March 2, 2011

censored

25 of 30
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Clydeside Expressway, Glasgow
Clydeside Expressway, Glasgow
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brass whistle necklace - vintage via etsy / wrap watch - La Mer / sweater - H&M / dress - thrifted / tights - Target / socks - H&M / boots - Steve Madden

Not to spoil the surprise or anything, but I am in Istanbul now! Exciting, right? This has absolutely nothing to do with these photos (taken a few days ago in Glasgow), but it surprisingly has everything to do with my blogging. See, I went to fire up my bloglovin' today, but I kept getting this error message, "Bu siteye erişim mahkeme kararıyla engellenmiştir," almost every time I'd try to view a whole post. Huh. So finally I popped that phrase into Google Translate:

"This prevented access to the site by court order."

Oh. Right.

The internet is totally censored here. While it probably reveals an incredible amount of naïveté on my part, I was pretty shocked. I can still view a few self-hosted blogs, but no Blogger or Wordpress, and my Disqus dashboard is only about half functional. I am still able to use Flickr, keep up with most of my favorite blogs on Google Reader, and seem to be able to create (but not preview) posts here. I can't leave comments on other blogs and am not sure yet whether I'll be able to answer my own. Oh yeah, and we're here for a whole month. I'm going to do what I can to keep up my posting schedule, but my apologies if things look a little janky around here for a while. Personally, I am definitely anticipating some serious blogroll withdrawal....

So...yeah. That's weird! But let me get down to more important business - these rad pictures Chris took of me in Glasgow. I'd initially planned to grab some photos in Kelvingrove Park, or somewhere else more readily identified with the city, but I couldn't resist the graphic potential of this sunny pedestrian bridge over the Clydeside Expressway.

This particular outfit was not what I'd planned to wear on our trip to Glasgow on Monday. I'd planned to wear this skirt, as it's been sorely neglected over the course of my 30x30, only making two outings so far. However, as our previous apartment had an iron but no ironing board (and it's the same deal here - seriously, what is up with that?), and I discovered that I am even more inept with a garment steamer than an iron, that plan had to get quickly scrapped in favor of wearing my pink stripes again. I was surprised how much I ended up liking this outfit - while I'm usually pretty insistent on having some kind of waist-definition going on, this boxy sweater over jersey dress combo was ridiculously comfy but still felt pretty cute. I realized later that the colors I went for in the outfit were almost identical to those I wore the day before, just in different proportions.

Unfortunately I was not able to get back my package of clothes yesterday - it turns out Heathrow won't actually let you leave the connecting flights terminal unless escorted by security, no matter how many tears you shed in front of the British Airways Customer Service desk, and they won't take you if your layover is under three hours long. So, after weeks of anticipation, many calls to UK Customs and Parcel Force, forking over a chunk of change on VAT, a few final days of frantic planning, Skyping, haranguing delivery drivers, and dragging a family friend out to the airport with package in tow....bupkiss. The upside is that at least my goodies are with someone I trust, and I'll definitely get them back sometime in May. In the meantime, I'll just have to keep on keepin' on, working with what I've got. Sigh.
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19 comments:

BetweenLaundryDays said...

Oh my goodness! I'm so bummed that you're locked out of the internet for awhile. :-(

But I also adore this outfit. ADORE IT. It makes me believe in all the awesome things in the world again. :)

keepcalmandstyleon said...

I love the background! It's very hypnotic.

This outfit is too cute. I love that you put a shirt over a dress; I will definitely use this idea! And I love that your socks are longer than boots. =)

And kudos to making do with what you have. I'm sorry for all the trouble security has put you in! But I'm glad that you at least know where your packages are...definitely better than being lost forever!

-Erin (keepcalmandstyleon.blogspot.com)

Archives said...

oh, emily! i am so happy youre in istanbul, but not so happy youre there for a month with limited access!!! i am already feeling pangs of withdrawl for you!!! i am, however, thoroughly excited to see your photos and hear about your adventures!

when i flew to/from india by myself last year, my connecting flights were both in istanbul. i really wanted to get a chance to see the city, but...you know how that goes. its high on my list of must-visit places!

Sophie said...

surprised about the lack of internet, I wouldn't have known either. Love your look. I find it tough to make jumpers look good, but you've just pulled it off :)
http://cgdn.blogspot.com/

Felicity said...

Awesome outfit and awesome background! I felt like I was being hypnotized, but in a good way! Also, sorry to hear about the lack of decent internet access in Turkey. After having Turkish boyfriend, it's on the top of my list of places to visit in the not-so-distant future. Have fun exploring!

Patricia said...

These pictures are phenomenal! When I ever go to Glasgow, I will be finding that bridge and taking pics there... wow!

marvi said...

At least one of your posts per week motivates me to go to H&M :)
Also, I LOVE Turkey!! By far one of my favorite places I've been....they were notorious for blocking youtube after a video surfaced of someone mocking Attaturk.

sartoriography said...

I'VE BEEN ON THAT VERY BRIDGE! In fact, I had one of my first kisses with a very attractive Italian man in a spot probably just a few feet from where you're standing. I spent a year in Glasgow during college and it was one of the best times of my life.

These pictures are completely awesome. I love how strange and bendy-world the red braces make things and how calm and pretty (but also French Surrealist) you look standing amongst them.

Bummer about the Turkey internets, though. Hope the snail mail won't be jacked. Think my package will still make it? It's all ready to go, so just let me know when/where to send it!

emily said...

There is seriously nothing like pink stripes to restore your faith in the universe. I'll admit it - it has been a real struggle to not wear that sweater again these last two days. I'm pretty sure the torment of my self-denial is visible on my face in every photo - I need my stripes! They're like the riboflavin in my outfit-cereal.

emily said...

How funny, it didn't even occur to me that this background would be hypnotic, but I totally see it now!

This shorter-sweater-over-dress combo definitely felt a little risky to me, but as I was racing around to get dressed and out the door, I didn't have too long to overthink it. I wound up surprisingly happy with the results, so I say go for it!

emily said...

This month will definitely be an exercise in "learning to value the freedoms we take for granted." (Or something cheesily patriotic like that.) Mostly I just hate not being able to leave comments for my Blogger buds! I guess I will have to save up all my lovey-dovey thoughts and send some actual emails for once.

But all that crap aside, I am super pumped about being in Istanbul. We've been taking it slow the last couple of days (still in travel recovery), but I'm hoping to get back up to full mega-tourist speed ASAP!

emily said...

Apparently Turkey makes all the "Top 10" lists for internet censorship, right up there with China and North Korea. (And the weirdest part of that statement is that there are Top 10 lists for internet censorship...)

I think the magical secret of this top is that it's cut straight up and down, without any ribbed-knit or elastic-y part at the bottom, so it hangs a lot better than most other shorter sweaters.

emily said...

Thanks Felicity! The internet limitations are definitely a drag, but I suppose on the spectrum of things that could go wrong while traveling, not being able to use Blogger still rates pretty low. :)

emily said...

Thanks Patricia - we actually felt like major dorks taking these pictures, because this bridge was actually super busy! And since I insisted on having a lot of distance in the background, we had to keep waiting for big groups of people to pass, then springing into action for the three nano-seconds that there would be no one behind me! Chris even moved around a lot while shooting, in order to keep other people hidden behind me in the shot - in my second to last picture, you can actually see the shadow of some guy about to walk into the frame. :)

emily said...

Haha, yeah, I'm still waiting for those sponsorship checks from H&M and Zara....

I read about the Youtube thing! Apparently they also blocked Wordpress for a while, but that's been lifted in the last couple of years. Let me know if you have any recommendations of things we should see during our stay in Turkey - we're based in Istanbul for the month, but have been looking into some day trips and shorter overnight stays elsewhere in the country, and I would love to know about your favorite parts of your visit!

emily said...

HA! That is fantastic - I had no idea we were in a spot with such romantic history!

I've just sent an email to our host/landlord here asking about the best way to get mail, so I will shoot you an email as soon as I hear back from him - I think it should be fine, as long as your parcel doesn't openly mock Turkish history or culture on the outside. (Uh oh... it does, doesn't it?)

DailyDesirables said...

I love seeing all the different places you visit! Can I ask why you're traveling all over the world?

emily said...

Of course! Last spring, my fantastically talented boyfriend (and photographer) won a design fellowship that funds international travel for a minimum of eight months. Once I finished grad school, we spent the next eight months saving up, living as cheaply as possible, and sold our car so that I could go with him! We're now approaching the three month mark of what will ultimately be about a nine month trip.

DailyDesirables said...

That is so cool!

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