The month of June in outfits

I think I'm going to start collaging all of these outfit photos at the end of every month. There's something satisfying about seeing all of them at once. Which outfit in June was your favorite?

Padding my dress resume

Dress: Jennifer Moore, thrifted;

Necklace: Tayla platforms, Target;

Necklace: from Philippines, gift from Mom 

(I have the nicest mother ever).

It's been raining a lot here. It will be unbearably hot and sunny during the day when I'm at work, and as soon as I get in the car to drive home,thundershowers begin. It's like the Universe strums its chin and says, "You have a photo blog? And you only take pictures from 6-8pm? I laugh at your plans, Dress Girl!" with a maniacal grin. And then makes it rain. I was so determined to take photos before trivia Tuesday night, Jeremiah and I drove to the farm park and waited for a break between showers...

I found this beauty of a dress during a thrifting jaunt over the weekend at Goodwill. Red with beige flowers? One hundred percent silk? Perfect length for leg elongation? Cute Grecian side tie-thingy? It might as well have had a neon sign over it saying, "BUYYY MEEE." I wonder how long the dress idled in obscurity in the overcrowded dress rack. Probably not that long -- I go often enough (about three times a month) that I can identify certain forgotten pieces, so this dress was probably very new to the thrift scene when I found it.

The dress has shoulder pads, and usually I go for the scissors and get rid of those things right away. But for this dress I kept them because I liked how they make my shoulders subtly jut out, to balance out the femininity of the dress. What do you think? To pad or not to pad?

Have a great Wednesday (it's my day off!),

Girls in straw hats

 On me:

Dress (as top): Ann Taylor Loft;

Skirt: American Eagle;

Hat: Scala Pronto;

Shoes: Zigi Soho;

Bag: Thrifted.

On Nikki: 

Dress: From Philippines;

Necklace: From Philippines;

Hat: Forever 21;

Bag: JC Penney;

Shoes: Tayla platforms, Target.

Photos by me and Nikki.

I had Sunday off, so in the afternoon my sister Nikki came over to visit me and Jeremiah. She just came back from her trip to the Philippines and over some Goodwill shopping and "Mad Men" episodes, she had some interesting stories to share. If you're a longtime follower of the blog, you'll know that Nikki originally wrote for the blog as well, and it was nice again to have some outfit photos of her as well. I got to finally show her the farm park and she's thinking about doing her senior portraits there. It's crazy to think about, but she'll be starting her senior year of high school soon...

Anyways, we had so much fun at the park. We tried to do some ridiculous skipping and jumping photos together on the bridge, but we couldn't get the timing right and almost every photo had one of us in the air, and the other still on the ground, poised to jump. The 92 degree heat didn't help matters, either, but at least we had some fun laughing over it.

It's interesting how we've influenced each others' styles. We met up with each other at the thrift store and we both were wearing straw hats for the day. I'm also wearing a skirt that both of us have shared over the years, and she's wearing my Target platform sandals. It's fun to have a style twin sometimes.

Have a lovely Monday,

Who is Keyser Soze?

Dress: Ann Taylor Loft;

Shoes: from Philippines, gift from Mom;

Necklace: from Philippines, gift from Mom;

Bag: Sonoma Jean Co., 

a relic of my high school style.

How I've worn the dress: here.

Photos by Jeremiah.

My title really has nothing to do with this post, except that "The Usual Suspects" is on and I love this movie. I really like the Verbal Kint character, and I love Kevin Spacey's acting in almost every movie he's done. "Se7en" is one of my favorite movies, because I like any sort of literature that tackles the seven deadly sins (like "The Canterbury Tales" and Dante's "The Divine Comedy").

Fifteen minutes before these photos were taken, I was completely drenched by a thunderstorm. I decided to go forward with outfit photos by changing into my "go-to" dress, putting on my new gifts from my mom, giving up on my hair and just calling it "tousled," and heading out with an old favorite purse. I used to carry this around in high school, and recently rediscovered back at my Mom's house. I often wonder what The Man in the Sombrero is contemplating while sitting inside the design of the purse. Maybe he is thinking about the seven deadly sins.

Happy, happy weekend! And don't forget to check out my vintage scarf giveaway.

Vintage scarf giveaway!

I recently hit 200 posts, and felt like celebrating the milestone by giving back to my readers, since you all make blogging wonderful.

I had been debating what to do for a giveaway for awhile, and last week, while at a local vintage store, I found this vintage red paisley scarf that is almost identical to the one I've been sporting lately (this giveaway one has more gold tones  than mine). It seemed too serendipitous a find to pass up. This scarf would be a beautiful item to add color to summer outfits, and you can style it in so many ways.

Want a chance to add this lovely to your wardrobe? Here's what to do:

1) Be a follower of Sidewalk Chalk, either through Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin';

2) Leave a comment with a way to contact you and how you'd style it.

This giveaway is open worldwide and will end Sunday, July 4th, at 11:59 p.m. EST. I'll draw the winner through random.org.

To whoever wins, we can be scarf twins!

How to wear black during summer

Dress: Target;

Hat: Scala Pronto;

Necklace: from Philippines, 

gift from Mom (back from vacation now!);

Shoes: Miss Trish of Capri.

How I've worn the dress before: here.

Some ways to make black tolerable for summer:

1) Wear it in a print;

2) Add a straw hat;

3) and wear a bit of playful jewelry.

Happy weekend,

Treasured: Waltham pocket watch

This week's "Treasured" post focuses on a piece that I never wear, but sometimes carry with me: my vintage pocket watch.

Unlike the other items I've featured here, this is actually a family heirloom: it belonged to my uncle's great aunt, who passed it along to my aunt. When I was 10, my aunt gave it to me. If I had to guess, based on what I know about the great aunt, the watch is probably 90-100 years old. The company that made the pocket watch is Waltham, which manufactured pocket watches from 1852-1960. I'm still trying to find the serial number on mine to exactly place the year in which it was made. The back of is gold, and has a scroll design etched into it. The watch used to have a gold etched front that covered the face of the watch, but at some point that came off. It's functional, and still works perfectly, and I love setting the time to it and hearing its tiny ticks.

I've never worn it, except to carry it in my pocket or in my bag. I used to carry it in high school as a bit of a touchstone or lucky charm on those days when I felt like I needed it. It's fun to look at, and I like thinking of all the events that the watch has lived through. I would love to find a really good gold chain so I can wear it around my neck, and have awesome Alice-inspired outfits with it. If I ever got to go onto Antiques Roadshow (one of my favorite shows ever) I'd definitely take this piece, although I bet the value has depreciated because of the lost front covering.

Do you have any clothing or jewelry family heirlooms around your house? And do you ever wear them?

One way is Rome and the other way is Mecca

Listening to: "The Greek Song,"
Rufus Wainwright.

Top: Old Navy;

Camisole: Urban Outfitters;

Shorts: American Eagle;

Straw hat: Scala Pronto;

Sandals: Miss Trish of Capri;

Bag: Thrifted;

Necklace: tawniwold,
Westervin giveaway gift.

Photos by me.
How I've worn the top before: here.

I meant to relax for my day off Wednesday, but I spent so much time running around: going to my mom's house to straighten things up, going to the Salvation Army, going to the farm park, going to WalMart to buy some Benadryl for my legs. My legs unfortunately resemble cherry pie now because they've fallen victim to mosquitoes; let's just say photo blogging outdoors in the summertime has its risks. But as long as I don't scratch, they'll be okay...

I avoid wearing this top because it's featured so prominently in my current header. But when the days are so scorching hot, I sometimes reach for it because it resembles a tropical sunset, or a creamsicle bar that's been left out too long, and I like being reminded of those things during summer. Plus, it looks really good against the greens and blues of the farm park. Also, I'm wearing shorts, which almost never happens, but I thought I'd give my dress collection a much needed break.

This hat has not left my head in the last day, except during sleep or shower time. It has been so practical because I don't have to spend too much time styling my hair, and I think it helps prevent me from looking too sweaty. So hooray for practical purchases! I cannot wait to pair this with cute sundresses...

Inspiration

Just wanted to share some things I'm totally all about right now:

Moleskine: Just bought some mini-notebooks so I can write down outfit and blog ideas whenever I want. It's been really helpful to wake up, look in my notebook and have 20 different options written down for me! I'm loving it. (Also, that's my special ballpoint pen that I got while I worked for my college newspaper -- maybe it's the former journalist in me, but I have a special love for pens that work really well)

Straw hat: I am not a hat person, but with 104 degree weather (and humidity!), it's impossible to style my hair everyday. I found a new straw one at the mall, and  turns out, I may not take my new hat off this summer! Though it's been really trendy the last couple of seasons, I think the fedora is a really classic shape, and will be able to hold up.

What's been inspiring you these days?

Glisten and learn

Dress: Ariella, NYC;

Printed scarf: thrifted;

Shoes: Zigi Soho;

Carpet saddle bag: thrifted.
Photos by me.

How I've worn this dress before: here.

The little field is growing again! The park maintenance people pulled all the crops last month, and now the little stalks are creeping back up at about 1 1/2 feet high. I saw them and felt a little surge of joy, like I was watching children grow up or something. I'm such a total sap sometimes, and over little things like growing vegetation.

Here's what I wore to trivia Tuesday night.  I will probably find a way to wear this dress at least once a week, which is what I did last summer. It's incredibly lightweight, which means I can sweat (ahem, I mean, glisten) as much as possible and still not appear totally sloppy. And the color is so pretty and customizable for accessories. I really love how vibrant the colors in these photos turned out, too.

Happy Wednesday!

Weathered planks

Dress: Sangria;

Shoes: Zigi Soho;

Sweater: Merona, borrowed from Nik;

Belt: Ann Taylor Loft.
Photos by me.

How I've worn the dress before: here.

Thank you all for your very sweet comments and virtual hugs on my last post. I'm sometimes a little afraid to publish posts like that, because it seems like I always have a gratitude post every couple weeks because I wrote about something really depressing, and I don't want my blog to become this thing of sadness. Sometimes I wish my blog could be this shiny, happy place all the time, just full of fun outfit posts, but it wouldn't really be depicting reality if I did that.

I really do, though, appreciate everything you guys said in the last post about J. It's so strange how someone can be in your life for a fraction of time, impact it and then you mourn that person's disappearance from your life. It was so meaningful to read all of your words -- from condolences and personal stories. I feel like this "virtual" world has really become such a wonderful, supportive community, in such a way that I feel like many of you have become such good friends, too. Sometimes I feel like my readers may know more about me than some of my college friends or family members, because I think blogging (and journal-writing) can offer more insight to a person's life than other stuff. Some of the people I know in real time don't understand that style blogging isn't just some vain construct where we fashionistas just post pretty pictures all day...it is a living, breathing community full of awesome, encouraging people. Like you.

Anyways, I thought I'd talk about today. I have today through Thursday off, and there was no way I could bring myself to waste any of today lying in bed with unwashed hair and just watching reruns. I wanted to, but I just couldn't. I woke up still feeling really sad, but I just got in the shower and got ready. I spent most of the afternoon at my mom's house -- she and my sister are coming back tomorrow from their month-long trip in the Philippines, and I wanted to do my laundry there (I am shameless) and clean up around the house (I can be nice though) before they got back. 

While I was there, I played around in my backyard. My whole outfit is a tribute to my backyard -- the dress is pretty reminiscent of the tree bark and the planks on the treehouse, and of course the yellow sweater is a close color match to the swings and the slide. Nik and I have posted some photos of our treehouse before, but I wanted to show them again. When we were younger, my brother and I told my dad that we really wanted a treehouse, but he really exceeded our expectations by making it as big as it is. My dad built it for us in 1997, and it is a two-story behemoth in the backyard.  A yellow slide and swingset came with the house when we moved in, and my parents just added on to it. It's technically not a house in a tree -- it's concreted to the ground with support beams and the second floor wraps around the tree. The second floor has no roof, unless you count the tree's branches and leaves as a shelter, which was so smart of my parents because we really got to see nature up there. My dad affixed the old yellow slide to the back area of the first floor. We asked for a treehouse, and our dad built us a Frank Gehry piece of art, in our eyes.

We kids were so lucky growing up. We became popular in our neighborhood, and many treehouses were built around our road the following summer, but none as cool as ours. Many of our friends wanted to spend hours up on the second floor with us. We played games, acted out stories, watched leaves fall and change colors up there. When I was 14, we got a trampoline, and we pushed it next to the treehouse so we could perform the daredevil stunt of jumping off the second floor and landing on the trampoline. Looking back, I could've broken my neck doing that. It's crazy to look at the treehouse and be reminded of all the acrobatic leaps I used to be able to do.

Now, the treehouse is aging. Some of the wood has rotted so that the second floor is probably too unsafe to climb in. The blue "Welcome" sign I made and nailed to the front of the treehouse can now barely be read. But I like going out to it, and tracing my hand down the weathered planks. I'll be sad when the whole thing will eventually have to come down. It is still a happy place, and I still swing out there.