Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for July, 2012

Adding something unique to a wardrobe can be a difficult step.

Most people find that their closets contain very similar styles, but in varying colors and patterns, or very similar colors and patterns, but on different articles of clothing. We all have particular trends and habits within our comfort zone, so even if you like something new and different on someone else, it may be hard to take the plunge and add that piece to your own collection.

One thing that helps me to branch out from my norm is to test out or imagine the article I’m considering with various pieces that I already have. Sometimes I’ll find that one little accessory can change the whole look of an outfit I wear a lot, or that it encourages me to mix in things that I already own, but don’t often wear.

To imagine my scalloped collar as an element of my wardrobe, I added it, like a cherry on top, to three different looks created from my closet. I found that it works very nicely with any top that has a higher neckline, but it could also be worn with the right lower neckline, if it were treated as a statement necklace instead of a collar! Which look is your favourite?

Look 1 | Feminine, and slightly dressed up, this is a great look for a work day. It’s just a boxy top and a skirt that are polished off with my detachable collar and a belt!

Look 2 | You may remember this Alice in Wonderland outfit! It’s so simple – just a dress, some flats, and the collar!

Look 3 | Can you say day off? This is an ideal way to be comfortable and ready for anything, while still keeping things cute!

How would you wear the scalloped collar?

xx.

Read Full Post »

I never thought I would be one of those girls…

The kind who get so completely giddy over their engagement that they announce it dramatically on facebook and recount the entire proposal night minute by minute. I mean, I always knew I’d be happy and excited about it, but I didn’t peg myself for the type of lady who wanted to share pictures of the ring online and giggle about the wedding planning process with her best friend. I also never thought I’d be the type of person who gushes when they see a movie star, though, and that moment when I bumped into John Krasinski in New York was truly one of my low points. So, here I am sharing pictures online and learning a little more about my reaction to big life events in the process. I’ll be honest, though – I love reading other peoples’ engagement stories, so why not share my own?

* And since this venue is exclusively mine, not shared space with every person I’ve met from elementary school through post-college as facebook is, I figure if you’re here and reading this you won’t mind. So here we go, the story:

When I dream, I don’t see anything. I have feelings and I know things – if I’m dreaming that someone is chasing me through a park, I’ll just know that I’m in a park and have a feeling that someone is chasing me. I don’t see the trees or the grass or the person who is trailing me. So, last month when I had a dream that Ryan proposed to me with a beautiful twig ring that I actually saw, it felt very significant. The feelings in this dream were particularly strong. I woke up with the biggest smile on my face, and the image of the ring stamped into my brain. I saw it so clearly – a white gold ring, textured and shaped like a twig, with a tiny little diamond set into its center.

I sat up in bed and tried to get a grip on myself. Nothing had changed or happened… I just had a dream. But the dream was so real, so visual, that I just couldn’t get over it. I thought at first that I should just keep it to myself. I didn’t want to tell Ryan and have him feel pressured or weird, but I ended up mentioning it later on anyway {because we can’t keep anything from one another…}. It didn’t really seem to phase him, so I just forgot about it, too. Little did I know, he then set out to find someone to design the exact ring from my dream.

This Wednesday we both worked long shifts. At the end of the day we went home, put on our pjs and a Supremes record, and decided to celebrate being home. It was then, as we danced with joy at the end of our long day, and my “Friday” night, that he got down on one knee and presented me with the ring. At first I didn’t even see it. I felt awful for him being down there alone on the floor, waiting a few very long seconds for my answer, I hated to think that he was stressed, nervous, or unsure, so I got down on the floor, too, and wrapped my whole body around him in a hug. We giggled, and kissed, and promised each other forever, and I had barely even looked at the ring.

But when I drew back and gave him my hand, I looked more closely and realized I had seen it before! After hearing about my dream, he had it designed by Kristin Coffin, a native New Hampshirite whose policy on eco-consciosness is just the same as mine. All of the metals she uses are recycled, and the diamonds are conscientiously harvested. She cast my ring from an actual little twig – I don’t think this ring could be more perfect for me, and there’s none other in the world like it.

Ryan told me that he had planned on proposing to me this weekend in the canoe out in the middle of my lake. He picked up the ring on Wednesday morning and carried it around in his pocket at work all day, his hand darting downward to feel the little circle through the denim every couple of minutes. But later that night, while we danced and sang, he said he couldn’t stand to think of it in his pocket instead of on my finger for even a minute longer. At home in our pjs listening to records – what could be more us?

xx.

Read Full Post »

What a refreshing read!

It’s been a long time since I’ve gone through a book this quickly, but the world of Neverland truly drew me in. The story isn’t exactly as long as I had thought it would be, either, so I must say I’m surprised with the ease at which I polished this one off. Since there have been so many adaptations of this story, each one different {but just as exciting as the last} I sort of expected more. The content certainly wasn’t lacking in quality, it’s just that I had anticipated a greater quantity. A dazzling story such as this surely must be as intricately woven and as expansive as the night sky itself, no?

Not so! I find that films have just embellished, developed, and imagined more backstory than there actually was, which is nice because it’s such an interesting world to explore anyway. Plus, we’ve all grown up with the basic story line, so if every adaptation wasn’t a little different we’d become rather bored if it all, wouldn’t we? While we’re speaking of people getting bored easily, I must admit that this true Peter Pan rather annoyed me! In the movies that I’ve seen of him, he was sort of a guide to the Darling children, and a hero. In the book he was just a selfish, greedy little boy no further concerned with anyone else’s well-being than he was with where his next meal would come from {which he wasn’t concerned with at all since he just imagined all of his meals and there they were – no work or forethought required}. Here were three children who trusted him enough to leave their comfortable and safe home to fly away with him into a world unknown and he couldn’t always even be trusted to stick around! I was actually a little scared for them…

I did, though, enjoy how true to this story Mary Martin’s Peter Pan was. This film was the first I ever heard of the story, and one of the movies I rented most from the library as a child. I watched that tape so many times, just enamoured with the whole of it. So many times while I was reading the book, the feeling of that movie came back to me which means that they pulled it off very accurately. Maybe this should be the next sleepover movie that we rent with my niece!

I also truly enjoyed the concept of Neverland being shared amongst all children subconsciously. Barrie suggests that this is the place where all of our dreams happen, and that we all have met Peter Pan and his hooligan friends! But, as our years pass here on “the mainland” we forget our adventures for good only vaguely recognizing the names or people from those times, without being able to place them.

I’m taking a bit of a break from the reading list these days, if you didn’t notice, but I’ll be hopping back on soon enough! I thrifted this copy of Peter Pan several months ago, and couldn’t stand the fact that I still hadn’t read it, so that was a necessary detour. From there, I thought I might as well get to a Murakami novel that my BFF leant me {I’m just over half way through already, it’s that good!}. And lined up for after this one, I’m planning on starting the Harry Potter series over again. Ryan’s been working his way through it, and since I never actually finished the last book, I’ve really got to get that going. My Dad and I bought all of the books in the series together and share the copies, but since Ryan has been working through them, we have them all at our house now! I’ve got to start my way through again so we can at least pass some of them back my parents’ way.

But, after The Sorcerer’s Stone it’s back to the book list again! When I read through a series I like to alternate each book with something outside of the series so I don’t get too burnt out on it. I find that a little time away makes me appreciate it all the more, and I think the same will be said for my reading list itself.

Happy page turning!

xx.

Read Full Post »

our week in snapshots:

| highlights |

Really, it’s been two weeks since I’ve sat down to look back through my snapshots. I’ve been working hard to prepare for the Goodwill Summer Conference at which I will be presenting several DIY projects to an audience {public speaking skills, I hope you haven’t disappeared!}, and although I know it can’t be true, I feel like I have less time in every day than ever before. We have managed to take a little time away from the working world and escape to Camp for some quiet time by the lake, and that has been a tremendous help with keeping me sane. Also, I’ve somehow managed to get up with Ryan before 8 am three times this week {until now, this hour of day has been completely unheard of in my world}. Of course, my body still doesn’t function properly until about 10, but at least I’ve gotten some good reading in – more on my current read later!

Our friends Rob + Pam {Ryan’s best friend since childhood and his wife} bought their first house only a couple of towns away. They invited us over for the first night in their new home, and we all slept on the floor on blankets, sleeping bags, and mattresses that had been hauled up by family members. Before settling in for the night, though, we all stood out in their yard and watched the stars above the warm glow of their newly purchased home {the for sale SOLD sign still stuck into the grass}. That moment felt significant to all of us, I think.

But, really, the biggest highlight of these two weeks was when my silly, handsome, insightful, wonderful, goofball of a partner got down on one knee and asked me to be his for the rest of our years. {Of course I said yes.} Since then, the little things that had been bothering me about work, money, and to-do lists, have melted away, less important.

I hope your days are as happy as mine.

xx.

Read Full Post »

I heard this phrase for the first time recently.

And it’s really been keeping me sane ever since. Lately I’m feeling how long days can really be. Somehow 24 hours fly by in certain circumstances, but drag at a snail’s pace in others. I have a to-do list a mile long that can’t really get touched because I’m out of the house during my most productive hours. The days are long, but the years are short, so I must remember to take a deep breath and do the best that I can to enjoy and make the best of it all. Feel free to download the desktop size here so you can keep it in mind for your own life.

Happy hump day,

xx.

Read Full Post »

Happy giveaway day!

Two of my lovely sponsors have graciously decided to participate in this month’s giveaway! They’re both wonderful Mainers who understand and appreciate the importance of supporting local and thinking green – two major ideals in my life, too. They couldn’t be more wonderful if they tried! One lucky winner will receive the following from their respective Etsy shops:

WorthyGoods is my go-to place for any new fabric I purchase. Dory carries the dreamiest, comfiest, most unique assortment of organic fabrics that I’ve ever seen and always tucks a little something extra into her orders. She recently sent me a tiny vintage bobbin like these and it makes such a lovely display item in my studio! I’ve got some ric-rac that I scored at a yard sale and I plan to use my bobbin to keep it in line instead of just sticking it in a drawer. These beautiful bobbins could help you organize your yarn ends, ribbon, or twine so you can keep them out and looking nice without getting them all tangled up. Plus, these babies are from old textile mills that were powered mainly by water or steam, so they’re a little piece of American history!

MaineBelle vintage is a fun and friendly vintage shop with colorful items mainly from the ’60s through ’80s and Michelle’s offering the winner their choice of any one item from her shop! Personally, if I were the winner I’d go for the plaid spring rain jacket {good for fall, too!}, but that Marilyn Monroe dress is pretty tempting. And the pastel blouse is made up of my blog colors, perfect or what?

To enter the contest: Leave a comment below telling me your favourite summertime activity, then make sure you subscribe so you’ll know if you won when I announce the winner later this week!

* here’s a little something for everyone: Enter coupon code JEEZEJULIA15 at checkout and save 15% on any purchase at WorthyGoods Textile. This coupon is valid now through 6 PM Sunday, July 29th, and even if you don’t sew there are plenty of ways you can use Dory’s gorgeous fabrics. I use them for backgrounds all the time when I’m taking photos {my Photo Booth Friday heading is one of her fabrics!}, but you could also do something like this or this.

Good luck, everyone!

xx.

P.s. This contest is now closed! Stay tuned to find out who won!

Read Full Post »

You know that feeling when you find something from your childhood?

It’s sort of an affectionate familiarity, a vague comfort. This morning during our pancake breakfast {we may or may not have been watching cartoons}, I saw a thumbnail for the above cartoon in the related videos and felt so excited to click it. When I was little I had a tape of Disney shorts, this one included, that was a favourite. I watched it so many times that I’d be surprised if it was still in once piece. All these years later and I still find myself drawn towards percolators, old campers, and drives through the mountains.

What was your childhood favourite?

xx.

P.s. If you’re wondering what we’re like in the morning, Ryan’s the Mickey and I’m the Donald Duck.

Read Full Post »


Yes, a stash of these darling things. Just waiting for a home.

What’s a girl to do? I bought two pairs. I know you’re wondering why I didn’t just snatch up the whole collection, but two would do just fine for me and allow someone else to find the same excitement that I did. For more pictures {and a hint about where I found these beauties} read the full post that I did for Goodwill Industries of Northern New England!

See you tomorrow :)

xx.

Read Full Post »

♥ Good morning, dears!
Today I’m going to do something a little different. I’ve never had a guest poster before, but since the last few weeks here in New England have been immensely hot, I thought a beach-y post would be the perfect way to cool down. So, Mary from We Heart Vintage has used her expertise to compile a brief guide to the perfect 1950s beach look!
 
If you’ve never heard of We Heart Vintage before, you most definitely need to have a look. Each post is concise and visual, so it’s just the right amount of information and inspiration to get me excited about vintage style. Thanks for guest posting, Mary!
xx.
________________________________________________

This month marks the 66th anniversary of the bikini. On July 5th 1946 French Engineer Louis Reard unveiled his daring invention and fashion has been enamoured with it ever since!

The bikini has been wildly popular ever since but now we’ve flashed as much flesh as possible there’s a growing trend for vintage-inspired swimwear.

So here’s my guide to getting that perfect 1950s beach look:
50s swimsuits were cotton, which wasn’t terribly practical for the beach (but was miles better than wool which was used until the 30s!) For a fifties look go for a straight or sweetheart neckline (you can also add a detachable halter strap) and low-cut skirted briefs.
The 1950s really were a time for rejoicing in colour, so enjoy yourself and go for something as bold and beautiful as you dare: ginghams, animal prints and floral patterns were really popular.
Bikinis followed similar rules – high-waisted and low cut or skirted bikini briefs matched with halter-neck tops and beautiful bold prints.
To top off the look get yourself a straw coolie hat or bathing cap! I know a bathing cap might seem unappealing but nothing will protect your hair from sea salt, sand and sun quite as well and it definitely gives you that vintage look!
To finish off the look get some straw accessories, a pair of wedges and some cats eye sunglasses and you’re all set to look fifties-tastic on the beach!

Mary is a dedicated follower of retro style and blogs about vintage fashion and photography at We Heart Vintage . - Check it out!

Read Full Post »

There’s nothing like the feeling…

of crossing something off a list. And just now I got to strike right through Mrs. Dalloway on my reading list! I read bits and pieces of the novel in college, and studied it then, too, but without managing to pass through every page. Now, thankfully, I’ve given it a more thorough read and found that the fluidity of this novel is astounding – especially considering the number of characters whose perspectives we dove into, and the corners of London that we toured around with them.

The structure was admirable; beginning the book when Mrs. Dalloway descends the staircase from her room to greet the day, and finishing up when she prepares to engage in her last conversations of that same day before climbing the stairs again. Every page in between is alight with fluttering and flourishing language, but grounded with an occasional simple sentence for emphasis.

It was a portrait of sorts. Seeing as to know anyone “one must seek out the people who completed them; even the places”, we cannot know Clarissa Dalloway without meeting those people from her past + present and the places, too, that have made her who she is. And so in this book we explore the city, its people, and their memories {within a day!} – all of which connect to our leading lady. Well done, Virginia, well done.

Next up is Peter Pan!

xx.

Read Full Post »

Older Posts »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 396 other followers