Just because the ground is cold and the skies are grey and all signs are pointing you towards the 5-pound, hand-knit sweater coat hanging in your closet doesn’t mean you have to abandon all style for the sake of function. Let’s be honest, winter is a challenge for even the most seasoned style gurus — so many layers, so few colors and my legs haven’t seen the light of day since November.
Something about today — maybe the way I started it with Mushaboom by Feist — made me face these cold weather challenges with a renewed sense of enthusiasm.
A big thank you to my roommate Mica, who gifted me with this nifty sweater yesterday…
Style Rule #382938: There’s nothing better than a striped sweater.
I find when my day starts with a solid outfit choice, it usually continues on positive trajectory. Today was no different… I found Cava and Cava found me. Enter excessively beautiful photo of my gyro…
My taste buds are singing and my heart is dancing and even though it’s winter, life is wonderful.
Hello readers! Or should I say aloha? As the temperatures stay well below my comfort zone and my first instinct is to hibernate under my covers for days, I have been using an alternative method of escapism to bring blue skys and sunshine into my life. While living vicariously through the internet 100% of the time can make me feel like a bit of a twitchy-eyed goblin creature, in small doses the internet can be quite the mood booster. So, here are some of my happiest discoveries from these past few weeks:
The best part about the start of a new month is the opportunity to hit life’s refresh button and get back on track — I have always preferred starting something at the beginning of a new week or month — February will be all about getting back to balance. I miss little habits that seem to have fallen through the cracks so far — carrying my camera around with me 24/7, baking for the hell of it, weekend render-vous in DC and seeing my family that lives here. So, with this post, I want to raise a virtual glass to the little steps. To the reminders and the efforts that come out of them that keep me moving forward. It’s hard to see the progress when life goes whizzing by you, sometimes you just have to stop, turn around and look at how far you’ve come. Then keep moving. That’s my plan at least.
A wish of sweet dreams to all of my night owl friends and a good morning to all of my early risers. More adventures to come.
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:
