Brain juice

It's a little daunting that my graduate school career will be over in a few months! The last year and a half has flown by so fast. To keep myself somewhat sane through this whole process, I've been tinkering around with some design and photography just for fun. I take quite a few photos for this blog, and a lot of them don't get used because they don't necessarily make sense for a post. Sometimes I revisit my archives and repurpose the photos for design stuff. 

Below are a couple based on some of my favorite pop culture things!

I've mentioned my love of "Game of Thrones" quite a bit on this blog, and I decided to take it to the next level by making a pretend book title for the series. The inspiration was a photo I took over the summer of a lion door decoration I found downtown. 

This next one was inspired by a quote from "No Country for Old Men," one of my favorite movies. I took the original photo in north Georgia, and just transformed it in Photoshop and InDesign. The fonts I used for these are "Clumsy" and "Mexcellent" (both recommendations from Pugly Pixel, a great design resource). 

I'll try to share more of my extra design/photography stuff here in the future! 

Online/offline selves

I've been a busy bee these past few weeks, I thought I'd share a little bit of what I've been working on. In addition to doing my assistantship/internship/school, I've also been in graduation mode and have tried to be proactive in updating my online portfolio (which is here if you're curious). I know I've discussed blogging privacy and my hesitations with linking my online self with my personal identity, but I think I am finally at a point where I'm comfortable merging the two. Part of it is because it's so important in the adpr/social media industry to have an online presence, and part of it is because I no longer feel like I have to hide or make light of my hobbies from people in my real life. I've introduced my online self to my real-life friends -- so now online friends, here is a peek at my offline identity. I don't really think there is too much of a distinction with online/offline identities anymore because of social media. 

P.S. If you want more talk on blogging identity, the comments on this past post are pretty insightful. 

Stage right

I took these photos on campus in front of the Fine Arts Theater. It's one of my favorite spots on campus because it's such a beautiful building, but it's hard to take photos because it's close to such a high-traffic road. Yesterday afternoon was a bit quiet (perhaps because it was Super Bowl Sunday?), so I took a few quick shots. This headphones sweater is so comfortable -- I found it on sale in the boys' section of Target and I've gotten so many compliments on it! 

I got a haircut over the weekend to define my bangs and add in more layers. I think the bangs are just a smidge shorter than what I am normally comfortable with, but my hair grows fast so it's a small quibble. The last couple times I've gotten them cut, they haven't been the right shape and were too piece-y. But these ... I think I am definitely in Lisbeth Salander territory again, and I'm okay with that. 

credits - sweater: circo, target | shirt: arizona jeans co., thrifted | skirt: talbots | boots: tj maxx | tights: kohls  | bag: stone mountain. 

More from the island of lost outfit photos

Basically, winter is killing me in doing outdoor photography. I've compiled some of my favorites from the last couple weeks. 

outfit 1 credits - dress: target | blouse: vintage, thrifted | boots: tj maxx | tights: kohls | belt: banana republic | brooch: game of thrones, hbo store.

I wore this a couple weekends ago for a day of vintage shopping and running errands around town. I felt like a grownup Brownie Girl Scout in this one. And with the addition of my beloved "Game of Thrones" brooch, I also felt like a female Ned Stark, as strange as that may sound. 

outfit 2 details - coat: zara, thrifted | sweater: old navy | skirt: talbots | tights: kohls | boots: tj maxx. 

A typical winter outfit.  The coat was a find in a Salvation Army near my apartment in NYC — I went on a discount day and it was around $3. I wear the fox sweater about twice a week now. 

outfit 3 - dress: loft | blouse: leslie fay, vintage, thrifted | tights: kohls | boots: tj maxx. 

I haven't worn this vintage top in about two years, but I think it works perfectly with this dress. 


Have a great weekend!