Eggs of Inspiration . . .

" . . . and boom goes the dynamite" - Brian Collins

Plaid Plumage

So here are the promised outdoor outfit pics.  I wasn't even that crazy about this clothing combo - sometimes the outfits that get posted aren't necessarily my favorites, they are just the ones that I (and the boy) has the time and energy to photograph.  That being said, I love these pictures - they actually look like Spring.  Hopefully this is the beginning of an outdoor photo-shoot trend.

Jumper: Forever 21.  Tank: Gap.  Tights: Anthropologie.  Boots: Belk.  Sweater: ModCloth (via the Cabin Fever Sale). Necklace: American Eagle.

Flight Report - Thrifty

This weekend was incredibly relaxing.  I feel ready (and excited) to jump back into another week of work and posting - so let's kick this off with a recap.

Like I said, this weekend was pretty low-key.  Friday night I hung out with the roomie and got (a much needed) 12 hours of sleep.  Saturday, after a big cup of coffee and some blog reading in bed (my favorite part of any good Saturday morning) I went on my first thrifting trip! Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect.  When I was little my mom used to take me to consignment shops and participate in clothing swaps with family friends.  Looking back now, I realize what a financially and fashionably sound decision that was on her part, but at the time I absolutely hated it.  I liked my clothing to be brand new and all mine - I was embarrassed by the idea of wearing someone else's cast offs.  This was a mentality that I kept until very recently, but after reading a huge number of fashion blogs that touted the awesomeness of thrifting, I figured I better give it a shot.  

So how did it turn out?  Well I spent $63.00 and got:

5 name brand button ups (including a brand new Lily Pulizer for $6.00)

2 sweaters (one was J Crew)

a seersucker dress (I don't know if it's real seersucker, but it is still amazing)

2 belts

a tie

and a pair of high-heeled loafers

I would call that a HUGE success.  I am officially hooked.  You will see these pieces show up in upcoming outfit posts, and I'm sure there will be many return trips in my future.

Saturday night the boy and I had a cookout with friends and watched some March Madness.  This was my first year filling out a bracket and so far I'm losing miserably haha.  Oh well, it at least gives me someone to root for when watching the games.

Sunday the boy and I took Jake on a hike/trail walk where he proceeded to "swim" in the creek and get soaking wet.  He was calm and sleepy the rest of the day though so it was was worth it.

Well that about wraps it up lovies - hope you all had equally successful/relaxing weekends!

Amanda

Flight Report - Head in the Sand

I am sorry for the radio silence this week.  I will offer up three excuses for my absence (choose at will whichever one makes you forgive me the fastest): 

1. This week has inexplicably flown by faster than any other week in recent memory.  Maybe it's the time change or my increasing work load, but I can't quite wrap my head around the idea that tomorrow is Friday.  

2.  I am dealing with some pretty heavy family issues.  Don't worry, everyone is alive and healthy, there is just some discord that is making me (unwillingly) revisit some aspects of my past I would prefer to not think about or deal with (at least not on a daily basis).  

3.  And finally, the crisis in Japan is too horrible to put into words.  I have gone back and forth about doing a post that centered on that topic alone, but like so many others, I feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the destruction and devastation. Instead, I've been putting off doing any sort of post at all because I don't have confidence in my own insights (especially since I've been avoiding any sort of news outlet) and yet ignoring this topic all together seems selfish and fake.  So I will just say this:  I am incredibly sorry for any loss you may have experienced as a result of this tragedy.  I hope this can serve as a reminder to all of us of the fragility of life.  And if you are able to help out financially in any way to the recovery effort, I urge you to do so.  

Now that I gotten that out, I'd like to jump right into a regular post, so here is what I was up to this weekend:

Friday I was off work.  I got a lot done around the house (mainly by tackling my giant pile of laundry), took the boy out to lunch (and rubbed it in that he had to go back to work), and took Jake to the dog park.  That evening the boy, the roomie, our favorite Richmond couple, and I all went to see the band Future Rock play at our local venue.  We have been so lucky to see so many great shows lately.  My concert calendar is dying down a little for the next two months or so, but luckily festival and summer tour season is right around the corner.  

Future Rock

The much mentioned Liz and Josh

The blurry boy - sometimes blurry pics look so much cooler than clear ones

Saturday the boy and I went to tour a local brewery and met up with a group of his friends for a free beer tasting, which then turned into lunch at another brewery, and a quick stop by a local winery.  It was a fun, vaguely blurry day that was followed by an early bedtime.  

At the brewery

The winery

Sunday, the boy's parents came up and took us out to brunch.  I have been fortunate to have always dated guys with really great families (with the exception of one beau with a crazy clepto sister - ugh I'm still mad about the CD collection she stole), but C's parents are especially wonderful.  I am so enjoying getting to know them better (his mom compliments my outfit and hair cut basically every time she sees me - how can you not love that??).  

Last night we went out for another beer tasting with friends (we sound like such sots, but I think there is something about Spring approaching that makes me want to go out and try lots of great new beers).  Beforehand the boy snapped a few great outfits shots . . . outside!  I promised that once daylight savings hit I would have better photos - and I plan to deliver (although I'm realizing that a new camera may also need to be part of the equation soon).  I will be sharing those soon enough.  

Until then lovies,

Amanda

Eggs of Inspiration . . .

With color one obtains an energy that seems to stem from witchcraft.
Henri Matisse

Plumage - Since I Can't Fly South

Here I am bundled up in my kitchen.  On the nights that I decide to stay in (usually to do laundry and make soup), there are only a few brief minutes between walking in the door and stripping off my work clothes in favor of my Victoria's Secret sweat pants.  However, when I wear this sweater dress to work, it typically manages to remain on my body until bedtime because it is the snuggliest thing I own (VS sweats excluded).  Paired with my favorite pashmina, it made the perfect outfit for a particularly cold and windy Monday.  

Dress: Tulle, bought at a local boutique (Finch); Tights: Forever 21.  Boots: Steve Madden, Christmas present from my Mother - bought seriously on sale (65% off) at Belk on Black Friday.  Pashmina - gift from my step-mom.  Earrings - gift from an ex-bf - bought at a craft festival last fall.   

Can I just say how much I'm looking forward to "springing forward" this upcoming weekend?  Even if it takes the weather a little longer to catch up, extended daylight always represents the beginning of Spring for me.  I am so excited about being able to take Jake to the dog park every day after work so he can burn off some of his energy (he's been a bit of a wild man this past week). 

Also, more daylight means more outdoor (and therefore more interesting) outfit shots.  Thanks for bearing with me through the dark, blurry, indoor ones!

I hope everyone's week is moving along nicely!

Love you lovies - 

Amanda    

Flight Report - Epic Weekend

Happy Monday everyone!  I am honestly pretty happy to get back to work, if for no other reason than just to be back on a normal sleeping/eating/living (blogging) schedule.  This weekend was amazing, but I am completely exhausted. I'll give you a run-down of the festivities, but allow me to apologize in advance for the lack of photos - I was enjoying myself too much to break out the camera during most of my adventures.

Friday evening after work, the roommate, the boy, and I headed to visit friends (my former roomie and her bf that I talked about in a previous post).  The five of us then went to see Dark Star Orchestra - a Grateful Dead cover band.  Fun fact: The boy is a HUGE dead head (although I'm pretty sure he hates that term haha).  The best part of the show was when they played "If I Had the World to Give" which has become "our" song.  GD only played it live 3 times ever, so it was pretty insane that DSO covered it and that we were there to hear it.  

Saturday, before heading back home, the roomie, the boy and I went to see the new Picasso exhibit at The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  It was huge and impressive, with 11 rooms full of his pieces.  My favorite by far was a series of photographs he took (that were later discovered and developed by another source) white he was painting "Guernica".  They show's the painting's progression in 10 frames, and while I still aspire to see the original piece in the near future, they served as a moving substitute.  

Once we arrived back home, the boy and I walked downtown and met my dad and step-mom for dinner.  They came to town to celebrate my new job by taking us to the Melting Pot (!).  I was a MPV (melting pot virgin) and I ate like an MVP - I basically waddled home, stuffed on cheesy bread, lobster, duck, and creme brulee covered cheesecake (to only name a few of my favorites).

After dinner (and a quick wardrobe change), the boy and I spent the rest of the evening hanging out with friends and going to another concert (Perpetual Groove).  By the time we made it home, well past 2 AM, I fell into bed and right to sleep.  

At the PGroove show - (don't ask me what's going on with his smile or the shadow on his beard haha - yet, still adorable)

Sunday was all about recouping and getting everything straight for the week ahead (plus a well-timed nap and some catching up on my hulu and google reader lists).  

I had such an amazing time and got to see so many of my favorite people, but I am looking forward to a quieter week (the only thing currently on the calendar is a dinner/movie date with the boy on Wednesday).  I do plan to join the gym (now that I'm an official employee I get a full gym membership!) and hopefully work off some of that fondue feast . . .

Hope all of you had an eventful or relaxing weekend!

Amanda

Bird Books - A "rave" for "Rant", by Chuck Palahniuk

Since the book I am currently working on is taking me a little longer than usual (aka forever) to finish, I am cheating this week and posting a (late) review for a book I've already read.  The only excuse I can offer (besides "it's Friday") is that this is an especially important book to me and I am confident that anyone with slightly off-kilter (or all together weird) tastes like mine will love it.

As I mentioned in my last book post, whenever someone recommends a book they think I will like, I am instantly curious (not even so much about the book as their perception of me and my tastes).  So when the director of the psychology research lab I was working in handed me "Rant" and described it as something I would "get", I couldn't wait to tear into it.  She was one of those women who you just really, really wanted to like and respect you.  She was Italian, raised in Argentina, and spoke in a thick, bubbly accent.  She had more degrees and publications by age 30 thank most people get in a lifetime. She wore funny t-shirts and had impeccable taste in movies and music (all of which she later shared with me, making my itunes catalogue, netflix queue, and wardrobe infinitely cooler).  In short, I was pretty much in awe of her, and having her tell me I would "get" something she was into felt like instant validation.  As a result, I probably would have forced myself to read the book no matter what, but lucky for me, her recommendation was spot on.

Describing a Palahniuk book is difficult.  Their plots are usually twisted, complex, jumbled, and unabashedly strange (much like the author himself).  Since "Rant", I have read a number of his other novels and they never disappoint (although this one in particular tops my favorites list, I think in large part because it was my introduction to his work).  I can not give a "rave" enough review - do yourself (and your literary "coolness") a favor and check this out.      

Plumage - Painting my Feathers

Today I feel grateful.  Grateful for my situation, my opportunities, my body, and my life in general.  Today, I am happy, confident, secure, and overwhelmingly thankful.  This wasn't always the case.

Growing up, I was constantly, painfully jealous.  I would stare in awe at magazine ads, read stories of far-off places, and ache for a life full of designer clothes and exotic destinations.  My family didn't travel (except for the annual trips to Georgia or Florida to visit relatives).  We didn't go to plays, or museums, or concerts.  We didn't watch documentaries, read books together, or do arts and crafts.  Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of family bonding moments over board games, Disney movies, and home-cooked dinners.  My dad taught me to play chess at age 3 and there was always someone willing to help me study for upcoming tests.  My parents just weren't hipsters - and although that wasn't a term I learned until college, that was what I desperately wanted to be.  I was insecure and ashamed (of numerous things), and I eventually resigned myself to a life of "enough".  I just wasn't enough - special enough, good enough, rich enough, cool enough.  My stringy hair, lack of style, and narrow world view had to be enough - because it was all I was going to get.  I went so far as to wearing my then boyfriend's oversized tees and sweatpants to school everyday - a comfy, but completely self-depreciating symptom of my resignation.  And then one day "enough" just wasn't enough.  

Numerous factors lead and played into my eventual transformation  - getting a full time job and moving out of my parent's house at age 17, leaving my small town for college in the city, and making friends and taking classes that expanded, challenged, and altered my views, all had major impacts on my sense of self and self-worth.  But none of these experiences would have been possible if I hadn't been open to the possibility of change - if I hadn't realized that I was not only capable, but deserving, of having any kind of life I wanted.  And if I was asked to pick a singular moment or act that marked the beginning of that mental shift, it would undoubtedly be the night I got my first tattoo.

Tattooing, or body art (as much of the community prefers to call it), is a controversial issue and people's opinions fall all along a wide spectrum - from ink activists to those who believe that permanently marking the body is a mortal sin.  So, in respect to all these varying opinions, I'd like to preface the remainder of this post with this: tattoos are not for everyone.  Many people have regretting the decision to ink up, and at age 23 it would be naive to say that I will never feel the same way in regards to my (now 4, soon to be 5) pieces.  In fact, after recently joining the ranks of corporate employees, I realize how uncommon body art is in the professional world (I have consciously expanded my wardrobe to include more long pants, socks, tights, and closed-toed shoes to cover my only exposed work -my feet).  However, I can say that I got my first tat at age 16 and I love it today as much as I did then, if for no other reason than it marks a major turning point in my attitude towards my life and myself. 

At 16, I wasn't the kind of girl to get a tattoo.  I was a quiet, introverted, straight-A student, with all the makings of a true "nerd" who managed to hang on the fringes of the popular group (mainly due to the fact that the "cool" kids were actually really cool people for the most part - who were smart, ambitious, funny, and into theatre). * Fun side fact: the boy was one of these popular, actually cool kids.  We had several classes together throughout high school.  I wasn't exactly interested in dating him, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have given me the time of day at the time (not that I could blame him - as the post details, I had yet to develop into (or accept) my own awesomeness).  But when that pulsing needle hit my skin for the first time, leaving the first drop of permanent green ink on my lower back (yes, I my first tat was the lovingly dubbed "tramp stamp" - I was 16 after all), something changed.  Suddenly, I was the kind of girl who got a tattoo, which meant that I could be the kind of girl who did a LOT of things.  I could travel, watch documentaries, read Vonnegut, cut all my hair off, go to museums, start a blog (!), live on my own, adopt a dog, wear scarves . . . None of these things happened overnight (in fact I just worked up the courage to do some of them in the last year or so), but they are all now things that are a part of who I am, and I have the power to change them or add to them at will.  

So here I am - wearing my hipster oversized cardi, in my hipster town, outside of a hipster concert, with my hipster boy taking pics for my hipster blog (which in and of itself is the most hipster word on the planet).    

Cardi: Victoria's Secret.  Top, Shoes: Old Navy.  Dress (worn as skirt): Forever 21.  Belt: Body Shop.  Necklace: private seller in WV 

And the point of this long, rambling post is this:  some people are born into the lives they want to lead - they are brought up artsy or cultured or hardcore thug-nasty - but some of us (I'd venture to say most of us) have to work for our street-cred.  We have to cultivate the cool (or the decidedly uncool things that make us so very, very awesome).  We spend every day striving to be the best version of ourselves - that person we see in our heads.  Even though this process can be a struggle, today, I am grateful for it, because I get to look around at my life and say "not only is this everything I ever wanted, but I created it for myself".  It's an empowering feeling.  

And if you are out there and still living your life with "enough" - settling for who you think you are instead of who you're capable of being - I hope you gain some kind of inspiration from this post and realize that all it takes is a subtle shift to start your transformation. It doesn't have to be extreme or external (the way my tattoo was) - just make sure it's permanent.  

Eggs of Inspiration . . .

I think I want to marry a man who, after the lights are turned off, can still keep me up for hours talking and laughing. We used to do that when we were kids, and we’d prop the phones on our pillows and talk and talk till the sky turned dawn gray. Talk about nothing and name our children and tell the old stories, gossip, laughing, lying next to each other. Roll over and raise our arms and count fingers silhouetted against the light from the street lamp that shines through the window. Fall asleep mid-sentence, something sweet on our lips. These are always the nights that I fall completely in love.

~caryrandolph