the animals are laughing at us

dress: thrift -- cardigan: thrift -- boots: thrift -- belt: thrift

I scored this hilarious/ridiculous/awesome cardigan for $3 while I was thrifting the other day. It's a child's sweater with all kinds of flora and fauna appliqued on it. The back has a hilariously phallic cactus (as so many cacti are...) to match the equally absurd happy sun on the front. In short, I'm obsessed.



I've been really anxious this week for all kinds of reasons, and I can't help but think that my caffeine addiction only exacerbates things. Today I made it until 4:30 without any caffeine, but I had the worst headache ever and caved. At least I only had a cup of jasmine tea! You have to understand, I normally consume about five cups of tea (usually black) and a cup or two of coffee (no cream, no sugar) every day.

Are you a coffee or tea or both kind of person? How bad is your habit? Any caffeine-kicking hints?

Today's title is another Talking Heads song, "Animals." My Talking Heads obsession is pretty out of control. They're not for everyone, but I challenge you to find a band that manages to unite catchiness, intelligence, and complexity with as much skill.

Off to go watch 30 Rock!

feet on the ground, head in the sky

dress: thrift -- shirt: thrift -- shoes: thrift -- cardigan: thrift

Today's one of those days when I just don't feel like writing much. I'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of work I put off this weekend that I need to do.



It was actually super rainy yesterday. You'd never guess it looking at these photos. I even had to take off the tights I had on earlier because it was too warm. Gosh, I love the collar on that shirt. It's wonderfully exaggerated.

Today's title comes from Talking Heads -- This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody). I keep waiting for Talking Heads to get old, but they never do. I wish I could have seen them live! I listen to their live albums more than their studio recordings. Oh well!

new haircut debut and my first ever OSS video!

Hey guys! I finally got my hair cut today :D What do you think?

I also made a video so I could show you around my room :) The outfit's in the video. Hope you like it!

Apologies for the Cloverfield-esque camera work.



Thanks again for all of the amazing comments on my last post. It was great seeing how many other people know just what I'm talking about. You are all the best!

xoxo

an outfit and a blogistential crisis

First, today's outfit to start us off and then some blog-navel-gazing. The absurdly warm weather continues to persist, much to my delight.


oxford shirt: thrift -- shorts: thrift -- shoes: Urban Outfitters clearance -- suspenders: thrift -- earrings: Target, gift from Alex



One of the first pieces of advice that I read as a new blogger was "leave comments on other people's blogs." I took it to heart, and watched my traffic and comments increase. I sought out blogs like crazy, leaving enthusiastic comments with a level of detail that demonstrated that I had actually read the post and not just looked at the pictures.

Since then, I've watched my readership increase. Sometimes steadily, sometimes rapidly, and sometimes at a slow trickle. Lately, it's been that slow trickle, and I think I know why. That whole commenting thing? I've totally fallen off the wagon.

Every time I open my Bloglovin' reader, I'm greeted with "200 unread posts," give or take fifty. I have my "dailies" category that helps narrow things down, but it's always a Sisyphean task. The comments I leave aren't nearly as involved, either, and I think it's because I just can't possibly ever keep up with the number of blogs that I follow.

I'm a full-time student at a demanding university; I co-teach a class (one that you get actual credit for); I have weekly chores and tasks for my co-op house; I do all the reading for my classes; I sleep seven hours a night; I'm in a long-term serious relationship; I spend time with my friends; I go to yoga; I work four hours a week; and I have appointments, meetings, and errands every week. (Although I have to admit, that against many of my peers, I'm not even that busy.)

It's really, really hard to find time to blog, and it's even harder to find time to comment on other people's blogs. I love blogging for the community it gives me. I love reading other people's blogs. I keep blogging, even though it's totally insane for me to do so, because it's something I enjoy. It's a leisure activity. It relaxes me.

That said, I've gone from four outfit posts a week to three, stopped holding myself so stringently to my weekly feature, and cut down dramatically on the amount of commenting I do. I still can't keep up.

So what's a lady to do? I want to increase the readership of my blog, but that requires seeking out other bloggers and making connections. I don't mind that, I just don't have the time.

I think that it's worth more to have blogger-friendships than to have 400 followers who leave comments like "omg cute dress love it" if they comment at all. Not to say that those comments don't make me happy, because I still treasure every comment and marvel in the fact that anyone reads my blog. But those comments just aren't as meaningful as the ones that show a little bit of interest and time and kinship.

I entered the new year with the grand ambition to dramatically increase my readership here to the point where I might start to be able to sell sponsorship space. I figured that if I could make enough money blogging, I wouldn't have to work at my already minimal job, and could cross one commitment off of my litany of weekly tasks.

I don't think that's going to happen. It seems to me like explosive popularity is by and large random, and I like to think that I'm not blogging to be popular.

 I'm blogging because I love style, thrifting, writing, and discourse. I'm not always going to be on top of comments, and there are times when it's even difficult to keep up with outfits. It's corny and a little weird, but I really treasure the friendships I've made through blogging. You all inspire me so much.

dressed like that, you must be living in a different world

shirt: thrift -- cardigan: thrift -- shorts: thrift -- shoes: thrift -- sunnies: small town county fair -- earrings: random vendor outside my school's bookstore (her business model is everything is $2. Geeeeenius.)


I spent the afternoon with Alex today, which was lovely! We went for a drive around San Jose, and he pulled over at this great sixties-built church for some photo-taking. It reminded me a lot of the pictures I've seen of Palm Springs architecture, and it seemed like the perfect SoCal-esque backdrop for our SoCal-esque weather.



Everything I'm wearing in this outfit was all purchased from different 50% off thrift store sales. I think that makes the grand total $9, $15 with the sunglasses and earrings. Take that, Urban Outfitters! (Or, as Alex calls it, "the store for people who haven't discovered thrift stores." That said, he buys his Levi's there and I sometimes buy stuff on sale. Ok, and I bought some Levi's there recently, too. Hypocrisy!)


My legs are SO pale. It's like I have on white tights.


Alex descends into the picnic gazebo thing in one of our favorite city parks.


We don't kid around. Wait, all we do is kid around...



One of the best things about this park is that it's adjacent to this teeny random thrift store that's part of a Catholic school/church. It's open for about four hours a day, so actually making it inside is always an event. They were having an "everything's a dollar" sale, so I picked up a really cool sixties beach cover up/dress thing and a really cool sixties blouse/tunic/thing.


My haircut is in exactly a week, and I can't wait. It's way, way too long/fluffy right now. Gonna get a Jean Seberg pixie!


It will be the baldest I have ever been since I was a baby!

A couple of you asked about photo-taking in my last post. Well, the answer to that is somewhat complex. Since starting this blog in late August, I've posted outfit photos from at least six different cameras. I have a little point-and-shoot, which is what I usually use. If I have a DSLR checked out from my school, I like to use that. If I mention that Alex took the photos, he took them on his DSLR, usually.  Alex can't take my photos most of the time since we live about 30 minutes away from each other and really only hang out on weekends. Most of the time, I just use self-timer and a tripod, no remote.

Today's title comes from The Undertones -- Get Over You, a super fun punk/new wave gem.

just saying it could even make it happen

dress: vintage -- shoes: BC Footwear via Nordstrom Rack -- jacket: Levi's clearance -- tights: Target, gift from my sister <3

Can you tell how happy I was when I took these? I came back to campus after an appointment, and the sun was out and the grass was green, and I saw a weird little road leading into the middle of the expanse of grass with eucalyptus and oak trees that you see in these photos. It just put me in the best mood :) I totally sketchily parked my car in the CONSTRUCTION PARKING ONLY zone, shot some photos, did some dirt-road-driving to turn my car around, and exited the area just as a campus sheriff drove down the road I had parked on. Win!



After seeing so many gorgeous 50s dresses on bloggers recently, I was taken with quite a 50s dress jones that I couldn't seem to shake. Two weeks of waffling later, I decided that I should just buy the thing since I hadn't lost the impulse. I found it at my favorite vintage shop for $32, and that's on the more expensive end of their price spectrum. This dress is so amazing. It fits as if it were tailored to me. Nothing's too tight, too short, or too long. It's juuuust right! I think that at $110, this is the most expensive outfit I've ever worn on the blog, excluding ones that include my leather jacket. Not bad, eh? I may spend way too much time on clothes, but at least I don't spend way too much money.



I've been hearing Florence + the Machine -- The Dog Days Are Over on the radio, on friends' stereos, and in stores a lot recently. I like the song, but it always just makes me want to listen to Kate Bush, whose song "Cloudbusting" supplies the title of this post. That particular tune probably isn't the best intro to Kate Bush, so I'm posting the really cool video for her super-catchy song "Hounds of Love" instead.



I noticed I've been listening to music by women a lot recently. Joni Mitchell, Best Coast, Patti Smith, Kate Bush, and Beach House. There's something very refreshing about the female perspective since so much of the stuff I listen to (probably 85% or more) is by men.

Photo Sunday, Monday Edition: Alejandro Chaskielberg

There are few photographers whose work has ever had quite as strong an immediate impact on me as that of Alejandro Chaskielberg.



All of these images are taken from his series The High Tide, which focuses on the indigenous Guarani people in the Panara River Delta of Argentina.





I particularly enjoy Chaskielberg's work because he cleverly manipulates analog methods to create the effects you see here. Using a 4x5 view camera, Chaskielberg manipulates the focus and angles of his picture to create a surreal sense of scale. He supplements dramatic night-time lights with flashes. The only post-camera aspect is the increased color saturation.





Oh, and did I mention that he's only 33?



I'm not usually much of one for photojournalistic photography, but Chaskielberg's work is something special because it transcends simple documentary-style images. He creates art that stands on its own away from its socio-political context and implications.



I accidentally closed the browser window that had all of the tabs for the sources! Oops. All of these images are the property of Alejandro Chaskielberg, and I probably shouldn't be posting them at all.