Friday, November 12

Note to self :

“Go now and live. Experience. Dream. Risk. Close your eyes and jump. Enjoy the freefall. Choose exhilaration over comfort. Choose magic over predictability. Choose potential over safety. Wake up to the magic of everyday life. Make friends with your intuition. Trust your gut. Discover the beauty of uncertainty. Know yourself fully before you make promises to another. Make millions of mistakes so that you will know how to choose what you really need. Know when to hold on and when to let go. Love hard and often and without reservation. Seek knowledge. Open yourself to possibility. Keep your heart open, your head high and your spirit free. Embrace your darkness along with your light. Be wrong every once in a while, and don’t be afraid to admit it. Awaken to the brilliance in ordinary moments. Tell the truth about yourself no matter what the cost. Own your reality without apology. See goodness in the world. Be bold. Be fierce. Be grateful. Be wild, crazy, and gloriously free. Be you. Go now, and live.”
~Jeanette Leblanc



-xoxo.



Wednesday, November 3

Tricks and Treats and Thrifting, oh my!

After a VERY long hiatus I have decided that there is no better reason for my triumphant return other than the best holiday known to man......Halloween!!! A day (or week if you are anything like me) when you are free to dress as silly and creative as you like all while getting to eat candy, drink cider, and enjoy the company of others.(Who, with any luck, are dressed just as silly as you)

Of course, my favorite part of this crazy holiday are the endless costume possibilities. In years past I have tried to let my Halloween costume find me rather than decide what I would be and force it to work. Usually I just take a trip to the thrift store and let inspiration strike.

Two years ago I went as a sailor. This thrift store find was previously a child's sailor costume from the 70's that vaguely resembled a very sad attempt at an airline stewardess outfit adorned with decorative anchors. Unfortunately, I didn't document the before but I do have some pictures of the after once I took to it with a pair of scissors and my sewing machine:

  It was a great last minute costume and it only cost $3.99 to boot!

Last year I had my heart set on being an astronaut, but the costume gods had a different plan. So when it became clear that the odds of finding an easy (and safe) way of creating a space helmet were slim to nil I decided to create a cheap, creative, and still somewhat space themed costume:
This FREE costume was a lot of fun...although mobility was limited to say the least haha. I spray painted 3 boxes of varying sizes and used red felt to make the heart and buttons and an old CD as my dial on the bottom. So instead of just a plain, average, everyday robot I became a Love Machine ;)

This year I found myself torn between two ideas and decided to do both! The first is an idea that came from one of my very good friends and I wish I could take credit for it, but I did design it even though the idea wasn't exactly mine:

Now that I am a spunky little redhead (haha) a whole new world of characters has been opened. And so here I am as the petite french orphan everyone loves, Madeline :) (Seen above is Madeline learning the ways of the world from Ke$ha)

My second costume this Halloween season was a gift from my lovely mother. She found this vintage beauty at a Salvation Army for only $2.00!!
I made the cape, crown, and the wrist bands (obviously to deflect any stray bullets that I come in contact with throughout the night). It was such a fun costume. And I'd like to think that Wonder Woman and I are strong women with quite a bit in common ;)

Sadly, the Halloween season has come to an end :( but I have already given a little thought as to what next year might bring...Who knows? Maybe I'll try a female version of James Dean?

We'll see what the thrift store has in store (no pun intended haha) for next year!!


xoxo.