Knew You in the Wild

Last night we went to some friends' house for dinner.  They live in the basement apartment of his Dad's house, which is a gorgeous home on a hill overlooking the Puget Sound, so we got to sit out on the deck looking over the water drinking Manhattans and barbecuing.  The meat they barbecued came from a local farm that they got through CSA, which I'd never heard of before, but it sounded like a really neat concept.  Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is basically a subscription... to a farm.  You pay for a regular “share” of produce and/or meat, and go pick it up!  Kind of a cool alternative to going to farmer's markets.  We've thought about subscribing to a produce box like TerraOrganics or something, which is similar except they ship it right to your front door weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.  Someday when we have a house of our own, I'd love to have a bunch of raised beds to grow our own produce, but for now we're just renting and aren't allowed to do such things.  Whenever I see Annie's backyard full of growing things and chickens running around I get so excited for the day I can grow my own stuff.  One of my earliest memories is picking fresh strawberries with my mom in our backyard!

dress/tj maxx :: hat/courtesy of lulu's :: shoes/courtesy of seychelles :: necklace/handmade

About two years ago there was a dress similar to this at Ruche, but I didn't end up snagging it in time and it sold out.  Ever since I've been on the lookout for a dress like it and the other day I was at TJ Maxx looking for hand weights and "accidentally" wandered into the clothing section, where I happened upon this beaut'!  I could only find it in an XL, but I loved the way it fit so loosely, which is how the original dress at Ruche looked like it fit, so I ended up getting it anyway.  I'm actually looking forward to styling this in the cooler months with tights and more layers. I think it could be really cute in a free-people-bohemian kind of way, with tons of stacked bracelets and necklaces and a floral blazer and maroon tights.  As soon as I get a new item in my closet I like to think of all the different ways I could wear it.  If I really love the piece, I sometimes get overzealous and wear all those options the same week...

Life Lately

Lately I've been trying to get into a habit of being more healthy and active.  Not that I was eating fast food every day or anything, we actually never eat fast food, I just wanted to be more mindful about what I was eating, while simultaneously injecting more activity into my life.  I just sit in front of a computer for my job, blogging, and doing design work, so I'm being a lot more inactive just by default than I used to, unfortunately.  Last summer I was constantly active at camp, walking everywhere, and the camp was on a huge hill that I lived at the very top of, so I was just always moving around.  I don't have that luxury anymore, so I'm realizing that if I want to have that, then I have to intentionally do it.

I was reading Savannah's blog and learned about this cool app where you can input everything you eat and it tells you how many calories you've consumed, and you can also input exercising too.  Since the app is called Lose It!, I'm guessing most people use it as a weight loss tool, but I'm liking how it keeps me accountable to be active and eat well.  It's so funny that as adults we have to do that.  Keep ourselves accountable to be active and eat well.  When you're a kid, all you want to do is run around all day, and your mom feeds you (hopefully) well, so you're just a happy little clam with your high metabolism and all.  I'm trying to start training myself to live well and be active, so that when I'm older it's a part of my lifestyle.  I'm only 25, but I figure habits are good to start early on, right?  I'm pretty bad at keep up with starting habits, so here goes!

bored at work // wedding photos from arrow & apple // sunny day outfit

hanging out at dorky's barcade // fancy kicks // love notes are important

straight hairs // shoppin' outfit // refreshing rainier on the porch

Oh, and I'll leave you with this, because it's just so great:

(source)

The Remix Archives // Polka Dots

I'm starting a new series on the blog today... The Remix Archives!  I'd done a few remix posts for the Delightful Dozen in years past, so I'm going to start off by reposting some of those old remixes, updating them with the outfits I've remixed since it was posted.  I've got so many pieces in my closet that I've been remixing for years, though, so I'll try to keep this little feature going.  Plus, it's so fun to look back at all the different ways I've worn some of the pieces in my closet.  Some have been seriously worn to death, but I love how remixing can take one piece and transform it depending on how it's styled.  I'm much too frugal to buy something without seeing potential for remixing, unless it's for a special occasion... but I guess the shoes I wore on my wedding day were a remix, so maybe even special occasions aren't safe!

When I was on my Brave trip I stopped in Alameda to visit my Aunt and on a trip to Target she bought me this lovely top! Since then it's been frequently remixed. It's a super fun top to pair with both solids and other prints, and the bow adds a nice feminine touch.  At the time it was my only polka dotted piece in my wardrobe, but I think it spawned an obsession because I have so many polka dots in my closet now.  Polka dots are a fun print to mix and play around with.

On the Sound

I went down to Titlow Beach, where we had our bride & groom photos, to do these outfit photos but when I got there the tide was all the way in!  I didn't realize the tide even got that high.  Luckily there's a little path that goes along the edge of the water, next to the train tracks.  Near one of the spots I took photos, there was a cute middle aged couple sitting below the path nearly out of sight right by the waters edge.  They had brought some food and were enjoying each other's company as the sun set and the water gently lapped against the rocks next to them.  I wondered if that was a spot they went to frequently.  One of those "our spot" kind of places.  I'd love to find a place like that with Dan.  A little date spot to sit and enjoy nature and each other's company.

Living near the water is so calming.  Growing up I always lived near a lake and Cook Inlet was never far away.  As a teen, I remember being awake at 3 am because of insomnia, and walking to the kitchen to look out the back door out over the lake, with the city's glow hanging in the night sky.  For some reason it was reassuring.  I still like going up to that back door late at night when I'm back in Anchorage and looking over the lake.  My parents are talking about moving out of Anchorage in the next few years and I'll definitely be sad to not go back to that house.  We moved there when I was in 6th grade, I think, and spent so much of my adolescence in that house.  But both of my brothers are moving out this fall to go to school in the Lower 48, so it'll be a big empty house with just my parents there.  This past year has been a new season for pretty much all of my family members.  I got married, my littlest brother graduated high school and goes to college in a few weeks, my other younger brother is moving out of state to go to school, and I think my parents are feeling this new season affecting them as well. It's kind of fun to see everyone moving onward and upward to new things.  On the precipice of unknown experiences awaiting them.

dress/courtesy of modcloth :: shades/vintage :: shoes/fred meyer (little girls' section)

necklace/roadside stand in AZ :: bracelet/vintage (mom's) :: tote/hand embroidered

This dress reminds me a lot of my favorite sundress.  It has the same airiness to it, and is really easy to wear.  Plus, the back is just gorgeous.  I love when I slip into a new dress and it just molds to my body like it was made for me.  I wore it two days in a row just because it was the perfect dress to wear in the heat.  I'm actually discovering all these sundresses that I got during the winter and never got to style without layering them with tights and cardigans and scarves!  I want to bring them all out and wear them during this hot spell we're having so they can be worn as actual sundresses before the weather cools back down.  

Moda Mama Giveaway

Hi everyone!  Today my lovely sponsor ModaMama is here to offer y'all a giveaway!  ModaMama
is the daily ramblings, thoughts on fashion, and life of Joanna Haughton.  And she's a nerd woman after my own heart... "I've seen every single episode of Star Trek at least twice, can recite Star Wars like nobody's business, and am really upset that they re-imagined Battlestar Galactica and did not cast me in it. That would've been my role of a lifetime!"  Awesome.



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Then, For each way you entered, make sure you come back here and leave a comment on this post, letting me know how you entered.  Make sure you also leave a way for me to contact you in one of those comments, in case you win.  The giveaway will be open for entries until Saturday, August 11th at 9pm PST.