Vintage goodies!

I finally got my package from scrapecochic and have spent my whole day making Valentine's day cards and other fun things. The presentation was really darling and it was so much fun poking through all the little vintage treasures. I'm excited to start making some more fun things. I decorated my room a little more and Orsi was happy not to have blank walls anymore!

 

(I'm sorry my carpet is so gross...oh dorm rooms!)

 I attached these flowers to chopsticks and put them all around my room in these little potted plants I'm trying to grow flowers in. I'll post more pictures of those later.
 

I wish I could post more of the Valentine's Day things/the cards I made, but I don't want to spoil the surprises yet!

Oh Vitesse

These photos are all from a photo project a girl on my floor did first semester. She called it "Oh Vitesse" because my boyfriend and I'd recently broke up and I was looking out the window, through the rain, to the bike shop he lives above-called Vitesse.

These pictures make me sad because I was not the happiest gal that day, but now since were back together, it's okay to post them! Her camera is awfully nice too, I hope to own one like that one day. I believe it was a Nikon 5000... I could be way off though. One of those fancy shmancy ones.

Also, interesting little fact: we lived in the tallest dorm in America (Watterson Towers-Illinois State University), somewhere around the middle floor. So if you can see the view out the window, the height is pretty spectacular. Sometimes it was scary to get up on the air conditioning unit and stare down hundreds of feet, but it was a thrill in itself. It made for some amazing people watching (I would pretend I was a hawk!) and overall Bloomington-Normal gazing. I do miss that. But just that. The view from up top.

Dress: Thrifted from Plato's Closet
Cardigan: Aerie
Locket: Vintage (from Ryan's grandmother!)

Photo credit: Miss Mamroth

“Maybe that’s what life is . . . a wink of the eye and winking stars”

 

Lovely photos from here! 

 

Yellow Umbrella

These pictures are also from the early fall and are from Normal, IL. This location was my secret hiding spot until I showed some people and it was exploited. However, it's still a really magical place. There's this steep trail down to a meadow with a tiny creek running through it.
But the day that we took these pictures (photo credit to Miss Mamroth), there were millions of tiny flies all around Normal. I can't remember exactly what they were called, but you couldn't take a breath without at least 10 flying right into your mouth! If you look really close you can see them. So that made for an interesting photo shoot...

Dress: Vintage
Bag: Kimchi Blue
Umbrella: Aerie
Tights: Target
Jean Jacket: American Eagle

Earrings: Thrifted/Vintage
Flats: U.O.

 

And Ryan built me that bicycle! The basket recently broke which takes away from it's charm, but I'm in the works of finding a new one.

title-less

Sometimes I wonder if anything is certain, concrete anymore.
Maybe we’re not supposed to be happy. Maybe being grateful has nothing to do with satisfaction. Maybe being truly thankful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories of you’re everyday, simple existence. Maybe what it’s all about is admiring the struggle it takes simply to be human.
It’s hard because you’re always on the brink of knowing everything, but brink isn’t good enough and the world is still up for grabs.

Lake Evergreen, Bloomington-Normal, IL

My previous pictures were not so accurate depictions of the midwest currently, so I'd like to take the time to correct that mistake. My previous post's photos were taken in November. These were taken a couple weeks ago, not too far from that location, in January.
Lake Evergreen in Bloomington-Normal is by far my favorite place. It's an absolutely lovely drive from the campus through cornfields and winding dirt roads. The lake itself is also quite spectacular. No matter what season, the beauty it possess just shines through. One time, Ryan and I drove out here to see a meteor shower really late at night, at the stars reflected on the blackness of the lake. It was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen.

Jacket: Anthropolgie
Gloves: The Mexican Shop- Evanston, IL
Jeans: American Eagle
Scarf and Boots: Target
Hat: H&M
Sunnies: Ray-Ban

I wish I could have taken nicer pictures, but I'm terrified of this dock and couldn't get out further (or even move around for that matter) to do some pan shots. I apologize for being such a wimp. :(

middle of the midwest

Ryan and I, on a trip back to Normal, IL, stopped at a gas station because the corn field next to it was just all too inviting. For all my time living in Illinois, I have actually never seen corn on a stalk up close before. So that was pretty exciting. We tromped around in the fields and tried to see how lost into the corn we could get, but it's actually a lot more dense than one would think! And I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea to go running through a freshly plowed field with 3 inch heels on. I guess I'm still a child at heart, no matter what's on my feet.

Dress: Forever 21

Tights: Target

Oxford Heels: Target

Watch: Vintage/thrifted

As much as I enjoy living near the city, there is something so romantic about living near fields and crops. I just imagine the sun rising waking me up in the morning, pouring over the land like something out of "The Little House on the Prairie." I'd probably go stir crazy after a couple of days in the middle of nowhere, but it'll always be a fantasy of mine.