everything as it is.

everything in my life has sort of run to the way side after i got sick. now that i'm healthy again, i don't even know where to begin. piles of nonsense have taken over. my wax creature collection has definitely grown thanks to a fun trip to the field museum. i am in love with the vintage mermaid gown i found on etsy. i've been making jewelry for shows coming up. three to be exact: dose market, randolph street market and renegade holiday.

here is everything as i know it, right now.

art in the park and urban jungles :: photo diary

some snaps outside the art institute from when i met up with my dear friend christina last week. she took me {with her handy membership} to see the lichtenstein exhibit. the light was just too not to photograph.

faded hauntings

i think outtakes may be even better than a successful shoot. learn to work with your mistakes. they can be even more beautiful than what you had originally envisioned.

me with heavy bangs a few months ago in my cape dress.

blue monday

hello everyone! i hope you had a fantastic weekend!
i awoke to find these images in my inbox from the ever-inspiring mnz store. their product images seem to belong more in a modern gallery exhibit than an online store. i wonder if it's hard living up to such incredibly talented and creative standards all the time. either way, i am so glad they exist.

sisters of the black moon :: alexandra valenti

i've been an ebay-er since i gained the dreaded freshman 15 during college and had to sell all of my abercrombie kids clothes that my former tiny little figure fit into. during that time i found the vintage shop :: sisters of the black moon and developed a harmless obsession with their amazing vintage items and gypsy branding.

so when i saw colleen's post over on inspired to share about the insanely talented photographer//painter, alexandra valenti, i was excited to see that some of her work was with the 'sisters.' i cannot believe how well alexandra captured their essence :: a little bit dark, mostly mystical and always gypsy.

i'm not quite sure what that flare thing is but i want one the next time we do a wanderlustings shoot for sure.

alexandra valenti
sisters of the black moon

these things most treasured :: photo diary

these were some of the photographs i took while doing the 15//30 capsule wardrobe project. i thought it would be fun to show the accessories in great detail - that was a bit of undertaking needless to say. so here they are, separated from their content of origin, but nonetheless lovely {if i do say so myself}.

magic at dusk :: viktor gårdsäter photography

there's something really magical about viktor gårdsäter's photography. he seems to hit just the right time of day//night for truly beautiful lighting - making for utterly magnificent shots. 

see more lovely shots here.

in the depths of dreams:: brooke shaden's girls

if i had dreams as vivid and enchanting as these shots, i would die happy. 

brooke shaden's photostream on flickr continually captivates me like nothing else could. they evoke tragedy, serenity, melancholy...so many things. they also look like subjects you might see in victorian portraits but that's just part of their amazing intrigue.

partial artist statement:: 

"i want my imagery to move beyond the realm of photography and instead mimic paintings and alternate styles of art. i am not in love with any particular medium of art as much as i am in love with visually representing the stories i have in my mind. it is this painterly quality that i emulate, such as the use of brush strokes over my photographs, that i think gives my work a unique touch. there is a particular feeling to all of my photographs, one that touches on the juxtaposition of the real yet surreal, a fantasy and a dream yet riddled with reality."

well i think that they are just so moving. i encourage you to view the rest of her images - they are wonderful.

view her website here.

glow baby glow:: photo diary

just wanted to show you some of the outtakes for one of the 15//30 project shots. obviously these didn't make the cut and i just had to lay the outfits out to be able to show the arrangements. but i didn't want to see these pretty shots go to waste.

i'm wearing the pink dress from forever 21 with some blue patterned tights most likely from forever 21 as well and then my thrifted cowgirl boots that the honey got me.

do you like the light leaks? i know i sure do!

wild thing:: kitschy murals

i thought i would share these with you just because the wall mural was just too amazing. i generally dislike zoos because i hate captivity {even though i am an owner of domestic furballs} - it makes me very sad. this instance was no exception.

but i could not help but get excited that this place just seemed so gosh darn kitschy and i instantly felt like i transported to a scene plucked straight from the royal tenenbaums.

i think it has something to do with the framing or this shot in particular. but i just had to share.

i want more:: miniatures by ashley curry

ashley curry paints all of those tiny paintings. how sweet is that?!
i know a lot of people who can use those in their lovely miniature designed dollhouses project.

she sells her lovely paintings on etsy here.

boarding school bohemian :: charlotte taylor f/w 2012

heart be still.

i nearly died when my eyes found charlotte taylor's new fall//winter 2012 lookbook. i can always get behind a line that focuses on bold colors and prints and of course, taylor has always been at the forefront of this category since she left luella to begin a venture in her own name in june of 2009.

i just can't seem to get over how classy and interesting these frocks are and even more amazing?! the styling of this entire shoot - so epic-ly moody and eerie with that hand painted, moonlit canvas background, the snowy white owl and the model's hitchcockian stares.

best of luck charlotte with your new collection. although we know you won't be needing any.

art direction:: harriman steel
photography:: claire pepper
styling:: hayley simmons
model:: rosalind 'roz' jana
makeup:: camilla hewitt
hair:: david wadlow
owl model:: alfie