christmas on my mind...

my flickr group doesn't let me down! check out their lovely Christmas craft ideas for decorating for the holidays!
check out more here

isn't that the sweetest garland?

and look at this button wreath too too cute

dude this little pillow ornament is just adorable!

those would be darling little gifts

light is always such a part of Christmas time for me

and these little cut lanterns are perfect!

{click photos for source}

for those that celebrate the holiday go check out the group and if you are on flickr then maybe contribute an idea or two (im really hoping for ideas on homemade gifts) hmm i think i will look into gift packing ideas next!

and....acceptance

ok so i'll stop being a cry baby and realize what i said originally -its not a big deal! its just hair! sorry for my last post where i revered back to self pity on something so trivial!! and to prove to myself that duh i look fine i curled my hair with sponge curlers over night and look how cute ..... ok so at first when i took them out i looked like i was trying out for a high school basketball team in the 70s (dont ask it was bad).... BUT eventually the curls got tamed and look yay i got my fun do! woot! and guess what?? it's gonna grow back! yeah so then i will have long hair again so i can.. oh yeah i never did anything with it when it was long huh?! well maybe this'll make me want to do more eh? ok we'll go with that.

so the holiday is over back to the regular routine until the Christmas holidays :)

happy week everyone

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if one can find the beauty in others

one should be as kind

and find the beauty in oneself

-elena lu

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give thanks

thanksgiving holiday coming up so will be off for a while enjoying family and friends and giving thanks for so many blessings. if you celebrate this holiday i wish you a happy one!

PS

i miss my hair

happy holidays :)

link love

first thank you for the comments about my hair!!
and second i'm about to update and reorganize my links so if i dont have you but you want me to add your blog or website let me know in the comments!
happy day everyone!!
:)

oh you noticed huh?

ok i guess since some of you noticed yes i did cut my hair! and im not sure but i thought it was going to look so cool cause i was gonna curl it and it was gonna be all old school and yeah well um why did i forget my hair has a hard time curling?! so yes i have curled it (some) and it looks ok but for the most part its been looking like this! i was over at missa's blog and waaaaa i miss my long lovely hair! oh well its hair it'll grow back no biggie if thats all im worrying about then hey life is pretty good eh? ok go about your business nothing to see here move along...

happy trails...

went to a working ranch this weekend!

what to wear to a ranch? oh dear

and actually i shouldve worn jeans but live and learn:

i figured the vest and blue patterned dress together were country -ish enough

we did the typical hay ride thing, the camp fire thing, saw some horses in barns and all of that, had some bbq and cobbler -yum! the grounds were beautiful and massive (and there were costumed tour guides around to let you know what was what)

there was also a victorian house that we went into and although i was scared to take pics in case it was frowned upon i noticed that some rooms were more updated than the victorian era and were indeed up to the 50s that must have been the latest the family lived there and perhaps thats why but i was looking in one and saw in a closet these dresses!

i just wanted to grab one i mean would they miss ONE? eh?

yeah ok well i didnt i just took this pic!

had the most lovely sunset while we were wandering around the grounds

i even got to wear my new little booties!
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yay for trips and relaxing with friends and family!

there's always room for one more

thrifted this awesome dress a while ago but doesn't fit me so at some point I'll have to get around to altering it but i've just always belted it and put a cardi over and no one knows the difference! heehee!

i have like a bazillion black or black & white dresses but dude seriously this one is so perfect for me and the condition was not to be passed up! besides a dress can also be a skirt or a shirt so the possibilities are always more! yup thats my story and im sticking to it.

old school

How cool is my hubby?! Um, totally cool! Cause check these babies out! Oh yeah I'm in camera heaven! Unfortunately the Duaflex one is broken but the Polaroid is fine and dandy! Just need to get some film and oh yeah we're in business baby! Kicking it old school! Ok Ok I'll stop. But seriously it was cool to find these lovelies! I tried to get a background on them but hubby was kinda nonchalant about them but I guess when you have something around for a while it might not be a big thing but since I've never seen an old Kodak like this I was like WOW :)

Now the Polaroid I remember from when I was kid, we had one at some point as well but it's too funny how things come back around cause I'm sure when I was in high school I never thought of getting excited over a Polaroid! "That old thing!" And now with digital ones and photo shop -man it's such a different world taking pictures but I really am excited about going back and snap taking a real photo that pops out like that -crazy man! And the hubs is so sweet to let me enjoy my little hobby! He's quite encouraging in my photography and I couldn't ask for more than that -I am quite blessed to be loved by him. When I take my first photo I'm sure I'll think of him oh maybe I'll frame that first one -kinda sappy huh? Yeah well love does that to ya!

sometimes, ya gotta play

the more years on this planet the more i realize that if i dont just go with the flow i will absolutely not make it!
events in my life just dont go the way i want sometimes but hey what can i do about it? sometimes not much so let it go.
actions in others just dont change the way i want sometimes but hey what can i do about it? nothing since people dont change unless they want to so just accept it and go on.
emotions in me just dont go the way i want sometimes but hey what i do about it?...... well.... actually quite a lot! i can decide how i want to feel- my emotions are my own. things get out of hand, things go wrong, things get scary, things get out of control. and i dont know what is going to happen next. its a bit nerve wracking indeed. and i do have the right to be scared, sad, unsure, confused, negative, upset -all of that. i can feel those things because to put them aside would do more harm than good. but here's the important part- i choose to feel them for the time and then i have a right to feel safe, happy, secure, positive, calm -all of that. those are the feelings that i choose to reside more in my being than any other simply because they make me better. i get more out of them!
i dont want to waste my time being scared and unhappy. i've done that already. and i probably will do it again at some point. but right now i am calm, i am safe, i am cared for,
i feel,
i love
i love
i love
will that love come back to me?
yes, i believe it will. perhaps not how i envision it but i believe it will.
sometimes you cant sit there
and listen to the music others are playing
sometimes you gotta get up
and play a song of your own
elena lu
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what i see, you see

and so i've started another flickr group! this time its fashion magazine depot here's some examples from members in the group:

{click photos for source}

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it's got almost 250 photos right now hoping will get more and more -go check it out and get inspired through fashion magazines from the 80s to the the present!

keep it in mind

"Stretching his hand up to reach the stars,

too often man forgets

the flowers at his feet."

-Jeremy Bentham

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Kinda needed a reminder today and i hope it helps someone out there remember too -that we have many blessings around us just if we stop wishing for what we don't yet have and see what we DO have then we can see that we're already so blessed indeed~ Happy Monday :)

what to do in Nashville

Had a little mini vacation holiday

went to Nashville, Tennessee

figured i'd share some of my vast knowledge on visiting there since i've stayed 5 whole days :)

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first thing is to look up at the airport! i fell in love with these lights!

next is to really take in all the bright colors of the changing leaves

this is how it looks to some im sure, beautiful yes:

but this is how it looked to me!! it was beyond bright! it's the most fun to see orange, red and yellow trees! i dont really have this transition period my trees just kinda let their leaves fall one day and bam its done deal. but wow to see the different stages of the leaves and to watch them gently fall down around you

oh yes it was heaven.

ok so now that you are in Nashville you must go to Broadway street

and take in all the pubs, music, and funky little shops along the way

you'll also find musicians on the street corners a plenty!

a stop to the Lane Motor Museum would be a good bet!

This used to be the Sunbeam bakery but was renovated

and now holds about 150 must see cars!!!

my favorites have always been the bubble and mini cars

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an amazingly beautiful place to visit (seriously its gorgeous)

is the art deco Frist center for the visual arts (no thats not a misspell, its named after the family that contributed to remaking the building) which used to be a post office!

but it got a multi million dollar face lift and now houses a number of changing exhibits

including the "Twilight Visions: Surrealism,

Photography and Paris"

the Art Deco building was magical (im sure everyone knows i adore anything Art Deco) and i was totally in a lovely dreamy fantasy land

there was photography:

Paris at Notre Dame 1933 by Brassai

by Man ray (in Bazaar)

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and to my utter delight there were numerous films made by Surrealist artists playing at different little stations:

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1920's "Un Chien Andalou" by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali

- has no plot and you just have to see it cause theres no way to describe it!

1930's "L'Atalante" by Jean Vigo and starring the original Dita --Dita Parlo (Miss von Teese took her name from her as a tribute

-so its been said)

cant believe i got to see this one! didnt really see the whole thing and dont even know if the whole thing was playing but got to see some of it so i was happy

1930's "Hotel du Nord"by Marcel Carne

it was all so fantastic i almost sat there at each film station

and wouldnt budge!

but there were other people and oh yeah the hubby kinda wanted to keep things moving along

we also got to enjoy a delicious lunch at the Frist Cafe,

sat outside under falling multi colored leaves and did some people watching

i was so sorry i couldn't stay longer in that place!

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a place to check out is the Cheekwood Botanical gardens it was so awesome and BIG so its kinda too much to cover in a little ol post (above a tiny little treasure i saw) but look at the following photo and tell me this isnt odd! They had scarecrows around from schools and community organizations and look at what i found! "Goddess of the Garden" -can someone say Halloween costume?! Oh yeah baby! Well maybe if i looked like this in a black body suit but um no so i guess its not for this year! Very interesting piece though

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one thing i didnt get to do is visit Belle Meade (maybe next time?)

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but it's always lovely just to order room service and relax a bit!

and the bestest thing that could have happened is that i got to meet fellow blogger Rebecca of Baby Sloth! She is soooo pretty and sweet!!! Even met her hubby and oh my word they are just the cutest! we all had tons to talk about and i didnt know what to expect but really it was just the best :)

costumes on my mind

dressing up ideas for next weekend.... halloween

let's do the time warp again!

flipping through some photos

look its me with my hair up -yeah thats how wild i got ;P

-i think this was my romantic stage.

i think i looked good with it like this and better than i recall actually. makes me long for short hair (again, i always seem to be longing for a cut arent i?)

oh look i'm starting my love affair with red lipstick!

see even thats stayed i guess once i find something i like i stick with it!

nothing wrong with that -if it looks good that is :)

this was when i thought i'd try thinning my brows! i've always had bushy ones and so i thought hmm lets see what happens with this and hey they'll grow back! well ever since this they havent really grown back as they once were and i kind of liked my bushy brows (now i realize this!) im just not a thin brow kinda gal. i really love it on others but i think i need a thick brow to frame my eyes.

heres me actually letting my hair grow even longer than usual (i think i should give up on the short hair idea haha) and its funny cause i dont do anything with it but for some reason i like it long.

might be a safety thing (hey i can hide in it!)

plus check out those pants man!

i remember i felt like a rock star in those :)

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it's always fun to go back and look at old photos and see what you thought was cool 'back in the day' -haha i like saying that- im lucky that i've been exposed to so many bloggers style and see ideas that i've never thought of before~ i would never have thought communicating through a computer could be so personal but i have made some lovely 'friends' through blogging and i thank you for the inspiration.

WINTER wear

yeah member how i was excited about Fall in my last post?

so THIS is the extent of my current Fall wardrobe:

my new me made hat! (see? bare arms! ha)
back view
yeah im proud- wonky bits and all :)
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so much for the cold snap!

fall breakout!

FINALLY got some cooler weather!

know what that means,

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LOVELY COATS-

Isabeli Fontana by Arthur Elgort in Vogue

'WARM' colors-

jessica stam by Benjamin Huseby in Bazaar

Angela Lindvall by Carter Smith

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funky TIGHTS! and boots-

stephanie seymour by richard avendon in Vogue italia '93

and my fave... HATS!-

karen elson by Ellen von Unwerth in Vogue 2000

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My cold weather doesnt last long so i better make the most of it!

Eh! Coco! Eh! Coco!

i went to see "Coco avant Chanel" with Audrey Tautou as Gabrielle Bonheur and couldn't help but look up some early Chanel work since the movie concentrated on her life before her career took off

photographed by Edward Steichen 1924

photographed by Edward Steichen 1924

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Audrey was lovely in the film and the very handsome Alessandro Nivola was fetching as "Boy" but I did leave the theater feeling like it was a warm up for a part 2 film -which i wouldn't mind at all- so it wasn't as awe inspiring as i had hoped but i did love the cinematography.

but in a way i will get to see the continuation of Coco's story if i get to see "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky" starring Anna Mouglalis because its plot takes off where Coco avant Chanel leaves off :

wonder what to think of Anna Mouglais as Coco? im not familar with her other work but hey its about Chanel and will get to see some beautiful gowns so yes if it comes to my city -im in!

what you find depends on what you're looking for...

a sea of Hawaiin shirts!
an old accordian that still plays! a walk over a creek and

exploring under a bridge!

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sometimes garage sales are just so much more than buying knickknacks at a cheap price

-the people that you meet, the stories behind the items you look at, the off the beaten path places you can adventure in are worth so much more than what you actually buy!

and of course i had to stop and look at the small strange beauty of broken, long forgotten objects found on the way:

oh i am thankful for still being able to see beauty in everything, for finding joy in experiences of all kinds, and for people who give garage sales :)

outfit inspiration

no matter how convenient it might be to save fashion images on a computer and have gobs of them at the click of a mouse, i still find it so comforting to flip through magazines and cut out pictures and paste them together in my style file! maybe because thats how i started out doing it as a teen that now its a habit i dont know, but i love flipping through my binder and looking at my little bits of paper! do you keep a fashion folder? is it online or old school?!

making forever friendships

there i am holding my best friend in my arms not letting go because i'm scared i wont make another one, hoping that others will like me. we try so hard dont we? wanting to fit in wanting to have friends. ah but keeping them well thats the trick!

the other night i had dinner with a best girlfriend from long ago, you know when you're in school and you say 'you're my BEST friend' and you think this is forever! well lives change, people change, situations change and you loose contact with these lovely little friends you make. if you're like me you feel sadness and a bit of regret for the loss. i also wonder what did i do wrong? why wasnt it forever? how can this be?

i lost and finally found her and after a very long time of not seeing or talking we had dinner the other night. before we met i was a wreck: who was she now? would she be so different? would she like me? what happens now? will we stay in touch? how much can i share? will it be awkward?

well of course! we hadnt seen each other in over a decade! and as she put it (for i came to find out she had similar fears) it was like going on a blind date! :)

but we really had nothing to worry about, it was no lost time at all. we laughed and shared like always and i think it was the mutual vulnerability of letting go of our strong facades in exchange for an acceptance of our weaknesses that really made it so special.

and while yes that unique friendship of youth is gone, it lives each time we reminisce

we can never go back to where we were so we just preserve the memory of what was and accept what is now. no matter what stage we are in our lives it seems we are always looking for a shared openness and honesty of reassurance that we are not alone -in our fears, our dreams, our experience on this planet. no matter what our relationship becomes now -i am grateful to have my forever friend back in my life.

may you all feel loved and understood. may you accept the blessings of friendship and kindness. and may you give them right back!

share and share alike

update on my flickr group i started called "Crafty Thrifty Frugal"
dude, seriously there are some creative and smart folks out there and boy isnt it great that they share their ideas and finds so that everyone can be inspired?! wonderful!
take a look at how they are:
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thrifting the most awesome stuff:

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making all kinds of cool crafts:

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repurposing their old items into smart new solutions:

binder clip is now a beer stacker (genius!).... irons steps become shelves.... old drying rack plus shelves now a shoe rack!

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saving money while living well:

...library reading to your hearts content..... pickling items for later eating- yum

... dates that dont cost much but give tons in return ..... dinner parties that are frugal but no less amazingly elegant!

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and best of all,

how they are enjoying

the simple pleasures

all our lives have to offer:

keep 'em coming folks! and for credit (none of these lovely photos are mine) please go check out the group and maybe you'll find something that will inspire you!! happy tuesday :)