in which i honor st. valentine

It's that time of year again! Love is in the air :)

(blouse/skirt/belt: thrifted; socks: uo; necklace: jewelmint; shoes: seychelles)

I won't lie, I enjoy Valentine's Day, and it's not just because I have a crazy sweet tooth, or because I love tradition, but because I think it's really important to have a day to celebrate love! Anniversaries are good too, but I don't even know when mine is. Some people get all in a twist about Valentine's Day being invented by Hallmark and how commercial it all is, but honestly? So what? First of all, they're wrong. Valentine's Day has been around since the 14th century, when courtship was serious business. And maybe it has been a bit commercialized over the years (if Hallmark capitalized on American consumerism, that's just good business), but so has Christmas and St. Patrick's Day and every other holiday known to man (I saw Easter candy on the other end of the Valentine's candy aisle, already...). That doesn't have to be what it's about for me or you. We can choose to celebrate any way we see fit, with homemade cards and gifts, or just a nice dinner out (or in for that matter!). People act like they're being forced to participate in the Hallmark-variety holiday--but that's just nonsense. I still think there can't be anything wrong with having a day designated to love in its various forms. When I was in college, I threw a Valentine's Day Frolic for all of my single friends and we just had a dance party with pink jello shots and that was great fun. I don't know... maybe I'm just tired of all the Debbie Downer "why does the world make me suffer so?" attitudes out there. There are enough serious issues to be upset about--Valentine's Day is absolutely not one of them. We should try to make the best of things... every day should be a celebration!

We all love somebody--whether it's our parents, or our boyfriend, or our best friend. Tell someone you love them today!

As for my Valentine... you know who you are ;)

in which it is friday the 13th

So yesterday we had a blizzard. And then it rained this morning. And then it snowed all day. I give up. Anyway, I thought it was going to be a winter wonderland when I woke up (see: yesterday's blizzard), so I dressed the part. There is more snow than yesterday, anyway.

(sweater: thrifted; dress: american apparel; scarf: tjmaxx; socks: gift; boots: seychelles)

Last night went just as planned--I ate soup, finished my book, wrote a few thousand words, and went to bed at a decent hour. And now it's Friday (the 13th!). I've never had a particularly bad Friday the 13th, although half of my english muffin-peanut butter-banana breakfast fell face down on the floor of my car this morning, but that happens like, once every two weeks. I did go through a phase in third grade where I would spend my recess time combing the grass for four leaf clovers, and the one day I found one turned out to be a pretty excellent day (the only thing in particular that I remember being good about it was that my drawing of our dog, Molly, won the pet drawing contest and I got a ribbon [although now that I think about it, I seem to remember the ribbon being red, which would mean that I only got second place... but still]). Anyway, I somehow convinced myself that four leaf clovers were indeed lucky, and I kind of still believe it based on that third grade day. Maybe it's just the power of positive thinking :)

Anyway, K and I have big plans for the weekend, so hopefully I'll be having lots of non-work-related fun in the next couple of days. It's weird being back in the office for a full week after such short weeks over the holidays. I hope you all have fabulous weekends!

in which i think positively

Friiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiday!

:)

(scarves: various; shirt/necklace: uo; shorts/belt: thrifted; shoes: kohl's)

Positive Thinking: One nice thing about working a 9-5 office job is that I always have the weekends to look forward to. When I was working as a barista there were mornings I would have to get up at 5 am, Friday nights when I'd be cleaning up until 11 PM, holidays when I'd be serving double-time to keep up with all of the shoppers, and my weekends were never really weekends. I usually had Sunday and Monday off, which only corresponded with K's schedule because he also had a weird job (cookie delivery man--haha!). Also, on that note, I miss having loads of "expired" cookie dough always at my disposal. Although that was rather dangerous.

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is: I know I complain a lot about my desk job, but in reality I do like having a reliable (relatively decent) paycheck, never really having to work overtime or "cover shifts," and not having to rely on tips to bring me to a livable wage (because most people are stingy). I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is easy to lose track of how hard it was to have such a weird work schedule. It didn't really feel like freedom then, it only feels like less of a shackle in retrospect. I guess the major difference is that at the time there was really nowhere to go but up, which felt like a sort of freedom because moving on was always a realistic option--at my current job, almost anything else would be a significant step backwards (at least financially). Just trying to keep everything in perspective.

In other news, I'm actually getting pretty excited for NYFW next month! (I'm not going or anything, but) I'm feeling especially inspired to pay attention to what's going on in the fashion world for some reason. Maybe it was the In Fashion exhibit at Shelburne Museum? Je ne sais quoi. Last year I was kind of "eh whatever" about the whole thing, but I think that may have been because I was trying to deny my true love for pretty clothes :)

Happy weekend, everyone! (Tip your Waiters! ;p)

in which i'm standing in the rain

I'm staaaaaaanding in the rain, just staaaaaanding in the rain...

(jacket/scarf/belt: thrifted; socks/bag: uo; shoes: seychelles)

Since it is going to rain all week, I'm back to my dark color palette. Maybe I'll attempt to let this little light of mine shine with brighter colors tomorrow. Or maybe not. I find that I'm not quiiiiiiiite ready to let go of my wintry greys and blacks and burgundys just yet. Isn't it funny how that happens

Some happy thoughts for this rainy Hump Day:

*I love the train that rumbles through town right around bedtime, like the Dream Express*

*I love eating the same sandwich every single night and savoring every bite*

*I love the rain on the rooftop, even if I don't love it on my head*

*I love a glass of wine and a good book and watching droplets chase each other down the windowpane*

*I love that droplets have a competitive streak*

*I love Glee*

*I love that I've finally stopped biting my nails (again, for now)*

*I kind of like my bangs this way, even if I'm not quite ready to move on from the blunt fringe*

*I love listening to VPR on my way to work*

*I love listening to (and okay, singing loudly along with) Lady Gaga on my commute home*

*I love Vermont, even when it rains*