About a boy

These photos are such a time warp — I actually wore it back in July the day Jeremiah turned in his thesis, and we went out for celebratory milkshakes at The Grill. It's weird looking at these photos because so much has happened since then with moving him up to NYC and me starting school — and it's like this version of myself is blissfully unaware of all that.

I've worn many iterations of this outfit before, but I think the bowties and plaid will once again become my template for a good fall outfit.

credits- shirt: arizona jeans co, thrifted | bowtie: vintage, minx | shorts: walmart | bag: fossil, thrifted | belt: from camp | shoes: born crown. 

Write fright

My outfit posts have been piling up and sitting in draft mode. I have like 17 posts just lingering in the queue, mementos of summer days and sartorial decisions gone by. I'm not sure why I've hesitated in publishing  -- I've been consistently taking photos everyday, but for some reason, I've been coming up short when it comes to writing the actual posts. Perhaps it's because I've been sitting in research classes all summer, and have been preoccupied with writing papers on methods and studies, that it's difficult to switch writing styles and be confident and definitive with publishing something that hasn't been copy-edited and fact-checked to pieces. Perhaps it's because in my free time, I'm tired of staring at long words and searching for meaning in research theories, that it's easier to pick up a camera and accept whatever truth I can find on the other side of the lens. Perhaps.

As I've evolved with my photography I've realized it's become more difficult for me, at least mentally, to improve my writing here. Sometimes I feel tempted to put up two ill-punctuated lines of lowercase ramblings and emoticons and just call it a day. Staring at the fruit of my self-photography efforts sometimes is overwhelming, how many hours of blog photography can yield just a handful of photos. And yet I keep trying.

Of course, it sounds like such a navel-gazing luxury to have the time and opportunity to wax and wane on a hobby I profess to love. I feel like any sort of hand-wringing over it seems a bit silly and overdone (not to say that I haven't done it before, though). But often it is eye-opening to take a moment and see how things have evolved as I forge ever onward with my camera, my dear friend who understands me at the end of a long day.

credits: blouse - loft | shorts - walmart | shoes - born crown | sunglasses - forever 21 | bag - fossil, thrifted.

A clearing in the woods

Thanks so much for the congrats on the last post. For the first time in months, I've been excited about future plans. There's so much to do in the next few weeks to get J situated into New York, and it feels like there are a million points in between, but for now I'm just thrilled that we're finally putting this years-long plan into motion.

My summer class is ending soon and I'll be free for a little bit! I'm looking forward to sleeping in for a few days.

credits: dress - c/o sway chic; scarf - vintage, thrifted; bag - fossil, thrifted; shoes - born crown.

What kind of bird are you?

I saw "Moonrise Kingdom" last week and I am hard-pressed to think of anything I didn't like in it. The sweet storyline, cast, vintage aesthetics and soundtrack were perfect, and this may be my favorite Wes Anderson film (not an easy thing for me to say, because I admire all of his work). Perhaps my favorite parts of the movie include the scenes at the Boy Scout camp. As a former Boy Scout camp counselor, I thought the cinematography during these scenes caught the outdoor orderliness of camp life well, and some of the compositions seemed inspired by Norman Rockwell paintings of BSA life. 

When it's humid outside, my thoughts often linger on those strange and wonderful summer months I spent in the mountains teaching aspiring Eagle Scouts how to pitch tents, build fires and work compasses, all while hanging out with the coolest staff. My friend Viktoria has been feeling nostalgic for those summer days too and recently wrote about our time at camp (check out a photo of us in uniform here). As some of the only girls on staff (let alone in the entire camp), we were mini-celebrities, which came with its pitfalls (imagine getting noticed and pranked quite a bit). But Vik sums it up well: "It was never easy to being a girl at Boy Scout camp, but it was always, always worth it."

This outfit is not only a nod to "Moonrise Kingdom," but also a personal tribute to that seminal time in my teenage life.

credits - blouse: spenser jeremy, thrifted, vintage | shorts: walmart | belt: from camp | necklace: vintage, from minx| shoes: born crown.

I've written about camp before, but this is probably my favorite post on it.

Stuck in neutral

This was one of my favorite outfits last week -- I like how my loose lace dress is transformed with a structured vest on top! I took these photos on campus over the weekend after running some errands, and I can never get over feeling like I'm photobombing these historical buildings whenever I do photos here.

How was your week? Jeremiah and I celebrated a lazy Fourth of July at home. He completed his thesis (yay!) and is on track to graduate this summer. Me? I'm starting a research class today -- wish me luck! I wish my summer didn't have to end so abruptly after one month of blissful freedom, but I am looking forward to seeing some of my friends again ...

credits: dress - the webster, target | vest - old navy | purse - fossil, secondhand | bracelet - aloha stadium, hawaii | shoes - born crown.

Cotton candy

When Sway Chic, a California boutique line, contacted me about featuring one of their dresses, I had fun  perusing their quirky assortment of clothing and accessories that can be described as vintage with an easygoing West Coast vibe. Too often when shopping online it's hard to find vintage-style clothing at moderate prices, but Sway Chic provides an anecdote to that with an array of beautiful blouses, dresses and jackets that are inspired from previous eras but don't require decades of preservation. I ultimately chose the confectionery Sweet Pea dress, and it seemed like a perfect fit with the floral wreath I made a few weeks ago. Sway Chic is currently having a July 4th sale, so check it out -- I'm a fan of the animal print blouses and lace dresses (surprise, surprise).

credits - dress: c/o Sway Chic| floral wreath: diy (here's a tutorial)| shoes: Born Crown. 

Just passing through

Sometimes when summer's lost its novelty, I like playing tourist in my town. It basically means I wander past my familiar haunts and take my camera to places I haven't visited before or in a while. I spent some time on north campus earlier this week and thought I looked appropriately dressed for an afternoon of picture-taking. Somewhere in our family albums, there are photos of me dressed in the same uniform during trips around the country. Except in this case, I'm traveling to old buildings that have personal history around them too, since I've been in school here for so long.

The first photo was just a fun experiment in Photoshop layering -- I like how it turned out. I really am haunting the old haunts ... or something to that effect!

credits - lace blouse: vintage, from agora (athens, ga) | shorts: walmart | bag: fossil, thrifted |  shoes: born crown| watch: c/o the trendy boutique.

Prep schooled

Growing up, I had to wear a uniform for middle and high school chorus performances. Though a lot of my classmates hated the tucked-in shirts with peter pan collars, cross-ties and pleated skirts, I secretly loved it all (perhaps it was a nod to my newfound love for Britney Spears?). Either way, this is my adult version of that long-gone uniform. I've worn the bowtie as a brooch before, and I like it with the argyle print here.

credits - dress (as skirt): elie tahari, handmedown | argyle vest: arizona jeans co, thrifted | bowtie: vintage, from minx | shoes: born crown.

This pleated Elie Tahari dress was a secondhand item from Jeremiah's aunt. Here are some ways I've worn it before: 

The laughing tree

Now that summer is here, I've been catching up on my favorite television shows. "Game of Thrones" has provided a lot of fodder for my other blog this season, and I celebrated its finale last week by making a floral wreath inspired by the character Lyanna Stark. Because her character died before the events of the show's timeline, she hasn't appeared, but her actions in the overall book series have pushed the narrative forward. In the story about the mysterious "knight of the laughing tree," Lyanna accepts a wreath of blue roses. I made mine out of blue hydrangeas because the small flowers are easier to bend into floral wire.

What books or television shows are you enjoying right now?

credits: 

dress: giorgio kauten, vintage, thrifted | shoes: born crown | floral crown: diy (tutorial here).  

Clean slate

If things look different around here, it's because they are! I've taken the time to update the blog with a new header, buttons and layout. Feel free to explore the new digs and let me know what you think! Now that class is over for the next few weeks, I'll be tinkering around some more with the design, as this blog is always an ongoing evolution. I used this photo for the header -- it's a shot that I took of downtown Athens and converted to a paint style via Photoshop. I think it reflects the "Sidewalk" aspect of my blog name a bit better.  I've changed my tagline to include "the great outdoors," and hopefully that will inspire me to up my photography to different locations.

This dress is an end-of-the-semester treat from Target. The store's designer collaborations are usually hit-or-miss for me, but I was surprised to find an affordable cotton lace dress in town (I'm used to going to a bigger city for new clothing because my town has mostly upscale vintage stores).

Speaking of dresses, you can still enter my Shabby Apple gift card giveaway here!


credits:
dress: the webster for target | shoes: born crown | necklace: gift, from philippines. 

Wild blue yonder

 

Dress: Ruche; Sweater: Banana Republic; 

Scarf: Flea market find, vintage; Shoes: Born Crown.

Not much to say except that I am one paper away from enjoying my summer. I'm trying not to get distracted  by blog reading right now ... except that it's difficult because I already have some catching up to do with the Internet!

Until I get back (which should be Thursday), there's still some time to enter my Shabby Apple giveaway here!