Author: hellosamanthadear

When I recently spotted the totally cool and colorful Tracy over at The Tote Trove wearing a stunning black top with ribbons down the front, I remembered that I owned a very similar top. I hadn’t put together an outfit around it yet, so I figured it was the perfect time to do so!

Pairing it with my new iridescent seashell purse I got off of Poshmark, I thought it turned out to be a very fun look with my orange cat ear clips and frilly white socks! I’m enamored with the beautiful shades of colors in the purse. 😍

Is it just me, or do cat ears just make any outfit instantly quirky?!

I’m thinking I’ll wear cat ear clips a little more in the future (I have them in different colors), because they’re just too darn fun! 😻

I am actually sad to say that I finished Skulls and Keys, because I enjoyed it SO much that I didn’t want it to end!!

Informative yet still maintaining its bewitching mysteries, Richards went above and beyond in his research for this 696 page book filled with so many things I never knew existed. It almost felt like stepping into a hidden world – a world filled with prestige and tradition that began as far back as the 1700s.

It was amazing to see the transition from how Yale’s secret societies first began to its modern day existence. I especially loved the eyebrow-raising drama that stirred up between and within the societies, down to how they got their names and how they inspired the formation of newer societies. For me, it created a landscape of mystery that I never knew existed in New Haven, Connecticut!

With that said, my completion of reading this book inspired me to write a poem! I wanted to capture the essence of mystery, so with some creativity, I managed to name a few of the secret societies towards the end of the poem without blatantly writing their official titles. 😉 Finally, I typed it up into a nice visual!  

On a different note, I feel like this outfit I recently wore fits with the ambiance of the poem – the white flower hair clips remind me of bright moonlight, while the blue and black reminds me of night time, and the letterman sweater has that old-fashion collegiate feel to it! 🖤 (Of course, I had to make it whimsical with the socks 😉)

May you find creative inspiration in the most unexpected places! 🌙✨📖

Spring is definitely my favorite season, and while I know it’s not officially spring yet, the weather has been acting very spring-like this week where I live!! The essence of spring made its way into this outfit I put together, with lots of yellow tones!

Now, feast your eyes upon some spring photos I took during an afternoon walk this week!

Signs of spring always puts me in an extra happy mood, so I enjoyed every moment of it! And if you’re seeing signs of spring where you live, I hope you’re enjoying it too! 🦋

Happy Valentine’s Day!!! ❤️ It’s been a fun week of baking sugar cookies, trying a new Starbucks Valentine’s drink, and going with a purple theme for my Valentine’s Day look!

One of the reasons I love Valentine’s Day is because it inspires me to reflect on all the little things I love in life – even things as simple as watching the breeze rustle through the tree leaves, hearing the sound of a distant airplane high above in the sky, to enjoying my first sip of coffee at the start of each day. 🥰

Here we go!

I still can’t believe my mom gifted me this adorable doll purse for Valentine’s Day!! It’s so perfect and fits my style really well, and thankfully it will go with so many outfits!

I hope you enjoy your Valentine’s Day! ❤️🩷

I remember long ago, way back in college, someone told me I reminded them of the bride of Frankenstein. Which I found to be a major compliment, and to commemorate that compliment from long ago, I bought this adorable purse a few months ago – and how perfect is it for Valentine’s month?! Both of them are about to smooch! 💋

I put together a dark romantic look to compliment the purse! The necklace I’m wearing, I’ve had since I was around 8 or 9 years old. In fact, I think I got it for a quarter out of a quarter machine outside a K-Mart back in the day.

Pictured below is me wearing it, holding my beloved doll!

And then here’s 37-year-old me wearing it now! ⬆️

I have my Valentine chocolates ready to go for my mom and sister; I think they’re so cute:

Who else is ready for Valentine’s Day?! I have some festive cookies to bake this week, and I’ll be sure to show them in the Valentine’s Day post! 💘

This isn’t a color I’ve worn before, and I totally love it!! Blue-green tones make me think of mermaids, and when I think of mermaids, I feel like anything is possible – and magical! 🧜‍♀️

I also added a fashion crest to the other shoulder of this letterman sweater I DIY-ed, and now it feels complete! 🩵 The crest was a cool find on Temu.

This might just be one of my new favorite colors! 🩵💚 It was definitely my favorite outfit this week!

I hope you all had a lovely week – and have a great weekend ahead! ☕️

I know, I know – spring is nowhere in sight, but I have no problem creating new necklaces for my Etsy shop that make the blah winter days more colorful!

Spring days with warmer weather and blooming flowers and fluttering butterflies is what I had in mind when creating my new Spring Dreaming collection!

I’m really happy with how they turned out, and I love the color combinations I put together!

My sister and I browsed through Target yesterday and I was joyous to find some hair clips in the little girls department. The purple ones I’m sporting in the last outfit (the outfit I’m wearing today) are from the brand Cat & Jack! 💜

It was awesome to see all of the Valentine’s Day stuff out – I’m stoked to start wearing some Valentine’s-inspired accessories in the month of February. 💘 But for now, here are my three favorite recent looks!

And there you have it!! Who else is ready for the month of February? 💘 January has been a nice month overall; I’m feeling productive career-wise, happy with my pace of reading through Skull and Keys, and feeling creative fashion-wise! It’s nice to just feel good.

Lately, I’ve been really into customizing things I already own, and two of those things are: 1) my Sailor Moon purse and 2) a sweater I added a patch to! ❤️ Not only does it give the item a new feel, but it also is a nice feeling that I sort of “made it my own” in a way!

I added this red heart party favor ring as a centerpiece on my purse: I cut off the back of the ring so it would glue down flat. Then, I sewed on an “S” patch to my sweater:

So yeah, I love this look!! 💙💙 The bows with the chunky platforms, letterman sweater, sparkly ring I made and Sailor Moon purse is the eclectic look I always aim for!

I hope you’re having a lovely January! ❄️

I began 2025 by starting a new book that swept me away within the pages to the coastal city of New Haven, Connecticut, shrouded in mystery and history. 💖

From the moment I began reading Skulls and Keys: The Hidden History of Yale’s Secret Societies, I’ve been hooked!

It’s a long read – 696 pages – but it’s such a page turner that I’m getting through it a little quicker than I anticipated. Plus, I’m in no hurry to finish it because it’s such a great book to get lost in, so I’m taking my sweet time!

David Alan Richards dives deep into the history of secret societies at Yale that started centuries ago: how they began and what their original intentions were (not at all what I imagined either; they were formed by college men to get away from the overbearing shadow of strict faculty and rules of the time!). There’s so much I didn’t know about and I’m eager to see how it unfolds into modern times (the chapter I’m currently in is in the 1800’s). 👀

It’s not a tell-all book or anything like that; the author focuses on the history of how these societies came to be and doesn’t give out any secrets other than what’s already publicly known. Which I like, because maintaining the mystery is what makes it all so fascinating! 🧐

Creatively, I let my current read influence my outfit of the day recently! I love this skull shirt so much, and I put it over a shirt I DIY-ed myself! Sewing a dark red bow in the front and a red “S” patch on the sleeve, it felt like a vintage collegiate look mixed with an edgy yet twee vibe. 💕

Personally, I love to mix fashion elements from different styles and blend it into a look that feels authentically me! I think this look especially conveys that, and I look forward to putting together future looks that involve a little DIY on my part. (P.S.: I also made the lace bow I’m wearing in the back of my hair out of leftover fabric scraps from my sewing drawer!)

Do you get fashion inspiration from unexpected places or things? Since I love learning about history and fashion history, it all intertwines into my style, it seems! 😉

For my mystery Christmas dessert I mentioned in my last post, it is…*drum roll* Watergate salad (also known as ambrosia or fluff salad)!!! ❤️💚

(Ingredients: pistachio pudding, whipped topping, marshmallows, and crushed pineapple) 

A 1970’s recipe my mom still has written on a yellowed paper, I decided to whip it up and see how it turned out. Deeeelicious! I made a big bowl of it for my mom, my sister, and myself to enjoy!

I hope you all are enjoying the holiday! Here’s my look of the day! I really love my socks paired with the boots, plaid, bows, and spiked collar; the socks are the second pair of Ralph Lauren bear socks that came in the pack I ordered, and I adore his winter outfit (his little pants are pressed, if you notice the line detail, LOL!).

Merry Christmas from Charlotte and Eugene, also. They didn’t want to miss out on the fun! 🎄💕