Changing my stripes

First order of business: I got a haircut. A very long overdue haircut. I'm fortunate to have my sister as my personal hair stylist. She's the only person on the planet who can go anywhere near my head with a pair of scissors. Here's hoping that we always live in the same state. Haircuts could get rather expensive otherwise ;) I didn't do anything drastic to my hair unless you consider chopping 7 inches off drastic. My plan was to go in to the salon and have her cut 5 inches off, but once those initial five were gone we looked at each other and said, "keep going." While I do miss my long tresses spilling out from under my hats (exhibit a, b, & c), I love the fresh just-cut bounce and feeling my hair now has.

Next up: I'm wearing stripes. Horizontal stripes, that is. I have a few pretty pinstripe blouses, but tracking down the perfect striped shirt has eluded me until now. Well, okay, I do have this amazing nautical sweater pictured here. But back to the t-shirt -- it's so soft and cozy, the latter of which I attribute to it being a size or two larger than what I normally wear.

Cardigan: gift (TJ Maxx), Shirt: H&M, thrifted J. Crew corduroys, Headband: Forever 21, Shoes: gift (Target)

Lastly, do you remember a few weeks ago when I shared some Polyvore sets and asked you all to guess which item you thought I received for Christmas? Without further ado, my wrapped and packaged surprise was...

sparkly zebra print flats!

It's been a bit quiet around here this week. I've found that when I want to blog I can't and when I can I don't want to. Funny how that works. I've also had a lot on my mind lately which has put me into a prolonged dull and unexciting mood. I'm anxious to be rid of it and to get things moving in that direction some friends and I are having a Jane Austen movie marathon tomorrow night. We'll be watching the four titles pictured below. My friend who is hosting has never seen the "Pride and Prejudice" mini-series. I've told her she's in for a treat! I can't wait!

photo source

Do you have anything fun planned this weekend?

Wallet-friendly Wednesday

Welcome to the first Wallet-friendly Wednesday Accessories Edition. Here is what a few of my recent trips to the Salvation Army have yielded in the pin/brooch department:

A charming hand painted duo that has me dreaming of spring!

$0.50

$0.40

A sweet seashell!
$0.25

♥ My cardigans will be happy adorning these little beauties! ♥

Of photographs and trees

"The tree rustled. It had made music before they were born, and would continue after their deaths, but its song was of the moment." - E.M. Forster, Howards End

This past Autumn I was quite fixated on photographing trees. They stand so tall and noble offering subtle gifts of beauty. I love taking that second-look and seeing something my eyes passed over in prior moments. For example, after looking upwards and letting my imagination go where it may the branches in the first photo took on the form of a giant spiderweb anchored in the sky...



Camera: Nikon FM 10
Lenses: Vivitar Soft II 52mm, Vivitar 52 mm Cross Screen VI
Film: Fujicolor Superia X-tra 400
Click photos for an enlarged view

Technicolor Girls

After fully noticing that the last two outfits I shared on my blog consisted of mostly blacks and grays, I decided it was high time to play with some color. That's where Polyvore (the perfectly pleasing time-waster, as I like to call it) comes in. Sure, I have plenty of color hanging in my closet and folded in my dresser, but we all know its sometimes more fun to play with clothes we don't have.

I'd really like to recreate the look in the first set come springtime. I received those super cute green Keds for Christmas and would love to wear them with denim shorts and a yellow cardigan. Another Christmas gift I received is also placed in one of these sets. Can you guess what it is? I'll wear the item the next time I do an outfit post, so check back soon to see if you guessed correctly!

Yellow and other pre-Spring wishes by TranquilEmily featuring GAP

Dream blouse by TranquilEmily featuring Miu Miu shoes

Little red cardi by TranquilEmily featuring Pretty Polly tights

Show Me Your Heart project

This past week ♥ Much Love ♥ held a project on her blog as part of her Much Love Monday feature. The Show Me Your Heart project asked readers to do a blog post sharing a personal photograph of a heart shape and at least one thing they love. I couldn't pass on such a fun project (even if it's taken me all week to get around to it). Be sure to check back with Much Love's blog this coming Monday as she plans on compiling all the submissions she received!

♥ I love the scent of evergreen trees and how noble they look adorned with snow in wintertime ♥

Wallet-friendly Wednesday

For this installment of Wallet-friendly Wednesday allow me to introduce to you a 99 cent tweed skirt:

My wallet took a small risk with this purchase. A stain roughly the size of a quarter was quite noticeable on the skirt's front. I've been known to pass up stained garments while thrift shopping if I can't justify it price-wise. Depending on what the item is, I have a varying range of what I'd be willing to pay in attempts to clean it. At 99 cents (wee!), I decided it was a gamble worth taking and it was. All the stain needed was a little pre-soak treatment :) So, this leads me to ask all of you: do you purchase stained items while thrifting and keep your fingers crossed they'll come clean or do you leave them on the racks?

Here I am trying to remain calm and collected despite the wind and blowing snow... then I just couldn't take it any more and burst out laughing. Running back into the house promptly followed!

Cardigan: gift (TJ Maxx), Shirt and necklace: H&M, Skirt: Salvation Army, Tights: gift (Ann Taylor Loft), Shoes: old Payless

I found these mary janes tucked away under my bed. I've had them since high school (roughly 2002-2003, I think). Whenever I wore them with white tights or trouser socks my friends always called them my Alice in Wonderland shoes.

With a dreamy, far-off look and her nose stuck in a book

In 2009 I kept a tally of all the books I read throughout the year. My total? 23. I probably could have squeezed in a few more, but sometimes I like to pace myself through books and only read little bits at a time. Other times it may take me a while to get into a book, thus allowing it to collect dust for a few weeks before I give it another go. I did read quite a few manga installments this past year. Does that take away from my total? Maybe they should count for more since they're read right to left and impose on my accustomed left to right reading habits! ;)

I'd like to match my 2009 total or, ideally, exceed it in 2010. Currently, I'm reading Swing It! The Andrews Sisters Story by John Sforza and, after writing this post I decided to re-read, Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery. After those are finished I plan on jumping in to:

• Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (a friend of mine gave me this book for my
  birthday last year and I'm just now getting around to it. Bad, I know! Even more so since I'm a fan of Lahiri's other works, Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake.)
• Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (Okay, so I cheated and watched the BBC adaption of ''Wives and Daughters'' before reading it. In fact, I've only ever watched Gaskell adaptations - ''North and South'' and ''Cranford'' being the others. I'm excited to actually read her.)
• Gift from the Sea by A. M. Lindbergh (I picked this up at my town library's annual book sale this past summer. It ended up staying near the bottom of my ''to-read'' book pile, but I look forward to finally cracking the cover.)

I have a few other titles in mind, but the above three are all I am committing to at present. Both my mother and one of my aunts have suggested a few books to me, so I'll eventually work my way toward those. Do you have any books you would recommend? Do share!

P.S. Do you recognize where the title to this post is from?

I like the way snow photographs

Cardigan: gift (TJ Maxx), Dress: Marshall's, Scarf (worn as a belt): hand me down, Tights and shoes: Target

My day has consisted of two cups of coffee, reading short stories by the wood stove, mint tea, and homemade beef stew. This perfectly lazy Saturday has been just what I needed after a tiring work week. By tiring, I really mean that I was tired. Most days my work day begins at 7:00am. However, there were three days this week when it began at 6:00am. Not setting my alarm clock last night was a fabulous feeling. And sleeping in? Even better!

On a separate note, doesn't falling snow look a little more magical when its captured in a photograph?