Never the wayworn

 Dress: Old Navy, thrifted; Belt: Loft; Scarf: Thrifted, vintage; 

Floral wreath: self-made; Sandals: Miss Trish of Capri, Target.

 Thanks so much for your feedback on yesterday's post. It's always a little daunting to talk about personal plans in the making, but I'm so excited to see how things unfold in my life. It's always great to hear from those of you who have also made career changes too, and the ways blogging may have influenced those transitions.

These photos are a treat to share -- my sister Nikki came to spend a long weekend over in Athens, and as with most of her visits, we spent some time exploring the town on our own. We went to a park that I had in mind for photography -- it's a nature reserve with long, winding creeks that attract lots of birds. We had fun climbing out on the low rocks, blowing bubbles and enjoying long conversations before I showed her my usual park hangout. I know I'm usually a loner when it comes to these photo sessions, but it is always nice and safe to visit unfamiliar places with someone else.

I've worn this dress very similarly last fall, and I love that it works as a neutral base to the floral and purple accents.

Don't you forget about me (don't, don't, don't, don't)

I (along with Jeremiah, my extended family and a few thousand other hometown folks) braved the summer heat to witness my sister and 440 of her classmates graduate from high school. Sitting in the bleachers under the castle (home to the Knights football team) made me reminisce about my own graduation on the same field a few years before. It's odd to think about my 18-year-old self, and how limited my goals were then before I knew of a life (and its possibilities) outside of my hometown. It's exciting to think that my little sister, of whom I've shared a room with for years, is suddenly diverging on her own little journey into the world. For now, all this big sister can do is stand back and be proud. 

We bare our souls & tell the most appalling secrets

 Dress: Donna Ricco; Blouse: Ann Taylor, thrifted; Belt: LOFT;

Skeleton key necklace: vintage, from Minx; Shoes: Zigi Soho.

Photos of me by my sister.

My sister Nikki came to visit me this weekend, and at her request I played tour guide, taking her to some vintage shops and through the university campus. The weather was so beautiful and warm that tights and coats were unnecessary.

I am kind of a hermit in this town ---  I go through a lot of my daily routines (especially photoshoots) alone. I don't really mind, since I am used to it, but it's nice to have adventures with someone else. I'm hoping my reclusive nature fades a bit in the coming months as routines change ...

Nik scored a cool jewelry box and a necklace during our trip, and I found a patterned skirt for less than $1. Hooray for discount days at thrift stores!

On the banks of Plum Creek

 Dress: thrifted, possibly vintage, homemade; 

Belt: BR, from Marilou; Boots: Target;

Rose bracelet: vintage, gift from my sister;

Rock bracelets: from Mexico, gift from Jessica.

It's been so long since I've taken daily outfit photos, I feel like a stranger around these parts. Let me re-introduce myself. Hi, I'm JoAnn. I like blogging, Old Hollywood movies and peppermint ice cream. I'm a Capricorn with a penchant for Libran scarves. And sometimes I dress up like an extra on Little House on the Prairie.

It was unusually warm this weekend, so I took advantage of the nice weather by wearing boots (with no tights) and this newly-thrifted candystriper prairie dress. It's made of a sack-like cotton material and has rows of buttons on the sleeves and the chest area, and it looks to be homemade. Because it has no tag, I'm having a hard time placing what time period it's from, though it could have been a recent art project or something. It would be fun to wear with a petticoat underneath because of how much the skirt billows out.

How was your holiday? Jeremiah and I spent the last few days away visiting family and friends. I'm slowly getting back into the routine of things after my gluttonous week, and I'm back to work on Tuesday. So much happened that for posterity's sake, I feel like listing some of it (again, Capricorn here).

During vacation, I:

- Celebrated my sister's birthday and my parents' anniversary;

- Watched a ridiculous amount of television dvds (mostly "Community" and "Glee") and saw "Black Swan" (which was grotesque and outstanding, and I'm still having nightmares over some of the scenes);

-  Thrift-shopped a little bit;

- Got a haircut, though it's so similar to my last one I'm thinking of chopping some more of my hair off;

- Was ridiculously spoiled by family with gifts and food. I'm grateful for all of it.

I am really excited about getting back to blogging. The break has helped me relax and kind of take a step back from the blog and photography, and made me realize some of the things I'd like to do. Starting next week, I'll be rolling out some new ideas and features that will help shape a blog schedule for Sidewalk Chic -- I am really excited and I hope you'll enjoy them. 

How was your break? How are you surviving the winter doldrums?

Snap-happy people

Dress: Donna Ricco, thrifted, vintage;

Belt: Ann Taylor Loft;

Sweater: thrifted;

Carpet saddle bag: thrifted;

Shoes: Zigi Soho.

Photos of me by my sister.

I went home Sunday to visit my family and to help my younger sister Nikki with her senior portraits. I cannot believe she's old enough to be getting these done already! I remember being really anxious about what photos to put in my senior ad collage in my yearbook, and so I'm glad that I was able to help my sister out. I even got to help her pick out her outfit! It was so strange though to be behind the camera for once. I'm used to taking my own outfit photos and just knowing how to direct myself, but it was quite a different story to telling someone else how to pose and do this and that.

As for my outfit, I thought I'd try out my new sweater vest that I thrifted last week. It's very slouchy and comfortable, and somehow fit my vibe of artsy-photographer-person for the day. The vest also was very practical as well -- its deep pockets became essential for holding memory cards and candy.

Since we were taking senior portraits, it seemed natural to go to a place where I'd be familiar with the lighting, so we went back to my beloved farm park. It was actually quite a scene because a lot of people seemed to have the same idea on that beautiful gorgeous afternoon because we saw about a dozen people doing photography stuff as well. We saw a couple of engagement sessions and some girls getting senior portraits done. It is a beautiful place for it, so it makes sense, but usually the park is a very quiet place.

What was really cool about going with my sister to the farm park is that I discovered a new photo place. I thought I had that place all figured out, too, after months of going there. But we actually went under the long bridge and got some good photos there. Here are some of my favorites that I took:

How was your weekend?

Life, liberty and karaoke

Dress: Donna Ricco;

Printed scarf: thrifted;

Shoes: from Philippines, gift from Mom.

Photos of me by Nikki, my sister.

Here's what I wore to my mom's Fourth of July barbeque. I know everyone voted for me to wear the blue star print dress, but when I tried it on, I knew I wouldn't be able to eat a lot in it, so I switched to the Donna Ricco standby. I realized going through my closet yesterday that I don't have much blue, so I improvised by wearing the patterned scarf. I really like how this all turned out.

My mom's barbeque was a lot of fun. She had us kids over as well as a lot of her Filipino friends and neighbors. One of my mom's friends brought over her karaoke machine, and well...you can guess what the entertainment was for most of the night. Karaoke is so ingrained into Filipino-American culture. In the last 10 years, I think every Filipino party I've gone to has had a karaoke machine set up. Every party. Anyways, Jeremiah had such a kick out of singing, because he had never really sung at a Filipino party before, and he ended up getting the high score for the night! The party was a lot of fun, and my mom made us take about half the party food home, so we will be eating leftovers for the next two years.

How was your weekend?

Girls in straw hats

 On me:

Dress (as top): Ann Taylor Loft;

Skirt: American Eagle;

Hat: Scala Pronto;

Shoes: Zigi Soho;

Bag: Thrifted.

On Nikki: 

Dress: From Philippines;

Necklace: From Philippines;

Hat: Forever 21;

Bag: JC Penney;

Shoes: Tayla platforms, Target.

Photos by me and Nikki.

I had Sunday off, so in the afternoon my sister Nikki came over to visit me and Jeremiah. She just came back from her trip to the Philippines and over some Goodwill shopping and "Mad Men" episodes, she had some interesting stories to share. If you're a longtime follower of the blog, you'll know that Nikki originally wrote for the blog as well, and it was nice again to have some outfit photos of her as well. I got to finally show her the farm park and she's thinking about doing her senior portraits there. It's crazy to think about, but she'll be starting her senior year of high school soon...

Anyways, we had so much fun at the park. We tried to do some ridiculous skipping and jumping photos together on the bridge, but we couldn't get the timing right and almost every photo had one of us in the air, and the other still on the ground, poised to jump. The 92 degree heat didn't help matters, either, but at least we had some fun laughing over it.

It's interesting how we've influenced each others' styles. We met up with each other at the thrift store and we both were wearing straw hats for the day. I'm also wearing a skirt that both of us have shared over the years, and she's wearing my Target platform sandals. It's fun to have a style twin sometimes.

Have a lovely Monday,