Lily Meadows with Dolly & Dotty

The merry month of June is the perfect summer month in my opinion.  There is an abundance of sunshine and most of all flowers.  As summer goes on in this little part of the world, round about July everything tends to dry up and the August landscape looks very crunchy.  But, here, in June, there are still blossoms everywhere you look.  

This Lily dress in Meadow Floral from Dolly & Dotty caught my eye right away and I knew it would be the perfect dress for this day.  This is my first time trying the Lily style and I love everything about it, especially the way rust contrast buttons bring out the lovely deep tones of this print.  I added a black petticoat and a gold leaf belt for accent.  It's all so gorgeous from print to style to fit.  You really cannot go wrong with a Dolly & Dotty dress.

 

Outfit:  Lily Meadow Floral Black Off Shoulder Dress-£50 from Dolly & Dotty

Vintage Summer Morning with Dolly & Dotty

Collaboration time!  I've been enjoying such a nice reprieve from out usual full schedule and getting lots of things caught up around the house and farm, but I will always make time for a collaboration like this.  If there is one thing worth getting up early on a summer Sunday morning, it's the thought of modeling a gorgeous dress like this Tess Lace Sleeved Dress in Peacock Blue from Dolly & Dotty.  I love the fabric of this dress, it is cotton and perfect for these warmer days, plus it has this gorgeous eyelet at the sleeves, bodice top, and sweeping round the hemline too.  What a perfectly gorgeous dress!  And since I'm all dolled up we top off the morning's photo session by heading over to my favorite bakery for breakfast, enjoyed alfresco for people-watching.  It really was a perfect day in the perfect dress.

Outfit Info:  Tess Lace Sleeved Dress in Peacock Blue -£45 from Dolly & Dotty

Gustavia: The Summer Dress

Summer is the season of white cotton dresses, cool early mornings walking in the still woods, and long afternoons sipping lemonade under the shade trees, so it wouldn't be fitting to let the summer slip by without at least one post with a white cotton dress.White cotton dresses with eyelet and lace have been an obsession of mine for as long as I can remember.  I spent years searching for the perfect little white dress before finally realizing that they are all perfect in their own way.Each dress is a whole and complete vision, a work of art, a dream made real and I love them all just as they are.  This particular dress is a very exiciting thrifted find from Anthropologie brand Eri + Ali.  

Originally coming in at $178 (0r so saith the internet) I found this dress on a resale site in new condition for a meager $40.  While researching this dress, I also found that I really loved the way it was styled in the first photo below the outfit info below and decided to get as close to that look as possible.  I've already been wearing this dress since summer is in full swing and I love the loose fit and the breathable fabric.  I really miss the days when clothes were mainly made of natural fibers instead of recycled plastic dunked in forever chemicals.  Nothing will ever be so comforting to wear as cotton, especially on warm summer days like this.

Outfit Info:  Gustavia Dress by Eri +Ali from Anthropologie

The Importance of Community

Since today's outfit features one of my favorite ModCloth styles, the Community Brunch Dress, I thought it would be a great time to talk about the importance of Community.  I'm not sure the majority of people on this planet feel like they fit in, but everyone actually does fit in to one group or other and it's a good thing too because community is something we all are in dire need of.  In my opinion, the ranking for basic human needs should go 1. Food/Water, 2. Shelter, 3.  Clothing, 4. Community.

I've lived in several other countries and I have noticed that when it comes to community, America in general and suburban/rural America are really lacking in this area.  In short, American schedules are filled to the brim with busy nothings and there's very little time for meaningful connections; it's just not programmed into our culture.  My theory is that because this country was founded and then westwardly expanded by people who were constantly leaving all their family behind and learning to be isolated, we sort of lost that priority on family and friendly gatherings that is still so prevalent in Europe and Japan.  It's just a theory, but I have noticed that some cultures are programmed for success when it comes to socializing.

At the level of individual responsibility, some people have an amazing ability to connect with others.  They do this easily and often and their lives are filled with friends; if you're like me and you maybe make a friend once a decade or so and have been told a more than a handful of times just how much people immediately hated you the first moment they saw you and then only eventually warmed up to you if given enough time (but, seriously I don't usually have the time), then building community is a much, much harder task.  It's harder, but it's not impossible.

The easiest place to start now adays is the internet and as someone who is extremely shy and for some reason which I have yet to uncover, also usually perceived anywhere from stuck-up to hateable at first sight, and who also has very fringe tastes and hobbies, the internet offers the greatest pool of possible like-minded individuals.  I really love all my online groups because they remind me that not only am I not alone, that there are in fact lots of really wonderful people all over the world who love and get excited about and want to constantly talk about all the same things that I do.   While this is a great place to start, Don't stop at the virtual world because online friends can't replace in-person tete-a-tetes, plus the virtual world gets really ugly way too often.

Internet friendships can really only go so far.  As someone who has been blogging for nearly ten years and has read her fair share of nasty YouTube comments, usually posted by people who consider themselves experts because they Consume a lot of content and actually create Nothing, I can tell you that the internet is not a true reflection of what friendship and community can or should be.  What we all need more than anything is real human connections where we get together, in person preferably, to talk, laugh, share, complain, commiserate, and just generally be a witness to another human being's life and have them be a witness to ours.  A witness, not a critic like the internet seems to produce en masse.  This can be at work, church, school, where ever people gather.  If it's a place like church or school and just showing up doesn't really yield friends, get involved.  Volunteering or joining groups within these organizations opens the door for more one-on-one time and getting to know people suddenly gets easier when the group gets smaller.

Family, family, family--I cannot stress this enough.  When the whole culture seems to be in favor of "cutting people out of your life," at the slightest disagreement, I think we need to go the opposite direction.  Keep your family close, overlook the disagreements,  forgive the hurts as much as possible, and make time for your family.  They really are meant to be the first and most important community we experience, so push aside a few busy nothings to have lunch or a phone call with your parents, siblings, children, aunts, or cousins.  

We need people in our lives; we need community.  Not just like-minded people but totally unlike minded people whom we don't have to agree with to love and respect.  We need to share in their lives and have them share in ours, the triumphs, the failures, the fears and the hopes, to inspire and encourage each other, challenge and accept each other.  No matter who you are, where you live, or what you love, surround yourself with people you love, build your community.

Outfit Info:  Community Brunch Shirt Dress in Corgi Print by ModCloth is old, ditto on the Qupid Heels, Cardi is from YeMak

High Socie-Tea: Macaron Dress

At some point we all begin creating fewer new stories and and retelling more past stories.  It's called getting old and I think I'm nearly there.  I'm not throwing in the towel on having adventures, but at some point we all accumulate so many sweet memories we can't help but want to share them.  So, if you're not much of a fan of trips down memory lane, please feel free to just look at the photos and skip the text or skip the whole post entirely.  I'm ok with it.

This lovely dress was probably one of the earliest purchases I made from ModCloth.  We may have already been living in Japan or it was something I got for Christmas right before we left the US, I don't really recall anymore.  What I do remember is that it was a toss up between this dress and another (again, I don't recall which dress) and I couldn't decide, so I asked my daughters, who were then about 6 and 8 years old to tell me their favorite.  They unanimously, enthusiastically voted for this High Socie-tea Macaron dress.

It was one of those dresses that they loved for me to wear and may have even told me that they each wanted it one day when there were big enough to wear it.  Over the decade or so that I've had this dress, I've worn it with accessories that matched with every color in its palette and loved it just as much everytime.  I do recall trying to take photos of this dress when I bought it, and may have even submitted them to ModCloth's Customer Style Gallery, but this print was so difficult to capture that I probably gave up on that and just wore the heck out of it.

After so many years and so many wears, this dress looks remarkably good.  I might very well still be able to hand it down to my daughters or maybe even grand-daughters one day.  But, I'm not planning on letting it sit in a box until then.  No, I'll keep right on wearing it as much as possible and keep remembering all the good memories we've made over the years while I was in it.

Outfit Info:  High Socie-Tea Dress in Macaron from ModCloth is old, Flats from VIVAIA, and Cardigan from YeMAK.

A Cherry Good Idea

Lately I have been missing out on the blogging stuff.  So many beautiful scenes all around me and I have just had to enjoy it from the car window on my daily commute.  But, when I saw this little spot in bloom with all these glorious snowy wildflowers, I turned to Mr. Bleu (sometimes we get to carpool) and said, I reeeeally want to make some time to get a few photos here this week before the flowers are gone.

Carving out time wasn't nearly as difficult as rallying myself to actually go out and do it.  Very often our free days together are spent running errands from the time we wake up until the time we go to sleep.  But, on this particular day we decided to just stay home and get things done around the house.  I so enjoy the slower pace of my stay-at-home days that I never want to leave.

I'm always very productive and yet I still somehow manage to take walks and naps, cook hearty meals, and read a few chapters of whatever book is holding my interest.  It's kind of amazing when I think of the frenzy the rest of the week is, to look at these days and see a slower sort of living that actually yields more productivity and contentment.

I guess when we love what we're doing, that's plenty of motivation to do it well.  And when we feel content in one area, it leads to contentment in many others.  And when something really matters to us, we'll find both the time and the energy to make it happen.

So, I rallied myself, took off the apron, grabbed a couple of Retrolicious dresses, tried to wrangle the increasingly-wirey-as-it-grays hair into something pleasant and waded through the muck and a little poison ivy to get to this dreamy spot at sunset to capture the most beautiful wildflower garden that nature grows in my neck of the woods.  And, as much as I didn't want to leave, I'm glad I could capture this beautiful moment.

Outfit Info:  Cherry Good Vintage Dress from Retrolicious, Cherry Pie bag from Betsey Johnson.

Still Have Dress: Will Travel

Lately I've been overcome with a wave of nostalgia for the blog and my wardrobe.  As I was putting away some things that are just to heavy to wear in summer, and getting out some light sundresses, I found myself searching for all my old ModCloth favorites from 2012 ~ 2016. Maybe my Low-Buy Year has me finally focusing less on what I want next and more on enjoying all the beautiful things I already have.  Or maybe it's because the blog is coming up on its 10 year anniversary and I can't help but look back at that innocent girl who started it and her sweet little children and miss those days. 

I was so thrilled when I found this Have Fun Will Travel dress in the summer of 2015 that I did two outfit posts (Here and here) and even went thrifting for a vintage suitcase to use as a prop for my photos.  I was absolutely exuberant and walked around on cloud-9 when I wore it.  I have very specific memories tied to the days I wore certain dresses and at a certain point they can begin to be so linked to my good memories that they feel more like souvenirs that should be preserved rather than clothing that should be worn, which is one of the reasons I have accumulated far too many--dresses are my photo albums.

They say that adulthood is just trying to liveout the dreams of childhood.  I spent so much of my life never having nice things and dreaming of the day when I would, but if I did get something nice in my youth, it was to be saved for special occasions.  Later, as a dress collector, I have felt a little wary of wearing my dresses at times because I didn't want to ruin them.  The trouble with that attitude is that, as the great Axel Rose once said, "Nothing lasts forever."  Over 20 years into my dress obsession, I have seen a number of things--mostly shoes and bags made of "vegan leather"--literally crumble and fall apart even though they just sat in a box for years, only taken out for photos or a rare special occasion.  No more.  No more saving things for special occasions or for sitting in a collection.

I've downsized quite a bit and moving forward I am trying to 1. wear all my things and 2. let nothing sit in a box or a bin for too long.  Seasonal storage is quite alright, but beyond that, it either needs to be used or given away.  I'm really enjoying revisiting all my old favorites here on the blog while creating new outfits with them, so I'll probably make this a regular feature.  I'm still wearing all these dresses, so why not continue to showcase the outfits I build.  I have enjoyed spending less and wearing my current things more as well.  I've had a chance to really love, wear, and enjoy these pieces like they deserve and take a little trip down memory lane in the process.  

Outfit Info:  Have Fun Will Travel Dress is old from ModCloth, Crop Cardi is from YeMAK, Flats are from VIVAIA