MIXTAPE MONDAY: collection. (belated)

But you know what they say... "Better late than never!" Here is this week's mixtape. I hope you enjoy it!


(click title to download)







xoxo
PS; Tomorrow I'm going to attempt a "Day In the Life" or a "Document A Day" style photo journey! It'll probably be crazy with the move, but I'm gonna try! From the minute I wake up to the minute I go to bed. I've tried this before... and failed miserably... but wish me luck! (I promise to break the entire day up with a "Read more..." tab at the bottom if I succeed!) Has anyone done this before? If so, link me over! I'd love to see what you did!

Outfit Post : Thursday, July 29


Today is going to be a busy day. We woke up and ventured out to take some photos at that abandoned house and my hair is all sorts of ridiculous. More so than usual! My red shampoo was in a box from NYC to Tennessee until yesterday (with my dry shampoo too!) so I was forced to use my mom's shampoo this week. Well, pair that with some intense Tennessee humidity and this is what you get. My hair is never in the "middle"... it's always really dry (ugh!) or really oily (bummer!). Luckily my dry shampoo is a miracle worker, but I've been without it for almost a week! I haven't had hairspray since Thursday of LAST WEEK! AHHH! If you know me at all you'll know I don't do much (if anything) to my hair, so not having my typical products is really throwing my hair for a loop. But I'm thinking about doing an olive oil rinse today (which will make it even greasier for a day or two) or doing a leave-in conditioner overnight (my CHI stuff was also in my box!) Phew! I'm going to start packing things up today (books and dvds, etc) and we are moving in the morning! We're going to head down to Lawrenceburg to get our new tv stand and bookcase before heading to our new house. Then Mike is going to go down to L'burg and finish painting our dressers at some point. We also have to get a bed and mattress at some point! It's going to be a busy weekend so I'll try not to neglect the little blog! Anyway, here are some photos. BTW, no cardigan today! Haha



{Outfit Details o7.29.1o}
{Dress: Forever 21, several years ago}
{Belt: From another dress}
{Flats: KMart ($13)}




xoxo


PS; Someone came out of NOWHERE and all of a sudden has 75+ votes on the Soap and Glory contest! Meaning I'm behind by like 10! (This chick legit had like 5 votes yesterday! haha) Please VOTE FOR ME if you have a second! I promise I'll stop talking about it when it's over (which is in a day and a half!) I'd realllllllly appreciate it! CLICK HERE if you'd like to vote for me!

We All Feel This Way Sometimes...


It turned out he wasn’t in love with me like I thought. What I’m trying to say is, I understand feeling as small and insignificant as humanly possible and how it can ache in places you didn’t know you had inside you. And it doesn’t matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join or glasses of champagne you drink with your girlfriends, you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong, or how you could’ve misunderstood and how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. And sometimes you can even convince yourself that he’ll see the light and show up at your door and after all that however long all that may be, you’ll go somewhere new and you’ll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again and it’ll be as though your soul will finally come back and all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted will eventually begin to fade.


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Take wrong turns. Talk to strangers. Open unmarked doors. And if you see a group of people in a field, go find out what they are doing. Do things without always knowing how they’ll turn out. You’re curious and smart and bored, and all you see is the choice between working hard and slacking off. There are so many adventures that you miss because you’re waiting to think of a plan. To find them, look for tiny interesting choices. And remember that you are always making up the future as you go.



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When you love someone, you’ll do anything you can to keep them with you. Unfortunately, there is also a point when you have to step back and say that it’s time to let go.
— My Sister’s Keeper


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“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on and it will be better tomorrow. I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your family, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. I’ve learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life and I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision and I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn in life and I’ve learned that people will forget what you said and what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou


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Lost love is still love…it takes a different form, that’s all. You can’t see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it. Life has to end, love doesn’t. 



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You grieve at the level you loved. 



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When people walk away from you, let them walk. Don’t try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring for you, coming to see you, or staying attached to you. When people walk away, let them walk. Your destiny isn’t tied to anybody that left. 



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Because sometimes there is no easy way out. You just have to grin and bear it. Sometimes the only escape route is to go straight through the flames, just brace yourself and bite your lip. Sometimes you have to sever the ties clean off. Because in every relationship there comes a point when the damage is too much and no matter how good it once was, the memories can’t sustain you. You have to save yourself knowing all the while it will hurt like hell. Because you can’t keep giving someone everything if you get nothing in return. 



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Someday, someone’s going to walk in your life and you’re going to know why it didn’t work out with anyone else.



xoxo

Wedding Wednesday!

I'm taking a short break from what I normally do on Wednesdays which is post and source several different weddings from several different sites because honestly, this one that was featured on Once Wed yesterday takes the cake as one of the most magical and whimsical and all around heavenly weddings I've ever seen. I apologize for the blatant repost, but you'll understand once you see it. Oh my goodness. 


Are you as inspired as I am? I love her boots. I love the soft lights. I love the location. I love the trees. I love the invites. So so wonderful! (source)

Now for the Weekly Wedding Question: How do you feel about a male maid of honor or bridal party and a female "best man" or groomsman? I realize this has nothing to do with this wedding but I've been itching to watch "Made of Honor" with Patrick Dempsey again lately and I've always had male best friends so I'm curious! What do you think?


xoxo

Outfit Post : Wednesday, July 28


Today's outfit consists of a dress that I've loved for years but thought that it clashed too much with my half sleeve after I got it about 3 years ago. I'm glad I got over this phase though because this dress is one of my all-time absolute favorites! I love the pale yellow and white with the gingham pattern and the sweet scalloped lace at the top. Ah! It's the perfect silhouette too! I've been playing it safe with my black cardigan as of late (I'm seriously so well known for my black cardigan... I need to branch out!) but I'll be happy to have all of my clothes out of boxes and suitcases this weekend! Mike and I shot some photos before heading to Lawrenceburg so he could get his brother's Saab and head to Brentwood to work. I came back to my parents' house and am trying to round up what we need for the house and all that jazz. We will have cable, wifi and electric on Friday! 

Mike's parents are being so kind and buying us a bed. I'm so so grateful for both of our parents' unwaivering support for us through the whole flood ordeal. I know so many families are still struggling months after the whole thing and I'm excited to see a little bit of normality and stability implemented into our daily lives. I really can't wait to get into our new place! The day after tomorrow! How exciting! Here are some more photos. Note how cute Mike looks today, too! And that silly photo of Baby G! I love our little family. (PS, I smiled with my teeth today! Hello little not-so-perfect smile!)




{Outfit Details o7.28.1o}
{Dress: No clue, it's old!}
{Cardigan: H&M ($18)}
{Flats: KMart ($13)}


xoxo

1Aeon Etsy Spotlight + Giveaway!

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Gabe and his artistic venture, 1Aeon Clothing Co. I've known Gabe for a few years now and he continues to amaze me with his fantastic graphic prints on tees, totes, etc. Not to mention he's a super cool, laid-back dude. I've had the pleasure of shooting some shirts with him the past 2 summers in NYC and I did a little interview with him for this very blog. I wanted y'all to have the opportunity to get to know him and his company! (Stay tuned... there's a giveaway at the end!) By the way, 1Aeon is having a HUGE SALE! CLICK HERE to check it out!

I'll let Gabe do the rest here:
Now how about your business venture, 1Aeon. How did you get started and decide that this was something you wanted to do?
-Well, I didn't pick this, It picked me. Or It had to be that way- I believe it, the least. 
I already lived in New York, and I was going through some darker times. My friend suggested that I should go to a psychic, I was at a crossroad and needed to find some answers, to figure what directions to follow. Besides that she said only great things, the card "Aeon" came up like 3 times and seemed unusual. Once the session was over, I mentioned that it is funny to see the card a lot, because I love the word and already thinking about to start a band or some sort of project under this name. She said that I should, It will bring be a great success. Well Im giving this interview, so in my book, she knew what she was doing. (By the way she called everything else.) So that's how I got the name, I figured I would ad the number 1 to it, to make it a five letter word (- because i love words that has a middle letter..don't ask why, probably ocd.)-  It would threw me a front of most listings and Also love that it means a tremendous amount of time, that is so long that we don't really use it, only in science, history or religion. The fashion sense came much later, the expression of the inner art always been a part of my life and everything I' ve ever done. Seemingly within days my life took a different turn. I got hired by this amazing guy: Oliver (Ackermann) founder of Death By Audio guitar effect pedal company and frontman for the band A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, To work on his pedals, build silkscreens and use them a lot. It was evident that after a while I will put my newly found knowledge in use, I couldn't believe that all things started shifting towards fashion and business, meanwhile keeping me busy and letting me work on my art too. I wasn't easy, required a lot of discipline and I had to catch up with the English (language) too.

You're the sole mastermind behind the creative company, so how do you do it all yourself?
-I figured it would something that takes a lot of dedication but at the end of he day, I am my own boss and I dictate a lot what's happening around me. No one else will do it for me so I have to do it on my own, if this is what I really want. I just couldn't deal with the heartless nine to five jobs anymore, Of course you never know what will happen later ha-ha.

Where do you get your inspiration for the designs?
-I find a lot of answers coming to me in my dreams, when it comes to designs, placement, colors, completing ideas..Funny how this all works, you are going to sleep to a ton of question-marks in your head, You'd wake-up and have the clear answers. The explanation for this is probably have to do with the fact that our brain works on things that bothers us while we sleep, but don't have the distraction of the passing time, phone calls and everything else, only strict problem solving. And pretty sure we all doing this, the only reason that I can make it work for me is: that I actually remember them.

Do you sell solely online or do you sell in brick-and-mortar shops, too? If not, would this be a direction you'd like to go in the future?
-Right now I sell mainly online and have a few physical stores that carry 1AEON. I occasionally would pop up at some fairs and markets if everything comes together. I wouldn't mind having more stores to work with, but I like to find the ones that cares what Im about and actually can sell them too.

Is 1Aeon a venture that you'd like to see through for several more years or do you have other plans for your life?
-Most definitely see it happening, more like growing in the future. Right now there is nothing else I rather do. 

Do you do any other sort of art? Visual or performance?
-I always have a ton of ideas and I still have a little time to do designing, drawing, painting, photography for other art projects on the side. I also have a noise-rock band called Sleep to Death and an atmospheric/ambient outlet called The Leda Project.

One last question… If you had to describe 1Aeon in just three words, what would you say?
-Dreams come true. (literally)


It was truly a treat to have Gabe tell us more about what he does and I want to offer you guys up a little giveaway! 


I'm going to be offering up a 2Face Crying Hearts Forest Green Tote Bag! All you have to do to enter is pop over to the 1Aeon blog and click FOLLOW! Leave a comment below letting me know and voila! 


A winner will be chosen at random on Saturday, July 31st at 11pm CST (yes, that means there are two giveaways going currently!) Good luck! 




xoxo

PS; Here are some older photos of me sporting 1Aeon gear. These photos are a bit over a year old (some are a year and a half.)


Hooray for Mail!

A few things I've recieved over the past couple of days! I just received all of my postcards from NYC in a box of stuff I shipped here so I will postcards out to all of y'all who have sent them to me in a few days! As for return packages, I'm working on them but most will probably go out next week! You guys are the best!

A lovely goodie basket from Emily! (I'm eating the sucker right now! Strawberry + Creme is my FAVORITE! Check out that adorable shark sand animal! Eep! 

An owl painting from Ali Spagnola! Check out Ali's site! She does a painting a day and gives it away to a new home! I waited a hot minute for mine but I was thrilled when it finally arrived! You can take a peek at the other ones she does, too! 

A lot of postcards and 11 Urban Outfitters giftcards via Shop It To Me!

An amazing package from Laura C! The playlist is FANTASTIC! It's Tennessee themed for the most part, but I'm thinking I should share it with y'all because you'll probably love it even if you've never been to TN! 

and the sweetest thing ever... After Mike left for work, I opened my computer and found this:

I feel so blessed to have so many amazing people in my life! 

xoxo