Recommended Reading or Who's Sari Now?

Hello, my dear readers. It's been so long since I last had the chance to pop on and write. I hope you're all doing well. I must say: I'm happy to get to share the following with you all.

I per-chanced across yet another Refinery 29 article, this one about saris, one of the traditional clothing styles of India. I've always admired the look, and even had one at one time. It was purple and white with gold designs on the edge, and that was before people attacked one another for assimilation. I must say, though, to me it's always been a sign of admiration for different cultures, and it's never meant as any offense.

Even so, here are some lovely ladies wearing a lovely look, loud and proud. Some even get creative with fusion and modern details.

I hope you enjoy today's recommended reading. I know I sure did!



30 Gorgeous Sari Outfits



As always: Thanks, Refinery 29! And thank you to my readers for stopping by! :)

Idole d'Armani: A Perfume Post

A few months ago, a girlfriend of mine (who knows exactly the kinds of things I adore!) sent me a package out of the blue. Inside a pink Glossybox was a few things like some lip glosses she thought I'd like, a shade of red shimmer nail polish that she somehow had a 6th sense would look great with my skin tone... and a full bottle of Idole d'Armani. (How did you know, girl-hey!) And never mind that I've got a thing for guys who sport Armani casual wear... :p

I enjoy perfume in general, I had enjoyed Idole in stores like Nordstrom and Sephora before, but quickly moved on, without even giving this explosion of sensuality a true chance. Thank goodness my friend saved me from myself!

At first spray, I immediately recalled the aldehydes that almost sting the nose, and have a certain energy to them. There was also something that smelled very smokey, intensely warm, and inviting, like the sound of an alto singing. I also recalled smelling patchouli, though it was hard to put into words with such an intense bouquet of other fragrances around it. After consulting both Basenotes.net and EdenBotanicals.com, I found that warm alto scent I was smelling was called davana.

I'm also learning that there is a scent that particularly makes me think of fall: the scent of drying grass or hay. According to the Wikipedia page, saffron is responsible for that allusion.

I love this gold stripped box!

Something I couldn't quite put my finger on was the Loukoum. Arabic for "morsel" or "mouthful", we often call it Turkish Delight in the west. Even though I have enjoyed Loukoum Rose many times, I didn't pick it up with my nose. All I knew was that I sensed things that both caused relaxation and tension. Perhaps part of it was my familiarity with this delicious little treat. Pears are always enjoyed with freedom and comfort, too. In this case, the sweetness is almost overwhelming, but the tempered by the spicy and bitter elements.

On the other hand, clementine tends to be a tad more tart than your average citrus, so maybe remembering my mouth puckering caused the tension. There's also ginger, and patchouli! 

I will say that the tension and the ease that are juxtaposed here make me think of a woman that is both comfortable in her skin, but still has a fascinating sense of self-control... Or perhaps two friends that are comfortable together... but still have a little tension of their own. Either way, this balanced contradiction does something intriguing to the mind. And I dare say, at least on me, the tension of the fragrance wins out... but just barely. The only draw-back: the scent tends to wear down to just the delicate notes on some days, and keep the smokey notes on others, but I can never tell what it'll do from one day to the next.

What can I say except: Excellent job, Armani perfume artists, for getting into my head and painting a scent-picture. The dialogue for the commercial fairly matches the emotions evoked, I think. I hope my readers will pick up a bottle sometime, maybe even lightly spritz a wrist and see how it develops on each of you. Will tension or relaxation win out? Smokey or sweet? 

The Last Rows of Summer

Hello every one of my lovely readers! This week I saw something I hadn't seen in a long time: readers on my map from Poland! How exciting! Thank you for stopping by!

Tree branches that are so cool, one has to photograph them!

I took some photos late this summer, and decided I needed to post them before everything on this blog became about winter. (Just a week ago it was still quite warm, suddenly now I feel as if I should be bringing a sweater with me everywhere, just in case!)

Summer: Gotta love it before it's gone.

I was told the dappled light under the tree would make the subjects of the photos too difficult to see, but I think they came out pretty decently, all things considered.

Also, I got to see some really great art on Sunday. Here was my favorite:

I also stopped by a little book shop you may have heard of, and noticed how much I liked being there. The light of early evening seems golden and magical to me. It's always great to look at someone you love in this light, I've found. :)

A little photography by yours truly...

 That's all for now, my dear readers! Thanks for stopping by! Happy Wednesday!

Still Pleased

Looking through some old photos, I came across some that I'm still happy with. Here, in a friend's house, I felt comfortable and thoughtful.

"Hi."

  Also, I knew my outfit was pushing me out of the 'normal' for me when my sister asked me "You're going out like that... really?" I think she found the use of the belted scarf weird. I liked that different touch, though.

My friend is good with those details, yes?

Recommended Reading: Sneakers and Skirts

Because of a sweepstakes for JustFab shoes, I signed up for Refinery 29. I could have deleted them when I didn't win, or when I decided I didn't want my debit card number being known by someone who openly wanted to charge me for shoes every month, but I've kept looking at the articles that come through.

Lately, I look at some of the photos and say "Great dress... let's scroll down... No, No, NO, NO! Ladies, what happened?! Why sneakers with evening wear?!!"

After more than a month saying "Why not ballet flats? Or some comfortable, 2 inch heels?" I saw this article in my inbox. It boasted showing how this sneaker street fashion thing was really done. I clicked on it saying to myself "Seriously, teach me! I don't get this concept!"

After taking a look around this pictorial, I think I'm starting to get it. I'm not sure when, if ever, you'll see this look on Something New, but at least I'm not totally closed minded to the thought of it anymore. (Isn't that a major feature of growing gracefully?)

So I putting it out there for all of you: What do you think of this fashion trend?

Thanks for reading: Happy Friday!

The Next Step

I told myself a little more than a year ago that I wanted to keep my fashion blog up, consistently, for a year. I told myself to keep to a weekly posting. I must say, I was really inspired by a good friend who had been doing it since we were college classmates. I never imagined anyone would look at mine, but I did it all the same, because to me, the whole concept-- and the friend-- were beyond cool.

Now that the year is done and gone, and I actually have surpassed it by several weeks, I wonder: Should I stop posting? Should I move on to another blog that's a little less fashion and a little more philosophy?

But lately, it's felt more like a little plant than a form of self-discipline. I feel the desire to prune it (edit former posts) and water it (keep doing more/maybe post more often). I'm not going to hold myself to a rigid schedule. I tried that before, and would stay up late even on stressful/tiring days just to make sure the post would be at some point on Thursday. Towards the end of the year, that didn't happen quite so faithfully.

Along the way, I got to enjoy seeing how the international community works, seeing that people had read by blog from France, Estonia, Brazil... That was exciting to see.

I also got a little more brave and put my blog where my peers could see, even though I assumed for years that I was the ugly duckling and none of them would be interested (well... just a select few, anyway). I've wondered if I should photoshop, or if I should buy and expensive camera. I wondered if without those things I could call myself a blogger (even a part-time) one, and compared myself to others with coding experience and million dollar wardrobes. Suffice it to say, I was quite insecure about the whole process.

Now I'm thinking that this is a joy for me, not an opening to let negativity in. And to take good advise and ideas from others, but still ultimately rely on my own mind for how this blog 'should' function or 'should' look. Perhaps that will make this blog slightly more sustainable. After all, fear of any intensity takes up a lot of energy.


To my readers who stop by and read; you're helping to make changes in me.

Thanks,


SomethingNew

New Layout for Now

Hey, guys, hey!

I as you might have noticed if you've checked out this blog before, I have changed up the colour and few of the other features. I think it's kind of nice for fall, and I'd love to switch it up in the future, as well.

I guess I've kept the plain black in the past because I was unsure of what would be right, and decided from that place of insecurity. Funny how both big and little details change when a heart frees itself from insecurity, and I'm so happy and feel so blessed that I can make this little step today.

I find it's a lot more fun to look at, anyway.

:)


Thanks for reading.