Candid Camera: Embroidery and Chitchat

red blouse by H&M

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in 02 "Alaska"

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in "New Lover"

Usually, when I buy an item of clothing, I deliberate about it for a few days before snipping the tag off and committing myself to it. Having an ounce of self-control helps me save money and make sure whatever I've purchased isn't an impulse buy that I'll pull out of my closet a couple weeks later while asking myself, "Ellie, what were you thinking?" But I couldn't resist wearing this dainty red blouse from H&M immediately after purchasing it. I adore the color, the collar and especially the sheer embroidered panel, and it will be a perfect day-to-night, winter-to-spring piece. I found it just a couple of days ago, and it was reasonably priced ($29.95).

This morning was a good one: cozy in my pajamas with coffee and a croissant, I opened my laptop to discover some new readers here. I'm not sure how you found my blog, but I'm really grateful you did! It is so much fun to interact with you here and on Twitter. Also, I wanted to say a huge thank you to three bloggers who have kindly thought of me: Carol from BittenGlam, who tagged me for a Versatile Blogger Award earlier this week, Erika from Abundance of Erika, who tagged me to do the Beauty Bloggers tag last month, and Georgia from Life at the Coop, who tagged me for (another) Liebster Award ages ago! I've done a couple of these tags before, and in the interest of not boring you all to death with random facts about me, I've decided not do them again, but I wanted to tell you all to check out these lovely ladies' blogs!

I do love sharing life tidbits with you, and one of my blogging goals this year is to keep doing that. In my opinion, one of the best things about blogs is the honest, comforting and communal experience they can offer. I used to worry about taking an "atypical" path in life, but the more people I meet (in person and through blogging), the more I start to realize a few things: we have more in common than we think,  we're rarely alone in whatever we're facing, and there isn't really such a thing as a "typical path"! I have some ideas for things to write about, but above all I want to engage with you. So as always, please feel free to get in touch!

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