Inspired by: Kirsten Dunst in Elizabethtown

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So I recently watched Elizabethtown for oh, I don't know, the zillionth time, and I'm still taken with Kirsten Dunst's character, Claire, and her style.  There's just something about her quirky personality, the way she sees other people, and her apparent zest for life that seems to rub off on me after watching the movie.  Also, I just love her style! Throughout the film, she's seen in an array of adorable vintage clothing, from t-shirts to skirts! These are some of my favorite outfits.

Also, I hate to disappoint, but I have no photos from last week.  As you know, my mother and I packed up our suitcases for a shopping trip to Pittsburgh, but we only made it as far as Grove City, Pa where there is a fabulous outlet mall.  We shopped all day in the dreary cold weather, and then we decided we simply didn't feel like driving all the way to Pittsburgh, so we turned around and went home.  That night, we stayed in and watched Tangled in our PJ's.  That's the beauty of setting off on a little trip without an agenda; we were able to make plans as we went, and it ended up being totally different from what we set out to do! 

All in all, I had a wonderful spring break, but the weather was simply not cooperating for pretty spring outfits.  The good news is that Dan is home for summer vacation from school for the next four months (I know, right?! Four months?!), and that means that I will have my photographer handy at all times! Hopefully that means more outfit shots...we'll see!

For when spring decides to arrive...

Spring Fever by Vintage Aplomb featuring coral jewelry

Spring Afternoon by Vintage Aplomb featuring lace cocktail dresses

Play Date by Vintage Aplomb featuring flat shoes

To Pittsburgh!

Today my mother and I are going to enjoy our day off by heading down to Pittsburgh for shopping and an overnight in a hotel! I can hardly contain my excitement! Before we head out, I thought I'd give you a glimpse into the overnight packing process.  Before you judge my choice of literature, please remember that my job requires that I read young adult books...although, to be honest, I would be reading them anyway!

I'm usually not a Vera Bradley fan, but I just love the owls on the bag pictured above, and I fell in love.  It is my "teacher bag" that I take with me to and from school everyday, but it comes in hand to tote around my laptop and books on the weekends.  The compact with the two birds was a gift from my father that he brought back with him on a trip to South Korea, and the small change purse belonged to my Great Aunt and is from Neiman-Marcus.

I'm taking my camera on the trip, so hopefully I'll be able to get some good photos, although without Dan manning the camera we shall see...

Inspired by: Anne of Green Gables

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This weekend Dan & I went shopping in Buffalo, and we were very good about not spending money.  A little too good.  In fact, the only thing I got was a  boater hat on clearance from Urban Outfitters for $10, which is pictured in my last post. 

Now that I have a much-coveted boater, I just need some ideas for how to wear it.  Who better to turn to than Anne of Green Gables? When it comes to boaters, Anne Shirley seems to be the expert.  This spirited red head wore her hats with flair and aplomb, and I only hope I will be able to do the same.  

Also, I somehow forgot to mention this is yesterday's post, but I have the week off! That's right, it's spring break! My only real plans are resting, relaxing, and going to Pittsburgh with my mom from Wednesday-Thursday as it's her spring break, too! I'm going to have to keep this short, as I'm meeting a friend for coffee shortly.  I hope everyone has a lovely Tuesday!

A Sunday Stroll

Well today's post is a bit lacking in the photo department because as soon as the last picture was taken, it started snowing really hard and Dan and I had no choice but to run back to the car and take cover! We had been walking through Bradford and thought that some gazebo pictures might be nice.  I guess it just wasn't in the cards for today.  I didn't even get a picture of my shoes, but I was wearing tan oxfords that you will definitely see at some point in the near future.

I recently ordered this dress from Melis' Etsy shop, Honey Bee Vintage.  I love the peter pan collar, and the dress is a nice lightweight material that will transition perfectly into summer.  Also, that kitty belongs to the people Dan stays with in Bradford, and she is so sweet!

Photos by Dan.

Dress: Honey Bee Vintage via Etsy

Coat: Thrifted

Purse: Vintage Dooney & Burke via Ebay

Sunglasses: Ray Ban

Boater hat: Urban Outfitters

7 Things

The sweet Maria of Custard Heart Vintage thoughtfully passed on the Versatile Blogger award to me. Thank you, Maria! :)

As I understand it, I am now to post seven facts about myself.  I'm fairly open about my life on my blog, so some of these facts you may already know and some may be new information.  Hope you enjoy!

1. I love glitter. Throughout college, every time I spotted a piece of stray glitter somewhere, I would pick it up and stick it on my face.  I would still have this habit to this very day if it weren't socially unacceptable.  I feel like this grown-up job has a downside-having to act like a grown-up.

2. I love cats! I had two kitties at the start of the year named Honey and Nippy that I'd had since I was little (Nippy is pictured in a few photos on the blog).  Both passed away, and now I have no kitties! Sadly, I have to wait until I move out of my parents house to acquire more cats.

Honey

Nippy

3. I'm learning to sew, and my first project was these Apple icon pillows that I made my boyfriend for Christmas, with the help of my mom.

Dan was so happy, he posted a picture of them on Reddit, and someone even wrote an article about them here: http://walyou.com/web-icon-pillows/

4. In college, my friends and I had a "Dress Up Club" where we'd get together and play dress up. It was so much fun! We'd meet at one of our dorms and we'd each bring our favorite articles of clothing and accessories and put them all in a big pile.  Then we'd go crazy dressing up in each other's clothes and making outlandish outfits.  I miss it!

5. I live by two lakes: a fairly small like named Edinboro Lake, which is within walking distance of my house, and Lake Erie, about a 30 minute drive away.  It makes for a fun-filled summer. My parents have a cabin cruiser boat, and they just recently purchased a small sail boat with some friends, so this summer I'm going to learn to sail.  I love being on the water!

6. I played the alto saxophone in my high school marching band.  It was an amazing experience.  Our band had around 150 members, which made it really fun!

This photo is from my freshman year of high school.  I'm second from the left on the bottom row in all my braces-clad glory.

7. Last May, I graduated with a Bachelor's in Library Science, and in July I started my first grown-up job as a middle school librarian.  My mom is a middle school home economics (family and consumer science) teacher, so I guess working with middle schoolers is in the genes!

Thank you again for thinking of me, Maria, and I'd like to pass the Versatile Blogger Award on to Kristin of We Hate Nike Shorts, Meri of Meri-Goes-Round, Heather of 29 Skirts, and Meg of Bow Ties Are Cool.

The beauty around us

Not long ago, my school provided an in-service called Arts Day.  I was very excited as soon as I heard about it, and my excitement mounted when I heard what classes we could attend.  I chose Intro to Photography and Knitting.  One of the high school art teachers, who had taught a Photoshop class at a previous in-service, taught the photography class, and it was fantastic!  Not only did she give us beginners lessons in the basics of photography, but she also showed each of us how to properly use our own cameras.  Now, Dan knows how to use the camera just fine, but I, on the other hand, really benefited from someone showing me what all of the different buttons were used for.  Once she thought we were adequately prepared, she let us go outside and explore the grounds with our cameras.  A few of these pictures were taken that day, and a couple were taken this weekend.  I know they're not amazing, but I'm hoping that if I document my photography from the beginning and keep up with it, I'll be able to see some improvement after awhile.  Someday I'm going to take a photography class...someday.

Our Sunday Part II: What We Did

As promised, here's a look at what we did on Sunday.  We started off our lovely day by fueling up at Eat 'N Park, where I ordered the delicious breakfast of champions, The Waffle Smile.  Mmmm! After that, we made our first stop of the day: an estate sale.  Neither of us had ever been to one before, and I must say, it was a very interesting experience.  As cool as it is to be able to wander through someone else's house and purchase their possessions, we both found it very sad as well.  Dan said he doesn't want to go to any more, but I'm still going to try to persuade him.  After all, I did find this cute straw hat there!

Next we drove to Presque Isle on Lake Erie.  It was the perfect day for a ride with the windows rolled down.  One of the landmarks on Presque Isle is the Perry Monument, pictured above.   I'd never been to the monument, so we got out and took a look.  It is dedicated to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, who fought in the War of 1812.  He's a pretty famous guy around these parts.

After that we went to Rita's and got gelati...yum! It was the perfect end to the perfect day.

Our Sunday Part I: The Outfit

Dan and I had an incredibly fun Sunday, which started with some outfit photos and of course a lot of swinging! For the first time, we remembered to bring the camera along to document the day.  There were so many fun pictures to choose from that I thought I'd divide the photos into two groups: The Outfit and What We Did.  Obviously, I decided to share my outfit photos with you today.  You'll just have to wait to see what we did! 

These photos were  taken in Dan's parent's backyard.  Isn't the swamp cool?! His parents told me that they've had beavers build damns back there before to create a little lake! After we took these shots, the sun came out and it warmed up to a whopping 80 degrees! It was pure bliss!

Photos by Dan.

Peter pan collar button up blouse: Banana Republic 
Bow skirt: Salvage Life Vintage via Etsy
Coral sweater: The Limited
Bow loafers: Naturalizer (SO comfy!)
Flower earrings: Banana Republic outlet
Pearl ring: my mother's
Flower bracelet: my grandmother's

Wishful Thinking