Louisa May Alcott, The Avett Brothers, Sisters, etc.

"Then as now, thirteen is a critical age for a girl.  It is at this age, as feminist writer Carol Gilligan among others has explained, that girls begin to lose their original voices.  They are mercilessly pressured by the world around them, the impossible models provided by society, their parents' expectations, and the landslide of feelings and opinions released by their emerging, delicious, and unconscious sexuality.  Under this onslaught of expectation, many young girls are pushed away from their original childhood selves and become silent hybrids, creatures molded so much by their environment that it is hard to recognize who they really are."

                                                       - Susan Cheever, Louisa May Alcott (publishing next month)


Ever wonder who you might have become if the rules & expectations surrounding you when growing up had been different?  Or even different now?

As for my mentioning not having free time because of a boy I liked... well, scratch that.

At the least, the end of a relationship does do amazing things for opening up your ears to fantastic "break-up" songs.  As if The Avett Brothers weren't cool enough already.  Speaking of, I get to review their new live album - just got my advance copy.  Can't say the week didn't go down as a win.

"I say it's not that simple - but then again it just may be."

Also - my step-sister Amy's birthday was this week - and I got to go out on the town with too many beautiful girls to handle at any given time.  I have pictorial proof.

My sisters!  The birthday girl is in stripes.  I am clearly checking out a hottie across the room.  We went to see the Josh Abbott band.  I had so much fun - wish these gatherings happened more often!

A Whole Week's Vacation

Starting on 5 p.m. yesterday, my vacation week officially begun.  I'm en route to Little Rock, but stopped in Copperas Cove to visit my dad and step-mom.  They have this beautiful pool, and I'm yet to even swim in it!  This will need to be rectified soon.  With 100 degree temperatures like we had today, I probably have some time to make it happen.  I find myself already stressing about how much I will be able to get "accomplished" over this week, and then I want to thump my head on a wall.  All I want is one week without a to-do list hanging over my head, or the itch to "get ahead" on projects or article writing.  Although I have a friend's wedding coming up, and I'd like to save up to afford the gas to get there - it's quite a drive from Austin, so article writing may be in the mix.

These pictures let know just how much I need to work on using a light meter properly.  That, and checking when the date stamp is on - I had to crop it out of all my pictures - oops.  I've had this skirt in my closet for two months but never cut the tag off till today - what was I thinking!?  This may get worn everyday this week.  I have an eight hour drive ahead of me, so I should probably stop posting pictures of myself (I still feel weird about this - but it's fun to take them) and go to sleep on my air mattress.


Crochet skirt: Forever 21
Peach tee: from SoLa in Austin
Necklace: Little Rock boutique
Ring: Little Rock antique mall
Shoes: BGBG Girls

Fireworks & Happy Fourth

Happy fourth of July!  I'm in Copperas Cove/Ft. Hood with my family, eating waaaay too many baked goods courtesy of my step-sister Courtney.  I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing day.  Any good stories?

Learning As I Go... Through The Cactus

I've been at home in Copperas Cove all weekend for one step-cousin's graduation, and another's wedding.  I love coming home, because aside from the obvious joys of family, my dad and step-mom have a beautiful house on top of a hill that's QUIET, with a pool and tall grass and a telescope, but I don't even need it to see the stars here.

I'm still too scared to take my own pictures out on a public street in Ausin, so I used the safety of scrub oaks and cactus here in Cove to take a picture of my wedding outfit.  It was an outdoor wedding near a river, so dressed up casual was appropriate. 

This was the first time I got to try out my new camera remote.  I got a lot of pictures of myself pointing the remote at the camera, so I'll need a little practice.

I really enjoyed doing these by myself.  I think it will let a little more of my personality come out in the pictures once I get more adept at taking them.  Although, I miss having someone on the other side of the lens who makes me smile and laugh.  I'll have to learn to smile at the camera even though it's on a tripod.

Denim jumper: Forever 21 via Buffalo Exchange
Sandals: Dillards, brand name worn off from so much use
Necklace: Target, on clearance
Headband: Goodie Two Shoes
Sunglasses: Target

After spending the bulk of the afternoon writing album reviews (I reviewed Wintersleep and loved it) on my lap top by the pool, I'm now in my dad's media room (why'd we never have one of these when I lived at home??) watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding and eating peanut M&M's.  My dog is snoring at my feet.  Tomorrow I'm going to defer going home to stay here for more weekend-vacation hours.

There are a few trips I want to take soon but I really want some company to go with me - I want to visit Salado to go antiquing, even though I know most of the shops there are overpriced.  When my mom was alive she used to take me every time I came home.  We had lunch in this Mexican restaurant that is in an old mansion and then go visit all of the shops.  It was always necessary to visit the mermaid statue and remember the story of the girl with a broken heart and a fish hook. 

Lennon's dad also told me about a town called Gruene with supposedly great antique stores.  I can't wait to take a road trip!  Anyone up for going??

Sea baby, see baby

with your family of three,
don't be scared of the waves
or a gull's company.

Sea baby, see baby,
now stand on your own,
it's really quite lovely
to be all alone.

Peru

My dad and step-mom went on a trip to Peru last month and I can't express how jealous I am - I need to figure out a way to get myself there soon!  They turned down my pleas to hide in a suitcase, but I think I'm a little leggy for a carry-on, anyway.  My dad bought a new camera to go on the trip, and what do you know, he bought the exact same camera that I got last fall.  Like father, like daughter.  Or, the other way around in this case.  He accidentally put a time stamp on his photos, though, and didn't realize it till after getting back. 

Lady spinning lama wool. 

Mosaic wall with lighthouse in the distance.

Lady selling souvenirs.  They brought me a guitar strap.

As much as I like the guitar strap, can we talk about how jealous I am of this guy's new hat?  I totally want one.

This little girl is great.  My dad took about six pictures of her and she's like "what do you think you're looking at" in each one.  Ha!

This is a hairless dog. Apparently, they are native to the area, and allowed to run around free.  Is it pet-able?

This little girl was a little more keen on getting her picture taken

Lucky for tourists - she's ADORABLE.

And her sister is too.  My dad said he was trying to take one of just the sister and the little girl totally photo bombed.

They got to visit a school and talk to the kids, which I think is really, really neat.

I want to go shopping at this market!  There were bread rolls that (look like they) are as big as my head!

My dad is in the yellow shirt.  He said the place was swamped because there was a religious pilgrimage going on.

That lama looks like a Peruvian Lassie, and that baby has the world's cutest cheeks.

The train to Machu Pichu. 

This is a lama that wants its picture taken.

This is a lama that does not.

My dad and Carla.

Ok, now I want to go somewhere...

Worth Mentioning

From Yes&Yes: True Story: My Mom Died When I Was 19

"This is one of many interviews that make up the True Life series, in which we learn about amazing, intriguing people and the things that they've experienced. This is the story of Tyler, whose mom died of ovarian cancer while Tyler was a sophomore in college."

"Shopping for black clothes for the funeral was really weird. One of my sisters and I went to Forever 21, and we had to flick through the racks of cheerful, colorful stuff to find the few black items they had. What are you supposed to say when the salesperson asks you if you’re looking for anything in particular? It was bizarre."

My dad took me to Dillards.  When he came up to Arkansas from Texas he hadn't brought a suit with him because he refused to believe he would have to go to a funeral.  He bought a pin stripe suit.  I got a black and white floral skirt.  I wanted a pink one.  I point blank told the sales lady my mom died four hours ago.

"The funeral was so surreal. I’m really emotionally guarded, so the funeral was the first time I had ever cried in front of people that weren’t my parents or sisters. It was liberating, in a way. The funeral itself went… well? I don’t know if that’s the right word."

I didn't cry at the funeral.  They made us walk in after everyone else down the chapel's center aisle and everyone was staring.  I actually felt like I was getting married.  We'd scattered the ashes before the service and no one wanted to get up and tell stories because we wouldn't have made it through two sentences.  In retrospect I wish I could have been stronger about that.  My defense was to be a stone in the pew.

"I also dream about her all the time. Sometimes, in the dream, I know she died, but other times it’s like she never got sick."

I used to have the most terrible dreams where she had died, but came back to life and didn't know she'd been sick or died, and everyone else had moved on, or she and my dad would want a divorce.  Or worse, she'd be dying physically but was still alive, and everything about her was falling apart.  I think I've only had one good dream about her, and I can't even remember it.  


"For people with a death in their own families, you should know that there is no right way to grieve. Don’t look to anyone else for how you’re supposed to feel or what you’re supposed to do."

Agreed.

Florence and the Machine

Cookies + Guacamole

My step-sister Courtney recently moved into a new town house that is veryvery nice, and she invited me, my other two-sisters, and some friends over to have a housewarming party.  It was only appropriate to wear a dress I bought while shopping with them in Austin the day before.  Plus, Courtney lives two hours away, and nothing says "travels well" like jersey fabric.

Dress: from Nordstrom Rack ($20!)
Shoes: Classified
Necklace: Accessory City in Little Rock

I don't know how it got started, but someone ate a chocolate cookie dunked in guacamole, and then decided that I was the only sister that hadn't done it, and surely must for a photo opp.  But I'm a stinker, (or lame), and only put the green cookie in my mouth for the picture.  No contact with taste buds were made, (wouldn't want to spoil the flavor of that delectable Lone Star I'm holding).

New Media Fashion Brunch

Brunch attendees via Adored Austin

On Friday I am giddy excited to attend the New Media Fashion Brunch and boutique crawl, sponsored by Indiana of Adored Austin.  I follow all of these girls' blogs, so I can't wait to meet them in person.  

 Indiana

My one rule for myself before the boutique crawl is: no spending between now and then!  My step-sister Courtney also invited me to a party at her new house in Bryan this weekend, so it's looking as though I'll have two amazing weekends in a row.  I've got my mind made up to make it happen.

Home Again Home Again, Dancing a Jig

After many hours of driving, seeing lots of family, mourning a legacy, seeing familiar faces and corners of the globe, I'm home in Austin, and I do love this city.  While Little Rock may be my harbor, Austin is certainly a place I wake up every day glad to have moored in.  It's also nice to be home with my puppy and my boy, although I'm not so excited to see my tiny, shared closet.

...And by shared, I mean I have the top shelf, 3/4'ths of the hanging bar, and all of the floor space except for an egg crate, where I have banished Lennon's shoes - someone please cut us a deal on a bigger apartment with walk in closets.

I picked up this cabbage rose skirt while I was gone, and came home to see another blogger wearing it, and in a much cuter manner than I am!  While I look sloppy in comparison, (I was on a car trip, I hope for some leeway), I have loved Kristin's style since I first stumbled upon her blog, so I'll take it as a good sign that I purchased a shared piece.     

My dad and step-mom spoiled me with food and frozen yogurt today in Copperas Cove, and then I rushed home to get to ride bikes with Lennon in the beautifully warm weather before the sun disappeared.  Now our window is open, the fan is on, and cool air is coming through the closed blinds.  It's so delicious I don't even want to go to sleep and risk missing it.

Skirt: Target
Shoes: BGBG
Lion Tee: Edun from Nordstrum Rack
Cardigan: Gap
Necklace: Buffalo Exchange

 Trying to display my frozen yogurt masterpiece while my dad photo bombs this iphone shot.