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.

Hints of blue

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

Inspired by the glorious days of autumn, these photographs were taken back in late October - early November. I couldn't bear not to capture the beauty I was seeing and so almost greedily set forth to ensure these scenes would remain with me always. Isn't that the driving force behind why we take photos? To hold in our hands proof that we lived through moments worth remembering not just through our minds, but visually and tangibly as well? I like to think so.

Discovering an old favorite

It's no secret that I'm a fan of L.M. Montgomery's beloved Anne of Green Gables series. At thirteen, I devoured the books one after another often bringing them to school with me to read between classes and when I could steal a few moments without my teachers noticing. The tales of Anne Shirley are among the most memorable books of my youth.

After finishing all seven Anne books I delved into reading about another of Montgomery's young heroines: Emily Starr. Similar to Anne, Emily is an orphan who finds herself in the midst of a set of circumstances uprooting her young life. Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, and Emily's Quest follow Emily from being a young girl sent to live with relatives to becoming a successful author as an adult.

Within the last couple of years, I became aware that the Emily series had been adapted for television and had aired on Canada's CBC Television from 1998 - 2002. Just this year I found out the series had been released on DVD making my hopes of tracking it down more likely. Then, one day last week I was flipping through the television guide and noticed that a digital sub channel our receiver picks up airs "Emily of New Moon" weekday mornings. What a surprise! I was able to watch an episode for the first time this morning and am already looking forward to when my work schedule will allow me to do so again. I'm also thinking of re-reading the Emily books as it's been 10+ years since our first acquaintance.

Tell me, do you have any beloved books and/or television series from your youth?

photo sources 1, 2

Country school girl

I haven't had a jumper/pinafore dress since I was probably six or seven years old. Discovering this one recently was like striking wardrobe-of-my-youth gold.

It started to snow again while I was taking these photos. I've always enjoyed catching the dainty crystalline flakes in my palms to watch them immediately melt.

Jumper and brooch: thrifted, Blouse: H&M
Headband and tights: gift, Shoes: Macy's

Wallet-friendly Wednesday

Today's wallet-friendly finds are a $2 dress and $2 cardigan. I feel a bit like Laura Ingalls in this dress, hence the pigtails. I would have opted for braids, but securing hair ties at the ends of my super fine pin-straight hair can sometimes be a difficult feat to achieve. Anyway, I love everything about this dress from the color to the fabric weight (a little on the thick side, but not heavy). It's 100% Emily approved. Other than my own spin on a Little House on the Prairie look, I could probably pass as a frumpy cat lady with the addition of the over sized cardigan. Don't worry, I'm not picking on myself. I'm perfectly fine with this or else I wouldn't have worn it ;)

Dress and cardigan: Salvation Army,
Belt: gift from Erin, Minnetonka moccasins

The sweater originally had gold colored crest-like buttons which I switched out for something a little more suited to my tastes. Other than being very warm and snug, this cardigan has another great thing going for it: pockets. If something has pockets chances are I'll like it.

P.S. Yes, we received our first round of stick-to-the-ground-and-all-other-cold-surfaces snow. Appropriately, it fell on December 1st which has come to my understanding as being the unofficial start to winter in the minds of some. Not for me though. It's still fall until the calendar tells me otherwise.