Permanent Vacation... if only it were so!

Holy post! It's been a few days! Lets get started with a little "Daily Style":

Sweater: Second Time Around, Portland, ME (20.00)

Henley (underneath): TjMaxx (9.00)

Jeans: BDG (gift)

Mocs: Minnetonka via western MA (50.00)

All I'm gonna say is that I plan on wearing the shit out of this sweater this winter. Perfect color, perfect weight, I'm in love! I can't wait for cold weather now, I've been collecting some prime sweaters lately! Now that we've got that taken care of, you may be asking where, exactly, have I been? I've been in dreamland that's where. This weekend my family rented a beach house on the Maine coast (aka Heaven) and I was off the grid from Friday until about 11:30 pm last night. My mom picked me up Friday night and we went back to my family home in southern Maine, where, it turns out she's been growing some Little Shop of Horrors-worthy sunflowers:

Saturday afternoon we headed to the beach! The drive only took about 45 minutes, but it felt like a vacation to us! We stayed in this little white cottage at the end of a long dirt track:
The beach was only a 10 min walk away. Higgins Beach (where we were) is the spot for surfing in Maine, the surfers are generally super nice too. Unfortunately, the water was pretty cold- so was the air! But it was still pretty to look at!

If I lived here, I'd be home by now...

A friend:

We're pretty sure my great-grandfather built this cottage (shanty? shack? camp?):

We walked through the clam flats. Have you ever experienced clam flats? It's gross. Don't do it. That's our cottage behind my mom (she sunk into the mud up to her knees):

Our view:

Yesterday we took a trip to Goodwill (Maine thrifting is amazing!), where Chris found this cute little camera:

We were both pretty bummed to have to come home, and I'm pretty sure that if we didn't have the cats as a reason to come back to Massachusetts, we would have just stayed! Seriously, my idea of heaven is living on the salt marsh in Scarborough, ME in a beach shanty and making art all day, all year. Oh Maine, I miss you. What did you do this fine vacation weekend?

XOXO

Re-Design...

I just did a quick re-design, let me know what you think! Questions? Suggestions?

XO

Guest Style...

Just a quick note: A styleboard I created -and never got around to posting- which also inspired last night's outfit- is being featured today at Camp Comfort. Many thanks to Roberta for choosing my style over the others! Have you visited Camp Comfort yet? No? Well, you must!

Nightly Style...

Today I received my new Alice & Olivia boots from Payless, this of course warranted a photo-shoot...

Hat: Chris' from work (free from his night stand!)

Flannel: Hand me down (free!)

Tee-Shirt: f21 (4.00)

Jeans: BDG High Waisted Cigarette (gift form chris)

Socks: Target (5.00)

Wedges: Alice&Olivia for Payless (49.99)

I'm really excited to have these for winter, I think they'll be pretty versatile. These shoes also keep with my theme from yesterday which was entirely ignoring my knee issues and taking up in 4"- no! make that FIVE inch platform shoes. Today brought another visit to the Orthopedist where I was told that I have arthritis. That's right.. arthritis. WTF? I'm 25, I shouldn't have arthritis in both of my knees. WTF, I can't say it enough. Www-Ttt-Fff. I'm really bummed about this, I was told to stop running and to start doing low-impact sports (hello! expensive gym membership), the bright side is that I can keep snowboarding, which...thank god, I don't know how I would pass another New England without being able to do. My knees- especially my right- have been swollen for weeks now and sadly you can kind of see it through my jeans. Gross.

SO, in other news my mom is picking me up tomorrow and whisking me away to Maine until Tuesday, we're renting a beach house! I'm hoping to have a computer with me, so I will try to post as normally as possible, but rest assured I'll have a lot to post about next week! What will you be up to for the holiday, any special plans? Tell me!

XOXO

Daily Style...

My Orthopedist would not be pleased...

Specs: Spitfire via UO (14.00)

Dress: H&M (24.00)

Necklace: H&M (old)

Wedges: Kenneth Cole Reaction via Marshalls (20.00)

... Because of these babies:

Sorry for not posting anything yesterday, Monday night my knee locked up - which is painful- and I had to go see my doctor on Tuesday to figure out the problem. We still don't know what happened, I'm going to see an Orthopedic Trauma Specialist tomorrow. In the meantime I've been advised not to run, swim, or bike- which is terrible because I like to do all of those things- but they said nothing about wearing 4" wedges! So, ha!

I bought this dress last night and am really excited to mix it up. I really don't have any plain black dresses that are this versatile.Last night was date night, Chris and I went out for Sushi, took a quick stop at the mall, and then went to see Taking Woodstock. Have you seen the movie yet? It's getting mixed reviews, but I thought it was enjoyable and the visuals are wonderful:

Source

And by visuals I mean Liev Schreiber rocking the ditzy floral trend!

Cheers!

Daily Style/Over the Weekend...

Necklace: F21 (12.00)

Shirt: Stolen from Boyfriend

Jeans: BGD gift from Boyfriend

Flats: Nine West via Marshalls (20.00)

I'm very proud of my braid today.

Today felt very much like a Monday. I'm running on very little sleep right now due to a very ill behaved kitty who got into a lot of trouble last night. Zephyr seems to go through these bouts of restlessness that can only be cured by snooping in my closet and literally climbing the walls. Ugh. Due to my sleepless night, I really wanted something comfy to wear today and this borrowed oxford shirt from Chris is just the thing. The shirt's pretty beat and actually stained up quite a bit, but it's been washed a million times and has that super softness that's the best. It makes the perfect impromptu wrap shirt. So, how was your weekend?

Mine was....

...Unbelievably wet and rainy! On Friday I travelled to the Cape to visit family and celebrate my cousin's induction into Mass Maritime Academy as a Cadet. Friday night we drove to the school to watch the marching competitions- can you see the intense rain?- where each company competed against each other. The next day we all got up early and went back to MMA to watch their graduation from Orientation. It's pretty amazing- and also a little eerie- to watch 350 people march in unison. MMA's Orientation is much different than your typical college's orientation, it's run more similarly to a boot camp, so it's pretty exciting to be inducted as a cadet and officially be part of the school. After the ceremony we all travelled back to my grandparents house to dry off and eat tons of food. I wish the weather had been nicer but it was still really nice to spend time with family! Now I'm off to watch some Season 2 Gossip Girl (!!!) and clean my dirty messy house!

How was your weekend?

XOXO

Daily Style...

I took this photo at 7am...

Headband: J.Crew (4.99)

Trench: J.Crew (19.00)

Cardigan: H&M (16.00)

Tee: Gap (4.99)

Skirt: ModCloth (64.99)

Tights: TjMaxx (5.00)

Flats: UO (24.00)

...Which was faaaaar too early!

Just now, I realized how much stuff I'm wearing. I guess that's the downside of cooler weather, as soon as the temperature drops it's "good bye shorts and tee-shirt!" and "Hello, jackets, sweaters, and tights!" This skirt was the last thing I bought from ModCloth, I'd been looking for a layered skirt or dress like this for so long, so when I saw the "Ariel Skirt" I knew I had to have it! I'm feeling quite "prep school" today, I think it's because we're experiencing beautiful early fall weather again today, I love it! The house was even a little cold this morning! This afternoon I'm off to Cape Cod to see family, I hope we don't run into the hurricane!

What are your weekend plans?

XOXO

Daily Style...

Today's a two-fer! Before and after work outfits, because I'm feeling pretty snazzy!

Pre-work:

Cardigan: H&M (16.00)

Necklace: H&M (19.00)

Blouse: H&M (24.00)

Jeans: BDG (gift)

Shoes: Sam Edelman Thrifted (10.00)

Post-Work:

Plaid Shirt: Vintage (free)

Belt: Vintage (gift)

Jeans: BDG (gift:)

Shoes: UO (19.00)

Necklace: Adored Austin Giveaway from Leviticus Jewelry

I won this fern necklace from the Adored Austin giveaway last week, it finally came in the mail on Monday, I love it! Thank you again, Indiana!

When I came home this afternoon, I was greeted with the coziest of sights:

Doesn't Zebediah make being a cat look like the best thing in the world?

Art Notes (or: How to Curate)...

Have you ever wanted to host a gallery show, only to be frustrated in not having a venue? Look no further than your own apartment! This past weekend, Chris and I co-curated with our friend Bea the second This Collective Pull art exhibition. On Monday I showed you the party side of the event, and today I show you all the preparation it took to pull this thing off! The three of us took about two months planning the event. We sent out a call to artists on Facebook (always handy for so many things) and set the date for August 22.

First thing's first, we clearly had to paint. Our unfortunate eggy-yellow walls just weren't gonna cut it:
We set out to Home Depot in search of the perfect "Gallery Gray". This is much better:
Next, we installed our borrowed track lighting. We quickly discovered that this project is not fun to do in 90 degree heat:
After collecting the artwork from our participating artists, we laid down some paper and started to think about what should go where:

Then it was time to install! :

Chris was able to get some die-cut stickers made at work of all the artists names. This added nicely to our desired air of professionalism:
We also had a die-cut made of the title to put in the hallway, it took some wrangling:

But we got it eventually:

After hanging all of the work, we still weren't done. We still had to vacuum, dust, and windex everything:

We were finally able to step back and admire our work:

Saturday afternoon, Bea and I headed to the grocery store to pick up wine and cheese. Then, all of a sudden it was 5pm and time for the opening! We had a fantastic showing of about 40 people:

I'm pretty confident that everyone enjoyed themselves:

Cheese, Wine, etc:

It was really great to talk with all of the artists:

In case you are wondering where all of our stuff went, everything we owned went into our bedroom while we prepared for the show. It was terrible. Chris and I camped out in our living room for two days on an air mattress because this is what our bedroom looked like:

Our house is still not back to normal!

Our statement, if you're interested:

Beverly artists and curators Bea Modisett, Julie O’Boyle and Chris Sharp are happy to announce the launch of the second “This Collective Pull,” a one night only art exhibition, opening on August 22nd at 5:00 pm. Modisett, a 2007 graduate of Montserrat College of Art, conceptualized and initiated the first “This Collective Pull” last June, in an effort to unite local area artists. This initial exhibition spurred O’Boyle and Sharp to jump on board for the second incarnation which will feature the painting, photography, drawing and sculpture of Justin Bothwell, Peter Brefini, Steven Carvalho, David McCoy, Mary Bucci McCoy, Bea Modisett, Julie O’Boyle, Shawn Salinger, Chris Sharp, Sarah Smith, and Adria Sutter. These exhibitions are hung in alternative venues throughout the area in an effort to raise awareness of, and create a stronger collaborative community within, the artists of the North Shore. The momentum of this second show has proven to be successful with the offer of two venues for the future installations of “This Collective Pull.”

I should also mention that the installation alone took about a week, the pictures make it seem faster. It wasn't.

Daily Style...

Perfect, perfect weather today...

Top: Gift from friend

Belt: Thrifted (.50)

Jeans: Gift from C

Shoes: Mia (30.00)

The weather today had a hint of Fall to it, just a slight breeze that let me know that there is in fact an end to this muggy miserableness we've been experiencing on the North Shore. Tonight, Chris and I are headed to Boston to celebrate a friend's birthday. This outfit is perfect to take me from work to party seamlessly! Can you tell I'm getting a little sick of the hot summer weather? I can't wait for the cozy layers of Fall! New England in October is beautiful!

My Art Notes post will actually be coming tomorrow as I am literally running out the door now...

XOXO