BACK TO BASICS // denim top one

On Saturday I finally got down to Wayzgoose at King's Books!  The last few years I've missed it, which is pretty embarrassing as someone who graduated from college with a degree in printmaking.  Wayzgoose is an annual event celebrating printmaking and book arts with tons of fun interactive events like getting to print pull your own little prints with local printmaking studios, paper-making, and watching the steamroller printing huge 3x3 linoleum block prints!  It's been so long since I was around printmaking in such a hands-on and visceral way and man do I miss it.  I always told myself I'd have a printmaking studio in my garage, so maybe I'll make it a goal this summer to make a little printmaking studio.  Anybody looking to offload a cheap printing press?

 


We've been working on getting the Winne "freshened up" because we're going to have my best friend live in it for a while!  I think eventually we might have it be an Airbnb rental, but it needs some fixing up before I'd feel okay having strangers stay in it (it has some... quirks).  Anyway, I was over at her apartment the other day and we were talking about downsizing stuff to fit in the Winne and it took me back to when I lived in it and had that tiny closet.  She was saying how she really wants to pare down her closet (and she'll probably need to at least a little bit to fit into the Brave), and I've been wanting to simplify my closet a bit as well.  I always have the problem of thinking that, hey, maybe someday I'll want to wear that again.  I know the general rule is to give away anything you haven't worn in a year, but I'm pretty sure I had these shorts in my closet for about a year before I wore them.  I bought them on a whim, then didn't wear them for about a year.  But I know that I like them and even if I don't wear them very often, they're still cute and feel like my style.  They are probably way too many items I haven't worn in a year sitting in my closet but I just get so nostalgic about them when I go to throw them in the donate pile.  And I also have the problem of looking back at old photos of my mom when she was younger, wishing she'd saved some of her cute clothes.  So of course I feel like I have to save cute or significant pieces for my future hypothetical daughter.  You guys can't tell I'm a pack rat at all, can you?  Don't worry, I absolutely didn't save every single geometry assignment and test from 9th grade.  Nope.  Not me.  That would be ridiculous.  
 


top(similar)/thrifted :: shorts(similar)/forever 21 :: tights(similar)/target scarf(similar)/modcloth :: boots(similar)/courtesy of blowfish shoes

mt. ellinor

This year we're making an effort to actually get out and explore, rather than just saying we will and then getting to October and realizing we only hiked once all summer.  Not that we did that last year at all.  Anyway.  So far this year we've gone on two hikes and we're finally all geared up to go on an overnighter here pretty soon!  The weather is still a bit iffy and chilly for our first backpacking trip, but by the end of May we'll absolutely have at least one under our belt! On Saturday we woke up around six and sleepily shoved all our gear in the car, piled Dusty on my lap and went to pick up two friends who were also accompanying us before fueling up with some fresh coffee and heading south.  Mt. Ellinor is pretty close, just off of Hood Canal, and the drive out is tree lined and beautiful.  We got there around 9, slipped on our hiking boots and hit the trail.  The first part of the hike is a relatively shallow incline through giant evergreens and open, mossy terrain.  As we started to get higher some dusting of snow started appearing below our feet, and eventually we were hiking on foot-wide path through snow drifts.  



 
Eventually you emerge from the forest into more sparsely treed, much steeper terrain.  The snowy trail transformed into a stairway made from footsteps and some portions felt uncomfortably close to vertical, but the views of mountain ranges and Lake Cushman were breathtaking.  Dusty was a hardcore little trooper and stuck with us the whole time.  I think if we'd known how steep the end of the hike was going to be we probably would've left her at home, but her tiny little legs carried her all the way and she had a blast.  When we decided to get a Corgi we thought that it might not be the best dog for taking with us on hikes, since they have such short legs and are pretty small dogs, but she's turned out to be such a wonderful adventure-Corg.

 
The weather was amazing until we got to the top and it was so socked in, visibility was barely at 20 ft.  Everything was pure, bright white except for a few blurry trees.  We couldn't really tell where the trail went so we ended up turning around a couple hundred feet from the peak, but there wasn't a view anyway.  I think we might try to go back and take the summer trail up to the peak later in the year.

To go down the steep snowy incline we hiked up, we had to glissade down, which is basically just sledding down without a sled.  None of us knew how snowy it would be so we all had just regular pants on, which meant that my butt was frozen by the time we got to the bottom, but it was pretty exhilarating.  One of our friends took a GoPro video of the glissade, but I haven't seen it yet, so here's a youtube video of the Mt. Ellinor glissade to give you an idea (edit: he just uploaded it!).   As we got down into the trees again we got to watch a flurry of snow make its way across a valley, eventually surrounding us with gentle white flakes.  By the time we made it back to the car we were ready to peel off our wet socks and replace them with warm, dry, fresh pairs.  We stopped in Hoodsport to grab some food from the grocery store deli.  I'm pretty sure no food is more delicious than whatever you eat after a big hike.  We sat at a picnic table, soaking in the spring sun, drinking bad coffee and eating chicken strips, corn dogs, and pizza.  The drive home was rainy and the car was full of sleeping hikers.  I spent most of the rest of the day laying in bed working on my laptop.  After hiking 6 miles and ascending over 3,000 ft. I decided that being horizontal was they way to spend the rest of the day.  This week is supposed to have gorgeous weather, so we might have to find another hike to take advantage of the sun!
 

BACK TO BASICS // jeans five

Straight hair, whuuuuut?  It only happens two to three times a year, mostly because it's a huge pain in the ass, but it's always fun to look different and see how long my hair "really" is.  I've been growing my bangs out for what feels like forever and I can't believe they're below my chin now!  They still haven't gotten quite past that stage where they keep falling in my face, but I'm almost there!  Someday I'll go back to the fringe, but for now I'm enjoying being able to throw my hair in a bun and have all my hair out of my face, which is nice for summer. I straightened my hair while Dan was at work and when he came home he was surprised to see me sans my usual mane.  For some reason he said it made me look like I did back in college, which is odd because I didn't straighten my hair any more frequently back then.  I do remember one day when I straightened my hair, though, freshman year.  I remember because he told me he liked my hair and I had all those feels because I liked him.  It is pretty odd to see me with straight hair, so I'm sure he just noted it because it was rather different from my typical 'do.  It's almost not even worth the time and effort to straighten my hair this time of year, though, because I can't go outside when it's raining unless I want it to turn curly again, and the weather goes from blazing sun to dreary downpour at the drop of a hat these days.  Curly girls, I know you feel me.  It's obnoxious, right?
Luckily it was super sunny yesterday and we got so much done outside.  We cut down the tree in our backyard in order to give the Winne her very own special spot with full hook ups and all!  It feels pretty spacious back there at the moment, but soon it will be full of Winne.  I can't believe how productive and refreshed I feel when it's sunny and warm outside.  I feel like the sun just infuses me with a shot of pure life.  I haven't felt that productive in weeks.

 
top/forever 21 :: cardigan/gap :: jeans/courtesy of modcloth :: scarf/rungolee glasses/courtesy of bonlook :: shoes/courtesy of baliELF This is the last of the Back to Basics jeans outfits!  I have one more set left and I'll be styling a denim/chambray button down top five ways next week.  I used to have one but I think it made it's way to goodwill, so I went thrifting this week to find a suitable top to remix and found the perfect one.  It's been a long time since I had a top like that, so I'm excited to style it up a few ways!

 

BACK TO BASICS // jeans four

It's funny how one day I can do something crazy like get on stage in front of nearly 1000 people, and then the next day I go to do something new and still get anxious.  On Wednesday I decided to go to a ballet class after being encouraged by my choreographer to do it.  I'd done ballet in college, but hadn't been to a class in probably seven years, and I'm certainly not a "dancer."  I didn't grow up dancing and don't have that base of knowledge and muscle memory.  Being a perfectionist and competitive, being bad at things, especially in a group setting, is one of my least favorite things.  But there I was in a group of adults, some of whom have clearly danced since they could walk,  some much older and decidedly uncoordinated, and then there I was.  Standing at the barre slightly freaking out about what I had decided to put myself through.  I had a sprained big toe and couldn't even get up on relevé , and I probably shouldn't have gone, to let my toe heal, but I didn't want to use it as an excuse.  I sat out on half of it because I physically couldn't do it with my hurt foot, but I went.  I dragged my ass out of bed on a wednesday morning, put on some tights and ballet flats and put myself in a situation that was well out of my comfort zone.  I'm not sure when I'll go next, but I bought a 10 class punch card (in some sort of overconfident, enthusiastic haze), so I have to go back.  

 

top/courtesy of marshalls :: jeans + cardigan/courtesy of modcloth necklace/handmade :: hat/courtesy of tittle millinery
Ok so this is a sort of cheating outfit.  It's pretty much identical to an outfit I wore before, but I wanted to try it out with wide leg jeans instead of skinnies.  A while back I saw Kendi wear a gorgeous outfit with a flowing white top and wide legged jeans and I wanted to replicate it but the only flowing top I have is this cardigan, so for now it'll have to do.  Someday I'll find the perfect flowy white top to go with it.  Time to start scouring thrift stores!

a delightful giveaway from original moxie!

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