Aspirations

styleathome

Femina via decor8

Source unknown via ffffound.

Lots of light, lots of white, maple, and linen.

I'm trying to find a good comfortable setup in our bedroom right now, and these simple interiors are inspiring me to make a few changes. It's important to know what you want in life. With time and hard work, it's a guarantee you'll get it.

Rule number one to making anything yours-- know what you want.

MIA

I've been very much absent from my creative outlet lately, and it has a lot to do with all the reevaluating I've been doing this summer. I made a really big decision that took a long time to make, and through a lot of trial and error. I've decided to quit my major in ASL Interpreting and seek out what it is I really love doing. It's been obvious that I had a lack of passion for it, and the learning was dreadful for me. I literally dreaded going to class every day. I did it because I felt like it was what I should do, not because it was what I wanted to do. I felt pressure to grow up and be an adult and have a real job, but ultimately, I don't think I would have enjoyed what I did, and that is very important to me.

I've also been doing a lot of thinking about what kind of blog I want to have, and I decided that I want to be the kind of person who's real with people. I did a lot of posting about OTHER people, and objects of my desire, and quite honestly, felt as though I didn't have anything to say that other people would want to read. I'm starting to learn that there are people who are interested in the process of learning and growing emotionally and psychologically, so that's what I'd really like to start focusing on.

That and taking more photographs.

I love it-- I don't know why I don't do it more often.

Crystal Castles "Suffocation"

Cass McCombs "County Line"

Memory Tapes- "Today Is Our Life"

I've had this on repeat for days. At 3:50 into the song, I start to seriously jam out- like, scrunched up face, closed eyes, head bobbing jamming out.

Zara Lookbook

Some Summer clothes inspiration. I'm definitely putting a pair of black medium-high heels on my list of things I need to add to my wardrobe.

Guim Tió

Currently inspired by the paintings of Guim Tió who has a pretty fantastic blog showcasing his work as well.

Those colors kill me.

Click the pictures to go directly to his flickr.

Karla Spetic

I saw this post at Cat Party, which led me to the original post at Face Hunter, in search of the source of that skirt, found in the comments section by someone knowledgeable, led me to the shop of Karla Spetic (who's name I keep pronouncing "septic" in my head).

So there you go. The source of that amazing skirt and then some. You're welcome.

Click on photos to go to the shop.

Broccoli Cheese Bites

Photo by Stacey

Made these for dinner tonight and all I can say is "wow".

It's an excellent way to congratulate yourself on managing to incorporate more vegetables into your life while still indulging in Italian bread crumbs and cheddar.

Find the recipe here at Stacey Snack's website.

Julia

That floral print is such an amazing thrift find! I would have had a heart attack if I'd found it and hung it up straight away in a place I'd see it everyday.

I'm inspired.

It's been dubbed "Julia, the goddess of thrifty florals" by it's new owner. Find the original post here at Old Brand New.

A Sunday Strawberry Pie

The most gorgeous, ripe strawberries beckoned my name at the supermarket today. I remembered I had a leftover pie crust in the freezer, so I looked up a super easy recipe and spit out a pie in like 20 minutes. I didn't use as much sugar as they called for because my strawberries were already so sweet. What a great way to start the summer.

Also, I'm seeing X-Men tonight with my nerdy boyfriend, and I'm actually really excited. I bought these for the theater. Yes, I'm the kind of person that sneaks her own treats into the movie theater.

I Heart Sunglasses

Look at these beauties I thrifted. Not vintage, judging by the Made In China stamp printed on the temples, but still a steal for $1.

Cute.

Rata tat tat

Honestly, this is a dream come true. 7:00 couldn't come any faster.

Thrift Store Haul

A lot of really great things from the past couple of weeks. A few pieces of pottery, a scenic painting, a set of dominoes, books, and a fabulous recipe card box, to name a few.

Botanicals

Click pictures for links and sources, please.

With Spring here, I can't help but get into this whole floral trend that's raging on the Internet. It's really inspiring me to pull out my watercolors and brushes, so I thought I'd share.

History of the Cheap Dress

VS.

I just read a very good article on the Etsy blog called The History of a Cheap Dress about the ever-increasing consumption of cheaply made, low-cost clothing. It raised a lot of really great questions to think about-- and I had a few thoughts of my own.

I'm 22 years old, and I have a very poor-quality wardrobe. At a young age, I took the offensive and made simple clothes chic, because I couldn't afford to dress in anything else. My hand-me-downs were not cute, and a lot of my shoes had been worn for years before I did. I still have this hard-to-shake mentality of only owning 1 or 2 pairs of jeans, and a rotation of 5 pairs of shoes, TOPS (and that's including my winter boots). Again, I took this and convinced myself that it's because I can hold my own- that I didn't need clothes to make me who I am. This is absolutely true, but for years now, it's been bothering me that the clothes I buy don't last past three washes.

While I was living at my mother's house after a particularly bad breakup, I got a new job and didn't spend any money for a while. Those paychecks stacked, and months later, I had a very respectable amount of money. I took it, and I went into a very fancy, downtown store and bought a pair of $250 jeans and a $400 jacket.

Flash forward 8 months, and those jeans were literally in shreds. The stylish chaffing in the knees turned into full-blown holes. My faith in expensive jeans evaporated. The jacket, on the other hand, is still in one piece, though, if I had to do it over, I would have bought a few jackets instead of one very expensive one. I don't think jackets wear out the way that jeans do.

Anyway-- the reason I say this is because there's no balance between the two. It's either super cheap, or super expensive-- AND there's no insurance of great quality just because you're spending a lot of money on something. Quite frankly, I don't have the income to support much experimentation.

To sum up the thought-

In this horrible economy and so many people struggling to find work, most of us (including myself) don't have the luxury of spending hundreds of dollars on "well-made" clothing.

I know, I know, there's vintage... But I like modern stuff that fits modern bodies, and unfortunately, when it's between Forever 21 at $15 or Bodin for $300, it will mostly be Forever 21.

I would really love to start building up a more adult wardrobe with "investment" pieces, but when it comes to actually throwing down the cash, all I can think about is how that money could have gone toward my student debt or car repairs or hell- a SAVINGS ACCOUNT.

How do you guys deal with that kind of disparity? And what are your thoughts about this whole thing?

Bodkin

Photos from Stand Up Comedy store- click for source.

From the Stand Up Comedy website:

Bodkin (New York, NY) is the rare line that marries sustainable practices with a modern sensibility, a kind of refined familiar. Classic shapes and wardrobe essentials are reconstructed through meticulous design aesthetic, reclaimed (and recontextualized) fabrics such as bamboo, wool, flannel, and silk, and a dedication to quality production values. In the truest sense, mindful wont.

I'm so in love.

A store in Portland, Oregon called Frances May (which deserves its own post) carries the brand, and so I've thrown it on my to do list for my summer vacation there this July so that I can torture myself by trying some things on.

Jeana Sohn just did a blog post about this blouse, which prompted me to visit Bodkin's website and bookmark everything. If I didn't have a vacation to save for, I could kid myself with the idea of purchasing it.

Midnight in Paris

Pictures © 2011 - Sony Pictures Classics via IMDb

Midnight In Paris, Woody Allen's latest film, looks fantastic. I'm a huge fan of his movies. Particularly the cliche-because-they're-awesome ones like Annie Hall and Manhattan. Vicki, Christina, Barcelona was really enjoyable, so if this is anything like his last, I'll be very happy. It's set to release in my town on June 17th. Maybe sooner for you if you live in a hipper city.

Of what I've seen so far in the pictures, the costumes look fantastic. I noticed a lot of modern trends going on, which is what Woody Allen is really great at. He always puts his leading ladies in chic get-ups, and I'm REALLY digging the earthy tones and white. It's definitely speaking to me sartorially.

The ONLY things nagging at me is Owen Wilson as a romantic lead... His parts tend to be overly silly and well, not very sexy. I think it's that his humor doesn't move me. If anyone can make it work though, it's Woody.