Fourth of July

A little late, but how was your Fourth of July? Mine was most excellent.  I forgot to take pictures of a lot of important stuff that happened on my day of Independence, such as sitting in Panera for a hour with Patrick playing Scrabble online, the amazing homemade American flag cheesecake, and a super fun bike adventure. Oh, and I almost forgot, sitting in Patrick's room for another hour playing Scrabble online.  Man, we are addicts.  Anyways.. enjoy!

Step on up, kid

Lately I've been thinking a lot about locations for photos.  It sounds pretty easy to find locations for pictures, but in reality, it's probably the hardest thing about keeping up with this blog.  I want to push myself to be as creative as possible but location is something I struggle with because I've lived in Virginia Beach my whole life & sometimes the most picturesque locations aren't always the ones that first come to mind.. you have to do a little digging.

thrifted dress, necklace gift from patrick via etsy, thrifted belt, Forever 21 ring, thrifted mock vintage Dooney & Burke purse, thrifted clogs

A friend told me about these steps in Norfolk & I thought it would be a fun idea! They are somewhat hidden & aren't off of an actual road, so we had a bit of trouble finding them but apparently it's something a lot of tourists like to come and take pictures by.  Lots of little kids were running around & throwing pennies into the water (make a wish!).  Ah, I daydream about summers when Patrick and I will come back to Virginia Beach for the summers visiting from the coast of Washington (or Oregon or northern California.. any of those will do) and get to show our kids all of the little attractions like these.  The simple things.. how to roll down Mt. Trashmore, the joys of picking fresh strawberries from the fields near Sandbridge, paddle boarding down the bay.  I look forward to sharing these memories with them someday! (Someday in the far, far future.)

After playing on the steps for a bit, the sun reached my absolute favorite place for picture taking.  Wonderful for detail shots. This outfit is almost completely thrifted, with the exceptions of the necklace & ring.  It never really happens intentionally, but I always find some of the outfits I love most were mostly thrifted.  I suppose it helps that my wardrobe is slowly becoming mostly thrifted clothing, anyways. Every now & then, though, I can't resist a splurge, like the ones I just made from Urban Outfitters & Topshop! (More on that later..)

And I had to practically beg & plead Patrick to let me take serious pictures of him so I could get some practice in with the camera's manual settings! He can't hold a straight face, he always wants to do something ridiculously goofy, which is normally fine with me. For a short few minutes, I was a proud woman.

..Until he felt the burning desire to become an Urban Outfitters model...

 

(No offense, any Urban Outfitters models. We love your store.)

Also, for my next post I think I'm going to put up the answers to my Formspring questions. I've been loving all of the music questions! If there's anything your heart desires to ask me about vintage, relationships, etc, feel free to ask away!

A little photography & a giveaway!

A few days ago, I went on a photography adventure with my friend Ashleigh Muse.  She is stunning and has the most beautiful skin complexion & eye color & I knew that she would be just perfect modeling some of my vintage.

I tried to be selective about which photos to post, but I was just so in love with so many of them! I really am trying to get behind the camera more.. I would really love to do a photo shoot with a lovely couple & I have several ideas brewing right now & just need a little planning & a willing couple!

In other news, I am featuring the hat in these pictures in a giveaway at Rockstar Diaries! Be sure to head over & enter before the giveaway ends Friday! 

& in case you are wondering, the dress is for sale here at my shop!

&& more pictures from this photo shoot to come tomorrow(?)! Different outfit & different location!

ps- in other news, I got a formspring! Ask me anything!

Down to the river

Hello, all! I have risen from the dead. I've actually been thinking a lot about the amout of time I spend blogging.  I REALLY wish that I had more time to do it, but with my schedule right now, it's just not happening.  When I started the blog, I would try to update my blog everyday no matter what, but it really started to stress me out and I want to view my blog as something I LOVE doing rather than more of a chore. So, I have made a conscious decision to choose quality over quanitity.  I hope you will stick with me, but by now you should be used to the update schedule!

I've definitely been exploring photography more and more. I'm thinking of getting a film camera, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the Diana or Holga. Anyone have any experience with either of these or have other film suggestions?

My friend Catey Owen of Radiant Photography has asked me to assist her with a wedding in two weekends.. meaning my first paid gig! Honestly, I would have done it for free because a) I am obsessed with weddings b) I haven't seen Catey in forever and she's such an inspiring person and c) I'm dieing to see what kind of equipment she uses & watch the genius at work! I'm excited to have her give me some pointers and hopefully come out with some great advice, especially lighting!

Dress from shop in Williamsburg, estate sale necklace, Target sandals

This necklace is my new favorite. It's a green jade necklace I bought at an estate sale last weekend. I believe she comes from Italy. I want to name her.. I seem to have an affinity for naming all of the animal accessories that I love..! Do you guys do the same?!

Buy One, Get One Sale!

Finders Keepers is having a Buy One, Get One 50% Off Sale till Friday, June 25! Be sure to head over & check out all of the amazing things I have stocked up! Click here to check it out!

*50% off applies to the lowest priced item. Convo me before purchase of items so I can apply discount or I will refund you via Paypal!