getting crafty: diy cut off shorts with goodwill of northern new england.

goodwill of northern new england is well under way on their summer blogging series and i am super happy to be a part of it. head to their blog and check out my guest post on easy diy cut off shorts! spice up your end of summer wardrobe with very little money and time.

check back here next week to see how i changed up my new shorts with even more diy tricks!

saturday: thoughts, inspirations, & other stuff.

so i am actually writing today's post from the beach. yeah, yeah, i know what you are thinking, tough life. but for me a saturday that both my boyfriend and i have off is rare. it makes me think i need to spend it running around getting "stuff" done to feel as though i have made it a productive day.
when terry asked if i wanted to go to the beach, i was a little bummed. we had talked about doing lots of somethings. not exactly sure what, but we weren't just going to lay around. since a friend of ours wanted to go, i went along with my rule of summer and said yes.

after about an hour laying on the beach, listening to the sound of the waves, smelling those summer smells, and feeling the hot sun on my skin, i knew this was the right choice. i am trying to learn to live in the moment and it is really hard. as i listened to my boyfriend ask what we were doing tonight, what we were doing about lunch, and many other questions about the future, i knew we both had a lot to learn. by being at the beach today, i am teaching my self a lesson. start living by the minute. not the day, not the week, not the month. yes, it's important to plan ahead, but when plans change, it's okay too. good things can also come from things not on your list of to-do's.

summer goes by fast, as does fall (not so much winter), so for today my to-do list can wait, but the sun and sand cannot. now i can say i went to the beach this summer.

friday find: balmain fall 2012.

this find is a little different. i would almost say that it found me. every magazine i open, every site i scroll through, there it is. this is something so far out of my reach, but it is so beautiful, i could care less.


this balmain embroidered, beaded top was the first piece i saw. which lead me to become obsessed with the fall 2012 collection inspired by nothing other than faberge eggs!







and then i became obsessed. now i can't seem to look any where without seeing this top that first peaked my interest. thank you balmain for this beautiful, aspirational collection that i can drool over all fall.


photos from vogue.com.

saturday: thoughts, inspirations, & other stuff.










summer is in full swing and if you are lucky, your bathing suit is now your number one accessory. i would live in ones like these. so flattering and so sexy.

runway to real way: concrete jungle.

runway: altuzarra & proenza schouler.



real way:












wearing:
blouse - urban outfitters
shirt - SWAPmaine
pants - SWAPmaine
shoes - f21 (few years ago)
clutch - marc jacobs
necklace - anthropologie

the inspiration for this look was the major runway trend of tropical prints. altuzarra and proenza schouler were just two designers that made this pattern, once only found on men's short sleeve button down shirts, look high fashion.

this print may not be an easy one to wear if you are afraid of being bold, but choosing to wear it on only one half of the body make it a little less overwhelming. seeing as i am not afraid of bold outfits, i chose to pair this tropical print pants with two bright colored tops (also huge for summer). not only adding bright colors, i am doing a little bit of color blocking.

to tone down the print even more, wear it with more basic pieces or without adding more color. the easiest way to try this trend, as it is with most trends, wear it in a dress! you get an overall print without being overwhelming.

but after looking at these runway photos, i am sad i didn't take the matching top that came with these pants at swap maine..






saturday: thoughts, inspirations & other stuff.

i dont know about you, but i am feeling like the summer is going by too fast. it is already july. the fourth has passed and the new month is in full swing. so far, what have i got to show for this summer?

the way i feel.. not one thing. i know this may not be true and i am sure i have done some fun things, but i just want to live. it is summer. i want to let loose and be free. yeah, yeah, i know i have to go to work. but those few hours between work and sleep, i want to feel like i was a kid in the summertime. those ones before we had to get a job.

so here is what i have decided. now until the end of the summer, i am not saying no to anything. unless, of course it is dangerous, lifethreatening.. you get the point. i dont want to turn down an invitation. i dont want to make excuses. i want to try new things and go places and really just live. i dont want the end of the summer or the end of the year to come and to still feel like i am waiting for my life to happen. i want to make it happen. i just want to do.


in honor of do-ing, here are the first few things i 'did' this week:

on monday when it starting to pour in the afternoon, i thought about how much fun it would be to go out in it and how i've always wanted to. so i did. i went and stood in the rain and felt the drops hit my face. i laughed and twirled a few times. it felt really great.

also on monday, while taking some outfit photos at reiche school, i thought what a cool place to do a cartwheel. i hadnt done one in years, so i did it. it was ugly and it hurt, but it was still fun. terry then made me do it again so he could try to snap a picture.

these are simple and small, but they made me stop and take in the moment. to live my life without waiting for someone to live it for me.

here's to a summer full of living and of doing.

photo shoot: locally made.













this is the second of the two photoshoots i did recently. the cool thing about this particular one is that everything is local. the dress is from a local vintage dealer, proper vintage, which makes it a one of a kind piece. the necklaces are vieve designs, made by genevieve drzewianowski and sold at akari. she also did my retro looking hair for these photos as well! (jeeze, what a talent!) the super cute striped bra top is designed and made locally by brook there. and of course, the tote bag is from the one and only, sea bags! being able to find such cool and fashionable things from designers here in maine is a really awesome thing.
i want send out a big thank you to everyone who helped me with thise shoot. and i really want to thank my photographer, matt cosby, for being such a rockstar in the pouring rain!