BACK TO BASICS // denim top five

Yesterday I was chatting with a friend about how crazy it is that we've been on Facebook for almost 10 years.  September 20, 2005 is when I signed up for Facebook, back in the days when you had to have a college email address in order to get an account.  I guess it's not all that weird that my life is documented on Facebook, since I've also been documenting my life on this blog for nearly six years as well.  It's still funny to look back and see who I used to be all those years ago.  I remember thinking how grown up I felt, as a freshman in college, and looking back I feel like I was so young.  My little brother is now going into his junior year in college, I'm rapidly approaching 30, how is time going so fast?  It's honestly a little disconcerting.  
I need to stop putting things off, thinking, "Oh, I'll have time to do that later."  Next thing I know I'll probably be celebrating my 30th birthday and wondering how I've been on this planet for three decades already.  I know thirty isn't a huge deal, but it does feel like one of those birthdays where you're like, well damn.  I guess I'm like really an adult or something, right?  One year from today it'll have been ten years since I graduated high school, and I'm realizing that I have stuff I want to do that I've been putting off for years.  Goals I've been secretly holding onto, but never diving in and just going for.  And here we are, already almost halfway through another year.  I'm done with the excuses, it's time to dive in, man.  It's time to make it happen and chase dreams even if they scare me a little or if that voice in the pit of my stomach says, "I don't know if you have what it takes, I don't think you can do it."

 

top (similar)/thrifted :: skirt (similar)/courtesy of superstition vintage  petticoat/courtesy of modcloth shoes(similar)/courtesy of seychelles :: hat/courtesy of lulu's

BACK TO BASICS // denim top four

I've been on a do-it-myself kick lately, learning a bunch of new skills.  Sometimes it seems like spontaneity is the best way to learn something new.  Just jump in and you'll force yourself to learn how to swim, right?  I was cleaning the Brave the other day and as I was vacuuming I thought about how ugly the carpet was.  Brown/beige outdated carpet, not even the original green 70's carpet.  I peeled up a corner of the carpet to see what the condition was of the subfloor, and it looked alright, so I just ripped the carpet out.  Sink or swim, right?  I'd never installed any kind of flooring before, but I figured it couldn't be too hard.  Well, it wasn't, but I will say that the next time I install wood floors it's going to be in a room with all right angles and straight walls.  Of course one project always turns into, like, ten.  We turned on the water and one of the pipes has a hole, so today I'll be learning how to repair copper pipe.  My next project is replacing the old countertop, so that'll be a whole other learning curve what with having to take out and put back in both the sink and stove.  I think doing one project that felt like it was a little outside of the scope of my ability gives me the confidence to do more.  After getting a couple quotes on fencing in our yard we decided that we'd just go for it and do it ourselves.  I've never built a fence before, but hey, there's a first time for everything, right?  Building a fence turned into re-flooring the Winne, which turned into replacing the countertops (and an unplanned pipe fix).  Hopefully the Brave doesn't spring any other unplanned projects on me, though.  I mean, I like feeling empowered and capable, but I do like doing things other than fixing broken motor home parts.

 
top (similar)/thrifted :: jeans/courtesy of modcloth :: flower crown/handmade

BACK TO BASICS // denim top two

It's felt like we've been living in a dream all week with the heat and sun, and now we've woken up and are back to the same ol' cloudy, dim, rainy days again.  It was magical, though, while it lasted.  I think we've got at least another month or two until Summer is here to stay but these little pockets of summer have been keeping me going in the meantime.  On Thursday it was over 80ºF and we took full advantage of it.  Masa's sundeck opened and we cycled down during the evening to grab some Coronas with chips and salsa and enjoy the last bit of sun.  We weren't ready for the day to end yet and it was still warm after the sun went down (warm nights might be one of my top 5 favorite things in the world), so we rode to Red Hot for another beer before calling it a night.  It was much too hot during the day for this denim top, but I brought it with me when we rode to Masa because I knew it'd cool down after the sun set.  It was the perfect layer to throw on as we biked home.  
The hot weather has ignited a love of iced tea in me that never really existed before.  Last summer I'd bought some raspberry iced tea bags with the plan of making it and never did.  After organizing my tea stash a couple weeks ago I found it again and vowed to actually use it.  I'm not a big water drinker, which is a problem because I'm probably perpetually dehydrated.  Anything with flavor, though, and I'm all over it.  I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of drinking juice at a normal pace.  It's chugging or nothing with juice.  When I'm dehydrated while sleeping I have dreams about juice.  Seriously.  I've been loving this iced tea business though.  Still tasty and flavorful, and it's damn refreshing on an 80º day.  I think 2014 will be the summer of iced teas.  Do you guys have any favorite iced teas? 

 

red top/courtesy of lulu's :: shorts/courtesy of modcloth :: denim top(similar)/thrifted shoes/minnetonka :: shades/courtesy of bonlook :: photos by Dan

BACK TO BASICS // denim top one

On Saturday I finally got down to Wayzgoose at King's Books!  The last few years I've missed it, which is pretty embarrassing as someone who graduated from college with a degree in printmaking.  Wayzgoose is an annual event celebrating printmaking and book arts with tons of fun interactive events like getting to print pull your own little prints with local printmaking studios, paper-making, and watching the steamroller printing huge 3x3 linoleum block prints!  It's been so long since I was around printmaking in such a hands-on and visceral way and man do I miss it.  I always told myself I'd have a printmaking studio in my garage, so maybe I'll make it a goal this summer to make a little printmaking studio.  Anybody looking to offload a cheap printing press?

 


We've been working on getting the Winne "freshened up" because we're going to have my best friend live in it for a while!  I think eventually we might have it be an Airbnb rental, but it needs some fixing up before I'd feel okay having strangers stay in it (it has some... quirks).  Anyway, I was over at her apartment the other day and we were talking about downsizing stuff to fit in the Winne and it took me back to when I lived in it and had that tiny closet.  She was saying how she really wants to pare down her closet (and she'll probably need to at least a little bit to fit into the Brave), and I've been wanting to simplify my closet a bit as well.  I always have the problem of thinking that, hey, maybe someday I'll want to wear that again.  I know the general rule is to give away anything you haven't worn in a year, but I'm pretty sure I had these shorts in my closet for about a year before I wore them.  I bought them on a whim, then didn't wear them for about a year.  But I know that I like them and even if I don't wear them very often, they're still cute and feel like my style.  They are probably way too many items I haven't worn in a year sitting in my closet but I just get so nostalgic about them when I go to throw them in the donate pile.  And I also have the problem of looking back at old photos of my mom when she was younger, wishing she'd saved some of her cute clothes.  So of course I feel like I have to save cute or significant pieces for my future hypothetical daughter.  You guys can't tell I'm a pack rat at all, can you?  Don't worry, I absolutely didn't save every single geometry assignment and test from 9th grade.  Nope.  Not me.  That would be ridiculous.  
 


top(similar)/thrifted :: shorts(similar)/forever 21 :: tights(similar)/target scarf(similar)/modcloth :: boots(similar)/courtesy of blowfish shoes

BACK TO BASICS // jeans five

Straight hair, whuuuuut?  It only happens two to three times a year, mostly because it's a huge pain in the ass, but it's always fun to look different and see how long my hair "really" is.  I've been growing my bangs out for what feels like forever and I can't believe they're below my chin now!  They still haven't gotten quite past that stage where they keep falling in my face, but I'm almost there!  Someday I'll go back to the fringe, but for now I'm enjoying being able to throw my hair in a bun and have all my hair out of my face, which is nice for summer. I straightened my hair while Dan was at work and when he came home he was surprised to see me sans my usual mane.  For some reason he said it made me look like I did back in college, which is odd because I didn't straighten my hair any more frequently back then.  I do remember one day when I straightened my hair, though, freshman year.  I remember because he told me he liked my hair and I had all those feels because I liked him.  It is pretty odd to see me with straight hair, so I'm sure he just noted it because it was rather different from my typical 'do.  It's almost not even worth the time and effort to straighten my hair this time of year, though, because I can't go outside when it's raining unless I want it to turn curly again, and the weather goes from blazing sun to dreary downpour at the drop of a hat these days.  Curly girls, I know you feel me.  It's obnoxious, right?
Luckily it was super sunny yesterday and we got so much done outside.  We cut down the tree in our backyard in order to give the Winne her very own special spot with full hook ups and all!  It feels pretty spacious back there at the moment, but soon it will be full of Winne.  I can't believe how productive and refreshed I feel when it's sunny and warm outside.  I feel like the sun just infuses me with a shot of pure life.  I haven't felt that productive in weeks.

 
top/forever 21 :: cardigan/gap :: jeans/courtesy of modcloth :: scarf/rungolee glasses/courtesy of bonlook :: shoes/courtesy of baliELF This is the last of the Back to Basics jeans outfits!  I have one more set left and I'll be styling a denim/chambray button down top five ways next week.  I used to have one but I think it made it's way to goodwill, so I went thrifting this week to find a suitable top to remix and found the perfect one.  It's been a long time since I had a top like that, so I'm excited to style it up a few ways!