Spring Days & Spring Dresses with Petallush

Every spring when I see the daffodils peeking their little yellow heads out of the the blanket of oak leaves on the forest floor, I am reminded that this forest wasn't here a hundred years ago.   An hundred years ago or more this spot of land was cleared and a little school house was built.  The local families planted daffodils all around it to mark the path to learning and bring a little early sunshine to the students staring out the window, wishing for spring.

Now all those things are gone and only daffodils remain to remind me that life goes on, seasons change, landscapes change, times change, but little traces of the past always remain if we have the right kind of eyes to look for them.

As I write this post, I am at the end of a lovely and lively day at home.  Since starting a second job and going back to school, I feel like my head is spinning with all the activity.  Throw into the mix Mr. Bleu's new job and my children's clubs, jobs, and activities and sometimes I feel like I just close my eyes when it's time to wake up and face the day again.  But, not today.  Today, was just about the doing the charming little chores around the house.  And the perfect house-day needs the perfect house-dress.

I began my day by choosing just the right dress.  I needed something that would work for whatever the day had in store.  I chose this little number from Petallush, slipped it on, and got to work.  The first thing on my to-do list was getting my class work knocked out so that I could focus on my household chores.  Then it was time for making buttermilk pancakes, enough to last for at least half the week, soaking beans for a little southern comfort food at the end of my long workdays ahead, and trying out a new recipe for laundry detergent that promises to be natural and gentle of skin but tough on dirt.  After folding several loads, I can say that I think it did the trick alright.

Of course, in the midst of all these chores, I needed cornmeal to make cornbread to go with the beans and castile soap for my detergent recipe, so I had to run out.  Because I was already in such a cute comfy dress, I didn't need to change or "dress-up."  Instead I just dressed up my cute dress by adding my Empress flats and a belt.  Then I grabbed my keys and went to the market to pick up a couple of things and got a few compliments on the way.

This month I'm collaborating with a brand called Petallush.  Petallush loves dresses and so do I, so this collaboration was meant to be.  I thought I'd start this collab with this Cornsilk Plaid dress because it is the perfect around the house dress for being comfortable and casual.  It is lightweight with an airy fit and it has pockets!  And yet, when I add a belt, it's suddenly the perfect dress for looking cute and put-together while running errands and still being just as comfortable as if I were lounging at home.  The best part about this collab is that you can save an extra 10% off all their lovely dresses with my code Bleu10.

There are more lovely dresses on the way from this brand, so join me right back here on Thursday for some more pretty dresses and catch my YouTube review airing on Wednesday.

Shopping Info: Cornsilk Sleeveless Ruffled Collar Round Neck High Waist Midi Dress with Pockets-$41.50 from Petallush.  Save an extra 10% off your purchase with my code BLEU10  Empress Square toe Flats

 

Soon Enough Spring

Ok, ok, so I didn't take these pictures today.  They're actually from last year.  But, spring is just around the corner.  The daffodils are already blooming and everywhere I look I see trees budding and sprigs of bright green poking through the crunchy brown winter grass.

 

Since spring is nearly here, that also means it's time for the quarterly changing of the garb.  If you're new to the blog, I've been conducting an experiment of rotating my clothing every three months to really get the most wear out of it.  

While I admit I've missed my pastel prints and I'm looking forward to bringing out all my springtime lovely things, if there is a downside to this experiment it's that it seems like the seasons pass so quickly and packing up my things is no small chore.

I am committed to seeing this through for a whole year though, so I'm pulling out tubs and boxes for the winter things and pulling out the steamer as I bring out the spring things.  It's quite a time consuming task, really, and I've found it's easiest if I just devote a whole quiet Sunday afternoon to it.

It doesn't help anything that I've had to revamp my wardrobe a little.  My new job doesn't really have the same vibe as the old.  It's a little less open to creative and colorful wear.  To that end, I have made a big haul from ThredUp of business casual pieces.  My frivolous dresses will just have to be for old work and weekend wear, I suppose.

Shopping Info:  Dress from Aliexpress, shoes from VIVAIA

Safe Haven

I remember when my brother came home from his first deployment.  War had aged him and his eyes didn't sparkle when he smiled like they used to, though smiling was rarer now.  Standing in our parents' house, in the doorway of his own room, he dropped his green canvas military bag, looked around the room and said, "This is a good place.  I can lay my armor down here."  I was struck by such a simple truth:  every warrior, no matter what it is you fight for, needs a place to lay their armor down.  We all need a safe place where we can find rest.  

Solitude, safety and rest.  The three things I crave more than all the other necessities except breathing, and I don't have them anymore.  I worked for so many years to create a home that was safe from the chaos and hardships of the world, not just for myself but for each member of my family as well.  And yet.  While I was working to build it up, other people were tearing it down faster.  Lazy people, wicked people, lesser people.  And they won.  I hoped my job would be a safe place, but wicked people roam about searching for someone to devour and they are never full.  No peace at home,  no peace at work.  I never take my armor off.  I stay ready to fight all the time and they are times when I feel, quite literally, weary to death of the wicked old world and its constant scheming.

The stress is mounting.  All my hard work at my job and in my family have amounted to nothing.  I have poured my life out for the betterment of others and it is beginning to feel like it has been utterly pointless.  Now that I've lost so much, I'm afraid of anything good that comes along, afraid that I'll only lose it too.  Sometimes I get so caught up worrying about what I'll lose next that I forget to appreciate what I have now.  There are seasons in which I have no joy and I find no rest.  We cannot live in a constant state of fight or flight.  It wears our minds, bodies, and spirits down.  It makes us old before our time; it makes us sick.  I go on fighting because for me, quitting is not an option, but we all have to have a place where we can escape the world, and lay our armor down.

Sometimes there are people in our lives who create a safe haven for us, but more often than not we have to carve out a safe and peaceful place for ourselves and then hide it from the world if we want to hang onto it.  Sometimes it's not so much a place as it is a time of day that's devoted to rest and solitude, but it's necessary all the same.  We need a place, a moment, a season, to stop fighting, stop worrying and be at peace.  For me, right now, it's 20 minutes twice a week in a mineral bath with healing music playing.  I have to make myself find joy in the simple things if no where else, because I cannot live without joy.  No one gave this to me, I had to make this place and take this time for myself.  I have to have a place to lay my armor down.  It's not enough, but it's all I've got and it's better than nothing.  

Shopping Info:  The Romantics Dress in The Unicorn Defends Himself from Selkie and IvorySheep  belt and cardi from SHEIN

Autumn with Voodoo Vixen

Thanksgiving gave me many, many reasons to be thankful as I spent time with family and friends and remembered that I am truly blessed for each and every person in my life because even when they annoy me, I'd rather have the people I love close to me than be all alone.  We are social creatures, after all, made to be together.  And, even when it takes a lot of work, it's better than the alternative.

Our Thanksgiving feasting and fellowshipping carried over into Friday this year, so I missed out on all the usual Black Friday hullabaloo.  If you were like me and otherwise occupied on Black Friday, not to worry, there are still a lot of great sales happening.

In fact, my friends at Voodoo Vixen are running some wonderful sales this weekend which include this lovely leafy lace fit and flare dress available in UK sizes 6-16 for only £23.

Tis the season of giving, so if you or someone in your life love pretty dresses, check out the sale at Voodoo Vixen for something with gorgeous vintage vibes that won't break the bank.

Shopping Info:  Sophia Autumn Fit and Flare Dress-£23 from VoodooVixen.co.uk

Paper Moon

Looking back on all my childhood favorites, I definitely see a pattern.  My favorite films growing up weren't the typical Say Anything/Clueless/10Things I Hate About You, although I did love those movies back then and still do.  But, the films that really drew me in and carried me away with them, the ones that will forever top my list are the unlikely father/daughter road-trip movies like True Grit and Paper Moon.

If you've never seen Paper Moon starring real life father-daughter duo, Ryan O'Neal and Tatum O'Neal,  then your life is lacking perhaps not all joy, but a fair share that this movie could bring to it.  Based on the novel Addie Pray by Joe David Brown, the movie adaptation covers only a small portion of the original story, but it is perhaps the very best of it too.  Set in Kansas and Missouri during the Great Depression, Ryan O'Neal's character, Moses Pray a.k.a Moze, is a swindler who sell Bibles to widows claiming their husbands purchased them as a gift before they passed and he has come to deliver the gift and collect on the bill.  Tatum's character is named Addie Loggins and her party-girl mother has recently died.  Since her mother had so many men in her life, Addie has no idea who her father is.  Moze comes to the funeral to pay his respects and sees an opportunity to make a little money before sending Addie to her family in Missouri.  What Moze did not foresee is that Addie is  not so easily played.  Learning of Moze's scheme Addie demands her fair share of his earnings.  The two then embark on a road trip to deliver her to her relatives and earn some cash along the way.

Tatum O'Neal's brilliant performance was also her very first time acting. It won her an Academy Award at the age of ten and made her the youngest person to ever do so.  Paper Moon is funny and dark,  tragic yet delightful, but it has very little to do with its title.  In fact, when screen writer Alvin Sargent came up with the title, Orson Welles said something along the lines of, forget the movie, just make the title!  And so Sargent masterfully worked in the 1933 song It's Only a Paper Moon by Paul Whiteman and a scene with Addie having her picture taken on a paper moon, which she later gives to Moze to remember her by in order to make the title relevant.

Having said all that, Selkie's summer collection of the same title has nothing to do with the movie and more to do with the song according to their write up on the collection:   The record player buzzes, glossy French manicured fingers lift the needle to flip it to the other side. A pause, then Jazz explodes throughout the room, high ceilings reverberate sound that pours out through French doors and onto the back lawn. You rush upstairs, bare feet sticky against the marble staircase, through the art deco closet and onto the cool, beige bathroom tiles. Lipsticks lined up, gold tubes next to the mirror, you leave a kiss on the glass and spritz your wrist with a sweet blossom scent. Lacey lingerie (just for confidence) and a perfectly pink silk dress hanging on the back of the door, now pulled off it's hanger and slipped on over your hips....

The end of summer, like a sunset slipping away behind the hills, magical and fleeting, and needing to be soaked up in its entirety, like a piece of sourdough bread soaking up the last of the gazpacho, we celebrate this magical warm time with another all natural fabric collection. Inspired by the late 40's and 50's, dancing barefoot in an estate on the West Coast, and lighting sparklers on sprawling lawns. A collection to pose for pictures, arms wrapped around garden statues, or to step drunkenly into giant fountains with friends, voices cackling loudly, kissing, laughing, yelping into the rolling quiet of the Pasadena mountains.

It's a lovely image of a bygone era and the prints are of course the same loveliness I've come to love and obsess over from Selkie.  In this collection, there were several things that caught my eye like the Hanky/Scotty prints, the Day Dress in For Lamour print, and the Picnic Terrace Gown.  I love how each of Selkie's collections feature a few common colors but so many surprises as well.

More and more I find myself drawn to Selkie's cotton gowns.  I've had to shorten the cotton Ritz and this Terrace gown, by taking 9.5"/24cm off the ruffle on the Ritz and taking 4"/10cm off this gown the moment I got back from taking photos.  Although after trying it on, I probably should have taken off 6"/15cm but it was quite a lot of work and thread so I may just learn to navigate the extra length.

Although this is a very long dress, the fabric is just the perfect weight.  If it were any thicker this dress would be unbearably heavy, any lighter and it would be sheer.  As it is, it's the perfect weight so that I can move freely.

I purchased both pieces from the Paper Moon collection that I now own from Ivory Sheep because I trust Mackenzie to check my items for quality standards and also because she packages each order to beautifully that it's an extra treat to buy from her.

My Lavender Aria Flats from VIVAIA were a bit of a risk because I didn't know if I had anything in my wardrobe that would pair well with them, but I loved the color so much and the Arias are pretty much my go-to shoe now because they're so comfortable that I took the risk. I am so glad I did because I have found so many things that look well with them like this pretty dress.

Unlogical Poem is a place I would love to shop at but they just don't carry anything close to my size, so I for now I have to content myself with their adorable accessories.  I've bought one of these antique doll face rings in nearly every color they carry because I love them so much.

Because I am currently in the middle of a very strict seasonal wardrobe experiment, I will probably fold this dress neatly in some acid-free tissue paper and tuck it into a tub with some silica and lavender sachets until springtime.  I think the length and the colors will be much more suited to that time of year.

Shopping Info:  Picnic Terrace Gown from Ivory Sheep-$261 or at Selkie for $325, Aria 5° Flats in Lavender from VIVAIA-$79, Doll Head Ring from Unlogical Poem-$27.59