Mississippi Roadtrip: Memphis pt. 3 The Lorraine

      Although we literally only spent one day in Memphis we knew we had to make a trip to the civil rights museum as well. The Civil Right museum is built in and around the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Unfortunately most of the museum was under construction (another reason to come back to Memphis in the future!), but the Martin Luther King Jr. part was open. The museum starts across the street in a building that was a boarding house and was the place where James Earl Ray stayed and later shot Dr. King from. The tour is long and has a step by step account of the two men up and around the time before and after the assassination, It's fascinating stuff. You can even see what the room James Earl Ray stayed in looked like and the window he shot Dr. King from. You can also see into the room that Dr. King was staying in. There is a lot more to the museum that, unfortunately, we didn't get to see (as it was under construction) but I definitely want to go back and see the whole museum, the construction should be done in the beginning of 2014. If you're in or around Memphis this is definitely an important stop you should add to your itinerary.

Parts preserved of the boarding house James Earl Ray stayed in and assassinated Dr. King from:

The room (i think) where Jamel Earl Ray stayed

The Bathroom window where he took aim and killed Dr. King

View of the Lorraine Motel from the boardinghouse bathroom window

Another view of the Lorraine from inside the museum

a snip of the inside of the museum

The Lorraine Motel:

view of the boarding house from the balcony of Dr. Kings hotel room

The Room Dr. King was staying in before his death

As you can see they were also doing construction on the facade of the motel. You could see inside room 306 but I was not able to get a good picture of it. The museum was moving and I definitely learned a lot about Dr. King's assassination.  Hopefully I'll be able to make it back to Memphis soon and see the whole museum.

Mississippi Road Trip Memphis pt. 2 Graceland: All the rest

Graceland is way more than just a house. After you tour the actual home there are several building on the property filled with memorabilia and then even more exhibits with cars, jumpsuits (oh the jumpsuits!), planes and more. It's truly an experience. Anyway here's a peek of all the stuff outside of the main house.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Baby, It's cold outside by cleopatrajonez featuring a pom beanie

     

            Well it's December and it seems here in Minnesota as soon as the first came around mother nature took notice and it's been serious winter weather ever since. It snowed round these parts last Wednesday and then again Sunday. In between snow storms we've been having frigid temps (Saturday's high was -2). Yeah it's been one of those "Why do we live here again?" kind of weeks. Anyway frigid temps and snow mean unpacking all your winter accessories and quick! Unfortunately when I unpacked mine I was less than thrilled. Seems my winter wardrobe is in need of a winter accessory overhaul. The top things on my list are a cute winter hat, preferably with a pom pom, and a circle/infinity scarf. Above are some of my favorites from around the interwebs.

Birthday Outfit #1

 Top: H&M  Skirt: ASOS Tights & Shoes: Target

            First of all I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, a good black Friday (if you're into that), and a Happy Hanukkah. Anyway my birthday was the 16th and due to a work meeting early in the morning the day after (boo hiss), my birthday kind of got extended into a birthday week. I figured since I've had a severe lack of posts lately that I'd extend all the outfits I wore on various birthday outings into a couple posts. But fret not dear readers! I do have other non-b-day related outfits to share as well. Anyway here's the first outfit I wore out to dinner the day before my birthday. I wore this skirt last year on my birthday and having worn it a few times since, I think this is the best i've styled it so far. Even though it's black on black the different textures save it from being boring. That said I don't nearly ware this skirt enough and am dedicated to putting it in heavier rotation in my wardrobe.  I got the coat free from a clothing swap years ago and it's my favorite dressed up coat. Although I have yet to watch a single episode of Scandal (it's on my Netflix to do list) I am aware that thanks to Ms. Olivia Pope statement coats are having a serious moment right now. I think my coat kind of fits in that category, It makes my outfit look so put together and professional I kinda love it.

Wedding Reception Style

Top & Skirt: Thrift  Tights: Target  Shoes: Urban Outfitters

          A former supervisor of mine got married a couple weeks ago  and a bunch of my co-workers and I were invited to the wedding/reception.  Even though I have a ton of clothes whenever I have some special event to go to I feel like I have nothing to wear and should buy something new. I felt like that for the wedding and almost bought a new dress, but decided last minute that I could probably put together a great outfit with pieces already in my wardrobe. And What do you know I did! I thrifted this skirt  a million years ago but have never worn it, mostly because it's a little dressy and I don't really go to many "dressy" events. So when I was going through my closet to find something I decided to dust it off and give it a fine debut. I had no idea what to wear with the skirt top wise, as many of the tops either didn't go with it or just didn't give off the vibe I was going for. So what's a girl to do? go to pinterest of course! after searching "tulle skirt outfit" in pinterest I came upon a bunch of outfits and saw one with a lace top and thought aww a lace top would be perfect I wish I ... Oh wait I totally have one! Thankfully the top and skirt turned out to be a match made in closet heaven. I got a few compliments on my "dress", so I think it was a success. And I was proud that I stuck to my guns and used things I already owned instead of buying something new.

Halloween 2013: Rhoda Fabulous/ 70's mob wife / 70's fortune teller

Everything Thrifted

           So this post is oh say three weeks late, I've decided to blame daylight savings time and the lack of sun for this. As you can see I went with the "Rhoda Fabulous" look for the Halloween party. When it was all put together I think I looked more like a 70's mob wife or 70's fortune teller than Rhoda but I still really like it. The best thing about this costume is the only thing I bought specifically for it was the necklace, which I got at Savers. Everything else I had in my closet. When Halloween rolls around it really pays off to be an avid thrifter. Ever since I began really getting into thrifting I haven't really had to worry too much about Halloween costumes, I've always got something that I can fashion into a costume. The only downside of this costume was at the end of the night I realized the seams weren't the strongest. There was a little unraveling in the dress when I first got it but had plans to chop it up (make it into a maxi skirt) so it didn't bother me. I totally for got about the loose seams the night of the party and ended up with seam splits along the sleeves at the end of the night. I sewed them up just in case I decided to wear the costume again but I think I'll end up cutting the threads and going with my original plan to detach the skirt and make it into a maxi skirt. The top is ok but it's polyester and it's really hot. Not so much fun. Anyway I had a great time at the party and  I hope you all had a great Halloween!

Defying Gravity

Top &Shoes : Target  Skirt: ASOS

          I wore this to see Gravity in 3D. It was my first 3D movie and I can't recommend it enough it's really good and the 3D really enhances the experience instead of detracting from it. I went to see the movie the same day as my interview and decided to keep the blouse I was wearing (because it's soo  cute) and dress it up a bit for night. Plus I was feeling a bit fancy ( as I had straight hair for the first time in like 3 years) so I dressed up a bit. This was taken just 3 weeks ago when it was warm enough to still go bare legged, unfortunately it seems tights weather has taken over, possibly for good. Winter is coming. :(.