______Yesterday, my mother dearest and I went out to take these pictures and then had a lovely lunch of chicken salad croissant sandwiches at a local bakery. I forgot how flaky and delicious croissants were, as did I forget how scrumptious chicken salad was. It was especially nice that the servings weren't ginormous--I'm always a little bit afraid to eat out because of huge serving sizes and not knowing what's exactly in the food I'm eating, but I've come to learn that at locally owned eating places you're not given these huge platters of food and that it's all freshly made, which I very much like! I know it sounds silly to be afraid to eat out, but it is unfortunately something that's always lurking in my mind; however, I am indeed trying to overcome this silly little fear!
______Aside from that, on Wednesday, a friend and I explored some hiking trails that snaked through the woods and around these large yet climbable rocks. It was very scenic at first, but then about an hour or so later, we found ourselves to be lost (haha, found ourselves to be lost) on these tiny trails that zigzagged through the woods and kept splitting into tinier trails. We were certain that the signs were lying to us and that these painted arrows we kept seeing on rocks were only pointing us toward some terrible fate. That, or we were really horrible sign readers. Thankfully, we eventually found a path that led to a road and we were able to wave down a car with a little old lady in it to ask for directions. The little old lady said that we were walking in the right direction toward the parking lot, and our brains immediately reacted with happiness. Many brutal minutes later, after ascending a steep hill alongside the road, we feasted our sun-stained eyes upon the beautiful structure that was a building. No, not just one building. There were two. Three! A few buildings, in fact. Buildings made by man. Buildings sent from the gods. Buildings by the parking lot where our cars patiently waited for our return.
______Needless to say, it was a wonderful feeling to find civilization... and air conditioning. And to finally be able eat the food we had been lugging around in our tiny backpacks. Despite how dramatic and treacherous I rendered this adventure, it was super fun and I will definitely be going on a hiking excursion again!
Top: Ross Dress for Less
Skirt: Charlotte Russe
Heels: Chelsea Crew, gifted
Necklace: vintage, from a flea market stand
Whale charm bracelet: gifted from grammi
Sunglasses: Target
______One day, I would like to live in a very lovely little house. This little house will sit alone in the mountains near the forest's edge and overlook a gentle field of wheat, and its aged stone exterior will be crawling with eager vines of ivy. This little house will be surrounded by hydrangeas in magnificent shades of pink, purple, and blue, and be filled with cozy leather furniture, mason jar lighting, and Navajo print rugs. From the early morning until the late afternoon, the sun will stream in through its tall glass windows and drape the interior with soft panels of light. This little house will have wooden floors and walls that are glazed to a sheen and squeaky to the touch. It will be tidy, but not always. The wood will have blemishes here and there, just as human faces do, and that is okay, if not desired.
______Some nights outside this little house, there will be fireflies dancing in rhythm to the twinkling of the stars; on other nights, the fireflies will seek shelter since there will be rain that pitter patters against the roof and makes all of Earth's creatures fall into a deep slumber. But most nights, the fireflies will be there, and we will be outside lazing by a campfire that lights our tired faces with orange, and we will listen fearlessly to the wolves as their howling voices are carried by the wind.
______The mornings at this little house will be serene; there will be fog enshrouding it, nearly consuming it, weaving in and out of the pine trees surrounding it, quieting every living thing that inhabits the forest around it. We will rise when the sun meets the horizon. Our eyes will be sleepy, but our minds awake, and we will eat an early breakfast and then ride through the forest by bicycle, whipping through its veiny trails like neurons through the brain. The fog will soon lift, and we will watch it do so. The moon will fade. The sun will pull away from the horizon and become full and bright in the open sky. A new day will begin, and it will be pleasant and rich with unspoken adventure, all because of this lovely little house on such a perfect piece of land.
______(So, are you sick of hydrangeas yet? Take a wild guess as to what my favorite flower is... guwahaha)
______Sometimes I'll have weeks or months where I can't find anything when shopping, no matter how scrutinizing my searches are. But hey, I'm sure we've all had a couple trips like that--they create dark times in one's little mind universe, no? Like a miniature black plague, except instead of making you deathly ill, it simply plagues your mind. Of course, sometimes I'll have those fabulous shopping trips where I spot something from across the store and just know that I'll walk out of the store with it--this dress is a prime example of such a trip. I saw its lovely shade of rust peeking out from a cluster of dark clothing and immediately snaked toward it like the sneaky snake I am. The dress was like a beacon in the night, calling out to me with its soothing shade of orange. Try me on, it said softly. You will not regret it. I will be perfect on you. And so, not even questioning why a dress was speaking to me, I complied with it and tried it on.
______Well, guess what? The straps were too long and the bust was too low to the point where alterations seemed useless. The dress, it lied!
______Thankfully, upon texting mi madre un foto, she replied saying that it would be fixable. It's a good thing that my mom can sew reaaaaal fancy-like. She's got some magical sewing hands, she does. Thanks, momma!
______Also, I decided to Google search myself today, 'cause I like to do that every once and a while just for the heck of it, and I discovered that Palladium put me on their blog! It's rather exciting, and quite the honor! I've felt warm and fuzzy all day because of it.
Dress: via Ross Dress for Less ($18, not bad!)
Belt: via Lotus Boutique
Sandals: Franco Sarto, yo
Necklace, earrings: Charming Charlie
______Oh, hey there. How about some neon with your neon? Sound good, yeah? Neon overload, right here, right now. Bam. Yeah, that just happened.
______I recently purchased this neon shirt for three dollars, all while knowing that it would match my magical Palladium sneakers. To add to that, I got this lovely splatter-esque skirt that is ever so reminiscent of flowers for just six dollars from a local second-hand store. It's nice to come across a good deal every now and then! I didn't have to dig around for long in my closet to utilize both pieces, either--this outfit came together rather easily (and ended up super matchy-matchy, but hey, a little balance never hurt anyone). The pack of colorful ankle socks I bought last year has been more than useful for many of my recent outfits, and the weather right now is just the perfect temperature so that it's not too hot to wear 'em. Unfortunately, I fear the heat is on it's evil little way.
______Stay cool, you cool, cool citizens.
Top: from an under $10 clothing shop
Skirt: second-hand shop, Forever 21
Sneakers: Palladium
Socks: Forever 21
Necklace, earrings: Charming Charlie's
______My citizens, thar be big news for this blog: I, Ali, hath gained the almighty power of... a funkyfresh new camera lens! An 100mm f/2.8 macro lens, to be exact. And my, am I pleased with it already. Pleased to the point where I have been squeeing at the thought of one day being able to take even better pictures with it. I won't lie, taking this first set of pictures frustrated me a bit, as does anything new that makes its way into my life, but the fact that most of the pictures ended up being in focus was more than enough to satisfy me. I'm super happy that they ended up having bokeh-licious backgrounds, too. That was exactly what I wanted in my new lens--sharpness and good bokeh. It seems that my amateurish research tactics paid off. Though a macro lens, I think it will prove to be quite nice for fashion blogging. Anyway, please bear with me the next few posts as I learn to use this new lens!
______So yep, this week has been just swell. I began work and a summer Biology course this week, and so now my Friday feels like a real Friday opposed to just another day of summer. I rather like being busy during the summer--I feel so much more productive, and days off are so much more relaxing than they normally would be. Right now, I'm on my patio, blogging, drinking a scrumptious mug of blueberry tea, and silently jamming out to my favorite Pandora stations. 'Tis a wonderful Friday, and I hope yours is, too!
______Until the next post, lovely citizens!
Top: from a $3 shirt shop aharhar
Skirt: Moon Collection via Lulu*s
Necklace: flea market stand
Socks: Forever 21
Heels: Chelsea Crew
