In the Old Town

Okay. Is this top sort of eerily perfect for my skirt or what? This was one of the things I found at The Baleout in St. Louis. It's pretty darn adorable, I must admit, and kind of strange that it matches this skirt so well (and I know I wear this skirt all the time, sorry!) This was for a trip to Old Town, which is Albuquerque's historic district-- lots of pueblo-Spanish style architecture and touristy shops. They also do ghost tours. Yes!

The first thing I want to buy here is a pair of moccasins. I am absolutely obsessed with the idea of moccasins. I found a pair the other day that I love-- the ankle boot kind with the fringe. When I finally acquire them you can bet I'll make a Very Special Post. Jeremy wanted a pair of cowboy boots but we had no idea they were so expensive! Of course I made fun of him about it and then found a pair that I wanted but couldn't afford. So yeah, no.

(I would like to note that I've never before had any interest in cowboy boots. But we're in the desert now, you see.)

Vintage top: The Baleout, St. Louis
Modcloth skirt
Hue tights
Thrifted flats

Orla Kiely SS/11 Favorites

I don't remember where I first heard about Orla Kiely-- probably Liebemarlene-- but oh, I'm so in love. This winter seems to drone on and on and I can't help but daydream about spring. I think I want this whole vibe to be a big part of my spring look: tall wedges, balloon-y dresses, shorts, maybe headbands? Can I do headbands with my hair? Argh, I wish it was longer. I'd love to do that knot/bun thing.

What looks are you excited about for spring? I think I might start an inspiration folder...

Leaving St. Louis

I've been so busy the last few days, packing and cleaning and getting ready for our next move: Albuquerque! I've been reading about it and it seems like an interesting city with lots to do. I'm really excited about going to the desert-- the farthest West I've ever been is, well, here, so it's all very new to me. We're leaving in a couple of days and staying until April. I'm going to miss St. Louis! We were only meant to stay for two months and ended up staying five. I've become attached. I'll miss our little apartment and all the identical rows of tall brick houses.

For my last St. Louis photo set we went to one of our favorite places: the little frozen pond in Tower Grove Park. Those poor duckies. I've been having a definite lack of inspiration lately, outfit-wise.. I think I'm just tired of winter and ready to get on with it. Of course when it's summer I have zero tolerance for the heat. I want to live somewhere with eternal 60 degree weather, dammit!

I didn't mean to revert to my old trusty looking-down pose for most of these, but the cold wind was stinging my eyes so it was much easier.

Dress: an Etsy shop that doesn't exist anymore
Delias oxfords
Thrifted vintage purse
Forever 21 cardigan
Thrifted vintage kid's coat
Key necklace from Etsy (gift from Jeremy): Blue Bayer

City Museum & The Baleout

Today's weather wasn't terrifying (i.e. didn't make me want to hide under piles of blankets with the dogs and some sort of TV show marathon on Netflix) so we visited City Museum and the vintage shop that lives inside of it (!) called The Baleout. The museum was nice, and they had an adult sized ball pit. Adult sized!

I was mainly interested in the vintage shop, of course (and this random giant pterodactyl guy, apparently). I managed to snag a burgundy velvet dress for $3 that needs a bit of altering, as well as a stripey top and green sweater. Had I visited this place sooner I could have stocked up on plenty of holiday-themed sweaters and dresses and things. (I mean really, this place is like a kingdom of vintage sweaters. Racks and racks!)

After that we went to City Garden again, which was terribly pretty at twilight with the christmas lights still up.

The scariest dressing room ever! You sort of slide the door around and it's completely dark and there's a sign instructing you to only turn it about halfway, so as to let a bit of light in. And I do mean a bit. It was the strangest dressing room I've ever participated in.

UO dress
Vintage thrifted jacket
Sock Dreams socks
H&M lace tights
Vintage boots, ebay
Moth necklace, My Selvaged Life

I Was A Drizzle and She Was A Hurricane

Today is National Alaska Young Memorial Day, which means that if you haven't read John Green's novel Looking For Alaska, today is the perfect day to do it.

Do you know what I mean when I say "book memory"? I don't know, I just made it up, but I mean it in the same vein of "sense memory". Whenever I reread a book (or see it or think about it or whatever) I go right back to where I was when I first read it. I imagine where I was sitting or lying, how I felt about it, where I was in my life-- that kind of thing. And when I think about Looking for Alaska I remember lying in the old giant clawfoot tub in our last apartment, on a spring evening, reading the last few pages and crying a little and thinking about how perfectly John Green managed to capture that feeling of dealing with death as a teenager.

"When adults say, "Teenagers think they are invincible" with that sly, stupid smile on their faces, they don't know how right they are. We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken. We think that we are invincible because we are. We cannot be born, and we cannot die. Like all energy, we can only change shapes and sizes and manifestations. They forget that when they get old. They get scared of losing and failing. But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail."

And the way he describes that living-in-the-future feeling:

"Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present."

I loved this book so much that I gave away a few copies during a book talk for one of my classes last year (although my love of John Green is obviously no secret on this blog). If you're looking for a quick read and enjoy YA, please do give it a go.

And to my new followers via the mention on The Clothes Horse: Hello everyone! I promise I'll get back to outfit posts soon, it's been terribly cold around here and I'm a bit useless with that sort of thing.

Dino-Skeleton Island*

In Forest Park, on a little path in front of the Science Center are two giant dinosaur statues. I think I'm the only person I know of who has a fear of dinosaurs (I know, wtf, but it's true!) so of course I had to pose with them. Posing with something scary makes it less scary, you see.

Oh and you know what? This coat? Is not appropriate for twenty degree weather. I could have DIED. I don't know what I was thinking.

"Eek!"

Tucker for Target trench

Target top
Thrifted skirt
(super old) Forever 21 sweater tights & F21 cardigan
Delias oxford heels

*Uncle Monsterface <3