Happy Mardi Gras to those who celebrate! Fat Tuesday is one of those “holidays” that I always forget about until the day-of—I think it would be fun one of these years to truly celebrate it by making a king cake and the works. Having attended Catholic school my whole life before college, I do remember celebrating it sometimes in class and learning the history of Carnival. But instead, I’m sitting here writing this post, sipping on a homemade espresso martini. I don’t usually drink on weekdays but I decided last-minute to give up alcohol this year for Lent. The only problem is… I’m going to Spain in two weeks. I’m not going to not drink on vacation, so I’ve decided I’m going to make up those two weeks of vacation time at the end of April. Not quite the same but eh, I’m taking the “it’s better than nothing” approach.
What’s New?
- It’s now been two months since I stopped writing my weekly recap blog posts every Sunday, and I have to say, it was a really good decision. I feel like I have so much more free time on the weekends now, and I’ve been really enjoying making my “percent worn” videos every Sunday instead. It is still a little weird to not have a record of all my outfits and activities, but I’m slowly getting used to it.
- My goal for February was to improve my Spanish. I’m not sure I was that successful (it turned out to be a busy month so I didn’t have as much time to dedicate to it as I would have liked), but I did try some new tactics. I set up a new profile on Netflix and set the language to Spanish so I could start watching Casa de Papel, which is called Money Heist in English. I’ve seen most of the Spanish show before, with English subtitles, but this time I started watching it in Spanish with Spanish subtitles. I was able to follow more of it than I would have thought, and since I’ve seen the show before it helps with the context I may have lost in translation. I also downloaded a free app called Memrise, which allows me to have conversations in Spanish with an AI chatbot—a pretty cool feature and way more useful than Duolingo, in my opinion. Annnd I found a conversational Spanish group on Meetup and attended my first event. It was so helpful to try to have a regular conversation in Spanish, and I realized I am VERY rusty!
Today’s Outfit
On Sunday my boyfriend and I decided to dress up and have a little Oscars viewing party for two—because why not?! I also knew I wouldn’t have a reason to wear all my fancy dresses this year, so it was a good excuse to cross off one of my old prom gowns in my cost per wear spreadsheet. This tulle purple number was actually a bridesmaid dress that I got for $50 from a consignment store. It was a much snugger fit this time around, but I first wore it to my senior prom and then again to the Bridgerton event I attended a few years ago.
The dress is convertible—it has pieces of fabric that can be tied and draped in countless ways to make various kinds of sleeves. For prom I made a twisted halter-neck, and for the Bridgerton event I created fluttery sleeves reminiscent of the Regency era gowns in the show. This time I was going for a soft fairy princess type look, so I decided to try adding draped off-the-shoulder sleeves. It turned out pretty in the photos but was not the most practical, and not something I could have worn out for a whole night.
I kept accessories minimal—because I feel like the fashion tabloids always trash on the red carpet stars who over-style—and only wore a floating pearl necklace and sparkly bedazzled hair tie for my low pony. The silver shoes are from JustFab. Possibly the best part of this outfit, which you can’t see in these pics, is my matching sparkly purple eyeshadow. I really love how my makeup turned out!
Overall we had a blast, even if Hulu cut off the live stream before announcing Best Actress and Best Picture. I tried to pose and stand like I would if I were on the red carpet, but ultimately I just felt like I was going to another prom rather than an awards show! Not sure if the dress will forever seem prom-like, or if it’s how I styled it, or if it’s just in my head.
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What I Watched
My boyfriend and I watched every movie nominated for Best Picture this year, so for this month’s “What I Watched” category, I’m ranking all ten movies.
- Conclave—This was by far my favorite movie, and I’m glad it won Best Adapted Screenplay (though it could have won more in my opinion). Maybe I’m biased since I was raised Catholic, but this fictional movie was about everything that goes into choosing the next pope. It was so captivating even though it was a dialogue-driven film.
- Anora—This one ended up winning Best Picture, and I’m not mad about it. It’s about a stripper who falls in love with one of her clients. It was surprisingly funny and I enjoyed it, even if it didn’t have as much “to say” as I expected from a Best Picture nominee.
- I’m Still Here—This movie is based on a true story that takes place during Brazil’s military regime in the 70s. The main actress was incredible and I found the story really interesting, even if it was a little slow at parts.
- Wicked—I have never seen the musical before, so the Wicked movie was completely new to me. I ended up liking it way more than I thought I would! Ariana Grande was perfect as Glinda, and of course, the music was incredible (as were the costumes, which won the Oscar!).
- Dune 2—I was kind of torn on where to put Dune 2 in this list. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of sci-fi movies. However, objectively I think it was a good movie, and the sets and visual effects were really cool.
- The Substance—I’m so disappointed with this one. I loved it for about three quarters and then it really took a turn for me. Still, I would recommend it as it makes you uncomfy in more ways than one (don’t watch while you’re eating or if you have a queasy stomach).
- The Brutalist—I still don’t know what to make of this movie. The acting was good. The cinematography was beautiful. But the plot?? All over the place—kind of boring in the first half and went haywire in the second half.
- A Complete Unknown—I thought I would like this one more than I did, but honestly, it was pretty boring. It’s also probably blasphemous to say but I liked Timothee Chalamet’s singing more than I like Bob Dylan’s… The soundtrack was by far the best part of this movie.
- Nickel Boys—The concept of this one was unique. It was filmed entirely from the point of view of the two main characters, so what you see as the viewer is what you would see from the character’s own eyes (kind of like those shaky horror films where they videotape everything). It was based off a book and tells the story of a brutal and racist reform school in the 1960s. However, both my boyfriend and I found it so boring that it was hard to appreciate the message and filming concept.
- Emilia Pérez—One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe it was nominated for so many awards. For a musical, the music was just terrible. It automatically would have been a much better film if it was just a regular movie. I heard Emilia Pérez was bad before watching it but I was hoping it would be bad in a funny way—not so.
What I Read
- Go as a River by Shelley Read—This was the next book for the book club at my local library that I attended for the first time in January. It’s by a Colorado author and tells the fictional story of a young girl who grew up in the real town of Iola, Colorado, which was flooded in the 1960s to build Blue Mesa Reservoir. It was really sad, but I ultimately enjoyed it—especially being able to so clearly picture the Colorado landscape.
- Wicked by Gregory Maguire—I haven’t finished this one yet (ran out of time before the Oscars) but only a quarter through I can already tell there are a handful of differences between the movie and book. Someone told me the musical is not an exact adaptation, sort of like a Grimms’ fairy tale vs. the Disney version. Either way, now I want to see the live musical too to compare all three versions!
February Spotify Playlist
I’ve been sick of listening to the same songs over and over again so I tried to challenge myself this month by listening to new music. And I think I did a pretty good job! If it weren’t for the total vibe change of a couple of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez songs thrown in there, I think February’s playlist is a banger: listen here.
What I’ve Been Loving Lately
- Danskin underwear. I bought a pack of these on a whim at TJ Maxx a few months back and wish I had bought more. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the exact style, but I’m a full coverage girly—and these are the only underwear I own that don’t ride up throughout the day. Plus, they’re super soft. I plan on buying more packs!
- My Pyrrha pendant necklace. This necklace was a high school graduation gift—definitely a splurge—but I reach for it so much that I’m certain I’ve gotten my wear out of it. It just goes with everything, especially sweaters, which is why I’ve been wearing it so much this winter. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to keep a jewelry cost per wear spreadsheet, but even I’m not that obsessed…
What I’m Looking Forward to in March
My dad and I are going to Spain for two weeks! We’re exploring Andalusia for the first week, including Sevilla, Granada, and Málaga, and then we’re meeting up with several family members on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands for the second week. It’s my grandpa’s 90th birthday wish to “go to the motherland,” as I’ve been jokingly calling it, since his grandma was from Tenerife. I’m so excited to explore several of the cities I learned about in Spanish class in high school and see the Moorish influence in the tiles and architecture. We’ll also be visiting the Alhambra and seeing a flamenco show, so the cultural experiences will be off the charts!
This Month on Grace per Wear
- Week 5: Percent Worn
- Week 6: Percent Worn
- GRWM for the Peter Party
- Valentine’s Day Transition
- Week 7: Percent Worn
- JCPenney Try-On
- Styling a Maroon Sweater Three Ways
- Week 8: Percent Worn
- Amazon Dresses for Spring
What are you looking forward to in March? And how are you doing on your new year goals and resolutions? I thought I was on track to complete all my first quarter goals, but I didn’t have enough forethought in January to consider the two weeks I would be out in March… So I’m kind of in crunch mode the next two weeks to try to complete everything before I go on vacation!
As always, thanks for stopping by the blog today.
Miles of smiles,
Grace
Dress: Secondhand, $50 ($16.67 per wear), last worn here | Silver Heels: JustFab, $47 ($47 per wear), buy here