On a clear day

It feels like ages since I last did any sort of wardrobe documentation. In reality it has only been three weeks. To be honest, part of me didn't even feel like taking these photos (don't worry, I'm not going to stop blogging or anything. I've just been feeling a little "meh" lately), but the inkling was partially there, I had some free time and I was wearing one of my summer dress splurges. And by splurge I really mean that I watched it like a hawk and bought it on sale. My only gripe with it is that it's not the pretty shade of green it appeared to be online. The lining is, but it's not possible to wear it inside-out. I wasn't sure about wearing this dark olive green cardigan over it, but my little white one was crumpled up in my laundry pile. However, I was certain about wearing these traditional Catalan espardenyes with it. My blogging friend Emily of Ruby Slipper Journeys so graciously sent them to me while she was in Barcelona not too long ago. They have more than satisfied my yearning for an espadrille summer shoe (it had been far too long since I owned a pair) and I spent the day imagining that I was wearing them somewhere near the ocean... walking along a pebbly beach or on a jetty, perhaps.

Cardigan: Target, Dress: Land's End Canvas, Locket: antique mall
Sunglasses: TJ Maxx, Espardenya shoes: gift

Trash to Treasure

This installment of Trash to Treasure comes to you in the form of ceramic donkey planters! I repeat: ceramic donkey planters! Yes, all exclamation points are necessary.

Aren't they darling? The one with the hat (!!!) is my mother's. We've loved this little guy for a few years now and have had plenty of laughs over him. As for the other, I pressured Mom into buying it (I haven't decided its gender yet, haha) on one of our thrift store trips. There it was sitting behind the glass case at the register looking forlorn and calling our names. I don't know anyone else who would even entertain the idea of collecting donkey planters. Perhaps it is a little odd, but I am okay with that.

Photoswap 2011

Have you heard of the photoswap that Rhianne of For the easily distracted hosts? Some of my favorite bloggers have participated in years past and this time around I thought it would be fun to join in! The idea behind the swap is simple: each participant is assigned a partner and then develops a roll of film (or disposable camera) that the other has taken.

My swap partner was Cesar of The Dead Format. In addition to the roll of film I sent, I included a letter in which I mentioned how exciting and daunting it was taking photos specifically for someone else. Photographs can be really personal things if you think about it. One element about being partnered with Cesar that I really liked (apart from his beautiful photos, of course) was that we shared photos from the opposite ends of our country. He is based in downtown Los Angeles and I call rural upstate New York my home. It really reinforced how much I love the vast diversity of the United States.

The rest of Cesar's photos can be found here and at the It's A Photoswap 2011 Flickr group.

With quiet eyes

"I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

And when lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!"

-Afternoon on a Hill by Edna St. Vincet Millay

Cardigan: Target (old), Top: H&M (old), Locket: antique mall
Vintage belt: thrifted, Skirt: Old Navy, Shoes: Aldo

Lindenwald

This morning I took a short drive to nearby Kinderhook, New York, to visit Lindenwald, the home of the United States' 8th president Martin Van Buren. Did you know that Van Buren was the first president to be born under the U.S. flag? The previous seven presidents were born prior to the American Revolution and were therefore British subjects. Van Buren was also the nation's first president who spoke English as a second language, having grown up speaking Dutch.

Van Buren served as Secretary of State and then Vice President under Andrew Jackson before winning the 1836 election. Van Buren spent one term as President, serving from 1837 to 1841. It was during this time that Van Buren purchased an old Dutch estate in his hometown of Kinderhook, giving it the name Lindenwald. The above portrait of Van Buren hangs in the formal parlor.

During the tour I managed to snap a handful of photos (both digital and film, the latter to perhaps be shared at a later date), but didn't get too carried away. Taking photos can sometimes be a distraction and I didn't want that to take away from the experience at hand. The tour guide led us through three floors and there was much to see - more of which was committed to memory rather than snapshots. Below, however, are a few glimpses of what one would see upon visiting Lindenwald:

Bust of Van Buren in the Lindenwald library

A staircase leading to the second floor

A guest bedroom

President Van Buren's bedroom

This cane was an inaugural gift to Van Buren by his predecessor President Andrew Jackson. If you're up on presidential nicknames you might recall Jackson being known as "Old Hickory." I'll give you one guess as to what wood the cane is made of ;)

Diana Mini double exposures

I got the most recent roll of film used in my Diana Mini developed the other day. Toward the end of the roll I finally got the hang of advancing the film properly (remember this post?) and was planning on sharing some of those photos... but! they got transferred to the photo disc all wrong. Grr. It's weird because the actual photos printed fine, but on the disc they're all split down the middle (half in one frame, the other half in the next). Oh well. I did end up with a few more happy accidents to share. The one of the pup is my favorite.

Camera: Diana Mini
Film: Fujifilm 200

Edwardian dreamland

There are times I walk into antique stores and become completely enamored with any and all 1910's garments on display. Ever-gorgeous and oh-so-delicate, I always feel that they would disappear if I were to touch them. For years I've wanted to wear, if even for a moment, a pristine-white lawn dress or a blouse with perfectly tatted lace details. Alas, I am always too nervous to buy these things when I happen upon them. I don't have the space to display them at the moment and I'm always in a quandary over whether to wear and risk ruining them. For the time being, my quandary has been soothed over by a particular J.Crew dress that I first saw on All This Happiness.

Oh my goodness. Could it be? A wearable Edwardian-inspired frock that's so incredibly lovely it's hard to believe it's actually real? Yes! Is anyone else a little envious that their great-grandmothers, when girls and young women, wore such bona fide things? (Well, with exception to corsets. I like my natural waist and all of my ribs, thank you.) When I look through my great-grandmothers' (two in particular, Elsie and M's) photographs I am overcome with a sense of wonderment at the intricate beauty of it all. For me, three generations removed, their world seems almost like a dreamland. I may be able to read their books, peruse their scrapbooks and photographs, wear their brooches and hear stories about them, but wearing something similar to what they would have worn (at roughly my current age) is connection on a whole other level.

Dress: J.Crew, Sunglasses: TJ Maxx, Sandals: Delia's

I was very fortunate to find this dress on super sale a few weeks ago. That in itself is almost unbelievable. It's still selling online for 3-times what I paid for it. Yikes!