my sweetest downfall

Yesterday morning it looked like it was going to be a nice day and then in the evening it was all, "just kidding!" Well played, weather. With all the rain, my mom broke down and bought an umbrella since she's outside training the new puppy all the time. She thought it was just a plain black one, but then took it out of the cover and it was this gaudy, huge black and white one. Oh well. I actually saw some adorable umbrellas at Sears yesterday. I'm probably going to go get one today, since I'm headed to the air show in the afternoon and the forecast is for rain. Again. I totally love the rain though. It's strange, I never thought I'd be a rain person. It's not that I'm not a sun person, but I do love the rain.

dress/forever 21 :: vest(dress) & wedges/courtesy of modcloth

I went to the house yesterday to check in on the Brave, and maybe do some stuff, but I saw what happened next door and couldn't bear staying. Someone bought the lot next to our house and cleared nearly all the trees in order to build on it. That whole area where I used to take my pictures is completely gone. The side of our house feels completely naked with out those trees there. I cried a bit. I grew up playing in those woods! It's hard seeing things change which were so constant for so long. Now some big gaudy house will take the place of all those magical places. It's like, jeez! We move out for a couple months and everything changes! I'm glad I'm moving out in September, it would be weird living there seeing all the changes happening next door.

winners!

The winner of the Yellow Birdd Vintage giveaway is

Skeletons in my Closet!

And, also, the winner of the Motives Lipstick giveaway is

Hailey from ThankHeaven.!

Both winners were chosen by the random number generator at random.org. Congrats ladies!

The dog days are over

Yesterday was the best day at work ever. My coworker was gone all day and so I got the whole room to myself, which meant listening to my favorite tunes and singing along all day long. It made the day go by so quickly! I basically just listened to Florence and the Machine and Amy Winehouse. It reminded me of how Amy was really one of those people who got me into style, which I think a lot of people might see as funny since she certainly doesn't look "stylish" when she leaves the house looking like she's emerging from a week long bender. I just remember watching the Rehab video and being totally excited that a celeb had similar hair to mine, all big and curly. And I loved that she didn't give a damn about the press, she was going to be herself, with her huge beehive, slathered on eyeliner, tattoos, and all around bad-girl lifestyle. I mean, it's supremely unfortunate that she's so troubled, but I hope she's getting help because she's a seriously talented individual. Back in 2007 I wore a big beehive like hers all the time and she's what started me doing my winged eyeliner. I mean, she was the first thing I ever posted on in this blog!

shirt/hot topic :: skirt/thrifted :: shoes/courtesy of Darlingtonia

This is one of those outfits that I feel completely comfortable in. I love putting something on and just feeling totally myself. Not that I often dress out of my comfort zone, though I do try to push the envelope of my comfort zone in an effort to grow stylistically and as a human being. It's just one of those things where you concoct and outfit and when you put it on, it seems to mold to your body like some freaky Star Trek outfit or something. I like how it's a bit eclectic, and I decided to put on lipstick for some extra fun. I hadn't worn my deep plum lipstick in a while, and it seemed like a fun addition. I sorta feel like a super hero when I wear lipstick. Now where'd I park my invisible plane...

My sweet sponsor Darlingtonia Moccasins sent over these adorable moccs and I l-o-v-e them. I'm sure you guys know, I'm pretty much a fool for my moccs. I have three pairs of Minnetonkas, my boots, my ankle booties, and my ubiquitous moccs. But these cuties are just to die for. I think what I love most, besides the color, is the sole! I was ever so pleasantly surprised to slip my foot into them and feel like I was walking on air. Easily the most comfortable shoes I own. She's got a ton of really fun moccasin designs, but I, being a simple girl, opted for the plain jane ones. The feel very nautical to me, which I'm obviously a fan of.

Okay, well this post is going up about 12 hours later than I had planned and I need to get over to the Winne to do some suzy-homemaking! I haven't seen it in forever and I really would like to spend some time in there gettin' my decor on. Go out and do something fun tonight! It's Friday!

Eminence Front

Rebecca's post yesterday reminded me that I totally missed my two year blog anniversary! I was waiting and waiting for it to come, and just like that it was ten days ago. I don't know how I missed it. Needless to say, I will be coming up with some sort of belated celebratory post. I've actually been thinking of doing a vlog (I hate that word. It's so awkward. I refuse to say it out loud, mainly because I can't figure out how I want to pronounce it) answering questions that you guys have. I don't have a formspring or anything where you guys can ask questions, so what if you just left any question– serious, silly, meaningful, strange, etc.– in a comment on this post and I'll see if I can answer them in a video (or perhaps a series of videos, if there are lots of questions). I think it would be fun. I've been meaning to do another video since I promised another makeup tutorial, so this could be a way to force me to follow through, eh?

dress/vintage :: shoes/seychelles :: hair bow/idee geniale :: necklace/shop in Kihei

Last night there was a big dinner put on by the missionaries that are staying in our house. With the help of a bunch of volunteers they cooked a multi course meal of delicious Italian food for a huge group of friends and supporters. It reminded me that they were the ones who actually taught me how to make Bruschetta two years ago, which I basically lived off of my entire senior year of college. I'm serious. I could eat a 4 course meal of only Bruschetta. Bruschetta and pizza for the rest of my life. Mmmm.

I think this is one of my favorite dresses of all time. It's so comfortable and it fits perfectly. It's one of those vintage maxi dresses I shortened. I would love to try a maxi style, but It's excessively difficult to find a maxi dress that actually is maxi on a 5'1" person, not dragging beneath my feet. I really cannot remember a time in the past few years in which I wore a floor length dress or skirt... this is making me think I should give it a go.

In other news, not only did I totally fail at going to bed before midnight last night... I even failed at going to bed before 1:00. Wednesday, be gentle.

you are a waterfall waiting inside a well

I did outfit photos a couple days ago and then when I looked through them decided I hated the outfit and went and changed, but I liked this picture, so here it is. I think I just like the contrast of colors, with the fuschia Fireweed, green sweater, and red hair.

It's funny, I'm already thinking about the end of my journey, before it even starts (I mean, assuming the journey ever really ends...). I know I will love being on the road. It's a very natural place for me to be, I think. At the same time, I know it will be hard not having a home base. It was funny, Simon and Little Bit were play fighting downstairs the other night, and every once in a while Simon would run over to the stairs and sit down on the first step. It always looked like he would run there and say "BASE!" with his body language. Little Bit wasn't allowed to get him when he was on the stair. Too cute. But the concept of having a base, a place where you are safe and nothing can get you, it's a comforting one, and I'm kind of giving it up. Thinking about not having a base for a while has made me start thinking about my eventual return to a base. I'd like to end the trip having a base of my own, not just coming back to my parents.

I think I really want to end up by the ocean. Definitely Pacific Northwest. I've discovered that I really love the rain and the ocean. I just like being on the coast. It feels so free. Like you could just get in a ship and leave. Looking over the ocean is like seeing possibilities. I'm not sure if I'd like being landlocked. I guess when I close my eyes, I always see myself parked by the ocean in the Winne.

And I feel like I'm going to always like living in small, simple, organic houses (for some reason I see the Brave as being organic, even though it's a metal box on wheels with an engine). My best friends in Talkeetna are living in a Yurt, and I used to think they were weird and hokey, (and I generally dislike circles in design...) but I really love the simplicity and openness of their Yurt. Plus, it's a really simple way to live. And then I discovered this whole tiny house movement, which is super cool. I think maybe I just like tiny houses and motorhomes because they are very much like playhouses and treehouses, both of which I adored as a child. I used to try and build really makeshift treehouses with my neighbor friends in the woods behind our houses. We would play "bush family" instead of "house"... you may have to be Alaskan to really understand that. I digress.

I love the idea of living very simply. I loathe any sort of debt, so living in an inexpensive house like a Yurt or even my Winnebago (inexpensive as long as it's not sucking down gasoline) is extremely attractive to me. Of course, this is all very far ahead, so I'm not planning anything, just getting seeds planted in my brain.