featured artist: hello halsted

Every once in a while I come across something on Instagram or Etsy that really just kicks me in the teeth - because of its originality, beauty, uniqueness, or something akin to I wish I was that creative. It's the best kind of shock envy because it both surprises and inspires. I love supporting other artists, and sometimes I find something so spectacular that I just have to share it with others.

This week I stumbled upon Hello Halsted on Instagram through another Instagram account that I love, Poppy and Fern. Both of these ladies create stunning floral jewelry, but in very different ways. I long to have something from each of them; they're perpetually on my wishlists. Rachel of Poppy and Fern hand stitches her jewelry, and it's all amazing. She also has an affinity for poppies (as evidenced by her shop name), and I love everything she makes, especially this necklace.

Stephanie of Hello Halsted, on the other hand, uses real flowers - Queen Anne's Lace - to create her masterpieces. She dries, cuts and dyes them to create these stunning miniature watercolors trapped in resin. She typically makes a variety of necklaces and earrings, with occasional extras like rings. My favorites are the large circle, square or hexagon necklaces. Gorgeous! Did I mention she's only 25? Makes my year's to-do list seem a little underwhelming. She posts new batches of products in her online shop every 8-12 days, which sell out really fast. I love this method, though, because it means that she's constantly preparing fresh and exciting designs for each new batch. Follow her Instagram to feel fragrantly inspired by her sneak peeks and new batch posts, and definitely take a look at her shop - her new batch posts TOMORROW, November 7th, at 11am!

visit me at Ruche

Happy Friday everyone!

I've been featured this fine day over at Ruche's blog, for a feature entitled "Playing with Prints"!
Go check it out!

I'm happy to say one of my favorite outfits of this month was featured, of the leopard cardigan, as well as a fun floral chambray/coral pants combo. Both outfits are featuring one of Ruche's many delectable necklaces, and I would highly recommend snatching a gem up for yourself (especially since mine came with a bonus pair of earrings to go with each necklace...but maybe they just like me a whole lot!)

The Leopard Cardigan

 Targét and the chambray way

Have a fabulous weekend!

the leopard cardigan

I think I've mentioned before that I've been consigning a lot of clothes this year.
Slowly cleaning out the excess, trying to be proactive and not lend power to my natural pack-rat tendencies.
For the most part it has been a really positive experience. My closet is lighter, I get a few extra bucks, I feel freer. The possibility of me being an old lady hoarder was slowly ebbing away.

But then something terrible happened. 

It was a few weeks ago.
I saw this Instagram post by another blogger I love, and thought, cute outfit! (See her full outfit post here). Love the green, love the leopard. Fun play on patterns.
Then I realized, bingo! I have a similar ensemble sitting in my closet, waiting to be worn.

You see, leopard is my love. It was a romance that struck early on in life, and that kind of nostalgia seems to last for a lifetime.
Naturally, when my bachelorette party came along, my best friend/maid of honor chose leopard and sequins as the main dress code. It was a fabulous event!
While we were out shopping for the perfect leopard dress, we found a white leopard cardigan and grabbed it as a possible backup in case I wanted a glittery dress with a leopard accent.
I ended up finding a fun leopard dress and one of my other friends wore the white leopard cardigan, and it's been sitting in my closet ever since. I've never actually worn it before, but it has been sitting there, happily reminding me of that fun-filled night surrounded by my best girl friends.
Because I am a pack rat and I'm way too sentimental about everything. That's just the way it is.

I went to my closet to grab the necessary ingredients for this fantastic outfit, and the cardigan was gone. 
I blinked in confusion, knowing exactly where it should be. I knew it by heart. Third in from the right side, right next to that brown cardigan with the rhinestones all over it that I've had since before junior high.
Maybe...could it be in the laundry?
I checked, even though I knew I hadn't worn it ever, so the chances of it being in the laundry were highly doubtful.
The panic was rising in my chest, because I knew what I had done.
I had thrown it into the black hole of consignment. 
I sprinted out to the car, hoping that it would somehow be tucked in the trunk somewhere. That it had magically avoided being in the big bag of giveaways I had taken there days before.
No such luck. I had no one to blame but myself.

Despite this, I went back to the consignment shop, probably looking like a crazed person as I stared shrewdly and expertly thumbed through every rack like a private investigator out to catch a thief. I even imagined some weird lie I could tell, that would persuade the owner to help me find it and take it back.
I found every other sweater and cardigan I had donated, except for the white leopard one.

For some reason this moment made me want to run out into the rain and scream,
"I KNEW IT! I told you all it would be this way! THIS IS WHY I KEEP EVERYTHING!"

Instead, I took a slow walk in the rain, basking in the tragic irony of it all.
I got in my car and told myself to keep it all together, despite my shattered hopes.
It's kind of hard to be that upset when I'm the one who made the mistake.
Or maybe...the fact that I'm to blame made it that much harder!

To put things back in perspective, we are talking about a cardigan here. Not a loved one (well, not a human loved one). And despite the fact that I gave away my back-up bachelorette cardigan, I was able to successfully find a leopard cardigan this weekend at Ross. Faith in humanity was restored. My inner child rejoiced. And my dear husband simply shook his head.

***UPDATE***
When I arrived at work the next day, the girl at the front desk was wearing my cardigan. 
I couldn't even speak.
I went up to her later as I was walking out and said, "Hm. Nice cardigan."
She said, barely even looking at me, "Oh, you too! Have a great day."
I don't know how, but I interpreted this as the most sinister of insults.

I posted my discovery on Facebook and people who don't read my blog just thought this girl had stolen my cardigan -- while that wasn't the case, the non-theft was still quite bitter.
Good thing I love my new cardigan.

Dress/Necklace (shop!)/Shoes (shop!): Ruche, Cardigan: Ross, Bangles: Kate Spade

august stampede

Remember that time when summer never came?

Today is August 1st and I'm caught completely off guard. 

It's another cloudy day, and my mind is still in May. I feel as if we've skipped the summer months, arriving straight into Fall. 

I can count the number of times I've said "it's hot!" on one hand. And a few of them were just because I was checking on the biscuits in the oven. 

I don't know what to do with this kind of summer. It's been a great few months, don't get me wrong - but it feels like it all just went by in a blur! We didn't have any days at the beach, we didn't grill hardly at all because it rained so often, we never took a weekend for the lake, and we didn't have any grand summertime vacations with pina colada smoothies and sunburns.

Overall, it just feels like summer never came.

Top: Modcloth, Skirt: LOFT, Necklace: Francesca's (similar)

That being said, August has its own kind of magic spark.
With summer coming to an end, every single day is full of desperate possibility.

The countdown begins - 18 days until the beginning of school!
For us, that's 18 days until the last first day of school. The beginning of the end of our law school days.

I can't begin to express my feelings about this coming year, now that we've officially crossed over into less than a year until we wrap up our time in Lynchburg and prepare to move back to Arizona. Back to our blessed summer heat and our families.
Arizona, where the summers are real and gritty and bright and endless.

So cheers...to the first and very last of our summers that never came.

earth day: giveaway!

In honor of the beauty of the earth, and in celebration of Earth Day today, I am hosting a very flowery giveaway!

What better way to give a nod to budding spring and our world's flora and fauna than by adding to your floral accessories collection?

The winner of this giveaway will receive a gift box of spring Posies, valued at over $40!

Your gift box could include: earrings, headbands, clips, brooches, rings, bookmarks, thumbtacks, magnets...or a little bit of everything!

Take a look at Posies by Cait for a sneak peek at some of the items for sale - although the giveaway items will be made especially for this giveaway!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure to spread the word - the giveaway winner will be announced on May 1st!

Enjoy!

leaving on a jet plane

Four days from now, I will be on a plane for London, England.

Dustin and I are taking a grand adventure to London and Paris, for a romantic getaway that will include shopping, snacking on crepes and baguettes, sight-seeing, fine cuisine and lots and lots of pictures!
I honestly can't wait to do an outfit photo shoot in front of the Eiffel Tower.

In planning for this trip, I'm realizing how much there is to see around Europe. It's absolutely daunting.
I have four days to pull myself together, finish packing, and figure out all the must-sees of our adventure!

Dress: Gifted, Top: J. Crew, Jacket: Gifted, 
Necklace: Cookie Lee (teal), Lia Sophia (gold), 
Shoes: Bought in Ireland

Testing myself for the overcast days overseas, I tried out some layering with my amazing leather jacket last week.
Unfortunately, I almost froze to death on this photo shoot, and quickly realized that my Arizona blood is still very much attuned to warm weather. I'm going to need much warmer clothing for the 40 and 50 degree rainy weather we'll be having!

I've been closely following (and getting advice from!) Melina from The Caffeinated Closet.
She took some very similar trips (check out her travel section on her blog), and even has a "creative layering" section that I've been using to take some notes for my suitcase. :)

If any of you have any further tips or outfit ideas, please feel free to comment!

And in the mean time, keep up with my Instagram for photo updates on our trip.
We'll be posting at least one photo per day of our experience, and I look forward to posting some outfit photos when we return!

Wish me luck with my packing endeavors!!