crying with happiness emoji

Let me just get this out of the way: I'm leaving for Paris and Rome ONE WEEK FROM TODAY. *crying with happiness emoji, but also the nervous grinning one because I'm very anxious*

I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but my trip was originally scheduled for late August, which was a perfect time for me -- not much going on in my life in August. But then the tour that I had signed up for didn't get enough interest and they had to move me into a different tour that had the requisite number of tourists signed on. The only two options they gave me were either during my cruise to Alaska in September (I'm taking my Grandmom as an 80th birthday present) OR the same week as my Mom's birthday, my Grandmom's birthday, and a Killers concert. I obviously had to pick the latter (it would have been kind of complicated to fly to Paris mid-cruise!) which starting today, the next week is INSANE. Today is my Grandmom's birthday, then next week I have my Mom's birthday and the concert (which is the night before my plane leaves!)

I'm also hoping to squeeze in a day trip to New York because The Film Forum is playing an Alain Delon film on Tuesday (It's called Two Men in Town, and even if you can't make it to see it in NYC I'd highly recommend watching it on DVD. It's really good!) The Film Forum is doing a series of French movies starring Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, and Jean-Paul Belmondo at the moment and I basically wish I could just live in New York until it's over.

dress- le bomb shop | shoes - bait footwear 

cardigan - old navy | brooch - my shop | purple rug - amazon

posh frock friday

Normally I only post one photo per outfit, or maybe two if I want to show detail or something, but I always feel like that's more than enough. HOWEVER. I had so much fun taking the pictures for this outfit that I honestly couldn't narrow it down and had to do five.



^ New favorite outfit photo of all time?????







Posh Frock Friday is obviously about getting dolled up, but it's also about having fun with your clothes. If you own something that's perfect for twirling and you think you need to reserve it for a special occasion, just remember that the act of wearing a pretty dress is a special occasion, and reason enough to twirl your heart out!

If you want to participate in Posh Frock Friday, just tag your post on instagram with the hashtag #poshfrockfridays

dress- vintage | shoes - bait footwear | purple rug - amazon

wishlist wednesday

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13

Sammi sent me the link to this table last week and before I knew it I'd bought one for my room along with a scallop-edged comforter, too. And then the next thing I knew I was googling more scalloped stuff and falling down a scallop-edged rabbit hole, home to scallop-edged rabbits.

cold mountain

Yesterday I re-watched Cold Mountain, I don't think I had seen it in a few years, but I was obsessed with it when it came out in 2003. I remember going to a locally owned CD store about a block away from my house and pre-ordering the soundtrack, then picking it up on my way to art class in college. I couldn't wait for the class to end so I could just listen to the soundtrack all night. It was that horrible in-between time when a movie isn't in theaters anymore, but it's not on DVD yet, so all you have to cling to is the music. The only other movie I can think of where I experienced this level of infatuation was The Man From UNCLE, which came out last year.

It's also one of those movies where I can't quite figure out if it's objectively THAT GOOD, or just has some kind of personal resonance for me that makes me love it to bits. I'm sure Jude Law has something to do with it (I've been a fan of his ever since I saw Cold Mountain) but I don't revisit his other films as often as I come back to this one. It just feels so poetic and gentle, and I always feel kind of misty after watching it.

dress and jacket - asos (old) | shoes - bait footwear

belt - not sure | purple rug - amazon

whirlwind

A couple months ago I got this skirt in a mystery grab bag I bought from Whurl and I wasn't sure what to pair it with until I got this black bardot bodysuit in the mail for my upcoming trip. I feel like this is definitely going to be repeated a lot this summer.

I got so many things for my trip that seemed so perfect as I was adding them to my cart -- imagining myself wearing them whilst sitting at an outdoor cafe snacking on a baguette -- but then once I started actually packing this week a lot of those purchases didn't make the cut. This bodysuit is still a maybe, and the shoes (purchased like SIX MONTHS AGO because I've been looking forward to this vacation for what seems like forever) are definitely not coming. As far as shoes go, I'm trading style for comfort and probably sticking with keds or flat sandals.

bodysuit- asos | skirt - vintage / whurl

shoes - amazon | purple rug - amazon

clever girl

Are you sick of me counting down the days until my trip yet? Because I am leaving TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY. WHAT.

I'm supposed to be getting my information packet in the mail either today or early next week, which will give me a better idea of my itinerary and the logistics of the small stressful things like getting from the airport to the hotel. I have my luggage sitting out in my room now, kind of like a semi-exciting-semi-daunting visual reminder that I need to start figuring out what to pack. I bought a power adapter. Things are happening.

Also, totally unrelated to my trip (except I guess for the fact that if you buy one you'll help me to eat food and not starve myself while I'm in Europe) my clever girl lapel pins are new and improved, and back in stock! I have a limited number available for my first run -- if you're interested you can snatch one up right here. And don't forget I have a blog reader discount code! You guys can always take 10% off any order with code "Brilliant" :)

dress - asos (similar) | shoes - vintage | blouse - asos

lapel pin - my shop (10% off with code BRILLIANT)

posh frock friday

This dress actually doesn't quite fit over my hips (I like to pretend that it's entirely because I'm so short that my hips are higher than they are on the dress but it's probably more likely that I just have enormous hips) so I created a blouse (blouson? what is the word?) effect at the waist to compensate. I think it actually looks pretty cool and kind of flapper-ish with this necklace? Anyway, with the sleeves on this dress there was no way I wasn't going to find a way to make it work.

If you want to join in and dress up today, you can hashtag your outfit on instagram #poshfrockfridays

dress - vintage | shoes - bait footwear | necklace - forever 21 I think

junk food

When I was sorting through my clothes for my upcoming shop my closet sale I stumbled upon this dress that I hadn't worn since like... 2011? (Surprisingly it's STILL available on modcloth!? That has to be a first.) I was so glad when I tried it on and found that it still fit, albeit with a little less wiggle-room than before. eek! I guess it's somewhat ironic that this dress is covered in drawings of foods whose consumption would cause me to outgrow the dress, lol ;p

In all seriousness though, finding this reminded me that I really need to start wearing some of my forgotten pieces in my wardrobe.. I have such a habit of falling back on the same things over and over again while really unique and special dresses like this just sit on their hangers for years on end.

ps. Don't forget tomorrow is Posh Frock Friday! If you want to participate just hashtag your photo on instagram with #poshfrockfridays :)

dress- modcloth | cardigan - trashy diva | shoes - bait footwear

ice cream & beach ball brooches - my shop | purple rug - amazon

wishlist wednesday

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

I had every intention of keeping this wishlist strictly a "wish" list -- no buying. But then I came across number five and ughhhhhhh how do I NOT buy it?? How? It's screaming "birthday dress" to me (even though my birthday is still over four months away.) blerg!

room tour - my office

My office ends up in the background of a lot of pictures, so it's nothing really "new" to share, but it's almost a completely different room from the one I shared during my last room tour in 2014. I always feel more at home when I've completely filled up every inch of my space with things both functional and decorative (and oftentimes both.) This is way more cluttered than it was two years ago, but I've never felt more at home.



I live in a long open room that I divided into a work area and bedroom, but the defining lines are definitely blurred quite a bit. I keep most of my books in my studio (although because my bookcase is so deep [13"] I'm able to use every single shelf for craft supply storage behind my books!) and I keep a lot of work supplies tucked away under my bed or over my closet.

My workspace is also where I have most of my decorative trinkets. The purple display case pictured above contains my collection of The Office bobble head dolls (I have every one of them!), my bookshelf is home to my collection of Funko Pop Vinyl dolls and I use the top of my shelving unit to display things like snow globes, travel souvenirs and action figures.



I actually can't remember when I decided to switch from a regular desk to a floor desk, but it might be my favorite decision I've ever made for my workspace. I used to get horrible back-aches from sitting in my chair all day, and this has made all the difference. I never get back-aches anymore, my legs fall asleep less often and I'm much more flexible than I used to be. I can spring up and down from my sitting position way easier than when I first transitioned to this desk. I feel like I get more exercise here, too, since I'm constantly getting up and down to work on orders.

And obviously a huge perk of this setup is that Arrietty usually curls herself up next to me on the floor while I'm working. That's reason enough to love my desk, haha!



I recently handed-down my old imac to my brother, who is helping me with my business now (I'll be sharing more details about that on my art blog very soon!) so I set up my laptop to watch movies or tv shows while I'm working.

This table is actually a tv bench from Ikea! The little shelf in the middle is absolutely perfect for keeping my tablet away from curious furry paws. The shelf behind the table is an Ikea Kallax that I painted to match my table so that they look like one single unit.



Whenever I post photos of my office on instagram my number one question is "what's in all those tiny drawers?" I use these little drawers to store brooches, patches, button-making supplies and earrings. They're almost all filled up again, so I might need to invest in one more unit! Now I just have to decide what color to paint it! :)



Sources for some things:

Purple rug - Amazon
Little drawer units - Amazon
L'Avventura poster - Criterion
Blue filing cabinets - Ikea (came red, spray painted blue)
Bride of Frankenstein poster - Movie Poster Shop
Ice cream lamp - Perpetual Kid
Pizza slice wall hanging - Everyday is a Holiday
Blerg balloon letters - Urban Outfitters (old)
Giant black movie lamp - Ikea
Green vintage-looking fan - Amazon
Brain artwork - DIY tutorial
Green and wood console - Urban Outfitters (old)
Cat-shaped cat door - my shop
Green scalloped bowl - Target (old)

star-spangled heart

Happy 4th of July! Our town had fireworks on Saturday night so we did all of our celebrating over the weekend. Today I'm going to catch up on some work and maybe watch a movie before hitting the hay early. I'm trying so badly to adjust my sleeping schedule before I go to Europe. I'd been going to sleep around 4am and so far I've managed to push that back to midnight. I'm hoping to get it to about 10:30-11pm before I leave (which is still like 5am in Paris! Yikes!)

dress - emerging thoughts | hat - forever 21 | brooch - vintage

shoes - bait footwear | purple rug - amazon

three weeks

Three weeks from today I'm leaving for Paris! It seems like the last 100 or so days have just flown right by... I'm going to blink and before I know it I'll already be back home looking at my trip photos. I've reached a point where I'm definitely more excited than nervous. I got my hotel assignments from the tour group so I did Google street-view to get acquainted with the areas I'll be staying in in Paris and Rome. I even "walked around" a bit in Paris and found some restaurants I want to try out! I'm surprised how much street-view really helped to calm my nerves. It's nice to know that I'll be familiarized with the location a bit when I arrive.

I also found out that Le Samourai is going to be playing in Paris while I'm there, and I already bought a ticket! My mom was joking that I must be the only person who books a 3 day trip to visit Paris for the first time and opts to spend 2 hours of that trip in a dark movie theater... but then I reminded her that when her & my dad visited England on their honeymoon in 1976 they went to see The Man Who Fell to Earth, lol! Movie-loving is in the blood!

dress and cardigan - forever 21 | shoes - topshop

purple rug - amazon

posh frock friday

I'm pretty sure that the only people who still read my blog are the ones who have been following it since the beginning, but just in case anyone new has stumbled upon my little corner of the internet since I last posted about this series three years ago --- Posh Frock Friday originated in 2010 as a way of getting to wear the fancier pieces in my closet that don't normally see the light of day unless it's New Year's Eve or my birthday. It's a way to jump-start your self esteem, too, since seeing a dolled-up reflection in the mirror in the morning definitely adds some pep to your step for the rest of the day!

I was going through my dresses for ANOTHER shop my closet sale (I wish I could say that I'm becoming one of those de-cluttering, live-simple wizards but I just need money) and realized I have a whole lot of fancy dresses that I never get to wear. And so Posh Frock Friday was re-born! I'm not going to have a link-up widget on my posts like I used to, but I *am* going to hashtag my outfit posts #poshfrockfridays on instagram if you want to join in! I'm kind of a major failure at ever like.. "starting something" .. so I'm fully expecting the hashtag to be entirely (and pathetically) populated with photos of me alone, but hopefully this time I'll be pleasantly surprised :D

GOD this is the most self deprecating post ever, lol. It's just been that kind of week, mentally. Anyway, I'm hoping to stick with this and maybe be a fraction as dedicated to the series as I was in 2011 when I got dressed up for Posh Frock Friday even though I was sick in bed.

dress - vintage | shoes - bait footwear | purple rug - amazon