empty corridors

dress: handmade // shirt/tights: forever 21 // shoes: thrifted + diy // photos taken by Matt






I suppose this is a kind of teaser outfit for my dress that I made over the summer. For the past two years I've made it my summer project to put together at least one dress, which is really fun and super stressful when I use a pattern. Maybe this upcoming summer I'll feel confident enough to create a piece without a pattern! This dress in particular has a really fun multicolored camera print for the shirt portion that I never got a photo of before the weather turned cold. So in order to stay warm and thus leave you guessing about how this dress looks all by itself, I layered a nice sweater over the colorful print. But don't worry people, you'll eventually be able to see this dress in all of its glory.






In other news, nothing really exciting is going on, just a lot of school work. I also like to take on other extra projects that people give me, so I'm doing a lot of side work and building my portfolio with some client photography and design. Busy busy!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

october photos

"beach couple"

models: two lovely strangers



"earthmaker"

model: Spencer
assistants: Ben and Harrison



"a sailing waltz"

model: Megan



"lighthouse keeper"

model: Megan

Thanks to the Art Retreat, I got to create a lot of photos for the month of October. There are still more that I want to publish on the internet, so we will see if I remember that they exist at a time when I can/want to work on them (you know how that goes). But for October, I'd say it was a pretty successful month.

january/february // march // april // may // june // july // august // september

october in review

Man, this month just flew by. I've been really busy with school and life, but it's good. It's been a blur, I can hardly remember all the little details that occurred this month, but I do know that they were good things.

Hope you had a wonderful month as well!

Halloween 2013

Photobooth Fun







On Halloween I got to take photobooth photos for school. The above are some of my favorites! It was super fun getting to hang out with a lot of students on campus and see all the different costumes. This place really comes alive Halloween Night!

Our Costumes

For my own group of friends, as usual we decided about an hour before the festivities that we would dress up, so after scouring our closets, I'd say we did a pretty good job! There were a couple parties, a costume contest, and a haunted house going on during the 31st, and then a school dance the next night, which were all a ton of fun!






mini mouse, the ocean, katniss, princess merida, and a zebra

Hope you had a great Halloween! What did you all dress up as?

film friday: How to be Creative

Whatever your field of study, every person is creative. It's just a matter of tapping into it and getting the work done.

Have a great weekend!

blogger of the month: Jamie of Petite Panoply

Today I am super excited to introduce to you October's blogger of the month, Jamie from Petite Panoply! What first drew me to her blog was her infectious smile, and it was her awesome sense of style that kept me coming back for more. I swear she is a woman after my own heart with such a colorful wardrobe. I think I would die if I had access to so many fun colors! She kindly let me interview her for the month of October, so be sure to read on to get a peek into this awesome lady's life!



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

Sure! I’m Jamie: a mass communications graduate student at the University of Georgia (though I’m sick of defining myself by my eternal student status). My creative outlet is putting together non-boring outfits, playing with makeup, and blogging. I’m a Disney animated movie aficionado, nail polish hoarder, donut-lover, ex-theatre & band geek. I live in Georgia but I’m not a southerner. I enjoy tasty craft beer and going to nostalgic concerts. I have way too many shoes for my own good. Halloween is my favorite holiday. I’m a bit of a nerd (books! science!). My idea of an excellent fall evening is binge watching TV shows with my sister while drinking boozy coffee and reading blogs. In reality, most of my fall evenings are spent reading academic articles, writing papers, and quickly scheduling blog posts.



2. What was the inspiration behind your blog name?

I was really feeling unique vocabulary words around the time I made my blog. I came across “panoply” which means “an array” and liked how odd it sounded. (I’ve always enjoyed funny-sounding words. And making up my own words too.) My blog name kind of has a dual meaning because it’s both talking about a small array of things and referencing my short height. Plus alliteration is king in the blog name world, right?



3. How would you describe the perfect outfit?

This question is so hard for me! I like wearing and mixing a lot of different styles depending on my mood that day. Usually the perfect outfit for me is: 1. full of color, 2: includes a vintage/retro-looking piece, 3. has polka dots or leopard print, and lately 4. Has a slight edgy factor. I’m happy in any colorful retro outfit but lately I’ve been enjoying darker edgier looks too. Mixing those two styles is always great in my book!



4. The tagline for your blog is "short girl style". Have you had any struggles with finding pieces to fit your height?

Oh always. My struggles were really prominent in my middle school and high school days when I wore jeans all the time. I had to search for stores that carried a short inseam because bell bottoms and boot cuts were in style then and the flare would start at such an awkwardly wrong place if they weren’t jeans made for short people. I still end up with 6-10 inches of extra fabric beyond my foot when shopping for pants in regular sizes. Lately I have problems with the bodices of dresses being way too long for my short torso. My red lace graduation dress had to have the bodice shortened (which was not easy). I also have issues with tops being too long. They usually hit at an unflattering place so I tuck most of my shirts in. The crop top trend is my friend! At least I can buy some things in the kids’ section. Basic tights are much cheaper there and even seem more durable.



5. How do you overcome the fashion industry's inclination towards taller girls?

I figure the majority of the fashion industry styles clothes for 2% of women. These are the tall, super skinny model types, which is a valid body type, but not at all the norm. I make do with the body I have just like any other woman who is outside that 2%. I get inspiration from the industry trends and adjust them to fit my style and body. Luckily there are stores that carry petite sizes and shorter inseams. Plus there’s always tailoring which is a short girl’s best friend. There are some styles that probably won’t ever be flattering on me though (like drop waist dresses). They just weren’t designed for a short frame and it sucks, but that’s life. There are plenty of other styles I can try out instead!



6. What's one style you wish you could emulate?

I really love Zooey Deschanel’s style. Her girly, retro style is exactly how I’d love to dress for work each day when I actually get out of grad school. I really like Emma Watson’s style too. I like that she takes chances with her look.



7. If you were to give one piece of advice to your readers, what would it be?

Don’t be afraid to smile in your pictures (if you have a blog, that is)! It’s okay to look happy.



Thank you so much Jamie for letting me get to know you just a little bit. Be sure to check out her blog, Petite Panoply, for even more awesome colors (and a fun Halloween post for today!). I hope you all have a great day, and happy Halloween!

to the pumpkin patch

A couple weekends ago, my friends and I woke up bright and early and hopped in the car to spend the day at the pumpkin patch! This year we headed out to Bauman Farms, which is in Gervais, Oregon. It was a perfect day, with gorgeous fog the entire drive, until we finally broke free of it when the farm came in sight. Going early in the morning is really the way to go if you want to attend Bauman Farms, because when we left around 2 pm, there was a long line of cars in both directions waiting to turn into the grassy parking lot.





Not only can you pick the perfect pumpkin there (I got a cute warty one which I turned into a kitty cat), but there's also a corn maze, a dark hay maze (which is pitch black and has tunnels as well as pathways. My friends and I were probably in there for at least half an hour trying to find our way out), a hay obstacle course, apple cannons and apple slingshots and apple tasting, tons of food, tractor rides, a petting zoo, giant slides, and beautiful gardens. It really feels like a fair while you're there. There are so many fun things to do, and a person can easily spend all day there.






p.s. you can check out last year's pumpkin patch adventures here!