Life Lately

I haven't done one of these in two months!  I'm blaming the excitement of autumn's arrival again.  Poor autumn, such a scapegoat.  I'm going to model this Life Lately post after Julie and Danielle's posts...

Reading...
One of my lovely readers sent me her new novella, Menthol Kisses.  I'm slowly plugging away through it, but I'm really liking it!  In the past few years I've read fewer fiction/stories/just for fun type of books, so it's nice to step back into that world of getting to know a character and following them where the story goes.

Watching...
Doctor Who Season 5.  A friend who I worked with at camp last summer got me into Doctor Who and let me borrow all of his DVDs, so whenever I was on a break from supervising high schoolers I would steal away some time to myself watching Doctor Who.  This fall I've gotten Dan into it, so we started from the (Eccleston) beginning and are currently at the beginning of Season 5.  I'm trying to convince Dan that it would be the best thing in the world if for Halloween he was the Doctor and I was the Tardis...

Anticipating...
Moving out of our tiny house.  I've been complaining a lot about this lately, but it sure would be nice to get into somewhere bigger.  I have a 2012 Ikea catalog sitting on our coffee table and it's a dangerous thing to have around.  Just makes me want to move even more!  Trying to be patient and just wait for whatever's suppose to happen.

Working on...
A new e-course, some lovely blog design clients, editing photos, and trying to figure out how to do a hair tutorial video.  Our house is so small (and dark) that making a video inside is nearly impossible... or maybe it is possible, just very difficult.

       
Rediscovering red lipstick // trying on hats + scarves at H&M // ALL of the pumpkin beers Watching the Seahawks win! // crunchy leaves // pumpkin time // winter knit hats spiced amaretto latte from Metronome! DE-lish!  // Dan made blueberry pancakes, mmmm.

Some interesting reads around the web...

 An amazing article on the misconception of online cliques.  I've often heard people make those same statements that she mentions in the first paragraph, and she does a great job talking about it objectively.

 This is not a read, but it is absolutely hilarious.

 I loved Meg's post about giving people shit for reading books like Twilight and 50 Shades.  You go, girl.

 This is just completely heartbreaking.

 I really enjoyed this article on Relevant Magazine's website- You Never Marry the Right Person.  I definitely think we have this misconception that there is the absolute perfect person out there to marry, who will be absolutely perfect for the entirety of the marriage.  When this misconception collides with the reality that every person is constantly growing and changing...

 Female Friends Spend Raucous Night Validating The Living Shit Out Of Each Other- just go read it.  Be prepared to laugh.

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.