tweedy

scarf - import shop in Copenhagen / tweed wool blazer - vintage, mom's / striped shirt - thrifted / overdyed skinnies - Zara / purse - custom, valhallabrooklyn via etsy / woven flats - UO

Just a few photos from a lovely fall walk in our new neighborhood. We got the keys to our new place just over three weeks ago, and since then we have been working on it non-stop - from fixing broken doors to caulking windows, replacing our refrigerator, painting our six (six! seven if you count the vestibule! but of course, they're all tiny) rooms to putting up shelves and negotiating turn-of-the-century closets that aren't even deep enough to put a hanger in straight. I haven't bothered with nail polish or makeup in weeks, and it isn't unusual these days for me to find paint on my elbows in the middle of the workday.

Still, it's been fun rediscovering some old favorites as I slooooowly unpack my clothes. Case in point, this herringbone tweed blazer, definitely one of the nicest vintage pieces I own. It was part of a suit my Mom wore as she was just beginning her professional career, and I now love pairing it with more casual outfits to give them some classic texture and shape. It's also been the perfect outer layer for the fabulous weather we've been having lately, and I've been trying to get out and enjoy it as much as I can in between our many home improvement projects.

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.

long shadows

dress - vintage, thrifted & hemmed / belt - vintage, thrifted / shoes - Target

I hope you'll forgive me the slightly melancholy tone of this post; in many ways, these photos feel to me like a lament for the summer that's nearly past. While I'm sure the season of heat and humidity is far from well and truly over here on the East Coast, the days of simple dresses, sandals, and long shadows seem to be rapidly disappearing. Today there's very nearly a chill in the air, and with it the anticipation of change. We move to New York this weekend and begin in earnest the search for jobs and apartments, setting out on an entirely new chapter in our lives. While I am excited about these changes (and particularly about seeing the end of suitcase-living on the horizon), I will miss the last nine privileged months of wholly unstructured time.

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!

red hot

sunglasses - Nasty Gal / dress - vintage, thrifted / belt - vintage, thrifted / shoes - Target

The title of this post isn't a reference to the delicious cinnamon candy, it's simply declarative - this dress is red, and today, it was hot. So hot, in fact, that not only could I not stand to wear a single piece of jewelry, I couldn't even manage to wear my sunglasses for more than a few minutes before my whole face felt ready to slide off in a sweaty puddle. Gross. Supposedly the mercury hit 102 yesterday, but I can assure you, as we dragged our bags through the rush-hour crowds on the Metro yesterday afternoon, it felt much, much hotter.

I owe many of you a belated thanks for your Hasbeen-esque shoe recommendations from a few weeks ago - I wound up picking up these cute platforms from Target, and although they probably won't come with us for our next traveling stint (they're pretty comfortable, but they're not that comfortable) I am planning to wear and enjoy them every day until we leave.

on the road

necklace - UO / jacket - H&M / tank - Target / belt - vintage, thrifted / jeans - Forever 21 / flats - UO

Yesterday I decided I needed a break from taking all our photos in the backyard, so we took a little walk down the road from Chris's family's house. Unfortunately they don't really live walking distance from any photogenic painted brick walls, so we decided to just use the road as our photo backdrop. We definitely confused more than a few passing drivers!

Posting these photos tonight feels particularly appropos, as we are on the road once again! Tonight we came in to Boston to spend the evening with Chris's brother (or to hit the North End for cannolis, depending on who you ask), tomorrow we'll take a bus to NYC, and then Thursday we'll take another bus (whew!) to DC - and then it's just five short days until we leave the US once again! I am definitely starting to get nervous about getting ready to travel again (there might have been a mini-meltdown yesterday over what shoes to take...), but at the same time I am definitely getting excited to get going again.

cheapish

earrings - handmade by Carie, won in Pretty Little Mountains giveaway / dress - Five Bamboo, won in What Would a Nerd Wear giveaway / belt - vintage, thfited / bracelet - DIY, tutorial via Honestly WTF / sandals - Target, thrifted

Whew! I feel like I have been so absent from blogging lately, but I suppose it's really only been a few days. This weekend we took the bus up to New York to visit with friends (and to break up the long ride to Chris's parents' place in MA). Today's outfit is the same one I wore to take the bus on Saturday. I wanted to be comfortable for the almost five hour ride, but I still wanted to feel put together enough to head straight for drinks on the Lower East Side when we arrived, and my new Five Bamboo dress was perfect on both counts. I realized later that this might be one of the cheapest outfits I've ever worn - between the thrifted belt and sandals and the homemade bracelet, I think the total cost was about $7!

We spent our visit catching up with a bunch of my grad school buddies in Fort Greene, drinking beers outside in plastic cups and eating a ridiculous amount of delicious food (there might even have been a post-brunch pina colada slushie from an ice cream truck). We’ve started talking a lot about where we’d like to live when we finish traveling, and even though it was ridiculously hot and sweaty in Brooklyn, our visit still managed to tip my scales a bit more in favor of New York. I had been rather resistant to the idea, as it seemed so overwhelmingly to be the ‘default’ choice coming out of graduate school; in fact, of my class, only six of us do not currently live in NYC. However, I am reminded every time I go back just how much I do love about the city, and about Brooklyn in particular, and after this weekend I can tell my resistance is really starting to break down.

We’re now up in central Mass., and have spent the day watching a small town Memorial Day parade, grilling in the backyard, and visiting with family. I'm looking forward to hitting up a few of my favorite thrifts this week, as well as digging through the clothes I have stored here, and tomorrow we're headed to the beach!

curated

Inspired by recent internet loves closet visit (which combines well-edited personal style with my personal inclination towards voyeurism) and things organized neatly (which is a steady feed of eye candy for my Type A side), I thought I'd put together a little snapshot view of my traveling 'accessories wall.' Picking jewelry to bring on this trip might have been one of the most challenging parts of the packing process, as it was incredibly tempting to rationalize bringing even more (Necklaces take up no space! Earrings don't weigh anything!). There have been a few additions along the way, but the majority of these pieces have been with me for years. (And if you'd like to see a bigger version of this photo, click to view it on flickr.)

I'm sorry my posts have been a little sparse these last couple of days, but I'm still busy working away on thesis support. I've still been taking outfit shots in the meantime, and I should be back to posting those as usual tomorrow!

skimpy

lucite & brass necklace - vintage, thrifted / pink striped sweater - H&M / watch - La Mer / belt - vintage, thrifted / shorts - H&M / tights - Target / socks - H&M / boots - Steve Madden

On Saturday we set out to explore some older Athenian neighborhoods a little bit more; unfortunately, we set off in the wrong direction from the metro and suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a not-so-savory area. I was feeling fine when I saw the homeless guys sleeping in doorways, still pretty ok when I saw the guy shooting up in the back of an abandoned lot, but decidedly not ok when we walked through a crowd at a bus stop and discovered they weren't waiting for the bus - they were buying syringes and baggies. Woah. It was a definite keep-your-head-down-and-keep-walking moment, and one that was perhaps not made more comfortable for me by happening to wear the shortest shorts of all time. Tourists like us so often see only the 'highlights' of a place, and don't get me wrong, I'm all for experiencing both the good and the bad of the places we visit - I just might have preferred not to do so in booty shorts.

For now, I'm off to do yet more packing - when you plan to visit six cities in four countries in under three weeks, this becomes a bit of refrain. I have absolutely loved our short stay in Greece (and I have more photos to share of it this week), but I am still ridiculously excited about our next destination. Tomorrow is moving day!
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