lovable & sweet

about a week ago I was involved in the 48 Hour Film Project. it's an international festival where film-making groups get together and write, shoot, and produce a short film in under 48 hours. you are assigned a genre, and all groups have to work the same character, line, and prop into their films. our character was Adam Nicholson, door-to-door salesman, our  prop was a flashlight, and our line was "Why am I always first?".
a friend asked me to join her group as the artistic director. I did the hair, makeup, and costume design for the film, as well as some of the cinematography! it was actually more fun than I had expected.

we were given the silent film genre, and naturally I was very excited. I got to transform our lead, a fantastic actress named Helena, into a flapper, all set to the music of one of my favorite singers, 1920s darling Annette Hanshaw. I went all out, giving her the full twenties makeover, complete with faux finger waves.

the films all screened this weekend at the Byrd, a favorite Richmond hangout. the Byrd is this giant antique theater from 1928, and is almost unchanged in appearance. it's really beautiful inside, chandeliers and red-velvet curtains and all. it was an honor enough to have our little homemade film be shown there.

this short was in no way a real serious competitor for the $5000 prize and film deal, but we had a lot of fun and I loved getting to show what I think I do best. and for that, here's our little film! I hope you all like it. if anything, I think it's really cute. enjoy!

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local love

it's time for another installment of follow friday! the most recent follow friday before this was last august... so, I decided to have another one! I'm never shy about declaring my love for this city and it's oh-so-chic people, so this installment is focused on some local blogging talent from right here in Richmond. so, today, here are three lovely local bloggers:

Brian McDaniel of Dirty Richmond

Brian is like Richmond fashion royalty. Dirty Richmond ("where the city is dirty but the people are not") is Richmond's own resident street style blog. it is the dream of all fashionistas and trendy peoples alike in Richmond to get on Dirty Richmond, and it is really a great street style blog. he photographs people of all ages for Dirty Richmond, too!  Brian also promotes a lot of local artists and designers as well as covering events. 

Larissa Wisniewski of RVA Fashion Girl

Larissa's blog is a newer one, only started very recently, but Larissa has been behind-the-scenes in all things pertaining to Richmond fashion. she is the creator of From the Runway to RVA (currently under construction), co-created the RVA Fashion Bloggers group, and works at one of Richmond's favorite fashion boutiques, Phoenix. she's really done a lot of work, but it shows, as she has headed a part of the Richmond fashion movement, and that within itself is quite an accomplishment. and if that weren't enough, she's also pretty stylish to boot. not to mention she has these sunglasses I'm mad for. 

you can also follow Larissa on her tumblr as well as blogger, and check up on From the Runway to RVA soon!

Leney Breeden of A Girl Named Leney

Leney is, in short, a doll. she is a real sweetheart. on top of that, she makes and sells jewelry. her blog is less devoted to fashion than the other two and more devoted to life in general, but even in her non-fashion posts you can see her style seep through - and what a lovely bohemian style it is. her blog is a very happy one, and can instantly cheer you up. besides blogging, Leney runs an etsy, writes and photographs for From the Runway to RVA, and works for herself at Leney Breeden Photography. 

*** ALL images belong to their respective bloggers. I am no thief.***

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some like it hot

bandeau - american apparel; blouse - thrifted; shorts - thrifted; bag - thrifted; shoes - jeffrey campbell; necklace - thrifted

i was getting awfully tired of that old brick wall, weren't you? so whilst out and about, we went to hunt for a new, interesting background. ...and that failed, so we walked over to the church of science and climbed up their stairs to reach these lovely red doors. pretty riveting, huh? 

anywho, it's pretty damn hot in richmond. i love it here so much i do but it is too hot and humid! the things i do for this city.. besides that, i'm not doing very much. although, i do have some posts and other fun things in store. i've been slacking off on the blogging, and while i was flipping through old posts a while back i realized how little was actually on here! i imagine that i document a lot more than i do. with that said, i'm going to start doing it more, especially since i have the time. not like i have a job or anything - although you can't say i haven't tried! no one wants to hire a kid. 

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thank gwyneth for today's shots! isn't she a doll? she dislikes having her picture taken just as much as i do though, so pictures of her are hard to take. which is stupid, considering the sheer beauty of her face.

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there'll be much more around here soon, i promise!

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fat bottomed girls

top - anthropologie; belt - wholesale-dress.net; pants - american apparel; shoes - jeffrey campbell

my poor litas. they've been worn to death. it's been almost a year since I bought them, I'm afraid every day the heel on the right one will break off and I'll fall to my fashionable death. and my mother will say I told you so. actually not really, I'd just be sad because I'd be out of a pair of shoes. any who, not much else has changed in the past month or so since I've posted. I'm a horrible blogger, I know. but I am on the infamous job hunt. I've applied everywhere - diners, starbucks, the works. now all that's left is to wait! I need a job to keep up my shopping addiction really. that, and college. and food. and other things.

 I've been spending my time by having a lovely time with friends. so here are some pictures of that! I love how the rain on the car window looks like bokeh. and today's post will be featuring my lovely ladies Maria and Gwyneth:

aren't they beauties? and i love gwyneth's fortune.  some local baker makes these fantastic "black" fortune cookies with snappy or swearing messages. they're hilarious. first fridays is always fun (although if you're not from rva i guess you all don't really know what they are, maybe i'll do a post sometime later about them), but this time, due to listening to queen obnoxiously loud, eating chinese, and chatting in coffee shops, we didn't really get to first fridays! we were there, but we didn't really... attend? 

UPDATE: Maria has just released her first single. so here it is. I know. my friends are awesome.

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with is extra

Life is weird. That's about it.

disclaimer: the blood is fake. 

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a week in photos

it's really more like a few weeks in photos but details, details.

1 - marilyn monroe's autobiography that i just ordered (it's wonderful!); 2 - enjoying my record-playing apparatus (it's a record player hooked up to a portable amp); 3 - a cozy night in and tea with friends; 4 - the addition of a purple chanel mascara to my beauty product hoard; 5 - watching candide on broadway on youtube - patti lupone is my hero; 6 - spending some quality time in the VCU art rooms - they're beautiful. the floors are covered in paint; 7 - a cute little red velvet cupcake i picked up yesterday. can you believe you can buy them in these little plastic bubbles at the drugstore now?

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this week has kind of sucked. my show is next week, and i'm not a big role or anything, but i've lost my voice. this past week i've had a little cold, but i currently have lost my voice. which, considering the show is in a few mere days, is bad. it's causing me to be pretty anxious but c'est la vie, right? we'll see how everything plays out. for now, it's chamomile tea and salt water gargles.
hopefully after the show i can show you all some photos and maybe a few pictures of our incredible set!

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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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i'm obsessed with the mess that's america

 almost three weeks ago now, i had one of the best days of my life. only exactly one week after the worst (hobos, chili, breakdown) there was a beautiful day. a beautiful day in d.c. complete with one of my best friends and the most amazing concert i've ever been to.

be warned, picture heavy.

we took the subway, wandered through d.c.'s (very very tiny - about one square block) chinatown, meandered the art gardens..

 (i am wearing a thrifted denim dress i dip-dyed (with bleach?) the sleeves, a belt, and payless wedges. Kate is wearing one of my favorite dresses, a pastel chiffon beauty from kimchi blue and her own shoes from ???)

we explored and explored and then found a carousel.

then headed to the 9:30 club for Marina & the Diamonds/Ra Ra Rasputin (but mostly Marina; they just opened for her with a short set of about 7 songs). all of the following pictures are unedited in any way.

if you've never been to the 9:30 club i really recommend it: they have great drinks, sell merch, and have this room of benches and chairs with soft blue lights under the benches that look so cool.

her awesome keyboard with a beaded american flag. she's welsh, and the tour is called the burger queen tour. she has a few songs just about america and stuff.

she is a polish girl in ameri-ca, tall, tan, hot, blonde called anya. i asked why would you wanna be a hollywood wife, 'because i don't wanna end up living on a dive on Vine... do anything for a dime.. looking for the golden lie. hollywood infected your brain - you wanted kissing in the rain... i'm obsessed with the mess that's america.

later, she quips:

i fight security makin' plays for me as soon as i touch down in old LA he says, 'Oh. My. God. You look just like Shakira, no no, you're Catherine Zeta -- actually, my name's Marina!

she pops out in a neon yellow high-waisted trouser, huge pom pom earrings, and a floral sportsbra with holes cut out on the boobs. i forget what kind of pattern was under the first bra. i don't recognize her at first -- her hair is chopped short, textured, and a light brown? she says that her drummer cut it the night before; he cuts his girlfriend's too. then she changes, and we get a pretty light blue and white SEQUINED striped pajama set, complete with clear plastic heels trimmed with fluff.

the lighting of the show  was consistently amazing, and you can just tell even from the bad picture that she's just a natural performer. i hope you can tell how close i was -- pretty much in the front row, but there were these two dads with their 7 year old daughters and they WOULD NOT MOVE.  everyone around them politely politely asked. we were all annoyed that they were taking up spaces from the real fans.

but then he lip synced the lyrics to her last song.

...ahem. anyways, last number is hollywood. she glides onto the stage in a sequined american flag jumpsuit with her felt burger in hand.

amazing. not to mention she had these great red and white striped heels. i want them.

then me and kate went outside the club after buying a tee and ra ra rasputin's CD to find a mob. we wait. we get yelled at by bouncers. we wait. MARINA COMES OUT.

she's a sweetheart. not to mention beautiful. she got to me and Kate, signed both of our shirts, I HUGGED HER and touched her stomach (...i'm a creeper what can i say), and chatted with her for about thirty seconds about how amazing she is and we drove 3 hours to see her (1 1/2, i doubled it for dramatic effect), etc. She is stunning, not to mention her voice is amazing. She is just as good in concert, if not better than the CD.

i fucking love Marina & the Diamonds.

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