Fall Transitions

My basic necessities for this season:

What's yours?
xoxox

Folklore and Shadow Puppets

Last Thursday The Brothers Harrell Rural Academy Theatre concluded their eight-week horse and buggy tour of North Carolina in Downtown Burgaw. That's right. Horse and buggy. Relying almost completely on candle light and low-tech theatre appliances, the group of students perform shadow puppet shows, theatre acts, and even play their own compositions of music to go along with silent films from the early 20th century- which I must mention the film projector is bicycle powered. How cool is that? Their show was fast paced, witty, and nonsensical while at the same time logically challenging the politics and cultures of our modern world. It was such a good time and I hope to see them again. I was able to snap a few shots but unfortunately I had the wrong lens with me for how darkly lit it was, so I apologize if they seem a little grainy! I would highly reccomend looking into their show and watching their production when given the opportunity to!
xoxox

Some of The Rural Academy's artwork for sale.

The view of the 'stage' before the show and a close up of some more artwork.

Part of the puppet show portion and a shot of the members singing their
 'What If' song in front of the court house.

Hurricanes and Crafting

There's something so exciting about shacking up, lighting candles and bracing yourself for the long day of rain and wind from a hurricane. Having candles on hand and figuring out ways to entertain yourself within the four walls of your home. I spent yesterday in Burgaw with Dylan's family and we played music, made yummy food, crafted, and got into the spirit of fall; it was so fun! You couldn't even see the kitchen table because it was covered with layers of fabrics, buttons, studs, beads, and more. Dylan's mom, Juliet, his sister, Maddie, and I made reusable coffee koozies while Dylan made us and his little brother, Ramone, and baby Penny a yummy cake. We made magical pumpkins and and Juliet made a cat tail for Maddie's Cat Woman costume. It was such a good day. Hurricane Sandy has been a success.
xoxox

Juliet made me a cup of Yogi Chilli Tea and toasted pumpkin seeds for
everyone to snack on.

Our magic pumkins and Dylan's Everything Cake.

My completed coffee koozie complete with felt button and studded accents.

Wildflowers

Is it possible to not fall deeply in love with the gorgeous strawberry blonde that is Victoria Jarman? Probably not. She's like the cherry on top of a sundae. What's mind blowing is not only is she incredibly beautiful on the exterior, she's got the personality to match. Such a sweetheart! I had so much fun running around barefoot with her during our shoot last weekend. Go ahead, fall head over heels for her.
xoxox

Faint Summer Sun

Today I played with the wind and sunlight. It was so beautiful! Warm enough to even enjoy a day at the beach. I had class, but I was sure to park on the top level of the deck so I could marvel at the clouds in the sky above the city. Good, good afternoon.

P.S. My shoot with Victoria will be posted soon, soon, soon so be 'spectin that shortly!
xoxox

Weekend Recap

Oh boy, this weekend was so great. If I had all day, I'd share all of the great things I got to do and experience. In short, it was one of those weekends where you really feel alive and able to do anything. You realize that time is of the essence and the little things are what makes up a big adventure. Yeah, I haven't slept in my bed in three days, but who's really counting? Sure, my gas tank is empty, but what's it really matter? My heart is beating, my legs are working, and my world is defined only by spirit.
xoxox

Sneak Peek!

Here's a little sneak peek at my photo shoot yesterday with the beautiful Victoria Jarman. I can't wait to share the rest!
xoxox

Good Friends, Hot Nails

I am obsessed with my nails right now! One of my best friends, Katherine, painted them for me a few nights ago. See, I am absolutely terrible at painting my nails. It takes too long to paint them; it takes too long for them to dry, and I hate how those stupid little brushes always smear the polish I've already painted. But see Katherine, she loves doing nails. And thank God she loves doing mine! Before I went to her house to celebrate her and her twin sister Sara's (who's also one of my best friends, and talented at everything as well. LOVE YOU GURL.) birthday I already had hopes that she'd bust out the shellac and get to it. Then I remembered it was their birthday and not mine, and I was too poor to buy them presents... Anyway, it all worked out in the end. Katherine painted my nails so sick with matte black and shiny black tips which is my favorite. She even dolled it up by adding single gold glitter(s?) to the bases of each nail. So what I'm saying is it was basically my birthday! Katherine is also an artist and she's so so talented. I don't think she's has a site for her work, but I'll be including a link to her sister Sara's YouTube page. Sara is a musician and has such a pretty voice. You should definitely check her out and Subscribe to her channel! If I'm not mistaken there's also a few videos of both Sara and Katherine singing together. Literally there's nothing these girls aren't good at. Go love them!
http://www.youtube.com/user/Sarafeena123
xoxox

67 Degrees of Sunshine

I cannot get over how beautiful it is here in Wilmington today! Naturally I forgot to study for my Critical Thinking Test and naturally I wanted to cry about it. So after muscling my way through class I decided I needed some extra Vitamin D and Exploration in my diet. I bypassed the "studying" with friends, pumpkin spice aromas, and noisy coffee grinders that make up my favorite coffee shop in town, Java Dog, and went to check out the old train station (Atlantic Coastline) which is now a historic site, convention center, and museum+gift shop down on the Cape Fear River. It was so nice! Peaceful and quiet, but there was still the opportunity to people watch as old folks moseyed in and out of the old train carts, businessmen in suits rushed by on their lunch breaks, and little kids begged their mothers for the bigger train stuffed animals and butterscotch candies. I loved it. Definitely my new place to escape and be while I'm at school. There was even a cute little wooden bench beckoning me to sit on it and enjoy the view. I guess it was just meant to be.
xoxox

The back side of the station.

Indeed, this is the sacred bench of solitude.

My favorite boots of all time. Ordered them from Nasty Gal a few months ago. SO obsessed!

I am Happy. My favorite button, ever ever ever. Dylan made it for me when we first started dating.

The icing on the cake!

Mermaid Tea and Leather Journals

This morning when I was getting dressed I decided to wear no other shoes besides my slippers. Kind of a weird decision to make, but I told myself that I would refuse to do anything else until I spent some time relaxing and taking a break. It's so easy for me to get caught up in the madness and juggle around school, work, family, and friends without pausing to give my body and mind some peace and rest. So this morning, I had had enough, and the slippers were staying! I brewed some green tea, grabbed my journal and favorite blanket, and cozied on up in the backyard sun. It was so nice to be able to pause and get all of my stress and frustrations out on paper. It allowed me to look at my problems objectively and logically come to a sound solution to them. Just like that! The problems were instantly replaced with solutions! And I hadn't even finished my tea yet. Granted, it did take me a while because I was so easily distracted by my adorable little nugget of a lap dog, Matty, and how gorgeous the weather is right now, but the job got done eventually. I think today's exercise will be becoming an every-Saturday-morning ritual for me.

xoxox

Pink Flamingos

I kicked off my October with my new favorite photoshoot! Janna (my model) and I shot at the cutest little motel I have ever seen in Wilmington. It was super Cali- neon signs, pink flamingos, you get it- and I had been dying to shoot there ever since I found it last spring. Everything was bubblegum pink, teal, and white so we decided to edge it up with head-to-toe black dresses from Nasty Gal and MINKPINK, two of my top choices for online shopping. When I first met Janna, I instantly fell in love with her sense of style. She is Alexa Chung meets Elizabeth Olsen and was so natural in front of the camera. And she's only 13. Hold. up. Whaaat?? Yep, she's officially the coolest young person I have ever met. This girl is going to go far, and lucky little me got to shoot her! I'll definitely be looking forward to working with her again soon. In the meantime, swoon over these shots I snagged of Janna last weekend.
xoxox