Brisk Days and Banana Bread.

There's just something about fall that's so insanely comforting. Leaves falling, colors changing, pumpkin lattes, and cashmere sweaters give this season a cuddly and cozy feeling to it. Now I wish our fall season lasted longer because in all actuality, it's here about two weeks before turning to snow and there is such a short amount of time to really enjoy and appreciate the gorgeous season that it is.  For me personally, it is my all time favorite season. Take today for instance- although it wasn't the 26 degree temperature it was a couple of days ago (seriously its only September), there was a brisk feel to the air. Now I only know about that because my customers complained of the cold as I stood behind the coffee bar with my toasted marshmallow tan mocha, but still! And then arriving home, I was instantly bombarded with the homey smell of banana bread. Plopped right out of the oven, and warm on my hand, it truly was  epitome of a brisk fall day. 

What I wore: GAP off white sweater (used), navy birdie GAP tank (mega sale), caramel leather belt (used), mustard vintage pleated PRINCETON skirt (used), chocolate ankle MIZ MOOZ buckle boots (sale at Nordstrom Rack), misc navy socks, and mustard vintage ribbon tied as a bow in my hair!

Girls Rule.

So it may come to a surprise to you, but I am actually not boy savvy. I know. I know. Being tall and homeschooled and altogether shy shouldn't inhibit me from being a suave talker to the male species, but apparently it does. I've always had kind if a hatred towards guys WAY back when I was in grade school and I always thought they were lame, but it's like I've turned a corner and all of a sudden, I long to have some sort of chat or relationship with a guy. All those countless hours of listening to British love songs (thank you 1D, Ed Sheeran, and Conor Maynard) and watching classic love stories (Nicholas Sparks, you are mostly to blame), and then reading all those fairy tale perfect high school books are really taking a toll on me. And yes, I am only a senior in high school and I have my whole future ahead of me and everything but I've never even known what it feels like to be on the opposite end of a crush. And even if someone had a crush on me, you'd either have to spell it out clearly to me (I am horrible at reading guys), or something. I dunno. I guess all of this comes from the fact that I was sorta stood up tonight. Im sure there was some miscommunication in the matter but nonetheless, it does hurt a lot to be ditched like that. And it wasn't even a real date or anything which is kinda stinky. I looked forward to it all day.. The possibility of watching a movie with a guy, but I guess some dudes don't realize that little things like that can hurt someone like me who's never even been on a date. Who knows. So I dressed today at first all 'come hither' like (it is now my new favorite term for some reason), but then I was scrolling through one of my countless old movie star books and came across a photo of Marilyn in an outfit very similar to what I was wearing! So I guess the moral of the day, for me at least, and in the particular mood that I am currently in, is that girls still rule to me. And maybe that attitude is the reason that I've never done activities with guys or gone on dates, but I don't know guys well enough and apparently when I give them a chance, they just toss it back in my face. Yeah, I'm a little hurt and confused. And besides the countless  things Marilyn has taught me ( it sounds like I know her personally, which I wish I did), one thing caught my attention ad helped me move on from my saddened state. 

Now obviously I'm not as sensual and captivatingly mysterious as THE Marilyn, but a girl can dream! 

And yes, those are random cake pops in the photo because they are homemade and absolutely delicious and they had to make an appearance. 

What I wore: KATE SPADE floral retro sunnies, a black and white shaggy ALICE &OLIVIA cardigan (totally on sale at the Neiman Marcus outlet), black BANANA REPUBLIC tank, locomotive style high waisted AMERICAN APPAREL skinnies (Paris), and royal blue DOLCE VITA flats (sale at Nordstrom!). 

Throwback Thursday- Dedication to My Dolls.

So we've all had toys at some point or another in our childhood. Whether it was Barbie's, or Lego's, rag dolls, action figures, Raggedy Anne dolls, or army men. For me, I had Barbie's. And it wasn't just your typical average couple of dolls to play with, then get rid of when middle school hits. I'm talking, HUGE FAN. And they didn't sit on my shelves like some trophy to be shown off, I legit had an entire world created for my Barbie's. They lived in Barbietown (but of course), and besides the row after row of houses, there was a school, a restaurant, a hotel, a grocery store, Fashion Fever (the local boutique situated up on  the hill), and even a park. Now if they have houses and businesses, then they must have occupations, yes? Not only occupations, but a life. Each one of my individual 130+ Barbie dolls had a name, a job, a personality, a voice, a style, and their own life. We had Anna Maria, the pop star singer, Jasmine, Arwen, and Elizabeth as the double agents, Amy as the rapper, Katherine as the mayor, Barbie as the businesswoman, and even the beach girls! It's where I give most of my credit to my acting abilities. Improv, beat boxing (they had to have music for dancing!), accents for the different voices (British, French, etc), and keeping my mind in a creative state. This continued all the way up until about freshman year when we moved and then somehow the transition went to American Girl Dolls. Now I know it may sound absurd to be a senior in high school and still caring about this sort of stuff, but you know what? It makes me happy. A little creativity and imagination is always good for the soul. I've always had a soft spot for dolls, especially Barbie because at a young age, they were comforting and I had great memories playing make believe with them. And I know there's this whole "Barbies are bad for young girls' role models... they're proportionally inaccurate and display an impossible image to attain to growing girls." Well you know what, Polly Pockets, Bratz dolls, rag dolls, etc.. none of them have a perfect image and at least for me, I wasn't ever trying to look like Barbies. I just liked playing with them. And these dolls have been everywhere! Chicago, Mexico, South Dakota, California, Arizona.. they are traveling fiends. Of course people still give me looks like I belong in a nuthouse whenever I mention them or have a photo in my wallet, but if they make me smile when I'm having an upset day, then leave me alone! You can have your photos of your cats and shirtless men, let me have my dolls. Anyhow, today is a dedication back to when Barbietown was in full swing and back when my dolls were having adventures just like me.. and continue to do so to this day. (:

See, I still cut out pictures of them! There's something insanely chic and classical stylish about Barbie. 

This wa the Main Street in Barbietown..

My total population of Barbietown! 130+. 

Taylor and Mark having an intimate moment in their wedding.. Oh my imagination was wild back then. 

I even had the lovely opportunity to take some of the girls to Chicago's American Girl Doll Store. They have their own silver wear! We were by far the oldest ones in there minus the accompanying mothers, but we held out dolls proud. That was four years ago too!

Halloween was a must for these two lovelies. 

And we come full circle back to today. 

Who Run the World? (Tall) Girls.

So in case one wasn't aware, I'll share a little obvious secret. I am tall. Yes. Ever since I was born and I came out a mile long (okay, maybe not that long), I've always stood out with my height. I was always the tallest, I constantly get recruited for all the tall sports (including basketball, and volleyball), and have always been that lone tree standing there in the corner surrounded by shrimps. Now instead of cowering and slouching my back like I see so many hopeless girls doing due to embarrassment and shame, I take my height and use it to my advantage. Whenever I'm in a situation where I have doubts like " what makes me unique from these girls next to me?" my height is always a reassuring pat on my shoulder. If you were born to be tall, then strut your stuff and appreciate the gift of height! It kills me to see other girls so ashamed to have the tall genes ( I much prefer them over corduroy.. Haha I pulled a funny) because there is so much awesomeness that comes with being tall. You stand out, people automatically stare, you can see and reach things that shorties can't, and my favorite part is the tall person connection. It's like when you pass someone else who's tall, there's this silent communication thing like "Hey fellow tall person, I salute you." It's secretly a thing. Gotta be in the know. The tall person know. 😉 I mean, there are obviously some disadvantages to being tall. It's not all sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. The first is guys. Now I don't know if the male species is blind at a younger age, or simply intimidated by our statuesque height, but tall people , or maybe just myself, are largely ignored. Perhaps later on they will appeeciate our tallness. I can hope! The second delio is the clothing problem. I personally have a 36" inseam and my legs stretch for ages. My solution? I simply shop at my favorite tall person store "Long Tall Sally" which carries clothing specially made for 6 ft 2" peeps like myself. So there are solutions! And the whole thing about tall girls not being able to wear heels? Like, it's illegal to be taller when you're already tall? Here's what I have to say to that. 

Yes, I found that on Pinterest and thought it was absolutely the bomb and explained my whole life. So today, I thought I'de share with you that being tall, or simply loving the size that you are, is a wonderful thing to appreciate. 

Ok, I had to end with a coffee because twy simply complete my life. Can't even say more on the subject  

What I wore: true striped lumberjack shirt (used by my aunt who wore it working inthe  Forest Service), black CAbi jeggings, tan COACH six inch wedge booties ( only like 40 bucks on sale!), and vintage gold necklaces (used). 

Refreshing.

Ok, here's a little thing that I simply adore to the end of the earth: baths. I am not even joking! I love them. Ever since I can remember, I always preferred baths to showers as a way to get clean. I'm not a hater on showers because there are simply some things that one cannot do the same in a bath. For one, singing in the shower will forever be done better than a bath because there's something about the steamy atmosphere that makes even the worst singing voice sound like Celine Dion. Secondly, when one needs to get clean quick, yeah, baths wouldn't really be the best option. But since I find myself in way less time crunches now that I no longer dance competitively or have school, baths are all the time for me!

Baths for me not only relax me incredibly, but I feel almost royal when I lay down with my candles burning and the bubbles fizzing and the vine of grapes draped into my mouth. There's something Greek or Roman about the whole concept and I feel beautiful even if my hair is matted in sweat from the workout I just finished. 

Today was especially a special one for me because I had this divine smelling bubble bath and then "Kiss The Rain" by Yiruma came onto my easy listening Pandora station and I felt so wholesome and at peace. I lay there in the warmth and coziness of my bath and felt so relaxed. And then that mood put me in such a refreshing attitude all day long as I got ready for my day. It's the little things that make life so wonderfully swell. 

I received this Sephora bubble bath from my French friend when he came to visit and have loved it thus far. It smells almost richly masculine but with a soothing clean womanly scent. 

Ok, this adorable and friendly grasshopper (yes, bugs can be friendly!) plopped a spot on my show and continued to stay there as photos were taken. 

What I wore: a blue OLD NAVY high lo (used), and some grey flats from Nordstrom Rack. 

A Song for Sunday- Fix You.

Do you ever have that urge to just let it out and have a good cry? I do, like all of the time. In fact, I have a playlist dedicated to those moods and I have therefore titled it "Sappy Songs." Now I know one shouldn't be all depressed and such but there is just moments in time where a sappy song just hits the spot and then I realize that listening to it makes me somehow feel better. It's an odd process. Anyway, Coldplay's "Fix You" is one of my favorites and not only because of its ability to touch feelings that hit various problems of life, but it's also a tragic song for me personally. There was one time in my life where I had an abrupt end to a friendship and this was the song that I bawled to. It had the  ability to just go right along with what I was going through. It was also the song choice of one of my sisters dances. When I was visiting back at Christmas, I made a visit to the studio and I gotta say that it really touched me. It was so tragic and sad, but beautiful. It's the song that I plug into when I want to just CRY. It makes me want to help someone sooooo much that needs my help probably because I need someone to help me. You catch my drift here? "Tears stream down your face.. When you lose something you cannot replace..." It's the truth put in such a sad and beautiful song.  

Throwback Thursday- Last of School Spirit.

It has come to my attention that I truly am in my last year of being in high school. It's taken me awhile to actually process that thought, but tonight was kinda the wake up call that really got me thinking. Although I am no longer a student, I am still allowed to be involved in the events of the school. So I was invited tonight to attend the last bonfire, like in GREASE. Of course I wasn't really interested in the immature goings on and the lame chubby bunny games and squealing girls and popularity contests that seem to reign in every high school, but being there with my close friends was actually quite nice. We got our bums burned, yes, but it was quite a nice way to start and yet finish our year. So this throwback Thursday is kind of a shout out to my sophomore year during the very same spirit week because although I 
complain way too much about my high school here and all its problems, I did have memories and I did have good times. 

Sophomore year...

Senior year...

What I wore: floral KATE SPADE retro sunglasses, red ESPRIT top (used), striped locomotive AMERICAN APPAREL skinnies (from Paris), and cream UGGS (used).