Two Years

Today, I came home from work exhausted, with a full day ahead of me.  Fridays are rough, with work 4:30-8:30 am, school 11-11:50 am, then work again 4-10:30 pm.  I go to my room and see the sweetest thing ever on my bed:

You see, this was my Christmas gift last year.  Patrick blew up our favorite picture together, had it framed, and the long process of drilling holes in the frame to dangle this beautiful topaz necklace from followed.  I absolutely adore topaz, and I teared up when I saw it! I wore it every single day for months.. in fact, every day until something very sad happened.  I don't like wearing necklaces at night, so I would just take it off and put it in my purse or pocket and put it on while in my car before headed off.  I went to get gas one day, and the money was in my pocket, and as I took out my money, the necklace fell without me noticing.  I sure did notice when I got to work! I was crying and Patrick went to the gas station and, of course, it was gone. I kind of knew this one was coming, because right after it happened I asked if he was mad and he said, "Heck no! Now I know what to get you for our anniversary.."

Next to the frame was a card.  To sum it up, the card said that this anniversary is all about remembering.  Remembering our first kiss, first time we held hands, first concert together, first trip, first time we exchanged "I love yous."  Because I was feeling nostalgic, I broke out my memory box. In this box, I have every note, card, movie ticket, concert ticket, etc. that I've ever shared with Patrick.

Going through, item by item, so many memories came rushing back.  I have realized that it's the little things you remember and treasure the most.  I look back and cannot stop thinking about how blessed I am to have Patrick as my best friend and the love of my life.  My life hasn't always been the most stable, and even now it isn't, even though I share mostly only the good things through this blog.  However, I can say that the past two years spent with Patrick have been the absolute best years of my life. So, let's take a walk down memory lane.

For Valentine's Day last year, this was hidden in a bouquet of flowers! I had been encouraging him for months and months to play at an open mic night somewhere, yet he never quite felt ready.  He put all of his pride aside for me and played one night at my Starbucks open mic! He covered a few songs by our favorite artists, but the best part was the song he wrote just for me!

Some things don't always QUITE go as you've planned, as you learn quickly in any relationship.  Take the Spy Museum in D.C. for example.  Sounds pretty B.A., huh?  Well, guess what?  It's not.  It was the lamest museum I've ever been to in my life. They had an interactive walk-through show where you had to try to solve the mystery.. WOW! There was a kid our age who got SO into it and would yell when he realized something and just sounded so enthusiastic! After we were done (and $60 poorer), we couldn't help but burst out in laughter!

Random flowers on random occasions, sometimes just because! My favorite flowers EVER, however, were from our one month anniversary! I'm not sure if you guys have heard of Edible Arrangements, but they are really beautiful fruits that are shaped like a flower arrangement, and usually dipped in chocolate.  Well, I kept saying how I never got one and I loved them, but of course Patrick couldn't afford it (pretty much a minimum of $60 for the smallest one!) so he made his own from scratch.  He hand-carved about 15 pineapples, strawberries, etc. and dipped them in chocolate! 

Ah, concerts.  The only time we ever travel is specifically for concerts.  We haven't gone anywhere too crazy (yet) but we've been known to travel about 4 hours away just to see a show (multiple times a year).  Our first date (even though we didn't know it at the time.. but I was hoping it was a date because I had a major crush on him) was at a Mute Math concert.  We were always in the same circle of friends, but had somehow never hung out, and decided to go to the show with two of our friends.  The two friends bailed last minute, so it ended up being just us two! He met my parents and picked me up and everything!

Finally, random reasons why Patrick loves me are scribbled all over these notes.  These were given to me for our one year anniversary! Here are a few of my favorites: "Brittany makes the best cuddle buddy! Since day one on my front porch, I could tell that I would never have trouble sleeping by her side." "The girl loves to eat like I do! It doesn't matter how much is left or where it's been.  If it's cooked medium-well, covered in chocolate, or resembles pineapple, she'll eat it!" "My music works on her! The ultimate confidence-booster is when she applauds my attempts to woo her with song.  Thanks baby."

However, the best parts is that these bits of paper weren't just thrown in a paper bag.  No sir, not with my Patrick!  He actually bought a toy capsule machine from a manufacture, hundreds of toy capsules (because they only sold wholesale!), and filled the capsules with chocolates and these notes. Seems kind of random, but I'm absolutely obsessed with these machines! I can't go to the grocery store or mall without begging people for quarters!

The best part of the toy capsule machine was inside one of the capsules, and I had to go through almost every one of them to find it.

This ring may look familiar to those of you who have been reading for a while.  I'm sure you've seen it in various pictures because it never leaves my little finger.  It's my most treasured material possession.  Patrick gave me this ring last year as a reminder of our future together and the incredible love we share.

There is never a second that take our relationship for granted.  We may bicker (hm, seems like it's only during a certain time every month though.. very peculiar..), we may have different opinions sometimes, and some days he may even be craving a thin-crust spinach pizza while I will settle for nothing short of a Trader Joe's chicken pot pie.  However, I never thought I'd be where I am today.  I never thought that I would have someone in my life who I care about so unconditionally, and I never thought I would be so confident in my future.  The details remain uncertain, but I know where I'm going and I know who I'm going with.  Happy two year anniversary, Patrick.  You have all of my love.

A look back on the past two years..

Created with flickr slideshow.

Typical us...

These pictures are actually from Monday.  After class, Patrick and I decided to do run some errands and have some fun.  We sold his super old Xbox at Cash Converters, went to a few thrift stores in Norfolk, and ate at our FAVORITE Mexican Restaurant, El Rey's.  Seriously, it is the best food ever.  It's definitely a hole in the wall, and I seriously would have never ate there if the chef/owner at Eat, the restaurant I work at, didn't recommend it to us a few months back.  It's in a weird area of Norfolk (but they are building it up more) and I wouldn't give it a second glance, it's between a Zero's Subs and a tailoring shop.  Anyways, I've gotta get going soon to head to the thrift store (1/2 off Wednesdays!) & class, so take the pictures for what you will! (We were in a bit of a goofy mood that day, if you can't tell!)

Outfit Details: 

Blouse: Thrifted

Cardigan: American Apparel

Skirt: Thrifted

Leggings: F21

Boots: Steve Madden

Also.. today is my hunnie's 21st birthday! Happy birthday, Patrick! I love you so much! Wheee, can't wait to celebrate with his family tonight! We are having brinner! (Brinner= Breakfast for dinner)

*Also, the lack of posts & commenting on your wonderful fellow blogs this week is due to awful midterms! Alas, my last one is tomorrow.. the work allllllll day Friday (literally.. 4:30am to 10:30pm, I hate Fridays..) but then it's Spring Break!

Currently playing: Death Cab For Cutie, "Brothers on a Hotel Bed"

The Wild Side

Many times, while thrifting, I will find treasures that I simply cannot part without.  Most pieces I have to dig through every inch of the store to find, but some simply glimmer as soon as you walk through the door.  Take this coat, for example.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a huge sign on the thrift store right down the street from my house (and the one where I've had some of my best vintage finds) that read "Winter wear: 50% off!"  Fair enough, I could always use a few more sweaters & coats.  I went inside, half expecting not to find anything, but as soon as I saw the coat rack, this vintage authentic 60s fur coat immediately caught my attention.  The fur is from a company in France, and the coat was hand constructed by an American  tailor.  

What I love most about wearing vintage is creating stories behind the clothes you buy.  This coat, I imagine, belonged to a young woman who was classy, timeless, yet also on the cutting edge of fashion and was not afraid to shock, both in her wardrobe choices and personal life.  She married young, traveled the world with the love of her life, and eventually settled down in Italy, always remaining a true vixen.  How her coat got here, in Virginia Beach?  Well, in her last few months, she sent her beloved wardrobe from her years as a fashionista to her granddaughter, and the luggage was lost along the way, never to be reclaimed.  The clothes finally, after all of these years, ended up my teeny tiny thrift store. Ok... a girl can dream, right?

Do you guys love the coat as much as I do?  Well.. good news! It will soon be availble for purchase on my Etsy store, along with this lovely 70s black dress! That's right, I'm finally opening one, and I wanted you guys to be the first to know! You can email me if you are interested in reserving the dress or the coat once they go up when I launch the store, hopefully next weekend (I just need to get midterms out of the way)! Prices are to be determined.  Eeeek, I'm so excited and cannot wait to show everyone all of the wonderful things I've been collecting the past couple weeks (months and months, really) for the store! And of course, many of the clothes featured in past posts will eventually be available.

Outfit details:

Fur coat: Thrifted

Dress: Thrifted

Tights: Hue

Earrings: Thrifted

Shoes: Steve Madden

Currently playing: Bon Iver, "For Emma"

Pretty Video & Pretty Blog

Pretty Video:

This video makes me want spring even more! Isn't it dreamy?  I wish I could just pop behind a tree and appear with a new vintage dress every time!

Pretty Blog:

Meet Shelby Ballou.  You've met her before, if you've been following me for a while, because she's the amazing photographer behind the pictures on my Vintage Coat post.  She definitely has an eye for art, and one huge way we connected was through music.  We went to the high school together but didn't really talk or know each other, but we knew of each other, that kinda thing.  Anyways, we were friends on Facebook, and I recommended a music video to her, we bonded, and began hanging out, and now we are the best of friends! She's one of the people that I come to first with exciting news, and she was the push I needed to start this blog.  So, I am very happy to announce that she has decided to transition her lifestyle/ photography blog, Moment of Clarity, into a documentation of her growth in style as well!  She's a jeans/ hoody type of gal in the moment, mostly due to the fact that she has to walk quite a ways to her classes, usually in the snow, and usually pretty early in the morning.  She has decided that she would like to evolve her style and gain more inspiration from the blogging world! So add her to your blog roll, leave her super nice comments/ emails, & welcome her to fashion blog community! I promise, she is one of THE sweetest people I've ever met and completely honest and real, as you can tell by her latest post. I LOVE YOU SHELBY.

Meet Mr. Cuddles

My outfit for today isn't too, too exciting, but I've been challenging myself to find a way to wear this blouse.. it's been sitting in my closet all season! The color is kind of hard to work with, but I figured that since it's such a vibrant shade of blue, why not stick with it and have an outfit based on shades of blue?  Of course, I had to add some black & white to break everything up and not look like a smurf or something.

Also.. I think the time has come for you guys to meet the fabulous Mr. Cuddles.  Yes, he is truly fabulous.  I've never, ever met a more attention-craved animal in my entire life.  We've had him for about 8 years now and I can't imagine life without him! If you just look at him in a certain way, he will start meowing and run over to you to get some lovin! He just can't help it! And when Patrick comes over.. oh my god.  He goes crazy! He immediately starts purring and meowing over and over and over and follows him around and sits on his lap! It's so cute :) Also, I don't think the pictures do his size justice.  Mr. Cuddles is HUGE.

Outfit details:

Hat: H&M

Blouse: Thrifted

Shirt: H&M

Skirt: Thrifted

Tights: Hue

Shoes: U.O.

Currently playing: Joe Pug, "Hymn #101"

Walking the wharf

Today was amazingly nice outside.  It was about 50, but felt way warmer because of all of the snow days we've had the past few weeks.  I ventured out in this slip dress, vintage '50s swing coat lined with a beautiful fur collar, some wonderfully comfortable wedges, and a vintage '30s beaded collar & bracelet.  An inappropriate outfit for such a casual day, but sometimes, the most of casual days simply cry out for a special outfit.  This coat was the perfect find for me.. Emily from The Daily Fashionista and I went thrifting a few days ago and both agreed it could not be left in the store!  The coat was made in Virginia sometime in the '50s (but possibly earlier), making the piece that much more unique to me.

I'm sorry that I really don't have too much to say today! I opened at Starbucks several times this week, usually with school directly after, which is why I've been slacking on the posts this week.  I'm extremely tired right now and I'm glad that I get to sleep in a little tomorrow!  Also.. thank you, once again, for concerns on the broken nose! It's looking so much better right now, and although you can barely tell from the pictures, I just have a small scratch left (you wouldn't believe how much that cut bled when it happened!) and a bump where the break is.. the bump is kind of hard to see, but you can definitely feel it.  Ok.. enough grossing you guys out! This is a classy outfit and I probably shouldn't be discussing details on my broken nose on this post... Oh well, that's me in a nutshell I suppose!

Outfit Details:
Hair pin: Forever 21
Vintage '30s collar: Thrifted
Vintage brooch: Thrifted
Vintage '50s coat: Thrifted
Vintage slip dress: Thrifted
Vintage Bracelet: Thrifted
Wedges: T.J. Maxx 

Currently playing: The sound of Patrick talking, and talking, and talking!  :)

Apartment Inspiration, Part I

I know that I haven't posted too much the past few weeks, but I promise there is a reason to this madness! I've been working on two projects that you will see very soon (hopefully!) and school work has become insane as midterms approach.. and I've been getting more hours at work, which is a blessing but I've been left with virtually no blog time! Plus.. having a big scrape and huge bump on my nose along with countless bruises and scratches isn't very inspiring to get up and take pretty outfit pictures. But I am doing much better & thank you so much for all of your "get well" wishes! Alas... here are some photos that are giving me some really great, unique ideas for decorating our future place & what we will be looking for! 

The last picture is the one that most reminds me of Patrick and I's future apartment.  I feel like it has all of the elements we want.  First of all, what won him over with this picture is the guitar hanging on the wall.  He probably has some critique to say about it, like "Too bad it's not a Martin D-35 with a sunburst finishing..."  I don't even know what that means.  Anyways.. I love how it's a nice combination of modern and vintage, which I feel describes us to a tee.  The books are a necessity, and if you noticed beautiful books and bookshelves were in a few of these photos.  Yesterday I discovered an amazing antique mall practically in my backyard (how did I never know about this???) and there was a vendor with the most beautiful vintage books that I will have to start buying little by little to fill tons of bookshelves!

*all photos courtesy of We Heart It