our only plan is to improvise

skirt: thrifted // dress: forever 21 // cardigan: gift // shoes: target




I wore this outfit once at college and loved it, but never got a chance to photograph it. Of course for any blogger, that is a blessing in disguise because then we get to wear the same outfit again. So when I found myself not quite knowing what to wear, I decided to don the same combination of clothes and avoid any unnecessary brain functions early in the morning. Well the second time around I succeeded in taking outfit photos, but I no longer feel the same way about this outfit. I've been looking back on my outfits this past month, trying to pinpoint the shift in my style. I suppose it's been a long time coming though, considering I'm always evolving and changing and consequently my clothes are bound to follow me. It's frustrating though. I feel like I can't express myself through my clothes, so I shop online and pretend I have money, and then I feel bad for feeling sorry for myself. Part of me says, "Who even needs clothes anyways? I certainly don't. There are so many better things I could spend my money on. I have enough clothes." Part of me says, "But I need to be able to express myself and feel confident. I need to have my wardrobe reflect me." And then of course there's the part of me that inevitably chooses the most expensive thing when I shop and have to constantly be disappointed. Curse my expensive taste and modest budget!





But anyways, today (Tuesday) Matt and I finally started P90X, and man, I forgot how hard it was. I did it with my mom in 2010 and loved it, so I'm excited to do it again and push myself harder. It's also fun to do it with Matt because he makes me want to do my best. It's always more fun to work out with a friend anyways. I don't think I would work as hard if I was just doing it by myself.




p.s. I finally got the chance to listen to the new Daft Punk album. Ooooh man it's awesome. You must listen to it.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

here to stay

sweater: walmart (?) dress/tights: forever 21 // shirt: thrifted // belt/shoes: target




Some pieces of clothing last a lifetime. This sweater is one of them. I have had it since eighth grade (oh look at how much I've grown) and I have no doubt that I'll still have it when I'm eighty. When my mom first bought it for me, I thought it was the coolest sweater ever. Despite my first thought that it was really old ladyish, I liked the green color (my favorite) and the cool design on the sleeves. It was one of the first "fashionable" pieces I had ever owned, if you can call it that. I always would wear it with my favorite red tank top from Eddie Bauer, another thing that I thought was old ladyish, and I would always throw it on top of my t-shirts. (Man, I look so little there! And look at that great selective coloring and rounded edges. Oh man, those were the good old days.) There was a period of time when I hated this sweater as well, because I tend to not like things that just hang from my shoulders, but I'm trying to get out of that habit and wear things based on color and pattern more than structure (though that is important as well). But anyways, this sweater has been with me a lot and it's still one of my favorites. It will be for a long time.




Well if you're reading this, then I am currently camping somewhere in the wild jungles of Alaska, trying not to get attacked by bears or die of frostbite. But seriously, I'm excited to go camping. In light of the Moore tornado, it will be nice to get away from technology and just forget about things for a bit. My facebook/tumblr/instagram have been filled with tornado related news, people asking for help, posting photos and videos; and not being able to help efforts is pretty disheartening. But thankfully our house and our renters are okay. We were finally able to get in contact with them and the tornado missed our house by three blocks. It shrunk in size literally right before it hit and bypassed the structure, save for typical debris damage. The park by our house was totally destroyed though. It's so weird and crazy how one thing is spared and the thing right next to it is gone. But it makes me proud to have Moore on the list of places I've lived, because even in the face of destruction, people come together and find the good in everything.

But really, I think that's true for most humans. When natural disasters strike, it always brings me to tears because of the good in humans. Total strangers come to each other to help. It's a really beautiful thing. Not only does it make me proud to be an Oklahoman, or an Alaskan, or an Oregonian (or wherever I'm living), or an American, but it makes me proud to be a human, to be a part of a universal community of people who, despite our differences, are really not all that different. Rock on, humans.





:) Have a great day!

film friday: freshman year semester two

Freshman Year Semester Two from Lauren Parker on Vimeo.

It's a very special film friday today, because I'm sharing a video that I made! This video features some of the adventures I had during my second half of freshman year, featuring some awesome things like our spy obstacle course and a picnic! I can't believe my first year of college is already over with. Time sure flies by.

You can see the first semester here!

summer dreaming

dress/belt: thrifted // scarf: from Matt // leggings: forever 21 // boots: gift




It was just beginning to feel like summer when I spent all night frolfing, driving around, and hanging out with people, but now it doesn't even feel remotely like that. Especially since we got another snowstorm. Well, we officially broke the record for longest winter ever recorded, so Alaska has no more excuses. The weather report says it's supposed to be up to 65 degrees by Friday, so I can only hope.

What I'm really hoping for is it to be warm when Matt gets home (only one week left!), because with him here I really think it will actually feel like summer. Our whole group of friends will finally be complete, so I'm hoping for much frolfing, video game playing, and general schenanigans. And with Matt, laying out in the grass, taking fun day trips to places while singing at the top of our lungs, going to the arcade and hitting the jackpot on the thunder game, or even just having dinner and family game night at my house ... man, summer please come soon!




But for now, it's back to work. I'm officially selling my photos via arcangel images, which I'm very excited about. I signed a three year contract a couple weeks ago and had my first batch of images accepted. I'm still working on keywording everything (which is a lot more time consuming than it seems) and verifying my model releases, but hopefully that will be done in the next few weeks. Until then, if you happen to be a book publisher or magazine editor, you should buy one of my photos!





Have a great Monday everyone!

no small feat

navy dress/shoes: thrifted // daisy dress: asos (similar) // tights: mom's closet




As an "I survived my first year of college" gift, I treated myself to some bright red lipstick from the boutique walle marte. I actually have a fairly decent lipstick collection (well, I have about five different bottles) but I usually don't wear them as they fade pretty quickly. I'm trying to wear them more often in an effort to not bite my lips anymore, and thankfully this fun red shade is a balm stain and stays on for a long time.



Man, can I just be really honest here? Sometimes I really question if I want to do photography as a full time profession. Now don't go freaking out on me, ya silly gooses. I've been reading so many articles on optimizing your website and self advertising and social media and quotes and invoices and SEO and HTML and let me just say that owning your own business is certainly not for the faint of heart. One moment I'm so excited for what the future holds and all the opportunities and things I'm going to do, and the next moment I just want to give up and not have to stress about marketing myself and my services and talents. But I am really glad that my passions are all connected to each other--writing, photography, blogging--and I can use each thing to build up an online presence to get my work out there. Unlike a real job, I have to be my own boss, my own market researcher, my own advertising company, you get the picture. It's really hard, stressful work. But I love it. There's nothing else I would rather be doing. Plus, I don't think I would do well at having a "real" job. I could never ever be a waitress or a cashier or a barista, no thank you. You guys who do that are really brave, and I could never do what you do!




It's so cool that everyone has different passions and talents. I'm reminded of my blogging friends Annika and Hannah, who are super gifted when it comes to science and are totally going to change the world. My friend Lauren got a job at Aeropostale and that is just the coolest thing to me. Sara is a creative writing grad student and she'll probably end up on the New York Times bestsellers list. My fellow Alaskan blogger Katie works with horses on a daily basis. My little sister went through a horse phase so I kind of know what caring for a horse entails, and that is certainly no small feat. My real life friend Brady just started his own clothing line, which is already gaining a good following and will continue to do so. My boyfriend Matt is even pursuing his passion for film and he's really talented with anything he sets his mind to. My friend Jacob is the single most talented person I know. He's currently building an app for a coffee company and knows literally everything about computers and cars. (I keep going back and adding more and more people to this list, haha.) And there are so many of my other blogger and photographer and IRL friends that I could mention, because we all have something unique about us. We all have unique gifts that we are pursuing and it's such a beautiful thing. What's something that you're super passionate about? I would love to hear it!

blogger of the month: annika of pineneedle collective

I have a super awesome post for you all today! I've been doing a few blogger of the month features, but when I started college I stopped. I'm really excited to bring back this feature, and with a bang at that, because my friend Annika kindly agreed to let me interview her! She is super awesome and has a fabulous sense of style, and I love reading her blog on a daily basis. So without further adieu, the blogger of April is Annika of Pineneedle Collective!



Well first of all, can you tell everyone a little bit about yourself?

I am a 20-year-old Sydney-sider who studies science, and I really like clothes.

How would you describe your personal style?

My style is probably first most "vintage inspired", and then I throw in elements of Japanese street fashion, lolita, novelty, retro, rockabilly and grunge depending on how I feel that day.



If you were stuck on a deserted island for the rest of your life, what one outfit would you wear?

I think that if I were stuck on a deserted island for the rest of my life, I may not care too much about what I looked like anymore and I would also probably end up hating the outfit I chose, after having to look down at it every day for the rest of my life! But I will try and answer this question seriously. Of course, I would need to choose something that was at least slightly practical and wouldn't hinder my survival with over-the-top embellishments. I think that I would choose this outfit - not only is it one of the outfits I'm most proud of putting together, the dress is very light-weight and easy to move in, the hat would keep my face shaded, and I'd totally scare off other predators with the giant scary lion on the front of the dress. Plus those sweater pins I am wearing are pretty sharp on the edges, so I could use them as flints to start a fire.



What is your favorite thing about living in Australia?

The fact that we're very free to express ourselves. Oh! And all the great food we have here. Because Australia has a lot of migrants from basically every country in the world, it's had an awesome effect on the culture, and in particular the food. I can go from Chinatown to Little Italy in Sydney in about 10 minutes, and then get a snack from a Vietnamese restaurant just down the road and go shopping at a Lebanese supermarket.

Even though I am someone who isn't particularly interested in science, I always love your science facts at the end of your posts! What is your favorite thing about studying neuroscience and biochemistry?

My favourite thing about what I study is learning about how brains work, at almost every level! I find it endlessly fascinating how tiny changes to the chemistry or biology of the brain can cause total shifts in behaviour and the way the world is perceived. My favourite thing to research are lesion and pharmacological case studies where even tiny changes to the brain have caused radical differences in someone's memory or personality. It brings up the whole question of what exactly constitutes consciousness, and ultimately, what makes up who we are and our perception of reality.



What do you hope people get from your blog as they read it?

One of my aims with my blog is to show people that they can dress well on a budget. My outfits basically always feature thrifted items of clothing which I bought for a couple of dollars (which I rewear many times, because only wearing something once is silly). I also really hope to inspire people to study science, by making science interesting! Annnnd I also do a fair bit of making my own clothes - with the idea that people can learn to make something they saw on the high street rather than pay $300 for it.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Where do you see your blog?

In five years, I see myself having just completed masters in science, taking a year off and living in Japan, before starting a pHD in neurobiology. Fingers crossed! And as for my blog... I have no idea! I hope that I'll still be interested in blogging, but who knows what the next five years holds for it! I guess I would like to say I will be a super-famous-internet-blogger who gets flown around the world to fashion shows and blogging events, haha.



What is your current favorite piece of clothing?

My heart-backed, blue and orange Romwe dress.

How do you remain confident in your fashion sense when going out in public? Do you have any advice for people who are scared to dress like themselves?

1. Compile a number of outfits that you think you look awesome in. Prance about in them at home and in front of a mirror. Build up your confidence. If you go out looking confident in an outfit, you are guaranteed to pull it off. And always avoid wearing things that you constantly have to adjust/fidget with/pull down because these are serious confidence-sappers.
2. Buy things which suit you and your body shape. Don't buy clothes for a "curvier" you or a "thinner" you - buy clothes for exactly how you look right now.
3. Get yourself a fashion blog where people tell you how nice you look all the time (haha seriously though, this has actually helped me a lot).
4. Remind yourself that other people who dress "normally" are probably too scared to dress how they actually want to, and really, just look a bit boring.
5. Learn to embrace odd looks and side-glances - you're just making the world a more interesting place.



Thank you so much for letting me interview you, Annika! And be sure to check out her awesome blog here!

Blogger Spotlight: Lauren of Someone Like You

I'm especially excited for this month's Blogger Spotlight, as Lauren has become one of my favorite blogger friends. She kindly agreed to be September's Blogger and do a little interview with me, so without further adieu, here's Lauren!

1. First things first, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Alrighty! :D My name is Lauren and I’m a bashful, nineteen year old spirit who’s a freshman in college studying fashion merchandising. I believe in going after your dreams, not holding anything back, and never (ever) having too many dresses with peter pan collars ♥

2. Why and when did you start blogging?

I started blogging in November of 2009; almost three years ago! Golly do I feel like an old lady, heh. But I found that I could never consistently write in a diary so I thought that I’d give blogging a go and see if it was easier. My blog originally started out as a diary, something no one was supposed to even read. At the time I was still developing and finding my own personal style, as well, so I started documenting my every day outfits to see how I transformed. Someone Like You has been a fashion + diary blog ever since!



3. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life, which outfit would it be?

Well, I don’t care if it’s 100 degrees…I at least have to have one of my berets on! Besides that…my favorite dress that’s lace and mint green; it’s literally the dreamiest and I wear it nearly every day anyhow ;)

4. What is one piece of advice you can give to people just about to or first starting out in college?

Push yourself. Don’t let the person you were in high school define who you were in college. You don’t have to have the stigma you had there; college is a fresh start to be the gal you’ve always wanted to be. I was so shy in high school and wasn’t involved in anything…I’m really trying to change that here at college and not fall into that comfort zone. I want to have a college experience with no regrets !



5. What was/is the hardest thing about college so far? The easiest (or best)?

It’s probably so silly but it’s the honest to goodness truth…it is so hard to take showers instead of baths! I’ve taken baths my entire life. It’s my time in the evening to sit, relax, read, and think. In a shower…er, I just don’t know what to do! Still haven’t figured out how to shave my legs… (don’t laugh at me!) The best is getting to study and do what you love. There’s no one here at college telling you what to do; your life is what you make it right now. I am the happiest I’ve ever been studying fashion; it was the best decision for me.

6. What is one style or trend you’ve never really been excited about?

I really don’t understand the whole bandage skirt trend that’s so popular. They just look so uncomfortable; like you can hardly move. Give me a pretty fit and flare dress any day!



7. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

I would go to Paris (so stereotypical, I know). I’m just such a romantic and a dreamer and I feel like Paris is the ultimate place for individuals who are those things . I want to explore the streets, twirl around in a pretty dress, drink expensive coffee at an outside café, visit the original Chanel, look at cute French Boys, smell flowers at the street venders, speak bad French, and try a real macaroon. Paris probably isn’t any of these things, but even if it’s not, I want to find that out for myself.

8. Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Happy. I’ve had a tumultuous few years and I’m still going through tumultuous times. I hope that all of this is worth it and I can be the one thing I truly want out of my life here on Earth; happy.



Lauren, thank you so much for letting me interview you! Everyone, be sure to check out Lauren's blog, Someone Like You, today. You definitely won't regret it!

Blogger Spotlight: Hannah of She Could be a Pharmer!

I am so excited to introduce you to Hannah of She Could Be a Pharmer! Hannah is one of my blogging friends and I am so glad she agreed to grace the halls of Introvert's Introduction with her presence. So without further adieu, I give you Hannah of She Could Be a Pharmer!

1. First things first, can you tell everyone a little bit about yourself?

My name is Hannah and I write the blog she could be a pharmer in those clothes. My blog is a frivolous collection of outfit posts, science, cooking, and bitching about grad school. I was born and raised in Colorado, but right now I live in the Washington, DC area where I’m studying to get my PhD in pharmacology. I live with my boyfriend, Jason. He’s pretty much the best person in the universe and our nights usually involve sitting on the couch, drinking beer, and watching some sort of geeky TV show. We have two cats named Aspen and Velcro. They fight a lot. We also have a scorpion named Fenrir. He gives me nightmares.



2. What inspired you to start your blog (congrats on your one year anniversary a few weeks ago!)?

I had been an avid blog reader for some time and after a while I thought, “hey, I could do this!” Plus you don’t see many bloggers in the sciences and I was excited about contributing to an underdeveloped niche. Plus I grew up “blogging” (does livejournal count as blogging?), but hadn’t done it for a few years and I found that I really missed it!



3. What is the meaning behind your blog name?

“She could be a pharmer in those clothes” is a pun from a line from Clueless:

Gym teacher: Tai- you don’t have time to change, but you could hit a few balls in those clothes.
Amber: She could be a farmer in those clothes.
(Maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh)



(skip to 1:00)
Ah yes Clueless, a classic.

The “pharmer” bit comes from what I’m studying in grad school – pharmacology, often shortened to “pharm,” therefore making us pharm students the “pharmers.” I mean, a Clueless reference and science puns? How could I resist?

4. How do you balance between blogging and grad school?

Not very well! Haha. My blogging definitely tends to go in spurts. When I’m having normal/slow weeks at school I will blog a lot more, but when school gets crazy my blog definitely suffers. Being a grad student, school isn’t just about my education but it’s also my job, so it comes first. I try really hard never to blog or check blogs while I’m in lab. It’s a bad habit and it totally kills my productivity for the day. I have a hard time with self-control though, so I downloaded this awesome app for Google Chrome called StayFocused. Essentially, it limits how much time you can spend on certain websites each day. I set it so all of the “distraction” websites (facebook, pinterest, tumblr, blogspot, etc) have a limit of 30 minutes/day (cause I need a few minutes of downtime a day or I will go crazy!) It’s made me way more productive and I definitely recommend it!



5. Since I'm just about to finish my first week of college, can you give any advice for incoming freshmen?

Oh yes! I love giving advice. Don’t like to follow it, but loooove to dish it out.

- Get involved, especially in the first few months. Join every club that even sounds remotely interesting. You’ll probably end up only sticking with a few of them, but it’s worth it. People like to pretend that college is more mature than high school and it’s some sort of clique-less utopia, but it’s not. Social groups form tight and fast. I was too shy to go to a lot of social gatherings for the first few months of college and it made it really hard to break into them later – everyone had already formed their social circles, which meant I was always on the outside. It sucked. Don’t do it!

- Don’t bring your laptop to class unless you have to, and even then download some sort of productivity software like StayFocused or Concentrate (an app for Macs). 90% of the time I brought my laptop to class it ended up with me talking to my friends on aim (yes, when I went to college everyone still used aim. Don’t judge me!)

- Go to class. I know I know, this is probably the opposite of what so many other people would tell you. Yes, college is the perfect time to try new things and party and have an awesome time. But don’t do that at the expense of your education. College is expensive - make the best of your money! (Or your parents hard-earned money! Or a scholarship!)

- Take fun electives. I was in such a rush to finish college in four years with all the majors possible, that I forgot to relax a bit and take some fun classes. Some of my friends took classes like history of The Lord of the Rings, yoga, and glass blowing – for credit! The only elective I took for “fun” was called “insane in the membrane” and it was about membrane proteins. Even for someone who is a proud nerd, this is painfully lame.



6. How would you describe your personal style and how has it evolved over the years?

I would describe my style as “geek chic.” In college I wore jeans, thrifted t-shirts, and converse non-stop (I also woke up every day at 6am to straighten my hair. Insanity.) In recent years I’ve started to expand from my tomboy roots by incorporating more dresses and skirts. Also a necessity since it is crazy hot in the summer here in DC.



7. What would you say you have improved on since starting your blog?

My photography skills have definitely improved! In high school I had a passionate infatuation with photography, but my SLR camera broke sometime in college and I never really got back into the hobby. But with blogging I have started to get into photography again. I’ve been dabbling with lomography and just bought the chemicals to develop my own film, and I got a DSLR for my birthday and it’s been a blast figuring out how to use it! I probably wouldn’t have started up on any of this if not for blogging.

8. If you could try anything in the world (be it food, an activity, anything), what would it be?

I’d love to travel. I never studied abroad in college (ooh, add that to the college advice – study abroad! I will never forgive myself for missing out on that opportunity!), and I’ve never traveled around Europe or Asia or anything. I’ve been with my family and I even got to go to Italy for a conference last year, which was amazing, but I definitely want that experience of gallivanting abroad for a few weeks/months with no real schedule or obligations.



Thank you Hannah so much for letting me interview you!

And be sure to check out her blog!