leos rule

As some of you may know, my brother is currently living in Seoul, Korea teaching English to elementary school students. It’s great for him not only because he’s great with kids, but also because this job can be for paying off student loans. You get paid pretty well and they pay for most of your living costs, plus you get to live abroad. We’ve had a few friends who’ve done this in the past, but a very good friend of ours, Melissa went over a year before him and helped him get over. Melissa is one of the most wacky, random, hilarious, good-hearted, and fun people I’ve ever met in my life. One day she just started calling herself Mommy and it really stuck, so that’s pretty much how most of her friends know her now. Well, because she is also really impulsive she randomly quit her job in May and flew back to Cincinnati so that she could go to her brother’s wedding. It was great to have her back for the summer, but she has gone back to Korea now. I was very happy that we at least got to spend her birthday with her before she left.

Mommy prefers a low-key, hole in the wall type place, so we went to Arnold’s to listen to some jugband-style blugrass. Arnold’s is the oldest bar in the city, and the perfect bar to have a beer and enjoy the courtyard.

While we were out that night I realized that the very first outfit post I ever did on my blog was from her birthday, so I knew I had to make a tradition of it.

The beautiful birthday girl in front of their Shepard Fairey mural.

All of us ladies

She never saw it coming.

Last year for her birthday we played bocce ball, which was a first for me.

All in all a fabulous night with my two best ladies! I hope I magically get to spend her birthday with her next year. Maybe I’ll have to go to Korea…..

WHAT: sheer scarf, chicken lays an egg

floral dress (as shirt), forever 21

leather belt, thrift

pleated skirt, chicken lays an egg

fakelite rose bracelet, thrift

vintage pink socks, talk of the town

wedges, aldo

WHERE: drinkin’, drinkin’, and more drinkin’

WHEN: friday, august 20

spring grove blogger date

Often when I read the blogs of lucky girls who live in really big cities I get jealous of their ability to meet up in person with other style bloggers. So lately instead of just being envious, I’ve been chatting more with some of the lovely style bloggers of Cincinnati. I’m dying to organize some sort of big blogger picnic or something with the ladies of Cincy: Kasmira of What I Wore Today, Paige is Midwest Darling, Tamia from Style Sample, Lauren of Paper Gown Fashions, and Molly the Sister in Second-Hand Sequins.

I’ve been hanging with Molly a bunch ever since we ran into each other at my favorite bar a few months ago. We had our first blogger date at Spring Grove Cemetery on Father’s Day. I know you’re probably thinking, ‘They hung out for the first time at a cemetery? How emo.’ Actually when Spring Grove was built in the late 1800s, it was modeled after French parks from that time so it has some beautiful landscape architecture. Not to mention that it encompasses over 700 acres, including 12 ponds and a ton of really incredible Gothic Revival architecture. I remember going there with my mom a lot when I was little to watch the swans, but I actually hadn’t been back since then. We had a great time wandering around even if it was like 1000 degrees. Anyway, here are a few of the pictures we took that day. (The ones with the rounded edges were taken by Molly and her awesome friend Patricia.)

How picturesque is that?!

These cute little bridges were everywhere!

I'm still experimenting with filters...

There must have been thousands of snails in this pond, all along the entire edge.

I wasn't totally happy with my outfit, but I overslept that morning. Also I am so insanely jealous of Molly's hat.

Patricia, conqueror of trees.

Behind the scenes

They were having a horse and carriage drive at Spring Grove that day, so we got to see a little parade of people in their period clothes and carriages!

My favorite cart

How cute is this little mule!

Sorry for so many pictures, but I hope you enjoyed our field trip as much as we did!!

good karma through the roof

Recently a bunch of people in my life have done some incredible things for me, so I feel like I need to be very aware of paying that forward. I don’t know if I have mentioned it before but I am a BIG believer in karma, it’s about the closest thing to a religion that I can get behind wholeheartedly. One of the awesome things is that I have been invited to cover my first event for the blog! As part of Fashion Week they’re having an event to celebrate local fashion illustrator Anne Wainscott, and I am really excited.

More recently, I spent the last ten or so hours doing some hardcore crafting and I have A LOT to show for it. I had a few minutes before I crash, so I wanted to get a post up before the weekend madness really starts. I can’t wait to post the pictures after the Crafty Supermarket!

I just got this cool vintage dress and it’s so breezy I know it will be perfect for a sweltering August day. Unfortunately since I still had massive blisters from the party I had to wear these shoes. I had been hoping to be a bit more adventurous with this dress.

It's so sheer that without a slip this one would be a naked dress.

WHAT: sheer floral dress, chicken lays an egg

brass buckle belt, thrift

fakelite roses, my gramma

slip, chicken lays an egg

bronze sandals, target

WHERE: work at chicken

WHEN: wednesday, march 14