My Baba* left for Bulgaria until October, which has left our dog Lucy lonely. I started taking her for walks and playing with her more now that she is down one companion. Needless to say she is so small and furry it's hard to keep your hands off. Tomorrow is my first work-free, school-free weekend that I'll be having since I-don't-remember-when; like it's high school summer vacation again! Except I'm a little less clueless, obviously cooler and I have a car. But I'm still broke.
*Baba is Bulgarian for Grandma
5.10.2011
Donna Karen crocheted blouse - Eileen Fisher knit dress
I debated making public some of my thesis drawings, I even made a post I deleted, but I decided to put them here. These are three illustrations that are to be found in my thesis, which is about Bulgarian folk costumes. The first is a costume from Varna, the second is a costume from Northeast Bulgaria, and the last comes from Plovdiv, found in the south of Bulgaria. Tomorrow I present for my mentor and my friend Dimitre, who kindly agreed to be the second reader. Then I am officially done with undergrad...
The last two weeks I've been taking exams and graduating (the latter part being much more exciting, obvs). The past few days I have been with my family and friends, enjoying their company without the shadow of school in the background. Now there is the shadow of life... which should be much colder and daunting, but some people are pretty good at it, so why shouldn't I be too? I have also spent some of my time drawing Mother's Day cards and finishing illustrations for my Honor's thesis, which I will post at a later time.
Until then, I will continue my new love for shorts, because in Floridian weather you'd be crazy to love anything else as soon as Spring hits (I say Spring, but that's non-existent in Florida, so it's actually Summer. In July it'll be more like Hell).
Last night I went to the CSS/Sleigh Bells show along with my friends Trey, Laura, Kristen, Janey and Rae. I've hardly listened to CSS, but their fun personality captured me last night. When lead singer Lovefoxxx told us she was about to play a sexy song, she asked us to dance like snakes. When she was about to play a romantic song, she asked us to dance like it was a sweet 16 dance. I can't promise I followed all of her instructions, but it was a lot of fun.
However, I went for Sleigh Bells, as I assume a lot of people did because they're known for putting on a really great show. I had been warned before going that it's a very sweaty experience, but I was not convinced this was true during the opening act & even CSS. Right before Sleigh Bells a wall of Marshall amps was set up and as soon as the lights dimmed I experienced a force wave push me forward. I was already really close to the stage and now all that was separating me was a large man and his two large cameras (photographer that would not have been there hadn't he been paid). But before the end of the show I was right against the stage, so I got my money's worth ;) Then I, along with hundreds of other people, experienced a bombardment of strobe lights as the duo came out.
This is what followed: really loud noise pop music, strangers thrashing their sweaty bodies on mine, continual elbowing in face/head/top body region, a stranger grabbing my arms and throwing them back and forth for me (less work on my part?), stranger grabbing my hair and pulling it (what was that about??), Kristen getting punched in the lip, Janey loosing the right glass from her eye glasses than catching it (that is talent, I don't know how she managed it. 99% change that it would have fallen on the floor and been stomped on, she beat the odds), continual line of people climbing on/over me to get on the stage in order to jump and crowd surf, Alexis Krauss singing right over me like an angel, Alexis pouring water on herself and showering everyone underneath her (including me! Gross? Maybe. But it was so hot I didn't mind).
Before I go I have to admit to you, Alexis Krauss has a really pretty face.
I'll be back to regular posting as soon as my exams are done next week.
Also, thank you for the graduation congratulations! :)
I've been a bad little blogger, but I have good reasons. I graduate in less than two weeks and when I haven't been working on school projects I've been procrastinating by watching Conan and attending food parties, including a picnic and Easter dinners. Other than this, trying to keep my cool while graduation day creeps closer. It's all too easy to lose yourself in things that don't matter and it's difficult to untangle the strings. Yet, everything works out.
I know I am late by a couple of years, but better so than never. I bought The Sartorialist book. Need I say I love it? For several reasons nonetheless. First, despite the fact that these photos were taken prior to 2009, the people in them would still be considered stylish today. Not everything they are wearing is even designer, and if it were you wouldn't know about it because Scott doesn't post labels, their style is timeless. As he puts in his introduction "I like people to draw their own conclusions, to find their own inspiration without the influence of a guiding hand," meaning he doesn't need to post a description about every single outfit because different people may notice two completely different things about an outfit.
I also loved the honesty of this book, which is portrayed in the photos and the short blurbs of his thoughts and experiences in shooting a certain person. I wish I could share them all with you, but I think it's better you get the book yourself! You can find it discounted online, as I did. How can you say no?
I think most of us are like stylish hermit crabs: we change our outershell to camouflage out way into certain social positions. We 'dress the part'. When you accept this idea, fashion/people watching becomes less judgmental and more about being 'visually greedy'. It comes less about what that person is wearing and more about what the elements of the look can mean to your own personal style. 'Visual greed' is one of the reasons I don't usually put the name of the person or labels that they are wearing on my blog - they simply don't matter to me. For instance, this gentleman was shot outside a recent Ralph Lauren fashion show. I know he works for Ralph and I know that Ralph 'encourages' employees to dress in a certain 'Ralph Lauren-ish' manner. So is his look real personal style? I don't know and I won't judge him on that, but I will allow myself to be inspired by the concept of a Navy blazer with totally distressed jeans or crisp side-parted hair that always seems to look modern. In a way, being 'visually greedy' allows you to separate the personality from the 'look' and puts the pressure on you to figure out how to harness that stimulus instead of just grading other as 'pass' or 'fail'.
Thrifted light yellow silk pants - Forever 21 jersey and shoes
I think I may very well have the most talented 7 year-old photographer on my hands. My little brother loves experimenting with all sorts of technology; he plays video games better than I could ever and regularly films his Super Mario action figures.* Some might be on YouTube.
It's getting warmer and I've been wearing less and lighter clothes that will also be comfortable in the overly air-conditioned school buildings. My college career is coming to an end in just two weeks and I have been busy with a multitude of projects that need to be done before the end of April. I had a very good idea of what I wanted to do when I entered college, but I'm not so sure anymore; shouldn't the opposite happen? In truth, I went in with a narrow mind when I should have done the opposite. However, my ideas have grown and I have a better sense of my talents. I know that good things will happen, but only I can make them.
To leave off, here is a quote I stumbled upon today:
Our lives are not as limited as we think they are; the world is a wonderfully weird place; consensual reality is significantly flawed; no institution can be trusted, but love does work; all things are possible; and we all could be happy and fulfilled if we only had the guts to be truly free and the wisdom to shrink our egos and quit taking ourselves so damn seriously.
Michael Kors cardigan - Aqua Blues shirt - Kimchi & Blue skirt - Michael Kors sandals
Ruffles don't particularly appeal to me; however this shirt is humorous because it looks like a sea anemone and who wouldn't want to wear that? No one, that's your answer.
