The Elusive 'Cynthia Vincent for Target' Wedges

Gladiator Wedge - Yellow

Multicolor Print Wedge

Gladiator Wedge - Cognac

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I'm so bummed that none of the Target stores in my area have these wedges! I've been checking online since I first saw them in a magazine and started hearing whisperings on blogs about them. They might remain an unattainable shoe for me. As a vertically challenged lady, I love shoes that give me extra height and could easily visual outfits in my wardrobe built around all three of the wedges above. Is the rumor I heard true that another shipment will be made available soon, or is that just wishful thinking? If you have any leads on size 6's in any of these styles, I'd be eternally grateful!

Shen's Favorite Things: Stylish Sunglasses

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As a lover of all types of accessories, I've always gravitated toward sunglasses of varying sizes and styles. They are stylish and fairly practical during sunny weather year-round. Who wants to squint when outdoors?

In my dreams, I'd be able to purchase one of each of the sunglasses pictured above, but for now, I'll be happy with the pair the far less expensive versions I have from Marshall's and H&M. A girl can dream though...

Fences

The title of this post was inspired by this play, which I highly recommend. If you have the opportunity, go see it, you won't regret it. The genius of the playwright of this play will remain alive through his amazing body of work for years to come.

On another note, I honestly didn't put much thought into this outfit. I just grabbed the first shirt and skirt in my line of vision when I opened my closet. I love color, but sometimes, it feels really good to keep it simple...

Shirt: H&M

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Payless

Belt: Nordstrom (Junior's section

Necklace: Thrifted via Beacon's Closet

Faux glasses: Urban Outfitters

Song Currently on Repeat: A Beautiful Day by India.Arie

Birds of Feather

Yep, those are birds on my skirt and earrings. Subtle prints and skirts are two of my favorite things, so when I saw this skirt in H&M, it was a pretty easy decision to purchase it. I also have a growing fondness for birds which is recent though 'Dove' has always been a part of my name, it never occurred me to utilize that fact in a literal sense through my clothing/accessories. This is about as close as I'll get to the lovely Miu Miu prints that were seen on the spring runways on my budget. I'll keep it short and sweet today, now I'm off to tackle my growing to-do list...

Top: H&M

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Payless

'Dove' Earrings: Modcloth

Necklace: JessLC

The Pursuit of Happiness

Shirt: Pacsun

Skirt: The Loft

Cardigan: Old Navy

Shoes: Nine West

Earrings: Gift

Necklace: JessLC

Don't mind my half-hearted smiles in the photos above. These pictures were actually taken yesterday, but I've admittedly been trying to turn my frown upside down all day. Since the stylish blogger duo Chicfaced (check them out!) tagged me a while ago to create a list of 10 things that make me happy, now is a good time to respond:

1. Family. I love my family and appreciate the love and support they've always given me. I don't know where I would be without them.
2. Friends. "Hold a true friend with both hands." - African Proverb. That proverb really sums my feelings about real friends up. I really appreciate and value my friends that are truly there for me and I hope they know that.
3. Cupcakes. Cupcakes are by far my favorite dessert. Enough said!
4. Traveling. I love visiting new places and learning about new cultures. I also love going to places in the U.S. I've never been to. I look forward to doing a lot of traveling nationally and internationally in the near future.
5. Concerts/Music. I've always had an appreciation for music and performers, so obviously, I love going to concerts of my favorite musical artists. I play my favorite songs over and over. If you spend enough time around me, you will be able to attest to that. There are certain artists that I could see perform over and over again like this group comprised of fellow Philly natives.
6. Flowers. The sight of a bouquet of beautiful flowers always puts my in an excellent mood.
7. Nonprofit organizations that help urban youth. I realized a while ago that teaching wasn't a path I wanted to take in life, but I definitely respect educators and realized that I wanted to give back to youth in some other way and for the past few years, I've given back by volunteering for nonprofit organizations that serve adolescents.
8. New York City. New York is by far my favorite city and I never get tired of visiting.
9. Accessories. My love for accessories goes back to my childhood where I distinctly remember lugging around my Mother's purses, jewelry, scarves and shoes while I "played dress-up." Some things really don't change.
10. Books. I have an appreciation for the various forms of the written word (blogs, magazines, etc), but books will always be my favorite. I take advantage of my local library and swap books with friends and family. My Metro commute every day is my daily reading opportunity and for this reason, I don't know if I would ever want to drive on a daily basis and give that time up.

Just writing this list down put me in a better mood! Now I'll tag La Rue Neuve, Onada's Lookbook and This Little Piggie.

Song Currently on Repeat: 'Daydream' By Lupe Fiasco featuring Jill Scott

Denim Reflections

Since I graduated from college a few years ago and started working full-time, I've started to associate wearing jeans with the arrival of the weekend because I so rarely wear them on weekdays. I don't have anything against jeans, but I actually like dressing up for work and don't mind that I currently wear jeans less than I have at any other point in my life. Jeans were my daily uniform in college and though my college campus was known for the diversity of creativity of clothing that the student body chose, I kept it pretty simple. I am accustomed to being told I look younger than my age, so my instinct is to dress more maturely during the week.

It's also true that I rarely find a pair of jeans I absolutely love. As a short, curvy girl, jean shopping is my least favorite type of shopping; I'll buy a skirt or a dress in a heart beat, even if they will need alteration; but jeans, I just prefer them to fit perfectly upon trying them on which to be honest, happens rarely. The pair I have on in the pictures above were actually bought during a day trip to NYC last spring where I realized the skirt I wore for the day would not cut it as the temperature steadily dropped during the course of the day. A quick shopping trip to solved that problem and I was able to enjoy the rest of the day with warm legs!

Maybe one day I'll invest in a custom made pair that are made to fit me, but for now, I'll wear the least expensive, best fitting pairs I can find. It took me a while to get on board with the "jeggings" or "skinny jeans" style. I find that I like them although I am a bit dismayed that I see the hems of jeans rising to high water length by some fashion-conscious folk; that is definitely not a trend I think I can pull off, but good luck to those girls with legs long enough to wear their jeans that way!

Shirt: American Apparel

Jeans: Forever 21

Shoes: Nine West via Zappos

Scarf: Old Navy

'Bone' earrings: H&M

Sunnies: Kenneth Cole Reaction via Marshalls

Shen Dove Interview on The Lookbook by Onada

An interview I did for the blog, The Lookbook by Onada was posted today. Onada is a talented photographer and has great style, I feel honored that she asked me for the interview. Check out my answers to her questions and if you haven't visited her blog before, take a look around!

What to Wear?

During this time of the year, I usually get bored with everything in my wardrobe. It hasn't warmed up enough to permanently put away the remainder of my cold weather clothing. But we still get a random hot day. I'm ready to retire my stockings and tights until the fall. Just when I think I can pack them up, we get another chilly day. It's so tempting to just go shopping and add new pretty things to my closet instead of just 'thinking' outside of the box with items I already own.

As I was looking through my warm weather clothing to see what I could layer to make it weather appropriate, I realized that one of my favorite vintage dresses purchased from a store that no longer exists is getting too delicate to wear. I'll need to take it to a tailor to get the hem fixed in a few places. I don't want it to completely fall apart, so I'll have to retire it. Such a bummer...nothing lasts forever I guess.

Dress: Go Jane

Cardigan: Old Navy

Necklace: Forever 21

Glasses: Urban Outfitters

Song Currently on Repeat: Yellow Brick Road Song By: Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo

Random Thoughts From the Weekend

I didn't get as much done as I had hoped, but had a very enjoyable weekend. Here are a few random thoughts I had over the course of the weekend:

• I am the messiest faux chef ever. My kitchen looked like a tornado hit it after my attempt at making vegan macaroni and cheese over the weekend. They make it look so easy on The Food Network...
• After making the macaroni and cheese mentioned above, I realize I am not ready for veganism and will stick to my plan to become vegetarian. I'm not ready to give up dairy completely though I don't eat it everyday.
• I'm amazed that other bloggers are so consistent with posting great content and photos on a daily basis, I'm hoping to see positive progression on this blog since it is still fairly new.
• I'd like to take a class this week at the gym, maybe Zumba. I always feel better after exercising but am only inspired sporadically.
• I can't believe the weekend is over already, but have the feeling it will be a great week. Hope yours is too!

Shirt: American Apparel

Fedora: Amazon.com

Jeans: Urban Outfitters

Shoes: Go Jane

Necklace: Jess LC Jewelry

Hoops: ?

Song Currently on Repeat: 'Dancing in the Dark' By: Solange

How the leopard got his spots

As a child, I had a tape of a children's book of the folk tale about how leopards got their spots. The animal print of the shirt I wore yesterday sparked the memory of this story that I hadn't thought about in years. I tried to find the exact recording I had as a child with the idea of giving the book/recording to a few of my friend's with young children, but discovered there are many variations of this story. I'll have to figure out which one to choose now but this one is a contender. I love giving books to kids because some of my greatest memories as a child were being read to by my parents and other adults. The love of reading is a potentially life-long hobby that is best started young.

Leopard print is a favorite of mine though I don't wear it very often. I think it's more special when done in moderation anyway.

Shirt: Forever 21

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Payless

Earrings: Vendor @ Eastern Market

My Thoughts About Thoughts

As I was drinking my afternoon cup of tea yesterday, I noticed the tag on the tea bag said: "The mind is energy. Regulate it." For some reason that little quote resonated with me. It's so easy to have negative thoughts which are usually unproductive and sap your energy, they may also bring others down around you if you discuss your thoughts with them. Being positive takes effort for most people (myself included) so why shouldn't you regulate your thoughts the same way you regulate eating, exercise, breathing? So make an effort to think intentional, affirmative thoughts and see how this effects your energy levels. Just something to think about on a Friday...hope you have a lovely weekend!

Dress: Downeast Basics

Blazer: H&M

Shoes: Nine West via Zappos

Necklace: Jess LC Jewelry

Headband: Rite Aid

Song Currently on Repeat: Code By: Jose James

Just Peachy

I finally saw the film, Coco Before Chanel yesterday and it was good. If you like period pieces and biopics, you'd enjoy it. I purposely didn't read any reviews about the movie because I wanted to form my own opinion. I thought the costuming was great and Audrey Tautou was a very convincing Coco, but the pace was a bit slow. I look forward to being able to watch French movies without subtitles when I start learning French because I feel like I get so caught up with keeping up with dialogue that I miss nuances of the movie.

I was surprised to find out after reading about the movie today that Coco's love interest in the film (Alessandro Nivola) learned French for the role and is actually American. One of my goals is to become fluent in French as soon as I have time to dedicate to seriously studying the language.

I think I may also look in my closet to put together a look inspired by Coco's style. The singer, Janelle Monae's style is very reminiscent of Coco's personal style in that Janelle Monae also sticks to a black and white palette and wears menswear inspired pieces. I do wear a lot of black and white, but I really love color and on many days, the color I'm wearing can be directly correlated to my mood (darker = happier; colorful = effort to boost my mood). Anyone else notice a pattern in their color selection for clothing?

The outfit above was worn yesterday and was an effort to remix a skirt that I don't normally wear in warmer weather. This is how I've worn it previously. I really must venture out to other spots for my photos to change up the usual brick background though I do like it. Sometimes, a little change is good.

Top: H&M

Skirt: Target

Shoes: Nine West via Zappos

Song Currently on Repeat: Tightrope By: Janelle Monae Featuring Big Boi

The City is in Bloom

The weekend was lovely, but it went by way too fast: I had good food, saw an entertaining movie and window shopped a lot. Today was also such a gorgeous day! All of the pretty trees and flowers are in bloom in D.C. and while my seasonal allergies may not appreciate the abundance of pretty blooms, my eyes sure do!

I have to make an admission about this outfit: it was quite warm in my office today, the air conditioning in my office didn't seem to be working, so I didn't actually wear my blazer during most of the work day. But I'm trying to get as much wear as possible out of all of my blazers and jackets before it really warms up.

On another note, my personal financial goal for the week is to spend as little money as possible, which means, no lunch time shopping excursions...I have to start saving up for a shopping trip to NYC I'm taking later this month. If I can find one thing off of my growing spring wish list on that trip, I'll be a happy girl!

Blazer: H&M

Dress: Urban Outfitters

Jewelry: Forever 21 and H&M

Shoes: Payless

Song currently on repeat: 'Bad Habits' by Maxwell

Still searching for: The Perfect cognac colored bag

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I've been looking for a replacement of a worn cognac colored bag I purchased from H&M a few years ago and carry around regularly. The version above fits my size requirements (roomy enough to fit a textbook, an extra pair of shoes, and lunch). It also has two front pockets which is also a preference for storing my Metro card and phone. The only problem with this bag is the price... I am a girl on a budget after all. So the search for the perfect cognac colored bag lives on.

March is really over?

Well, my birthday month is officially over (oh and it's April Fools Day). It really flew by fast. I feel like the year just started and we're inching pretty close to the half-way mark with alarming speed. My theme of the month is exercise. I completely slacked off during the winter with exercising and need to get back on track. So I need to dust off my exercise DVD's and use my neglected gym membership because I am paying for it afterall. We'll see how this goes...

Shirt: Urban Outfitters

Skirt: Forever 21

Cardigan: H&M

Shoes: Payless

Belt: ?

Song Currently on Repeat: "Shark in the Water" by V.V. Brown