In Far Away Lands With Golden Locks

One last blonde-haired post, way after the fact!

Not only did I dress up as my favorite Disney characters before going purple, but also as my favorite blonde fantasy female characters. Of course one of them was a Lord of the Rings elf and another was the one and only Daenerys Targaryen. Just like for the Disney post, I used only materials and clothing I had on hand, and had fun doing it. It's amazing what easy costumes we sometimes have in our own closets that we don't even realize. I encourage everyone to be as creative as possible this Halloween (if you're actually cool enough to dress up) and see what you already have to work with. That being said, I hope you enjoy these photos that made me feel so magical!

Lady of Light

  (Shirt: Forever 21/ dress: part of a costume from Amazon/ circlet: handmade/ elf ears: a Renaissance festival )

The elves in the Lord of the Rings movies are some of the most beautiful and elegant looking people I have ever seen in a fantasy movie, if at times cold and distant, and I am admittedly very much infatuated with Orlando Bloom as Legolas and Lee Pace as Thranduil. There language is so beautiful and poetic and they seem so wise and mighty, even if their time has gone. One of the most beautiful and wise of the elves is Galadriel, Lady of Light and of Lorien, played by the always wonderful Cate Blanchett. I took these pictures with what was a very general Lord of the Rings inspired elvish costume, and just put together a very last minute circlet of some wire I had, but looking at the pictures again I realized that it sort of looks like Galadriel's own dress and circlet. That was a happy coincidence, even though I will never be nearly as beautiful and captivating as Galadriel or Cate Blanchett.

Mother of Dragons

  (Shirt: actually a skirt from GoJane.com/ skirt: Target)

Daenerys Targaryen is such a fabulous and sincere character on Game of Thrones, even though she still doesn't really know what she is doing or how to rule quite yet. I really wanted to dress up as her in one of her more beautiful dresses, but I didn't have any that would do her justice. Instead I threw together an outfit inspired by when she was still living among the Dothraki as Khaleesi, and took the photos to present the moment after her dragons are born out of the fire. To do that I made an admittedly horrid and unconvincing card stock dragon and put black eye shadow all over myself like soot. I loved creating this hairdo especially and wore it to school afterwards still feeling like a khaleesi.

I hope you enjoyed these nerdy photos, and I can't wait to show you what costume I am working on for Halloween!

Love,
Michelle

Falling for Florals

 (Shirt: vintage from Miami Twice/ skirt: vintage from Etsy/ shoes: Modcloth/ earrings: Sale Rack in Miami/ necklace: Michal Negrin via Miami Twice)

My obsession with flowers and florals continues to grow and was very evident Friday when I had a date day in downtown Tallahassee. This outfit felt timeless and fairy tale-esque, and I loved wearing my now favorite skirt with my forever favorite necklace. The skirt is another beautiful vintage piece I received from Wildwood Vintage that made me feel like a walking field of wildflowers. It paired perfectly with my handmade necklace by the wonderful jewelry designer Michal Negrin, which is the most beautiful piece of jewelry I will probably ever own with its flowers and foliage with very subtle and brilliant gemstones. The Modcloth boots are also very much of a favorite of mine whose navy lace-up inset and scallop trim added to the storybook, fairy tale feel.

One of the most wonderful things about Tallahassee is that something is always flowering, at least on campus. Around the State Capitol during spring there was a beautiful abundance of flowers, and when I saw that the flowers were still there on the bus ride down to Miami, I knew I had to see them again before the beginnings of fall weather got to them. This outfit was meant to echo just a bit of their beauty and wonderful array of color. 

Weekend in Miami

This past weekend was my mom's fiftieth birthday, and I went down to try to surprise her and celebrate with her. Although she found out before I got there, she was still really happy I came. It was a really busy and packed weekend, but it was a lot of fun and I'm glad I got to spend time with some of my friends and family.

This beautiful and strange sunset was the only truly nice part of what is always a horribly tedious and uncomfortable bus ride, but what a sunset this was. I have never seen anything like it, and it seemed like a good omen for the weekend.

Friday

Friday started off the way every day always should: with good food and company. My grandma took me to IHOP and I ate some wonderful French toast covered with glazed strawberries and whipped cream. She then took me shopping for a few things at Target I needed, which turned into a lot of things that I didn't so much. My grandma and me both buy things on whim, so we can be a bit of a dangerous pairing at stores. We always have fun though.

We then went over to her apartment so I could see my grandpa and play with their really sweet, morbidly obese chihuahua puppy. After I got a crepe with my mama and played with my dogs at home a little bit, too. Playing with dogs is probably one of my favorite things about being home and one of the things I truly miss most emotionally when I'm gone. I always feel jealous and sad when I see other people around Tallahassee out and about with their own furry friends.

Another exciting thing I got to do later on Friday was help pick up my little sisters from their art class. They're such promising little artists who always stay after class to finish and perfect their work, so while they were doing that I got to watch them and talk to their wonderful art teachers.

Outfit of the Day

 (Tank top and shirt: Forever 21/ shorts: vintage from Etsy/ shoes: B.A.I.T. footwear/ earrings: Claire's)

This outfit had such beautiful sherbet rainbow colors in it that I really love. I wore this outfit a week after dying my hair purple, and since then I had worn only outfits with colors that really complimented my hair, so this outfit took me out of my comfort zone. Wearing it helped me realize how even though pastels and other colors might be a bit more of a challenge to wear now, I should still be able to wear anything my little heart desires from my closet.

The pictures themselves were a bit of a challenge to take since I waited until it was already night but still really wanted to take them outside by the pool without flash. The tripod I found lying around the house had a missing camera mount so I had to carefully strap my camera to it with the only string we had at home, which happened to be floss. I also had very little time from setting off the camera timer to get into position, and a lot of the time I wasn't still enough so they came out blurry. In the end I like how they turned out, even the ones with the blur for the light and the multiple moments they captured in one photograph.

Saturday

 I've been wanting to go to a festival at the Miccosukee Resort for a while now but haven't gotten the chance. When I saw that they would be having an American Indian Day festival while I was down, I knew I had to go. My lovely friend Andrea took us there and we both had a great time looking at all the Seminole and Miccosukee crafts, including a lot of beautiful patchwork and beadwork. We also watched an alligator wrestling performance, a few different dances from other American Indian cultures, and saw a fashion show of Seminole patchwork, varying from very traditional to very modern. The fashion show was my favorite part, so much so that I am going to make a whole post about once I get the chance to research the topic a little more. For now, please enjoy one of my favorite pictures from the show of a fabulous Miccosukee girl waving happily in a Cinderella-esque dress with incorporated patchwork.

Outfit of the Day

 (Shirt and necklace: Forever 21/ shorts: Wet Seal/ shoes and hat: Target/ sunglasses: Urban Outfitters/ earrings: Claire's/ bracelet: National Museum of the American Indian in D.C.)

This outfit was planned out around my American Indian inspired jewelry, but also matched this lovely hat my grandma bought me Friday. With this hat, my hair and outfit not only complimented each other but perfectly matched!

Half a Century Young

Saturday night we celebrated my lovely mother's birthday by going to the Cheesecake Factory with all five of his children in tow as well as my grandparents. Needless to say, dinner was wonderful and desert was excellent. I didn't take any outfit pictures, but I did get the chance to snap this Polaroid with my mama after dinner.

Sunday

Sunday was very rushed, but I got to see my other grandparents for breakfast and take this quick picture with the lovely Amber before rushing to pack my stuff and catch the bus for a long and cockroach-filled ride back up to Tallahassee. It was definitely worth it though to see everyone I could.

On Wednesdays...

 (Shirt: from Bermuda/ shorts: vintage from Etsy/ shoes: American Eagle/ head wire: Forever 21/ necklace: Claire's/ bracelet and earrings: gifts)

Today's outfit wasn't intentionally pink, but it just sort of turned out that way after being planned out around these gorgeous pair of  pinkish, purplish floral shorts I got from a lovely Etsy shop called Wildwood Vintage. I haven't had the chance to wear them yet and I just wanted to make sure I got the chance to before cooler weather sets in. I've also been extremely obsessed with florals lately and I feel like I've been wearing them at least every other day. But there's nothing wrong with that, right?