Eye on Madison

Saturday was my first full day in Madison and it definitely felt like fall. The chill made it so refreshing to walk around all day. I met up with my friends Brian and Alex and we headed to the farmer's market. The farmer's market runs every Saturday through November. Brian and Alex made sure we stopped by Graze for some delicious pastries before going to the market. I had a raspberry apple crumb pastry. It was the right way to start off my day.  

The market was so nice to stroll around. If I lived there I would love the spend my Saturdays just as we did. Most of the produce was either local or organic. All of the fall goodies like pumpkins, apple cider, dried flowers, and gourds were there. About halfway through the market we decided to head down State Street towards the University of Wisconsin campus. With the chilly fall weather and the college campus surrounding I couldn't help but flash back to my own college experience and miss it a little. In that second I only thought of the good moments though, the ideal times in college that really made it such a unique experience. We walked back up State Street and through the rest of the market and then I headed to Brian and Alex's house to relax for a little while Merl was busy getting things ready for our shoot later in the day. 

 
  

I was reunited with Merl that afternoon. We set up shop in her bathroom and got to work on my face and hair. I wish I had someone to do my hair and makeup everyday. She added some curl to my natural mini wave, and some fake lashes to my lids. We had to stop by Merl's studio to grab the effects for the shoot and took some quick shots of my personal outfit for the day outside on the train tracks. Then we headed into the woods and other secluded areas around Madison for the pictures for the lookbook. Unfortunately Merl has put a gag order on me and I can't say anything else. 

After all the pictures were done, we grabbed some wine and went back to her apartment to review them. We stared at the pictures for a while and then decided it was time to get ready for dinner. I went to freshen up and immediately saw that my eye had swollen. This has never happened to me before. I had never had anything swell up so suddenly like that, let alone my eye! We decided to wait it out. Merl and I grabbed a quick bite. When we got back and both realized that it hadn't gotten any better but had actually gotten much worse we headed to the ER. 

I figured it could be an allergic reaction or a bug bite, we had been crawling through some pretty heavy brush for the pictures. After waiting at the ER for about an hour I left without any answers at all. The doctor told me to get Benadryl and if that didn't work he gave me a prescription for some antibiotics to try the following day. I came out to the waiting room and Merl was sitting surrounded by people with swine flu masks on. What a trooper. 

Wool Scarf from Scotland, Old Sweater, Gap Chambray Shirt, Alexa Chung for Madewell Billie Velvet Shorts

Madewell Over the Knee Socks, Navy Tights from Duane Reade, Old Riding Boots

That was my Saturday in Wisconsin! This is more or less the outfit I mentioned last week that I wore but wasn't happy with the pictures. I had to add a few pieces because it was quite cold. Merl did a much better job than the tripod. 

Another sneak peak of the lookbook was posted on Clyde's Rebirth facebook page. You can check it out here. 

Scenes from a Trip : Madison, WI

I spent the weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. I flew out Friday morning bright and early. My flight was at 6:45am, which meant I had to get up at 4am to have enough time to get ready and to the airport an hour before the plane took off. Everything went smoothly. I had plenty of time at the airport and was even trying to stall because I convinced myself it just wasn't right to eat breakfast before 6am. I ate at 5:50am. The first leg of the trip was a quick jump down to Baltimore, which for a few reasons didn't sit very well with me. Once that emotional pill was swallowed I really enjoyed the alone time. 

It was not only the first time I'd flown in a while (over a year) but it was also the first time I'd flown alone in...I don't know how long. I hadn't even thought of that until I was on my way but I really liked it. I think I'm more relaxed when I'm alone. I get along really well with myself, ha. I brought along one of my favorite books of all time Shopgirl by Steve Martin. I haven't read it in a while and since they were short flights I figured I'd bring a fantastic short book. This paragraph (pictured above) came at just the right time. Don't take it too literally, I just really like the paragraph. It also turns out that Merl has a hidden reclusive kitty at her apartment who I met, very briefly.

  

  

I wore leggings, boots, a flannel, a comfy oversized sweater, and a side braid. It turned out to be the perfect combination of elements for the flights. I chose to wear the boots so they wouldn't get smooshed in my luggage, the rest was for warmth and/or comfort. After the layover in Baltimore I was back on the plane and headed straight to Madison from there. 

Merl was nice enough to pick me up at the airport and was even on time! We made a pit stop in Milwaukee because I had some business to attend to but also so I could see Lake Michigan. I've never been in this part of the country before. The first and last time I was landlocked in this country I was in Denver, CO. Wisconsin was a completely different experience. I think the gigantic lake and smaller ones that dotted the country side helped me feel less landlocked there. After that Merl and I dashed back to Madison and picked up some eats at this great place called the Mermaid Cafe. It was delicious. We relaxed for the rest of the day at her apartment before we headed out for more food with my friends Brian and Alex. Merl's "M" came along as well. The Weary Traveler had a really great vibe, and the chef tweets the specials so we knew exactly what to order.

The first day was a complete success and a great introduction to Wisconsin and the midwest. Anyone out there from the midwest area?

Lake Michigan! We meet at last.

Merl has been posting a few sneak peaks of the photos we took this weekend for her lookbook (plus some kind words and some personal style pictures that I'll get up later this week). You can check out the lookbook sneak peaks on her blog, Clyde's Rebirth facebook page and Mo Vintage facebook page. I can't wait for the real thing! I hope you guys like it. 

Outfit post coming tomorrow!

Scenes from a Weekend : I

I headed out to my parents this past weekend. I took advantage of some down time and finally played around with my camera a little. On top of that I did things like make brownies. Then I did things like make tea to eat with my brownies for an after breakfast snack, an after lunch snack, and a dinner dessert. That's just what happens when you make brownies though. You eat them. 

Horse salt and pepper shakers I gave to my mom as a Christmas present.

This is Poppy. She's my mom's Norfolk Terrier. She two years old and very crazy.

I took Lua for an afternoon walk and a swim at the park. This is where I took my outfit pictures as well. It would be so much easier if Lua would learn to use the camera. 

Sunsets from my bedroom.

On Sunday I stopped by the beach before I headed back towards the city. 

I'm heading out of town this weekend! I did take outfits pictures but I wasn't really happy with them, so I'm just going to pack the outfit and have a re-do on my long weekend. See you again  next week. Have a great weekend!

Golden Summers

This summer has certainly been an unexpected one for me. It has been extremely trying at times but from those struggles came the moments that were unbelievably rewarding. These photos are from a day I spent at the beach a few weeks ago. It was a day that was so awful it ended up being really rejuvenating for me. I'm not sure if anyone else has experienced that. I needed to be the girl that cried in public that day. In a lot of ways it was healing to feel that bad and be completely alone in it. It gave me time to reflect and get some things straightened out in my head. 

Sucre Sunglasses, Pookie & Sebastian Shirt
Vintage Scarf (gift with Necklace purchase), Necklace from Clyde's Rebirth

This is my favorite beach. It always so quiet and perfect there. While the summer crowds were fighting to find a place to sit on the ocean side, I was sharing this beach with only three other sets of people. It was peaceful and gave me all the time I needed to think. This is what I wore that day. I had on some version of this on every trip to the beach this summer. A cover up, sunglasses, and a scarf to keep my bangs back. A bathing suit too. 

More people started to show up as the sun began to go down, which explains the bottom half of a little girl in the above picture. Families, couples, and groups of friends came down to the beach for the short part of the day when the sun slips beneath the horizon. They were enjoying a summer night together. I sat at the beach companionless and let myself be ok with that. I waited until the very last of the sun had gone. Watching something as beautiful as that helped me come back to myself that day.

My life changed imeasurably this summer (My Tiny Heart). In the past few months so many things have happened that I never expected. Despite all that, I'm beginning to be grateful for where my life is right now. There are amazing opportunities at every corner, and some wonderful people who have come into my life at just the right time. Now that summer is over, I'm even more excited to see what's next.

I'd like to know what was your favorite summer memory was and what are you looking forward to the most in fall? My favorite summer memory is this day at the beach...and I'm really looking forward to continuing to grow as a person, finding out more about myself, and taking some amazing trips this fall. 

And scarves. I'm excited for scarves.