Dirty Rain

 top: ModCloth // skirt: thrifted // belt: H&M // tights: Target // shoes: Steve Madden, thrifted (for $2!)

Last night was quite possibly one of the best nights of my life.  After two failed attempts and a decade of wishing and hoping, I finally saw Ryan Adams play live.  Just Ryan, his acoustic guitar, and his piano.  It was perfect.  

I don't have much else to say.  I drove back from Cleveland this morning in the pouring rain.  And now I've spent the afternoon and evening in Columbus, reading on the couch as it pours down rain outside.  It doesn't seem like it will ever stop raining today.  That's just fine with me.  I've got a good book and a bottle of wine.  It's a pretty good way to wait out the storm. 

Testing the Waters

Now that I've unpacked most of the boxes and I'm slightly more settled into my new house, I decided to test out some indoor photo spots.  My new house has a lot of windows, so the lighting actually seems to be working out pretty well (my old house seemed like a quasi-dungeon in pictures.)  I'll use the excuse that I'm just thinking ahead for winter (Ohio winters are harsh for the blogger who enjoys outdoor photos but doesn't care for frostbite.)  But honestly, I'm mostly scared of my new neighbors seeing me in my only-semi-fenced-in side yard and thinking I'm strange and crazy.  It's going to happen eventually (the realizing I'm weird part), but I'd like to postpone it for a little longer.  So hey, here's part of my living room. 

vintage romper, belt, & flats: thrifted // cardigan: Target // glasses: Ray-Ban

Oh, yeah... I'm temporarily bespectacled due to the fact that I managed to somehow scratch my cornea.  My doctor banned me from wearing contacts until it heals, so I'm back to wearing glasses for the time being.  Meh.

I picked up this polka dot romper at a thrift store for something in the neighborhood of $3.  It's a little large, but I like that it gives the illusion of being a somewhat flowy dress.  Plus, if I don't have to alter it, I won't.  The shoes are an older thrifted purchase.  They're beyond comfortable and, despite the fact that they are green, they're my first choice whenever I wear flats.  Green is a neutral, right?  Aaaand my roommate has the same shoes in a tan color.  We often find ourselves wearing them at the same time.  We kind of like that. 

And speaking of things I like, I can't stop smiling whenever I look at this picture.  Love.


It's a crappy cell phone picture, but I love it anyway.  My favorite guy + my favorite pet make me happy.

Underachievers Please Try Harder

Oh, hey.  Remember that time I promised not to go so long without blogging?  Yeah... I'm a liar.  As much as I love it, I still can't seem to fit regular blogging into my schedule yet.  How do you ladies do it?  I'm like the worst, most underachieving blogger evahhh.  For now, I'll provide you with a set of excuses in the hope of receiving forgiveness: I went through a breakup (though it wasn't anything devastating), I moved to a new house, I started grad school classes again, and I'm still working a full-time schedule.  Blogging is the first thing I chuck out the window when my life becomes busy. 

There have been a lot of things going on, but I'd be lying if I said I haven't been enjoying the hell out of my life lately.  I'm living in my favorite neighborhood in this city in an awesome old house with Kaylee, my lovely roommate from my previous house.  School is a ton of work but I love my classes (Forensic Anthropology- hell yeah!)  And I'm in a relationship with a delightful boy.  We actually met at a mutual friend's show back in March but didn't get together until this summer.  I managed to find the one other person in Columbus who also wears cowboy boots all of the time.  Score.  And he's also incredibly supportive of me keeping up with blogging, so hopefully that's going to encourage me to not flake out on it!

This picture is from Red, White, & Boom earlier this summer.  It was manually double-exposed on expired film in a Polaroid disposable camera.  The dress & belt are both vintage and thrifted.  

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off (The Remix)

dress, belt, & boots: thrifted // cardigan & necklace: Urban Outfitters // ring: Forever 21

See.  I promised I'd be back soon with version 2.0 of this outfit.  I kept the dress and belt the same but added a favorite cardigan from UO and these thrifted booties.  This style of wearing this particular dress just felt much more "me" than my previous attempt.

Since I was practicing playing this afternoon right before I took this second set of photos, I decided to drag one of my guitars out into the alley with me.  This is my beater guitar.  It's a little janky and therefore I don't mind carrying it around outside and such. As you can see, it is clearly missing its pick guard.  And if you look closely, you may be able to spot how it is improperly strung.  Since I have another acoustic guitar which is well taken care of and in better shape, I haven't yet put the effort into fixing this one up.  Perhaps someday soon.  For now, it's perfect for photo ops.

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off

dress, belt, & sandals: thrifted // crochet top: Target // feather earrings: H&M

I don't know how I feel about this outfit post.  I'm still getting used to my DSLR and couldn't quite get things in focus.  It's a lower-level Nikon and the only way to focus or to see what you are photographing is to look through the tiny viewfinder.  It's often hard to see if things are completely in focus, especially when the lighting outside is bright and sunny.  My novice skills certainly don't help matters (all the more reason to practice more, eh?)  So, forgive me for the blurry photos, okay?  Okay.

The outfit itself is alright, I suppose.  Though the fabric of the top made it less than flattering once belted.  As in it created the optical illusion of a mid-ribcage muffin top (at least in the head-on photo.)  In no way do I have a perfect body, but I definitely don't have a muffin top residing in that portion of my body.  As a result, I didn't feel quite comfortable in this outfit.  Also, it just didn't feel like "me."  So, I took everything off, changed a few things around, and tried to build a different look around this dress, which I then wore for the rest of the afternoon/evening.  (I'll post that outfit soon!)

Peace Beneath the City

I love walking down to the train tracks that run past the end of my street.   I've always been mildly obsessed with trains, train tracks, and old train stations.  There's this sense of romanticism that I always feel is associated with trains.  I also like this particular set of train tracks because it's a break from the crowded, inner-city area in which I live.  I feel like I'm in another place but I'm only a two minute walk from my house.  Lame?  Maybe.  But sometimes I need that little feeling of "getting away."  

dress: Forever 21 // belt: thrifted // deer ring: H&M // deer necklace: Target // cowboy boots: random mall shoe store

I didn't realize it at the time, but I really did it up with the deer-themed accessories.  It's cool with me.  I like deer so much that I plan on getting a large fawn-themed tattoo on my arm (hopefully within the next month or two!)  I really need to get on finishing my final design.  I have the bits and pieces that I want to incorporate gathered together; now I have to work with my tattoo artist to put everything together into one cohesive piece.  I love that I'm designing my own tattoo again.  It's so much more personal and meaningful and fun that way.  But damn, it's a lot of work!  Oh, and in that collage you can finally get a good look at one of my last tattoos.  It's a piece my Margaret Kilgallen, one of my favorite artists (her personal story is actually quite moving and tragic- I suggest you read more about her!)

A Steadier Footing

dress, denim vest, & flats: thrifted // feather necklace: Forever 21 // deer ring: H&M

See that sweet collection of butterfly strip bandages down my leg?  Those little guys (and the underlying 2-inch gash) are what result when human shin meets vintage road bike pedal.  Somehow, I managed to hit said pedal with such force that I completely slashed my shin open.  Let me just say: ouch.   I suspect I'll be wearing these fancy bandages to keep everything closed up and healing for a while.  Meh.  You want to know the sad part?  I wasn't even riding the bicycle at the time.  Nope.  I ran into the sucker when I was walking through the dining room.  Brilliant, eh?

I've posted this dress before (here) and it's still one of my favorites, even after a year and a half of wearing it.  One of my favorite thrift store purchases of all time, especially since it only set me back about $3!  I feel most comfortable pairing it with tights in the fall and winter, but I believe a hidden pair of bike shorts make it wearable with bare legs.  This vest is another thrift find.  It started life as a denim jacket but I hacked the sleeves off to make it a vest.  Easy peasy.  These shoes are one of my favorite pairs... they're so simple but I get compliments on them nearly every time I wear them (and they cost less than $5!)  Oh, and this ring.  I love this ring.  I once consumed several shots of whiskey and punched a guy in the kidney with this ring (but that's a story for another time...)

Okay, sorry.  I'm rambling.  For those of you who wisely skipped that word jumble up there, here's the Cliffs Notes version of this blog post: My shin hates me.  I love my outfit.