It Liiiiivvves

O HAI THAR. What have I become? I haven't updated my blog in a week. I feel like an epic failure of a blogger. It's not to say I haven't been busy, though. Busy socializing, apparently, which is weird for me since usually I'm such a hermit. I've been going out to lunch at work a lot, and then my entire weekend was pretty much spent recovering from my Friday night escapades. Blogging is hard when your brain won't work, let alone you can't get out of your PJs in order to look good for photos. Nope, the couch was my best friend on Saturday, and then Sunday was spent trekking through Washington Square Mall with Ashleigh, buying too many clothes and a pretzel to boot. After that I was much too exhausted to do anything but sit on my ass.

And then all of a sudden it was Valentine's Day! Or Venereal Disease (VD), if you want to call it that. I kind of do. I had an awesome evening with Greg, in which we made beef stroganoff and then pigged out while watching Reign of Fire streaming on Netflix. I will never stop being amazed and overjoyed by the glory that is Netflix instant watch.








I'm wearing: F21 skirt and sweater, H&M t-shirt and necklace.

Apparently I dyed my hair! Yes, yes I did. I've actually had the box of hair dye lying around for months now, probably about six months, but I am obviously too lazy to do anything until the last second, so I dyed my hair on Sunday. I love it. It's the same color I dyed it back in June, but I like it a lot more now than I did then. It makes me look so pale, which for some reason appeals to me greatly.

I've also scheduled haircuts for Greg and myself at the same time on Saturday morning, and I'm super excited! I'm not going to get mine cut any shorter than it is, just a tiny trim and then lots of layers/texture. I want my hair to be as floofy as physically and humanly possible.

I'm trying to come up with a cute, low-maintenance haircut for Greg to get. I really want him to do something other than the basic really-short-all-over thing, which he always gets. I've been browsing Lookbook for ideas, but he says they're all too "emo" whatever that means, so I'm curious -- how do your boyfriends and boy friends get their hair cut? What's a cool way I can request to have Greg's hair done so he looks like a sexy modern geek man? Also he never styles his hair. HELP? I'm lost on this one.

Anyhow, tomorrow I'll be posting my outfit from Venereal Disease. I liked it lots. You will too! I hope.

Also, please continue to send good vibes, thoughts, and prayers my way for grad school. I've submitted all of my applications and it's only a matter of waiting now. London!

Living the Dream

As I was driving away from the Smart Park today, gazing lustfully at the H&M display windows, I realized: I am living the Dream. Yes, the Dream with a capital D. Here I am, in a city I love, having pints with a friend I love, eating mac & cheese that I love, driving home to a boyfriend I love, to get all comfy in an apartment I love, all while supporting myself and I did it all on my own. I am a Goddess.

Okay, that's not to say I didn't get help, because I did. I couldn't have done it without my parents, my friends, and most of all Greg, who is as always my greatest supporter and best friend. But seriously, guys. I moved to Portland. I now live in a city that has more than one Thai restaurant (there are five billion in the Hawthorne district in fact, look it up), an H&M, tall buildings, 28 breweries, my two best friends, and fucking awesome weather (aside from the lack of snow). And I did it all myself. And I have a job I actually like, and it's all thanks to ME! I'm applying for grad schools, and it's because I FELT LIKE IT. I am... truly... amazing.











I'm wearing: Gap blouse and bow tie, Old Navy skirt, Alyssa's sweater.

We can all be Goddesses. Let's not be held back by what we think we can do, nor by what we think we should do. Do what you want! Achieve what you want. Don't let the "should" and "shouldn't" and "couldn't" and "wouldn't" get in the way. I'm serious. I've also had a pint on very little food, but I'm still serious. I told myself I couldn't and shouldn't apply for schools in London because I was "settling down" and I didn't want to leave Greg behind, etc., etc. But Greg made me realize: I can. There's nothing holding me back but the mindset that I should be doing a certain thing at a certain time. IT'S NOT TRUE. Do whatever the HELL you want, you crazy bastards!

And thus, what I wanted to do today was to wear a girl's version of a bow tie. So I did. I knew this weird scarf/headband/belt/tie from the Gap would come in handy one day! Bow ties, as you all know, are very... very cool.

Welcome, Scarf

This silly scarf! I've been meaning to wear it in many an outfit post before this, as I wear it every morning to work, but by the time I'm home the scarf is ensconced somewhere in the vortex of my giant vagina-purse (ask Greg about that one), and I've thoroughly forgotten about it. Anyway, today this dress was begging to be Christmas-ified with a red plaid scarf. When I tried to tell the dress it wasn't Christmastime anymore, however, it wouldn't listen and in a fit of rebellion spilled coffee grounds all over the floor. Luckily it spilled them in the kitchen, so I was able to clean up quickly, but the dress won't be getting its way so easily in the future. YOU HEAR THAT DRESS? No more "Christmassy" looks for you. [Disclaimer: the dress did not actually spill coffee grounds. Nobody did. I made it up. I'm not actually schizophrenic or something. Or am I...]













I'm wearing: Target dress and scarf, necklace from Mom, H&M cardigan, F21 earrings.

Last night I watched the first two episodes of Sherlock while working on grad school application stuff and dicking around on the internet. I don't even want to count how many times I've seen it. It's kind of ridiculous, but it doesn't get old for me! And I like to just have it as background ambiance. There are many movies I like to have on as background ambiance. A Knight's Tale is an old favorite, especially with the commentary on. I think I know the commentary better than I know the movie itself. Pride & Prejudice is a regular standby, as is Emma. Gotta love those Jane Austen adaptations. What movies can you watch over and over and over without wanting to pop your eyes out with a spoon?

So I am going to have to wait until February 22nd to get an iPhone, but that's okay, because I'm an adult and I can wait patiently for awesome things. ...No, that's a lie, I can't wait for things and I am dying of impatience. Want iPhone Now! WANT iPHONE NOW (even in capslock, the "i" must be lowercase!).

Well well well well. The next movie on our Netflix queue is Get Him to the Greek, which I thought was about frat houses until a few days ago. It's a pleasant surprise to be wrong in this case. I can't think of another case when it would be pleasant to be wrong, however. Being right is kind of my thing.

What is next in your Netflix queue? Anything badass I should check out on instant watch? Wait I take that back -- I'm meant to be watching Gavin and Stacey next. So I guess don't recommend anything or I will NEVER WATCH IT.

Now for something completely different

I didn't take outfit photos today, so let's enjoy a little blast from the past with photos from my trip to Germany and Italy in 2007! I don't really look at them much, as I was there with my boyfriend of the time, now ex boyfriend, so it's rather.. weird for me to think about that trip. Which is unfortunate, as it was pretty amazing. I'm never traveling with a boyfriend again! Girl friends and husbands only.



















We visited my friend Emily for a few days in Trier, Germany, where she was studying abroad. It was by far my favorite part of the trip. From now on I'm going to try to stay with people I know when visiting new places. It's always more fun to see a strange city through familiar eyes -- you see and experience things you'd never have discovered otherwise.

I can't wait to be that person for my friends when I'm living in London. They'll come to visit me and I'll show them around, take them to the pubs, explain the culture. I can't think about it too hard or my stomach will fly out of my ears.

Thanks to those who encouraged me to get an iPhone in the last post -- I think I'll be getting one pretty soon here! Giddy giddy joy!

Pooper Bowl

Can I just say... the movie Troy is awful. I've watched the beginning of it twice now over the years, and I didn't even make it to Hector's death the second time. SO BORING. The only likable character is Hector, and he bites the dust immediately, so basically we get little girl Paris and epic douche Achilles, doing man things for three hours. I don't even know, because I've never finished the movie. All I know is that Josh Groban sings during the credits, uuugh, why must it be such a dreadful movie!

I don't know why I'm talking about Troy in a "style blog" but there you go. Just a little thing we like to do here: talk about completely irrelevant crap. (And yes Troy was Greg's Netflix pick, I take no responsibility!)









I'm wearing: H&M everything.

I swear, I'm a walking advertisement for H&M. It's not my fault! I love their stuff so much. I'm trying really hard not to spend my San Diego Comic-Con money on shopping there (oh yeah by the way SDCC sold out -- epic fail)... don't worry though, I won't. I'm probably going to use it to visit my mom in Missoula this summer, and maybe get an iPhone. I don't know though! Should I get an iPhone? You'll never convince me there's a cooler non-Apple phone out there, but should I spend my money on it is the question. Those smartphone plans are the worst and strike a paralyzing fear into the recesses of my soul, though. Who has a smartphone on Verizon? Any words of wisdom? Is it really like $90/month? Yuck.

So I've been listening to a lot of Mumford and Sons lately, as recommended by my mom. I'm really loving "Winter Winds" and "Little Lion Man" especially. I also re-acquainted myself with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, which have been on repeat lately. Patrick Wolf is coming out with a new album painfully soon here, and if I'm guessing correctly (I'd better be!), Shiny Toy Guns are coming out with a new album as well. I fucking hope. Their facebook keeps updating with weird cryptic messages, and their website has a countdown with only a few days left on it, so...! This could mean a new album! I would pee myself with joy. I've yet to listen to the new Decemberists album though, which is pretty fail of me. I've seen them three times in concert, so what kind of fan am I? I'll answer that for you. A lame one.

Anyway what kind of music do you nerds listen to? I'm making myself sound like kind of an indie fart, but I don't just listen to hipster trendy stuff (I... don't think I do anyway). My favorite band ever is Jethro Tull. Effing love them. As in, I'm going to get a tattoo of their lyrics at some point. Any bands you love so much you'd tattoo them onto yourself permanently? What lyric would be on your skin forever? My first tattoo is going to be a Stargate, though. Beat that.

INFJ

I just took a personality test that said I was extroverted, orderly/organized, and unfriendly/rude. Uh... test? You are broken. Just so you know.

Do you guys take personality tests? I find myself endlessly intrigued by them. I've taken countless Meyers-Briggs ripoffs online, just to see if my "type" ever changes, but I always get the same results. I'd be curious to see some kind of study of style bloggers' personality types. I know the Meyers-Briggs formula is considered useless or inconclusive by many, but I'm so fascinated by how accurately my personality type describes me, and I wonder if we style bloggers all have similar or comparable personalities. Although, now that I'm thinking about it, we probably don't. That would be terrifying: an army of girls, well-dressed and all exactly the same...









I'm wearing: Dress from Gee, UO cardigan.

So this dress is super amazing and I kind of want to wear it forever! It was sent to me as part of the Wardrobe Wanderlust swap by the lovely Gee, and I'm dreading the day when we must part.

Okay all right. I admit it. I did not wear this outfit any time recently. In fact I think I took these photos over a week ago! I wasn't ever going to use them, because I think they turned out pretty badly and I was just figuring out how to take my photos so the bed wouldn't end up in them too much, so they're pretty awkward. However, I've worn this damn dress two times since then, and every time something happens where I end up unable to take photos of it. It's cursed! So I just gave up and I'm posting these. Deal with it. *sunglasses*

I would also like to share with you the fact that I had a dream about Benedict Cumberbatch last night. We were dating. Aw yeah. My subconscious rules. Subconscious high-five! What super awesome wish-fulfillment dreams have you guys had recently? [Meg's past dreams: making out with the Doctor (Ten and Eleven), Holmes/Meg/Watson sandwich, Will Smith as a classmate (??), making out with Zachary Quinto.]

Green World

It hasn't been my week so far. There seems to be a rash of bad weeks in my life lately, although I think it has more to do with me letting everything get under my skin rather than everything simply happening to me, as I imagine.

Let's visit a new world for a while, then.











I'm wearing: UO shirt, Old Navy skirt, necklace from Mom, Target tights, Ross boots.

This other world is green and quiet. There is an ocean, somewhere in the distance, and you can just see its waves glinting under the golden-hour sun. Soft grass rustles and teases your ankles, a sea of grass, and it goes on toward the water. Behind you is a wood, thick, musky with moss and decaying leaves beneath the undergrowth. Dew-filled flowers reach up and out, searching for dapples of sun. Bugs hum in the air.

There's a city, and you've been there, but you can hardly remember it. It was full of light, and it rose up as the streets went 'round and 'round to the top, cobbled with white stones.

You can't remember why you left the city, but you want to go back. You know you never can. It's only a memory now, just like the wood was, just like the ocean will be when you've sailed across it.

Try to remember how to get back. If you remember, you can go there again. But your mind is getting fuzzy. It's as though you're falling asleep without closing your eyes, and the sea of grass moves beneath you, and in the distance you finally hear the crash of waves on sand.