rusty

jacket - Forever 21 / striped sweater - Madewell / necklace - Clyde's Rebirth / bracelets - vintage, gift from boyfriend / purse - Athens tourist shop / skirt - Zara / boots - vintage Nine West via etsy

Well, once again, it's been a little while since I blogged. My apologies if this post seems a little rusty (har har). I hadn't planned to go on this little blogging hiatus, but these last few weeks have been absolutely packed - and while I have been wearing clothes every day (which, I'll admit, sometimes feels like an accomplishment), between the limited number of work-appropriate options currently stuffed in my suitcase and the inevitable Sophie's choice of weekday mornings ('Brush my hair, or wolf down some cereal?'), regular photos have lately faded to a fond memory. We managed to snap these on Saturday after checking out the Halloween Dog Parade in the East Village - there were some pretty terrific costumes (Lady Gaga dog! Shark Taco dog!), but I think my favorite was the couple that came dressed as Paul Bunyan, with their pug dyed blue as Babe the Blue Ox!

While the change of season has made my limited wardrobe feel even smaller, I have definitely been enjoying the opportunity to piles on lots of comfy layers. I picked up this oversized striped sweater a couple of weeks ago and it's become a fast favorite. It gives my lightweight jackets just the right amount of warmth, and I love how perfectly it matches my rust-colored skirt.

black magic

jean jacket - LOFT, thrifted / necklace - clyde's rebirth / v-neck - Old Navy / friendship bracelet - gift from high school boyfriend / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / pleated skirt - vintage Liz Claiborne, thrifted / clogs - Target

Both this jacket and skirt were scored on an incredibly fruitful thrifting trip with Tania last week. I've worn the jacket nearly every day since, but this pleated skirt felt like the real 'find' of the day. I've been itching for a longer sheer black skirt for a long time, and for just $2.50, this one really fit the bill. The pleated chiffon feels so dreamy and perfectly floaty, I'm afraid these photos really don't do this magic skirt justice. For a day spent birthday shopping with my mom (tomorrow I'll hit the big 2-7), I loved it with high platforms and this amazing wood and brass necklace I recently bought from Merl, and I'm looking forward to pairing it with tights and cozy sweaters as the weather continues to cool off.

And just in case you haven't seen it yet, yesterday Elaine of Clothed Much featured me in her 'Blog Crush' series! Hers was one of the very first style blogs I ever read, so I'm quite flattered. You can read the whole interview here.

bestriped

trench - H&M / striped shirt - H&M / braided belt - vintage, thrifted / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / red jeans - thrifted / brogues - Primark

Some photos from yesterday, offered (almost) without comment. I wore this for a rainy day of thrifting with Tania, who is completely awesome and has successfully made me just the teensiest bit sad that I'm leaving DC soon. (I mean, honestly, anyone who sends you home with amazing homemade cookies is a true friend.)

secondhander

jacket - thrifted / dress - vintage via etsy / belt - vintage, thrifted / wood & brass bangle - vintage, thrifted / boots - Peter Kaiser, vintage via rummage sale

I didn't realize until putting together this post that everything I wore today is second-hand. It's silly, but wearing outfits that are entirely made up of items that are homemade or second-hand always gives me a little sense of satisfaction.

Today it was lovely and cool (and, ahem, seriously rainy - hence the porch photos), so I jumped at the chance to bring my favorite boots out of storage. I went to a rummage sale in Princeton* last summer with the way-too-specific-to-ever-work-out hope of finding a pair of vintage, cognac leather boots with a low heel and some kind of detail at the ankle, and immediately fished this pair of mint-condition boots made in West (!) Germany out of a rubber bin filled with shoes. They were my size, and they were.... $2. This is what dreams are made of, my friends.

*For any NJ readers, it was the annual White Elephant sale at the hospital - seriously, do not miss it!

maritime

brass whistle necklace - vintage via etsy / jacket - Forever 21 / striped dress - Old Navy / braided belt - vintage, thrifted / watch - Arkanoplatz flea market, Berlin / tote - Forever 21  / woven flats - UO

Woah, who is that? I've gotten so accustomed to wearing my hair up every day that I now think I look like a completely different person with it down! However, since I'm planning to get it cut soon (yes, still a lot of planning, not a lot of doing) I am trying to get used to wearing it loose a bit more. I'm still pretty self-conscious letting it just 'do it's thing' uncontrolled ('what is it doing? does it look weird? what's going on up there?'), but I did manage to make it the whole day without breaking out the emergency hair elastic I kept in my pocket.

This was one of my favorite go-to outfits during my last year of grad school, particularly through fall and winter with tights and boots, and this summer version worked well for our first day exploring our new (and last!) temporary home - Stockholm! Our new apartment is right on the water (an accomplishment not at all cheapened by the fact that everyone's home here is right on the water), so I couldn't help but pay tribute to our surroundings with a very nautically-inspired outfit. We packed up my tote bag with lots of snacks (granola bars, apples, Coke Light & kettle chips - we're at least half-healthy!) and walked all the way from our place on Nacka through Södermalm and all over Gamla Stan and Riddarholmen... and all the way back! At this point I think my right foot is about ready to quit my leg entirely - hopefully I can find a local craftsman to carve me a replacement.

unruly

sunglasses - Nasty Gal / necklace - Forever 21 / jacket - Forever 21 / tote - Forever 21 / silk shirt - vintage, thrifted / overdyed skinnies - Zara / sneakers - Target

I really wanted to post these pictures yesterday, but the last minute scrambling of another international move got in the way - honestly, you'd think I'd be better at planning those by this point! Of course I'm now completely exhausted from the moving day from hell (honestly, I'm a very non-confrontational person, but I came this close to physical violence today - but more on that another time) and have a rapidly dying laptop battery with no hopes of a quick recharge (when you plug in your adapter and it emits visible sparks and pops back out of the outlet with a crack, that's a bad thing, right?), so I'm afraid this will have to be a little short and sweet.

I wore this outfit on a day trip to Bruges over the weekend; since I knew we'd be doing a great deal of walking (and having become accustomed to the highly variable Belgian weather), I opted for lightweight layers, a tote bag big enough for a few umbrellas, and comfortable sneakers. We managed to avoid getting rained on until the very end of our walk back to the train station, but the breeze was pretty stiff all day - I had a hard time finding any photos in which my shirt hadn't blown up or my bangs weren't flying around like crazy. I loved the color of this blouse with my jacket and necklace, and it kept my outfit easy without leaving me feeling sloppy or underdressed. Naturally, I managed to get a little teeny ketchup stain on the hem while sharing some frieten with Chris, but I've chosen to just think of it as a distinctly Flemish souvenir.

le second retour

necklace - boutique in Montmartre, Paris / jacket - Forever 21 / tote - convention freebie from Germany / tank - Anthropologie / braided belt - vintage, thrifted / jeans - Gap / brogues - Primark

Monumental architecture, immaculate gardens, and cool, rainy weather? That can only mean one thing - I'm back! After a week of craziness (and a very long flight, populated by one good ('Rango') and one awful ('Just Go With It') movie and absolutely no sleep) we are back on the road and back on the Continent - and what better place to start than the 'capital of Europe,' Brussels! We've been sampling our fair share of beers (including my new favorite style, the fizzy, wine-like Gueuze), ogling more Art Nouveau buildings than you can shake a serpentine stick at, and breathing in the dreamy aromas of fresh waffles and chocolate at every street corner. And to think, I'd almost forgotten how pleasant this lifestyle can be.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting up with the incredibly sweet, talented, and preposterously cute Megan Nielsen in Georgetown for some shopping, coffee, and blog-talk. It was my first time meeting someone in real life who I already 'knew' through blogging, and I will admit, I was pretty durn nervous - but it turned out to be so much fun! It was definitely a little surreal to introduce myself to someone I already felt I knew so much about, but within minutes we just felt like old friends. And she totally helped me justify the purchase of these welted wide-leg jeans, which I've long admired on Carie and which I managed to find just one pair of, in my size, on the sale rack. With an additional 30% off the sale price. Rad.

We snapped these photos outside the Palais du Roi, during a brief break in the light, drizzly rain that seems to be the hallmark of a Belgian spring (Or summer? Surely not!). Apparently I looked a little too serious about picture taking, as an older, white-haired Belgian gent stopped immediately behind Chris, flashed me a huge double-thumbs-up, and cried out, "Sourire!" So, naturally, I did.

Pretty!