wanderlust wednesday

The Hill of Slane. Slane, Ireland. March 2011.

Traveling to Ireland was the first trip my husband and I ever took together just the two of us. We were 22 years old and had been married a grand total of 2 months and 2 weeks. I've posted before about Ireland, but this entry is perhaps the most exhilarating to remember. 

Part of the excitement of our Ireland adventures was renting a car and making day trips. Driving on the other side of the road was endlessly terrifying and fun, and we felt incredibly accomplished as we followed our (sometimes faulty) GPS named Julie across the windy countryside. One of these day trips was to see the Hill of Tara, which was fairly high on Dusty's to-see list. Unfortunately, we weren't that travel savvy, and ended up getting there too late. All of the tours were booked! We had completely botched our chance. Feeling a bit lost and bummed, we walked around the Hill of Tara gift shop a bit, grabbed a snack from the cafe, and then just decided to just explore. Off-roading with the sheep is the best way to see Ireland anyway.

The scenery is gorgeous around there. In preparation for our trip, Dusty had read about several hills in the area, one of them being Tara and another was in Slane. Our GPS was hopeless at this point, so once we found Slane we just explored. We even happened upon a castle. The village was tiny and charming, and eventually we discovered the criss-crossed wooden signs, one of which pointed up the road and read "The Hill of Slane". We finally found ourselves driving up a steep little roadway that was completely deserted. As we reached the top, the hill was splayed out before us like a bright green game board, the only pieces being intricate grey ruins at its crest. It was cold and overcast, and we were the only ones there. We just gaped for a good ten minutes, and once we realized there were no "KEEP OUT OR ST. PATRICK WILL CURSE YOU" signs anywhere, we ran helter skelter up the hill. We already knew this was the greatest off-roading of our entire lives. 

The legend goes that the daring St. Patrick lit a fire on the Hill of Slane in 433 CE in honor of Easter. It was a strong Christian symbol in direct defiance of the High King Laoire, who forbade any other fires to burn while a festival fire was burning on the Hill of Tara. Although Laoire could see the fire from his palace, he was impressed by St. Patrick's devotion. The king remained a pagan, but allowed St. Patrick to convert many of his subjects to Christianity. 

The Slane ruins are that of a friary church and college, which was abandoned in 1723. The traditional Christian hymn Be Thou My Vision is set to an early medieval Irish folk song named Slane, inspired by this location. 

Wikipedia served us well in learning more about the Hill of Slane once we returned to the states, but at the time, we were simply in awe of St. Patrick's statue and the insanely gorgeous day. It began to sprinkle a bit, and as the sun set the sky was a myriad of golden colors and the horizon was crowned with the most fortuitous Irish rainbow. It was stunning, all of it. We climbed the ruins for hours, just the two of us, losing track of time and reality as our cheeks grew rosy and our souls were filled to the brim. 

luck of the irish

2011: Dublin, Ireland | 2012: Lynchburg, Virginia | 2013: Paris, France | 2014: Rome, Italy

Happy, happy St. Patrick's Day.

This day is stirring up some mighty lucky and lovely memories of my marriage. Travels and parties and smiles fill my mind like shamrock confetti. This day has been very good to us. I have always adored St. Patrick's Day, because growing up as an O'Neil it was a rather fun and celebratory part of my heritage. My dad would always capitalize on our surname, and we'd all eat corned beef and cabbage and wear way too much green. It was the best.

Dusty came into my life in high school, and he was brought into the Irish fold. He would come over and enjoy our over-the-top celebrations. One year we had Irish soda bread, Irish cream coffee, Scottish eggs, Guinness stew... we made the Dublin population jealous with our enthusiasm.

2009: home sweet Arizona.

I find myself feeling incredibly nostalgic today. Every St. Patrick's Day so far in our 4 years of marriage has been a magical mystery tour of new places and experiences. 2015 has been a year of change and heartache and adjustment, reacquainting ourselves with adulthood and life in Arizona. So it's fitting that we're here, calmly celebrating with family. It's a great time to wear green and look forward, to cherish each other and share confetti-filled dreams.

P.S. Some Irish music/bands to listen to today: 

New: Bear's Den | Kodaline | Needtobreathe

Favorites: P.S. I Love You soundtrack | The Corrs | Enya | Flogging Molly

Or you can go full Celtic and listen to songs like I'll Tell My Ma, Black Is The Colour, Drunken Sailor, Scarborough Fair, Molly Malone (Cockles and Muscles).

harry potter book club

It's Friday the 13th, everyone! So what better conversation is there than that of witches and wizards?

I have always loved Harry Potter. I feel incredibly close to that series, and I think I owe a lot of that to timing. I had the great privilege of reading the books at the same age as the characters within. I very impatiently awaited each sequel, poring over the new books like a starving man clinging to bread. It was the perfect age to binge read. I was still home-schooled, so I inhaled these books with a surprising fervor.

There's reading, and then there's reading. The crossover happens sometime around adolescence, when you truly find your zest for stories and begin to cherish those late night hours. Oh, to be 12 again. Your stamina is unbelievable, and your passion is completely unquenchable. It's a beautiful age, and it was at that time that I discovered Harry Potter and the beautiful realm of young adult fiction. These books were revolutionary. They grew up along with me. They prized friendship and bravery and loyalty. And that first fervor that I felt hasn't really died down over the years. I think I am more passionate about this series (with its great strengths and its tragic flaws) than I am about anything else. Except perhaps the HIMYM finale. I know, I know. But it's how I feel, so let's move on.

I have often been made fun of for the crazy eyes that I get when discussing Harry Potter. It's not that I truly value Hogwarts and its peoples more than real life (it's not only that), it's just that my 12-year-old self is still very much alive in my soul. As I said, the fervor hasn't died down. There's something about that series specifically that is inherently special to me. I dunno, it's like, magic or something.

All that being said, I think it's high time to revisit these books. My husband and I recently watched The Half-Blood Prince, and I realized that there are many details that have become fuzzy in my brain. I don't have a lot of love for the movies -- I'm loyal to the books, through and through -- but they've become my quick fix for Harry Potterness. Plus, that soundtrack is nothing to sniff at. It's fantastic.

I have a special kind of secret side-eye glare for people in the world that have seen the Harry Potter movies and never read the books. Those people (maybe those people are you, reader, so get ready for a scolding) don't know Harry Potter. They just don't. It's a farse, a phony. For the love of Hagrid, people, educate yourselves. Stretch your brain. Read a book. Or seven. It's about time. So, now is your chance. I am officially commencing the Harry Potter Book Club. I am pretty confident that there are thousands of Harry Potter Book Clubs out there, which is fantastic.

Join me in reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by April 15th, because that's Emma Watson's birthday and we all thank the Lord for her birth. I will be posting my review and discussion questions here on the blog on that date. It should be a grand ol' time.

Join our Facebook group by clicking here and become privy to thoughts and discussions from other readers. Also use #TheHarryPotterBookClub hashtag on Instagram and Twitter if you choose to post while reading along. It's a weird kind of miracle that this hashtag wasn't already in use!

I highly encourage you to get a real copy of the book, new or used, and mark it up like it's your personal Marauder's Map invention. Fold pages, underline favorite quotes, read it thoroughly and lovingly and actively like it's the first time. If it actually is your first time, well, better late than never.

novel dress: teen fiction

the fault in our stars by john green // ariel colorblocked dress

One of the funniest things about teen fiction is that the majority of readers I know that are indulging in that genre are definitely not teens. Because really, young adult (YA) literature is actually just a catch-all for a bizarre in-between category of story. It doesn't seem to strictly adhere to its age assignment. Everyone from teendom and beyond can relate to coming-of-age tales, because we've all been there. They're still applicable and relatable to a much wider audience than ages 12-18. It's a tricky category, really. These books are not 1,000 page epic fantasies, but they're not really children's books either. There's probably a better name for this genre somewhere, but I'm not sure what it would be.

In my last book club in Virginia, we would often lament that the "YA" label can take a lot away from the expectations of reading. It turns some people off from reading these books altogether. Sometimes it even seems like a downgrade - a truly extraordinary book that gets put in the "YA" category seems to be getting the short end of the stick. It seems like this genre is simply too large to contain all of the vastly different books that are included in it. What characterizes a book to be young adult? Is it the content, the age of the characters, the quality of writing? The answer is that young adult books are so named because they focus on the problems and experiences of youth. Even so, books like The Book Thief are jumbled into this nebulous category, but I would never describe that book as juvenile. Reading it at age 25 pretty much changed my life. To be honest, I'm not sure I could have handled it or truly treasured it 10 years ago.

Regardless, young adult/juvenile/teen fiction is prevalent and well-loved in the world, which I am happy about. I am an advocate for reading at all ages. This post is mostly for us old folk lovelies that continue to read these YA books despite their ageist tendencies, and continue to love them for their virtues, their lessons and their flaws.

(Click here to see all novel dress posts!). 

harry potter and the goblet of fire by j.k. rowling // full of light metallic dress

sisterhood of the traveling pants by ann brashares // daylight blossom dress

the giver by lois lowry // on the riviera dress

the princess diaries by meg cabot // star hollow dress

the hunger games by suzanne collins // twinkling stars metallic dress

tuck everlasting by natalie babbitt // polly heart print dress

twilight by stephenie meyer // city striped dress

the chronicles of chrestomanci by diana wynne jones // sunset dance dress

divergent by veronica roth // manhattan skyway dress

ruche: spring sneak peek!

Happy Friday, friends!

Ruche has provided me with exclusive sneak peek images of their brand new Spring lookbook, which launches this coming Monday! March 9th. Capture the Moment is sure to be as lovely and inspiring as all of their lookbooks, but I'm especially excited for this one because their photo shoot location was Balboa Park in San Diego, CA. Dustin and I had our engagement photos taken there (and at Disneyland), and it will always have a special place in my heart! 

I really love that first photo above, because we have pictures in front of that same little pond. In fact, I set my engagement ring on a lily pad there for a particularly frightening photo op. A gigantic coy fish was definitely approaching to swallow it whole as our photographer was snapping away. I was squealing the whole time I leaned forward over the water to carefully retrieve my treasure. It was a race between the coy fish and I, and luckily I managed not to send my ring to its watery death. It still makes my heart beat frantically just thinking about it. I was glad our photographer was one of our best friends (and incredibly talented - check out Mike Villa Visuals online, he's still based in California!). And that fishy endeavor turned out to be totally worth it.  

And BONUS: Ruche has generously offered my blog followers a special treat in honor of the upcoming lookbook launch! Use the code SPRING15 for 15% off sitewide. Perhaps you can finally buy that novel dress you've been wanting. :)

Enjoy the remaining images and check back with Ruche on Monday to Capture the Moment.

style crush: lily james

source

Unfortunately, Lily James and I got off on the wrong foot. She entered Downton Abbey at a time when the show had cruelly devastated me, and her arrival as the new flirty and rebellious Lady Rose did not aid in fixing my shattered heart. Through no fault of her own, I broke up with Downton and we went our separate ways.

Lucky for Lily and I, we've been granted a second chance. Spring is full of her lovely face, because the arrival of Disney's star March movie means the arrival of Lily James as Cinderella. 

Of course I am wholeheartedly committed to a certain other Cinderella adaptation, ahem Ever After, but let's remember that love doesn't deplete - it multiplies. There is always more room for more love and magic in the world. 

source

Here are a few of my favorite details about Lily James:

She was born the exact same day as my husband. April 5th, 1989. Fantastic people unite. 

She is British. Extra points for everyone who is British.

Her name is the same as Harry Potter's parents. R.I.P. Lily and James.

She began her acting career in 2010! She is the Bambi of Hollywood.

She smiles and laughs with her mouth open a lot, and it's really endearing.

She looks completely fantastic and natural in both blonde and brunette hair, which I find as rare a quality as being a unicorn. 

She is a unicorn.

source

source

source

I suppose I would call her style classic exquisite. She exudes royal femininity with the long, sweeping gowns and classic silhouettes while also embracing some fantastic lace and embroidery (give it up for that chameleon-covered dress above - I want it). It's easy to forget that she's my age (younger, actually), but that girlish charm certainly serves her well. I think she'll make an excellent Cinderella. I cannot wait. 

I know she's dating Matt Smith from Dr. Who, but I quite enthusiastically wish she was actually in love with her Prince Charming co-star Richard Madden. I have a problem separating fantasy from reality. 

But really, lookit.

If this isn't actually Cinderella and Prince Charming, then I really don't know a dang thing. And I might be okay with that. Delusions, continue. 

source

source

source

source

See Cinderella March 13th! I'll see you there.