3/30/08

Alright, this post is going to be purposefully off topic because today is a very very very special day.

Today is mine and Gare’s three year anniversary of dating.

And now we’re getting married in four and a half months.

It’s crazy to think that none of this would have happened had one of Gare’s best friends not had a crush on my best friend and invited us over to hang out. Or had I not had a slidey keyboard phone (the era right before touch phones). Or had Gare not wanted to text himself from my revolutionary slidey keyboard phone. Or had I not had the courage to text him the next day even though I didn’t know the guy and he had just innocently (seriously, he wasn’t trying to give me his number, haha) put his number in my phone. Or had we not started talking and had he not wanted to invite me over to watch Science of Sleep.

It gives me butterflies thinking about it <3
Happy anniversary to my future husband.

Thanks for putting this man in my life, God :) And for making it so we can spend the rest of our lives together. I couldn't be more grateful.

A post for the sake of posting

I feel like a big weiner right now because this post is just going to be a post for the sake of not breaking my daily post pact with myself... but I literally have no time today to write about anything thoughtful or interesting since I'm supposed to be channeling all of that brain junk into an essay that is due tomorrow.

Though if I had my way I'd love to talk about my outfit today cause I thought it was really swell :) I was going for a 70s look just so I could whip out my new high-waisted stovepipe jeans with a unicorn on the butt pocket. Those pants are just so glorious... but we can rain check that for another day.

Anyway, I'm off to explore toil over the societal parallels between the ancient world and the medieval period.

I think I would rather play with this shiba inu in the bathtub.

Have a lovely night guys <3

A sailor and Miami Vice lovechild

Today has been the first day in a long time that it really feels like spring, and I couldn't be happier! So, I think I should like to christen this momentous event with my first ever actual style post. Since I don't have any nice location on campus that I feel brave enough to set up a tripod and camera and endure awkward glances of strangers by myself, I decided to just take some quick pictures in the safe solitude of my dormroom with Photobooth. Ah well, at least I'll have these pictures to refer back to so I can reshoot this outfit later!

(Please excuse my weird positioning... haha. Trying to showcase the clothes + fitting myself into the frame is a bit of an undertaking.)

A couple friends described me as a sailor. Another saw me coming out of Miami Vice.
So! Here's my "sailor making love to Miami Vice" ensemble ;)

Shades: thrifted
Top (actually a scarf): thrifted
Jacket: Ralph Lauren thrifted (it's supposed to be navy blue but you can't really tell :'[ )
Purse: thrifted vintage
Harem pants <3: thrifted vintage
Shoes: thrifted
Watch: thrifted vintage

Calling for a vintage revival

Have I already mentioned how much I love old people? More than ever, I feel like they are misunderstood by the young. Okay, so a lot of them are fragile, losing their minds, kinda cranky, and smell a little funny (there's always exceptions to the rule, of course!). BUT! They weren't always! In fact, they used to be just as stylish, opinionated, passionate, and fun-loving as we are now. And their clothes! The very same clothes that today's society gawks at for its ridiculous "dated" look, we vintage lovers gasp and coo over. Do we as a society fully realize the coolness, the uniqueness of those granny dresses? The silky shrouds and feathers and beads? The handmade beauties? They used to be so hot and fashionable in their time! What happened? Why have they curled up and died and been shoved in the attic the way they have? Why can't we bring them back? (Given, in a modern way :) ) Sure, the runways have been known to incorporate such vintage inspirations into their lines, but I think we could use some more vintage lovin' among the general populous. Clothing of past decades offer such unique glamour, details, and construction. It's just... fantastic.

I think this video should explain my passionate outpouring :)

Nails, nails, nails

Lately, I've had a bit of an obsession with painting my nails. My brand of preference? O.P.I. I have sworn by it and will swear by it until I die. There is no polish like it! Not only are the colors as varied as a 124 count box of Crayolas but the paint itself is fantastic quality and goes on smooooth as buhttah. For a nail polish the price is a tad bit steep, about $8-9 a bottle, but Wally World usually has some nice sales. Nail polish is to me as Pokemon is to Ash. I just want to collect them all!

Feast your eyes on the glory! (geek out commences in 3... 2... 1...)

Painting nails... it's kind of a funny concept! I wonder who first came up with it...

It's friday, fried eggs

Fridays? I love them. There are so many reasons to love Friday. In fact, I will list them because lists are just plain fun!

1. No classes. Yeaahah, three day weekends every weekend! I was very very fortunate to get the class schedule I did.
2. The drive home! Though school is only an hour away, I love the drive home. I always imagine myself returning home from a long voyage, for some reason. It makes me feel all sentimental about my hometown :)
3. Working with Christina... always the loveliest time. What can I say, no matter what we're doing--drinking tea, chatting, cleaning, listing, thrifting, snacking--I just enjoy her company so much!
4. Visiting the fiance. Does this even need commentary? :) 5 more months, please pass swiftly!
5. Stopping by to see maman and pops and the little brother and the two pups. The more time passes, the more grateful I am to have my family within close proximity. I don't know how my heart has changed so much over the course of a year, but it feels like it is ever-expanding with love and appreciation for them. God must be doing his work in there <3
6. And last but not least? CLASSY SECONDS: my absolute favorite local thrift store. Not only is their stuff very inexpensive (even compared to stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army!), but they usually offer some kind of great deal every Friday like $5 basket sales or 50% off clothes. Oh! Plus, the proceeds go to organizations that work toward the prevention of domestic violence. I stopped by today and scoured, oh I scoured. Found so many lovely items, I just can't wait to put together outfits for spring.

In the words of Rebecca Black, "It's Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on Friday." I hope you're all getting down today and having fun fun fun fun.

Fluff for brains

Goal accomplishment! Since the weather continues to unleash its snowy wrath upon us, I have been presented with an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone. And that zone? It regards my headwear. I'm not a hat person. At all. For some reason 99% of hats are averse to my head. I can't really put my finger on why. Could be that my head is really awkwardly shaped compared to the rest of the general populous. Or maybe hat manufacturers are lazy and assume all heads are exactly the same shape and size when they're really not. I have just had the most trouble finding a hat that suits my head well!

I thought my head would be cold and coverless forever! Until just the other week, fate smiled upon me in the form of 100% Italian lamb.

 

Dr. Zhivago-esque?

 

This is my hat, the very day I purchased it for a quarter while I was yard sale hopping with dearest Ashlea. You actually can't see in the picture, but there are two fluffy matching furballs hanging down from those black cords. Can you guess the very thought I had when I laid eyes on this majestic specimen of headwear? Yes, it was love. It was enough love that I knew one day I would have to bring myself to defy social norms and march brazenly among the public whilst my head is adorned with this helmet of fur. 

Today, my friends, was that day. (Warning: anticlimactic ending ahead) So, it really wasn't all that exciting. I mean, I think I probably would have gotten more weird stares but I think people were too busy with their heads down else they would have been blinded by the snowy gale.

Regardless, I feel accomplished. Like balls of steel have suddenly descended between my legs. I want to keep doing this sort of thing, without worrying about what people might say or think about me. I want to make it so that there's nothing (well, almost nothing) that lies outside of my clothing comfort zone.

 
Food for thought... what's something that you've always wanted to do but it was outside of your comfort zone? What holds you back?

We've all been told that life is too short to be afraid of what people might think or say about us but honestly I don't know if any of us could truly say that the opinions of others aren't a huge reality for us. I wonder what we can do to build our confidence so as to minimize those fears? In the grand scheme of things, does that one guy's scoff really matter?

I win your heart with a *whoo-hoo!*

This has absolutely nothing to do with clothing, but since today's post might as well be relevant to my day, I figured I could share how bummed I am that my yoga subscription expires tomorrow! I took 50 days total and kept as persistent as I could. I wish I could keep going! But darlin', $120 a month (and that's with the student discount!) ain't no pocket money. Though I'll still be able to go from time to time as long as I'm a substitute karma cleaner (the studio offers a nice trade: 2 hours of studio cleaning for one week of free yoga!), I'll sure miss the consistency! Bikram (hot yoga) is great. If you haven't had the chance to try it, I would definitely recommend! It's quite the mind-body experience, building your flexibility and strength while sweating out the stresses and toxins. I think my favorite bit is how you can really see your improvement over time. I swear, one day I'll be able to do something crazy like see my feet come over the top of my head... one day... (hey, I can dream!) Why? I'm not exactly sure, really. There's some kind of strange appeal to bending my body into unthinkable positions (oh yeah, that's what she said).

Oh! I also would like you to stop whatever you're doing for a brief moment and open a new tab in your browser. In this tab I want you to go to stereomood.com. And I want you to get plugged in to some mood-matching music. It is in-freakin-credible. You won't regret it. Chill out, relax, enjoy some oh-so-lovely you time. Don't you deserve it? It's been a long day :)

I want to sing-a about the moon-a and the june-a and the spring-a

Oh, what a day. I keep trying to dress spring-y with the idea in mind that if I pretend really hard that the weather is warmer, the climate will automatically adjust accordingly. Instead, I am left with white knuckles, goosebumps, and icy toes. Alas.

I cannot wait for spring. It's a beautiful, renewing time of year. And it just so happens to feature my favorite color scheme: pastels! 

photos via weheartit

[Edit]: Jessicaaaa! I love you :) I can't believe I didn't realize it was you!

Experimenting with layout stuffs now. Blogger is very user-friendly thus far! I like it.

Ready, set, GOALS.

Yeeaahhaah, day 3!

I was thinking it would be a good idea to make some goals for the rest of the semester! I'm out in May so that should give me plenty of time to focus on accomplishing a few things. The list is non-exhaustive so to any friends who happen to read this, suggestions are very, very welcome!

1. Write a new post every day. So far so good!
2. Make photo compilations of at least 3 outfits.
3. Figure out a design layout for my blog page! This standard n00by one will have to go at some point. The blog needs some lovin'!
4. Take part in at least one Cafe Girasole vintage sale with Christina. Stoked!
5. Do a vintage styling collaboration with a local photographer. There are some very talented people in this town! It's good practice and I think it'd be a lot of fun :)
6. Have a dress-up day or two!
7. Pay some attention to Camille (my camera, uh huh, named. and female for some reason.) I haven't taken a real photograph in quite some time :(
8. Wear an outfit on campus that pushes my comfort zone a little bit.
9. Check out Chictopia!

Can't think of any more right now! Probs will be back to this later.

Setting sail

So, this is me. A run of the mill picture of a vintage blogger in some run of the mill vintage swag, right? Wrong! Oh, there is a story behind this picture, yes, quite a story. And it regards a fantastic lady by the name of Christina (AKA SecondSkinStyle).

 So sweet, amirite?

Sometime last year, I discovered style blogs. Y'know, like the one I'm about to attempt to create here: ladies whose hobby is to keep up with the fashion trends, showcasing their unique and awesome apparel, and sometimes managing their own ebay/etsy store to share their personal clothing loves with the world! Before, I just "followed" them by making bookmark tabs but now that I'm on Blogger I can actually follow them (yay, real blogging!).

Anyway, I began to watch Christina's blog toward the end of last year, and for some reason I couldn't help thinking her pictures looked very familiar. The backgrounds... those big snowy mountains and flat dry dead deserty-looking fields could very easily have been my backyard scene. Is it possible that we both live in the same little podunk town? And then it hit me. I had seen her! At the local In-N-Out of all places. I remember it well. It was just another summer day, the boyfriend (Gare) and I were grabbing some grilled cheeses and iced coffee when suddenly this lady walked in with her little boy. I nudged Gare. Dude, do you see that lady? Look at what she's wearing! She looks like she just fell out of the twenties! Christina was sporting a floral dress with a cloche hat. It was awesome. Except that I was staring so hard I might as well had been her stalker. What is she even doing here?! (Just to give you an idea, fashion isn't really a word used often here. At least not that I've seen. I think the biggest retail deal we had at the time was a JCPenney.)

Upon this realization, I wrote in Christina's formspring, remarking upon the coincidence and asking if she had any advice about someone who was thinking about getting into the vintage selling/blogging scene. Her response was beyond anything I would have ever expected. We ended up meeting up for lunch at a local cafe spot and talking for almost three hours! We shared stories and even got a bit philosophical (y'know, just your typical cafe experience, right? haha). Amazingly, it seems that we're kindred spirits about a lot of life-related things! At the pinnacle of our chat, Christina told me about her situation, that she'd been contemplating different directions she wanted to go with her vintage blogging/selling but mainly that she was hoping to take on an apprentice of sorts who could help her stay consistent with her store while she figured things out. I think I could have jumped out of my skin. Yes! Yes!

And that's where we are now. Christina and I get together most Fridays and she's teaching me the way of the vintage blogger/seller while I help her with her vintage selling. I really couldn't be happier. And it's more than just being able to explore a new hobby, I'm grateful I've made such a wonderful friend in Christina (pardon the cheesiness, but it's true!!) She's a great lady. I'm excited. All is good.

So that picture of me? I guess you can say it's my first step into the vintage style blogging neighborhood. (Christina dressed me up for my birthday dinner :)) Cheers to a beautiful new endeavor? Okay, let's do this.

P.S. Geez these posts are LONG! Promise I'll shorten them up as I go!

A new day blossoms

Hi! Wow, oh this is exciting. I've just entered the blogging world. Like, o'fish. I don't have anyone following me, so I guess I'm writing this post to myself, really. Hmm. I suppose I can start off by talking about what the heck this is.

Well, to start off, this is going to be a fashion blog of sorts. Specifically, a blog on vintage fashion. Writing those words is so foreign to me; I never would have imagined myself picking up a hobby like fashion. "Fashion" used to seem like such an alien concept. The word almost always made me think of stuff like America's Next Top Model and The Devil Wears Prada. You know, red carpet couture, all those bigwig names and labels dedicated to a billion dollar industry: the fabric we put on our skin. But in all reality, fashion is a huge part of our culture. Clothing can really be a fantastic medium through which we express ourselves. In a way, it seems to have this mystical ability to define us, maybe sometimes better than words do.

As for me, I knew there were certain styles I liked better than others. Even before I started getting into it, I was drawn toward a kind of "vintage" look: flowy dresses, classic prints. Needless to say, there came a point when I didn't want to dress my age. I think it was in ninth grade when one of my friends told me she could see me as a grandma, that I am an "old soul." At first, I wasn't really sure how to take being compared to someone who drives 15 below the speed limit (bad joke alert!). But then it started to dawn on me how much past decades fascinate me. The music, the culture, the styles were all so characteristically unique to their time and I love that. How cool would it be to be an old person, having been a living witness of all of those developments and transitions over the years!

There's still so much I want to say... but I don't want to geek out too much just yet, so I'll close my first post with a thought. I've had a taste of blogging before on Tumblr, but I've never really taken it seriously. I want this blog to be something serious. I've been presented with an incredible opportunity (which I will elaborate on soon!), and I want to soak it up as much as I can. I really want to see my hobby develop and take direction... I want to foster it, grow it into something amazing! Something I can use and share with people! Could be temporary, could be long term. Either way, it's an adventure for sure!

Wish me luck! :)