For whatever reason, today feels perfect. I'm sitting in my little ivy covered backyard doing work (reading blogs and creepin around facebook. whut? who cares?) watching cats pretend they're Romeo and Juliet (one is on top of a ladder and the other is on the ground staring up at her. it's creepy and funny) and I don't want to move. At the beginning of the week I found out I'll be here til next March. At first I was sad and feeling impatient. I wanted to get a move on with my life, but what I forgot about for just a couple of minutes was how much I'm in love with Savannah.
Maybe it's the 75 degree weather with the most perfect breeze. Maybe it's the fact that I got all my work done this weekend at the most balanced pace. Maybe it's because I got to socialize with my friends, drink some arbor mist and sit around a bonfire and also do my old lady things around my apartment. Whatever it is, the weekends just make me feel happy.
This time in my life makes my heart feel good. And although the person I love is so far from me (and it's hard to be away from him), it doesn't matter because he's still mine and we'll be in the same spot some day soon. My family is far, but they're still mine and I can count on them anytime I need them. This time in my life is really good and really important, I can just feel it. It's complete "me" time and I know it won't be all about me all the time in the future. But for now, it is. And i'm enjoying it while it lasts.

the collection of chanel & hermes bags. her hair. her closet/dressing room.

i don't know, guys. i've got to admit it..i want to be a less glittery version of her when i'm older. there. i said it.

yep. RTW fall 2011

As we all know, last week was New York Fashion Week. Luckily two of my three classes this quarter take place in a computer lab so let's just say there was a lot of zoning out looking at each collection on Style.com in between doing actual work everyday. I enjoyed a lot of the collections but I had a couple favorites.

Proenza Schouler

Proenza Schouler (also known as Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez) has quickly become one of my favorite designers in the industry. They do a fantastic job playing with print, color and proportion while still remaining somewhat minimalistic. How they do it is beyond me. With wild and intricate patterns placed in just the right spots, with the most interesting cuts and silhouettes..i just fall in love with their work every time. I must have clicked through each look over a dozen times just trying to take in every single amazing detail.

Everything that McCollough and Hernandez offer, from the shoes, the bags, to the necklace looking collars (are they embellishments or actual necklaces?), to the way that the fabric hangs on the hips and the way the crazy prints compliment the entire collection, all makes complete sense. It's rare that designers can take such risks but still maintain a feel of cohesiveness and remain flattering to a woman's body. If you're going to wear a Proenza Schouler piece, you're going to get attention but not the kind of attention that makes everyone in the room cringe.

Alexander Wang

I admit it took me a long time to fully appreciate and understand Alexander Wang. Every trendy it girl and fashion blogger on the planet worships at the altar of Alexander Wang and I got sick of it before I even gave it a chance. Now that I understand it, I too am on my way to worshipping at that altar (except for the fact that I own not ONE of his pieces and probably never will.) Yes his designs are overpriced for what they are. What are they? They're perfectly layered, mostly monochromatic, edgy girl looks that rule. A designer that can take an all black ensemble and transform it into something that makes you stop in your tracks and say "god damn. i want that", is someone i want to admire. Anyone can do all black, but not just anyone can make it fucking interesting.

Rodarte

My girls. As if anyone that reads this blog doesn't know...but I love Rodarte. Their designs are not the most functional things on earth but the way that the Mulleavy sister's brains work will continue to fascinate me til the day I die. They're unpredictable in the sense that their designs are always out-doing/topping each other with each collection and it's hard to fully pinpoint an official Rodarte look. However, they are predictable in the sense that they will always do something that no one else has done or seen before. The fall 2011 collection was a twisted "we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto" inspired look. There's an eery feeling to everything that they put on the runway and it makes you want to learn more.

Their process is so much more than just fitting the female body and selling merchandise to rich women on the Upper East Side. Their work requires some thinking. Right off the bat, it's a mess but the more you study it and understand it, it becomes beautiful. Of course Rodarte, like every other high fashion brand, is extremely overpriced and expensive. However, mark my words..if I ever buy myself a Rodarte piece (which i will one day. Spending the money on Alexander Wang or Rodarte? that's a no brainer)

you can bet that it will be hanging in my closet, or maybe even on my wall, like the piece of art that it is.

The Row

Fur haters/PETA, please don't continue reading. You will find zero good in this post. Sorry? Look. I don't wear real fur. Not because I am ethically against it. It's because it's so god damn expensive! And who the hell am i? Waltzing around Savannah going to the SCAD fashion building in my leggings/boots/dress/blazer daily uniform wearing a big ol' fur coat? That's not happening. But man, I wish it was.

This collection by THE OLSEN TWINS (get that through your head. Girls have done good. Let's face it.) is every fur and glamour wish a girl could ever ask for. It's a crowd pleaser for sure because older (rich) women could absolutely wear any of these pieces, as well as a younger (and rich) crowd. It's elegant, classic with just the right amount of 'now' thrown in. I looked at the entire collection on Style.com during class and had to stop myself from saying "come on!" out loud. Sigh. I wish i had somewhere cool to go to so I can actually dress up. One day. Until then I'll just stare at my vintage fur stole that I have hanging up in my room, that I've never worn and never will. It's just morbid eye candy.

Chris Benz

I'm a huge fan of Chris Benz. Not only is he an amazing designer but he's also a regular face around Savannah, as he is mentoring in my school's fashion program. His fall 2011 collection was in fact inspired by Savannah, and I wrote about it here on my other blog Savannah Street Style.

That's all i'm going to say! It was fashion overload this past week, but these were the ones that stuck out to me the most.

friends at the park. hi i'm on the end.

this weekend was beautiful. i pretty much spent everyday outside enjoying the perfect weather and the pretty scenery all around me. park time with friends on friday and then today i explored a different part of the area with my dad and his girlfriend. i love finding new places/sights to see that i've passed so many times but never knew it existed. especially when those places are so dreamy.

spending time with the ones i love, mossy trees, detailed architecture, perfect breezy weather, sunshine, palm trees, southern hospitality, delicious food, driving with the windows down, etc. I know one day i'll have to leave here but thank god it's not right now.

this week i was a sad girl, dreading the weekend because it wasn't going to be like last weekend but life is cool in a lot of ways and i just appreciate all of it. i think being in love really helps make your outlook on things 10 times more shiny and happy. yeah that's cheesy and cliche but it's true.

source.

Happy Valentines Day everyone :]

In the spirit of this romantic holiday, Anthropologie/Urban Outfitters finally introduced their beautiful bridal site/shop called BLHDN to the world. today. I learned that it was coming earlier this summer while working at Anthropologie on a project for school in Atlanta. Obviously I'm too young to get married but this entire site is an aesthetic dream. Each and every piece of this site could be used for inspiration for everything in life, not just weddings, and the bridesmaid dresses on there would be appropriate for almost any occasion. I'm in love with it. Totally going to creep on this site for a while tonight (WHAT! IM A GIRL!)

i've been m.i.a lately, sorry blog world. i had most perfect weekend. my boyfriend came from chicago to visit me! now it's sunday, he's gone and it's time to go back to reality. i'm allowing myself to be a sad person all day, but tomorrow it's back to school, and back to my regular little life. and though i'm missing him already, i feel very lucky to even have something so amazing to miss.

talitha getty

amazing.

tough skin.

Sometimes i'm guilty of needing a push. Sometimes I need to feel like I have failed myself, that I'm not worthy of doing something and that I'll never be able to do something to in fact succeed at whatever it is that I'm trying to do. I constantly feel that I'll never be able to develop a thick skin when it comes to everything but especially when it comes to my work/designs at school. The more I think about it, the more I don't want to develop a thick skin.

In design school or in any design based industry, you're going to be forced to think for yourself. It's not about writing a paper on Greek literature or solving math problems. You're going to have to come up with concept after concept, and once you've thought of something that you believe (in your mind) is original and fantastic, (after going through hundreds of ideas) your next move is to make it come to life. Whether that's in the form of a dress, a painting, a story, a poster, or a mood board. Even with the most simple and quick creative project, the process is similar to ''conceiving' and birthing' your idea and then ultimately putting it up for display and for judgement.

Putting your work up next to all your classmates' and spending 2+ hours analyzing and critiquing each piece and each tiny detail is one of the most stressful things. Every comment is something that should be put inside your brain and kept there for your next project. It's supposed to be a learning experience, and it is. It never gets easy. I've had good critiques and mediocre critiques. I've never had anyone pull my work apart or make me cry but I've wanted to cry a bunch of times. I wanted to cry today. Not because anyone said anything bad (they didn't say anything good either), but because I felt my design didn't completely show how much I tried and how much I want to be there.

What I thought was my 'best' for this particular project, truly wasn't. Though no one said it was bad, I felt like I failed myself. I felt that I didn't deserve to be there and that everyone elses' was so much better. No one had to say it, I just knew it. Hours later, what I've realized is that the pit in my stomach, the tears that were forming in my eyes, the day ruined, and the embarrassment are all signs that I deserve to be there. They're just as much apart of the process as the actual design and they are signs that I didn't fail myself. They're signs that I care about my work and care about getting better. If I had a tough skin, I don't think I would be feeling the need to do 10 times better on my next project. I would have just floated through it.

So maybe being sensitive and having your day ruined because your little design bubble was burst is worth it. Because now I'm hungry to go back and try harder than ever.