Featured Blogger: Waking Life

I haven't really made "featuring" other bloggers on my blog a regular thing, because I love way too many fellow bloggers and I just don't know how I'd find time to feature each and every one of them. However, I couldn't not talk about Caitlin of Waking Life on my blog. Not only is she an incredibly stylish girl (every single one of her outfits gives me a giant dose of inspiration), but she's super sweet and a writer! Reading her blog and her thoughts on writing, life, and everything else is an endless source of motivation and inspiration for me. But that's enough gushing from me, here are some questions she answered for me so we can all get to know her better. (Also she sounds like a genius of a writer, just sayin'.)




1. Tell us a bit about yourself in regards to blogging. When/why did you start, what do you enjoy about blogging, and what do you want to accomplish with your blog?

When I moved back to Vermont (from Portland!) and got my first corporate office job (blech), I actually finally had some money to spend on clothes and plenty of time to kill on the internet. Around that time I discovered etsy and started buying vintage. One morning at the coffee machine a co-worker told me that she thought my style was reminiscent of Jessica's (of What I Wore--back then she wore a lot more vintage) and that I should check out the blog. I did, I was hooked, I started blog-stalking, and eventually decided I wanted to join in! I love blogging mostly because I enjoy being a part of the conversation, and getting to know all kinds of fabulous girls around the world. There are so many amazing, inspirational people out there (style-wise and other-wise) and it really is such an expansive experience to be a part of it all. I don't really have any major goals for my blog, I just do it because I think it's fun, it gives me a reason to put an effort into the way I dress and actually have people appreciate it (instead of just giving me funny looks), and gives me something to add to my routine which I actually enjoy! I know my blog has limitations (I take all my photos on a little CoolPix camera, for example, but can't even begin to afford a nicer model right now) so I don't get too worked up about not having a crazy number of followers or not having sponsors chasing after me. I just enjoy doing it!




2. What are some things in your everyday life that inspire you?

Well, for starters, I live in such a wonderful place. I grew up here and will always come back (even if my wanderlust has been in hyperdrive for a while now--okay, basically it never stops). The people are just so genuinely kind and interesting and artistic, and while it's not exactly a fashion mecca, people definitely do have a sincere sense of personal style and individuality, which I think is really refreshing. It's also unbelievably beautiful and one of the most unaffected places I've been in the US. I read constantly, watch tons of movies (I was a film major in college), and just generally try to absorb as much of the world as possible. Everything is an inspiration, even life itself!




3. I know you're a writer, but you're secretive about your work (i.e. you don't share it!). Can you at least tell us in what genre you prefer to write, and maaaybe a little about your novel?

I wouldn't really call myself a "genre" writer. My influences are definitely quasi-feminist authors like Simone de Beauvoir (her fiction is phenomenal) and Doris Lessing and Erica Jong, the romance of DH Lawrence, or metaphorically poetic writers like Tom Robbins and Kurt Vonnegut. I guess I would say that my writing is very much about the everyday struggles of the human spirit (primarily the female human), with philosophical/political/spiritual undertones. But subtle. I always hesitate to tell people what the novel I'm currently working on is "about" because it's not really "about" anything in particular. It's kind of about everything. I will say the basic plot is that a recently married young woman moves to the country with her new husband and finds herself possessed with the desire to have a child. But, to put it eloquently, the shit hits the fan. See? Doesn't sound too exciting. But there is (hopefully) poetry in the introspective nature of the prose, which is what I ultimately aspire to achieve (because that's what affects me the most).




4. What's your favorite spring/summer fashion trend that you haven't tried out yet and can't wait to attempt?

I actually really love frilly bra tops with high-high-waisted shorts, but I am so unlikely to pull that off in real life. I also love the sandals with wooden platform heels, so I'm definitely going to have to get a pair. Other than that I'm not sure that there are any trends I'm loving that I haven't already tried! We'll see what shows up on the blogs in the coming months!




5. Describe the perfect weekend away.

It would be spontaneous, because if you overplan something always, inevitably goes wrong. My boyfriend and I would take a road trip somewhere we had never been--we're thinking about going up to St John this summer, so we'll say somewhere like that--stopping along the way whenever something caught our eye (this usually means antique stores, cute little towns for exploring, walking on beautiful beaches). We would have a delicious meal (with wine, of course) by the ocean and watch the sunset like the cheesy romantics we are, then retire to our room in a cute little B&B and lounge in our in-room hot tub. We would get up early in the morning and order room service (again, never done that, but want to) before exploring all day. That night we would randomly happen upon a divey blues club where we would sip fancy cocktails (because I have never found such a place and I'm dying to and this is my fantasy trip), and go skinnydipping in the sea. And the next day we would drive home, taking a different route and doing the whole thing in reverse! (A perfect week away would be entirely different because it would involve flying to a foreign land, but that can't be done in a weekend!)




6. What's your favorite thing to do in the city where you live?

HAHA. I laugh at that because I do not live in a city, and even the closest city would be considered a town in most states. I'll call Burlington my city because it's 15 minutes away. I officially love riding on the waterfront bike path with my trusty vintage Schwinn road bike (beautiful), going out to dinner (esp when I can sit outside on Church Street) with my boyfriend or my girlfriends (or my parents!), spending hours in used book stores, strolling while eating twist creemees, and dancing in the street!