Photoduplication

It's New Years Eve! I'm always amazed this time each year at how fast the months have gone by. As we usher out the old and welcome in the new, I decided to do a little round up of some of my favorite outfits and digital photos from 2009. I didn't include any 35mm photos here because, well, we'd be here for a lot longer ;) If you'd like a refresher in all the film photos I've shared this year click here.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Thank you for reading my blog this past year. I look forward to seeing you in 2010! Happy New Year!

All is calm, All is bright

The hustle and bustle of the Christmas weekend is finally winding down. It feels great to relax and I'm taking advantage of this down time with a cup of chamomile tea. How was your Christmas (if you celebrate)? Mine was nice as usual complete with lots of family and lots of good food. I broke away from my family for a few hours on Thursday to attend one of the Christmas Eve candle light services at church. I love singing carols in a church atmosphere; my favorites being, "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" and "Silent Night." Do you have any favorite Christmas songs or carols?

I mentioned in my previous post that I'd share some photos of my recent Wallet-friendly Wednesday finds incorporated into a few outfits. So, staying true to my word, here they are:

Christmas Eve

Blouse: Vintage via Salvation Army, Skirt: Old Navy, Belt: gift from Erin, Tights: TJMaxx, Shoes: Target

Sparkly tights! I hemmed and hawed over these beauties for a few weeks before finally deciding that they needed to come home with me. The tree in the background isn't our real and proper tree. My mother put up two trees this year; one in the sun room (pictured above) and another (blitzed out in color) in the living room. I just noticed that some of the lights at the bottom of this tree went out. Aww!

Christmas Day

Lace trim cardigan: H&M, Skirt: Salvation Army, Tights: Target, Shoes: Nina

I've had these houndstooth heels for a few years now and they seem to have taken on the role as my Christmas shoes. I need to try working them into more outfits. They're much too pretty to wear only once or twice a year!

♥ Luke 2:9-14 ♥

Wallet-friendly Wednesday

I've been super excited about these two Wallet-friendly Wednesday finds ever since I picked them up! I'll be wearing each item over the Christmas holiday weekend, but wanted to share a little preview until the outfits are blogged.

The picture doesn't do the pencil skirt justice as it's really a beautiful royal purple color (opposed to the bluish tint it seems to have here). Hopefully I'll be able to capture the color better next time. It's sure to be a staple in my wardrobe for a long time to come. Little perks: it's 100% wool and cost only $4.00 (originally from Talbots, too. Goodness knows how much it initially sold for).

I don't think I've ever mentioned here how much I adore paisley prints. (Note to self: remember to share paisley sundress next summer) This blouse was an absolute steal at... get ready for it... 49 cents! With green (my favorite!) as its base color, it immediately captured my heart. After giddily showing my mother the blouse she remarked, "Oh, Ship'n Shore! I haven't seen that tag in a long time." She seems to think it could be from the 70's or 80's. Maybe the 60's?

Just out of curiosity, if anyone has any more knowledge about this it'd be greatly appreciated :)

Winter whites

It's winter! To celebrate the changing of seasons, I found it most appropriate to wear white today. See, I even match my surroundings. We didn't get any of the snow that blasted much of the eastern United States over the weekend, but boy were the wind chills vicious this afternoon! Therefore, I thought it best to cover my "It's-so-flippin'-cold-out-here/Why-don't-I-have-a-coat-on?" facial expressions.

Hat, shirt, and fingerless gloves: H&M; Cardigan: Target (little girls department); Skirt that likes to bunch up: Gap; Belt: second hand; Sweater tights: gift; Minnetonka moccasins

With Christmas fast approaching, we began our holiday baking today. First up: festive sugar cookie cut-outs. Our little baking session yielded the shapes of gingerbread men, trees, holly leaves, angels, bells, and candy canes.

Yum!

Moments in Music

After reading NPR's recent list of the 50 most important albums of the decade, I decided to compile a list of albums that were significant to me in some way over these last 10 years. I could have easily kept going with this, but for my own sake (and yours) I've limited myself. (Yes, it was hard to do. I somehow managed to leave Bon Iver off this list. Craziness, I know! I love Bon Iver!) Hehe, anyway. Many of these discs are still rotated frequently on my iTunes or car stereo and evoke feelings of my previous self whenever I listen to them. Over the years, I've found that music association can be a difficult thing to deal with if it conjures up memories of a not so pleasant nature. I've learned to get over it though and return to the simple principle of "I'm listening to this because I like it." Sometimes I get so wrapped up in how certain music has shaped my life and how it's helped me to grow. It's a thought that makes me happy and I'm thankful for that.

The order of my list is somewhat arbitrary as I didn't feel up to the task of ranking my favorites. I guess in a way there are just too many specific reasons for why each album is so special to me that it almost feels like cheating to allow one more precedence over another. With that said, the first 10 are some of the most wonderful assemblages of music and words I've heard and I'm pleased to share them with you. However, I will contradict myself and tell you that the last album on my list is really in a category all it's own. It is absolutely without a doubt my most favorite album. I'll tell you about it after you scroll down.

Significant Music In My Life: 2000 - 2009


Let It Die - Feist


Catch For Us The Foxes - mewithoutYou


O - Damien Rice


Beneath Medicine Tree - Copeland


Illuminate - David Crowder Band


Greetings From Michigan - Sufjan Stevens


White Ladder - David Gray


The Photo Album - Death Cab For Cutie


The Execution Of All Things - Rilo Kiley


Our Endless Numbered Days - Iron & Wine


Great Lake Swimmers - Great Lake Swimmers

Discovering the music of Great Lake Swimmers for the first time had such an impact on me that I can remember when and where it was. Sometime in early April 2005 I was driving west on Interstate-90 in Albany listening to the University at Albany's radio station. I don't remember where I was driving to, but in all honesty I could have driven for hours listening to "Moving Pictures, Silent Films" on repeat. My initial reaction to the song was pure amazement. It was so beautifully melancholic yet hopeful all at the same time. I couldn't get it out of my head. Wherever it was that I stopped my car, I hastily scribbled down what lyrics I could remember and typed them into Google once I got home. Soon after, I ordered the band's self-titled debut and haven't tired of it since. There's something so simple, honest and raw about it that I love. Here's a noteworthy little fact: the album was recorded in an abandoned grain silo in Southern Ontario. How cool is that? I highly recommend it to anyone that isn't afraid to let music take them places where their heart swells up a bit and beats a little faster; where you feel something resonate with you so deeply it almost doesn't seem real.

Tell me, what albums have had an impact on you this decade?

Photo source.