We Never Change

I've had a couple of people ask me what camera/programs I use to take and edit my photos. I own a Nikon D3100. Whenever Robert takes my photos, he's using a Nikon D300 (I think? I shall confirm with him later). Usually, I'm having not-photographers take my photos though, so I just give them the camera and set it to auto. Most of the coloring/tone/cropping is me in Adobe Photoshop CS4. I usually toggle with the curves, exposure and selective color settings. Sometimes more or less, depending on how the original pictures were.

Secret: the more photo manipulation you see in my pictures, the worst the originals were. There are some sets I'm perfectly happy with posting pretty much untouched. For example, the sun was really harsh and stupid in this set, so I did quite a bit in photoshop to soften them up.




I love these tights, by the way.

I wore this outfit on Tuesday, which was a brilliant sunny day. I worked on Robert's business cards, met up with some old friends from high school, ate food cart food + bubble tea, worked in the computer lab for some time and then drowned in the hot tub for a bit. It was quite nice. The pictures are from Tanner Springs Park in Portland, which I have written about before and posed in before :D




shirt: AE (high school)
skirt: H&M
tights: Urban Outfitters
shoes: H&M
headband: F21



And, I totally realize I bypassed the 100-followers mark without even mention of such things like a giveaway. I have thought about it, by the way. I'm planning on doing something for either 150 or 200, but don't even know where to begin. I have some smaller thrifted items I might want to include. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Take Me Out

Thank you so much to everyone who gave advice/shared their own method for blogging. The frequency of my posting has been the thing I've struggled with the most lately.

School-wise, it is definitely crunch time. The fact that I have the rest of the term scheduled out in my planner is a little crazy. I actually wore this last week. I've gotten more into a pattern of posting things up a few days after wearing them. It's a lot easier--especially when I have a string of busy busy (or just plain lazy) days all mushed together. So, I wore this last Wednesday, if I remember correctly.




I love these shoes. I found them thrifting--for five dollars. They are a little gaudy, a little shiny and a little obnoxious, but I liked them anyway. They probably belonged in my last post, but it seemed silly, since I just wore them anyway and knew I would be posting these photos.





I did enjoy wearing this. I was texting with Robert throughout the day about how if we were in the same state) he would have needed to take me to a cute diner with red booths and a checkered floor. And that I wanted to drink a milkshake in a cone shaped glass with a red straw and whipped cream on top. I love that I've found a boy who amuses my fantasies.

If the color of my skirt looks familiar it is actually that beautiful Out to Sea Foam Dress from Modcloth :D I dressed it up before--whenever I wear it now, I'll probably be dressing it down.

Backlog of Thrifting

First, Hello new followers :D

and old :D

I am now posting my backlog of thrifted things I've found in the past few weeks (since my last thrifting post)--though some things are omitted, since I've already worn them/have photos ready to go :)

1. Midi length floral skirt

The colors are pastel-y and springlike, plus I can hike it up to my armpits and belt it like a dress. I'm so obsessed with midi-skirts right now. So comfy. I can't wait until I can start wearing them with sandals. ($5.00 at thrift store)



2. Red Rain Jacket

So, it is definitely getting away from coat/jacket weather, but this one was just so cute. Previously, all of my coats were neutral colors and I thought this would be perfect for brightening up a rainy, disgusting day. Sarah originally found it, but the arms were too tight. So I snatched it up :) ($12.99 at Goodwill)



3. Kimchi Blue Dress

It was adorable and fit me perfectly. I picked it off the rack because I liked it and then realized it was from Urban Outfitters. score. I couldn't really pass it up after trying it on, because it fit me perfect, is in perfect shape and I love the rich deep blues--I am re-obsessed with blue right now, which as a little girl, used to be my favorite color. ($6.99 at Goodwill)

4. Gorgeous collared off-white button up

You can't really have enough plain white button up shirts. I love ones with character. I love that I can wear this to work and still somehow communicate my love for vintage and pretty things. It sure beats a crinkly stark-white button up from Target or something similar. ($4.99 from Goodwill)




5. Peter Pan Collared Plaid Button up

I probably won't be able to wear it for a while, since it's long sleeved, but I love the colors/collar/cut. I can see myself wearing it under jumper-like dresses in the fall. ($5.99 at Goodwill)

6. Crocheted Poncho thing

I honestly never thought I would ever wear a poncho. I even made fun of my mom for liking/buying them. But now I'm sucked in. It's a little scary for me, but I love the crocheted flowers. I think this is a perfect little extra layer of warmth for spring. ($6.00 at thrift store)




7. Detachable Collar

I've been looking for one of these ever since Beatrice posted about them. They're such a perfect way to update an otherwise boring dress. I find this one rather pretty. I'm not sure which way is front--I plan on mixing it up. I've since washed and ironed it. Probably should have retaken photos, but oh well. Best thing? the price. ($2.00 at thrift store)




Aaaah. I am so behind blogging-wise. I've mentioned before that I'm still trying to find the balance between life, school and blogging. I know I have an addictive personality, so my biggest fear is letting this take over my life and building it up to be more of an obligation than something I want to do. How often do you post/how do you keep everything balanced?

Anyhow, the internet was being finicky and I wasn't able to post anyway. I probably could have found some wifi somewhere, but I was much happier to curl up in a blanket and watch movies with my roommate every single night this weekend.

Happy Monday.

Maybe Lately

Hello world :D

Portland has actually been quite pretty lately. At least in between the clouds and rain. This has been a funny week. Two pants posts in a very short time span. Truth is, I generally don't wear pants. It just feels more comfortable to me. It was sort of silly because I wore jeans to class a few weeks ago, and some girl even went out of her way to tell me I looked (still cute) but casual and that it was odd to see me in pants.

I like these though. Rolled up, I think they are perfectly spring appropriate. Not to mention, they fit me pretty much perfectly. I can see myself wearing them a lot in the future.





Also a bit silly: I found this shirt for myself when I was Mothers Day shopping for both my mom and Robert's mom. I found them both cute things and felt a little silly for buying myself something--but how often do you find an adorable eight dollar shirt from Banana Republic? I couldn't resist considering the price.



shirt: Banana Republic
pants: thrifted
belt: Fossil, thrifted
flats: Old Navy
hair bow: F21
earrings: gifted from Robert's mom

Also, I've found the dress I'm going to wear to Robert's graduation--which is an outside, semi-casual sort of thing. I was so surprised. It's from Forever 21 and was only $17.80. But it's basically perfect. And everything I was looking for. Now I've just got to find a equally adorable sun hat to match.



Also, getting busier with school. Got to, got to stay on top of things and not let my blog capture my attention as much as it has been. Still new at this, still trying to find some sort of balance. Education comes first after all :)

We've Got Everything

I wore a very formulaic outfit yesterday. But I liked all of the pieces that made it up, so I don't particularly care. Oregon is still being indecisive about weather, so I would have liked to wear shorter ankle socks as I had originally planned with this outfit, but I would have been one sad cold girl if I had. So it was knee highs again. Because I'm so so sick of having tights sucking me in up to the ribs.

It's a tiny bit random, but I had a sudden realization that I'm really happy right now. I'm surrounded by people that I really like, who I trust and that I'm friends with, I'm studying something that makes me happy and I have a lot more free time than I ever used to (though that's still not a ton). Three more weeks of classes! And then Robert will be graduating in a month. Then no more long distance :D



I look really funny in this photo and thought you should be able to look at it. I am squatting down to look in the water, but it sort of looks like I am trying to communicate the concept of constipation--charades style. I think it is quite silly.







dress: H&M
cardigan: thrifted
socks: H&M
loafers: Cole Han, thrifted
necklace: gifted

And I talk about her enough so that most of you should know that Sarah of Just Take a Bow and I are good real life friends. We've been friends since freshman year of high school--so about seven years now. We were the colorguard/winterguard captains of our high school together (for those of you who know what that is) and are now thrifting/blog partners in crime. We've been planning on doing a clothing swap or something similar soon.

I think she has, but I've never posted photos of us together. So here you go:



This is what happens when she says we should try model poses. I just look like a dancer. Which is my background. So that's not really much fun.

Lazy + Awkward

Okay, so I've realized that whenever I have someone different take my pictures, I revert back to being awkward and static. My roommate/coworker (her name is Justine, by the way) took these really quickly after we both got off of work and I just stood there like an awkward lump. Though it's not like this outfit is particularly exciting, so I guess the photos do it justice.



This is the sort of outfit that occurs after an eight hour closing shift on Saturday followed by a last-minute late night of hot tubbing and McDonalds (which I never ever ever eat). Followed by another whole eight hour shift today. Plus, it was super wet and miserable and not at all motivating to put on something cute.

We both worked all day today, which is silly, since we walk to work together, work and then walk home together. And then we ate food, took out trash/recycling and watched a movie together (Tommy Boy, which made me giggle a whole lot, by the way). It's amazing that I am not sick of her :P

And, like I mentioned, me at my most awkward:





I make this face at Justine a lot. Because she is a big meanie face.



I will, by the way, be teaching Justine how to capture my whole body in photographs. And also how to focus the camera. For a first try, I applaud her. But it's all good. That is to be expected, since she is a tiny bit challenged and cannot do simple things like open our balcony door :P

Thank you, by the way. (I know you are reading this. don't hurt me or watch me while I sleep)

shirt: AE forever ago
jeans: thrifted
sweater: thrifted
belt: Coach hand me down, from my mom
necklace: F21
headband: F21

Everything in its Right Place

Well, I'm sure that we can all agree that the past few days with Blogger have been a fiasco. I've lost so many sweet, lovely comments off of my last post, which is really a shame, since there was such encouragement and niceness there. Oh well, life goes on. And I was having a pretty damn good hair day today, which I've decided to rub in all of your faces with this picture:



(I also love the little cut out detailing and color of this shirt)



I felt like something like a cross between a school girl (because of the high socks and the dress worn as a jumper) and train engineer (because of the stripey pattern and material of the dress) in this outfit. I usually wear shirts under dresses, but Nicole, of Coco Maria totally made me want to do it with a jumper looking dress.

I bought the dress because it's simple enough to be mixed up a lot as a basic but has enough cute little details to make me happy. The fact that it has little pockets and those black buttons won me over.





I worked on my homework all morning, met my mom for coffee and then met up with Sarah for thrifting (it was a successful day) + late lunch. I'm pretty happy, since there wasn't a whole lot of awkwardness to these photos. It's a lot easier to look happy and pose for pictures when you're actually super happy. I finally feel like I've got everything under control again :D



dress: F21
shirt: thrifted
cardigan: AE forever ago (highschool)
socks: don't remember :(
oxfords: F21

And... I'm going to be a bit lame and shamelessly self plug my Tumblr (you can see one of my newer thrifted blouses--the collar makes me die a little inside because it's so pretty) and my Twitter because I'm trying to be good and active on those two things.

Happy Friday! :D

Bring Me Down

Hello friends :) First of all, I want to thank everyone who has followed me up until now. Who has been for a long time or who have just joined me. Every new follow/comment makes me smile. Especially since I have an iPhone and have access to my email all day long. I'm doing my best to just keep up with everything :)




Also weird, I seem to have gotten obsessed with using this smiley face :D I don't know why. I've never really used it in my life. So sorry if your comments are ":D" heavy. As a smiley, I just think he's so cute and happy. And I never know: what's the proper way to use a smiley AND punctuate a sentence? Because I never use punctuation if I use a smiley and just let the smiley stand in for the punctuation. But, I'm probably over thinking, since no one probably cares.

I'm finally (for the most part) caught up on my school things. I learned my lesson and will be trying super super hard not to procrastinate and get behind again. It's just so hard when Robert comes to town and summer is so close! My school is on quarters, so I've got about three and a half weeks left. Ah. And, I got a bunch of stuff back in my Architecture History class. Poised at an A even though I was so so sure I had a B. That made my day.



I wore both the shorts and this shirt not too long ago, but separately. I just can't get enough of this shirt paired with different blues. I bought this shirt on a bit of a whim and am so in love with it. I've found with thrifting that sometimes, the things I buy off-handedly become my favorite things.

I've also been seeing these H&M strappy heels floating around on the web and have been loving them, so I decided to invest in my own pair, since I got paid on Friday. I'm happy, since I anticipate wearing them to death this summer. Also, I have super muscular calves, if you haven't ever noticed before:





shirt: thrifted
shorts: thrifted
cardigan: thrifted
belt: thrifted
nude tights: H&M
shoes: H&M
headband: F21

PS, I'm trying to get back into tumbling again. Tumblr is such an amazing source of inspiration. Also, I've been trying to post every other day because I've found that to be comfortable for me--and leaves me time to go around and comment. Is there a certain frequency you guys prefer/like to stick to yourselves? I'm interested to know.