flat footed

a heel injury/issue has relegated my feet to the flatter shoes in my closet, placing all my beloved heels literally out of proximity to my lower half. this of course, has spawned a whole new hunt for the perfect flat shoe which comes on the heels (oh yes, pun intended) of the waning summer and cooler days that call for closed toes, rich colors and textures and boot season. oh, i love boot season. this year my longings are fixated toward that of the chelsea style: short heels, low cut, elongated toe. oh, and if i was in the market to spend $750, a little bit of glitter too. however, before i do that, a good portion of vintage/thrift hunting will be taking place.

 

respectively from the top: asos, miu miu, asos, steve madden, marc by marc jacobs, asos

oxymoronic

i am a firm believer in the two battling concepts of comfort and impracticality. i know, a complete oxymoron. more often than not, i find that when i travel (anywhere, any distance) i magically combine the two into a marriage of one suitcase that is stuffed beyond all reasonable doubt that i, amber, don't know how to pack worth shit. take for example, the jaunt i made up to my hometown in the hills. the basic specs: 1 night, approx 30 actual hours of time logged there, main goal - reading in the sun by the pool, reading in the shade on the porch, reading until 2am in bed. so what do i pack? honestly i am a bit embarrassed by the masses of things that made the journey with me and all you need to know is that somehow i thought i was going to fit in two pants changes plus two shorts changes and possibly need a vintage crocheted wrap/sarong at the drop of a hat. huh? yeah, i don't know either.

yet another example of my odd combination are the photos below: whilst incredibly comfortable and more 90-year-old-women's cotton pajama esq than anything, add in leather boots in 100+ degree weather and suddenly you aren't so smart with your foot wear. whoops. but i love these boots, and i am well acquainted with my own love for shoes over the desire to abstain from foot sweat. ew. oh well, wasn't the first, wont be the last. i've also worn them in the snow...

 

 

vintage boots given from a family friend, fedora bought at said family friend's boutique, lucky watch, assorted bracelets vintage and small boutiques, vintage vest, target dress (old)

food for thought

cravings would be putting it mildly. i think you could rather equate my desire for baked goods with the enthusiasm of a four year old in the cereal aisle after her mother tells her that no she wont buy the ubbersweetsugarcoatedmarshmellowtoatingchocolatecrisp but rather she is getting all bran fiber cereal. due to such, my baking pantry is now short of many key ingredients that i must go stock up on if i am going to keep the beast, aka me 99.9% of the time, at bay.

i decided to try my hand at biscotti and used this recipe sans the nuts. ew. and i also melted dark chocolate chips for the dunking part. anyway, they turned out delicious and even e, who is not usually a fan, couldn't stop eating them. you should make them. really, do it.

let your colors show

let me step into any shop that is currently featuring all the brights and neons and colors of summer/styles and i immediately try to find my happy place, aka the black, grey and neutral section. i don't know what it is but it seems that no matter how hard i try to venture out of this little box, the grey scale pulls me back in. we could blame it on the years of it being pounded into my head at photography school but that's just another excuse. it's not that i don't love color. i do. i do! i often feel like reese witherspoon in pleasantville when she starts to see all the color emerge after seeing everything in black and white. case in point, i happen to love color when it comes in the form of vintage and shoes. but shoes can usually do no wrong with me and 99.9% of the time, neither can vintage. the dress below was purchased in a small little vintage boutique on state street in santa barbara when i was attending the aforementioned photography school. it remains to this day, one of my favorite vintage pieces (though i think i say that about every one that i own...). and the shoes, well, they are just a party on my feet.

 

and in keeping with theme of the post, let me leave you with one of top two favorite avett songs...

full circle

this shrug/wrap/cardigan/cover really just can be summed up by saying that it reminds me most of a snuggy worn backward, which is ironic due to snuggies just being robes worn backward and i think if i belted this particular item then i could easily slip it on post shower, pre actually doing anything real in the day. this leads me to another realization that i had today: stretching out my "robe" time sometimes is my most pressing goal of the day. i think today i logged a decent amount of said time before running off to work. oh yeah, i have a job now. also, i have self diagnosed myself with heel bursitis. it only hurts when i do down-dog though. at least for now. which brings us full circle back to the outfit with the pseudo world-esq scarf. namaste bitches (don't take that personal).

 

snuggy-thingy found at tjmaxx, scarf world market, f21 jeans, bandit brand tank, old navy booties, vintage jewelry and clutch, and h&m glasses.

fall-ing

i am constantly in a perpetual transition of looking ahead to the next season and moving away from whatever current one i am in. this is two-fold in the sense that it is frustrating to not be able to appreciate that i am still enjoying summer with just under two months more of summer vacation but also makes me excited for the coming months of cool(er) days, layers, boots and blazers. let's be honest. i used a healthy dose of cinnamon in my breakfast this morning and my senses instantly picked up "christmas!" oy.
i think living in santa cruz lends itself to feeling this way. waking up two weeks in a row to foggy mornings doesn't exactly inspire beachwear. rather it makes me wonder if i am going to be overdressed for the afternoon sun and then sweating my way into evening. lovely image. so instead i am riding the fog line into fall inspiration. basic outerwear gets extra oomph from fun details:

 

floral kimonos/bed jackets for the days that still have warmth. and cowboy boots, naturally

 

anything yellow for when i need a reminder of the summer days i was so eager to be free of come fall

 

a flighty blazer with neutrals underneath

 

oversize chunky knits with killer shoes and tote bags!

 

oh lord, mix my two cravings: floral print & blazer...drool

 

and another take on the yellow theme - mustard blazer. if this aint fall, i don't know what garment is. 

photos: fellt.com, midnightweeds.tumblr, pinterest, pinterest, anthropology, topshop