new. blue. hoodie.

Ok.
So.
It's been a few weeks since I last updated.

I am, indeed, home- back in North Carolina. I'm several weeks into my new semester at school and am struggling to get back into the swing of what a normal class schedule is like.

I'm taking: Media Law and Ethics, Communications Research, Photography as a Social Critique and (the most exciting!) Costume Design.

I've recently been asked by a fellow student to help design costumes for her production of Mother Courage and I'm both honored and terribly anxious at the same time; what a big task! But one that I am excited and willing to throw my whole self into.



I also recently received some fantastic news regarding an internship for this summer.
I discovered, a few months back, a museum on Elm Street called Elsewhere.

Elsewhere is an old thrift store-turned-living art museum and it's absolutely brilliant.
The thrift store was passed down from Sylvia Gray, an avid collector of the most bizarre things- costumes, suitcases, typewriters, toys, cloth, books.

Now Elsewhere serves as a collaborative space, open for tours, events, and educational purposes. But they also house rotating artists and interns for each season.

I've just been accepted to work as the fashion and wardrobe intern, so I'll be working with costumes and fabric, organizing and pulling, and assisting with other documentary needs around the museum.
I couldn't be more ecstatic. It's going to be the perfect creative atmosphere that I need in my life and I have a lot to gain from it. I can tell.

Check out the link, if you're interested! Elsewhere

I attempted to do this in London and can't believe I didn't, but I'm back in my element (and in my own closet!) and have been creating some of the most fantastic ensembles of late. My style changed a lot since I've returned from London.
And I'm pretty sure it's time to start recording that.
So, with the help of my iPhone and my tiny point-and-shoot, I'll be documenting my outfits for the next few months EVERY day (so help me...).
It's so simple and it takes two seconds; I should have no problem doing it.

So I begin. American Apparel makes some pretty stellar zip-up hoodies in solid colors.
But so does Old Navy. For $12.99.
I got it in two colors.



I've been all about the hoodies since I got back- hoodies, hats, and my staple: the plain white, men's v-neck tee.
It's so comfortable.
And I practically never wear pants nowadays- I can't live without my leggings. I seem to have gathered quite a collection at this point!


Let me take just a moment here to list some items in the fashion world that I am currently obsessed with:
1. ANYTHING that is buffalo plaid!! (to date, I have a jacket, tunic, taffeta skirt, hoodie, scarf, and zip-up blazer. It could be an unhealthy obsession...but it's so fantastically "i just rolled out of bed and threw on my dad's old plaid shirt" that i really can't help myself)
2. leggings (every color. but it is essential to start off with black, brown and gray)
3. v-neck t-shirts (hanes. men's section of target. 5 shirts for $8. i LIVE in these shirts!)
4. flat boots (i have three pair now: "english riding boots" from Rack Room, slouchy, gray suede boots by Steve Madden, and a rather high calf pair of cream colored boots from Primark)
5. zip-up hoodies (the louder, the better.)
6. and large, oversized sweaters worn over tights (this is seriously the most comfortable I've been in my whole life, I think. there's something about the shapeliness of the legs, hidden under a warm, baggy sweater or shirt. it's so boyishly feminine.)



On a completely separate note, I also have a few more photos from our last days in Mile End and around London that I wanted to share. I wish I had a more appropriate segue into them...but I suppose this will just have to do, as a final farewell.

Mile End tube


From the street


Final visit to the market




My final presentation for London takes place on March 3.
I compiled my best photos and created a powerpoint presentation for my individual portion of the final grade, but the final presentation is a culmination of our group's best work.



I'm at a place in my life where I'm really trying to focus my attention to creative endeavors and harnessing my creativity.
I've begun reading a book that was given to me by my Aunt Melissa called "Living Artfully" by Sandra Magsamen.

The author has such a refreshing way of viewing life- by living artfully, we add meaning to our lives.
Magsamen defines are in the broadest sense: "it is every possibly medium of human expression. It is in what you say and how you say it. It is in using the rich resources of your senses to connect with the beauty in life. The art is in the message an in the medium you use to express it. Art is simply the name for how you live your life and how you tell others what you think and feel".

She reminds us that, at our core, "the messages contained in our hearts are universal...we all wish the same basic things".
And that love "is the essential ingredient and to live fully engaged with the heart, our ultimate expression".


I've been trying to live artfully. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've always tried to live artfully. But, now, I'm consciously living artfully and it is, indeed, very fulfilling. I handmade my valentines this year. It took a long time, but I was really proud of the result. I created homemade feathered headbands. I found similar ones at Urban Outfitters for $24. I made two for about $4 each.



And I'm really trying to focus on fashion and take some initiative to research some things myself and begin branching out. I'm learning a lot in costume design, but I want to start reading other fashion blogs regularly and reading more about the history of fashion, design and material. There are, really, very many thing I'd like to do and realistically not that much extra time.

But I will try. Because I owe it to myself to delve even deeper into what it is that I think I might really want to do, in the long run.
Which is, in a way, for me: living artfully.