Daddy's Back! Also, a word from Carson Daly

Thankfully, I'm not dead, or gravely ill, or quitting my blog, or trapped under something heavy, as many lovely readers and my mother have concluded from my tragically long hiatus.

As you know, I was afflicted with a serious case of blog burnout, which was directly followed by an epic (but awesome) work project that left no time for blogging. So although I've been totally re-inspired recently, I've only had time to do a little twittering (tweeting?), a little tumbling (tumblring?), and a lot of actual work.

Now my project is winding down, and I've got a ton of new ideas and great reader questions to answer. I'm toying with the idea of adding a daily feature in addition to the usual content, something like a daily cheap Etsy find or a daily haiku. Any opinions/ideas/preferences? I asked my boyfriend, who suggested a Daily Carson Daly Quote, which I'm trying out today:

"Tara [Reid] is such an amazing actress. She's so good at what she does. I learned a lot from watching her."
-Carson Daly

OK, yeah, that was the worst idea ever. Better stuff coming soon, I swear!

A Martin Must-Have!

Now THIS is a Martin-Approved Must-Have™:

A shiny necklace made of french fries! I can't think of anything more stylish and delicious. Except maybe a shiny necklace made out of a salmon carcass. Someone should get on that for sure.

XOXO,
Martin

ACB Tiered Fringe (Fry?) Necklace, $280, netaporter.com

Reader Poll! (hold the malaise)

Good god it's been a week since my last post. And I only posted a couple times the previous week. The horror! The shame!

So, here's the deal: While it's true I've been busier than ever these past couple months, I've also been dealing with a sort of general blogging malaise (important sidenote: the word "malaise" always makes me really hungry. I think if malaise were a food it would be delicious) that seems to be widespread among fashion bloggers right now. I've talked to a few of my FBBFF (Fashion Blogging Best Friends Forever) who share my sentiments, and I've been reading a whole lot of posts that start off, "I just haven't really been feeling inspired lately."

I'm going to take a wild guess as to the root of this Fashion Blogging Malaise epidemic: it's pretty tough to read "ONE MILLION JOBS LOST IN THE PAST HOUR" and then log on to your blog and be all, "OMG how cute are these boots?! Must have!"

I mean, it's hard to get out of bed after reading that headline. That headline sucks.

So I wanted to ask you for your input, three sweet readers I have left! Please let your opinions be known in the poll below and/or in the comments section:

In this economy, what do you want from your friendly neighborhood fashion blog?
	The same as always: style advice, bawdy haiku, and NO MENTION OF THE PHRASE "IN THIS ECONOMY"
	Sort of the same, but with more affordable style advice
	Contrived articles about shopping at Wal-Mart; overuse of the word "recessionista"
	Other: I'll tell you in the comments!
pollcode.com free polls

This is what happiness looks like:

Of course, my dad would probably say, "This is what a severe case of gangrene looks like," but you know, to each his own. I'm working on building some outfits around these babies--photo updates coming soon!

Nylon/Lycra Microfiber Splash Colors Tights, purchased here.

Blogback Mountain!

Dear Susie Bubble, this post is totally badass. Screw "style icons." Keep doin' your thang!

When life hands you lemons (or dog attacks), make lemon linguine!

Hair trend I'm seeing for spring: the WendyB 'Fro.

A nightmarish bus ride to rival my nightmarish bus ride. OK, this one was way worse than mine.

My friend Meg is awesome. If you have any doubts about that statement, you could challenge me to a duel for her honor or you could read this post describing the subterranean burrito system she installed in her office (or did she?).

A fabulous new blogger ponders purses for hobbits.

RED TO THE MAX. Love it.

I've been meaning to link to this forever--check out Ambika's magical transformation of men's shirts into little yoke top mini dresses! Eeeeeeppp!

NEED: Pink rhinestoned hairpuff.

Have you seen the blue boots of my friend Brittney's dreams? (Like, literally, she had a dream about them.)

I'm totally down with Lisa's economic proposal. Lisa, you can be my Prime Minister anytime!

And finally help Ms. Apocalypstick organize her enviable makeup stash!

Advanced Fashion Quiz

One of the items pictured below is a "collar neck warmer" available at Shopbop.com for $170. The other is a fire-resistant foam neck brace available at an orthopedic medical supply website.



Can you tell which is which?

Bathroom Decor Bargains

I realized the other day that I've reached the bargaining stage of my grieving process over the demise of Domino magazine--specifically, I'm instituting literally every tip, trick and suggestion featured in the last issue in the hopes that the dead magazine will see how much I value their advice and COME BACK.

My favorite act of decorating desperation thus far was Domino's suggestion to gather all of my scattered bathroom supplies on a pretty tray and set it out on the counter for cute, easy access, which totally revolutionized my life:

My grandma gave me this rad, Pucci-esque tray a couple years ago, insisting I use it to serve my guests cherry cordials, but toothpaste and moisturizer are more my style. My guests are welcome to help themselves to a Q-tip.

The whole set-up looks great with my framed portrait of Alexander Hamilton in the corner there, which just so happens to go great with Domino's recent article promoting federalist-inspired style. (OK, honestly, I had the portrait up before I started grieving Domino, but I think I can still use it to bargain.)

Anyway, thanks for the great tips, Domino! I'm off to order that custom-made $25,000 china cabinet you mentioned, so I'll see you in my mailbox in a couple weeks, right? Right?!