black gold

It will never seem normal to me to head into the holiday season without snow on the ground.  I'm slowly getting used to it, but it's just never the same without big drifts of snow and days spent sledding and hot cocoa to thaw out frozen fingers.  I even miss the days of 5 hours of daylight.  So much about the holidays revolves around a snowy winter, so it's been an adjustment having a snowless holiday.  While many believe that a snowy climate limits what you can wear, I never really felt that my style was too limited by snow.  Even this outfit, with a winter coat added, would probably pass muster, though I'm sure I'd probably get some side-eyes wearing a crop top in November in Anchorage.  One trick that I use all the time for wearing tights in winter is layering them.  For a sheer tights situation, like these sheer black polka dot ones, I wear a thick, opaque nude pair of tights underneath to increase warmth.  If you have a nice, high quality pair of thick, opaque tights, you can throw them on underneath your sheer tights and it's almost the same as wearing leggings.  Tacoma's been pretty chilly these days, so I've already started using that trick.


 

bag + wallet/courtesy of fossil:: skirt + tights/courtesy of modcloth :: boots/target long sheer dress + claw necklace + belt/thrifted :: top/courtesy of spotted moth  quartz necklace/courtesy of adorn by sarah lewis :: hat/courtesy of lulu's  triangle necklace/courtesy of moorea seal
When I chose this purse and clutch/wallet to style for this collaboration with Fossil + Lucky Magazine, I didn't plan on pairing them with such a monochromatic matching outfit, but I'm kind of in love with it!  I love a more dramatic take on the holiday "silver and gold" trend.  Even my belt buckle and the metal details on my boots match the gold.  Sometimes it's fun to put an outfit together and then realize how much matching you did subconsciously.
I used to think that I was a silver girl.  I didn't like gold jewelry, and didn't much care for the color either.  In the past year or two I've started really enjoying the look of gold in my jewelry and accessories.  I even got a gold vintage party dress that I've been wanting to wear for over a year, but I just haven't gotten around to altering it to fit!  I've been slowly adding more gold to my wardrobe and I like the diversity that it brings.  Plus, being a fan of print mixing, I'm also into mixing metals, so I can still mix in my silver jewelry too!
 

*This post is in partnership with Fossil and Lucky Magazine. Thanks for supporting those companies which help keep Delightfully Tacky alive and kicking!

mushroom butternut gruyere tart

ModCloth asked me if I wanted to share a recipe for their friendsgiving series this past week, so I contributed this savory tart as an appetizer!  Head on over to the ModCloth blog to find the recipe!   I love fall flavors and this is a perfect combination of some of my favorites.  I thought it was a pretty fun idea for an appetizer, but it's also a great recipe for dinner.  Dan and I actually shared this tart and it was super filling.
I wanted to have a friendsgiving celebration this year, but I'm a bit too busy to pull it off.  I love the idea, though, since Thanksgiving is a holiday typically spent with family, but it's nice to also be able to give thanks with your friend group as well.  Plus, I'm all for holidays that involve copious amounts of food.  More of those, please.  

 

eleven hairstyle ideas for curly girls

I'm a pretty low maintenance girl when it comes to hair and beauty, so I usually end up just wearing my hair down, but I do like doing fun things with my hair on occasion.  I'm not very skilled in the hair styling department, I'm still a total newb when it comes to attempting french braids, so most of my hair styles are relatively simple and straightforward.  Most of these looks don't require much more than a hair tie and some bobby pins.

Sometimes it can be frustrating as a curly girl trying to navigate the waters of hair cuts and hair styles.  I'm not a fan of straightening my hair, so I like to find styles that work with my natural texture.  Luckily, many curly girls have a lot of natural volume that accompanies their curls, which can make it easier to achieve some styles.  

There are lots of ways to wear a scarf, but one of the easiest is just tied around your head like a headband.  You can do this with a long scarf and have the tails just hang down, or if you want to tie the scarf up top, you can either tie it in a bow for a bit of whimsy, or tuck the tails underneath to hide them.  Try this with a bandana instead of a scarf for a more rockabilly version!

My hair isn't quite long enough for a good side braid yet, but in the past I really enjoyed side braids as a quick and easy way to change up my hair.  I think that curly hair lends itself really well to a messier version of a braid.  I like to braid my hair tightly, secure it with an elastic, and then give it a few tugs from bottom to top to loosen up the braid and give it a bit more of an undone look.  I prefer a fishtail braid, but you can do this with any braid version!

I went through an Amy Winehouse phase back during my junior year in college, which is what started my love affair with beehive hair.  My philosophy is the bigger=better, but the beehive is easy to make as big or as small as you want.  When my hair was super long I was able to make really huge beehives without needing any sort of filling, but if you don't have big hair and still want a giant 'hive, you can use hair extensions bound up in a hairnet, or even a sock that matches your hair color to increase the size of your beehive.  Tease and hairspray like crazy, pin it up, and then smooth the top to get rid of frizz and fly aways and then spray like crazy again!

Flower crowns aren't really a "hairstyle" but they are one of my favorite hair accessories and I feel like they do give you hair a unique style.  Feel free to go for a big statement flower crown!  Since curly hair is big, it can hold it's own and balance out a larger flower crown. 

This is a 'do I had done for a photoshoot, but I loved it!  The stylist made a single "cornrow" braid on the side of my head to create a faux undercut look.  You don't have to use a braid to create this look, though,

Julie does this look

without the use of a braid and it also looks awesome!

This is a really easy style that only needs an elastic headband.  I did a tutorial for this style

here

.  You can play around with different elastic headbands, or add flowers or bows to jazz it up a bit.

Truth be told I didn't really know what I was doing when I made this updo, but it's basically a french twist.  I just tucked vertically up the back and bobby pinned.  I left out a few curls up front to soften it up a bit.

This updo was one of my favorite styles over the summer.  I often wore it as a way to get my hair off my neck and also as a way to dry my hair instead of diffusing.  It has a vintage look to it and is a pretty easy style to throw up in a pinch.

The messy bun is a classic and I personally think messy buns are best with curly hair.  Curls really lend themselves to the messiness of a messy bun.  Messy buns are a great starting point for other styles, like the scarf updo.

I found

this tutorial

on Pinterest and thought it'd work perfectly with my curly hair.  Another variation on a fancy low pony is

this look

, which was created by doing a large messy french braid down the side, pulled into a low side pony.

Usually victory rolls are more polished, but I think they're pretty even if you keep the messiness of the curly hair intact.  If you want to get a more polished victory roll, you can definitely straighten your hair to smooth out the bumps.  Keeping them more casual, though, makes for a more easygoing look that's still cute and fun.

top photo by

willow's photography

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a blank canvas

I don't have much to say these days.  The blank canvas sitting on an easel in the corner of my studio seems to be a metaphor for how life feels lately.  Writer's block, artists block, everything block.  I'm sitting in my studio, with Dusty curled up on my lap, with nothing much to say.  Life feels very full and very empty simultaneously.  I'm not even inspired to put together outfits these days.  Putting together a fun outfit, and shooting outfit photos used to be an almost daily routine, and now I find myself gliding through most days with leggings, a sports bra, and a fleece, or jeans and a plaid flannel.  I still love putting together outfits, but the frequency has slowed.  And life feels kind of boring at the moment.  I think as bloggers we feel like we have to post about the interesting things that are going on in our lives, because no one wants to read a blog by a person with a boring life.  Boring life= boring blog.  We want tales of adventure, we want deep thoughts, we want exotic photos, we want to live vicariously.  But life is boring right now.  Here let me tell you about how I made oatmeal for breakfast and then took Dusty on a walk and then I went climbing and then we came home and Dan went out to a meeting and then he came home and I took him to work and I went to yoga and then I came home and made a salad for dinner and then sat in front of my computer trying to figure out if I had anything to say.  I don't.  Even this outfit isn't all that interesting.  It's almost the same outfit as the last one I posted, but get this: I put a flannel over it.  I know, pretty cutting edge stuff. 

 

dress/courtesy of modcloth :: top/courtesy of free people : belt/thrifted necklace/courtesy of moorea seal :: ring/courtesy of the northern sea

mushroom chevre crostini

Dan and I were discussing which season Thanksgiving belongs to.  I always had it in my Autumn Holidays grouping along with Halloween, and then Christmas and New Years were part of the Winter Holidays group.  Dan, on the other hand, considers Thanksgiving a holiday that belongs with Christmas and New Years.  Either way, my Christmas tree doesn't go up until after Thanksgiving, and I don't care to listen to Christmas music before then either.  My brain can't handle more than one holiday at a time!  Me pumpkins and leaves until Thanksgiving, then I'll switch gears to holly and mistletoe and egg nog.

Crositinis are one of my favorite types of appetizers, simply because there are so many variations to play around with.  I didn't used to be a fan of mushrooms, but Dan loves them and over the past couple years I've learned to love them as well!  Fall is such a perfect time for the earthy flavors of mushrooms and they pair so well with other autumn flavors.  This app is pretty quick to prepare and it'd be a great starter for Thanksgiving!

(recipe adapted slightly from food & wine)

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 pound oyster mushrooms, sliced 1/2 inch thick

1 shallot, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, plus more for garnish

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

Eight 1/2-inch-thick slices of french bread

1 cup honey chevre

1. In a large skillet, melt the butter in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the shiitake and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until browned, 4 minutes. Add the oyster mushrooms and cook until softened and lightly browned, 4 minutes. Add the shallot and garlic and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, lemon juice, thyme and the 1 tablespoon of parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Brush the bread with olive oil and grill until toasted and charred in spots, about 1 minute per side.

3. Spread each toast slice with chevre. Spoon the mushrooms on top and and sprinkle with the additional parsley. Cut the crostini in half, drizzle with olive oil and serve.