i couldn't tell you why these pictures look like they were taken with a camera phone, but i kind of like the grainy quality. at first i thought my olive circle scarf threw off my color scheme, until i realized that my glasses and new celtic cross from ireland (thanks, cam) both have the exact same shade of green. inspired, i bought a couple of grassy-hued moleskines to resume journal writing after a five-year hiatus. unfortunately, that'll have to wait until i've finished reading babbitt and read for seventeenth century travel/transformations and formulated my thesis for my final paper..
stepping out of logan international yesterday evening, i was dismayed to discover my breath, all too visible in smoky puffs beneath the heavy boston fog. this morning, my dreams of kiawah were interrupted by the somber staccato rhythm of cold rain on my skylight. tomorrow, this sad transition back to the daily grind will be complete, but it comforts me to gaze at these trinkets acquired over the past week, each piece permanently infused with the joy of sunshine, travel, and the open road.
roz, josh's mother, was gracious enough to bestow some of her sartorial history upon me, since she was in the process of giving things away and preferred to see them go to someone she knew. the trove consisted of a cashmere cardigan in tiffany's blue, three beaded necklaces - one slightly nautical, another perfectly feminine with a floral pendant, and the last begging to be layered with lots of thin gold chains, and a crocodile pin with a maniacal grin - "i used to think it was kind of cute to wear it on sweaters, like a lacoste sort of thing," she said. the gold chain bracelet is an estate piece found at green tomatoes, a south carolina antique shop, replete with dior lingerie and advertisements for the titanic.
though these pieces all stray a bit from my usual aesthetic, they may be just what i need to wait out the early spring doldrums.
picture it: a quiet saturday evening in the room. i'm poking around the online ceremony online store, and experiencing thrills and excitement at every click. to be honest, i've already browsed the site several times, but i keep coming back to gaze at this pendleton backpack. i depend on my trusty, understated jansport whenever i can't stuff my things into a nicer tote, but this could redefine the very foundations on which i judge backpacks. the print is so bold, and the pattern embodies my spring fashion agenda to a tee. i picture myself overstuffing it with my mac, literary anthologies and such, and proudly hauling it across campus, bulky and beautiful.
and the next thing you know, i've bought it. i tell myself that this shopping vice of mine needs to be reined in, but look forward to its arrival nonetheless. except that when it arrives, it's not at all what i expected - at less than half the size i imagined, i can barely fit a notebook in there, let alone my macbook, which brings me to my current dilemma. i've got about fourteen days to return it, but what do you guys think? could i possibly make this miniature bag work to my advantage, maybe like a nineties-esque alternative to a purse, to be paired with rompers, gold-rimmed sunnies, and other similarly bold pieces? all opinions appreciated.
*now that i think about it, this post's title is kind of twofold, no? as in, i have only two weeks to decide if i want this bag or not, but also time sensitive in that this material good might only have been a viable and stylish option before the year 1997..
if i could sum up the past week in one word, it would have to be "ugh." school is turning up the volume since spring break is approaching, and i'm desperately scrambling to turn in papers, articles, assignments, and generally getting my life together before the week is out.
my obsession with the coming of spring is as potent as ever, so i've stopped even trying to dress for chilly weather. luckily on saturday, i'll be flying down to north carolina, where with any luck, it'll be at least twenty degrees warmer than it is here. from there i'll be road tripping with sara and josh to kiawah island, south carolina. i've never been there before, and i'm navigationally challenged, so naturally my imagination is running wild. i'm picturing swampy marshes, lazy waters, and tire swings illuminated at night by fireflies and lamplight from a rickety nearby porch - feel free to correct me if my fantasies are completely off. after that, the road trip will continue down to the sunshine state. excited doesn't begin to describe how i feel about this trip, but i've gotta buckle down until then and be responsible. oy.
this was saturday. after this came together, i realized that with a ribbon or two in my hair, this could very well be a replica of an ensemble i wore to a playdate in the first grade, minus this kickass jacket. the weather was beautiful, and as i stepped out for ice cream, my shuffle kicked off with this song, and it was all i could do to keep from skipping. after a big gathering of my friends and our parents at the pub, i headed back to an uncharacteristically quiet night, hatching get rich quick schemes and travel plans with blair and the boy down the hall til six in the morning. good stuff.
ps, how's the blog looking? i've gotten sporadic reports about some glitches and viewing problems, but it's looks fine to me, so i need feedback in order to get things fixed up.
if there's one thing i can't stand, it's a tease. cambridge strung me along all weekend with fifty and sixty degree weather, only to wake up to a miserable slushy mess weighing down the branches outside my window. what's the story, morning glory? i can't take much more of this.
did this damage in about forty-five minutes between classes, partly because i have a sartorial vision for spring break and partly because i needed something to hoist me out of the pit of seasonal affective disorder. it worked. i'm so in love with these brogues - i always loved the look, but never thought they looked good on me until now. as far as the sandals go, i needed something for spring break to supplement my trusty black fringe sandals from last summer, and this turned out to be a great alternative. and if i ever finish my reading for class tonight, w and interview will be great to curl up with before bed.
it seems like a good portion of the first seven years of my education was spent creating repetitive art projects. this isn't a complaint - i've always been a fan of any endeavor that cuts into class time. every year, we'd stash our spellers underneath our desks and wait for the teacher to bestow safety scissors and a sheet of construction paper upon us. slicing into the white, red, and green sheets, we'd try our best to create snowflakes, hearts, and shamrocks to hang in the windows until the next month rolled around.
from time to time, the teacher would get a bit creative, creating projects to familiarize us with little seasonal idioms, though i'd always forget how they went anyway - how many days hath november again? another one i always had trouble with was the one about lions, lambs, and the month of march. i could never quite remember which one came in and which went out, but as of sunday evening, i'm sure i'll never forget it. just when i thought we were cleared for spring, a fresh heap of snow came tumbling down on us.. again.
and then monday morning came an urban outfitters email, gleefully taunting me with their spring 2009 collection. i often complain abut how i have trouble buying things from urban because the pieces are so distinctive, and everyone seems to be wearing them, but i'm willing to give this relationship another shot. i'm pretty sure i had a physical reaction upon my first viewing of this catalog video - not quite like the thrill of laying eyes on a piece of runway couture, but more like the quickening of the heartbeat that comes with spying a great piece that i can actually afford.
in a perfect world, i'd buy one of everything in the collection, just to be safe. in the real world, i'd have to narrow it down to my top five - an easygoing light wash denim jacket with sleeves made for cuffing, an intense shoe with a heel chunky enough to prevent injury, a vaguely ethnic (just the way i like it) bangle with a burnished tint to it, an attractive duffel for overnighters, road tripping, and the like, and a tweed jacket in order to ground all that other randomness with something classic, y'know? spring break's coming in two and a half weeks - i think it's high time i started crafting a wardrobe for warmer weather.
oh, and on the topic of months: february was a weak one for pandora's closet. minimum twenty posts in the month of march or bust.
