bells will be ringing

I'm baaack!

Firstly, I must apologize for being such a bad blogger, but you know... life & everything. Secondly, I must apologize that my outfit is pretty uninspired today, but I'm pretty impressed that I got dressed at all! Daylight Savings really screwed with my sleep schedule (I've turned into an insomniac the past couple of days) but it's so worth it! I love Mr. Sun so much and can't wait to spend some quality time with him this summer.

This weekend I went to Boston to spend some quality time with some of my other favorite people--if you read this, you know who you are! One of my dearest friends (S) is getting hitched this afternoon (!!!!) at City Hall and we had to throw together a last-minute surprise bachelorette weekend for her (of course!).

On Friday my gal pals & I spent the entire day shopping & decorating the bride-to-be's apartment (after fetching the keys from her fiance, our co-conspirator) before she got home from work. We got all gussied up and started waiting (and drinking champagne) around 3:30, but she decided to go shopping after work and didn't get home until around 7! We were a little tipsy by the time she arrived, but she was certainly surprised!!

That night we took her out for fondue (her fiance is allergic to... well, everything, but especially cheese!) at the Melting Pot in the Park Plaza Hotel (delicious!) and then for scotch and cigars at Stanza dei Sigari in the North End (super-cool, an old 1920s speakeasy). Admittedly, this was not your average bachelorette blowout, but our girl is not your average bachelorette!

The rest of the weekend was pretty low-key, in the best way. Mostly we just ate (A LOT--cheese (brie and goat gouda [!], grapes, car-bomb cupcakes [guiness cake, whipped bailey's filling, jameson frosting--soo good!], pasta from Sal's, beer bread & eggs... mmm) watched movies, played Scattergories, and attempted to stay out of the torrential rain that decided to hit Boston this weekend (too bad for the St. Patty's Day parade).

All-in-all, it was a fantastic weekend with four fantastic ladies--every time I see them it makes me miss my college days with a vengeance, but I'm so so glad we've all kept in touch!

(shirt: Marshall's; skirt: vintage; belt: thrifted; scarf/tights: TJMaxx; boots: ALDO)

At first when S told me that she was thinking of getting married at City Hall in advance of the "real" wedding (scheduled for Fall 2011, when her fiance is finished with law school), I'll admit--I balked. I couldn't imagine why she would want to do such a thing. The more I thought about it, though, the more I started wondering if she didn't have exactly the right idea. If it were me, I would probably run off to a small country chapel somewhere in France (or something equally dramatic), but the idea is there.

(St Michel D’Aiguilhe Chapel, France - source)

Weddings have basically just become big parties--which is great, don't get me wrong--and it seems like the spirit of the wedding has lost its romantic lustre a little bit. I like the idea of a quiet, private "wedding" to jump-start the marriage, because that's what it is--a marriage. First and foremost, it should be a personal celebration between two people who have decided to dedicate their lives to each other... there will be plenty of time for the party (and S still fully intends to have a big white wedding).

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is: I approve. And I'm so so happy that such a wonderful girl has found such a wonderful love--nobody deserves it more than she does.

it's all over now, baby blue

The first time I heard Bob Dylan sing "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" was during the scene in Martin Scorsese's 2005 documentary film "No Direction Home," when Dylan and Donovan have a sort of musical man-to-man sing-off in reconciliation after a hotel feud (if you are a Dylan fan and haven't seen that film, do so immediately). As of five pm today, Baby Blue=my week. I'm taking Friday off to kickstart a lost weekend with some old friends :)

I've been having a really hard time deciding how the heck to style these smurf-blue tights. I actually owned a pair in a similar hue at one point in my life... I wore them in college when I was Smurfette for Halloween (pictured here with my gal pal Raggedy Ann).I think today's look is a little less extreme... but the tights are still pretty blue.

Anyway, I'm super excited for my secret weekend! See you all bright&early on Monday morning!

EDIT: I realize now (thanks to Erica @ Girl from the North Country) that I didn't list the elements of my outfit today! So here you go:

(wool jumper: SnapVintage on etsy; striped dress: Old Navy; blue tights: Goodwill; belt/scarf: thrifted; boots: ALDO)

i wear my heart on my dress

So today I kind of slipped on the whole "dress your age" thing...

I bought this little heart-print jumper at Goodwill for five dollars. It is laughably juvenile, but I kind of don't care--it's cute! When I first thought about styling this dress I had something completely different in mind (next time!), but for today I wanted to underplay the cutesy quality by darkening the palette.

(jumper: Goodwill; FRANCE shirt: UO; tights: Walgreen's; booties: GoJane.com)

Five dollars? Yes, please!

(Look at that lint--I need a roller. Or new tights)

Hi Everyone!! Monday has returned with a vengeance and I would be lying if I said I was terribly excited about it... but alas, another week is underway! Before I go any further, I want to thank Amy for featuring me as her "current blog love!" She was one of my very first readers (and most supportive!) and for that she will always have a special spot in my little blogger heart. In honor of her (and because I think everyone should take a moment on Monday morning to think about what makes them smile), I will draw up a happy list like the one she has up on her blog today.

(PS: Amy also indirectly introduced me to GoJane.com by wearing such awesome boots all the time! And while I was rather unimpressed when the heel immediately snapped off of my very first GoJane purchase, I received the no-hassle replacement in record time and therefore forgive them and will consider it a fluke--for now). The new, unbroken shoes are on my feet right now (please note that the snow is melting!!!):

10 Things that Make Me Happy-As-Can-Be:

1. The sight, smell and sound of the ocean

2. Seeing a great movie on the big screen

3. Thoughtful walks

(on country roads, through the woods, on city streets)

5. A glass of red wine and a bubble bath

6. Reading in the sun

7. Lively dinners out with my family or friends

8. Spicy, spicy food

9. Windows down on road trips

10. Traveling by train through foreign countries

(dress: Marshall's; skirt/tights: Goodwill; belt: thrifted, shoes: GoJane.com)

This weekend K and I went to see Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" in 3-D. I hope it isn't a travesty to admit that my mind was not blown by Mr. Burton's latest work. I mean, I didn't dislike it or anything, I just didn't have much of an opinion about it at all (which is never a good sign, in my opinion). I think a lot of the hype around the movie was based on the fact that A) it's in 3-D, which is still new and exciting and B) it was directed by Tim Burton, and we all love him. The costumes and computer-generated sets were really visually arresting and that pretty much made the experience for me. I guess what bothered me most about the film was that it had so much potential to really explore complex concepts and either I missed them or Burton did. Now that the basic elements of film can be completely computer-generated (and when they are), my expectations for the content of those films has sky-rocketed. If you are going to remake a story like "Alice and Wonderland," which was extremely fresh and influential when it was written in 1865, you have to introduce new elements that will impress a discerning modern audience. In my opinion, Burton didn't take it far enough. While such a fantastical, well-known world provided the perfect forum for serious philosophical exploration, his reinterpretation seemed limited to a showcase of new technological toys. If it were meant to be a children's film I might look at it differently, but I'd prefer to think that this isn't the sort of film that people are taking young children to. I thought it was pretty dark--closer to "Pan's Labyrinth" than "Peter Pan" (okay, I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea...)

Did anybody else go see it over the weekend? I'd really love to be proven wrong--what are your thoughts? Did it go completely over my head?

just like june

The weekend has almost arrived! Hooray! It's been a long time since I've worn this little dress, mostly because it is, well, little. I got it super-on-sale at Urban Outfitters last year and after one wash (and accidental dry) I shrunk it within an inch of its life (or my life, when I try to breathe in it). Despite its constrictive qualities, I still love the little double-breasted brass buttons and basic silhouette enough to keep wearing it. It's really not too terribly tight except around the shoulders--the cap sleeves are more like tourniquet sleeves at this point.

I also wish that these tights would appear more true-to-color.

They look practically fuschia in these photos but they're actually a very deep raspberry (almost a perfect match with the belt--and the scarf). Matchy-matchy me.

Speaking of matchy-matchy, I also painted my nails a bronze color last night (mostly so that I would stop biting them again, but also with these buttons in mind):

The final touch (and the reason for the "June" reference, since I was certainly not alluding to the back-below-freezing weather this morning), is my new(-ish) brocade swing coat:

I bought this coat (with a little convincing from my mother) at Marshall's while we were waiting for a non-sold-out showing of Avatar (because, of course, shopping is the best way to kill time). I wasn't sure how I felt about it then and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it now (I wish it were a liiiiittle smaller, swing-or-no), but I did stumble upon this photo of Johnny Cash and June Carter a few weeks ago on this pretty tumblr and was inspired to wear it after all (even if K told me he thought I looked like a curtain, or something equally unflattering):

(dress: UO; scarf/belt: thrifted; tights: Goodwill; shoes: Madden Girl; brocade coat: Marshall's)

I mean, we're practically twins, right??

Have a great weekend, everyone! I know I will :)