas shopping until then.  An invariably stressful couple of weeks follow and I end up spending too much on gifts that aren't that great.  So this year, I've made a year-long effort to keep an eye out for things that might make good gifts, with the hope that I won't be panic-overnight-shipping all of my presents.  Two fun things that popped onto my radar: these boys' and girls' grab bags by Of A Kind, the site that sells limited edition runs of products by emerging independent designers.  
 Everything feels like it's so special and interesting, even though the bags do include things like soap and candles (which, let's face it, usually speak the international gifting language of "I didn't have a clue what to get you so I got you something really not personal.  Sorry!").  But with all the other cool goodies in these bags, even those little things seem thoughtful and fun.  

Get them here and here; regular-sized bags are $45 and jumbo bags are $95. 

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Have a lovely weekend!

Hello there everyone -- hope you're having a great fall weekend.  My mom has been visiting from out of town, so we've been doing girly things like shopping, lunching, and movie-watching to our hearts' content.  I don't want her to go home!  Hope you and yours are having lots of fun.  Some reading material for what's left of your Sunday (or putting off tackling work on Monday):

great gift for parents with crawling babies (via swissmiss).

Gorgeous fall outfits.

Tervis Tumblers are awesome, but these in particular made me laugh.

Pinterest is now keeping secrets.

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was this week.  Hilarity ensued.

The most incredible letter to the President (and yikes, old Presidents).

You guys, there is a Boy Meets World sequel in the works, possibly starring Cory and Topanga.  Rejoice!



The messiest rooms in America.



A lost dog, found (sniffle).
(Top image via Vineyard Pearls; bottom image via Cape Cod Collegiate.)


Friday, November 9, 2012

Camel + White . . . for winter.

Remember this post about white and camel as a great combination for summer work outfits?  Turns out it's pretty great for casual fall and winter looks, too.  
The necessary winter ingredients:

A great camel coat (psssssst, J. Crew, why are only your boring coats available in tall this year??), 
Double-cloth funnel coat

and a pair of versatile booties.
Top with a ridiculously adorable hat that will go with every one of your winter coats.

(Photos by The Sartorialist.)

Dude, where have you been?

WONDER WOMAN photo | Emma Stone
That's exactly what I imagine a) our friend Emma here would be asking if she was, in fact, a Tall and Salty reader; and b) is a totally valid question that many of you are thinking.  One of Tall and Salty's regular  readers posed just such a question when I saw her earlier this week, and my answer to her was that I've been busy keeping the Wheels of Justice turning.  Despite my microscopically small role in the aforementioned moving, the truth is that sometimes being a lawyer is just code for "disappearing off the face of the earth for a week."  

I hope you (and Emma) will forgive me, so as I peace offering I present you all with the following Photobomb to end all Photobombs.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, because it has kept me laughing all  week long.
(I'm sure Emma will be thrilled to be sharing this post with the photobombing cow.)  Things should be getting back to normal around here in short order.  Thanks for coming back to visit!

(Top image via People by AKM-GSI; bottom photo via @buccigross.) 





Sunday, November 4, 2012

Have a lovely weekend!

Hello dears.  Hope you're having a nice Sunday.  I'm recovering from yesterday's insane triple overtime Notre Dame football game (my voice is gone!), and even though I enjoyed the extra hour of sleep last night, I've now moved on to mourning the fact that it gets dark so early.  (The upside: your evening feels so much longer, doesn't it?)  I've got a chicken roasting in the oven and dessert to follow, courtesy of my favorite pastry chef.  Hope you have a similarly cozy evening ahead of you.  Some links to get your week off to a good start:  


Stunning photos of Hurricane Sandy's devastation.  Ugh.

Speaking of Sandy, are you familiar with the Waffle House Index?


How much do you want to meet this little girl?



C.J. Cregg's advice for tall ladies.  

And some wise words on manners from another tall lady, Letitia Baldridge, the Kennedy White House social secretary who passed away this week.  

A fascinating article about preventing accidents.

Cute cords in a million colors and lots of sizes (including tall and petite).  

And for your shopping efforts this week, J. Crew is having 25% off of purchases of $150 or more, through Thursday!
(Top image by Mr. Dale via My Modern Met; bottom image from Roost.)
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