An Old Wednesday

I have so many outfit pictures stored in my picture folders just meant to be blogged about. Silly me, the only thing I remember about the day I wore this was that it was a wednesday. Haha.

 (Top-gift, belt and skirt- thrifted and altered, shoes-kohls, necklace-santa maria state fair)

 I'm pretty much a huge fan of all darks with a pop of color. It's my all time fave.

 And this necklace is really special to me because I got it the night I went to the Santa Maria State fair for the first time, which was also the night I saw Joan Jett and the Blackhearts!! Joan is one of my idols, for sure.

I love the swirly colors!

More interesting posts to come when I'm not so busy, I promise!
:)

No. 9 Hippos DO Go Outside

(Shirt and Necklace-Gifts, Flower clip-made by me, Skirt-thrifted and altered, Belt-Charlotte Russe, it came on a shirt, Shoes- Forever 21)

Look I'm outside again! My sister probably hates how much I pest her to take pictures for me, but I'm so sick of my mirror pics!

Then again you can never really predict what's gonna happen outside:

With Sephora and Hot Topic both having huge sales this week, my sister and I HAD to make a mall run, and so I decided to wear my handy dandy floral flats. I actually got a compliment from one of the Macy's perfume ladies on the outfit and then another from a sales woman at Bakers on the shoes. I really like them, they pull my toes up because they scrunch that way, and so I'm constantly pressing them forward with my toe muscles and I feel like every time I wear them it's a mini toe-workout. Haha.

Speaking of Bakers, I bought more shoes:

I just COULDN'T. HELP. MYSELF.

I had already spent too much money at Sephora but they were on sale! And the last pair in my size! And BOTH of the sales girls talked me into them! (Haha, yea like I really needed convincing... :P)

This brings me to a grand total of 56 pairs of shoes, but I really think I'm going to be getting rid of some soon, I know some of them won't make it to the end of the challenge, and I need the space.

I think I'm going to wear these to a friend's wedding in July, but they're just so pretty I don't even want to wear them, just stare at them for hours. :)

Pay No Attention to the Hippo Behind the Curtain

:D I've been awarded for my ultimate brilliance in the blogging world!
Heehee.. I'm kidding, Kerry over at My Orange Stilettos (who is a fellow journalist and AMAZING dresser) gave me the award, which entails me to reveal 7 things people may not know about me!
I've actually been wanting to do a post about my Bucketlist, so I'm going to go ahead and shake things up a bit by sharing with you seven of the about 45 things on the list I want to do before I die.

(In no particular order of course:)

* Get On Pointe *

I've been doing ballet for less than a year, so I've got QUITE a ways to go, but I've always been really good at learning things with enough practice. Starting ballet was such a wake up call to how I treat my body. I was stretching muscles I didn't know I had, eating differently because I needed the energy and lightness, and changing my attitude about how athletic I really needed to be. I'm definitely not saying I was overweight or anything like that, I just didn't have the flexibility and strength I do now. The only strength I did have was in my feet and toes, which I attribute to wearing heels all the time. I remember the first time my teacher referred to me as a dancer, and told me with enough hard work, she could see me getting on pointe, it was such a rush! There's this drive I have now that I didn't have before and I want to use that to get on pointe someday, someday soon.

*Go to Every Beach in California*

I've lived in California my whole life. In fact, the farthest I've ever been away was the Hoover Dam, and even that doesn't really count because It was after a quick trip to Las Vegas. I hear people talk about moving to other states, or even just going to other states for college and I always think to myself, I could never do that. I complain about it alot, but I really do love the weather we get! I could never ever ever live somewhere else. Other countries and states seem lovely to visit but, for me at least, that's about it. I think my greatest reason is because of how in love I am with the Pacific Ocean. I swear to goodness, whenever the random question comes up of "If you could have any super power what would it be?" I always answer, "To be able to breathe underwater, so I could be like a mermaid but keep my legs." The first time my parents ever took me to the beach my mom said I was her little fish, because even after I was pruney and my lips had turned purple from being so cold, I still didn't want to get out of the water. Someday I want to be able to say I've visited that beautiful ocean from every point on the California coast, and I really think I will.

* Meet Jimmy Fallon *

Ok so this is a random one just for giggles, but seriously, I have a HUGE crush on Jimmy Fallon. (Yes I know he's married and too old for me but.. whatever!) He's sooooo funny. Ever since I was a little kid, if I had a crush on you it was because you were funny. He's just SO lovable, his personality is so fantastic. I love that he's able to laugh at himself, and never takes his humor too far. I read an article about him when he was on the front page of Rolling Stone and I just fell even more in love with his personality. Oh, and he's Irish. Always a plus in my book. I just wanna meet him!

* Chase a Tornado *

I've never really found the right explanation for this one. Maybe it was because the first time I saw the Wizard of Oz I watched Twister the same night.... I have no idea what it is but Tornados absolutely fascinate me. California has never been known for it's tornadoes, we've got earthquakes to deal with (even though in my 19 years of life I've never felt one. Lame!) so I don't even remotely know what makes them so amazing to me. I guess it could be the fact that I am a complete adrenaline junkie, or maybe because I am fascinated with how powerful the world is, and despite all of our advances we've made as a civilization, we are always at it's mercy. This post by one of my favorite bloggers ever is exactly how I think I would feel if I ever did get the chance to experience one. I assure you the read won't disappoint.

* Stay Somewhere Haunted *

For a while I truly believed my 84 year old house was haunted. My things would move around, I'd hear noises at night, I was convinced that something other worldly was happening. No, I wasn't a kid, this was a few months ago when I was watching Ghost Hunters nonstop and Paranormal Activity scenes kept flashing in my brain. Laugh if you want, but if YOUR house was built in 1927 you'd consider it too! (There are actually some reeeally old houses in my area, just down the street there's a house that, story goes, an old Japanese woman lived there, but in the1940s she was removed from her home to an internment camp, and died before she could move back. They say she haunts her old house but idk, it's just a story) I'm really proud of my crumbling old house, even if it does need a new coat of paint and more closet space. But I know my house isn't haunted, and that's fantastic, but I do someday want to stay in one of those crazy old haunted houses that gets turned into a hotel for tourists who want to feel freaked out on Halloween. I wanna be one of those lame tourists!

* Restore a Classic Car By Myself *

The earliest memories I have of my childhood are all set in the back of a 1966 Chevrolet Impala. The big heavy metal seat buckle and black leather seats used to burn like crazy in the Bakersfield summer, so much so that my mom used to put damp towels on the seats so we wouldn't be too uncomfortable. I remember all the streets we couldn't go down because the car rode too low to go over the speed bumps, and in a car that shook whenever you went over 50mph, the freeway was out of the question. But we put up with it, because that was part of it's charm.

We could have had a minivan or some other vehicle, but that wasn't really us. We've always been a car family, always got looked at when we drove down the street. My dad was always working on something, every weekend, oily hands and a sweaty brow. My mother was no stranger to the mechanics of it all either, always aware of everything happening under the hood of the car she'd trust would keep her and her children safe. As knowledgeable as they are, I'm always really bitter they let me stay inside playing with Polly pockets when all of this was happening. I'm not totally useless, I mean, if a classic car drives by I can usually tell the year and model and all that, it's just the mechanics of it all that I want to understand. I want to be one of those girls who looks good siting on the hood but knows exactly whats going on underneath it. I adore my parents, because they're the reason I get all excited when I hear the sound of an engine purr, but someday I do want to be able to own my 1950 Ford Shoebox and never have to take it in to a mechanic.

*Run away With the Circus/ Learn to Tightrope Walk*

Ok so this is my last one, and yes, it's really random. I LOVE THE CIRCUS. Not circuses of today, but old timey, 1930's type circuses, with their air of magic and mystery. (Think, "Water for Elephants", or 1939's "Freaks") I (of course) would do a burlesque bit in the freak show, next to the bearded lady and double-headed snake. And while the chances of me joining a traveling circus in the 1930s is pretty great, if that somehow does seem to fall through, I want to at least learn how to tightrope walk. With the balance of a ballerina and super strong feet, I feel like it could totally be possible.

Thank you so much again to Kerry, this post was really fun to write and I hope you all feel like you know just a little bit more about me! (Pictures with me in them are my own, the tornado pic is from Aura Joon, and everything else was googled)

Everlasting

I'm Wearing:

Maroon top-Wet Seal

Jeans-Forever21

Jacket- PacSun

Shoes-Payless (Saved pair, but that's a different post!)

Necklace- Gift

 This isn't really an outfit post, even though, yes, I am wearing an outfit. ha.

It's really just for me to share in my excitement of one of my new fave lipstick shades!

 I was at Rite Aid last night shoppin for shampoo and paper towels when I noticed a new section in the makeup aisle! (I swear I can like, smell new lipstick shades a mile away)

 I saw the bottom and noticed the shimmer in the deepness of the red and knew I had to have it. I'm normally not a fan of reds with gold shimmer flecks but I reeeeally like this one. I already have my perfect shades of everyday red, classic pinup/cherry red, matte deep red, and now this one is my perfect shimmer deep red.
(ok so that last sentence makes me sound crazy to some people but my fellow red-lipstick girls know it's not as easy as picking up the first red you see!)

You can see the grainy texture of the little glitters in the next pic:

 I really like what deep reds do for my skin tone. Because my hair is so dark and my skin pretty fair I like how dark lips make my face just stand out. (The lighting in my room is awful, I always look yellow :P )

Someday soon I'll be getting a tripod so I can say bye bye to mirror pics and hello to natural sunlight!

Thanks again for reading!

"I Generally Avoid Temptation...

...unless I can't resist it."

-Mae West

The Weekend In Pictures

Mango smoothies for breakfast, pink roses, and Hildy under close supervision because of April Fool's pranksters...

...makin lunch and hanging with the dogs...

(Black puff is Buddy, White and black puff is Penny. She never stays still long enough to get a good picture)

...softball with my ASL class team...

(Me running to second base, me posin in the outfield, and our group pic)

...and a surprise project I hope to show you soon...

...and lastly, let me just say I TOTALLY GEEKED OUT over finally getting to 20 followers. Yes, in the grand scheme of the whole blogging world, 20 is nothin, but because I've had this blog for so long and always been really unsure about what I wanted it to be... I feel like hitting 20 is SUPER exciting. Every single time I see the "times viewed" go up on each post, I get so excited! (Im not even going to describe how much I LOVE getting comments!) I want everyone who reads this to know that I am so grateful for the time you take to read my stuff. I appreciate it so much more than you will ever know.  

She Swam in the Sunshine

Those navy shorts were jeans.

She was going to leave. But something wasn't quite right.

The room too bright.

The denim too thick.

A strange feeling was in her heart,

as if she was anticipating the end of an exciting mystery novel.

She found herself searching for peace of mind in her 2nd drawer

where the shorts had sat waiting through the cold.

She left her house in a mad rush,

15 minutes later than she should.

Green light. Green light.

Jessie's Girl came on the radio.

One of her all time faves.

She sang. She smiled.

Green light. Green light.

Green light.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed into the universe.

On the outside, Hildy was a black blur,

whizzing through the unusually light Thursday morning Bakersfield traffic.

Inside, she was a place of solitude.

A quiet place despite the loud music within.

Jessie's Girl came on the radio. Again.

She giggled out loud.

"Oh my gosh! Are you kidding me??"

She arrived at 9:25. She wouldn't be late.

The sun tanned the back of her legs as she walked.

She entered class at it's exact start time.

Halfway through class she realized her ASL partner's name is Jesse.

She smiled at the coincidence.

She craved something salty.

A bag of crunchy pretzels was the only way to satisfy her for now.

She placed a shiny, cold quarter into the machine.

"Credit: 1.25" it read.

She was saddened that the misfortune of another was her reason for smiling.

A-8. The pretzels fell, and then the M&M's.

M&M's and a bag of pretzels for 25 cents?

She wondered if anyone else was experiencing this lucky day with her.

Last class of the day.

She smiled at the boy with the straw hat,

tank top, shorts and almost-invisible long blond eyelashes.

She loved boys who put effort into their appearance.

Boys with hats. Boys in tank tops.

She giggled to herself.

There was just something so silly about

how much she loved naked boy shoulders.

She exited her last class. The warmth greeted her.

She walked through the campus, excited for the weekend.

Step-step. Step-step.

Step-step-step.

The stairs are a pain when they're uneven.

Back through the parking lot where Hildy waited patiently.

She passed another boy in a tank top.

It read "Suns out, Guns out."

She suppressed a laugh. Smiled and sighed instead.

She could feel the heat of the black concrete through her flats.

Her skin tightened in the direct sunlight.

She wanted to smell like water babies.

Hildy was an oven.

Chase Long Beach sang about being her friend.

Beads of sweet salty sweat ran down the back of her neck.

She realized the real craving she was having earlier.

She missed her soulmate, the cold, salty ocean.

Summer was making a quick appearance,

just to remind her that she was still loved,

if only, for now, by the sun.

The End.

Outfit Details:

Red Cami- Forever 21

Polka Dot Button Up-Goodwill (tag says Charlotte Russe however)

Navy Shorts- Joppa

Navy Belt- Goodwill, then altered

Black Flats- Walmart