There is this thing called the moon and it really affects me when it's full. It starts with a disruption of sleeping patterns that results in my eyes popping open every morning at 4,6, and finally 8 am. This is fairly accurate almost to the second. I can't explain why it happens but it does. Then I start to feel increasingly nutty from about three days before the moon is full until finally my nuttiness reaches an apex and I am more of less certifiably insane. I think the moon affects most people, maybe not in this way or as extreme, but an affect non the less. The weather has been beautiful but very hot. The heat is very wet and heavy and it's easiest to be in some sort of body of water if at all possible. This is why I'm so very glad that I'm moving in about two weeks to my very own wonderful little apartment which comes complete with private beach rights and a view of the ocean. Yay me.

Shorts: BDG from Urban Outfitters

Shirt: Alternative Apparel from a boutique on Maui

Straw Tote: J. Crew outlet

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

That my friends is a lyric from The Tallest man of earth, a band that I can't stop listening to at the moment. Today was a scorcher and my productivity level was through the roof interestingly enough. Lots of things got done today yet the list seems to not have changed in length. It feels like the second I accomplish something, another thing takes it's place. On a completely different subject i have to say that technology and me just do NOT get along. Everything i touch that could be considered technological turns to shit. Mother boards fry, screens crack, batteries instantly lose power. Its really quite a phenomena. It all just re-affirms the fact that i missed my era. Books and records and simplicity is where its at. Its raining today and im coming down with a cold. Id love to lay in bed and watch movies all day but alas i must work.

a good friend and an old bike

Okay so the bike is refurbished and the friend is more like great than good, but you get the point. Sunshine sundresses and two gals that couldn't be more awkward in front of a camera if we tried. Sarah and I tried our best but often times found ourselves making faces at the camera and goofing off. The sun started to get a bit too hot and bright towards the end and Sarah and I found ourselves unable to keep our eyes open without squinting but the shoot was (mostly) a success. I've been super busy lately with my new job, which I love. The work I'm doing is so fulfilling that I never find myself dreading going to work. The kids I work with are awesome and it's so wonderful to know I'm making a positive impact on their lives. The only thing I've found to be a bummer is the lack of socialization with people my own age. I rarely ever see co-workers, and when I do it's only for a couple of minutes in passing. The beach, my bike, farmers markets, a great job.....What more could a girl ask for? Portland seems to be accepting me with open arms and I'm really digging it. The travel bug is certainly still present. I find myself looking up flights to London, California, Ireland etc. at least once a week, but it's hibernating (at least for now.)

aint no sunshine

Bill Withers must have had a couple weeks of weather like this back when he wrote this song. The rain and cloudy gloom has been persistent for at least two weeks now. I guess that's what I get for moving home prematurely from Maui. Despite the drizzly bits falling from the sky and the not so hot temps for May I'm doing ok. Sun would be nice but rainy weather always allows me to get in touch with my creative side for a moment and put my outdoorsy self on hold. So writing and arts and crafts have been prevalent lately. The new job is just peachy and the paychecks are nice too. Good things are on the horizon in most departments of my life so I can't complain too much. A new children's book about Maine endangered species is in the works right now, research is fun for stuff like this. Nature walks and Audubon books make this gal happy! I really do love learning and wish it was more accessible after high school, i think someone effed up when they decided everyone should have to pay to learn things. Self learning isn't as great but its way cheaper so for now the library and my brain are my best friends.

spring awakening

I have to say as of late i've been rather busy. Life is rolling along on this roller coaster and i've just finished climbing the hill, i'm slowly rolling over the apex that will send me screaming down towards the earth. Not in a bad way though, in a head rush adrenaline pumping kind of way. A new job, a new location, and spring all at once. And that's just the big stuff! I've also got a new bike and some new outlooks on life. Next on my list is a new place to live. I'm lucky to have wonderful friends who tolerate my guest room crashing ways. But i'm ready to have all of my stuff in one place and when that happens I've decided on couple of things I'll need.

First of all i will need this old pallet cart coffee table from a flea market in Brunswick

and also an old industrial rolling cart from the antique shop across the way from the flea market

 

I envision my little beach cottage with a nice little lilac bush out my window

and then of course a little fella to keep me company

The grass is looking greener.....

not just on the other side, but everywhere today. The rain came in the night last night accompanied by loud claps of thunder and supposedly lightening. I heard the thunder in my slumber but wasn't aware enough to see the lightening. Anyway, the rain washed away the salt and sand from the melted snow to reveal a little more green on the ground today, still no visible buds up in the trees but I bet they are soon to follow! Spring is a wondrous time of year, and even though I had a very limited time in which i had to deal with the New England winter I am happy to see signs of spring.

 I spent the past couple of days in Portland Maine looking for a place to live and finalizing some job type things. Friday night I ventured to a show with my good friend Sarah to see a band I absolutely adore (Brown Bird) and I stumbled upon another musical genius (Al Scorch) who I would kindly describe as the Jolly Green Giant of banjo players and also a comic in his own right. At one point in between songs his banter had me in tears I was laughing so hard.

On another note, I have to say I've been without a huge portion of my closet for about 5 months now and its really driving me nutty. You see, I sent a huge box out to Maui when I moved there, and since I moved back only 3 months later I had the box basically returned to sender but the sender (me) has yet to see the box yet! Frustrating to say the least! So with my new job on the horizon I've been window shopping online and this is what I've come up with!

Super flowey feminine dresses and tops in airy fabrics. High waisted bottoms and lots and lots of wedges. These looks are from Anthropologie, Madewell, and the shoes are Born. I need a shopping spree, bring on the hours of working!

yester year

First let me say that I'm awful at this blog thing. It confounds me why, I love writing and I love fashion but I think that maybe writing about fashion just isn't enough for me. I have found lately that I'm obsessed with a simpler life, or the concept of one atleast.

Technology overwhelms me and at the same time I would find it hard to go a day without a computer and a cell phone. I would be ok without a television, I could even possibly go without electricity for some time.  I love nature and I think that if it were easier to pack up my bed I would, in fact, love camping. I love everything about camping except sleeping on hard surfaces. Call me what you will, princess and so on and so forth. But I adore everything else about the "roughing" it lifestyle. The camp fire, the fresh air, the starry sky, and most of all the fact that, while camping, conversation comes easier due to lack of distraction. I often times find myself multi-tasking to a fault. Not able to even sit down and watch an entire movie without checking my cell phone, or opening up a new tab on my computer to search something or other.

I've been obsessed with the past lately. I think I would've really loved sitting around and listening to the radio, records, I love old movies, I love old music, I love old fashion, I love old cars, and old furniture. The list goes on. I would've enjoyed being made to play an instrument and learn about literature. And reading Keats, and Lord Byron and Wordsworth.

So I shall, just years later. I'm making it a point to try to live a little bit simpler every day. And enjoy the treasures of yester year that are on a daily basis shadowed by modern technology.

aromatic trees

my favorite childhood spot

my driveway

I took a walk down the street I grew up on the other day, took a couple of pictures that are telling of what I think bliss is.

less is more here in Maui

            Greetings from Maui! I've been here for almost 3 weeks now and its quite beautiful. I've got my summer glow back already due to the amazing weather that occurs daily here. Sunny and 80's most days and on those days where the temperatures drop to the 70's and there are a few clouds in the sky I hear "bad weather" come out of my roomates' mouths. I hope to never take for granted the weather here, although, truth be told there are some days I wish the air was a bit more brisk so i could curl up next to the fire with a sweater, some tea, and a good book. I suppose you can take the girl out of New England but you can't take the New England out of the girl. I have plenty of time to live back east, the rest of my life presumably, so for now I'm ok with an extended vacation-like stay on the island of Maui.

            The fashion here is simple really, lots of clothes that seem to be falling off the girls. Over sized tee's, and super tight cotton/spandex mini skirts can be seen on most girls walking in town. Town being Paia, where I work and play mostly. It's an adorable little town with so many little boutiques to keep my retail addiction thriving. My favourites are Nuage Bleu, Biasa Rose, Imrie, Mahina, and Wings Hawaii. Wings Hawaii is my most favourite for sure, housing everything made by girls who live on Maui from jewelry to amazing bathing suits, dresses, hats. It is all either made, sewn, created, or altered by people from town. www.wingshawaii.com

Until next time. Aloha!

Eco chic(k)

A Rainy gloomy fall day, a bit of chill in the air, and I've spent most of the day writing. All of these things make for a happy disposition. The weather however is making it difficult to get a good picture with the camera on my phone and unfortunately I lack the funds to buy a better camera at the moment. So I thought I would talk about a little online boutique I've found that I absolutely love. A lot, or pretty much all, of the items are out of my price range but this is for a good reason. The boutique is mostly organic and green practice clothing, fair trade and all that jazz. http://www.beklina.com/ . One of my goals in life is to own a mostly organic/eco friendly/vintage closet. The webite also has some really interesting info on organic cotton in their "info" section. Here is a glimpse of what you could learn from visiting the site "It takes roughly one-third of a pound of chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) to grow enough cotton for just one T-shirt. (SCP)"

This dress is out of control expensive, on sale for $390 the Bamboo Voil it's made out of must be really hard to work with or really rare. Either way if I had the money I'd buy this dress from Mr. Larkin, based out of  San Fransico, for sure. I love the hem and the girly shape of the garment.

this sweatshirt "cloak" is from Prairie Underground and its 100% organic cotton. It's amazing! I love that its a sweatshirt that could totally pass for a jacket to wear over a dress etc.

I love the unique shape of this vest/poncho. They call it a "batwing vest" which is fitting I guess. It's made from Baby alpaca and wool blend from Julie Park for Park Vogel line which is based out of Australia.

 

the temperature is dropping

So I've been told over and over again by a friend that I must keep writing my blog. It has been quite neglected lately which I have to say I'm not too ashamed of because I've been busy writing my novel. 30 thousand words and counting but it still feels like such a tiny part of my life. It has been so beautiful out lately I have to say that this time of year and this weather is my most favorite part of New England. I can't imagine being anywhere else in September/October. I have big plans for apple picking, apple crisp, apple cider doughnuts, apple pie, hot apple cider, pumpkin carving, raking and jumping in piles of leaves and foliage foliage foliage! That being said I am getting really antsy and can't wait to flee at the end of October. To where, you ask? Location; Unknown. Fall fashion is also a thing of beauty. Layering, and sweaters, and scarfs, OH MY!  So there it is, a little something about my life, and a little photo sesh. It's all I have for now, I'll try to write soon.

The scarf is j. crew outlet.

the sweater is from a boutique on the vineyard.

and the jeans and wedges are both gap.

absence

I realize I've been gone for some time now, in the blogging world that is. I've been living real life pretty hard lately. Lots of working and lots of playing and lots of lovely new additions to my life have made for a very hectic happy past couple of weeks. I felt inspired by my closet today for the first time in a long time. I've been living a tee shirt and jeans kind of lifestyle lately, this may be due to the lack of time off from work or the lack of inspiration from my closet but either way today I was shocked as I grabbed the first thing i saw in my closet and felt instantly gratified as I looked in the mirror. This is something that simply does not happen very often. So I ran with it and grabbed my camera. There have been lots of changes in my life lately, and all of them have been good, great even. So with that, here is the outfit. Just a heads up for those who actually read my blog I think it might be getting a little re-vamp in the next couple of weeks. I don't feel as though what I wear on a daily basis is interesting enough to publish so we shall see. Until next time.

The dress is from Forever 21

the belt is really old banana republic

and the shoes are from target

(they were all pretty cheap)

All Caught Up!

So here we are finally in the present again! These pictures are actually from today, March 17, 2010. St. Patricks day is being celebrated today and I just am not in the mood. I guess I haven't really been digging on the holidays at all lately. There is no green in my outfit today, sorry to those of you who think this is blasphemous but I just don't see the point. It was so nice out today that when I got out of work at 11 am I had to go and put a skirt on instead of the jeans I was wearing. I'm one of those people that pulls out the sandals, skirts, and dresses the second the snow is off the ground, and that time has come. For the most part the snow is all gone except for in the woods around my house where I do some of my photo shoots. I think this skirt is the most amazing peice I have in my wardrobe to date. It's a jersey skirt that can be worn three different ways and I'm sure more if i get creative. It's from the J. Crew outlet, big suprise there, my closet is quickly becoming a J. Crew catalog and I think I'm ok with it for now. For this outfit I'm wearing the skirt really low on my hips so it becomes a super flowy bohemian look. Add a shirt with a bit of ruffle and a soft neutral scarf and you are ready for spring! These photos reiterate the fact that I desperaretly need a better camera than the one I'm currently using. The photos are decent at best and that is just not acceptable. Until next time, which will hopefully not be prolonged by another rediculous series of books on forbidden teenage love, enjoy the fashion!

Glasses- Tj maxx (fossil) $12

Scarf- Tj maxx (cynthia rowley) $15

Shirt- J. Crew outlet $30

Skirt- J. Crew outlet $30

2 of 3 back dated posts

This skirt is one of those items I bought and then let sit in my closet with the tags still on it for a couple of months. I tried it on so many times in hopes to wear it but just could not seem to pull an outfit together around it. I am still a bit iffy on this one but I think I like it. It was four dollars at the Banana Republic outlet which is most certainly the number one reason I bought it, but it is in fact a really cute skirt as well. Times like these I wish I had a big girl job so I could actually have a "real" reason to be wearing an outfit such as this. Instead I put this outfit together for my day off which I usually spend at my coffee shop doing the local newspaper's crossword puzzle and writing writing writing! In either one of my various children's books or my longer novel-type book. I'm trying to keep these blogs short because I'm posting three in a row so hopefully you like short but sweet. Enjoy the fashion people!

Scarf- Anthropologie $20 ish

Jacket- H&M $15

Skirt- Banana Republic outlet $4

Wedges- Gap outlet $8

Wool Tights- Tj Maxx $4

Sweater- H&M $30

Belt- H&M $15