my first guest post

Good morning everyone!

I told you all before about Cara Box, and how much I enjoyed it! Well, I decided to sign up again for the fall season.
I have been paired with two lovely bloggers, one of whom is the lovely bloggess of My Life as a Long.
As it happens, we have the same name! Cait and Cait!
It's not very often that us Caitlins come across another Caitlin with the same spelling.
As every Starbucks barista I've ever encountered would testify, it's one of the trickier names to spell correctly. Way too many variations.
Although I'm pretty convinced that the one barista that spelled it "Katz" was just being ornery.

Anyway, I've run down a rabbit hole. The lovely Cait is off galavanting across deep blue waters, cruisin' it up in honor of her and her husband's anniversary! She asked me to come up with a fun guest post so that her blog would remain active while she was away.
I happily obliged, writing up a quick post on some of my favorite fall layering tips. 
I would love for you to go read it!

the fairgrounds

There's something enchanting about a fair.
Especially a State Fair - it sounds so grand and invigorating, something that unites everyday locals by serving them junk food with twinkling music and bright lights and games that you know are rigged but you can't help but play anyway. It's competitive and recreational, playful and intoxicating.

We went to a State Fair this past Saturday and stood around various food booths for at least an hour straight when we first arrived.
Bloomin' onions, mini donuts, hot french fries with vinegar, corn on the cob with cajun and parmesan, fried cookie dough and frozen cheesecake dipped in chocolate. For some reason nothing at the fair actually fills your stomach - it all just makes you more hungry. It's bewitched.

It was a pretty busy night, and we arrived right at sunset so we got to enjoy the fair right at the beginning of its glorious night time glow. We didn't ride any rides because the lines were so long, but we did sing, dance, skip, eat, laugh, play, eat, eat, and eat.

Last year was my husband's first time going to a State Fair, so I'm glad we were able to go again this year -- and this time with friends, who grew up in the area and have gone every year since they were little! It's a fun tradition and it was even more fun to hear their favorite spots, and to see how quickly they could find their way in the maze of littered popcorn and bustling strangers. 

Last year was so warm, but this year it was slightly drizzly at first and stayed pretty cool throughout the evening. I love this dress for its endless versatility (see it remixed here), and I kept it pretty casual with an open plaid top (remixed here), tights and boots, and a coat for the rain and chilly breezes.

It was fun to experiment with a photo shoot at night --- I always try to avoid those, but there are so many lights and so many colors that the pictures turned out pretty cool. We also got to enjoy a fireworks show later that evening! 

It was the perfect way to pretend to be a kid again, road tripping and skipping around the fairgrounds on a dreary Saturday night. 

a little bit of purple, a little bit of sparkle

Dress (remixed)(similar, similar): Ruche

Day 17: This outfit was one of those providential combinations that happens when two things happen to stand out to you when you're browsing your closet.
Most of the time I randomly pick out a dress, and throw the additional pieces and accessories together later on. This time, I went to the very back of my closet and pulled out this old cardigan -- I've had it for years. It was a gift from my cousin, and I had to be somewhere between 10-12 years old. I thought it was the most amazing cardigan ever created. It was bejeweled! And I mean, it was the 90s for heaven's sake. I was wearing glittery lip gloss when she gave it to me. (Ok, fine, I was probably wearing glitter lotion, too.) How much better could it get?
I went through many phases of trying to decide whether to keep it or not -- was it okay to be bejeweled? Is it in? Is it out again? Who knows.
As I pulled it out, this Aztec print dress was hanging on my closet door, and the two met and decided to get along. I had nothing to do with it.

Then, crazy on top of crazier, I noticed a hint of purple in the Aztec pattern that I had never noticed before. I felt a sudden jubilance, because I have a very sad collection of very few scarves (meaning, like, 10 or 12 which is most definitely a #firstworldproblem) and I didn't think any of them would match this pattern-happy ensemble.
Luckily for us, that little bit of purple saved the day.

Day 18: I'm sneakily including this outfit as well, because a.) I need to catch up on Frocktober posts and b.) it's a frumpy day/after dark photoshoot.
I try to always get a few outfits shots before dark, but this particular day was a busy one, and I had to work late while my husband went to a few meetings that evening. It was a messy bun day where all I wanted to wear was pajamas, so I settled for one of my oldest, softest dresses and my cozy polka dot sweater from Francesca's.

frocktober days

Frocktober is still in full swing over here!

I've been getting behind on posting my outfits every day, so I decided to do a combo post of days 13-16. 

We've been a very happy kind of busy over here!

As you know, last weekend we went to Richmond to see Needtobreathe in concert, and this weekend has been even more eventful!

We had fun double dates, some of our favorite friends moved back into town (completely surprising us at a coffee shop with the news), and we went on a weekend trip to the North Carolina State Fair!

I still have some catching up to do this coming week, but it has been a wonderful few days!

 Day 13: Dress (remixed): LOFT, Jacket/Earrings/Shoes: Gifted

I love animal prints of every kind, but this cat dress is definitely one of my favorites.
I tend to reach for it in the Fall, probably because of the deep color and easy layering possibilities. I also love that it has pockets!

Day 14: Dress (remixed): Zulily, Boots (shop!): Urbanog, Sweater: Target (remixed)

My birthday wishlist this year was very boot-heavy. I wanted a collection of colored booties so I could pretty much live in boots for the next 6 months. So far, so good!
I love these grey cowboy booties. I'm really excited to have this new neutral to reach for on boot days!
If you haven't visited Urbanog, I would highly recommend it. It's my go-to for booties, definitely. Occasionally I also find some great flats, and they definitely have a crazy selection of weird platform shoes that remind me of Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (anyone? anyone?) but go straight to the boot section and you won't be disappointed. They sometimes even have shoes and styles from my favorite boutiques, but at much better prices!

Day 15: Dress: LOFT, Necklace (shop!): Ruche

I've had a secret dislike for turtlenecks for many years -- trying to figure out how to fold the neck so it doesn't bunch awkwardly, or stand straight up like a strange giraffe costume, was always my struggle. But something changed in me last year.
Not sure when exactly it happened -- although it might have been this outfit post.
This is actually the only turtleneck I own, because it's the only one I have held on to over the years. It's such a subtle neck, and doesn't bunch awkwardly because it's perfectly ruffled - and is really soft and perfect for layering. I guess I had never really realized turtlenecks are so perfect for layering, but I definitely wore this every day in London and Paris!
I'll definitely be looking for more turtlenecks this winter!

 Day 16: Dress: Bought in London, Boots: Urbanog, Jeans: Forever21

I'm looking forward to the weather continually getting cooler so I can layer more!
Only 11 days left of Frocktober. This month has been speeding by, and I'm not quite ready for all the festivities to end. :)
Look for more Frocktober updates from the last few days, and hopefully I'll be back up-to-date by next weekend!

wanderlust wednesday

Something to spark your wanderlust for the week!

Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, England. March, 2013.
Most popularly known for being featured in several films, including Harry Potter. 

needtobreathe

This weekend we took a trip to Richmond to see one of my all-time favorite bands. 

A couple weeks ago, Needtobreathe put on a contest through Tunespeak. And I won. 

I got 2 free tickets to the show of my choice on their Stomping Grounds Tour, as well as a signed CD and a meet & greet with the band.

I was kind of ecstatic. Lots of squeals, excitement, anticipation.

Saturday was the day. We had already been to 4 concerts, so we knew how great they were. They're unbelievable live, and their new record is due sometime at the end of this year/beginning of next year. 

The best part about this tour is that they decided to play really small venues in the south, sort of to pay homage to some of their favorite clubs that helped them get started, and also because the experience of live music in an intimate setting is hard to beat. 

Enter: the Canal Club in Richmond, VA.

It's tucked away in this really cool, industrial-type cove in downtown Richmond.
We got there really early to get in the VIP line, and the place was pretty much deserted, save for the handful of other souls on the other side of the building waiting to get in.
We took a few minutes to take these photos and to just kind of breathe in the coolness of it all.

Tee (shop!): Needtobreathe, Purse (shop!): Target, Boots (shop!): Urbanog

My outfit is a hodgepodge of gifts and hand me downs.
The dress is one I got from my best friend's closet years ago (with her permission), the leather jacket and the boots are amazing gifts from my mom, and the tank top is actually a Needtobreathe souvenir from the last concert we went to in Charlotte.
I wanted to wear something of the band, while still staying true to the spirit of Frocktober.
It's a pretty funky outfit, but I kind of loved it.

The concert itself was indescribable.
Definitely a high point of my year. Like I said, we've seen them before -- this was our fifth Needtobreathe concert. We have been able to see them every tour since I first fell in love with their music in college -- the first concert we went to was when they were on tour with Train, and Dusty surprised me with tickets for my birthday.
This time was so powerful though, so close (as in, we couldn't hear once we left), so amazing.

The opening band was called Ivan and Alyosha, and I highly recommend giving them a listen! Their albums are on Spotify. Their drummer was at another show that night, so they did the entire set acoustically, and it was pretty incredible. (Have a listen here, here and here!)
We got to talk to them after the show, and they're definitely some of our new favorites! Hopefully we'll get to see them in concert again soon.
And obviously, if you don't know of Needtobreathe...listen to them asap! Start with their new album and work your way backwards.

They wouldn't allow us to bring our camera in (even though everyone else just had smaller cameras hidden in their purse), so the only pictures I have are from my phone, except for the last one of us with Needtobreathe at the meet & greet before the show!
I will never forget it!