sunday morning cephalopods

Much of July has been viciously humid and I have been stumbling about miserably in wrinkled cotton dresses or appallingly normal t-shirt and shorts combinations (or they would be normal if my t-shirts weren't 90% geeky), and have been too lethargic to take pictures. But today I put together an entirely new outfit in about ten minutes in the scramble for church and -- really loved it? Usually I stick to previously worn combinations for church, on account of not having a lot of time in the mornings, but something obviously clicked this morning.

I love this weird little waistcoat thing so much. I've had it for years and it's quirky and useful! Back before I amassed a collection of wide belts it cinched all of my too-loose dresses. It also has attached suspendery bits which I usually just tie off in the back because they only sometimes look good on me. (It has to do with my incredible bosomosity.)

I ordered this octopus ring (and an identical one in bronze) from eBay for two dollars recently and have been wearing them a lot, because of adorable. I am not a Cthulhu cultist, I just like octopodes! (She protested a little too glibly. CTHULHU FTAGHN. I mean what.)

 

shirt, boots: thrifted
skirt: Wet Seal
hat, earrings: Claire's
waistcoat: Rue 21
ring: eBay
necklace: Fred Meyer in Alaska

only slightly wicked

Today's outfit: sort of hastily thrown together, and then I looked in the mirror and decided that I loved it.

Hmmm. Evil secretary? Then I remembered that I had spent the afternoon working on a YA boarding school paranormal fantasy. There you are, then. 

blouse, shoes: thrifted
skirt: Maurice's
necklace: Hot Topic

bigger on the inside

Yesterday morning I got a package. Or rather, my mother got a package that was for me, opened the package, re-wrapped the contents in three layers and about enough packing tape to circle the house thrice, and then gave it to me. The package said "muahahahaha" on top.

Me, groggy, un-makeup'd, and desperately in need of a shower. LOOK NOW, IT'S NOT A SIGHT YOU'RE GONNA GET ALL THAT OFTEN AROUND HERE.

I have a friend named Bethany who enjoys being evil around my birthday.

Anyway, what was in this cruelly wrapped package was something I have desperately wanted since before it was purchaseable: Threadless' new TARDamask t-shirt. If you haven't noted that I am the massivest of massive geeks, you haven't been reading very carefully, but if you missed it, well: here's your warning! Anyway, I fell headlong in love with design when it was still in the voting stage and really hoped it would get to be a t-shirt, and then it did! and it was much too expensive for me to splurge on. CUE SNEAKY EVIL AWESOME FRIENDS. It is the best t-shirt ever, on account of being elegant and extremely geeky, and therefore all of my favourite things in one place: Doctor Who and Victoriana and a fetching shade of blue.

My four-year-old sister, upon examining the shirt, exclaimed, "That's Doctor Who's house!" WE HAVE TRAINED HER WELL.

shirt: Threadless, from Bethany
skirt: Bon Ton
shoes and stockings: Rue 21 (whoo $1 clearance stockings! also YES I WEAR OTHER SHOES SOMETIMES)
bow necklace, the closest thing I have to a bowtie: Claire's
almost Amy Pond's wedding necklace: Christmas present from Anna
pearl droplets: WHO KNOWS; there was a pair in one of the sets of earrings Anna sent me but these are not them! my mother probably found them at Goodwill. Pearls are my birthstone; I like them.

summer simplicity

Hot, stormy summer days are upon us, and here am I in unheard-of garb: shorts. I haven't owned a pair of shorts since I was eleven, most likely, having spent an overly long time self-conscious about my legs, and then, once I'd stopped being silly about that, having no end of trouble locating shorts that I did not actively hate. I am still seeking a high-waisted pair with rows of lovely bright buttons, but ah well. These slip on comfortably, lace up (and zip, for practicality's sake: the laces are just decoration), are a nice dark colour, do not look like denim underwear, and do not have any ridiculous holes or spots of bleach on them. I approve! So, on a hot, lazy day, I pulled them on along with a favourite loose cotton blouse and, for once, didn't bother a bit about shoes. (I thought of finding a suitable pair for photography purposes, but that would be cheating: and anyway, you'd miss the pretty toe ring my friend Sarah got me for my birthday!)

 

Attempting to prettify my feet with nail polish and jewellery: I hate them slightly less! I'm not insecure about my specific feet -- I'm an equal opportunity foot-hater! Feet are weird and sort of creepy! But this helps. (Oops, apparently I made a worse bungle of my nail-painting than previously suspected. IGNORE THAT.)

 

Amy Pond necklace!

My dear little typewriter necklace has become something of a writing charm, or a "go write stuff already, Jo!"  reminder: hence the reluctant face I'm pulling. Write all the words?!

blouse: Dress Barn, thrifted
shorts: Rue 21
jewellery: gifts from Anna and Sarah

birthday shenanigans

 On Friday, I turned twenty-one. I mostly celebrated quietly at home, enjoying simple pleasures, and then went picnicking in the graveyard the following day. As one does.

As a sentimental creature of ritual, I like to wear things on birthdays that wholly represent me -- which is a tall order, to be sure, but I mean: things that I feel most utterly myself in. I've actually worn the same little white dress (styled very differently) several years in a row, and forbade myself to wear it again this year, despite it still being one of my favourite and most oft-used clothing items. Instead I found my other favourite dress (pretty and incredibly soft and cosy), my black bodice for some added edge, and the floor-length skirt I've taken to wearing under the grey dress lately. And those ever-present green boots of mine: I can't help it!

  

 

This utterly exquisite necklace was a present from my dear friend Anna, and while I don't usually wear new things for birthday outfits, this was so brilliant and perfectly me that it was beloved immediately.

The clock earrings were also in Anna's package, and they suited nicely. Though wearing clocks and a typewriter proved to give me a peculiar deadliney feeling. I think I should wear them a lot come NaNoWriMo...

And my wee owl was an early birthday present from my best friend Kyra when I stayed with her last month. Have you noticed my fondness for owls? It isn't very apparent, is it?

I trooped out into the yard and set up a picnic under the apple tree -- bacon and cheddar on garlic bread, sugar snap peas, red wine, and the mint chocolates my sister gave me. (They're from the local candy shop, where they make their own chocolates -- fabulous.) Then I spent the next hour basking in the sun, listening to Linford Detweiler, reading Jane Eyre, and fending off bacon-hungry cats. It was a good afternoon. 

 

dress, skirt, bodice: thrifted
shoes: Rue 21
feather clip: a boutique in Philadelphia
jewellery: gifts from Anna and Kyra

an english country gentleman

 It's uncharacteristically chilly today, so I'm taking advantage of the weather with layers and trousers to suit the brogues I cannot stop wearing. (I went back and bought a black pair, too, which I am sure to wear all the time.) And I've been unable to stop wearing my flat cap lately, under no circumstances related to my recent habit of watching too many things with Michael Fassbender in them. (He does wear one so charmingly. WE WON'T DISCUSS THIS; IT WILL ONLY LEAD TO ME COMMITTING ACTS OF SEVERE INDIGNITY.) Anyway my dad wore flat caps a lot when I was growing up so I've always had an immense amount of nostalgic fondness for them.

This blouse is pretty great. It always makes me feel I ought to be heading to a 1920s garden party populated by sprawling bright young things.

blouse: thrifted
trousers: Ross Dress For Less
waistcoat: Maurice's
shoes: Rue 21

hat: Claire's (I actually paid full price for it as it was so marvellous and there was only one left)
jewellery: Claire's

marvellous wine-coloured shoes

Today was a more than usually victorious Goodwill day. I've barely been since I got home from Alaska, but Mum wanted to go today, and clearly it was Fate, for I've a number of new treasures that are sure to be cropping up here by and by. (Also a pair of boots I won't be wearing much for a while as they are fur-lined -- but they are powder-blue and lace up and are perfectly mori-girl; I couldn't help myself.) Even with the cape, the brand new J. Crew sweater, and the boots, the absolutely most delightful find was a pair of wine-coloured Newport News pumps, which I had somehow missed on my first go-round (maybe someone was trying them on?) -- fortunately my mother found them and called me over excitedly. They are EXQUISITE and you know I've the massivest weakness for coloured shoes. Also: ribbons. I am so excited to wear these regularly and only wish I had a proper party or event to which to take them. 

 

dress, skirt, jacket, shoes: thrifted
necklace: pendant from Michael's on an old chain
feather clip: boutique
earrings: Kyra, from Claire's

brogues!

Today's a beautiful, windy summer day -- after two days of oppressive humidity, the gently warm sun and wild breezes are a boon. I pulled on an old favourite white dress and -- oh yes -- my shiny new brogues. :D I've been hunting for an inexpensive and pretty pair of brogues for a year or two now and stumbled on a pair purely by chance at Rue 21 yesterday -- on clearance for seven dollars. They must have got them in while I was away, because I hadn't seen them at all, much less had time to lust after them before they went on clearance. They aren't the best quality, but they're pretty and comfortable, and I am never taking them off.

dress: thrifted
lace scarf: Hot Topic
necklace: Claire's; an early birthday gift from Kyra (I'd just missed snatching it up at my own Claire's and was delighted she fetched one for me)
earrings: Forever 21, also from Kyra
shoes: Rue 21

you can't take the sky from me

Hello, internet! I have been busy being Away: Merlefest Bluegrass Festival with my father the last week of April, after which I came home long enough to collect my suitcase and an hour of sleep before taking a bus to Philadelphia to hang out with my friend Anna for several days -- and from Philadelphia I flew to Anchorage, Alaska to visit my best friend for two and a half weeks. She'd just graduated from grad school at UAA, so we celebrated by... drinking a lot of tea, watching a lot of films and television, playing video games, destroying the lives of fictional people, and exploring abandoned buildings, among other things. My last week there we went to see geekfolk artist Marian Call, and ended up getting free tickets by volunteering. I took tickets and Official Photographs! And had lovely conversations with a lot of geeky people who spoke the same language of references and multisyllabic words as I. All in all it was rather a fab evening. 

And this is almost exactly what I wore! Kyra snagged me TeeFury's shirt of the day several weeks ago because clearly my life would not be complete without it (she has one too, naturally), and as Marian Call is a huge Firefly fan and references it in several songs it seemed like the thing to don.

I've been wearing the marvellous hat Charis made for me rather a lot the last few months, but it has a tendency to slide off -- so I clipped it in place with this feather clip, and the effect was quite charming. (I've wanted one of these clips for some time, and accidentally stumbled on one while in Philadelphia. Hooray!)

 

My friend Sarah had a welcome-to-summer party on Saturday, and did this henna design on my hand (after I kept forgetting the ones I did and squashing them before they'd had time to set).

shirt: TeeFury
skirt and vest: Rue 21
necklace: skeleton key from my house on an old chain
earrings: handmade, from a Russian shop in an Anchorage mall
boots: thrifted
hat: made by Charis
feather clip: an odd little boutique in Philadelphia

rainy saturday adventures

 I spent today -- a rainy, windy Saturday -- with my four-year-old sister reading all of the books at the library and then dashing through the downpour across the street to the library for muffins (she: wildberry; me: chocolate). So: cosy, quirky, and bookish was the order of the day!

 

blouse, skirt, (probably) stockings: thrifted
belt, boots: Rue 21
necklace, earrings, gloves: Claire's
hat: my marvellous friend Charis made it for me!

 I do own other shoes! I'm just madly in love with these, especially after having watched them patiently for three months till they went down to seven dollars. Plus they're green and buckley and pull on easily and add a nice bit of quirk to any outfit. (They look lovely tucked under my jeans, too.)

  

I managed to snag both necklace and earrings (on different occasions) for a dollar apiece -- Claire's has the best clearance racks, especially if you're super vigilant. I've got earrings that are a miniature version of the necklace (also a dollar!), but felt like wearing these great trinkety ones today.

 

My friend Charis makes a lot of wonderful hats, and as she is making crafts for people every month this year, she sent me this amazing hat for February (also a drawing of a tentacle lady with pull-away skirts, because she is the coolest). It's a skeleton key pattern, which is perfectly me, and I adore it.

carry on!

 It may be difficult to tell from the pictures, but it's blessedly warm again today, after several days of damp chilly greyness; I am therefore obligated to blind everyone with colour. At least a little!

 

Keep Calm And Carry On t-shirt and coffin ring: Kyra, from Walmart (mine didn't get either!)

trousers: Ross Dress For Less (several months ago I finally acquired my yearly Jeans That Actually Fit! whoo!)

shoes, blazer, beret: thrifted

apple necklace: Christmas present from Anna

I've had these fetching green pumps for a long time, but have barely worn them because they were slightly damaged -- they turned up at Goodwill brand new, but with some slices and irregularities in the decorative fringe (like a machine slipped or something). Finally about a month ago I found them in my closet, chopped off the fringe and bows, cut the bows to the same size, and hot-glued them back onto the shoes. You can hardly tell they were meant to be otherwise! I call that a win. 

I am overly fond of my purple coffin ring and enjoy wearing it with otherwise non-gothy outfits. And the necklace! It's very similar to the one Amy Pond wears with her wedding dress in the Doctor Who Season Five finale, which is exactly what Anna had in mind, cos she's awesome like that.