Blossom Type

Artist Alice Mourou and a team of other artists worked painstakingly to create this floral typography by hand using real flowers. The result is a stunning series of letters and images that look almost wearable (yes that "o" would make for a perfect flower crown...). With such an eye for detail and color it's hard to believe the flowers and shapes are real. You can scroll through the entire alphabet here to find your initials.  

Lost in Loughgall

It was suggested that I title this post "lost in Loughgall" since it has a nice ring to it and although I was technically not lost while shooting these pictures, lost is how I'd describe myself most of the time in Northern Ireland. Others are driving me around so I have only a foggy idea our location and the names spoken in foreign accents tend to go in one year and out the other since inevitably when I visualize the spelling of a town it's so incorrect I can't point it out on a map. On top of that our days are packed; while a languid view of my journeys might be shared here on the blog most of the time we're usually out in the morning and don't return until the evening as we hop from one thing to another and I tend to forget where I was anyway. Oh well, I'll figure out where I am eventually..

Outfit details:

Crew Cuts jacket

choies dress

Choies sandals

Rebecca Minkoff backpack (similar)

*pictures by Thomas

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Smile Brilliant Review

I'm pretty happy with my smile--my teeth aren't Hollywood perfect but they're decent enough to show and I only have my own Coca-Cola addiction to blame for the staining. Still when Smile Brilliant approached me with the offer of a free teeth whitening kit in exchange for a review, I was quite happy to say "yes."
The process: You start by making custom teeth molds with Smile Brilliant. Once those have arrived you can get to whitening. First you brush and floss your teeth, then put a de-sensitizing gel in your molds and insert them in your mouth. I left mine in for 30 minutes. Following that you clean your molds and teeth again then put your whitening gel in your molds. Insert the teeth molds and leave in for awhile. I left mine in for 45 minutes.
My review: The results aren't very dramatic. I think I see a difference, but Thomas can't see one at all. It is however only one treatment and there are more in the program to go through (I just wanted to photograph it in identical light to get the clearest comparison). On the plus side I don't really have any sensitivity and the program is very easy to follow.

Parkanaur Revisited

On my last visit to Parkanaur we were driven away prematurely by rain and barely got a chance to explore the grounds or their white deer. This time the weather was much better and we enjoyed a walk through the woods and deer park--next time I'm hoping to see inside the Tudor Revival house. The big stone lions might be my favorite feature; they have so much personality and the white nicely echoes the lichen growing on the house's old stone walls. My bright pink dress with it's retro-y print that reminds me of the sixties was probably not the best match for the location, but I like the contrast and how the colors pop here. These pictures are a good reminder to wear lipstick more often as well because I love the way it looks with the blonde hair. When I first dyed it I kept doing a double-take when I walked by a mirror or woke up in the morning. Big style changes often lead to a period of discomfort since we're so used to looking a certain way. But now I'm liking the look more and more and might keep my hair blonde longer than I had originally planned.

Outfit details:

Reif headband

Modcloth dress (old, similar)

Wink & Winn dress

Trask sandals

*pictures by Thomas

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Blog Birthday Flashback

Here's a little flashback courtesy of my archives. Since I began blogging in 2007 and have averaged nearly 5 outfits a week since then there's a lot of material to sift through when I contemplate re-caps. I get overwhelmed trying to properly recap one year let alone seven years. This week instead of failing to accurately summarize seven years of my life or even this wonderful past year I decided to just feature some "flashback" looks from my first year of blogging. In my first year of blogging I was shooting by myself with a Canon Powershot, I occasionally had a tripod and balanced my camera on nearby objects when the tripod wasn't around. I wore glasses nearly every day and was just starting to figure out my style. I was studying business, working part-time as a cashier, and spending too many of my nights awake at 2am reading style blogs...

Blog Birthday!

My blog turns seven years old today! Or rather two days ago, but I've been busy traveling and shooting this anniversary video so it is only today that I'm ready to share the final product with you. I never really know what to say when my blog birthday/anniversary rolls around--I never knew back then that I would keep at it this long! There are a number of things I wouldn't have anticipated happening back then that have come to pass, but they have and here we are. I could probably go on for a bit about what has changed and what blogging means to me but the short of it is: I really like blogging. I like taking pictures on a regular basis because it takes me outside and makes me appreciate my surroundings in a different way. I like sharing all that online and connecting to people with similar interests who I never would have "met" otherwise. I feel incredibly lucky.
Thomas helped me make this video in honor of my blog turning seven years old. It's short and sweet and just a little "thank you" to everyone's who's been following along. For seven years there are seven different outfits and locations featured in the video--I wish I could have fit in seven completely different hairstyles (long! short! red! blue!) but the video was a few days rather than seven years in the making. I hope you enjoy it!

Postcards from Ireland

A few beautiful shots around Ireland and Northern Ireland...