hurricane

nope, that is not a stock image. it is one of the many candles keeping my room properly lit after sunset.

as you may or may not know, there was a bit of a hurricane ravaging the east coast on saturday. as fairly inland as i am, richmond was hit with an abundance of power outages and trees crashed into houses. luckily, my house is intact, although every house around it is damaged in someway. we're lucky.

i had been neglectful (read: lazy) in the last week or so over here, but now, without wi-fi or power, i have taken up temporary residence at the local barnes and noble for a few hours. i can't do very much without power, just finish my assignments. sooo if you were wondering where the hell i am, i'm in the dark.

i hope everyone else here is safe, and international readers, feel no pity. it wasn't very much more than a bad storm, but because of the drought this summer there were many a tree easily uprooted. hopefully tomorrow i'll have power and warm showers.

ta-ta until then.

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photoshoot

well my day(s) in town were really fun! i love being in the city, no matter how hot it is (and it is very, very hot), and seeing weston - and his new 'boy toy' as he put it - is always fun.

there's this great railroad bridge over Richmond's James River. we got bored, and it's such a beautiful location, and weston had a new Pentax DSLR. so naturally, we held an impromptu photo shoot! all of these are straight out of the camera, too.

the man himself

3 separate trains came while we were on the bridge. it's so very exciting, you have to run to the nearest concrete alcove and hide. the trains always see you and then they blow the whistles. i love it; it's become one of our favorite hangout spots. whenever trains pass it makes it even better. they're so loud and it's so nice.

it was a horse, therefore i had to ride it.  each of the alcoves (out of maybe eight?) have amazing grafitti. another thing i love about richmond - we have the most amazing street art.

first ensemble: both american apparel, target shades, misc. jewelry

second ensemble: calvin klein dress, same shades, misc. jewelry

both pairs of shoes: dollhouse

i'm not the best model, but it's for fun anyways, right?

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god bless america/n apparel

blouse - american apparel; trousers - american apparel; shoes - dollhouse; bag - neiman marcus (gift)

sorry for the miserable expression. i was in a bad mood.  but you can see my new black hair real good. anyways.

a rarity: i'm wearing this today! because i took the photos yesterday, and this is a scheduled post. take that, time space continuum. 

this is also probably my most expensive outfit. i convinced my mother into shopping at american apparel and made it out with a blouse, two pairs of trousers (they're too lovely and tapered to be 'pants'), and a knit skirt. american apparel, no doubt, has the best trousers, as the pleats and tapering are beautiful, and they all fit so well. but at $75 a pop there is no way i could buy them for myself.

today i'm taking a trip into town to spend some time with lovely people get my learner's permit, get into shenanigans, and eat cuban food. not in that order.

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100th post. wooh! 

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where am i going

richmond at night, as photographed by me

accoudrements turns one today. i was going to take some silly pictures with candy and candles but then i got an unsightly pimple. blech.

anyway, i couldn't really be happier. i know a lot of people could say i don't have much to show for it, but others would say i do. i think i do. at about 150 followers (counting bloglovin') strong, i think my little piece of the internet has made a tiny name for itself. granted, i would love to have better photo quality and better shoots (which are both impossible to achieve with a 10 second self timer and a point and shoot), but i'm really very happy with how far i think i've come. 

 i like to think about where i'm going, too. i certainly don't want to become stationary and sedentary, and i want to get out. don't get me wrong, i love my city, i do. but if i stay here i'll certainly suffocate.

 i do struggle with some things when looking at my life, but when i put things into perspective i find that i can't be upset about my life right now - it really isn't life. from when you are born until the day you turn eighteen, this isn't life. it's just not. there are so many restrictions and rules and having to follow them all is just shit. you really cannot be your own person while submitting to them. i guess for the longest time i've just wanted to surpass them all and not be what age i am but i can't do much of that without a fake id, now can i? but this isn't life. nobody in this stage has really experienced life yet, save for a lucky few.  but for now we have to wait - i have to wait, which took me a very long time to realize. i can pitch fits and struggle and make waves all i want but in the end it doesn't matter.

all i can do is wait. i only have a few years left. if i've waited this long i can do it. and i have things to look forward to - both in the long term and the short term. in the short term for now i have lovely things set up: i'm spending time with some of my favorite people all through this week, and then school will start and i'm taking art classes again as well as japanese, and ballet will start soon after school, and i've wanted to take ballet ever since i was forced to quit by my father as a little girl. and then in october i'm off to see wicked showing at richmond's most beautiful theater, then panic! at the disco is coming and i already have tickets to that, and in february i am going to go see coppelia, my favorite ballet, at the richmond ballet, and in may, since i receive 5000+ pageviews a month i can qualify as a fashion blogger and get a press pass for richmond fashion week.

in the long term? i have so many plans. i can hardly wait for next year to begin applying for colleges.. i have made lists already - fashion institute for design and merchandising, san francisco division: my perfect line of study in my favorite city? hell i even already looked at studio apartments there.  and if fidm doesn't work out, there's always the art institute of california san francisco for fashion merchandising, nyu for the same thing or visual communications or entertainment set design or the san francisco school of digital film making, and there's just so many good options at  the moment. i don't know. i just honestly look at myself in five years, and i can see myself pretty broke in a small apartment with my cat. and i can't wait. 

i'm done gushing for today, i just really want to thank everyone who reads what i write here, and for everyone's wonderful support. as cliche as it is and as cliche as it is for me to say it's cliche, i couldn't do it without you all and i have a little something in store for you all soon.

things are just kind of good right now.

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fasola potrafi

fasola potrafi, the brainchild of polish photographer extraordinaire ola golczynska. this is what editorial dreams are made of.

 

the pictures speak for themselves.

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scarf vest

What do you get with a $1 thrifted scarf and a great, easy tutorial from Kristen at Studs and Pearls? A new beautiful silk vest. I loved the flowers on this scarf and actually bought it for the purpose of making this vest. I saw the tutorial a while ago and it just was so simple! It's the kind of thing you kick yourself for not figuring out. 

All you do is get a large square scarf and cut two slits in it. With the diagram she provided, the two slits are the perfect length and give a great look from the front and the back. The scarf creates an automatic collar... it's pretty interesting. You can style it however you want, i just wore it with a black velvet dress and my trusty old belt.

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My hair is black.

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pvdh journal, rar traum store

1) PvdH of The PvdH Journal

A great designer with brilliant fashion sketches and style.

2) RAR of rar traum store

this girl has this crazy grunge chic style.. she creates the most innovative pieces.. not to mention she travels a lot. Japan, Russia, etc.

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I find that the pages on the right side of my toolbar aren't working -- specifically my blogshelf, shop list, and contact me pages. I'm trying to fix it but for now... nothing can be done. Sorry!

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what's in my bag

this is a blogger cliche, yet it's one i hadn't gotten around to yet.. it's too damn hot to take outfit photos.

what's in my bag?

survey says:

my lovely thrifted leather.. satchel? i guess.

my small button collection - RUN RVA (richmond, va, sorry for the glare) , neon nylon covered button, and the infamous jack nicholson still from the shining. i adore him, and the shining. had to show my pride.

1; Fifty Bags That Changed The World (good style read, this isn't always in my purse - whatever book i'm reading at the moment is)

2; My little otsu annual weekly planner

3; My moleskine 

4; My favorite lipstick - Estee Lauder in Rose Tea

5; Burt's Bees pomegranate chapstick

6; Bath & Body Works 'Midnight Pomegranate' hand sanitizer 

7; Neutrogena oil-free moisturizer 

8; Neutrogena healthy skin in classic ivory 10

9; Maybelline concealer in sand sable 20

10; Sephora complexion brush 53

11; L'oreal true match powder in porcelain W1

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