in which i despise that devil ice

One more reason I am beyond ready for spring to come? I've had enough of this ice situation. I already fell once this winter, right on my elbow, such that I thought it had shattered into a million little elbow-bone pieces. And I fell again today--whammo--right on my knee, which is now a swollen, mangled mess of burst blood vessels and (what feels like) bruised bone. I'd take fluffy snow any day over this. (And I know I'm wearing heels, but I'm so careful!)

(dress/headband: modcloth; sweater/tights: tjmaxx; boots: seychelles)

Anyway, enough whiny-time. I'm trying to squeeze in as much neutral brown and black as I can before I officially give myself over to the pretty pastels of springtime (there is still ice on the ground, after all).

When I destroyed my knee this morning my mind went immediately to how amusingly perilous fashion blogging can be, and then to how strange it is in general. I've been taking pictures of myself every morning (weekends excepted) for over two years now, and publishing them on the internet. That's longer than I've committed to anything in my entire life. When I really think about it, it all just seems so bizarre. These modern times...

Sometimes I start to feel ridiculous, but then, life is ridiculous.

And that's what makes it so much fun.

in which i wear the flags of our fathers

Today, in the U.S. of A., we celebrate our presidents. (I celebrate by going to work, as usual, but I'm not bitter...) So thank you, George, John, Thomas, James, James, John, Andrew, Martin, William, John, James, Zachary, Millard, Franklin, James, Abe, Andrew, Ulysses, Rutherford, James, Chester, Grover, Benjamin, Grover (again), William, Theodore, William, Woodrow, Warren, Calvin, Herbert, Franklin, Harry, Dwight, John, Lyndon, Richard, Gerald, James, Ronald, George, Bill, George, and Barack! (I was very tempted to leave a few of you of the list, but for the sake of naming everyone I decided to include you... you know who you are.) The making of this list made me realize how completely hopeless I am at U.S. History. I am rather ashamed to admit that I have never heard of half these people, but whatever, remembering names and fact/figures was never my forte. (When my friend Steph and I visited my friend Catherine in D.C. we were trying to make a reverse list of all of the presidents while we walked around the National Mall, and I must admit that my contributions were slim after a couple of decades.) Basically the only way that any sort of historical facts stick in my head is if I watch a biopic that makes the person seem interesting. Whoops. Anyway, Happy President's Day! This outfit is sort of an accidental homage to the flag--I didn't plan it, but we've got stripes and shades of red, white and blue, so I'm calling it patriotism.

(shirt/skirt/belt/scarf: thrifted; necklace/slip: urban outfitters; shoes: lulu*s)

I had a pretty good weekend, which went by too fast, as usual. On Saturday I did myself proud by finally taking myself on an "Artist's date"--first to see "The Artist" (which I thought was appropriate), and then to Goodwill, where I went a little spring-crazy with pastels and floral prints. I enjoyed the movie, and it was a treat to sit in the dark theater by myself in the middle of the afternoon. I'm glad I saw it at the cinema instead of waiting for it to come out on DVD--the effect definitely wouldn't have been the same without the old-movie-house feel. The rest of my weekend was spent being lazy and trying to squeeze in some time with my fellow.

And now, welcome to the week!

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 i swear i was born with gypsy blood

Remember when everybody was belting scarves like this? Well I'm bringing it back (today)! I always love outfits like this best, I think. I definitely have gypsy blood in me, somewhere... perhaps I'm descended from Irish Travellers?

(dress: etsy; skirt: vintage (grandmother); boots: seychelles; scarf/belt: thrifted; necklace: flea market)

I had a lovely evening with my Valentine. He made me special nachos (our usual + sauteed mushrooms and garlic--yum!) and we drank champagne with fresh strawberries and watched "A Walk on the Moon" (my choice). (Oh, and he went to three different stores looking for my favorite brand of chocolate-covered cherries--because I definitely am not the sort of girl who scoffs at chocolate on any occasion ;)

The movie was good (and may have inspired today's outfit a bit), though pretty silly in some respects. It takes place at a Catskills resort/camp during the summer of love, with the moon landing and Woodstock festival acting as bookends for the affair of a discontent housewife with a traveling blouse salesman. I must admit, the housewife (played by Diane Lane) wasn't terribly sympathetic, and entered the affair sort of nonchalantly and without any real guilt (even sneaking out of the cottage to see her lover while her mother-in-law begged her not to leave--yeah, right), but there was still so much to like about the movie. If I'm nostalgic for jazz age Paris, I'm also nostalgic for America in the "swinging 'sixties"... and it's obviously closer to home. They're not terribly different, if you think about it--culturally significant times ruled by excess and flamboyance (probably because ages defined by art are necessarily more lively and free-wheeling), important social revolutions and relaxation of social norms... all good things.

But then, thinking about the 'sixties and everything that was happening, culturally and politically, I realized how far we still have to go. We're still trapped by futile and violent conflicts/wars; the space program, which once launched (pun intended) America to the top (with the moonwalk as an indication of great things to come/new discoveries ahead), has ended, like a surrender; no huge Woodstock-style free concert would ever happen now (or could it??? Someone get on that...); while people once did drugs to loosen up by "expanding" their minds, the overprescription of mood-suppressing drugs (for anxiety, ADHD, even anti-psychotic) now loosens us up by closing off/denying the power of our minds (for the record, I'm not advocating the use of any kind of drug, just pointing out the difference); we fought against racial discrimination in the 'sixties, and we're still fighting against discrimination today, most notably for gay rights. It seems that there will always be a fight to be fought. Maybe some day we will be able to live and let live, for the good of all, without exploitation or abuse.

I've definitely been a bit lecture-y lately. Whoops. I don't mean to be... these things have just been on my mind. The times, they are a' changing (again, and always)!

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 ;)