Friday, April 29, 2011

Weekend Away Guest Post: Veronika

As promised, I have a series of guest posters lined up for my little weekend away. One of Robert's projects for into a film festival in Seattle, so that is where I am. All of the guest posters will be answering questions about a dreamy weekend trip. First up is Veronika, from Girl & Closet. She's super sweet and has an amazing blog, so check her out (even though you probably already have).

If you could get away to anywhere fictional for a weekend, where would you go?

I have recently discovered and fallen in love with Herefordshire, England. I’m absolutely smitten with the gorgeous countryside, rolling hills, beautiful bridges, and old homes & trees. I love visiting places that have history and charm. It’s so nostalgic and has a kind of fabulous romance to it. I’m originally from Europe, so it resonates with me and reminds me of home.

Who (real or fictional) would you bring?

Honestly? My idea of a perfect vacation involves my hubby and our adorable pooch! As for fictional, I would have to say Anne of Green Gables, as written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I was obsessed with those books as a teen, and the character has such a vivid imagination; she would be the perfect person to go on an exploration with.

What would you do there?

I would love to go on picnics, take pictures (the scenery is stunning there), and explore neighbourhood pubs & restaurants. And I would also love to see all of the old castles, churches, and visit the amazing gardens.

What sort of music playlist would you need?

Say Hi, Shout Out Louds, Au Revoir Simone, She & Him, Pixies, The Cure, Empire of The Sun, Saint Etienne, and many more... I could go on. I adore music and have a pretty massive collection, but these artists would definitely be near the top of my playlist.

& last but not least, what would you wear?

I would wear my (beloved) recently thrifted sweater and modcloth skirt, but I would probably leave the platforms at home. Depending on the season, I would either settle for ballet slippers or a pair of knee length flat vintage boots. And I now officially want to book that ticket to England...









Hope you’re having a fabulous vacation, Lea! And thank you for letting me chat with your readers. Great to meet you guys, and be sure to pop on over to Girl & Closet and say hi! xx veronika

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Sort-of-Remix, Updates + Random



I am warning you now. This post is going to be a bit odd and random and chaotic. But only because I've been busy and posting more sporadically. I have two different outfits to post, but they're basically the same--because I've been away from my apartment, living out of an oversized tote bag since Robert is in town.



I bought this skirt from J. Crew when they were having an additional 30% off sale. I don't remember the exact price, but I know it ended up being less than $15.00, which is not bad at all for J. Crew. It's such a comfy, low-key, easy to style skirt.



This is me falling off of the rock.



And this is me being a dork because I stole Robert's messenger bag for the day... Though I bought it for him a while back! So it's sort of appropriate. And all of my school things wouldn't fit in my purse.



I have no idea why it felt to right to pair this skirt with vintage shirts--both times I've worn it so far, too. I'm in love with the little detailing in the waistband of the skirt.



My mom's pretty tulips:



My parents' diva cat soaking up the sun:



And Robert making a super silly confused face:



Sorry for the choppy, slightly OCD post. And lastly, I'll be in Seattle for the weekend. One of Robert's projects got into a film festival up there, so we're driving up. It'll be super nice to get away :) Plus, I have some lovely guest posters lined up.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Wasted Hours



Another set of photos by my lovely Robert. We took these yesterday, since I didn't have school or class. We stuck around in the suburbs. This is the neighborhood elementary school just up the street from my parents' house. This wasn't my school, but I still associate a lot of nostalgic memories to the place. It was one of the only places not directly in or around my house that my parents would let me and my friends wander to alone.

So this elementary school playground was where a lot of those nostalgic childhood/teenage, carefree hours happened for me.



Then, the summer after high school ended, this is where Robert and I spent a lot of time. I wish I had worn a better outfit! Because I like how these pictures are. But oh well, what can you do?--when you're living out of a large tote bag





Oh, and my hair isn't done all special or anything. This is basically what it looks like when I take it out of that tight little bun I usually wear. If you scroll down, you'll notice that I wear my hair like that a lot. Mostly because I am lazy and I don't like my hair in my face all that much. But then again, sometimes I do it too tight and then by the end of the day, my head hurts. And that is what happened yesterday.





dress: Boutique in Ventura, Ca
shirt: thrifted
cardigan: Tommy Hilfiger
oxfords: F21
tights: ?brand, Marshalls

Monday, April 25, 2011

Time Goes By

I will start out by saying that I definitely won't be very active this week--as my lovely long distance boyfriend is in town. I shall be horrid at commenting around :)

I wore this outfit yesterday (Easter) so thought it might be nice to wear some pastel colors even though it was cold and rainy.



Robert has been in southern California studying cinematography, so it is somewhat interesting to see the difference in my photos. He is super super picky and we ended up taking pictures in about five different locations around my apartment building and university campus. The sun was going down too, so the images are a little cold. It was fun dealing with photos that already had a bit of tone and mood injected into them inherently. Personally, I can see the film influence.

I'm apparently challenging him by doing full body shots. ha!



I've been dying to wear these shorts. And have been waiting until it got nicer, so I could go without tights, but I decided I didn't care and tried to use black accents (in scarf and belt) to tie it all together.





(It bothers him that the tree grows from my shoulder, but that's okay)



Then, I took these :)





shorts: thrifted
shirt: J Crew
scarf: H&M
belt: thrifted
tights: Betsey Johnson
cardigan: Tracy M. via Marshalls
purse: Coach hand me down, from Robert's mom
shoes: thrifted
hairbow: F21

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Nihao. Konnichiwa.



These photos were taken yesterday--on Friday, my weekend. I am a Chinese/Japanese cross breed, if anyone was wondering. Yesterday, I was mistaken for an asian foreign exchange student.

Sarah and I met after her class finished and then went on a food/thrifting adventure to one of our favorite haunts. We got on the max (the subway/rail system here in the Portland metro area) and found a seat whilst a pudgy late-twenties woman stared at me while smiling slightly creepily. She then proceeded to speak very slowly and loudly to me--asking me where I was from and attempted to communicate by saying hello in both Chinese and Japanese.





Mind, I have basically NO ASIAN ACCENT AT ALL. English is the only language I speak fluently. You think she might have pieced that together after conversing casually with me for a few seconds. But whatever. I guess not many people actually dress like this. Plus, I was carrying around my SLR camera.

And as an after though, I guess it's cool that she was trying to be friendly.





Anyhow, I love this dress a lot. I bought it thrifting while in California and wore it for the first time in this post. It was either $1.99 or $2.99, I don't remember now. I was about to put it back on the rack, but then Robert basically told me to buy it because it was so cheap and he could tell I liked it. I am so happy I did now. I love that the print is slightly ethnic and looks watercolored (my favorite medium to look at AND use).

I see him tonight! :) He'll be home for a week, we'll go to Seattle for a film festival one of his projects got into and then he'll go back down to SoCal to finish up his last two months of school.



Aaaah. Plus, thrifting was extremely successful. I spent $40.00 (which is a lot for a thrifting day)! I'm super thrilled about the things I found (including one dress, which is for my roommate/coworker, since today is her birthday). Post to come shortly. I love documenting my finds.



dress: thrifted in SoCal
sweater: thrifted
purse: Coach hand me down, Robert's mom
socks: H&M
brown woven loafers: thrifted
necklace: gift from friend
headband: F21


Happy Weekend!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Loose Translation



I love this dress. I know I've gushed about it before, but how can I not? It was my mom's. And she used to wear it on sunny summer days when we would go play. And now it is one of my go-to dresses. It's so carefree and casual and has made me love florals on black.





I tried to dress appropriately for the nice weather (that being, mostly clear & 50-something degrees) and then threw on a blazer, since I had a critique in one of my graphic design classes today. I thought i might be under dressed, but then again, there were people in hoodies like any other day.





I love how easily a nice, well-fitting blazer can completely transform a look. And I must also thank my mom for that because I remember back in high school, she stressed the importance of having a nice one. She bought this one for me on sale from Banana Republic (I thought it was still expensive on sale! At that time in my life, I couldn't even imagine wearing such a thing) but now I am so thankful.

Is there any clothing item or style that your parents stressed?





And now I sort of feel bad, because the pigeons were drinking that water and then I chased them. But it was fun at the time and I did not think about that.

dress: hand me down from mom
shirt: American Eagle forever ago
blazer: Banana Republic
belt: thrifted
knee socks: H&M
flats: Urban Outfitters
hairbow: F21

title song: Loose Translation - The New Pornographers

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Float On

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone that reads/follows/comments on my blog. It is so amazing and makes me so very happy to be part of such an active, sweet, lovely community.





Today is going to be pretty dang picture heavy. Because I loved the lighting, the bridge and my outfit. It was the first day this Spring that has felt even remotely like spring--though there was still a short time span in which it rained a bit, as is normal for bipolar Oregon. I'm trying my best to fully enjoy the weather this week. It's supposed to be clear until Friday--then rain again.





I had a good day. I met up with Sarah, we took photos, I went to the dentist (gross!), bought supplies, worked on one of my graphic projects, met up with Sarah again, had Thai bubble tea + bao, went shopping (bough a pair of knee highs and a pair of lacy shorts to wear under dresses/skirts later, worked on project more, met an old friend for dinner and then finished up my project.

I love Tuesdays because though I have things to do, my schedule is pretty open and flexible. Plus, I can carry just a purse instead of my messenger bag.





I am so so incredibly glad that I found and purchased this acrylic/mohair/wool blend chunky sweater. I can already tell I'm going to basically be living in it this Spring--or at least for however long I need to wear warmer clothing.



And then I was a dork and pretended to be tall.



dress/headband: F21
lace shirt(under dress): thrifted
chunky sweater: thrifted
purse: thrifted
tights: Gap
belt: thrifted
flats: Gap


Four days until I see Robert again. He comes home Saturday night and will be in town for a week. Meaning I might be a bit scarce. Long distance sucks a bit, but it's completely worth it when he comes home. Plus, he's done with school in two months. Then he'll be home for good. Life is going. In a good way :)

Hope your weeks are going well. What are you looking forward to?