a fair day

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)

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.

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...

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)

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)

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

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.