Only After All the Fog Has Long Dissolved

Details: Jacket-Levi's Vintage, Shirt-UNIF, Pants-J Brand Jeans via Jeremy's, Shoes-ASOS, Bag-Fossil

I'm so excited about these pants! I wrote about them a few posts ago when I was talking about Jeremy's, my new favorite store. They're velvet J Brand bellbottoms and I got them at such a bargain. I've been looking for a pair of bellbottoms for a while and now that I have my ASOS platform boots that I wrote about in my last post I can finally wear them without tripping over myself! Also, when paired with the boots they make my legs look miles long, which is awesome. This mural that my friend Adam and I stumbled upon in Oakland last Thursday seemed like the perfect backdrop for my look. I really need to get out and explore Oakland more, and I think Nick and I are going to make it a goal to go there next weekend for a change of scenery.

However, this weekend, I (surprise!) spent my time in San Francisco. It was Nick's birthday so we went to Golden Gate Park and the De Young Museum, drove up to Twin Peaks to take in the view, and had a delicious dinner at Nopalito in the Inner Sunset. I'm hoping to go into San Francisco with my roommates one day during dead week because there really is so much to see there once you get away from the BART stops. I love the city more and more with every visit, and I can't wait to start working there in the summer!

Just LOOK at this city!

Today's song comes from Hundred Waters, a band that Nick got me into when he invited me to go to their concert with him shortly after we started dating. They were apparently the opener for Interpol on their East Coast leg of the tour I went to last semester, but Nick couldn't go because the show was canceled due to snow. Regardless, he looked up the band thinking that anyone related to Interpol in any way MUST be perfect. I'm glad he did so because they're great. I really recommend everyone check them out; their sound is a little difficult to describe: kinda ambient, electronic, slow and romantic at times but a bit creepy at other times. The singer has a really beautiful but interesting voice. A song by them that I've really been digging lately is called "Down From the Rafters" so that's the one I'm going to post today. Enjoy and have a great week!

xoxo

Karis the Baybonnet

Baby Let Me In

Details: Dress-Urban Outfitters, Boots-ASOS, Necklace-House of Harlow via Rocksbox, Socks-IDK my mom won them as part of a raffle???

Hello everyone! I'm here today to talk about two of my absolute favorite new clothing items that I just so happen to be wearing together in this post: this Urban Outfitters dress and these ASOS boots! First of all, I found this dress the other day when I was doing a "I just finished a lot of stuff I had to do for school and tax returns are a thing" trip to Urban Outfitters. I had picked out a few items and told myself that I was only allowed to buy one thing. I had originally picked up this dress not thinking it would be as bodycon as it actually is, but when I tried it on I instantly fell in love. I think the cut is so flattering for my body type, and it allows me to show off my curves without being too revealing. It's a moderate length, it's not low cut, but it still manages to show off my body in a way that I'm comfortable with. Also, it can be easily dressed up and down, which makes it super versatile. If anyone is looking for that perfect LBD, I highly recommend this dress! You can click the link to it in my details section. I'm also absolutely in love with these platform chelsea boots I purchased recently from ASOS. I've been wanting a pair of boots like this for a while but finally took the plunge because these were on sale (and still are!) and I had just found the PERFECT pair of bell bottoms at Jeremy's and really needed a shoe of this exact height to be able to wear them without tripping over myself. They're a but more heeled than I'm used to, but after wearing them around for a few days, I'm relatively used to walking in them now. This is also a shoe that I would absolutely recommend to anyone because they're pretty comfortable, affordable, and are also really versatile and can go with casual outfits or something a bit nicer. It feels so great to know that the purchases I make for my closet are really going to go a long way. I think that's something I've been getting better at - making purchases that really make sense. I think more now when I think about buying something about how many times I would wear the item, how many things could I pair it with, is it really a sound investment? I guess I'm maturing.

If you've been reading my blog for a while now, you'll know that last semester around dead week and finals week I went through this really weird stage of only listening to pop punk music that I listened to in middle school and early high school. It really kept me motivated to do my work for whatever reason. Maybe I was transporting myself back to a less stressful time in my life or maybe there really is just something about Patrick Stump's voice that inspired me to keep those statistics practice problems going into the wee hours of the night. Whatever the reasoning, it's happening again? This year's pop punk breakdown star is My Chemical Romance, and I've been really feeling the nostalgia the past few days. Gerard Way just gets my teen heart beating faster, faster, ya know? Anyways, I've been listening to this real throwback from their first album (before Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge), mainly because the video is just so...Gerard. Anyways, here is "Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of us" (also can we just talk about how ridiculous early 2000s pop punk song titles were? It made making mix CDs so difficult!)

May death never stop you,

Karis the Baybonnet

Don't Mind if Everybody's Far Behind

Details: Pants-American Apparel, Shirt-Urban Outfitters via Jeremy's, Flannel-Vintage, Necklaces-Forever 21 and Dailylook.com, Shoes-Freebird via LF

The weather here has been so indecisive lately, which I guess is pretty normal for the Bay Area.  Yesterday I really couldn't decide if I was cold or warm all day, hence the loose and cool shirt paired with the warmer flannel to pull out during gusts of wind. I absolutely love this backless black shirt and almost bought it while it was at Urban Outfitters, but I'm glad I didn't because I found it a few weeks ago at Jeremy's for over half off! Jeremy's is literally the greatest place on Earth, and I feel so bad for all of you not from the Bay Area who have to live life without it. It's a discounted retail store and they have such great stuff from Urban Outfitters, Free People, For Love and Lemons, Alexander Wang, ect...you get the picture. On my last trip there I found this shirt, some black bell bottoms from Joe's Jeans, and a Free People bralette for $5. #winning

I had a very busy weekend and am now catching up on all the schoolwork I have due in the upcoming weeks. On Friday I went into the city for an internship interview, which was nice because I love going to San Francisco whenever I can (not that it's hard now that I have an excuse to because of Nick). Then I went to a karaoke social I had planned for WYSE, a club I'm in on campus. I spent the night horribly belting out "Helena" by My Chemical Romance and reliving my middle school years and also that weird post-punk meltdown I had before finals last semester. On Saturday I went into the city with Mackenzie, one of my roommates, to get brunch and go shopping. Nick and I met up after Mackenzie went back to Berkeley and we went to the Exploratorium, which I've been wanting to go to for ages! It was pretty cool I suppose; some of the stuff was kind of hit or miss and there were children everywhere, but it was fun exploring all the little science things with Nick. I was very much that person that just walked up to a thing without reading the instructions and just starting pressing buttons and Nick would have to stop me and say "omg no you have to turn this thing first and then touch this metal to this other thing and then you can press the button". We ended the night here in Berkeley hanging out with some of my floormates from last year playing Mario Kart (which I used to be good at and am apparently now just AWFUL at). 

I've been working much harder during the week than I have in past semesters since I spend my weekends doing fun stuff with Nick. Still, I don't think I've become a "weekend warrior" or anything because I still manage to set aside time in the week to grab coffee or dinner with my friends just so that I'm not overwhelmed with studying always. I have some pretty great stuff planned for the next few upcoming weekends, and I can't wait to take pictures and blog about it all! Til then, here is the song for the day. It's by Banks, who I've been listening to a lot lately. Her music is so beautiful and it was hard to pick just one song to feature today! I've chosen F*** Em Only We Know because I feel like a lot of her songs are about lost love or anger towards a loved one, and that's really not what I'm feeling right now. This song is definitely about that Bonnie & Clyde Ride or Die kind of love, and the lyrics are actually really sweet, so enjoy!

xoxo

Karis the Baybonnet

Break Me Into Bigger Pieces

Details: Jacket-Vintage Levis, Shirt-Urban Outfitters, Skort-Free People, Boots-Aldo, Choker-Forever 21, Sunglasses-Urban Outfitters

PC-Nick

Nick and I are getting into a nice routine of alternating between Berkeley and San Francisco on the weekends, and this was a San Fran week. We did a lot of tourist-ey things that he hadn't done yet like go to Union Square, Westfield mall, and the Piers. We (and by we I mean I) really wanted to go to the Exploratorim, but by the time we got there it was close to closing. We ended up just walking through the swarms of tourists at Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf which was honestly kinda miserable. We have plans to do the whole Exploratorium thing next weekend though so I'm not complaining. The weather in San Francisco is rather weird because how the temperature feels is really dependent on whether or not it's windy or sunny. It was both of these things on Saturday which was super confusing.  This outfit was a pretty good compromise for the sometimes cold and sometimes warm temperatures. However, this morning it was actually a bit rainy which was nice since we really need that here. Also, this resulted in me having to borrow Nick's super nice mustard-colored rain jacket that I am now in possession of until the end of the week (mwahahaha).

This semester has been flying by so quickly and it's crazy to think that it's already April and I only have a few weeks of classes left! There's a lot of (arguably unnecessary) stress occurring in my life because of this. I'm spending rather large chunks of my time looking a summer internship, and I've found a select few that I really like. Still, not knowing precisely what I'm doing with my summer is a little scary. Then of course there's Nick and I's impending post-summer LDR which is something that I try not to think of. I'm working on living in the moment and being happy with the way my life is going right now, which isn't difficult since I am actually really happy right now. I just know that everything is going to work out. Here is a nice song by LCD Soundsystem because I tend to listen to them when big things are happening in my life. Most of their songs progress a lot from start to finish and I like to imagine my life passing by in some great cinematic montage when listening to them.

xoxo

Karis the Baybonnet

Spring Break Recap

Details: Shirt-Project Social T via Urban Outfitters, Pants-Urban Outfitters, Shoes-Coverse, Bag-Fossil

This isn't really an outfit post as much as it is a recap of what I've been up to lately since I haven't posted in a little while. I just finished my first day of school after spring break and, in classic Karis fashion yet again, am writing this post to avoid doing actually pressing school work. Anyways, I figured I would give a quick little recap of my break apart form just posting my outfit picture from the other day, which by the way makes me look more "Berkeley" than just about anything I have ever worn. 

I was back home in Dallas for my break and spent the majority of the week bumming around with my boyfriend and my parents. Most of my friends weren't on spring break at the same time as me, but I did get to see a few people. Anyways, I actually got a lot done such as finalizing my resume, applying to some jobs/internships, and writing/styling a blog post for the Cal FAST blog that I also write for. Probably the most exciting thing I did was go on a little Texas day trip with Nick, my boyfriend, on Monday. The most interesting place near Dallas appeared to be the Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, TX, so we drove there and spent a few hours hiking, taking photos, and checking out some very sketchy "dinosaur footprints". We then intended to go see the original Dr. Pepper bottling plant in Dublin, TX, the real home of the nectar of the gods despite Waco attempting to claim that title. Sadly, the museum was closed on Mondays? Just Mondays. Definitely should have checked that before driving for an hour to get there, but you live with your choices. We then drove to Waco to visit my two closest friends from home who go to school there. It was nice getting to see them and having them meet Nick, but there wasn't really a whole lot to do in Waco besides sit in their apartment and get Tex Mex food. Regardless, it was a nice day and Nick and I enjoyed getting to spend some time driving around our state (even though I was kinda asleep most of the time in the car, oops).

Here are some photos from our magical adventures:

The Dallas skyline

Eating some sandos in nature

The only slightly interesting thing in Dublin, Texas: this creepy cowboy mural

I hope everyone had an amazing spring break, and now it's time to get back to work! 

Karis the Baybonnet

The Sun is Mine

Details: Shirt-Vintage via Wasteland, Shorts-One Teaspoon, Shoes-Doc Martens, Silver Necklace-Poshmark, Chocker-Urban Outfitters

It's getting warm outside so that means that my pale thighs are making their seasonal debut. I've dressed them up in my big birthday purchase: my one teaspoon 1955 Bandit shorts! I've been wanting a pair of One Teaspoon shorts for a long time but was never really sure how they would look on my body. The models and bloggers I see wearing these shorts are almost always a size 0 and the tiny garment always hang off their legs in a way that I really didn't think I could achieve with my body. However, I saw these at the Wasteland in San Francisco last week and figured that it would be a good opportunity for me to try them on and see how they fit. I actually quite like how they look on me. They're a bit short in the front and I have to give them a good tug down every once in a while when I'm walking, but they get longer in the back which is awesome because they completely cover my bum! And that's really what matters in this world, am I right ladies? The denim is also really comfortable; it's just the right amount of distress so that they're not stiff. I also picked up this amazing vintage tee at Wasteland. I really love vintage band tees but to avoid being a hypocrite I only buy shirts for bands I actually listen to. Soundgarden is without a doubt one of my favorite bands so of course I jumped at the opportunity to own an actual vintage concert tee from their 1996 North American tour (and vintage concert tees can go for some crazy high prices but this one was actually really cheap). As you can see, I'm really excited about the fact that there's a Wasteland here in SF. I could have sworn that the only one was in LA, but I was walking through the Haight with Nick because he lives in the area and I saw it and basically died right then and there. I can already tell that I'm going to be making a trip every time I'm in the city. 

I would also like to take a moment to talk about how this outfit makes me feel. I've been feeling a bit down about my body lately, specifically my legs. The bloggers and models I follow and am inspired by tend to have rather lithe bodies with straight, skinny legs and thigh gaps. Sometimes I feel like my body doesn't have a place in the fashion world or that I can't wear the things that I want to wear because they just won't look "right" on me. It's an issue for me because I really do enjoy putting together outfits and blogging about them but I don't like looking at my body in pictures. However, I really like the way the pictures today turned out and I feel proud of my body and my thighs and the fact that these shorts that I felt for sure would look horrid on me actually make them look pretty great. So lets all embrace our bodies and love them for what they are and be happy with everything we put on them. #bodypositive. Here's a Soundgarden song because what else?

-Karis the Baybonnet

I'm No Fool, No, I'm Not a Follower

Details: Dress/Shirt-Free People, Shorts-Urban Outfitters, Shoes-Doc Martens, Necklaces-Urban Outfitters (owl), Nasty Gal (gem), Buffalo Exchange (skeleton hand), Lips-Cyber by MAC and Nightmoth by MAC

Here I am wearing this dress again, but I thought today I would try it as a shirt. The pictures on the Free People website show it worn both ways so I decided to experiment with it and I really like the way it turned out. Also, you may have noticed the bold lip I'm rocking. I was in the city this weekend with some of my friends and we went to the MAC store to try on some lipsticks and I just fell in love with Cyber. The lipliner is actually doing most of the work though, and it's called Nightmoth. I've been searching for a dark lip color for years because I've always wanted to be one of those people who casually wears a dark lip but I could never find one that was as darkly pigmented as I wanted from the drugstore brands, so I took the plunge and got the MAC one I had been eyeing for a while. 

This weekend was one of the best I've had in a while. My birthday was last Wednesday, but I had a midterm the next day so I didn't actually do anything to celebrate except go get Mexican food from a place I've been wanting to try with my roommate. It was nice, but not even enchiladas can take away the pain of political science. I had a birthday party on Friday though, so that made up for everything. It was a night surrounded by my closest friends and my wonderful boyfriend who was meeting quite a few of my friends for the first time. On Saturday I just sat around in my apartment and didn't really leave my bed except to go get food. However, on Sunday, as previously mentioned, I went to San Francisco with friends and drooled over handbags and leather jackets that we couldn't afford on Filmore Street. I feel in LOVE with this little bag from the Kooples but sadly I'm not going to be getting a surprise $500 anytime soon.

Here it is; be still my heart. This color isn't available on the site, but here's a link to the leopard one: CLICK ME!

To be honest, I'm still kinda on my BBC kick, but I'll spare you and make the song of the day something a little different. I was in the car with my friend today and this song came on the radio and I instantly was hooked. I don't usually listen to the radio, so this is probably kinda old but I don't care. It's a remix of one of my favorite jams from early freshman year, You Know You Like It by AlunaGeorge, by DJ Snake. Hope that you can all jam to it while cramming for those last midterms before spring break/while you're on spring break/while you're getting back into school after spring break (this is such a weird time because my spring break is next week but a lot of my friends back home had their already last week or are just going on break now). 

Karis the Baybonnet