Garden of Eden.

On Saturday my family and I went to a little event in Lansing called Touch a Truck, where children can go and see all sorts of city vehicles, like an ambulance, a helicopter, a dump truck, a firetruck etc... My little 3 year old brother, we call him Baby Nell, love love LOVED it! He even got to go inside of a Special Ops tank... Pretty darn cool... Here he is waving at me in the reflection of the firetruck wheel...

Afterward we went to a Native American Pow-Wow, and we saw so many beautiful things... There were tons of people from all different tribes dressed in their regalia, and they would go to the middle of the circle and do traditional dances together. One of my favorites is the Crow Hop, and one where a few young girls go to the circle and do these beautiful dances with mini hula hoops... They make all sorts of designs with them, eagles, and butterflies etc... So beautiful. (I will post some photos later, but I have to make all the files a little smaller lol) Also there are lots of really great vendors selling all sorts of goods, furs, beads, jewelry, etc... I had to stop myself from buying up everything I saw.

So it was quite unbelievably hot while we were out and about, of course I got a gnarley sunburn. Not fun... But at least I stayed pretty cool in my nice and breezy floral dress...

Photo Credits: James Turner
 
Dress: UO clearance
Necklace: A gift from my dad, that I've had for a coons age...
Sandals: Walmart
Clutch: F21
Ring: F21
Bracelet: Jcrew, men's section

Currently Listening To: The Black Keys "Chop and Change"

 

Little treasures.

The other day I went to my favorite vintage stores in and around the Lansing area, and found some really great things!

This is an adorable little child's corduroy jumper from the 1950's, so so fun! I just love the little pocket, and it fits like a glove. :)

I have been looking for a little train case for quite a while, and when I saw this one I just had to get it. It's perfect! Also it was made in Lansing, represent! lol

Two perfect little belts, one is yellow and the other is white. The woven part is actually stretchy, so they are really comfortable. Love them.

Another darling little belt, it's made of black leather, and was part of the United States Navy uniform back in the 1950's.

A great little choker necklace, made from tiny connected brass balls. Very versatile. 

A finally one of my favorite finds... It's a vintage Native American made necklace, and those long cream colored and brown tubes are actually porcupinie quills! I LOVE it... 

Ok, well I am unbelievably tired so I'm going to head to bed, and I'll have another post tomorrow about my wonderful weekend!

Jazz it up.

So after work yesterday, James and I went to the Summer Solstice Festival here in East Lansing. We heard some great live jazz music, and we sat out on the patio of one of our favorite restaurants in East Lansing, Harper's Brew Pub. I had a delish cheeseburger and chips and a margarita, and Jam had a chicken sandwich with chips and a pint of their Spartan Wheat beer, ooo yum. Our bill only totaled only $16, it was great!

Afterward we went back to the house to do a quick shoot before we went over to my moms house, and when we got home the sky was starting to cloud over so we snapped some shots off real quick...

 (Please try to ignore my terrible bow tying skills. I'm really trying to work on it.)

Then within a matter of two minutes the storm had rolled in, and the wind was howling! It was ca-razy! I have never seen a storm come in that fast.... So James shot these next photos as I was running and frolicking up the street back to our house before we could be swept up into a tornado... I'm pretty sure that with this cute little outfit I would have been all sorts of prepared to get swept up in a tornado, in Kansas, and ride around on a bike. Singing dun da dun dun duun duuun, dun da dun dun duun duuun, "I'm going to get you my pretty!"

 This is me thinking "holy crap, I am about to get blown away!" But as you can tell, I survived to blog another day...

Photo Credits: James Turner

Shirt: Gap
Skirt: UO clearance
Necklace: A gift from my dad, oh about 11 years ago...
Bracelet: Jcrew, mens section
Sandals: Walmart
Purse: Vintage

Currently listening to: "These Days" by The Black Keys off their Brothers album.

Jump Jive and Wail.

Oh the quintessential jumping photo, you are near and dear to my heart...
Yesterday I went thrifting once again, and found fantastic stuff!! All at really great prices too... I went to both of the Lamb's Gate Antiques stores, and of course found quite a few things that I couldn't not take home with me... I will have a post of all my new treasures later this evening :)

So after I got home from thrifting, James and I were both pooped, but I really wanted to do a photo shoot, and on top of that we were about ready to gnaw our arms off from starvation. So we popped a margharita pizza into the oven, and then had ohhh 13 min to go shoot photos... Thankfully our location is like 1 min away, and I'm starting to get quite comfortable in front of the camera, so we got some great shots real quick... And we made it back in time before the timer went off! Score!

I just love that one... It's so... me!!

For the past two months or so I have rarely been wearing jeans, but yesterday I just felt the need for the good ol classic, jeans and a white tee... It was perfect for playing around with the preschoolers at work, and then for heading straight to the thrift stores.

 Photo Credits: James Turner


T Shirt: Gap
Jeans: PacSun
Clutch: F21
Necklace: Vintage (those longs bead looking things are actually porcupine quills, I LOVE it! So much so that I wore it again today...) 
Bracelet: UO clearance
Sandals: Walmart


Now it's time to relax and wait for 3:30 to roll around... I'm heading to Espresso Royale to meet up with a friend to discuss the cupcakes that she wants for her wedding in August! Hoorah! It's going to be a biggie :) Good thing I'm no rookie to extra large wedding cupcake orders...


Currently Listening To: Juliette and The Licks - "You're Speaking My Language" off of their album of the same name.

Le Morte.

James and I decided yesterday to go on a little trip after work to the cemetery by our house. I don't know what it is about cemeteries, but it is just so peaceful there. I love to just go and walk around there for a bit, especially when the weather is being kind of moody. Yesterday the sky was threatening to rain on us all day, but never did. So it was a perfect day for a stroll through the gravestones...

This is one of my favorites. I just love this gravestone... Its so weathered, and it's this beautiful white color on top, but down at the bottom it has this dark base. Such a perfect contrast. I think it's from sometime in the 1800's. One of my favorite things to do at any cemetery is try to find the oldest headstone that I possibly can...

We also happened upon a beautiful mausoleum, and just had to take a look around...

sassy little girl. I'm pretty sure I have seen many a 3 year old make this face :)

My beloved Shakespearian Poison Ring...(sigh) Just recently purchased at the Highland Festival in Alma MI. It's a wonderful festival that celebrates all things Scottish and Celtic. They have men compete in traditional Highland games, girls competing in traditional Highland dancing, and lots of real Scottish food. Mmm haggis, meat pies, and shortbread.

Now I will leave you with a parting photo...

Photo Credits: James Turner


Dress: UO clearance
Sweater: Sourpuss (Purchased at the Detroit Tattoo Convention)
Stockings: UO clearance
Shoes: Steve Madden from DSW 
Pearl Necklace: From my Grandma and Grandpa


Currently Listening To: Karen Elson - "Mouths to Feed"  from The Ghost Who Walks

Shades of Green.

 

Yesterday was James grandparents 60th Wedding Anniversary! Amazing...So we drove all the way to Coopersville MI after work, and got see the family for a while. It was really great, and we had some wonderful conversations! But of course before we left we had to do a little photo shoot :) I was really feeling the 50's pin up/housewife vibe yesterday... It's definitely one of my favorite era's to try and emulate. Here are a few more photos that we took... Enjoy!

Photo Credits:James Turner

James was cracking me up! I'm pretty sure he had me saying things like "stinky pickles" and "Abominable Yeti"... He's a riot, I guess that's what happens when you work with children everyday trying to make them laugh and smile lol

Dress: F21

Belt: Vintage

Clutch/ Wallet: Coach (factory outlet store)

Shoes: Moda Spana from DSW                   

Tomorrow i'm going to my favorite vintage store around the area.. Well it's technically in Grand Ledge, so about 20 min or so from my house, but so so worth it... I'll let ya'll know what wonderful treasures I find, and just had to bring home with me :) Cause Lord knows, all vintage things need a sweet little home to live at, and someone to fawn over them everyday like the precious jems they are...

What's your top three favorite vintage or thrifted items you own??

Currently Listening To:
Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground - Oh Lord, I hate you California

The Brave Little Moped.

 He has been with us through thick traffic and thin, through rain and shine, in 55mph traffic and 25mph traffic. This is the Brave Little Moped.

Yesterday was a lovely day filled with lots and lots of relaxation, fun, good music ( I bought the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Soundtrack. It is Fan freakin tastic!, so eclectic with tons of indie bands), and..... me getting locked out of my house... For the second time this week!! Boo, Paige. I really REALLY need to go get another key, but honestly isn't it just more fun shimmying up the trellis, climbing onto the garage roof, then up to the porch roof where my bathroom window is, and trying to pry it open with my bare hands? I think so.

Oh, and our moped's name is Roy.

After I was let back into my house by my very sweet landlord, 2 hours after I locked myself out, I decided to go and get new jewelry for my septum. So I ventured down to Splash of Color and got myself some new bling, and then I went to Hot Topic to get some new tapered earrings for my lobes. So I stretched them from a 10 to a 6. Ouch. Probably shouldn't have skipped a size, but oh well where's the fun in that. No pain No gain.

Then Jam and I watched Ghost World which starred Thora Birch, Steve Buschemi, and Scarlett Johanssen. It was kinda ehhh, not my favorite. 

We also decided to romp around the neighborhood and scare up some good locations for photo shoots. We found a sweet little alley with greenhouses on one side, and a gravestone engraving place on the other side. So we ventured out back and snapped some shots, and here's what we got...

P.s What is your favorite thing to do on a Sunday morning in the Summer?

I love this green wall! I'm so excited to figure out what outfits will really pop against it...

This last photo is probably my favorite from the shoot, I just couldn't bear to leave it out... I think I heard a bird scratching on the tin roof when he took this one. Or maybe it was a demon raven from Birds.... I may never know....

Outfit Details:
Cardigan: Jcrew
T-Shirt: Jcrew
Shorts: Gap
Belt: Jcrew
Shoes: Steve Madden (from about 6 years ago)
Necklace: From Lee and Birch in Muskegon

All photos by James Turner     Currently listening to: Mewithoutyou A--> B Life