Nov 13, 2012

Belated Fashion Friday + Weekend Recap

Madeline Beard Fashion, Other Adventures Doc Martens, fashion, formal, layers, music, photography, winter 6 Comments

Hello dear readers! Can we start referring to the month of November as “Maddie’s Get Out of Blogger Jail Free Card”? Deal? Deal. I am really looking forward to the sweet month of December following my final exams when I can make SLB my front and center priority. There is a part of me that wishes I could just press the pause button on everything else and simply blog 24/7. Until that time, cut me a small bit of slack and just know that SLB is never far from my mind — just an extra full plate to balance right now.

Okay, crazy schedule/life aside, I first wanted to share with you guys the wonderful photos I snapped for this week’s Fashion Friday post.

Meet Angela del Sol Varela.

The only way I can truly describe Angela is a shining beam of light. I met her in my PR Case Studies class and she caught my attention for both her funky urban style and her contagious enthusiasm. Even when the weather gets cold, Angela brings lightness and fun to the darker colors, heavier fabrics and chunky layers she sports. I think my favorite item Angela wore to the shoot was her pair of beat up, well-loved Doc Martens — with one look at those shoes, you can tell they hold a lifetime of adventures in their soles.

Angela was a fabulous subject to work with and I had such a good time shooting her — definitely a high point of my week! And that brings me to my weekend recap:

My weekend consisted of work on work on work with some fun breaks thrown in. On Friday I spontaneously attended a fraternity formal, which was the perfect way to kick off the weekend. It was held on a boat that sailed the Potomac as we dined and danced, plus I got to wear a dress that had only once seen light outside of my closet. I made some new friends, enjoyed the night with some old friends and blew off the steam that had been building since Monday. Here’s one of my favorite photos from the evening, me with my dear friend Liz:

Saturday I spent the day lounging and the night in, reenergizing my mind, body and spirit. Sunday I went back to work on various projects, including a special book jacket I am designing that I will share more about soon. Here are some of my favorite photos I shot to be included in the project:

Can’t wait to reveal what all of these images are for, so keep your eyes peeled and your Google Readers open. For now, I must refocus my attention to wire frames and responsive design — aka, things far less fun than writing on SLB. I want to leave with some new tunes that my close friend Cristina shared with me today — The Nighttime Adventure Society is a DC-based band that is on the rise. They remind me of a revamped Rilo Kiley, take a listen to one of my favorite songs and let me know what you think:

<a href="http://nighttimeadventuresociety.bandcamp.com/track/hell-is-real">Hell is Real by The Nighttime Adventure Society</a>

♥

Nov 9, 2012

Red, White and YOU

Madeline Beard Fashion, Other Adventures election 2012, patriotic, red white and blue, white house 1 Comment

And by you, I mean… me. Us. Everyone. It is now two days after the election and I am still buzzing from that night. The minute that Wolf Blitzer projected a winner, I turned to my roommate Aliya and said “Drop your things, we’re going to the White House.” And we did! It was amazing. A lot of cheering, high fives, hugs and chanting. You don’t just have to take my word for it though, here are a couple of photos I snapped from the night:

Yesterday morning I was still experiencing the symptoms of “election fever”, so I chose to don one of my most patriotic outfits to class. The combination of red, white and blue with a chambray button up and my beloved L.L. Bean duck boots felt like the winter version of a Fourth of July picnic.

Oh and I own probably the most obnoxiously patriotic sweater ever. I wore it all of election night, and I think it’s one of the reasons my mood went from mildly interested to excessively enthusiastic as the night wore on. See for yourself:

While a bit of the initial excitement has worn off, I am still in awe over the effect DC has had on me over the last two years. Being around so many people who are passionate about making a difference in the world and igniting positive change has really rubbed off on me — casting my first ballot and then seeing the outcome truly made me proud to be a part of something so much greater than myself. Okay, okay I’ll cool it on all the election love for now. More adventures to come, including a fabulous Fashion Friday post tomorrow…

♥

Nov 7, 2012

VOTE

Madeline Beard Other Adventures 2012, america, democracy, election night 1 Comment

Don’t think I will be sleeping tonight as I sit with my fellow Washingtonians, tuned to CNN and donning my red, white and blue (more on that in tomorrow’s post). It’s too late for me to encourage you guys to rock the vote (which hopefully you all did) but I can still tell you to stop reading this, turn on your TV and get excited! Every four years we get to exercise our rights as U.S. citizens and incite change. As a first time voter (in my swing state of Nevada!), I am so thrilled to have been a part of this process. Debating a trip to the White House tonight, for now I’ll just dance around my living room to this song:

HAPPY ELECTION NIGHT 2012!!!!!!!

♥