have a nice trip; see you next f.a.l.l.

These images are several weeks old but it's taken a while to upload them and find some free time to actually update.



The trees in North Carolina are beautiful in the fall, when the leaves begin to change colors.
They change at several different paces but by the time you notice many have begun to change, within a matter of days, they have all fallen off the tree.



In Elon, the trees are incredible. I had thought to myself several times, "I really just need to grab my camera and GET OUT THERE and take some pictures before it's too late!"
One afternoon, I got back from class with a little bit of time to spare. The weather was completely perfect.
So I grabbed my camera and went.





In retrospect, I couldn't be happier I went when I did.
Literally, less than a week later, the same trees I took photos of had none of their leaves left (or, if they did, the color was completely lackluster).



Feel free to click on these for full view (actual size) and use them as backgrounds; they make really nice fall desktop images!



So: the trees of Elon.
Enjoy.







(I could create two separate posts here but, let's be honest, I should take advantage of this while I'm on a roll, yeah?)

On the same afternoon trip, I crossed the tracks across from my house and discovered a gem that I had only recently heard about and had not visited until then: a rose garden, with the most full, beautiful roses I have ever seen.
They can make a photographer out of anyone.





And the smell was breathtakingly fragrant and wonderful.












Wishing you a lovely end to your fall season.

Sincerely with love,
Alexa

Writer's block & sushi

I've been writing a lot lately. 

Well, rather, I've needed to write a lot lately. But not a lot of writing has been done.

Clearly, judging by how long it's taken for me to update my blog.

I'm in the process of writing a large play for my class, with several small plays thrown in between. Which invariably means that I haven't gotten any of my larger play done since I've been working on the smaller ones. 

I've been writing news releases which is truly the most boring form of writing- for me, at least. It's cut and paste. There's no creative license. 

And of course I've wanted to do some writing of my own but absolutely cannot seem to find the time to sit myself down and put my pencil to the paper.

This typewriter actually belongs to Joe, my Paw Paw. A few years ago, I was desperately searching for a working typewriter. I was inspired by a teal one that sat amidst other quirky items on a friend's desk. I thought, "I absolutely must get a typewriter". I had used my grandpa's for years but his was used for business. I was just inspired by the noise of it, the feel of the keys, the power you get from punching one letter at a time. I think I had already started using a keyboard before I typed on a typewriter for the first time, so the sensation was a lovely change of pace for me. 

I was always inspired when I typed on a typewriter. I placed my fingers on the keys and immediately began typing. Something. Anything. And it was all probably terrible. But I was driven on by, if nothing else, the consistent clicking of the keys and the satisfying "schiinggg!" at the end.

At any rate, my Paw Paw had one that had been in his family for years, in its original "carrying case" (huge!!). These days, it sits on my desk, waiting for me while I wait on inspiration. It still inspires me occasionally, but mostly I love the character it adds to my desk.

I'm learning that if that creative energy is there, I have to utilize it immediately and for as long as I can until it runs out. 

Which brings me to this quote- I found this and was inspired to use it in a monologue I was writing. The monologue never fully came to be, but the quote is still one of the most personally effective I've heard: 

"Beauty addresses itself 

chiefly to sight; but there is a beauty for the hearing too, as in certain combinations of words and in all kinds of music, for melodies and cadences are beautiful; and minds lift themselves above the realm of sense to a higher order are aware of beauty in the conduct of life, in actions, in character, in the pursuits of the intellect; and there is beauty of the virtues" 

- Plotinus

If ever there were a quote to encompass the way I feel about writing and about music, this would be up in the top 3, at least. Beauty is a concept that I am fascinated with and maybe I'll spend another post explaining my views on it.

In the meantime, I should really get to writing.

Ciao.

xoxo

p.s. I can't remember what life was like before I met crunchy shrimp rolls. It must have been dark and unfulfilled. They are truly a Godsend.

rainboots, leggings and mushrooms.

I actually do love the rain. I may be one of the only people I know that does. 

Sure, I lack motivation on rainy days and desire nothing more than sleeping in, watching a late afternoon movie, and drinking more coffee than the healthy, daily amount but I do still love the rain.

I used to play in the rain. On numerous occasions. In puddles, in the crevice of the middle of the road where the rain created a waterfall, and have been known to squish my way through the woods a time or two. I wish I still did.

I even have a "rainy days" playlist, because I think there is such a particular mindset for cloudy, drizzly days that, for me, is somewhat enjoyable on occasion. 

It's been on shuffle all morning.

I desperately wanted to wear my new suede boots today but opted, instead, for the more practical option of rainboots. I slid my teal/gray/plum striped boots on over metalic silver leggings and I was ready to go.

Before I take the obligatory rainy day, mid-afternoon nap, I thought I'd share some images that the rain inspired.

These mushrooms have been sneakily growing in our front yard for a few days now. The light rain last night forced them to pop open overnight. I walked to class this morning and spotted them, almost all unfolded, shimmied between the water-beaded blades of grass.

duplex.

This is where I live.

There's more than just lamps in the room, but they're nearly my favorite part.

"music is the only thing that makes sense anymore, man. play it loud enough, it keeps the demons away"

It could be said that our generation, my generation, can't stand to be disconnected: not from the world, but from one another- from their gadgets, from their phones and their iPods and their computers. 

It's true, you know. We can't stand it.

But I can tell you for a fact that the reason I'm inseparable from my iPod or my computer at all times is because I can't stand a world without music. If I had it my way, life would have an endless soundtrack- from the moment you wake up in the morning, to the mundane of brushing your teeth and painting your toenails, sitting in class or walking down the sidewalk, to a peaceful night's sleep and everything in between.

I find myself humming songs even when I don't have music around. I get more joy than any normal human should from hearing someone play acoustic guitar outside between classes or a stereo blasting while a group of boys toss a frisbee around. 

And it's always different. I fall asleep to classical music (which actually offends the aficionados of the genre). I do homework with jazz, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. I blare Cute is What We Aim For and Paramore from my car driving to long destinations. I listen to country and bluegrass when I'm "heading home". I run with rap music. But music envelops my life. And it makes it beautiful.  

So, yes, music sometimes does seem to me to be the only thing that makes sense anymore. Music, whether directly politically or economically charged, makes sense. The raw emotion that fills songs- so depressed or absolutely ecstatic that everything in their lives could be so perfect- makes sense. What the notes do to your soul and to your body- physically make you want to dance or literally makes you smile- makes sense. Sometimes, it's not tangible what music does to you- but YOU know it's there and it makes a difference in your life. 

My wish for you is that you find peace through whatever outlet it is in your life that will bring you a sense of comfort and well being. 

And even if that thing is not music, I guarantee that it can help you get there.

"Music is the harmonic connection between all living things"- August Rush

a box of patterns

My mom has always been the sewer. Well, and just about everything else, for that matter.

Our unfinished basement is filled with 20, 30 rubbermaid containers, stuffed to the brim with fabric- interior fabric, curtain fabric, upholstery fabric, clothing fabric, ribbons, etc.

Our collection is fairly impressive, and I've only recently begun adding my share to our stash.

It'd be even nicer if we were to utilize this fabric. But at the rate we're going, it'd take about 8 lifetimes to use it all, for one thing or another.

In the midst of the basement, stashed away behind some cardboard boxes on one of the many, spider-infested shelves, I discovered a blue tub of patterns my mom once stumbled upon at a yard sale. The patterns are incredible- most of them date back to the 60s and 70s. 

I think what intrigues me most about these patterns is not what you might expect:

yes, inside the colorful and informational 

sleeves, there IS a pattern for creating your own clothes with whatever fabric you might choose.

 But my favorite part of the pattern is the illustration on the outside. It's actually what intrigues me most about fashion designers; besides their actual ability to create outfits from an idea in their head, it's the transfer to 

paper that I love- their 

artistic talents often go unnoticed but their ability to sketch the human figure, 

give that figure the attitude that they might portray when they are wearing said ensemble, 

and create the right texture, flow, and shading that the fabrics will create on the body is really incredible.

I have added one pattern to the tub since my initial "tub discovery" a few weeks ago. I found it at "Lost in Time Antique Mall" in Winston-Salem, NC. 

It was $1- quite a steal. I couldn't pass it up, especially considering the face of the model in the red dress. She's so sassy.

"and inevitably wind up, finding for yourself, all the strengths you have inside still rising"

I'm going to be a junior this fall.

I have two years left of college, and an internship looming in the very near future.

And I have no idea what to do with my life, or even what the future holds post-graduation...only 2 years away.

Sure, typical college fears. Typical life fears, really.

But, for me, it's not a matter of "I need to figure out what I like doing"- I have too many of those.

What do I really LOVE to do? What do I really want to do for the rest of my life?

As a matter of fact, who am I, really?

I usually think I have a pretty firm grasp on the latter. But it's different when you consider your future, your adulthood.

I have so many options available for me, and I know it's not going to be perfect the first time around- I'm going to probably have jobs that I hate, or make decisions that I may regret later in life (although I hate regrets and will try my hardest to make sure it's simply a decision I can LEARN from...). But I know that, eventually, my journey will lead me in the right direction.

But I feel like I'm blindfolded. Or, maybe, being shoved into a room filled with a blinding light and told to "just GO FORWARD". Oh, ok. I have to run into something eventually, right?

At any rate, the summer is coming to a close and, while I am nervous, I am really excited about what this year holds for me! Photojournalism in the fall and a photography course in London in January- by next summer, I hope to have a much better grasp on the direction I'd like to look for a career.

In the meantime, I CAN tell you that I love clothes. Particularly dresses. And particularly dresses purchased from vintage and/or secondhand shops.

So, welcome to "I Found This Dress". My hope for this blog is serve as my outlet for personal fashion discovery, through photographs and videos and music and any outlet of creative expression. There is SO much to learn and gain, and I hope that others will direct me also, to places they have found helpful or fascinating. I'll be gaining links and photos over the next year or so and I look forward to, one day, looking back on my progression in the world of fashion.

Hey, you have to start somewhere, right?

Love always, 

Alexa