union station

 one of my sisters (who shall remain nameless ;) texted me yesterday: "I have no idea what's going on in your life cause you haven't blogged in so long! Lol" there are reasons for my long absences, some of which i've already mentioned here, and some of which i won't go into (yet ;). but it inspired me to post one of the shoots from LA earlier this month... this is the same outfit i wore to church sunday, too - but it looked way cooler at union station ;)

 the outfit: dress, ross; sheer top,  charlotte russe (gift from the same sister as above ;); belt, thrifted; boots, thrifted; necklace, handmade; bracelets, handmade by becca & thrifted

 please ignore the hanging strap dangling so lov-e-ly there on my shoulder ;) 

those are no longer a part of this top as of sunday 

oh, how i love union station. from the first moment i walked through the door as a teenager, i couldn't help feeling small - i am standing in a building so grand, full of thousands of people going all different places, with all different lives... in an old-fashioned-feeling kind of way.

 funny story... so this couple is sitting near where we are shooting, and they look like they are just there because it's an awesome place to sit. not going anywhere... so the girl, after watching us for a minute, decides to take a guess at "what's happening here". and she very intuitively says "you make jewelry and have a website, and you're shooting photos to showcase them... and maybe the clothes, too" i told her about my blog, and how i did make my necklace. she said, "it's beautiful. list it for twice what you were planning to sell it for." funny how encouraging words from a random stranger can actually have an effect... makes me think more about interacting with people! (this shot, above, was me talking to her :)

 oh, and, Kristy, after looking at these shots, i realized... we were there at 10:50 ;) next time we're there at the same time, we should actually see each other ;)
also, this post wins for the most winky-face-emoticons ever in one blog post - 7. i don't even think i wink in real life...

trends

you (faithful blog followers of mine - all 4 of you ;) may have noticed my recent absence... eleven days?? i apologize for my absence... i started a daily online art class on january 9th, and so have been dedicating my creative time to my studio, instead of to outfit posts. and plan to continue to do so... BUT before the class started, jason and i went into LA and took some outfit shots... my plan is to try to post one a week, just to keep you engaged over here ;) in the meantime, check out my artistic adventures over at rustyartist.blogspot.com!

the outfit: polka-dot blouse: thrifted; sweater, thrifted; skirt, thrifted; shoes, ross; feather necklace and flower ring, charlotte russe


i love everything about this outfit. the polka dot silkiness, the detail on the sweater and that it's orange... the flower ring makes me smile every time i see it... and as soon as i saw these feathers, i knew i was taking them home with me. while i feel like this outfit is sort of following style blogger trends a little too closely, i also can't help love it! and it even makes me look like i have a waist! ;) i also love everything about the wall behind. peeling paint over rusty metal? sign me up! and the font is all old school (and it's got my initial ;) 

 so, i'll see you next week sometime, hopefully! well... technically, you'll see me... semantics. ;)

handmade style

'

i made an apron for art-making! 

i had this t-shirt dress for years, and always loved the crocheted details, but it never fit well, so when i was weeding out my closet, contemplating twenty pieces, and simplifying, this one was on its way out. but i found a way to keep it for a very necessary purpose! i've wanted a studio apron forever, and just never bought one... so i was like, make it! of course! 

you can see my little informal DIY over here, 

including a video tutorial on how to make fabric flower rosettes if you are interested...

these little rosettes are very versatile: i used them on an apron meant to be destroyed by paint and other fun, but my sister had me make some for her wedding dress! those are the four wedding colors - each of the bridesmaids wore a different color dress, made by my amazing sister, jenna (and wore a matching flower in their hair that i was making at midnight before the wedding :) so sort of rustic and homey-feeling in some contexts can be fancy in another! :)

souvenirs from india (someone else's trip ;)

when i was sorting through everything for twenty pieces, i knew this piece would probably be on it's way out. it's not really practical or even fashionable. wouldn't fit with a lot of other pieces. but i wore it and loved it! these shots were taken on december 27th, and i thought they were going to be a goodbye tribute to it... but i somehow felt more like "me" wearing it. sort of artisty and outside the box and comfy... so i kept it :) i know i'm anything but indian, but i love this. 

the outfit: top: thrifted; leggings, thrifted; boots, gift; necklace, handmade/altered; bangles, thrifted

by the way, even though these were shot over a week ago, this IS actually what i'm wearing right now :)

me

homemade bread

yes, i joined the rest of the country in the new year's resolution thing. we have been longing to move toward healthier habits, and the new year (ok, post-holidays being the main factor ;) seemed like a good time! we still haven't completely made a "plan"... but we're choosing healthier, more natural foods. i decided to try my hand at baking some wheat bread (i don't think i've ever made a yeast bread before, besides that awesome pizza crust i told you about before!)... i had some whole wheat flour, and after not finding any recipes online that didn't require bread flour (i wanted to use what i had on hand, not go shopping on new year's day!), i checked the bag of flour, and it had a recipe! it turned out pretty good...not the best bread i've ever had, but it's healthy and fresh and natural... and tastes that way! 

so far, we've tried it with butter (yummy, but not a part of our new eating habits ;) and with an egg... i assume other people call this egg-in-a-hole, too? that's what we always called it in my family! just cut a hole in the middle of the bread (i used a champagne flute), spray a pan with cooking spray, put the bread in, and crack an egg in the middle! flip at some point, until egg is cooked as desired - super-simple, and fun for kids and adults alike ;)
and tastes great with a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice from our tree (which we just realized today bears seedless oranges - is that normal?)... if anyone needs some oranges, let us know!

just as we were about to sit down to eat our egg-in-a-holes, my sister pointed out that joey's antics were making him a joey-in-a-hole! we both scrambled for our cameras, but this was the best i got (he really wasn't sad - he was having lots of hyper-fun! just caught it at the wrong moment ;)

also, i've been journaling and making art all two days so far this year - you can follow my daily creativity here at my other blog... also, i'm about to floss for the second night in a row (not that i haven't always done it completely consistently... ;)