moda veloce

the happiness of a sunny day in winter

2012-02-11T17:09:00.000-08:00

Last week was absolutely fucking gorgeous. Even the afternoon I spent trudging from one end of town to the other, getting my car and computer fixed and running other errands was delightful, despite the fact I arrived at work smelling less than lovely. I've forgotten how beautiful a sunny day is. I dug out my favorite sunglasses I bought at Topshop in London, ate lunch outside and didn't totally freeze, and have taken a walk with Justina before or after work almost every single day. The light has a different quality and I feel like it's spring, even though that's no where close yet. But cheers and yay-ness for the return of outdoor lunches and long walks by the river!

what to do when it snows

2012-02-10T04:06:00.000-08:00

1. Paint your nails sparkly pink.

2. Drink hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps at night and in the morning.

3. Put your hair in pincurls and wear red lippy.

4. Go sledding on the steepest hill you can find, and forget about your curls.

5. Drink strong snow based cocktails.

6. Or shitty beer on late night walks.

7. Play cards by candlelight, while listening to KEXP on a portable radio.

new shoes

2012-02-05T01:45:00.000-08:00

I bought new shoes. They're by MRKT and I think they're beautiful. I found them at DSW, when J and A and I went before seeing a movie. We also went to Ulta and bought lots of nail polish because that is the best. A bought a grey that matches my shoes, which I happen to already have. And yes, I do plan on matching my shoes to my hair color because I am that much of a nerd. Wouldn't you?

wool and flannel

2012-01-19T06:54:00.000-08:00

sweater - borrowed, skirt - bb dakota, tights - mp, boots - thrifted

We're on the third day of this hair and the second day of this outfit (it was worn under my princess coat). I've been extremely lazy and just keep tucking strands back into the braids and adding bobby pins. This braided style is kind of my thing right now, although I do think I need to trim my bangs. I know a lot of people think I am crazy for wearing skirts in the winter, but these amazing cotton lined wool tights are warmer than any pants I own. They do pill a little, so they're not the best for a super sleek look, but they are warm. I also layer flannel shorts under all my skirts during the winter, which really adds a lot of warmth.

I braved the snow and went to work, but we closed the store early, so I went home and drank hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps. I found this cute snowman in the parking lot, right in front of my car when I was jumpstarting it. The poor old thing doesn't like the cold. It started snowing again right when I got home, but snow when you're cozy at home, with a nice fire, well . . . there's not much better than that, is there?

vintage winter wonderland

2012-01-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

coat - thrifted, lipstick - revlon really red

I bought this coat last year but never had a chance to wear it. Honestly, I doubt I'll wear it more than once a year but I just couldn't pass it up at the thrift store. How often do you find and floor length, soft pink, wool coat with fur collar and cuffs. Actually, it looks like the fur was added at home, but it's soft and warm and lovely. It reminds me of something a Russian princess would wear. Of course I had to wear red lipstick. Unfortunately, we were losing the light while taking these pictures and I didn't get a full length shot. It really is a fabulous coat.

snow day

2012-01-17T01:26:00.000-08:00

We finally got snow! And I proved I'm not a grownup yet by skipping work and having fun. Well, actually, I got stranded in Seattle and, knowing how everyone freaks out at the sight of snow in this town, elected to wait it out until it at least stopped coming down. Seriously, we don't handle snow well here. People get really stupid when they try to drive in it.

peacoat - old navy, scarf - gift, pants - gap, boots - thrifted

Here you see the mysterious and rarely seen Abominable Snow Rachel! This delightfully cozy scarf holds onto snow astonishingly (and chillingly!) well, so I looked ridiculous by the time I returned to my friend Shane's apartment. We thought it was pretty much done snowing and went out for a walk to check it out but it continued the entire time. The city looked absolutely beautiful, all soft and quiet. At least a couple inches accumulated while Shane and I were walking (the Abominable Snow Rachel was his idea, by the way) so when we got back to his apartment we found one of those cheesy fireplace videos on Netflix and made hot cocoa. Eventually, I got brave enough to drive home, which turned out to be not very scary. Still, I'm glad I didn't drive while it was actually snowing, and instead enjoyed it. This is the first snow we've had all winter, and I'm guessing after it clears up we won't get any more.

christmastime

2012-01-12T15:25:00.000-08:00

ok, so I know I've been a lazy bum and haven't really talked about Christmas yet. BUT I am, finally and I have a million pictures. Starting with our tree!

Every year I kind of sort of pick a theme for decorating, but I end up using most of the same stuff. Usually I just switch up some basic colored balls and buy a few new ornaments, but mostly use the same old ones year to year. I like things that are sentimental or meaningful or funny. These year I kind of focused on a folk-art/Nordic style. Plain white lights and lots of handmade ornaments. I bought more than I should have, but got some really pretty things.

We always do stockings and open presents at our house in the morning before we get dressed, so I usually wear something cute and Christmas-y. I got this cute shirt at Target a day or two before. We didn't go too all out with presents this year, instead just getting a few nice things each. I also made some really tasty french toast using a walnut bread. I don't eat breakfast most of the time (a habit I'm trying to change!) so breakfast is always kind of special, no matter what it is. The walnut bread definitely made this extra yum, adding nuttiness and texture.

And, if french toast isn't decadent enough, I had one of Amanda's delicious gingerbread man cookies. (And how cute is the polka dot decoration? Adorable!) She makes the best gingerbread. After our little family Christmas, we headed over to my stepdad's sister's, where we always do the big family thing. He has a big family so it's busy and crazy and so much fun. His other sister, the one who lives in Denmark now, even came, although she got stuck at the airport for a bit.

sweaterdress - yesstyle, wool tights - mp, shoes - jeffrey campbell, giant scarf - gift

I bought this sweater last year and absolutely love it. With thick tights or leggings, it's a dress. At work, with pants, it's a sweater. It's cozy and cute, and my beloved nordic pattern. Yeah, I might be a little obsessed. I also absolutely adore this giant knit scarf in brick red. My aunt gave it to my mom...the year before last? But she doesn't wear it much, so I've kind of adopted it.

Our power went out Christmas morning, after we opened presents and everything, and it was still out when we got home. Justina and I decided to drive/walk around the neighborhoods in town (where they had power) and look at Christmas lights because we skipped that usual before-Christmas tradition. It was pretty and nice, especially since I always get bored in the evening on holidays. It's like, after you do all the stuff you're supposed to do, you don't want to just do something boring like watch tv, you want something festive still! I took a lot of pictures, including of this cool light teepee, the cat we met, and weird long exposure experimental ones.

I bundled up pretty hardcore because it was real cold, and I also slipped a few mini bottles of whiskey in my coat pocket to sip while wandering around looking at the lights. A co-worker gave them to me as part of a present. She bought a whole bag full of mini liquor bottles to give out and when she bought them it was the FIRST time she'd ever been in a liquor store. Can you believe that?? She's not super young or anything, she has a granddaughter!

Christmas eve J and I thought about going to a FabDownBros show but decided to stick with our usual JAR hangout and gift exchange. Amanda and I both got each other perfume, which I thought was pretty funny. I guess it makes sense, since we try them out together, so we know what each other likes. She also got the cutest gnome lamp from J, who gave me an adorable tote bag with a print of the bookcover for A Clockwork Orange from Out of Print. (Totally want like all their shirts!) And how cute does A look?? She was dressed up for Christmas and I just love that dress.

Some of my favorite gifts this year! Lola by Marc Jacobs perfume, a sparkly star shaped clutch from Modcloth, the literary tote Justina gave me, some socks my mom knit me, nice soap (Andy always gives soap to everyone), and a handmade frame with a Edward S. Curtis photo. I also got a cute wool skirt and funky hamper sort of thing from Riley, a scarf from my grandma, and some other things I forget.

Well...Christmas is long over but I hope yours was just as fabulous as mine. It all seemed to go so fast this year, I must remember to slow down and enjoy it more next year.

y'all wanna see my turkey?

2012-01-05T12:13:00.000-08:00

So I realized I never posted about Thanksgiving and I really wanted to because I cooked a turkey! I need to brag, I cooked a whole turkey. I did a cider glaze and it was delicious. Mom and I spent all day cooking and drinking prosecco and we ended up with a huge amount of delicious food. Below, you can see on my plate the cider glazed turkey of course, mashed potatoes and gravy (pan drippings are yum), a mushroom-y stuffing, this bomb-ass cranberry walnut cranberry relish with maple syrup, brussel sprouts with bacon, and roast acorn squash and sweet potatoes. Yeah...yum. I'm kind of jealous of Amanda, who has a mini-thanksgiving every New Years Day, because I want to eat all this stuff again. Oh, and some of our homemade cider as well!

I'm pretty proud of how all our food turned out, as well as how our table looked. I bought my mom some new plates from Ikea because ours were all chipped and ugly. These are a nice simple style in a pretty light green color. I also found some nice green napkins at the thriftstore (just wash in hot water!) and even though they're not the same green I think they look nice. I bought a ton of them because they were super cheap and finding a nice big set is unusual. We paired that with crystal and silver from my grandma, some pretty flowers from Trader Joe's, and some seasonally appropriate orange tapers in my great grandmother's silver candle sticks. I kind of love the combination of modern/thrifted and antiques and heirloom pieces. And yes, the silver needs to be polished, especially the teapot holding the flowers but I reallly like tarnished silver so I let it go.

sweater - icelandica, dress - francesca's collections, tights - mp, clogs - jeffrey campbell

Even though we didn't have many people over for dinner and just a few friends came over drinks later that evening, I like dressing up for holidays, so I wore this new dress I got when I was shopping with Amanda. The pattern along the hem was what really made it for me, since it reminded me of city skyline. And the black and brown seemed perfect for fall! Of course, when A stopped by later, she was wearing her classic hand-turkey tshirt which I LOVE. Seriously, check that shit out. Maybe I need a guest post from her next year?

My new Thanksgiving tradition is having friends over for drinks and a movie after everyone's long done eating. I tend to get bored in the evenings of holidays where most of the action happens earlier in the day, so I like to do things with friends in the evening on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Anyways, last year my family was out of town, so after dinner at A's, Shane and Shiloh came over for some homemade hard cider. This year, I added Fantastic Mr. Fox to the evening, since I think it is the perfect Thanksgiving movie. So much food! I think that may become an annual tradition too. This year though, I invented a cocktail! It's called the Apple Snap and it's delicious. Inexact recipe after the picture!

Apple Snap

2 parts bourbon

1 part boiled cider (aka apple molasses)*

squeeze of lemon

dash bitters

Shake with ice and strain into ice filled glass and top with soda water. Garnish with a slice of apple.

*Boiled cider or apple molasses is an old fashioned sweetener made by boiled apple cider to one seventh the original volume. I made my own as a way to preserve some of our excess apple cider this year, but if you're on the east coast you may be able to find it. Out here on the west coast, you'll either have to order it online from the one or two places that will ship it, or make it yourself out of the freshest apple cider you can find. Don't use apple juice, but if you're limited to grocery store stuff, just try to find something unfiltered/as little processed as possible.

(I'll try to update this next time I make this drink and actually measure stuff.)

holiday party - tacoma style

2012-01-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

dress- target, boots - thrifted, fascinator - diy

We went to an extremely fun holiday party in Tacoma, thrown by our lovely friends Brady and Sid. Their apartment was so cute and they put up masses of lights and even had one of those cheesy fireplace videos projected onto their non-functional fireplace. And so much good food and drink! Eggnog, fondue, meatballs, ham, and an adorable cake J brought. We had a white elephant gift exchange, which ended up being a pretty funny mix of things. I think the hot item was a dog shaped cookie jar. I got the cutest little handmade, beaded ornament. Brady pulled out some classic Christmas records to keep the mood festive and it was just a really really fun party.

xmas prep

2012-01-03T13:02:00.000-08:00

sweatshirt - cairo via urban craft uprising, dress - thrifted, tights - target, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach

These were taken back in December when I was getting ready for Christmas. Every year, J and I get gross seasonal drinks at Starbucks and then head to Molbaks to wander, look at pretty stuff, and buy a few overpriced ornaments. It's delightful. The holiday season really is one of my favorite times of year and every year I wish I had more time and did more things. This year was no exception, in fact, I think it's been the worst yet. Way too busy with work and stuff to do all the things I wanted. Half my decorations either never got put up or waited until Christmas eve and I only made a few things. Christ, I didn't even send out cards this year. But there's no point in whining about all that. I DID do and make some fun things, which I'll be posting on in the next few days. And I'm determined to make the rest of the winter a fun time too. Ice skating anyone?

I used to love getting fresh, real trees at Christmas but my mom's allergies make that kind of selfish now. Instead, this year I satisfied that urge by wandering through the trees at Molbaks for quite awhile and picking out my pretend tree. I liked this kind of funky one and hung up a little felt fox on it, just for fun.

The huge expanses of poinsettias are also rather fantastic. J liked these pink ones best but I think my favorite were the multi-colored ones. They have so many kinds! We spent quite a long time there, just kind of wandering.

A couple days before we went to Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle. That's where I got the sweatshirt. It was fun but I didn't find anything for anyone else. Still, Christmas shopping downtown is always delightful and the lights were fun and we had a good time.

This year, my winter style has been a slightly odd mix of grunge and holiday pretty. These two shopping days, layers for extra coziness were the big idea. Big sweatshirts, flannel, wool, tights, ugly hats, and weird prints.

lumberjack luxe

2011-12-18T02:58:00.000-08:00

Ok, I might have a slight problem with alliterative titles, but they're just so snappy and fun I can't help it. Do you guys love me despite my cheesiness? I sure hope you do, but I understand if you kind of forgot I existed since my posting has been so sporadic and infrequent lately. All that aside, I hope we are still (internet) friends!

velvet dress - thrifted, flannel shirt - boys section of thriftstore, tights - target, boots - thrifted

I suppose this is another one of those entirely thrifted outfits I didn't notice until I blogged about it. That happens a lot actually. Anyways, I felt kind of lumberjack-y with the buffalo plaid and work boots, but that was perfect because I wanted to tone down the inherent fanciness of a velvet dress. This particular dress I almost consider a pinafore or a jumper since I never wear it without some kind of shirt underneath. It's a little too big for me, making it perfect for such outfits, and the general style of it, with the wide straps and straight across neckline just some girlish and cute and well, like a pinafore.

Also, I cut my hair! FINALLY. Good god, it was ridiculous. A week before I cut it, I bleached and dyed the bottom six inches or so bright pink. It was cute, but I think I only got a cellphone picture of it in a braid, which I will try to show you sometime. I'm so so happy with the cut, which my wonderful and talented cousin did for me (she's about to graduate from the Aveda Institute and I am so happy and proud of her). I haven't played with styling as much as I would like, but I am definitely wearing fewer ponytails and I like the way it looks just air dried and kind of plain.* Basically, I'm in love with having a normal length of hair. Crazy cat lady status may have been pushed back a few years!

*Something I've noticed recently is how fresh it looks to wear something really cute and kind of dressy with minimal makeup and unstyled hair. You all know how much I love eyeliner and my usual going out hairstyle was a topknot for quite some time. But I've started noticing that when girls wear say, a miniskirt and heels, as long as they keep the cosmetics toned down, it looks really great. So that's something I'll be trying.

mustard at last

2011-11-14T02:35:00.000-08:00

sweater - american rag, skirt - thrifted, tights - target, bag - coach, shoes - target

I know I've shown this particular spot behind my work a billion times, but there's this heron that hangs out here. You can see it, although it blends in a bit, in the bottom picture, sitting on the second log. I like when I see this him, he sits so still on that log, it kind of relaxes me.

The sweater I'm wearing I bought a few years ago but I've never worn it much. It's kind of a difficult piece for me, with the big kimono sleeves and gathered waistband. I've worn it with jeans in the past but always thought it looked kind of funny that way. The proportions were off. Finally, the other day I decided to try it with my fav gray wool skirt, and um, I'm pretty sure everything goes with this skirt. Seriously, this is the first time I've been totally happy with this sweater, so...YAY.

happy halloween kids!

2011-11-10T00:11:00.000-08:00

Well, a week or so late...but what where YOU this year? I was David Gahan from Depeche Mode of course, and Justina went as Robert Smith of The Cure. Of course we had to pose with our friends Casey and Jordyn who were dressed as Prince and Lady Gaga. No one really recognized me, which wasn't too surprising, but I think it was a good last minute costume. I had intended to be Scary Spice but we lost our Posh and Baby and decided to skip it for this year. Maybe another time!

We went to the High Dive to see Liam's band, the Fabulous Downey Brothers play. They're always fun but they were especially great dressed as giant eyeballs. They're fantastic, and I think everyone should be listening to them! After we went to a party in West Seattle? I think, thrown by some people Liam and Jordyn know. It was pretty ridiculous and I drank entirely too much and felt miserable the next day.

To work, I wore not a costume, but a spooky themed outfit. Black velvet, lace, and a spiderweb fascinator, with eye encrusted shoes. Yeah, the fascinator is a cheap halloween decoration from work, simply bobby pinned to my hair, and the shoes have googly eyes glue all over them. They were a hit at work, with my boss even taking a picture of them so we could use them next year. To sell googly eyes, of course. I think they're rather fun, and from a distance have a sort of crocodile skin texture.

velvet dress - thrifted, lace shirt - target, purple and lace tights - target and somewhere, fascinator - bf, shoes - diy, purse - vintage coach

Should you ever want to make your own such shoes, whether with googly eyes, sequins, buttons, plastic gems, happy meal toys, or whatever you can think of, just make sure to use E600 glue. Not a single one came off all day. I used two packs of 200 assorted size googly eyes.

I'm back!

2011-11-08T13:43:00.000-08:00

. . . with heavily edited, vintage looking, hopefully dreamy, autumnal photos.

To me, early fall is one of the best times for vintage. There's the always awesome back to school vibes, the nostalgia of the summer ending, falling leaves, it's all kind of dreamy. And I love fall clothes and colors, mustard and knits and corduroy and gray and all those lovely things. Later in fall, like now (these were taken in early/mid September if I remember correctly), I start feeling more gothy. My grays turn from soft to deep charcoal and start getting paired with blacks and I start wearing dark lipstick again. Unfortunately, I seem to miss the best of this season, the early fall, each year. I jump too quickly into the dark late fall, which is really unavoidable after daylight savings time ends. This year especially, since I didn't have a camera for much of it (I'm now borrowing my stepdad's, until he notices and asks for it back), I feel like I missed.

dress - thrifted, belt - vintage, tights - target, shoes - steve madden

But I had a few good days, and a few good outfits. I had many more outfit ideas that I didn't get around to using, but hopefully next year I will really grab onto that month and a half period of loveliness. This dress is new, I found it while shopping in Seattle with my cousin and his english wife. They were only here for a day, so I took them to Pike Place Market and Capitol Hill. We came home to meet my parents for dinner at the Grange, which is a lovely restaurant with really fresh, seasonal, and local food. (Do excuse the wonkiness of this photo, I think my cousin was trying to be arty.)

tank - gap, skirt - thrifted, tights - ??

not dead yet

2011-11-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

My lovelies, this sucks. Both my camera and my computer are currently out of commission. I feel like every other blog post these days is whining about why I can't post. I swear, the second I get these things fixed, I'll get the ball rolling again. I really do miss blogging. In fact, I feel so guilty about not doing it that I haven't even been able to read my favorite blogs, so I'm also missing my bloggy friends. Posting should resume soon! In the meantime, I'm drinking wine in the bathtub while reading Infinite Jest and finding cute art in dive bar bathrooms.

summer's end

2011-09-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

dress - vintage (london), belt - thrifted, shoes - steve madden

Although I think we're going to have a lovely fall, with warm days turning into brisk nights, a sort of bright and energetic fall, I'm already missing summer. But I think I'm missing the summer that I didn't have, the summer I only glimpsed in fleeting moments like this, twirling alone as the sun went down. I think I spend too much time being wistful, dreaming about things to come or times that have passed, while I miss what's going on right now. So while I will certainly be posting some end of summer dreamy nostalgia posts, hopefully I'll simultaneously be looking forward to fall and enjoying all that comes with that. It is a great season.

desert sun

2011-09-04T01:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I never can blog in real time, you know, actually post things close to when they happened, but here I am now talking about my mini-trip to E.WA. It was really nice to just get away, away from the stress of having to things. It was nice having people feed me and take me places and show me things and to just chill and say, read a magazine or whatever. It was great to see my cousins, they are getting so gorgeous and grown-up it's just insane. The girls are starting high school and middle school this year and it's like...I remember when they were babies. Shamefully, considering that they're only four hours away, this was the first time I've really spent time with them in quite awhile, so it was good to sort of get to know them again. Arielle, the older girl, is turning out to be such a beautiful and sensible girl, I know things are going to be great for her. And Emma is so mischievous and fun, she cracks me up.

dress - target, sandals - gift from a, purse - thrifted coach, denim jacket - thrifted, lipstick - revlon cherries in the snow

In the evening of the one full day I spent in Benton City, Arielle and I went on a little walk on the trail behind their house. I think it's an old railroad? It was beautiful, hot but with a dry breeze. It's dusty in a fragrant way and even though it's not super flat (there's a mountain behind their house and some trees and stuff) it feels HUGE. I kind of felt like I could take deeper breaths than I can at home and I looked up and out more. I don't know if that is just the landscape there that made me feel that way, or the vacation mentality, but it did me so much good.

It makes me realize that I really need to take time and do the things I want to do and see things I want to see. There's so much SO CLOSE and I don't get out and explore. I mean, this was just two days in the middle of the week that I had off, and I often have those two days off, but I NEVER do anything with them. I need to start, every chance I get. I'm still super into world travel (seriously thinking about going to Iceland for Iceland Airwaves or Georgia, the country, to visit my friend Aly) but I kind of forgot about traveling in this country. I want to go on roadtrips and visit the South and all sorts of other things. I need to go back to NYC and I need to go to California and I just need to see this whole great big amazing country I live in.

thriftscores: dishes

2011-09-02T01:59:00.000-07:00

I went to the thriftstore recently and found a BUNCH of really great stuff. I've been paying a lot of attention to the homegoods section of my local Value Village because lately they've been having some nice stuff. It's always one of my stops and I often find silly mugs, but lately I've been finding some incredible dishes.

First up is this absolutely amazing tray and dish set with orange flowers. Oh man, I saw this and my heart about stopped. I snatched it so quickly because seriously, how had no one bought that already. It's by Schmidt Porcelana out of Brazil and I think it's vintage though I'm not sure. It certainly looks it. I'm guessing it's some kind of hors d'oeuvres serving set and I almost just bought the large one (I'm planning on using it in the kitchen to hold commonly used spices and condiments) but I couldn't bear to break up the set so I bought the six little guys too.

Next are these adorable mini Pyrex baking dishes. They are SO small. The little red ones are probably about 2 inches square and the blue rectangles are like twice that. I love the solid color look on these Pyrex, instead of a pattern. I think it's kind of neat.

Finally, here are some of the fancy dessert plates I've been collecting. I like pretty mismatched dishes but in this case I've been buying twos. I kind of like the set of six I've collected, they look rather nice together.

I also bought a dress to alter and a few chairs. Hopefully I'll show you those soon.

mini roadtrip

2011-08-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

dress - converse/target, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach, rucksack - army surplus

There's something about summer that makes me like little pink sundresses. I rarely wear pink in other seasons but a nice soft pink with a stripe or something is just about perfect in the hotter months. Of course I try not to go all out twee and like to pair such things with black boots or a ratty jean jacket.

I wore this when I went over to E.WA to visit the fam. I had to work first, but brought all my stuff to work with me so I could leave right after and drive late at night to my cousins'. This big swiss army backpack is the one I took to Europe and was much bigger than I need for a quick trip over the mountains. But I was housesitting in Seattle right after I got back and it made way more sense to just pack for both since I was only going to be home to sleep for one night in between.

kimono

2011-08-28T00:36:00.000-07:00

kimono top - liberty of london for target, tank - target, cords - gap, shoes - steve madden, peacock feather earrings - gift from j, purse - thrifted coach

Pretty sure this top was actually meant as a robe, since it was in the lingerie line of the Liberty of London Target collection. I bought it at the same time I bought that slip I wear all the time and love so much. I've definitely worn it as a robe when I'm chilling in pjs or whatevs, but I always intended to deploy it as an actual top. And I think it works well! I was going for a sort of bohemian vibe and wore my favorite feather earrings. They are the greatest! I'm planning on making some more feather earrings because they are SUPER simple and you can make them way cheaper than people sell them for. I actually have a lot of jewelry projects kicking around in my head right now.

Detail Week, Day 5

2011-08-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to as many thriftstores lately, but I did find this cute bangle awhile ago. Finally dug it out and wore it the other day, even though bracelets usually get on my nerves. While I was sitting in the car before work, I notice that the price tag was still on the inside. I think I may have actually haggled it to a lower place. The bangle itself is darling, a cute blue floral fabric under resin.

Blue Floral Bangle

Detail Week, Day 4

2011-08-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

I wear these little shorts under a lot of skirts and also as pajamas. I like to wear something like this under skirts just in case. I keep planning on making some little bloomer style shorts out of cute fabric. I am also a big fan of tap pants. Anyhow, I snapped this picture in the morning after I woke up. A plain t-shirt or tank and slightly frilly shorts is my favorite sleeping outfit. Other than possibly liberty print slips.

Sheer Chiffon Shorts

blogging disaster

2011-08-23T02:51:00.000-07:00

Dudes, tragedy has struck. My camera, my trusty little friend, is broken. It's my fault, I tried to set it up on a post on the side of the highway for some self-timer action on my trip back from E.WA, and it fell, and now the lens won't go back into the camera body. I'm hoping I might repair it, but I'm also shopping for new cameras. Thinking about a serious upgrade.

I also flaked on blogging the last few days. When I was in E.WA the internet connection was spotty at best and I didn't feel like writing. Then I was housesitting and I got distracted by watching endless episodes of Cupcake Wars and Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network. And then when I got home from that, I realized I forgot my laptop charger there. Now that I have it back, expect a lot of inspiration posts and old photos until I get my camera fixed/buy a new one. I've been shooting some film, so I'll probably post that, and also I never posted pictures from my Europe trip.

So this isn't a gazillion words with no pictures, here's the note I found on my car the other day. One of my co-workers left it there, but I didn't notice until I stopped at the store on the way home. Glad it didn't fly off!

Detail Week, Day 3

2011-08-17T05:01:00.000-07:00

All this summer has had notes of fall. It's never really gotten hot and I've been incorporating a lot of my fall fashion staples into my summer wardrobe. Shoes especially. I don't think I've worn a single pair of sandals this summer. And as you can see, there's already some confused, pretty colored leaves dropping off the trees. I am enjoying sitting outside during lunch every chance I get. I figure I better soak up as much of the limited sunshine as possible. I haven't been sitting in my usual spot by the river though, because it's in full sun and I get sweaty and I feel gross when I go back inside. I don't mine being sweaty outside, but sweating inside is disgusting. Instead, I sit in the grass in half sun/half shade between the parking lot and the trail and read about genius tennis players who like to get secretly high.

Nude Oxfords with Fall Leaf

your weight gain is my clothing gain

2011-08-17T00:41:00.000-07:00

I had the coolest thing happen last week! I was wearing my favorite blanket skirt at work, and I went to put something on hold at customer service for a customer. The customer my co-worker was ringing up noticed it and told me she really liked it. Then she looked a little puzzled and asked me where I got it. I told her Value Village of course, and she started laughing and told me she had donated that very skirt to Value Village. It was so weird to meet someone who had gotten rid of something I chose to pick up. It was cool because she still liked the skirt, it just didn't fit her anymore. So she was really happy to see that someone else wore and loved it, and she told me she thought it looked good on me.

tank - target, skirt - thrifted, tights - target, cardigan - uo, boots - thrifted

Detail Week, Day 2

2011-08-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

You've never seen this skirt before and I don't think you'll ever see it again. It was a hand-me-down I never bothered to try on and when I finally decided to wear it, it was so ill-fitting I took it off and tossed it in my give-away bag as soon as I got home. Still, I liked that it buttoned up one side and had pockets.

Hand-me-down Velveteen Button Skirt

shirt skirt

2011-08-16T00:03:00.000-07:00

tank - gap, shirt (worn as skirt) - gap, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach

I saw this look on some amazing looking girls' blogs and it just kinda stuck in my head for a few weeks. I couldn't wait to try it, although I was a little wary about it. I mean, wearing a shirt as a skirt? Kinda crazy, possibly unflattering. But I loved it! I threw on some little sheer lacy shorts underneath just in case, but the only time I had a problem was when a button popped open while I was carrying drum shit to my friend's car after his band played at the Comet. Otherwise, sitting, standing, moving around . . . no problem. And I really like how it looks! Now I'm looking at all my button-up shirts and evaluating their skirt potential. I can definitely see doing this again. It's cool because when you're buttoning the skirt it looks like, oh no, this isn't going to work, why does it look so saggy on my but and weird all over? But then you kind of lift the arms up to your waist and the back part folds over so there's no extra fabric and you tie and it's like it's meant to be. I would recommend though, if you're going to try this, that you use a shirt that is fairly large. It doesn't have to be huge, but don't use something that is close fitting when you wear it normally, especially if you're small on top like me.

blog note: i'm driving across the mountains tonight to visit my cousin for a few days. i may or may not blog while i'm gone, but i have been experimenting with scheduled posts, in the hopes that i can avoid long blogging breaks.

Detail Week, Day 1

2011-08-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

After finishing up that 30 Days of Fun, I realized that I really like having ongoing series on my blog. It helps me to focus, makes me update more consistently, and gives me something to blog about on days I don't do/wear anything exciting. I don't want to just prolong things like 30 Days of Fun (although I think I will repeat that one every July) so I decided to start my own little series. This is the first time I've done something like this without stealing the idea from another blogger, so I decided to start small with a Detail Week. For seven days, I will post one picture showing some small detail of my day, whether it's something I wore or something I did. I may do regular posts throughout the week as well, or I may not.

Bottle Cap Necklace made by Allison (etsy)

crafternoon mimosas

2011-08-15T00:16:00.000-07:00

shirt - weekdays (denmark), shorts - old, tights - macy's, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach

Last weekend some friends invited Big J and me over to the house they were housesitting to do some crafting. I posted the little alien guy I made earlier in one of my 30 Days of Fun posts but we also played games, like Apples to Apples and the always fun Jenga. My friends made puppets and we all drank mimosas and listened to old music.

I've definitely been obsessed with tights with shorts this summer. Seeing as it's kind of impossible to go bare-legged in this frigid climate (seriously need to get out of the PNW if I ever want a real summer again) it makes a lot of sense. This particularly short pair of cutoffs is my favorite, despite the fact that they're nearly uncomfortably tight. I don't really wear them without tights though because...well they're just too tiny.

thrifty fun

2011-08-14T00:59:00.000-07:00

lace shirt - target, jeans - uo, shoes - steve madden, purse - thrifted coach

Last week or something, I went vintage shopping in the U District with my awesome former co-worker Allison. I didn't find anything I liked (at least not anything that fit), but it was so much fun hanging out with her. She got some really cute stuff, like amazing petticoat she blogged about a few days ago and the cute skirt she's wearing in the photo below. We also went to Value Village the next day, where I found a pretty silk dress for my mom, some plates, and a few hangers. Super exciting, right?

30 Days of Fun (28-30)

2011-08-12T00:15:00.000-07:00

Friday, Day 28: Painted my toenails.

Saturday, Day 29: Had crafternoon mimosas with friends and sewed a little puppet guy.

Sunday, Day 30: Went to dinner with Big J and L-Train and ate a lot of sushi.

Dudes, I can't believe this is over! Making sure I do something fun every day has been really cool, even if sometimes all I could manage was eating something bad for me or watching something entertaining. I certainly think I could have done more fun things, but maybe I'll just keep it up and do something fun every day for my whole life. Yeah, sounds good to me.

let the wild rumpus start

2011-08-11T00:36:00.000-07:00

tee - urban outfitters, cardi - urban outfitters, cords - j.crew, shoes - steve madden

I'm obsessed with ankles this summer. I'm all about rolling up pants and wearing them with flat shoes and of course, there's my recently discovered affinity for long, ankle-grazing skirts. This summer I have really not been baring a lot of skin. It's just not hot enough to run around nearly naked. So I'm going with more subtle touches of summer, like the previously mentioned ankles and skipping socks. I'm still wearing tights though, as long as they are thin or sheer. It's just not warm enough most days for bare legs.

30 Days of Fun (25-27)

2011-08-10T00:48:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, Day 25: Ate chips and watched Buffy.

Wednesday, Day 26: Went vintage shopping with my lovely co-worker Allison!

Thursday, Day 27: Ate a cupcake from my boss who gave them to our department because we just finished an insane move.

I gotta mention that Allison, that cutie I went shopping with on Wednesday, has her very own blog. She just started a few months ago but gosh, she posts some good stuff. Check her out at note to self.

siamese, portugese, dirty knees, look at these rookies around us, aren't you glad you found us?

2011-08-09T00:32:00.000-07:00

xxl tee - pacsun, jeans - gap, boots - thrifted, necklaces - talonalia, purse - thrifted coach

This picture was taken verrrry late at night after I got back from a series of seriously small-town events. First there was Duvall Days, the annual local festival. A bunch of local bands played, including my friend's band before, during, and after the lame fireworks display. After, the guys in the band and some of their friends/roommates from college who were visiting for the weekend wanted the full Duvall experience, so we all went down to the Duvall Tavern for the Country Living Festival, had a few beers, and then went to Brodie Nation, which is this whole other local music festival down by the Tolt River. I saw pretty much everyone I went to high school with, which is terrifying, but also hung out with some of the few I was happy to see. I hurt my knee and got really muddy though when I stepped off the road to get out of the way of an oncoming car, and instead of stepping into the bushes like I thought, my foot went straight down into the ditch and my other knee hit the asphalt. It really really hurt. It also got my boots pretty dirty but I have this thing against cleaning them. I like seeing them get dirty and wear out. When I bought them at the thrift store they looked brand new and now they're skuffed, dirty, have paint on them, and the loops in the back are half ripped off from me pulling too hard to get them on.

30 Days of Fun (22-24)

2011-08-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Day 22: Had an actually really nice day at work.

Sunday, Day 23: Celebrated my birthday with homemade apricot crisp in mason jars, eaten at the beach.

Monday, Day 24: Made friends with this little guy on my lunch break.

a fair day

2011-08-07T00:42:00.000-07:00

skirt - h&m, shirt - thrifted in finland, sweater - target, shoes - pf flyers, purse - clothes swap, fascinator - greenwich market, hair feather - ben franklin crafts

There is something I just love about parades and fairs and other ridiculousness, especially when they're not huge. This is the second year I've walked in the Derby Days parade, next to this aaaamazing pink Cadillac (my boss' car!), and handed out candy. I also had to work the kids craft booth until we ran out of supplies, but then I was free, finally, to enjoy the fair. Called up some friends, found the carnival rides, ate snowcones and curly fries, and just generally enjoyed the total awesome-ness that is a small town fair. Although this one has a shocking amount of spandex, since it is centered around a series of bike races. Yucky!

I was obviously really feeling the whimsy of a parade/fair and dressed in a way that reminds me of a Dr. Suess character crossed with a children's librarian. Bright colors, patterns, hair accessories, and just general sweetness. The teal and black striped bit in my hair is a hair feather, which we sell at work. I kind of like the look of them, but I didn't leave mine in for long. Those things are damn pricey, so I'm glad I got mine for free. They wanted us to wear them so everyone would know to buy them at the store. I felt more than a little ridiculous later that night when I went to the Blue Moon, a total dive bar, to see my friends' band, So Pitted (again) play.

30 Days of Fun (19-21)

2011-08-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, Day 19: Worked on a cone prototype for a food related business venture which was semi-successful.

Thursday, Day 20: Chilled with the fam and drank beer.

Friday, Day 21: Had more than enough reading material at lunch.

I think I've mentioned before that I'm reading Infinite Jest right now, but I also tend to pick up a copy of Spare Change whenever I see someone selling it outside Trader Joe's. It's actually my favorite paper and the articles are really great. I read something about the history of blood transfusions (first happened in the 1600s! with lamb blood!), the cover story actually. Between this, the Stranger, and online news, I never get real papers. Which is a bit of a shame. I used to read the New York Times a lot, but that just doesn't happen anymore.

2011-08-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

flannel shirt - thrifted from little boys section, skirt - thrifted, lace tights - fred meyer, boots - thrifted, purse - coach

Um, you guys, how ridiculous is it that it is fucking JULY and I am still wearing tights?? Sure, they're sheer/open weave ones, but I have only gone barelegged a few times this year and that? Not cool. Summer is totally my favorite season and having it be so lousy is really depressing. On the bright side, it means I can wear favorites like this flannel year round, but come ON, I haven't even gone swimming this year! whine whine whine . . . I bet you are totally sick of hearing about me complain about this weather, especially if you live in the rest of the country where it is unbearably hot, but no matter how miserable you think that heat is, I would trade in a second. I just want a real summer.

happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...

2011-08-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

Today was my birthday! And I went to Jetty Island with the fam and had a great day. I've been wanting to go to the beach and hang out lately but our weather has been so lousy. Finally the last few days have been nice and I thought a picnic on the beach would be great. But then I woke up this morning and it was raining and cold and grey. We decided to stick it out anyhow and drove up to Everett and took the tiny ferry across to the island. Seriously, that ferry is mini. Cutest thing ever, and the trip across takes about a minute.

We had a great picnic, with sandwiches and cheese and olives and veggies and hummus and crackers, which my mom put together (she read my mind and had exactly what I was going to suggest she get) and I made little mini apricot-ginger crisps in mason jars. We put a candle in one, just for cuteness. It was all delicious and perfect. Oh, and my mom also got a bottle of Orangina which seemed super nostalgic and I loved it.

Eventually the sun DID come out and it turned into a gorgeous day. I even had to wear sunglasses! But I got some sand in my eye and one of my contacts came out and I couldn't find it so I was kind of weirdly half blind. If you don't wear contacts you probably can't imagine what that's like, but it's kind of surreal. It's not like one half is blurry and one is clear, it's more like you can never find the blurry or clear spots and they're all mixed together. It was weird.

30 Days of Fun (16-18)

2011-07-30T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday, Day 16: Went to the theater to see Aladdin.

Monday, Day 17: Looked at old photos with my mom.

Tuesday, Day 18: Slept in delightfully late.

30 Days of Fun (13-15)

2011-07-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

Thursday, Day 13: Made myself some tasty lemon-y chicken, salad, and carrot kinpira after a week of eating horribly.

Friday, Day 14: Spent time with my dog.

Saturday, Day 15: Went to Cap Hill Block Par and saw Les Savy Fav.

Parts of this last few weeks have been rough, especially Friday and Saturday but I have been so grateful to have this project to prevent me from wallowing. I chose to do it just because it seemed cool, but I do think I needed it, although I didn't know that yet. This entry, although it has one of the most obviously fun things (block party) in it, actually was a sad period. On Thursday my family decided that it was time to put our dog, Shiloh, down. This was something we knew was coming for quite some time. Friday we called the vet and tried to spend as much time with her as possible and then Saturday it was time. We all went to the vet together and it was heart-breaking but we knew it was the right thing to do. Afterwards, we buried her in our backyard, I took a shower and cried some more, and then I met up with my friends and had a fun time anyhow. Had I not been doing this project, had I not already bought a ticket to the block party, I probably would have stayed home and been sad. I didn't feel guilty that I was having fun because it didn't mean I loved her any less. I could be sad and have fun at the same time and that's what I did.

mad electricity

2011-07-28T22:37:00.000-07:00

dress - vintage, belt - thrifted, shoes - steve madden

This simple electric blue shift is one of my favorite summer dresses. Although I wear it somewhat infrequently because I feel like the color makes it really noticeable so it's too obvious if I wear it often. It would be super Mad Men if I had some of Joan's amazing curves but as it is, I style it a little more casually. I also feel like that could get really costume-y if I put this on with heels, a beehive, and red lips. Instead, I like to wear it with a funky belt and flat, casual shoes. Last year it was my braided rainbow leather belt and moccasins and this year it's a kind of western belt with loafers.

30 Days of Fun (10-12)

2011-07-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

Monday, Day 10: Read Infinite Jest on the scaffolding.

Tuesday, Day 11: Watched Mad Men after work.

Wednesday, Day 12: Had a solo dance party in my pjs.

30 Days of Fun (7-9)

2011-07-25T02:33:00.000-07:00

Friday, Day 7: Drank gin and tonics with J after a rough day.

Saturday, Day 8: Watched fireworks, saw a friend's band play, and went to a crazy party in the woods/by the river (I fell in the ditch and hurt my knee).

Sunday, Day 9: Ate cookies made with my new fav choco chip cookie recipe.

30 Days of Fun (4-6)

2011-07-24T02:36:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, Day 4: Cuddled with the cutest darn cat in the whole world.

Wednesday, Day 5: Read guidebooks to places I'm not visiting.

Thursday, Day 6: Played/watched drunken basketball after a show.

Please give me suggestions for fun things to do!

strawberries pt. 2

2011-07-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

I already wrote about the first day of strawberry picking, this was the second. I went with my mom on the first, and my friends the next. This time we were in an even better section of the field and in no time had around 13 lbs each. Well, J had less because she didn't want to make jam. Silly girl. Of course a lot more pictures were taken with the three of us.

shirt - gap, jeans - uo, boots - thrifted, lip color - revlon just bitten in gothic

After picking our combined 35 lbs of strawberries, we went the shitty grocery store where we bought mexican Cokes, the only local burger joint in our small town, Pickle Time, for burgers, and ate in the park by the river. Later, we went back to my place, made a few batches of jam, a strawberry rhubarb pie, and these delicious strawberry-basil-gin cocktails. Yum.

long skirts and long days

2011-07-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

tank - gap, skirt - mom's, belt - thrifted, clogs - jeffrey campbell, purse - vintage coach

I know I go on and on about it, but summer really is my favorite. Lazy afternoons, warm evenings, floaty skirts, and tiny tanks are all things that make me incredibly happy. I spent the day sunbathing and eating popsicles before heading to work in the afternoon. Even after I got off it was kind of the perfect summer evening. Warm enough I don't need a sweater (although I did have to wear my trusty long grey cardigan at work) and full of nostalgia. Both the skirt and the purse were my moms. As a little kid, that skirt was a favorite of mine for dress-up. I would wear it hiked up to my armpits because it was way too long for me.

I'm still playing with the length today. As I sort of mentioned before, I'm trying to branch out of my comfort zone with certain shapes of garments. I talked about wanting to get comfortable exposing my belly in crop tops, and now I'm trying longer skirts. I find I often feel frumpy in anything that goes past the knee, and I feel most comfortable in short little things. I didn't want to wear this skirt at it's full, ankle length glory, so I folded over the wide elastic waistband a few times and belted it. And I'm happy! This was one of those outfits that come together perfectly. I've decided I like this length of skirt, so let's consider the experiment a success. At least as far as this particular skirt is concerned, I am no longer afraid of longer lengths. Although I do insist on heels. I think flats would bring me right back to frumpville.

30 Days of Fun (1-3)

2011-07-11T22:55:00.000-07:00

So the always inspiring Maggie of Mighty Girl just started a really wonderful project. For 30 days, she will do something fun every day. Although this came out of some negativity in her life right now, which I am not facing, I love the idea and am stealing it for myself. So for the next 30 days, I will do, photograph, and post something fun every day. Actually, I will post every three days so it's not so overwhelming, resulting in ten posts of fun over the next month. I only heard about this today, but I did really fun things Saturday and Sunday, so I'm starting the 30 days with Saturday.

Saturday, Day 1: Went on sketchy carnival rides.

Sunday, Day 2: Saw my friends' band play.

Monday, Day 3: Ate a cookie and watched Kids In The Hall sketches on youtube.

I'm already thinking ahead to fun things I can do in the coming days. Obviously, they don't have to be huge, but just something that makes me happy. If you have any suggestions of fun things to do, tell me! What are YOU going to do that's fun?

so jai pitted thai

2011-07-11T03:01:00.000-07:00

Today was spent being lazy, painting my nails red, and drinking gin until ShyGuy (he's not actually shy) picked me and Big J up to go to Seattle and see L Train's band play at Neumos. They're called So Pitted and I'm liking them more and more. We saw them play last night too, at the Blue Moon, but that was a bit last minute since they were filling in for another one of his bands.

I liked them, the other bands...not so much, so we left and tried to find something to eat. Unfortunately the mexican place we wanted to go to was closed (not surprising on a Sunday night near midnight) so we went to a thai restaurant that's open late. Even though I stuffed myself with delicious curry (Jai Thai also has amazing "Country Style Pad Thai" which I had a few bites of and decided is way better than the regular stuff), I am now eating a yummy and cute cookie Big J made for me as thanks for lending her my car when she was in a pickle.

All that tastiness paired with hanging out with my bestie, an old friend who I'm just starting to see more of, and assorted friends/acquaintances/cute boys at the show has put me in a fantastic mood.

shirt - designed by tavi, cutoffs - diy, polka dot tights - target, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach

This picture was taken on the scaffolding we've been using to refinish the shingles on our house. I thought it looked neat so I climbed up there right before heading out for the show. I think it makes for a kind of neat picture. I've started cuffing the sleeves of this shirt and decided I really like cuffed tshirts because it reminds me of greasers and The Outsiders. I also really like this shorts/tights combo, but every time I wear tights with shorts my mom thinks it's so weird. She never says it looks bad but she just seems kind of puzzled. Today she kept asking me if the show I was going to was "very casual" and telling me I looked "nice but casual. This is from a woman who hates to dress up and was at the time wearing stained shorts and a tie dye tee.

strawberries pt. 1

2011-07-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

shirt - weekdays (copenhagen), jeans - uo, boots - thrifted, jacket - cotton on (sydney)

I picked massive amounts of strawberries both this day and the next. I'll post pictures from that later since there was a lot. This day I was just tired and it rained a bit and I was kind of dirty but I picked 14 lbs of strawberries. This field is my favorite pick-your-own place. Berries are only $1 per pound and all the employees are high school boys. While we were picking, on of them was leaning against the little shack they weigh your berries in, playing acoustic guitar. I don't really like listening to people play acoustic guitar and I think most people that whip out a guitar at any opportunity are annoying, but it was kind of perfect. Small town, cute fresh faced high school boy, playing something super generic while he sits around at his lazy summer job. He also flirted with me a bit when he showed us where to pick, in a funny awkward way and complimented me on my glasses.

pie for breakfast

2011-07-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

slip - liberty of london for target, tights - target

Sometimes you just need an incredibly lazy day, and that's what today was. I never actually changed out of this Liberty print slip and some ripped tights, and I spent the whole day in bed eating leftover strawberry rhubarb pie with ice cream, reading, and watching Mad Men. Yeah, I missed out on that until now. I had caught a few episodes at other people's houses but I just illegally downloaded (shhh) all 4 seasons and am totally bingeing on all the early 60s greatness. I wore a dress that reminds me of Joan Holloway except I don't have her curves the other day. But I think Peggy Olson might be my hero and I love her goofy little bangs.

I just finished reading Vanity Fair by Thakeray, which was great. A novel without a hero, yes, but thoroughly entertaining. Now I've been alternating some short stories by Fitzgerald with another beast of a book, Infinite Jest. My friend Amanda assures the that about 150 pages in, it gets interesting and readable, but I will admit that I have been stuck in the first few pages, unable to really get into it. However, our informal book club and her encouragement will hopefully get me past that and I can start yet another slog. It seems lately all I read are enormous, important books. Anyone have anything light and fluffy to read? I have enjoyed some Jeeves stories by Wodehouse, and was thinking about picking up some more Nero Wolf books. I need light but fun things like that to read while at work.

summer slurpees

2011-07-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

I just finished up with a 2 1/2 week housesitting gig last week. For a lot of the time I was just bored and sick, but towards the end I was really enjoying being able to walk to work and hanging out in town. The walk to work was very pleasant, although as the weather got warmer I got a little overheated sometimes. It was interesting to be so much IN a town, and I spent a lot of time observing people and thinking about summer.

Growing up out of town, really kind of in the woods, I never had a neighborhood to hang out in or a lot of other kids to play with. To see my friends, we had to get a parent to drive us to the other kid's house, so there was no spontaneous dropping by. And as I got older, I couldn't walk to the store for treats, or to the mall or movie theater. I couldn't even bike anywhere, not to town or even a friend's house. Everything was far away. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE where I live, where I grew up, and I think I am incredibly lucky to have had all this amazing nature surrounding me. But staying in Redmond reminded me of all those things I missed. I saw kids walking around town as I walked home after work, buying Slurpees at 7-11, waiting for the bus, riding bikes and skateboards. They had places to go, they were meeting up with friends, some of them were probably getting in trouble. They were always in groups, and the ones I noticed the most were all pretty young. Too young to drive, so they walked, in the still hot but beginning to cool off, still light but starting to get dark evening.

Maybe this is just because I love summer nights so much, but I started imagining what they were going to do. Not that there's a lot you can do when you're 14, but I missed that whole free summer thing. My summers were more about reading books by myself in my backyard than wandering around unsupervised. Obviously a lot of them were just out walking around because there was nothing else to do. The same impulse that makes malls crowded with kids who aren't buying anything. A lot of them were going to the skate park, which I walked past every night. They were buying soda and candy and maybe some popsicles. I'm sure there were some girls who picked out the perfectly casual cool outfit to meet up with that one really cute boy. On Fridays, I know that some of them had to have been heading to the Firehouse, the teen center that all your favorite high school bands play at (I frequented that place a lot in high school, but it always involved begging one of our parents for a ride). They might have been going to a movie, but more likely just going to sit in the park in a big group. Some of them were certainly going to get in trouble, whether they had an older brother who promised to buy them beer, or they were going to smoke pot in the wooded corner of the park or behind some unused building. They were doing the kinds of things kids are supposed to do when they get out of school for the summer. The air was warm, they didn't need that jacket their moms told them to take, and they were free.

shirt - weekdays (copenhagen), skirt - thrifted, tights - target, boots - thrifted

So while I was in Redmond, I guess I tried to recapture that sort of summer. This particular day, I got slurpees with my friend and went for a walk before work, then randomly ran into this girl I knew after work, who invited me to hang out by the river with her friends and eat candy. Then we went to an open mic night where curly haired gingers played bad Bright Eyes covers and I ended up getting a drink with some random. It involved a lot of wandering around town. I also got called a hipster multiple times, which honestly puzzled me because I didn't think this outfit was that hip. And each time, the person obviously thought that would offend me but it really just made me laugh. I mean, the more you deny being a hipster, the more of a hipster you are.

skating! fireworks! keyboards! barbecue!

2011-07-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

Guys, I had such a blast yesterday! The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. I think because I just love summer! JAR hung out at Amanda's with her family. We ate SO MUCH good food. We had sangria, like 5 different kinds of chips and guacamole, watermelon, kebabs, potato salad, green salad from the garden, beer, brownies, and lots of candy. Summer barbecue foods are my favorite! I loooove potato salad and watermelon so so much.

We lit off some smoke bombs in the front yard before it got dark and we headed to Carnation for the big fireworks. I loved Liam's matching outfit/smoke. It should be an album cover or something, don't you think? It's fun watching Liam get so into the fireworks. He was setting up all sorts of "funny" shots, like making it look like he was farting smoke or smoke was coming out of the car's exhaust. These two of J and him are my favorites though.

Then of course we busted out the keyboard that was in my car, the most ghetto-fabulous kid-style keyboard ever. It's a Casio Rapman, with scratch and voice effects. I think we might have written some songs, sitting on the hood of my car. I keep a lot of random things for entertainment in my car. In addition to the keyboard, there's usually a skateboard (which shows up later in this post), a kite, sometimes an inflatable raft, and all sorts of other things.

shirt - handmade (london), jeans - uo, boots - thrifted, jacket (not pictured) - cotton on (sydney)

I bought this tank at the Greenwich Market while I was in London. I love the print, but I might still be struggling with the shape. I'm trying to get comfortable showing my abdomen, but I don't think I'm totally there yet. But I want to wear tons of crop tops this summer, so I need to get comfortable. This outfit was fun because it reminded me of two different trips, the London visit, of course, and also once it cold dark and cold and I put on my jacket, I was reminded of my trip to Australia when I bought my favorite summer jacket ever. That thing gets so much use.

While we were hanging out in the front yard, I found my old skateboard in my trunk and we started goofing around. I was trying to ollie, but I'm not very good. Summer always makes me want to skate, so I think I'll try some more this year. I know I'm never going to be any good, but I'd like to be able to do a few simple tricks and just be comfortable on a skateboard. Enough that I can fool around and have fun with skating.

After getting home from the fireworks in Carnation, which were a little disappointing this year, to be honest, we lit more sparklers and Amanda's brothers lit a bunch of other fireworks. Some pretty good ones actually. Shane and Shiloh came over too, and I had too much to drink and teased everyone. I really love my friends!

favorite dress

2011-06-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

dress - thrifted, tights - target, shoes - aldo, jacket - cotton on (australia), silk scarf - vintage

As you can probably tell by the frequency with which this dress appears on my blog, it is my favorite. This simple little thrifted 90s dress (I can't remember how much I paid for it but I'm guessing around 5 dollars) has probably been worn more than anything else in my closet. It's amazing to layer, in fact, this outfit is probably my favorite thing I've ever worn. I wore the crap out of this during my Europe trip, both is lovely warm Paris and layered all up in freezing Reykjavik. I love it's simplicity in the summer. I can throw it on with a pair of sandals and grab my jean jacket and that's all, or in the winter I can use it to build a somewhat complicated but cozy outfit.

Do you have a favorite piece of clothing? What is it? Is it sentimental, flattering, functional, versatile, or romantic? Is there a story behind it? Do you wear it all the time or just for special occasions? Is it expensive or cheap?

2011-06-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

ugh, I've been having some trouble uploading photos on the few days I actually have internet access. thus, no blogging. it sucks an extra lot because I was trying to blog pictures from my epic solo European adventure which I totally want to share with you guys. I have a gazillion pictures although not a ton of me and my outfits. mainly of parks. ugh, I just want to show you them! and ramble and talk about how amazing it was.

color?

2011-06-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

dress - secondhand, tights - target, moccasins - target, bag - liberty of london for target, scarf - thrifted

I like the whole colorblocking thing but I don't know that I can go full out with it. So a simple black dress with lots of colorful accessories works for me. I love these shoes and tights together and have paired them up many times before. I wanted a scarf with some pink in it (I have a pink and orange one I planned on using) but I could only find this all orange one. It still worked. I have noticed that anytime I wear something in my hair, people notice a lot. I get more compliments when I wear headscarves than probably anything else ever.

I could do better

2011-06-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

tee - target, dress - thrifted, skirt - thrifted, tights - uo, boots - thrifted

Oh god, I love the stupid squinting face and weird-armed pose in this photo. Don't think I'm too vain to post unflattering pictures of myself on my blog. This (and most of my recent posts) is not super current since I've been awful about photographing my outfits lately. Which is a bummer because I've worn some cute stuff. But I've been so busy going to things and doing things that I haven't taken pictures. So we're stuck with stuff like this.

flesh and bone by the telephone

2011-06-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

tee - target, hoodie - ae, skirt - thrifted, tights - target, shoes - aldo

Now that I've trimmed my bangs, I'm kind of missing the longer ones pinned back like this. Constant struggle to determine what the eff I want to do with my hair. What problems! Oh, and these tights are purple, which you can hardly see in this photo. Bleh.

someone tell me to shut up about the weather

2011-06-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

shirt - thrifted, sweater - uo, cords - gap, pink moccasins - target, bag - liberty of london for target, strawberry popsicle - safeway

Seriously, don't I sound like a fucking broken record? Yay, it's hot! Now it's not, when will it be hot again? That's all I talk about. Am I old? This picture kind of is, like maybe the beginning of the month. It's a boring work outfit I wore on a nice day when I wanted to feel summery.

weather complaints

2011-06-16T00:31:00.000-07:00

shirt - thrifted alternative apparel, pants - target, boots - thrifted

I would give anything for this sort of weather to be a bit more constant. I love love love summer weather and just want it to be hot and sunny for ever. I think I need to move! My friend and I were looking at houses for rent in Georgia and oh my god, there was a 4 bedroom house with a clawfoot tub (!) for about what we would pay for a shitty 2 bedroom apartment here. I just want to live somewhere hot! It's hot in Georgia, right?

sockless summer

2011-06-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

shirt - urban outfitters, cardigan - urban outfitters, corduroys - gap, shoes - steve madden, bag - liberty of london for target

I'm trying to get back in the habit of regular blogging and not wait weeks to post pictures. So in the spirit of that goal, here is what I wore today. Finally the weather is nice! Yesterday was crazy hot and I went to a graduation party for one of my friends. Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures but it was the perfect day for a barbecue. Today was also gorgeous but I had to work.

When I first got these shoes a couple months ago I wasn't so sure about them. They needed breaking in since they weren't too comfortable. Now they're super comfy even without socks and I think I'll wear them a ton this summer. I still want them to get a bit more beat up and dirty looking since they're too light and clean right now. But that'll happen, 'cause I'll wear the hell out of them.

summer needs to come alreadyyy

2011-05-31T18:16:00.000-07:00

cardigan - urban outfitters, dress - target, tights - target, shoes - steve madden, purse - thrifted dooney & burke, sunglasses - topshop, nail polish - revlon minted

I just recently bought this cute sundress at Target. And this new nail polish, it is the best summer pastel-y color! That place is like girl-crack, for real. I returned some pants and ended up buying this dress, the nail polish and a bunch of other stuff. I loooove the dress though, and I think I'll be wearing it all the time this summer. I am in love with this kind of easy summer dress. And I've been surprisingly drawn towards pink sundresses, despite my general meh feelings towards pink.

I took these pictures last week sometime, I think. It was sometime that was actually sunny and felt like summer. I'm trying to find more open crochet type tights because they are the best thing ever for those in between days when you want some leg covering but it's too warm for anything opaque. Also, here's a secret: You totally can't tell if you have skipped way too many days of shaving your legs. I guess telling you that ruins my illusion of being classy and girly and ladylike lately. Oh well, I'm really scuzzy and I'm ok with that.

I took the following picture so you can see both my awesome nail color (it reminds me of Miami and the 80s but in a good way!) and my Topshop sunglasses. I like buying clothes and accessories when I travel because then every time you wear them, you are reminded of your awesome trip. So now every sunny day I will think of London. But don't look too terribly close at my manicure because I totally reached into my purse before they were dry and fucked it up. Another girly failure and one I seem to be doomed to repeat every time.

elephant rides

2011-05-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

shirt - thrifted, cords - gap, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted dooney & burke, glasses - zenni optical

This is a total lazy work outfit. We got a new elephant for kids to ride outside the store and my coworker convinced me to pose on it. We're a bit of a goofy bunch.

skipping in the park

2011-05-29T23:04:00.000-07:00

sweater - icelandica, tshirt - pacsun, skirt - old, socks - target, boots - seychelles, purse - thrifted dooney & burke, glasses - zenni optical

This is another in my series of super lady-like outfits I wore after returning from Europe. And now you can finally see the sweater from Iceland better. I really adore it, and I think I'll get a lot more use out of it next winter/fall. It's starting to get too warm for it, since the wool is incredibly thick and warm. This is also a better view of the lace-up boots I bought awhile back. They are exactly like the ones my grandma had in the sixties and I love them. I'm pretty sure I talked about them before, but you can see them better in these pictures.

I took these pictures in a local park awhile ago. I met a friend for coffee and then went to the park by myself and sat by the river and read a book. It was lovely. This is something I never used to do. I was really bad at spending time by myself and would never really go out if I didn't have someone to hang out with. But after my adventures in solo travel, which involved a lot of doing things on my own, I have discovered I like spending time by myself.

I can't figure out what I want to do with my hair these days! I sort of accidentally started growing out my bangs when I didn't have time to get them cut before leaving and then they got too long while I was away. Now I'm mostly pinning them back and occasionally doing this side swept thing but I'm not sure if I actually want to grow them out. I do rather like this braid thing I did, but I kind of miss my blunt bangs. Thoughts?

4-eyes

2011-05-16T23:26:00.000-07:00

Stopped by Half Price Books after work today to pick up a couple a books and ended up buying a ton of tapes. I think like 20 or so? Weird stuff mainly, and bad stuff. Thought my bag-less carry technique was kind of funny looking so I snapped a picture as I got into my car. Which is not the one behind me. My car is not that shiny. It is dented and has green stuff growing on it.

part two of dressing like a girl

2011-05-15T00:20:00.000-07:00

Went to this art thing in Olympia the other week. The weather was beautiful and I decided to wear this vintage dress I picked up in London. It's got a sweet, super easy shape and a kind of funky pattern. I like that it's not super fitted and there's no zippers. I can see myself wearing it a LOT this summer. I ate ice cream (pistachio gelato YUM), watched a goofy parade, saw my friends band play, and bought a weird apple print smock at a thrift store. I'm going to try pairing it with cutoffs this summer. I think it might work.

dress - vintage (london), cardigan - uo, tights - target, shoes - steve madden, belt - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach, sunglasses - topshop (london)

the fabulous downey brother (otherwise known as fabdownbros)

ladylike

2011-05-10T17:02:00.000-07:00

Since I've been home from my trip (I'm working on the pictures, I promise), I've been dressing super vintage and girly. Well, not all the time, but every time I've bothered to take pictures. Never fear, I will never leave my combat boots, short skirts, and flannel behind entirely. I am a Seattle girl, after all.

skirt - h&m (old), sweater - icelandica, sunglasses - topshop, tights - target, clogs - jeffrey campbell, purse - thrifted coach

See? While none of this is actual vintage, it has such a vintage look/silhouette. I got this skirt ages ago, when I was like fifteen in NY. H&M did not exist on the west coast yet, so we were crazy excited for cheap, fashionable clothes. I never really figured out how to wear this skirt because it wasn't really my style.* It's seersucker, super full and pleated, and awfully fun to wear. It actually has suspenders, which I didn't wear in this outfit, but I might try something soon with those.

The sweater is from Iceland and was my most expensive purchase from my travels. On my way to Iceland, I read a little and watched a video about the country. Both mentioned Icelandic wool sweaters and their super traditional designs. I loved the look of them but totally didn't think I would see tons of people wearing them. WRONG. Oh my god, at least a quarter of all the people I saw in Iceland were wearing some variation on this sweater. Pullover, cardigan, zipped, dress, oversized, cropped . . . they all had the traditional patterned yoke. This particular one is actually a child's sweater because I couldn't afford the adult sweaters. I think it works as a kind of cropped, three-quarters sleeves sort of way. Right?

I also bought the sunglasses while traveling but I'll have more detailed pictures of both those and the sweater in coming posts. Although I haven't been super faithful with the photo taking lately, and have been absolutely abysmal when it comes to actual blogging, I'm feeling like I'm ready to get back into it and make it a regular thing. Unusually, this blogging break has not coincided with a slump in my style, which kind of makes me feel like this blog's purpose has been fulfilled but I honestly miss blogging so I think I'll stick around.**

*Ha! Like I had style when I was fifteen.

**Woah! Too much alliteration, entirely unintentional.

back in the states

2011-04-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

shirt - thrifted (from little boys' section), skirt - thrifted, tights - don't remember, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach

I'm back! This outfit is actually from before I left though. I'm sorry to pretty much disappear for so long. I really intended to try to blog while I was gone, which would have been really fun, but I was just too damn busy. As soon as possible, I will get started posting pictures from my trip. Get ready to see the same clothes over and over. I am sure glad to be home with my entire closet to choose from.

2011-04-12T12:22:00.001-07:00

I haven't been posting lately because I am traveling all over the place. I intended to post but it hasn't happened, but you should expect a ton of awesome pictures when I get back in a week or so. I was in London, Paris, heading to Copenhagen, then Reykjavik, and then I'll be home. I miss blogging!

last remnants of a winter

2011-03-27T01:26:00.000-07:00

dress - yesstyle, tights - target, boots - thrifted

So these are from the last snow, the same as those snowman pictures. The dress is from this Asian fashion site which I kind of love because I always wanted to look like Korean or Japanese girls. I used to buy FRUiTS magazine all the time (Kinokuniya bookstore and Uwajimaya, what's up?) and once one of my coworkers said I looked kind of "Harajuku-esque." Anyways, I don't think my style is much influenced by that, but that's probably the first real fashion-y style that caught my interest. Ah high school.

Anyways, I wanted SO MUCH nordic print stuff this winter but ended up with only this sweater dress. Hoping I'm as into this pattern next winter and can go all out. Yesstyle is ahhh-mazing for nordic print EVERYTHING. Like I almost bought a faux fur trimmed nordic print fleece shorts. I controlled myself and bought this more practical dress.

trench thoughts

2011-03-24T00:06:00.000-07:00

trench - vintage, boots - seychelles, sunglasses - cheap, scarf - vintage

I bought this trench ages ago. I haven't worn it because I have trouble with coats this long. I don't know how to wear them! I threw this on today (with my gorgeous new boots!) because I wanted to ask for advice. I'm thinking about hemming it about 4-5 inches so it's just above my knee. What do you think? I'm planning on wearing it with a short dress and heels to a wedding in April.

I absolutely love these new heeled, lace-up boots. They're almost exactly like a pair my grandma had in the sixties, which you can see in this photo. As you can see, the photographer, my mom's cousin, cut off her head in the photo and the inscription on the back is referencing that. Her sister told him to take a photo of the boots and . . . well, he did.

sick day

2011-03-17T00:28:00.000-07:00

I've been sick lately and haven't been posting much. This is pretty standard, big bowl of pho (with lots of hot sauce and jalepenos), book, moth-eaten sweater, no make-up. Unexciting. I do have one last snow-day outfit I'll try to post soon and lots of new purchases that need to be shown off. I am sorry about the slowing down of posts on this blog and am very grateful to those who continue to comment. I definitely feel inspired to write a post every time I see a comment, so thank you for that.

boring times call for indifferent measures

2011-03-12T22:37:00.000-08:00

jacket - cotton on (australia), cords - gap, scarf - old, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach

This outfit is halfway in between not giving a fuck and making an effort. It's not an exciting outfit, but it is a combination I had not worn before. Yeah, I wear the boots and cords together ALL the time but the jacket and scarf I haven't worn in ages. This scarf is rather wonderful in how HUGE it is. I mean, it's seriously massive. And this little military jacket has always been a favorite because I bought it in Australia. I agonized over that decision for ages because it was back when I really didn't spend money on clothes. But I kept seeing it in this shop window and I tried it on twice and I'd been wanting one similar for ages, so finally I just bought it. It's really not anything that crazy-special, but when I bought it, it kind of was, at least to me.

Anyways, it's kind of interesting to wear something different even when you don't totally love it. This isn't going to become a staple like my boots/cords/giant sweater outfit or layering my pleated skirt under my black floral dress. It's also nothing crazy out there that I felt uncomfortable in, nor is it something I absolutely hated. It's just a kind of in-between-y, one wear's all it needs sort of outfit. But sometimes you need to do something a little different, even if it isn't as good as your tried and true staples. And you better be able to do that without buying anything new because you can't just go shopping every time you get bored.

That being said, I've been shopping a lot. ^_^ A lot of the things I've bought are for my trip but others are just amazing things that you'll see soon. I might just do a quick post of new purchases. They're pretty.

winter winter winter

2011-03-05T13:56:00.000-08:00

dress - from my cousin, shirt - urban outfitters, hat - gift from j's mom, tights - target, boots - thrifted

I wore this outfit quite awhile ago. I really like layering shirts under this dress. I think it looks a lot more interesting. I also really like this hat. Justina's mom gave it to me for Christmas, which was really sweet. The goofy hat makes me want to jump and pose in silly ways.

lunch with john wayne

2011-03-02T20:21:00.000-08:00

Amanda and I found the best little cafe/diner in Monroe. It's called the Hitching Post Cafe and it's full of murals and country awesome-ness. I loved it. Little greasy spoon type places are my favorite places to eat. We had sandwiches and really amazingly bomb-ass onion rings. I haven't had a good onion ring in forever but these were incredible. I also felt like I fit in pretty well with my plaid shirt and braids.

We went after going to the post office to apply for passports. Because, in one month, I am going to London. Paris. Copenhagen. And Reykjavik. Yes, all four. Yes, you should be jealous. A cousin is getting married so my whole family is going to London. But I am traveling separately and going on this epic adventure and, you guys, I am SO EXCITED. Like you have no idea. Also, A random old lady at the post office complimented me on my hair, which I thought was sweet. Oh, and I just got this amazing dark green nail polish! Looks black most of the time but is really a blackened mossy green.

shirt - urban outfitters, jeans - urban outfitters, boots - thrifted, nailpolish - opi here today...aragon tomorrow

le bonhomme de neige français

2011-02-26T00:23:00.000-08:00

This has been an especially snowy winter this year but I've bitched about it for the most part. Working and having to drive to work makes the prospect of snow less exciting than it has been in the past. But when it snowed the other day I knew I wasn't going to have to go in, so I was able to chill out and enjoy it. Justina and her brother came over to play in the snow. It took a little convincing to get him to come and even longer to figure out how to have fun like kids do, but we ended up making a snowman. And let me tell you, it is the raddest snowman ever.

Meet Jacques Cou-snow, the French snowman. He is tall, wears an orange hat, and has a mustache. He also likes le snow and escargot. Because he's French. And made of snow.

sweater - stepdad's, skirt - urban outfitters, tights - forgot, boots - thrifted, hat - gift from j's mom, purse - thrifted coach

I also had the most perfect breakfast tea party with myself yesterday. It was cold outside and warm inside, and I made a pot of tea and some toast and used a pretty cup and plate. I don't eat breakfast very often but I think if I made it cute like this all the time, I might more often.

snowy hangover

2011-02-23T16:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, finally back, again with older pictures. Also, even though these are from almost two months ago, guess what? There's snow on the ground AGAIN. Ah, winter. Will you never end?

tee - borders&frontiers (designed by tavi!), hoodie - american eagle, jeans - gap, boots - thrifted

So this was New Year's Day. I was hungover, like seriously seriously hungover. I was supposed to head down to Olympia to see some bands play that night but I had to go home first and once I crashed on the couch, well, there was no getting back up. Napping was way more important. Hungover outfits, for me, always mean some kind of cool graphic or band tee, jeans, and a hoodie. There should be sunglasses involved, but it is winter and I cannot find any of mine. Supposedly Washington state buys the most sunglasses, which seems bizarre because we're known for our grey, rainy weather. But then we have a sunny day and no one can find the sunglasses they haven't needed for weeks and must rush out and buy a new pair. I definitely get surprise blinded pretty regularly.

Obviously, I really needed sunglasses this particular day. My mom insisted that we should go for a walk, and as soon as we got up the hill and out of the shade, the sun was insane. Snow plus sun plus hangover equals headache, so I made her snap a few squinty pictures and headed back inside. It was beautiful though, and I took a few pretty snow pictures later on.

The shirt was a gift from Amanda for Christmas. It's so cool that she bought it for me because I've been meaning to get one for ages, which she didn't even know. She just saw it and thought I'd like it and bought it for me. Such a good friend. Oh, and please please excuse the mess that is my hair in these pictures. Again, I was hungover, I wasn't bothering with a hairbrush. Hair and makeup are whatever remained of the previous night. Anyways, here's some pretty pictures of the snow.

2011-02-22T01:54:00.000-08:00

guys, I've been an absolutely wretched, deadbeat blogger lately. It's been, what? two weeks since I last posted? So not cool, and I know it. I'll get back on the wagon I swear. I don't know what's killing all my motivation but I'm gonna have to snap out of it at some point.

Festivus for the Rest of Us

2011-02-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

dress - thrifted, coat - uo, tights - target or something, oxfords - aldo, purse - thrifted coach, necklaces - talonalia

I think I may have talked about our Festivus party, but this is what I actually wore. I was definitely going for a 90s Elaine-y vibe in my outfit. Obviously the dress, but the shoes also reminded me of the lace-up, flat, menswear-y shoes she tended to wear. Of course, to be totally faithful to her look, they ought to have been chunkier and probably worn with some scrunched down socks. And my dress should have been much longer. But the spirit was there, I think.

This was our elegant Festivus pole. No decorations, since tinsel is distracting. I only wish we had a bigger pole, but this thing was cheap and better than the PVC one we started with. At least this is metal! Also, you can see our half finished game of Seinfeld monopoly right there, which is basically all we did.

Again, I'm pretty sure I talked about this before, but the next morning it was snowing and Justina and I hung out at Ugly Mug and went record shopping at Neptune. My mocha was made with Mexican hot chocolate and it was soooo yummy good. They have some really great "creative" drinks and dishes there. It's an unassuming place but probably my favorite cafe in the Seattle area. The girls that work at the counter are adorable and really sweet too.

Picasso at the SAM

2011-02-04T17:39:00.000-08:00

sweater - stepdad's, jeans - urban outfitters, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach, glasses - zenni optical, lipstick - revlon really red

I went to the Seattle Art Museum with my mom, grandparents, and family friend/mentor right before Christmas to see the Picasso exhibit. It was incredible. Our family friend is an artist and probably one of the best people I could have gone with. We spent hours, really taking our time, which might have been a little annoying to my family since they got done so much earlier than we did. But I wanted to look at every single painting, drawing, print, and sculpture.

My favorite has always been his cubist period, with those dark, monochromatic palettes and geometric angles. But seeing things in person got me a lot more interested in some of his brightly colored works and more organic forms. It's amazing that one artist was able to work in so many different styles. I think most interesting of all where the sketches and prints. In those, you could see elements of later paintings and, I felt, get a deeper view of his process. They're also not something you see as often, so it was cool to have that opportunity.

We got there a little early and had some time to look around the rest of the museum. We looked at a little bit of African art, but I mainly stayed in the modern section. I think even as a kid, that was my favorite part. The museum has been updated and expanded in the last couple years and I really do love the redesign, but it's nice to see old favorites too. I remember this Rauschenberg from long before, when the museum was just a dinky little thing and it was easy to see everything in a day. I don't think you can really do that anymore, unless you go real fast maybe.

These pieces are by a woman name Cris Brodahl and I thought they were really amazing. She uses something called chemical porcelain and also uses the same technique in her paintings, creating these cool raised layers. I didn't have as much time to look at her work as I would have liked because right after we discovered this gallery, it was time to line up to get into the Picasso exhibit. So I just snapped these quick pictures, but hopefully I'll see more of her work in the future.

country christmas

2011-02-02T16:24:00.000-08:00

Usually I wear something sort of dressy and "pretty" in a traditional way on Christmas. This year I kind of went a different way. I had just bought this shirt (I buy things for myself while Christmas shopping for presents for other people) and thought the colors were kind of holiday appropriate but it was also pretty western/cowboy-ish. I wanted a high-waisted skirt that wasn't black and wasn't very long to wear with it, which I didn't have. So I took this grey skirt which is NOT high-waisted, hiked it up a little and belted it, giving it a bit of a paperbag waist feel. I liked having a good half inch of the skirt showing at the top of the belt because it made the belt stand out more. When I tried it with the belt right at the line between skirt and shirt, it was way too busy and looked blah. To round out my country Christmas outfit, I threw on my clogs (seriously love these things) and pinned up my hair in milkmaid braids. I am loving the braids now more than ever because I can finally have them cross in the back before going around and meeting at the top of my head. It's a much smoother and understated look than the crown of braids I used to (and still sometimes) do.

This description is pretty indicative of the way I put together an outfit, at least the ones I blog. I certainly do still throw things on without much thought, but when I put a little effort into how I look it's kind of like fitting puzzle pieces together. You try two pieces together, they work or don't, you try something else, it doesn't work with what you started with but you like it more, so you scrap the first thing and build off what you have now. I rarely plan an outfit out fully before I get dressed unless it's something I've worn before because I never know exactly how things will work together. I like to have enough time to play with my clothes and enjoy the process. Usually I have some idea, a theme, inspiration, or single piece of clothing to build off of but that doesn't always end up in the finished outfit. What about you? How do you put together an outfit?

shirt - uo, skirt - thrifted, belt - thrifted, tights - garage sale, clogs - jeffrey campbell, purse - thrifted coach

christmas karaoke

2011-01-31T19:56:00.000-08:00

sweatshirt - gap, skirt - urban outfitters, tights - dkny, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach, lipstick - revlon really red

This is such a comfy outfit but it still looks good. These days, I'm more comfortable in a short skirt and thick tights, especially with boots instead of heels. This outfit was loosely inspired by Rhiannon of Liebemarlene Vintage. I actually wanted to hem this plaid skirt to wear with this, but didn't get around to it. Instead, I wore this sweet smocked silk one instead. Which, as you probably have noticed, I wear with everything.

The night I wore this was just a few days before Christmas so all my friends from high school were back home. Of course that meant we all had to go to the local Tavern, and it turned out it was karaoke night. Justina, Amanda, and I sang "People Are People" and Shane and Shiloh sang "Ace Of Spades." Of course, when we signed up, we used the names JAR and the SS. The dj was confused, but also thought it was funny. He also definitely appreciated the Depeche Mode song selection. Shane's brother and his friend also came, which was funny. The brothers are pretty much the same person, they even laugh the same.

first flood

2011-01-29T18:17:00.000-08:00

You guys, I am so damn behind in posting. I've stopped taking pictures even because I have such a backlog that I need to get through. I just need to post more often, right? For example, these are from...early December, when we had some pretty major flooding. Not enough to make me miss work though, to my disappointment.

peacoat - old navy, buffalo plaid flannel shirt - thrifted, skirt - thrifted, tights - urban outfitters, boots - thrifted, hat - gift

You should have seen my face after running around in the rain taking pictures all morning. I was paying no attention until I hopped back in my car to head to work and glanced in my rearview mirror. Mascara was streaked all down my face. It looked sooo funny but luckily I had a spare tshirt to clean my face off.

carnivorous accessories (my scarf is eating me)

2011-01-24T20:10:00.000-08:00

So this is quite old but one of my favorite outfits. How freaking cool is that giant scarf?? This was towards the beginning of winter when I was all excited about winter-y accessories. Yeah, skinny cords and a pea coat aren't that exciting but things get interesting when you add the most gigantic red knit scarf ever made. Actually, looking at these pictures is making me think about getting out some hats and scarves and things again. Lately I've been depending on just a coat over a regular outfit, which is fine, but since I've been wearing the same coat over and over again, it's really boring.

coat - old navy, cords - gap, boots - thrifted, scarf - mom's

quick post

2011-01-22T23:40:00.000-08:00

I'm working on some more substantial posts right now, but I thought I'd throw up this photobooth photo from New Year's Eve. The dude on the left with the beard is Shiloh, Shane is on the right with glasses, and Amanda is peeking her head in from the top on the last frame. And of course, I'm in the middle and back, with the red lipstick and topknot.

god I've missed this

2011-01-20T03:59:00.000-08:00

Holy hell, it does not seem like I am meant to have a blog these days. my shitty internet went out near the beginning of the month and we only finally got it fixed just yesterday. So I'm awfully sorry and feel terribly bad that I haven't blogged in so long. It's weird, I really did miss it. I'd think about things I wanted to post and then get all sad when I realized I was probably much to lazy to go to the library and actually do that. I've also been pretty boring in what I've been wearing. Lots of cords or skinny jeans with big thrifted sweaters mainly. This picture was from before Christmas but I never got around to posting it. Pretty good example of what I've been wearing lately, since I haven't bothered to take many photos. There are a few good ones I have squirreled away so there's no great lack of blogging material.

sweater - thrifted, tee - pacsun, jeans - gap, shoes - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach

So, the one good thing about a lack of internet is the amount of reading I did. In the last couple weeks I've read at least six books, one of which was 600+ pages. I used to do stuff like that all the time, when I was a kid, and it feels really nice to just absolutely devour books again. The highlights of my book binge include The World According to Garp, Lolita, and a Nero Wolf book. There was also some Jane Austen, Ray Bradbury, and Kate Chopin in there, and I finally finished Les Miserables.

I also started watching another Korean drama, this one my friend has on dvd and she lent me the first disk. It's called Boys Before Flowers and it is absolutely great. Even better than the last one I was watching, Playful Kiss. The girl, Jan Di, is so much more of a badass. Seriously, she regularly kicks dudes in the face and I love her for it. The asshole boy (because it seems like Koreans love jerky boys) is so ridiculously adorable it just makes me want to die.

I guess since I'm talking about media consumption I ought to also mention that I've been going to see a lot of movies with my friend Amanda lately. We saw Black Swan quite awhile ago, and then The King's Speech and most recently Blue Valentine, which was incredibly sad but good. Usually we go to the theater right by her house but that one was only playing at the Egyptian on Capitol Hill and ended up making friends with this random stranger when we stopped for a slice of pizza after.

8 year old hooker with a heart of gold

2011-01-01T23:18:00.000-08:00

ugh, you guys, last night was rough. I did a LOT of walking in those heels. It was also insanely fun. I drank a lot, at a lot of different bars, and even got cut of for the first time in my life. Some of my favorite people were around and I kissed three people at midnight. I called my best friend to tell her I loved her, and my dad to try to get him to come buy us drinks since we couldn't. I also got honked, cat-called, and whistled at, and decided I looked like an 8 year old hooker with a heart of gold. (The dress makes me look 8, the heels and tights look hooker-ish.) The night ended with drunkenly watching Arrested D in a big tangled pile of friends, while fending off advances from a boy who ought to know better. Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home, so I don't have pictures other than a ripped in half strip from a photobooth, which I can't show you because my scanner is broken. So...one more picture from last night before going out, this one just to show off how insanely sparkly my tights were. (So sparkly in fact, that when I was walking on a dark trail to meet my friend, she saw me WAY before I could see her.)

thank heaven it's two thousand eleven!

2010-12-31T20:36:00.000-08:00

Hoping everyone has a Happy New Year! Have fun tonight, you guys!

velvet dress - thrfited, sparkly tights - costume shop, earrings - claire's, shoes - jeffrey campbell, nails - midnight blue by sinful colors, lips - really red by revlon

snow days

2010-12-30T22:20:00.000-08:00

So this snow is actually from before Thanksgiving (absolutely crazy for Washington, let me tell you) but this is just about what it looks like outside right now too. And actually, come to think of it, yesterday I was wearing about the same outfit too.

I was in Seattle the night before last, at a Festivus party, and stayed the night there. In the morning, peeking out the window to make sure I hadn't gotten a ticket, I noticed a few snowflakes starting to fall. Shortly after, while we finished the game of Seinfeld Monopoly we had started the night before, I got a text from my mom telling me there were 4 inches of snow at home and I had better head back soon. Instead, Justina and I went to Ugly Mug for coffee (their Mexican Mocha is incredible) and sandwiches (the bulgogi sub J gave me a bite of was amazing) and then to Neptune Music for used records and tapes. This is something we have not done in a LONG time but it was incredibly enjoyable. I miss just hanging out in the city like that.

floral dress - thrfited, coat - urban outfitters, shirt - old, leggings - target, boots - thrifted, lipstick - revlon really red, camera - vintage yashica fx-3

The day these photos are from, I skipped work because of the snow (the roads were bad that time, not this time) and wandered around taking photographs around my house. I still haven't gotten the film developed yet (I have like 4 rolls that need developing) but I'll post it when I finally do. I gotta tell ya, I love this kind of weather. I mean, I love sunshine as well, but storms and things. This winter has been good so far: two respectable snowstorms and a flood.

lost in forgetfulness

2010-12-28T03:16:00.000-08:00

90s dress - thrifted, cardigan - urbout, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach, glasses - zenni optical

This outfit sure had a lot of thrifted elements. This was right at the beginning of the fall. My college student friends all wanted to go out the night before and celebrate and take full advantage of the last day that could do that on a weekday without having to go to class hungover the next day, so we went to a bar in Ballard. The night before I had some knee socks on too, and at work before going out, I had a longer skirt worn over this dress. So basically, I got three outfits and two days out of this one dress. I stayed at Amanda's house and we went to a rather sweet cafe maybe 20 minutes walking distance from her house the next day.

On our way back we walked through Gasworks Park (have you ever seen 10 Things I Hate About You? remember the paintball scene? it was filmed there) and took pictures. This was one of the last days I felt comfortable with bare legs this year. It was a cool enough for a sweater but I didn't terribly miss tights or tall socks. This kind of lazy day, drinking coffee, eating sandwiches, going to the park, with your best friend is one of the best things in life, for realskies.

And, to top it all off, we found this Christmas tree ornament hanging in a tree outside my friend's apartment. It was a little early at the time (these pictures have gotten kind of lost for more than a little while) but now it's only just past the proper day.

still haven't got that damn gold paint of my boots

2010-12-26T23:49:00.000-08:00

striped tee - old, flannel - gap, skirt - thrifted, hat - gift, tights - target, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach, lips - revlon really red

This is a work outfit from when my computer was out of commission. The hat was a present from my great-aunt, who my mom got to see at Thanksgiving and I did not. It's super cozy and surprisingly works really well over my hair pinned up. I wore it over braids a lot during our crazy snowing/flooding/super cold weather that we had way too early in the winter.

Merry Christmas to All!

2010-12-25T18:29:00.000-08:00

Hope all you lovely bloggy friends are having a wonderful Christmas. Additionally, Happy Hanukkah, Solstice, and Kwanzaa to those that celebrate, and to those that do not, have a cozy winter season.

inclement weather

2010-12-21T01:53:00.000-08:00

sweater - stepdad's, skirt - thrifted, tights - garage sale, purse - thrifted coach, shoes - aldo, scarf - christmas present in highschool

Wow, so things have been kind of crazy for the past month or two. The weather was insane in November. I honestly can not remember a single time that we had snow that actually stuck before Thanksgiving, but it happened this year. I had to leave work early in order to get home safely, and the drive that usually takes me all of forty minutes took over three hours. Luckily I had my friend to keep me company, but goddamn it was intense. Periodic stops every hour or so kept me from going insane, but I was not dressed for the weather. Shoes that offer some traction are an awful nice thing to have when you're trying to not fall on your ass in icy parking lots.

When I left for work that day, it was barely snowing at all, and definitely not sticking. I thought it would be no big deal. I won't say I wasn't cozy, since this sweater keeps me crazy warm and there is nothing like a good thick scarf wrapped around your neck three times, but little oxfords with extremely flat and smooth soles are not the best choice for weather like this. If I'd only known. We did get home safely, and honestly, it was kind of fun. Justina bought me coffee since I came I did pick her up from work and there's probably no one better to get stuck in a snowstorm with.

2010-12-16T21:32:00.000-08:00

Guys, I'm awful. I've been totally MIA because my computer crapped out on me. Sad face times a million. I miss blogging and reading all my favorite blogs, but it's library computers or nothing right now. Hoping to have a computer again soon and then I'll be back with a vengeance. I've got major weather pictures just waiting to be posted. In the last month we've had a big snowstorm and a flood so things have been exciting to say the least. Miss you all!

piecycle pie oh my god yum

2010-12-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

tee - depeche mode concert, sweatshirt - old navy, beat to shit denim jacket - thrifted levi's, blanket skirt - thrifted, tights - target, shoes - aldo, purse - thrifted coach

I still go hang out at my spot by the river on my lunch breaks, usually to smoke, but damn is it cold now. Snow and everything. So weird. Anyways, later at Shane's we watched a ton of tv and ordered pie and this time I actually got a picture of the pie guy. He's a cutie! We got sweet potato, and he gave me some tips on making good pecan pie for Thanksgiving. He's even willing to share his knowledge. Good god, I've been talking about food a lot lately. Blame it on the holidays!

it's not like being an oncologist . . . i don't need to do a bunch of coke to be happy

2010-12-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

shirt - target, sweatshirt - old navy, skirt - bb dakota, tights - urban outfitters, shoes - aldo

I love this skirt. I ought to wear it more. This was just a work outfit, plus hanging out with my dear friend Tommy afterwards. We made Mac and Cheese Pancakes, which are delicious. Like seriously, please try them. They sound so weird but they're really so so good. Make sure your cheese gets kind of crispy on the outside, and serve them with some butter and good maple syrup. It's amazing. And watch this video, because dude is hilarious.

fantastic fall

2010-12-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

flannel - gap, sweatshirt - old navy, thermal - target, cutoffs - diy, polka dot tights - target, socks - target, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach, glasses - zenni optical

This was a super fun day Justina and I spent walking around the park and collecting pretty leaves. I wore this new lipstick I picked up by Revlon. I love the super dark, purpley color, but I feel like it's a bit too extreme for every day wear. Like it would be weird to wear to work. But I do love these shorts with the dotty tights and I've been wanting to wear my glasses a lot more.

I also took a lot of pictures, and found this super cute tree. The knots naturally formed hearts and the carving is by a local artist named Dan Cautrell. He creates these carved wood pieces and fits them onto existing knots on trees, cut branches, and stumps. And then, in addition, there's the little love note initials? Cuteness.

school uniform style

2010-12-01T16:36:00.000-08:00

shirt - thrifted gramicci, bow tie - random grosgrain ribbon, skirt - thrifted, tights - target, shoes - aldo

I've been watching a metric ton of this Korean drama, Playful Kiss, and love the clothes in the episodes, especially the early ones. When they're still in high school, the characters wear the cutest school uniforms and one of them has this cute little bow for the girls. So that's where that came from.

thanksgiving baking

2010-11-30T00:41:00.000-08:00

sweater - american rag, corduroys - j.crew

This was a total lazy day at home outfit. I love this sweater but I don't really know how to wear it. Like every outfit I wear with it feels like it could be better, but I don't know how. But the kimono sleeves and smocked waist are just so rad!

Also, I made the BEST Cranberry Curd Bars with Walnut Shortbread Crust for Thanksgiving. Seriously, click that link and try these! They would be great for Christmas too, and they're really pretty easy. I almost fell on my kitchen floor when I tasted the curd. They are the prettiest pink color!

you'll know what makes the world turn

2010-11-27T18:15:00.000-08:00

dress - thrifted, moccasins - minnetonka, belt - thrifted

I've had this dress in the back of my closet for ages and just never wore it before. It's super comfortable and the color is crazy. So blue! The belt is also from the thrift store and it's this great rainbow woven leather thing. One of those weird sorts of things that thrift stores are so great for.