Punkin.

I apologize for the complete lack of posting lately, sometimes I'm just not in the mood/can't find anything worth going out of my way to share. Or just lazy.

Halloween weekend was a happy one. I spent Friday night at the Roger Williams zoo, enjoying their extremely ornate and elaborate jack-o-lantern festival. I was blown away by the carvings and also saddened that such inspiration came only two days before Halloween, leaving me no time to make an art pumpkin of my own. But there is always next year.

Last night we headed over to Kelby's for a sweet and also ornate costume party. Unfortunately the host wasn't feeling well, but we all enjoyed his efforts none the less.
This year I decided to forgo "whore-o-ween", and chose a more modest costume: the Japanese school girl. In a realistic way. Not the thigh-high, stiletto, boobs busting out type. I enjoyed my night that much more, not having to worry about lady parts popping out or hypothermia.
The skirt is an actual uniform skirt, found at Khols for $15 in the girls section. The bigger sizes totally work for adults. I had hoped to incorporate this into my wardrobe in a practical way when I bought it, as in not with a white blouse and knee socks. I love the length, and pleats, and I will find a way to wear this, so help me god.
Everything else is from Savers, aside from the bow (self-made), and white leg warmers.

We've got a fun week lined up. Tomorrow night I'm off to see Blonde Redhead, Tuesday I have my first official sewing class. And as we speak, there is a Hawaiian pizza on its way to my door. Feeling mighty content.

White Russians and Pinecones

Socks and heels aren't quite happening yet in America but I've been eager to do a test run. I think it might be my new favorite thing. Kind of gives the silhouette of ankle boots, but with an interesting, almost school girl-like twist (in my opinion).

Yesterday I went to visit my Grandmother and her sister, who had been in Nova Scotia visiting family for two months. It had been forever since I'd been to their place. We drank white russians, talked about true love, and they treated me to dinner. God I freaking love them. And their house:



Left: My mother as a child, Right: Hilary and me.



Tons of dolls. The Onsen bear in the middle is a gift from one of my trips to Japan.





My mother as a teenager, me as a baby...



Old sewing machine. More dolls.



Dolls made out of walnuts...and prunes...



FOOD.



My grandmother taught me to have at least a little bit of blind faith in the zodiac system. We're both gemini, and the older I get the more I realize we are incredibly similar for whatever reasons have you.



(raise your hand if your grandparents have one of these on their front door...)



I had such a good time that I'm planning a sleepover with Hilary this coming Friday. I can't even wait.

Dress and blazer: Vintage
Socks: Target
Shoes: Guess

To a Better October:

It's been a week. One of those weeks. Awful, dreadful week.
I won't elaborate excessively here but a lot of things came full-circle for me in the past few days, in a more violent and sudden manner than I had hoped. Girl troubles will bring you to that level, but I'm having a hard time finding comfort in that while people that are close to me are most likely rather miffed, and rightfully so.
You know when you're in such a rut, that rut swallows your life whole and you lose sight of the fact that just maybe you do have a choice in the matter? I've been in a rut so big I guess I've just been mistaking it for the whole wide world.
Everything became uncomfortably clear after a few good cries (god it feels good sometimes), and it's all very obvious to me now that I've been sacrificing what I really want just to maintain a sense of stability.
Losing stability scares the fuck out of me. It's a pretty deep-rooted thing that only took hold about the time that I'd been back in the states for a few years. I have trouble understanding why I was able to sever all ties, pack my shit in a bag and jet off to Japan without a second thought when I was 18...and yet somehow at 28 I feel like looking for a different job yanks the earth straight out from underneath me.
Weird.
And not ok anymore. So the silver lining in all of this is that I've decided to make a move. To consider more doors open, to question why I've felt such a lack of possibility in the first place. I'm feeling better about things already.
And that is all for now regarding my annual existential crisis.

In other news, my apartment building appears to be flooding from the inside out. Great rivers gushing from the washing machine across the hall. GUSHING. It was a good thing though, since the maintenance crew was already here cleaning that up when my bathroom ceiling started raining. They are still in front of my door with their giant wet-dry vacs and space heaters cleaning up the atrocity. And thus I can not escape for a cigarette.
And the beat goes on.

Image via Google. Raise your hand if you have pondered this before. I thought it was pretty dead-on.