in which there is lace and there is lace

This outfit post was cursed.  I actually wore this outfit two days ago (how's that for full disclosure?) and it was so sunny that every shot was ridiculously washed out.  Which is not what you want when wearing an entirely white lace outfit.  As soon as I got to work that day, the skies clouded over, but by the time I left the sun was bright and shining again (what the heck?).  I drove around looking for a shady spot, to no avail, and finally gave up and waited for a cloudy day to try again ;)  But then... the sun came out.  Again.  Like, through the tiniest hole of unmoving clouds I've ever seen.  Anyway, I managed to snap at least a few photos under reasonable cloud cover, and that is (finally) the end of that story.

(skirt/shirt/belt: thrifted; hat/slip: urban outfitters; sandals: kohl's)

Last night was Art Club and it was lovely :)  The girls read the first 25 pages of my novel and genuinely seemed to like it.  A lot.  So that was an incredible relief.  They did have a few constructive suggestions, but the reaction was overwhelmingly positive.  I'm so happy :)  It was a really great meeting all around, and we have some big plans brewing that I think could be really amazing!

So, so glad that it is Friday.  Have a wonderful weekend!

in which floral meets coral

I'm baaaack!  It's been so long since I did an outfit post!  I've been frustrated day after day by the blinding sunlight, but today I decided just to embrace it.  Coral shorts deserve to shine, after all.

(sweater/shorts/belt: thrifted; socks: uo; shoes: tilly's)

 I bought these shorts last year and hemmed them supershort (really, too short to be appropriate at the office, which is why I wore my trench coat all day). I really love the high waist and bright color, but I do wish I had let them hang a little lower.  They get mighty wrinkly when I sit down for any amount of time.

I feel like I've been so busy this week, but it's really just because I've gone to the gym for the past three evenings in a row (!!!)  I'm really impressed with myself, can you tell?  It's not so bad when I just buckle down and do it.  Tonight is Art Club and the girls are supposed to have read the first 50 pages of my novel, so it will be interesting to see what they have to say (if they have even read it!).

I've been going through a strange phase lately.  I feel like I want to reject all of the excesses I treasured so much before, and strip down to the basics.  I've been wanting to exercise and eat lettuce lately.  I want to take long walks in silence.  I want to get up early and stretch.  This goes hand-in-hand with my need for blogging evolution, I think.  I don't really know how to explain it, but the way I imagine it in my mind is like so: Art Club is like really rich, cheesy, delicious food and red wine, and the Blogosphere is saccharine-sweet, like gumdrops and cake pops.  I feel like I've been overindulging in both, and now I need to step back and cleanse my system, however that might happen.  I realize that I'm saying this while wearing coral short-shorts and sky-high floral platforms (and hair), but I'm still feeling this draw toward the Essential--toward simple productivity and basic, healthy living.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend.  I hope to do lots of relaxing, reading, shopping, and sewing.  I also want to attempt another batch of ravioli, since it's supposed to be rainy and I'll have all the time in the world :)

in which there is so much life to live

A casual outfit for the relief that is Friday... my hair literally looked exactly like this when I woke up (late) this morning. Sometimes bedhead really is best (I cannot even imagine what might have happened if I'd tried to comb it out... yeesh). Anyway, a red lip makes everything instantly chic :) I need to start wearing lipstick more regularly.

(blouse/belt/scarf: thrifted; jeans: pacsun; bag: urban outfitters; boots: seychelles; sunglasses: kinney drugs)

Last night I met up with the Art Club girls for tea and pizza and conversation. Always a pleasure. It's too bad we're all so busy (okay, everyone except me, ha!), because we don't see enough of each other! I shared my dress sketches and recent sewing projects, and I think next time I might be ready to share The Novel... dun dun dun. Tonight I might hit the town with them for the First Friday Art Walk (if I'm feeling adventurous). I've been kind of under the weather these past couple of days, so I might need to just relax&recover, especially since my entire weekend is already all booked up. I hate feeling antisocial, though, especially since I really do want to hang out and I know I'll have fun if I go... Blah. Getting old can be lame, sometimes.

Happy Friday, friends!

in which i am a caped caitlin

Finally, the end of the week! I thought it would never come...

(cape/belt/shorts/lace shirt: thrifted; hat: tomorrowneverknows via etsy; bracelet/necklace: gifts from k; boots: seychelles)

We had another wonderfully successful Art Club last night--the group is expanding! We discussed everything from knitting and music videos to sex and politics (I think that's just about the gamut), drank lots of red wine, and were generally awesome. Oh, and... yeah: I finished the rough draft of my novel on Wednesday night, so that's news (!!! :) !!!) Now there will be lots of revising and fleshing-out, but there are words on the page, from beginning to middle to end.

I kind of love the landscape around here lately--the brown grass overlaid with ice reminds me of Wuthering Heights or something. It just seems dramatic. Maybe more like Springtime in Siberia than Wuthering Heights. Whatever. It's pretty, in that dead-and-buried kind of way.

I don't have any big plans this weekend, and K is working both tonight and tomorrow night again, so I'll probably be hanging out in my living room watching Netflix Instant and eating chocolate-covered cherries (and real food, too... probably). Tomorrow I might take myself on a matinee date to see The Artist? We'll see how ambitious I am... hope you all have wonderful weekends!

in which dressing is an art

I wish I had known my hair looked like a busted soufflé before I took all of my outfit photos this morning. C'est la vie, I suppose. This outfit came together in a whirlwind this morning (clearly my hair was a victim of said whirlwind), so I am pretty impressed with myself for being inspired enough to tuck the bottom half of this sweater under for the cropped look I so admire. Also, apparently it is "gaze off into the distance" day on the blog:

(blouse/scarf: thrifted; skirt: vintage; sweater: tjmaxx; trench: h&m; shoes: seychelles)

Last night the girls and I met for Art Club and it was a great success! Fueled by a delicious cheese spread, we discussed our current projects (and our lives, of course...), then shared some of them! We had a very special advanced screening of Elizabeth's documentary short, tried on Sasha's latest sewing project, and read/critiqued some of Megan's poetry. I was the only lame-o who didn't have anything to contribute for critique, but I really don't want to start tearing apart the novel before it's even finished (we'll get there...)! These gals are so talented (and just awesome), I'm so happy to know them!

in which i go art clubbing with lady gaga

Let it be said: I do not appreciate the absolutely frigid mornings we've been having lately. It's hard enough to get out of bed. I'm going to have to arrange for the heat to kick on much earlier than it has been...

(dress/scarf: thrifted; trench: h&m; boots: seychelles)

Last week, when my girlfriends and I got together to watch Bill Cunningham and ended up also watching and critiquing a short film by one among us, we decided that it would be a great idea to start a "creative club," where we could get together weekly or bi-weekly, share our in-progress projects, and maybe make art for the purpose of flexing that creative muscle. Last night was our first meeting, and it was really great! I think I've decided that I'm going to offer up my back-burner TV pilot for discussion at our next meeting, because it isn't nearly as close to my heart as the novel and I could use some help moving it forward. Future meetings will hopefully include some painting, field trips to various art-related events, poetry readings, sewing, and much wine-drinking. I am really excited about this, mostly because I feel like I have so many artistic interests and I don't really get to explore them very much, since I've been focusing so single-mindedly on my writing lately. I hope that channeling my creative energy in various forms will help elevate me to a more inspired level in my life in general, and make me more productive.

Sure, maybe we just watched "Judas" and sketched a screenshot of Lady Gaga, but it was good to reconnect with pencil and paper again after all these years... can you guess which drawing is mine? Hint: I turn everything I touch into the 1960s. We did also read some poetry and talk extensively about our goals for the group and what we hope to accomplish from week to week. I think it will be great fun! PS: I think it's interesting that most of us independently ended up incorporating various objects on the table (abandoned still life) into our Gaga drawings... what do you think that means?