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 am back in the summer spirit!

Whoops, sorry for my absence of late! I have had a horrendously hard time getting out of bed in the morning, which barely leaves me enough time to dress myself, let alone take photos of the final product. I was going to wear something altogether different today but at the last minute reminded myself that I only have so many more warm-weather weeks to go and threw on this fun little romper for the full summer-day effect. It makes me want to have a picnic. Unfortunately, I am not having a picnic. Unless eating an apple at my desk counts... (it doesn't).

(romper: old navy; hat/blouse: thrifted; shoes: kohl's; necklace: gift from k)

I have had such a wallow-y week and I am incredibly ready for it to be over. Tonight I will be watching Project Runway and eating. And drinking. And then tomorrow night K and I are FINALLY going to the drive-in (I'm documenting it here so he can't back out at the last minute--you hear me, K??) This weekend he has to study for a final, and now that I'm out of my funk I think I'm ready to buckle down and spend the weekend exercising my creative muscle (my brain). If I could finish the first draft of my screenplay this weekend that would be excellent, especially considering that the last time I sat down to write it I decided that the entire premise needed to be radically redone.

I also want to hit JoAnn's this weekend and maybe pick up some discount fabric for a little project I've had brewing in my mind for the past couple of days. I started a new blog that will combine my love of fashion and travel (and will hopefully act as a launching-point for said project). More on that later! In the meantime, I'm glad to be back :)

in which life is a fashionable circus

So, it's Monday. Once again. I had a pretty good weekend, although an intense anxious boredom descended upon me on Sunday afternoon between museum-going and K's return home. Sometimes I just feel so bored that it absolutely incapacitates me... and it usually happens when I've been a busy little bee for so long that I forget how to relax!

(dress/scarf/sunglasses/shoes: thrifted; socks: uo)

I bought this dress soooo long ago and have yet to wear it on this blog (actually I think I wore it once before but I can't remember if I posted the pictures... I just remember I didn't like them). It was one of those things that I bought without trying on and then didn't really like the way it fit. But it fits fine so I'm not sure what I thought was wrong with it! Anyway, I love how the little pockets look like tulips :)

On Friday night K and I stayed in and watched a movie (LA Story), which was light and funny and just what we needed after a stressful week. Saturday he left really early and I got up around the same time and went for a run, then hit Goodwill for a bit of a shopping spree (I definitely stocked up for A/W, although every single dress I bought needs serious hemming) before meeting my friend Elizabeth at VCAM to load up some film equipment. We chatted over iced mate at the bar below her apartment, then started setting up to film the first in what we hope will be a series of interviews for a documentary we are working on. We finally wrapped around midnight and went out to meet her BF at a bar where we drank G&T and watched people sing karaoke until the wee hours.

(source)

The next morning I dropped her (and the equipment) off at work and headed over to the Shelburne Museum to check out the In Fashion exhibit. It was definitely enjoyable, albeit a bit small (pretty much to be expected around here), and I spent a couple of hours closely examining couture and stepping back through the fashion of decades past. Having never seen a couture gown up close, I was absolutely astonished at how beautiful and intricate they really are. I think one of my favorite parts of the exhibit was the FIT student work. The museum had a small collection of bodices that were missing skirts, and they opened up a competition to FIT students to complete the look. I just thought it was a pretty creative way to juxtapose contemporary and historical fashion design and to expose the community to new design talent.

(source)

The only other exhibit I was really excited about was the Circus Figures and Posters. It didn't disappoint. The moment I walked in the door I was awed by an elaborate hand-carved three-ring circus (Kirk Bros), which Edgar Kirk fashioned over a period of 40 years using a penknife and treadle jigsaw! Can you imagine committing to a project like that for 40 years?? That's almost double my lifetime. I've always been fascinated by the old-time circus of the 30s, so this was definitely another interesting exhibit for me. Finally I headed home and waited for K to return with a fresh (and fabulous) tattoo... but man, do I feel exhausted! Getting up this morning was no easy feat.

spotlight: misikko HANAair hair dryer

A couple of weeks ago, the fantastic folks over at Misikko offered to send me a fancy-schmancy hair dryer to bond with and review for all of you! Now, I am not the sort of person who surrounds herself with expensive gadgets--and although I love a good blowout as much as the next girl, I get a haircut maybe once a year. I am not high-maintenance about my hair. That said, I'm definitely open to trying new things. So I thought, why not? Let's do a dry-off!

(The Competitors)

Misikko sent me the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer. The competition? A 6-yr-old hair dryer I picked up at CVS one afternoon for about $20.

(The Control)

Even though Misikko kindly sent me all kinds of awesome products with their gift package, I knew that I first wanted to test the dryer for its stand-alone capabilities. I have very thin hair, but there is a LOT of it, so it can take forever to dry with lousy equipment (like those hotel hair dryers that are connected to the wall... those are the worst). I used the HANA for a few days to get a feel for how it worked, and then I got down to business.

First things first, I timed how long it took to dry my hair completely with the HANA, and the next day I timed how long it took to dry my hair with the CVS dryer:

(The Conclusion)

The HANA was a clear winner in every way. Because it had been over a week since I'd used the CVS dryer, switching back to it after the HANA was like going back to Andre after running out of Dom Perignon. Not only did the HANA dry my hair faster, but the actual drying experience was so much more pleasant. While the HANA coaxed the water out of my hair with soft, quiet caresses, the CVS dryer was like a hot sand blast that left me feeling hot, sticky, frizzy and frazzled (I don't know about you, but profusely sweating after showering makes me grumpy). Even without products, my hair felt light and clean and smooth after drying with the HANA, while it felt heavy and damaged when subjected to a tête-à-tête with my old frenemy from CVS. Sometimes you don't realize how bad you had it until you're offered a seat on the lap of luxury :)

In short, the HANA won this dry-off, hands down.

I will never go back.

That said, I must admit that I probably would never purchase this dryer on my own, basically because I couldn't begin to afford it (I shop at Bargain Boutique, people--and not only because thrifting is trendy). However, if a $300 salon hair dryer is within the realm of possibility for you, I cannot recommend this one highly enough. From now on, every day will be like a trip to the salon :) And, you're in luck! The HANA is currently on sale. I'm talking serious savings. Or, if you're not in the market for a hair dryer right now, Misikko also has a great line of ceramic flat irons to curl, flip or straighten your lovely locks :)

Thanks, Misikko! You're the Greatest!

in which i am nautically inclined

It has suddenly occurred to me that summer is coming to a close! I want to make sure that my outfits are nice and summery for the rest of the month, before I start pulling out the sweaters :)

(skirt: thrifted; tank top: f21; trench: h&m; shoes: kohl's)

I'm so glad it's finally the weekend. K is going to Portland this weekend to see his friend play a gig and to get another tattoo (!), so I'll have the pad all to myself. I might check out the fashion exhibit at Shelburne Museum while he is gone (just discovered that VT residents are half price!), watch artsy-fartsy films (or obnoxious rom-coms) that K would roll his eyes at, and hopefully get some writing done! And go running... it feels sort of ambitious. We shall see! :) What do you do when your sig other goes out of town?