driftwood + pebbles

A couple weeks ago I did a family portrait session down at Owen Beach at Point Defiance, so Dan & I went down a little before the shoot to see what the lighting was like and do some test shots.  Dan snapped a few outfit photos of me while we were playing around on the beach before the client showed up.  Pacific Northwest beaches are just so diverse in color and texture.  I love how the forest comes right up to the edge of the beach, and instead of sand, it's all pebbles and driftwood and washed up kelp.  I love me some sandy hawaiian beaches for laying out on, but I think PNW beaches are so much more beautiful for photographs.  

dress/courtesy of marshalls :: top + jacket/courtesy of asianicandy :: necklace/handmade belt/thrifted :: boots/courtesy of blowfish shoes :: photos of me by Dan
The ombre in my hair is getting more noticeable lately, it seems.  By summer's end I usually get a little ombre going on but I forgot that this happens, since my hair hasn't been my natural color the past few years.  I remember I use to hold the ends of my hair up to my brother's hair at the end of the summer (he has crazy vibrant red hair), and my tips were almost exactly the same shade as his hair.  I have a feeling this time it's more likely that my tips are just the growout from when my hair actually was red.  I dyed it back to my natural color in December, but haven't done anything to it since then, so I guess that dye is gone by now.

pattern play

It's been a while since I did a bike style post!  I think the excitement of autumn's arrival took over my brain... and then my bike got a flat and I've neglected it.  Bad bike mom.  This morning we woke up to rain, and the forecast is for rain all week!  Fall is finally here, apparently.  Time to put the fenders back on!  It's nice to bundle up and feel cozy though.  It's hard to feel cozy when it's sunny outside.   When I got this helmet in the mail from Nutcase, I knew I had to create an outfit around it.  I mostly got it in the red polka dot color because I figured a red helmet with polka dots on it is pretty noticeable and so maybe drivers would be more likely to avoid hitting me.  But it's also cute.  I think I'm coming down from my polka dot obsession, but I still do love me a polka dot.  I think my next bike helmet will be a Yakkay herringbone one.  So chic!
dress/courtesy of lulu's :: cardigan/courtesy of modcloth :: tights/the stylish fox shoes/courtesy of blowfish :: bag/courtesy of handbag heaven bike basket/courtesy of basil :: helmet/courtesy of nutcase
Last night I had a mini freak out and dumped all of my clothes on the floor out of my dresser because everything was so unorganized and spilling out and it was just... overwhelming.  So this morning I spent a while sitting on the floor surrounded by clothes, sorting, folding everything nicely and putting it away or throwing it into a thrift pile if I knew I should just get rid of it.  Ah, it felt good.  We're hoping (oh so hoping) to move into a bigger place soon.  Our little 450 sq/ft birdhouse of a home is feeling pretty cramped lately and it'd be nice to stretch our legs into a larger space.  Plus, I love how the moving process allows for getting rid of unneeded things.  You get to go through all of your things when you take them out of boxes and actually see how much stuff you have.  It's good to take inventory, and I think it's hard to do that when you're living in the thick of it.  Thankfully, I don't think we have that much stuff, just a small house that makes it look like too much stuff, but it will be nice to purge and simplify.

white chicken chili

So like I said, I'm obsessed with soup right now.  One of my absolute favorite soups is tortilla soup, and when I saw this recipe on pinterest, it reminded me of tortilla soup, so I had to try it.  Plus, the word "Chili" was included, which made it sound even more delicious.  Well, it was delicious and I'm already planning on making it again because we made quick work of both the initial soup and the leftovers.  Another bonus of this soup?  The inclusion of avocado.  Instant winning in my book.  It was really quick to make, as well, which is nice if you need to whip up something within an hour or are too hungry to wait (I feel like that's always the case though, right?  Maybe I'm just bad at planning ahead...).  Anyway, you should for sure check out the recipe and make it.  Your taste buds will be thankful, I promise.

the remix archives // curry crochet

This dress is a favorite autumn piece of mine.  The ochre/curry color is perfect for fall and the little crochet detail around the neckline is a pretty touch.  I wore this dress all the time last fall, and I just recently pulled it out again to wear this fall.  I think I'm going to try to pair it with this blazer, maroon tights and some cute heels... or it could be really fun to wear with a jewel toned cardigan and bright shoes.  

black cats

It's the time of year to start pulling winter coats out of the back of the closet!  This bad boy is my absolute favorite winter coat.  It's a few years old and I've been trying to find another coat that I like as much so I don't wear this one 24/7 like I did last year.  Not that I don't love wearing this coat 24/7, but I would like something to rotate it with to keep the wear and tear down, since it's already been through two winters.  Last year I found a coat in the kids section of Target that I really liked and wore quite frequently, but it ended up kind of falling apart by the end of the season, and it wasn't very fitted to an hourglass frame.  All of this makes sense since kids grow out of clothes in a season, so their clothes are probably not made to last like adult clothing, and well, obviously kids don't have hourglass figures that need fitting to.  So this year I think I'm going to invest in a higher quality coat that is well made and classic, like this red plaid one.
Dan & I have both been thinking more about investment pieces lately.  We're both pretty frugal, so we tend to get cheaper things, but sometimes that means getting a lower quality product, which in turn means buying replacements when cheaper things break or wear out.  We'd like to transition to getting higher quality things that might have a higher price, but are going to last longer.  Now that I've got a pretty good base in my closet, I'm starting to want more statement pieces, or special pieces.  I still like those things to be remixable, but it's nice to have a few fun, special pieces in my wardrobe.  In the last year, those special pieces have been Dear Creatures dresses.  I got this dress last fall, and when I saw their fall '12 collection, I knew that I had to snag something from that collection as well!
dress/dear creatures courtesy of modcloth :: tights + shoes/courtesy of modcloth  jacket/tulle via lulu e. bebe :: bag/courtesy of handbag heaven :: photos by Dan
I'm not a big fan of cats... okay well I'm not a fan of cats at all (but really, they aren't a fan of me, so I say they started it), but this dress with the black cat print was too cute.  While I don't like the animal, I did spend countless hours practicing and performing the musical "CATS" in our basement, and this dress totally reminds me of singing "Jellical Cats"!  I can totally still sing all the lyrics to probably every song from CATS.  And if I was ever given the opportunity to actually sing and dance in a real production of CATS, you can bet your ass I'd take it in a heartbeat.  #nerdalert But anyway, lets forget that totally dorky revelation and get back to this dress.  I love the pretty details that Dear Creatures put into their garments, and the little pleated touches along the collar and sleeves is one of those great little details.  I can pretty much guarantee that I'll want something from every collection Dear Creatures puts out (if not everything).  I love that I've found a designer that I feel like makes clothes for me.  And their prices aren't so expensive that it would be ridiculous to buy something from them, they're just spendy enough that a DC dress feels like a little treat.  I'm already looking forward to their next collection!