Erica

Headband- Made by Erica

Tank and Cardigan- Mine

Skirt- Made by me for Erica

Shoes- Erica's DIY

Erica has been over the last few days working on some craft/sewing projects. She's been telling me for a few weeks about a skirt she had envisioned and bought the fabric for it last week. She designed the thing herself and I constructed it from Tuesday-Wednesday. We finished it Wednesday before she headed off to go Ballroom Dancing. The skirt was super simple, pattern free. There is a nude lining and two layers of lace, one cream and the other a very pretty peachy-pink. Each layer is two rectangles, all of them stitched together and then a casing at the top and an elastic waistband. Super easy. Working with that many layers was a bit of a challenge at first, but in the end the skirt came out really cute. We've got three other projects we're working on that I'll show you when we're done.

This is my favourite picture from the bunch!

We decided to have a little photoshoot but due to the rain decided to keep it in my apartment complex. Yes, I live in this weird green-blue building. It's a nice quite complex and we have a pool so I think that mostly makes up for the awful colour. But it actually looked really cool against her pale skirt. We both had been talking about how inspired we have been by Ballet inspired clothes of late. And Erica's skirt is a perfect way to bring a tu-tu into the real world. 

How cute are Erica's DIY shoes? She got some shoe glue and a pair of flats she already had, added a piece of suede to the back, cut holes, and laced some ribbons through et voila! The bottom of these pictures shows the lace layers a little better. I love the blush-y colour pallet Erica picked!

(all my clothes are so big!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Erica changed before heading out to go dancing. She borrowed my OSU jacket since she forgot  blouse to wear with her skirt. But we both really love the way the skirt looks dressed down with some cute sneakers.  I think we'll probably be making a few more of these!

I really have been lacking any sewing mojo lately. I keep thinking up projects, but lack of fabric money (not that I need any more fabric!!), and general busyness has left me without much desire to sew. But when Erica asked me to help her with these projects it reminded me of how much I really love sewing. Which is good because I got a job for the summer sewing costumes for the Shakespeare play OSU is putting on this summer (Taming of the Shrew, which is one of my favourites!!)!! I am super excited, and the best part is the other girls in the costume shop with me this summer are two friends of mine (yeah there are only three of us... eep!!). So excited to start!! 

School Spirit

I am not a huge fan of the colour orange. I mean, I have nothing against it, it's just not a colour I really prefer. Unfortunately I go to a college who's colours are orange and black, and the entire city is obsessed with school spirit. I'm not actually joking about that. I mean, you cannot walk down a single street in Corvallis without seeing some sort of OSU paraphernalia. It wouldn't be that bad if it was a nice shade of orange, but no, OSU chose the most garish neon orange they could find. Observe:

See? It's awful. When I first came here I didn't really think that, being a music major, I would ever be faced with the need for school spirit-ridden clothing. Most schools art departments could care less about school spirit. But apparently OSU's music dept didn't catch the memo, infact it could be said that the music dept actually adds to the madness. I can't even count the number of times I have been asked to go to events bedecked in orange and black. Currently I own two orange t-shirts, neither of them are to my taste. The funny thing is that this whole school spirit thing is actually kind of infectious. However, being that our colours are orange and black it's kind of hard to put together anything that doesn't make it seem like you're a little anxious for Hallowe'en. But here are some ideas I have for ways to work a little spirit into my wardrobe.

I really like the idea of an orange pair of shorts paired with a chic black top and some fun flats, this would be perfect for a sports event or an outdoor concert.

I am always a fan of Keds and this eyelet top is super cute. Perfect for low key festivals.

Sometimes we have to wear our colours for rehearsals where photos are being taken. This would be such an easy and comfy outfit to wear for rehearsing, while showing some Beaver love. <--- Weirdest sentence I have ever written.

I love that this dress could be easily dressed up or down. And this is definitely a dress I would wear often and on it's own.

This would be excellent for fancier affairs. And how cute is that little Oregon charm? I found a California one too. I think it would be super cute to have one of each on the same chain.

Do you guys have a dress code you're not a fan of but have to adhere to? 

From the Archives

In the Spring of 2007 I went on a Choir tour to New York City. Next Spring I will be doing the same thing. Funny how life does that...

Somewhere in Rockefeller Center

Hat- Bri's

Scarf- gift

Jacket- hand-me-up from Bri

T-shirt- Bri's

Dress- target

Bag- Market in Mexico (a week and a half before this trip!)

Leggings- Bri's

Shoes- Kohls. I still have them 

There aren't many surviving photos of that trip. But I found some on my old myspace page (I don't know why I don't delete that thing!) and laughed hysterically. I seriously thought I was the coolest. I was a bleeding hipster. Funny how life does that...

R2D2 in front of FAO Schwartz! 

Earrings- Market in Mexico

Hoodie- Bri's

Tank top- Probably Target

Bag- H&M (In NYC 2 years earlier!)

Jeans-Jessica's mom actually...

Shoes- Kohls

Bracelets- Both gifts from Bri, one from Chile, one from Betsey Johnson.

Also please take note that I am drinking a Monster energy drink which I started drinking in an effort to impress a boy. The drink was free and they were handing them out in front of the Plaza. This was such a weird trip.

Fountain in Central Park

Everything is from Target except the bag which is from H&M. And yes, that is a giant multi-coloured butterfly on the side of my shirt.

Hipster Pants

Please ignore my choir t-shirt. I couldn't find another one. And it's actually coral not orange!

There is kind of a joke among a few friends and I that the longer I stay in Oregon the more of a Hipster I become. I have accepted the fact that I am a Hipster and even went so far as to declare that if a certain Hipster boy I know and I ever got married, we would become the Hipster king and queen (this will never happen...). It's okay, I hate myself, except that I don't and frankly I love it, but there is really no helping it. So I have been on the look out for the perfect pair of "Hipster Pants." Y'know, cropped, skinny through the leg, kinda 60's. I found this pair of frumpy brown corduroy pants at Goodwill over Spring Break and decided to just alter them to fit the way I wanted.

I used the same method as this, except I didn't take the inner leg in (so much lovelier than crotch... ewwww!!) since I didn't want as tight a look. I really love the end result! They're exactly what I wanted, and so much more flattering now! All I need is a pair of brogues, a plaid button up, and a top knot and we'd be in business! 

An Oregon Summer

There is a possibility of some really exciting things happening this summer. No word now, but hopefully soon I will be sharing some of this exciting news with you! But regardless I am super excited for all the possibilities this summer holds. I had toyed with the idea of returning to California and transferring to a different school, but despite how difficult the last few months have been, they have also been the most rewarding months of my life. I have learned so much, and have completely fallen in love with this town, and the people around me. While I love and miss my dear family and friends so much, I honestly have no desire to leave anytime soon. I definitely will be taking a trip south this summer, but I am beyond excited to spend the majority of my summer exploring the awesome delights Oregon has to offer. This week has been sunny and warm with a beautiful breeze, and I am so looking forward to more days like these. 

The Riverwalk in Corvallis is one of my favourite places to go. The Willamette flowing peacefully, all the flowers in bloom, people enjoying a picnic on the lawn, kids running in the fountain, it is such a beautiful place! I plan on spending quite a bit of time down there reading and basking in the sunshine.

It's so funny to me that some people in Oregon feel about Portland the way I feel about Los Angeles. I suppose no matter where you go some will look at big cities with a nose turned up, but Portland is one of those cities I have a hard time thinking ill of. There are endless things to do, it's incredibly beautiful, and the shopping is fantastic! A few day trips to Portland are definitely in order this summer.

I've been meaning to hike up to Mary's Peak here in Corvallis for weeks, so this is a huge priority. Many of my friends have posted pictures of Mary's Peak and the view is just breathtaking! A picnic and photoshoot are definitely in order.

Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could escape a few trips to my grandparent's house on the coast. I'm hoping to relive a little of my childhood and visit all the lighthouses in the area (y'know how I feel about lighthouses!), as well as explore all the charming and kitchy coastal shopping centres. There's one in Newport that I am especially keen on checking out where you can buy a t-shirt that says "I got crabs in Newport Oregon." Classy.

When I was 13 my family took a trip to Crater Lake. Admittedly Crater Lake actually freaks me out. I am horribly claustrophobic and being deep under water terrifies the daylights out of me. Knowing there is like, nearly 2000 feet of water below you... Gives me the heebee-jeebies!!! But at the same time, Crater Lake is such a beautiful and awe inspiring place. I'd love to get the chance to explore Crater Lake as a grownup, though I can guarantee you I will not be doing any swimming in the lake.

Too Big

You have probably noticed a lack of outfit posts around here. Well here is why, when I got into dress rehearsals a few weeks ago I realized that many of the pieces (there were like, seven different pieces to my costume...) were suddenly too big. By mid week of of the following week I found I'd lost 4 inches all around. Which is great! But I ended up having to have my skirt taken in and my belt ended up having to be buckled at the last buckle in order to fit. I haven't really been doing anything special to lose weight, but I do walk much more now that I live off campus, and also I don't eat processed dinning hall food three times a day, and while I had noticed that many of my clothing items were fitting better I didn't realize how much I'd lost until then. This last week I started going through my clothes and found that many of them are just huge now. For example:

This skirt I made in November. As you can see it's about four inches too big now.

These pants I made last August I believe. They fit me then, but now they're huge everywhere!!

This one still "fits" technically. Actually the skirt fits better than it ever has, but the blouse part is huge! The waist is pretty big too, but the blouse is the worst part. I've never been able to wear this dress without a slimmer of some sort so that is definitely an improvement!

This leaves me with the problem of having no clothes that actually fit me. Everything is either too big, or just a little too small. But I am hoping to lose some more weight, so I don't really want to make too many things right now. The items above I'll probably end up taking in so I can use them for the time being, but it's actually super frustrating!! Don't get me wrong, I am elated! But I'd also like to have some clothes. Grr, but a happy Grr. 

Sorry about the radio silence this past week. The end of Magic Flute hit me harder than I thought. Good Lord I miss that show and those kids, and even those seven layers of polyester I called my costume. 

How is everyone's week going?