Because adorable things make a happy Julia.

I promise, I'm not forgetting my blog yet again. Blogger has been acting funny, and I am exhausted and way too busy.

A quick and simple way to cheer myself up is by looking at pretty things on the internet. Virtual shopping is a wonderful, mood-lifting hobby, even if I don't ever go for my credit card or add anything to my cart.

What kind of internet eyecandy can possibly do the job when I'm this stressed out? Happy, silly, kitsch-ish items. For example, cartoon jewelry.

I am as picky with cartoons as I am with purses. Really, I think I'm just picky about a lot of things, but there's no need to go into that (yet.) There is a fine line between cute/sweet/fun and tacky/cheap/unfortunate. I've noticed most of the cartoon jewelry I adore is enamel, or something similar (cough, rarely plastic) and a bit muted in color. Simple charms with a single, cheeky icon make me as happy as Saturday morning cartoons.

Tarina Tarantino Large Crystal Barbie Medallion

Tarina Tarantino does a great job of making characters look more like pop art and less like quarter machine finds (although, I have found a few great quarter machine deals.. I'm personally a fan of the ridiculous, attachable mustaches.) Her Barbie, Alice in Wonderland, and Hello Kitty lines are adorable, excluding a few waaayy too over the top pieces and the hippy-inspired crap. I love the necklaces and earrings, but seem to be let down by the bracelets. For that price, I feel more comfortable with chains and clasps, as opposed to elastic bands and slip-ons. But back to the positive.. Who doesn't love Barbie? Especially retro Barbie? She's a doctor, she's a teacher, she's a princess, she's an astronaut, she's on the beach looking modest yet seductive. She's Barbie, c'mon!

MBMJ Miss Marc Large Pendant Necklace

Do I talk about Marc Jacobs enough? Probably not. I am sort of kind of madly in love with his Miss Marc character.

Juicy Couture Ice Cream Dish Charm

Although technically not a cartoon, Juicy Couture's sweet charms add the same level of holyshitthatscute. I have a thing for charm bracelets, and would love to start collecting theirs, starting with this ice cream dish. You can't beat the little details.

Speaking of the little details, I have a handful of itty bitty assignments due soon. Back to work (for now!)

Oh, Project Runway.

Oh, so, funny story, while watching Project Runway the other day (I'm super behind.. I have class on Thursdays and have to watch repeats) I realized A.J. himself and his sort-of weird/totally awesome designs looked familiar.

So I Google'd him. Because what the fuck else do you do? (I also realized I say Google'd too often.)

Turns out, he's from St. Louis, and was part of the Trashbiscuit line I saw at last year's STL Fashion Week. I also think Michael D. looks really familiar, both face and fashion. He's also from St. Louis, but I haven't found anything about collections he's done.

On a side note with Project Runway, I think half of the designers are loving the highschool, let's gang up on someone, mindset and they're kind of awful people. Go Michael C.!

That's enough T.V. rants for Julia.

Reason #9072172818273 To Love Target

It's is finally the weekend, sort of. I'm nauseatingly busy between school and work, but I get to go to a show this weekend and have a few good magazines to catch up on. Oh yeah, and a new mattress topper that makes my bed so comfy I'm contemplating never getting out of it again.

Last night, in an attempt to relax, I read Marie Claire. It was an all-around good issue, I suppose. I thought it lacked some real meat, but it was the beauty issue, which I always dislike.

In it, though, there was an advertisement. For purses.

Mulberry Oversized Alexa, $1250

For Mulberry purses, in fact. The above bag is the first Mulberry bag I ever noticed and is why I am currently hunting for the perfect multi-strap camel bag. I love this one. However, I don't joke around with prices like that. In my world, that's a car payment, that's a few months rent. That's not a satchel, no matter how buttery the leather is.

Mulmerry for Target Ad

But then everything changed when I read the fine print. Holy crap, Mulberry is doing a line for Target. Yes. Will the leather be as buttery or the details as grand? I'm sure not. Is it a much more affordable option, and will I more than likely have to get one? It's looking that way.

Thanks for kicking so much ass, Target.

Yogurt in Marc.

And I thought I was crazy about handbags.

This is Yogurt, my 4.5 month gray tabby. He is slowly turning me into a crazed cat lady with his cuteness, and I'm pretty okay with that. Other than his need to sleep wrapped around my neck like a scarf, he's a pretty rad roommate.

Awful, ankle-biting dog in your purse or adorable, sleepy kitten in your purse? NO QUESTION.

"We'll All Sleep When We're Dead"

I may or may not have mentioned on here that I have a little bit of a purse problem.

While grabbing lunch with an old work friend/new school friend (apparently us Borders girls are actually huge school nerds... Who would have guessed?) on Friday, the topic of handbags came up. Thankfully, she too is a purse addict. Neither of us could explain why they, of all fashion accessories and articles, were the most alluring. Here's hoping someone else agrees.

I am unbelievably picky with handbags. I am a firm believer in the bigger-is-better bag rule (my excuse is I need to carry textbooks, a sweater, a drink, and possibly my laptop to and from classes.. In reality, I just like giant bags.) I pay a weird amount of attention to the hardware, strap length, stitching, and feet. And most importantly, they must go with my everyday pair of black boots.

So that means they need to be black bags, right? Or colored, or maybe white? Possibly gray? Kind of.

I'm slowly warming up to brown. It's taken me long enough, but I'm starting to like it. Maybe it's because of the absolutely wonderful and comfortable camel semi-perforated, cut out oxfords from Bakers I just found on clearance that I can't stop wearing. Maybe it's my "Old Man Hat" that I bought off Tomas for 50 cents in 2005, which Yogurt (another fan of accessories) is currently asleep in. Who fucking knows. All I know is, I'm on the hunt for a multi-strap camel carryall on the cheap(ish.)

Top Shop, $170

Top Shop, $80

Hmm. I'll be on the look for a while. On an unrelated note, I can't stop listening to the Star Fucking Hipsters album, Until We're Dead. I can't tell if the Naked juice or loud music or lovely bags or cigarettes that have me so half-asleep+wired. Perhaps now, since it is 2 AM, I should be sleeping. Maybe.

Triumphant return, or something.

Hello, Blogger! So much has changed since I last logged on! I'm no longer a sophomore at SWIC with a hamster living in the Metro East. I'm now a junior at SLU with a cat in St. Louis. I'm loving my new apartment, new school, and new pet (RIP, Tort) but have definitely found a few issues thus far.

Living in St. Louis is genuinely cheaper than Illinois except for one minor thing: groceries. The price difference from store to store and item to item is staggering, and has lead me to start shopping at multiple locations. I think I was spoiled by the ungodly cheap 24-hour Super Walmart in Collinsville. Thankfully, there is a Target/Schnucks/Walgreens intersection that makes my three-stop bargain hunting doable.

The stadium-like classrooms with 200 students and a mic'd professor are also a new concept. Weirdly enough, I also have classes with possible 11 others. It's a mind-boggling combination after two years of 35-ish per room.

And finally, it seems as though I missed the memo on what to wear to school. Maybe it's because I commute, or maybe it's because I think good skinny jeans are comfortable, but apparently there is a uniform. The very popular decorative hoodie + running shorts + flip flops + stretchy headband combination is so common, I'm sure I see 5 girls in it for every 1 who got dressed. I understand you want to be comfortable, I understand you probably live a few buildings down from class, I understand you might be hungover, I understand you're still half-asleep, and I understand that sometimes you just don't give a shit. But every day?!

College is meant to prepare us for the real world, yeah? Well here is the truth of it: before you leave the house, you should be wearing real-world appropriate clothing. You want to slack off and wear "loungewear"? Fine. I get it. But c'mon, not every single day. We're three weeks into classes and I'm starting to doubt some of you own pants.

The worst of it is I don't think it's just that ladies are wearing their pajamas out and about. I honestly think some people got up, showered, and decided this counted as an option Monday-Friday.

And so, to prove my point that wearing real clothing isn't so bad, I've prepared a little This-Or-That segment. For the price of your fancy workout clothing you could have a comfortable and appropriate outfit. It's just as easy to wear, it's just as easy to put together, and it will leave you with enough money for some lovely accessory (or three scrumptious espresso drinks, or a handful iPhone apps, as those seem to be more popular on campus as well.)

See? Not so hard.

Speaking of university, I should get back to my newspaper articles before Mad Men starts. But I'll be back on you, Blogger. I've been missing my rants and rambles on clothing and the like. And clearly I need more tools of procrastination.