Color. Creativity. Cardigan.

Earlier this week I was inspired by a color scheme in one of Jan's ever-incredible ensembles: grey, yellow, maroon, and black. Grey and yellow is a combination I've always liked, but never considered with maroon. Now it seems so perfect and complimentary. There might be no going back! What really gave me one of those ''a-ha!'' moments though was the chance to get more creative with a cardigan I received for Christmas. Said cardigan is a grey and dual-pink argyle with several clusters of beads and military style buttons. Phew! While I probably would have passed right over this while shopping, my mother has quite the knack for spotting neat things (with heaps of potential) to give as gifts.

A few things I couldn't fully decide on with this outfit were: hat or no hat? hair pulled back or left down? both dress and cardigan belted or just the dress belted? It was semi-exhausting ;)

Hat and shoes: H&M, Cardigan: gift
Dress: TJ Maxx, Belt: thrifted, Tights: Hue

A seashell, snow and other random musings

My idea of a go-to ensemble for comfort and ease has been nearly the same for ten years. Cardigan? Check. Plaid shirt? Check. Jeans? Check. Moccasins? Check. Add them all up and you have a quintessential Emily uniform. At 15, I would have loved raiding my current closet. Instead, I happily made do with my sister's. Oh hey, sis. Remember that? ♥

Being outdoors in the falling snow without the proper gear prompts worried expressions! And daydreams of warm beverages.

My beloved Minnetonka moccasins are by far the best shoe purchase I've ever made. I bought them in the fall of 2004 and they've seen all sorts of weather and terrain since then. Perhaps they're not the best choice of footwear for wintertime, but after six years I haven't been deterred. With that said, my camera ended up capturing a little slip and slide action. Hehe. It could have been disastrous, but I remained vertical. We know how to navigate the slick snow.

Cardigan: Old Navy, Shirt: TJ Maxx, Jeans: Levi's ''Boyfriend Jean,''
Socks: J.Crew, Moccasins: Minnetonka, Ring: shop in Berlin, Maryland

The seashell ring in these photos is a little souvenir I brought back from my end of summer trip to Maryland. I was on the hunt for one of these babies for months and, well, living too far inland wasn't proving successful in the search. When Erin and I popped up to Portland, Maine in July I found some neat rings made out of shell & wood, but they didn't tempt me enough to buy one. Fast forward to September when my friends and I were strolling through Berlin, Maryland and stumbled upon a cute little shop full of handmade and vintage goodies. I was hemming and hawing over a vintage brooch when I zeroed in on a display of seashell rings. Yay! My attention immediately shifted from the brooch and I left the store the happy owner of a seashell ring. And let me tell you, this ring is such a fine piece of craftsmanship. It blows my mind that something so perfect was produced by the sea and then carved into a piece of jewelry. The artist has her own Etsy shop and I've been contemplating another ring...

Country idyll

All day I've felt the need for some color to brighten up this white winter day. I found just the thing while digging through some photographs taken a few months back: one of my favorite scenic views dressed up in autumn colors. This particular day was very fine and mild. The world of green wasn't ready to let go even with the oranges, yellows, reds, and browns pushing forth.

Do you see the grazing cows in the second photo? Aww! There are two roads running parallel through this country idyll in rural northwestern Massachusetts. I took these on the higher road behind an orchard that slopes down the hill. Part of the lower road meanders along a brook and posts a very low speed limit, which is fine by me as it allows more time to revel and soak in all the beauty. And not only natural beauty. There are quite a few old Colonial homes to please the gazing eye.

Camera: Nikon FM 10
Film: Fujicolor Superia X-tra 400

Hats and vests and rust tights, oh my!

I've made it my mission this month to get more wear out of my hats and vests. Both are seemingly effortless items to have in one's wardrobe, but laziness often gets the better of me. It's far too easy to just pull my hair back, layer with a cardigan and call it a day. No offense, dear cardigans. You know that I love you. Well, today I decided to go all out and wear a hat and a vest (whoa, Emily). With the temperature hovering around zero degrees Fahrenheit, these extra articles of clothing were greatly needed whilst being out in the elements.

The frigid air was surprisingly fresh and didn't burn my lungs (as I feared before taking these photos). A delicate dusting of snow was falling from the sky giving our already white-world an extra dose of pretty. Despite all that, I didn't stay out long and scampered back in to the warmth where the wood stove, dog and a piping hot cup of tea were all waiting for me. I then proceeded to enjoy all three with the banjo-rrific Avett Brothers playing on the stereo.

Cardigan, dress & gloves: H&M*, Vest: thrifted J.Crew
Necklace: self made, Hat & tights: F21, Moccasins: Minnetonka

*People always ask, so just to clarify the H&M sweater and gloves are circa 2005/2006

Magic cape

Capes have been pretty big in blogland for a while now. I thought about actively pursuing one, but that idea eventually fizzled out. I didn't really need one as I have a couple of good capelets (one casual, one dressy) hanging up in my closet. So, I told myself I'd only let myself acquire one if it magically appeared in my presence (without the aide of Etsy or eBay). Magical things can happen in thrift stores, you know. And happen they did! One such thrifting trip from this past autumn resulted in the purchase of not one, but two vintage capes. I was a bit overwhelmed by the prospect of adding both to my wardrobe, so I resolved to gift one to my sister at Christmas. I wrapped up the one I thought she would like best and was excited over it for weeks. She kindly allowed me to share a picture of the one I gave her.

Her's is the most beautiful array of browns and orange while mine is its counterpart in browns and cream. The heft of the knit is perfectly cozy. Once it's on I detest the idea of taking it off, but I just remind myself that the weather will be cold for awhile longer yet.

I essentially have the same outfit going on under the cape as in this post. It's a pretty good basic outfit as far as I'm concerned, so I just go with it. Also, I think it's easier to see in these photos (as opposed to these) that this corduroy skirt is the nicest shade of navy blue. I've been big on navy blue for the past year and have been steadily injecting it into my wardrobe. A few basic shirts and a dress-tunic-blouse thing have also crept in. But, enough about that. Tuesday was a good day for walking around in the snow in a cape, so that's just what I did.

Vintage 1970s cape: thrifted, Shirt: Target, Skirt: J.Crew
Tights: Hue, Moccasins: Minnetonka

Tell me, have you had any recent magical secondhand finds?

Carrot Honey Cookies

Over the weekend a good friend and I stayed in for an Anne of Green Gables movie marathon complete with scrumptious homemade cookies and endless cups of tea.

After watching Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea, we decided it was still too early to call it quits and put in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. However, my visit to Middle Earth had to be cut short after an hour as I was seeing more of the backs of my eyelids than the movie. Perhaps our movie selections made for an odd pairing, but we certainly had fun with it.

And what about those cookies, you ask? My friend whipped together a delightful batch of Earl Grey shortbread (recipe found here) and I made carrot honey cookies. I found the recipe on the Prince Edward Island tourism website a few years ago (nerd alert!) and they have become a definite favorite since then.

Carrot Honey Cookies

1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup honey
1 egg slightly beaten with 1/4 cup shortening (or butter)
1 cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
dash of salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1/2 cup grated raw carrot
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat over to 375F

In a medium sized bowl, stir baking soda into honey and add to the creamed shortening (or butter) and egg. Beat until creamy. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the honey mixture. Combine oatmeal, nuts and grated carrot and stir into the mixture until well blended. Add vanilla last and mix well. Drop the cookie dough by teaspoonfuls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, flattening with the end of a fork. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Recipe adapted from here

Patched up

From the photos I share, you might not guess orange as a color I wear often. I don't have the time or the inclination to photograph my outfits each and every day, but allow me to tell you that orange is donned quite often. Over the years, H&M has been successful in getting me to buy various orange items they offer up for sale. Take for example this shirt, these flats and this hat. The latest item my wallet gave up its contents for is this sweater:

Sweater & necklace: H&M, Dress: thrifted, Tights: Hue, Moccasins: Minnetonka

Okay, so it looks almost brown in these photos. Let's just call it brorange. No? Well yeah, that is kind of weird to say. Anyway, it's supposed to be a take on the cropped shirt/sweater trend, but I bought mine a size up for a more slouchy look. This has been my favorite way to wear it other than atop my comfy Levi's. But you can't even see the best part in the above photo - elbow patches!

So, this terrifically Fall sweater has followed me into Winter. And I'm sure I'll find a way to wear it come Summer (while trying not to succumb to heat stroke).

Secondhand ducks

Every now and again I like to hop in my car and drive without a set destination in mind. I just go where the mood takes me. Sometimes a camera comes along, sometimes it's just me. Sometimes a sing-a-long erupts, sometimes I craft poems in my head or submerge in (a healthy dose) of pensiveness. I don't venture too far these days as taking leisurely drives costs quite a bit more than when I was a new driver, but so it goes. Little bits and bobs usually find their way home with me on these trips. Everything from maple sugar candies and morsels of baklava to scrimshaw hatpins and yard sale brooches. Oh, and cardigans. One such trip to Bennington, Vermont this past summer yielded this handmade vintage beauty. It's covered in ducks! You probably don't need me to tell you that I love it almost more than a sweater should be loved and that it's pretty much my favorite thing ever. After taking these shots, beloved cardi and I actually went back up to Bennington. I guess you could say it was a homecoming of sorts. I can't tell you how the cardi felt about it, but I was happy to stroll through the big antiques center up there (and drool over the abundance of whimsies) and swing by a cute café for a specialty coffee drink aptly named Café VT. What's so VT about it, you ask? It's made with maple syrup (!!!) and every sip tastes like heaven.

Vintage cardigan: thrifted, Skirt: J. Crew, Tights: Hue, Shoes: Bass