Apple Picking

         Fall is one of the upsides to living in rural New Hampshire. The leaves are beautiful when I'm driving around, the air smells crisp, my family stokes up the wood stove, and of course, we go apple picking! An annual family tradition, I always look forward to the pretty apple trees and eating apple cider donuts. However, I leave the actual picking to the rest of my family. After 15 plus years, I've found that it's much more fun to walk around and test each variety while my dad and brother are climbing the trees to grab the best apples. This year, I figured the time I spent wandering around would be a great chance to do a photoshoot. The orchard had a beautiful view of the mountains and a cute, little farmhouse sitting on the top of the hill.

hat - T.J.Maxx // scarf - gift // leather jacket -T.J.Maxx

 jeans - Charlotte Russe // ankle boots - Cole Haan

 

 

Photography courtesy of Jeff Ortakales. 

To see more of his talented work, visit his webpage at

 www.jortakalesphotography.com and like his Facebook page. 

Makeup: 

mascara - Diorshow by Dior 

eyeliner - e.l.f. Glitter Eyeshadow in "Night Owl"

lip color - Estee Lauder Lip Pencil in "Apple Cordial"

lip gloss - Victoria's Secret Minty Kiss

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Sunday Recommendations

     Bonjour mes amis ! What are you doing this fine Sunday? Not sure? No problem! I'll lend you my weekend to do list and maybe it'll inspire you to create something or motivate you to exercise. Or maybe you'll just decide it's a good day to be a couch potato and catch up on your favorite shows, which is always good too!

     1. Be your own jewelry designer on Kendra Scott.

Kendra Scott jewelry is always divine; the designs are sleek and simple while the colored gems add character and spunk. Now, you can create your own unique pieces with the site's Color Bar, choosing the metal, design, and gems that you want. When I found this I couldn't stop experimenting with different color palettes and combinations!

Start creating at  http://www.kendrascott.com/color-bar/

     2. Go see Water for Elephants for a second time.

Okay, I've never been one to waste money at the movies watching a film I already saw, but if I ever was, this would be the movie I'd go see again. It was inspiring, heartbreaking, and sweet and the actors did a fine job. I am definitely not one of Robert Pattison's adoring fans, but his surprisingly good performance made me see him in a new light, and perhaps I have a little more respect for him now. Reese, on the other hand has always been one of my favorites and her part delivered as I knew it would. I loved Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds (one of my all-time faves) so I was excited to see him in a new role. This one was a bit darker but none the less, he played the part very well. Costumes are one of the best parts of a film and they sure didn't disappoint. Reese's exquisite circus outfits and gorgeous satin gowns were dazzling!

     3. Polish off your Easter candy.

I've been munching on jelly beans all week but I still have an entire package of Peeps left!

     4. Skim through all your unread Refinery29 newsletters that have been accumulating since April 8th.

My email piles up way too fast, partly because I'm subscribed to a few more sites than I probably should be, but also because I never have time to read all of them. My favorites are from Refinery29 and Fashionista, so those are usually the only ones I read.

     5. Make a dress out of vintage scarves.

Last summer (when I made better use of my Google Reader) I found an awesome DIY dress and I've been wanting to make it ever since. On the blog The Glamourai, Kelly made a simple dress using two scarves and a couple chains. It looks really easy so I'm hoping to finally make it today!

     6. Work out with Jillian.

I've been following a regimen of working out for 30 minutes every other day using my Jillian Michaels DVD and I've gotten great results. I started a few months ago and ever since, I've felt so much better and have even gained a little muscle! During drama rehearsals, my workouts kinda fell to the waist side, but now I'm getting back into things. The DVD I currently use has three different 20 minute workouts, so motivating myself to exercise is easy when I know I'm not taking a huge chunk out of my day to workout.

     7. Catch up on America's Next Top Model

I've been following all season long, but this week I didn't get a chance to watch. Alexandria is really the only one I have a problem with because she acts like such a diva. Britni is my favorite and I'm really hoping she wins Cycle 16.

Day Trip

   This weekend my family and I took a spontaneous day trip to Portsmouth, NH. It is such a cute city with amazing little boutiques and delicious restaurants lining the streets. I love going to downtown areas like Portsmouth because it's a nice break from trees, farms, mountains, and MORE TREES!

We came upon a really cute shop called Odd Showroom and

my mom, sister, and I couldn't resist going inside!

It's filled with really great vintage finds and leather handbags and shoes. 

The owner, Amity Joy, also creates crocheted and hand sewn clothing and

accessories that make the store one of the finest in the area.

Even after looking around for some time, I didn't feel like I saw nearly enough. If my dad and brother weren't waiting for us outside, I definately would've stayed there much longer. Next time I go to Portsmouth, I look forward to paying another visit and actually buying something there!

For more information about Odd Showroom, go to...

the facebook page

the etsy shop

     I discovered a cosmetic store that carries popular brands such as Philosophy, Too Faced, Nars, Stila, and OPI. It was cute, but there wasn't a lot to look at unless I was going there to search for something particular. Plus, I can't stay in make-up stores as long as I can in clothing stores...once I've seen a couple lipsticks and an eyeshadow I'm ready to leave!

To find out more about Making Faces, go to...

the facebook page

the blog

     We took a break from walking around and sat outside with some coffee at Breaking New Grounds. It was the second time I've been there so I already knew how good their coffee and gelato is, yet I was astounded by the white mocha frappe. It was perfectly sweetened (I don't like a lot of sugar) and satisfied my java cravings for the day.

     Before figuring out where to go for dinner we browsed a couple more stores. In one of them I found this awesome tee...I think it can read my mind!

We decided to eat at the Portsmouth Brewery. I got the curry vegetable soup

and summer salad served with pretzel bread. It was delish!

   While we waited for our table, my mom took me and my sister to a neat bohemian store. They carried everything from Indian-style bangles and scarves to beautifully crafted jewelry and fun dresses. I'll be showing you the unique bracelet I got in a post to come!

     To end the lovely evening, we picked up some ice cream at a place we had spotted earlier on in the day and ate it in an area overlooking the water.

PS:

I postponed the next "Who belongs to these shoes?" post becuase nobody guessed yet, but I'll be posting it next week. I promise!

Bisou Bisou and a License to Drive

  
   Today I took my driving test and passed! It's taken me a long time to get all my hours logged so it was mostly a relief to finally get my license. Afterwords, I called up my dad at his office and my older sister in Virginia to tell them the good news, then headed to Starbucks with my mom and little sister for a celebratory coffee. We hit up a local farmers' market that turned out to be not as splendid as we expected, so we spent an hour across the street at Goodwill. What was just going to be a quick look for one or two 90's floral dresses, turned into filling my whole basket with dresses and scarves for new clothing recreations. I had to narrow down my findings by a few pieces, but walked out of the store excited to start new (and finish old) sewing projects! Now, if I need more thread or fabric, I can drive my way to get it!

My driving outfit...comfy to drive in but still fun.

The most important part was getting my hair and make-up look'n good for the license picture!

The sweet little drawing my 8 year old sister made to congratulate me on getting my license.

This is a skirt I found that I realized could be transformed from frumpy to cute by pulling it up

into an instant dress!

 

I don't know what to call the pattern of this skirt, but I love it!

My Bisou Bisou shoes I got for $4...they're very simple but the braid makes them look so cute!

Stay tuned for the outfits I'm going to make using this skirt and pair of heels!

In the meantime...bisous bisous pour vous!

And the Winner Is...

Kim from Clothes are Cute!

She gets to pick one of the five items that were up for grabs on my giveaway. Congratulations, Kim! I've sent you an email with the details on how to get your super, trendy accessory or piece of clothing.

(In order to get a randomized drawing, I used Random.com.)

    Now that drama club is over for the season, I'm hoping to have a lot more time for posting! I hate not being able to post frequently or read as many of everyone else’s lovely blogs! But, I am also sad that drama's done because it was so much fun performing "Hello Dolly!" I went to Goodwill the weekend before our performance to get a dress for my costume, although I ended up wearing a different one instead. The dress was only $4 and since it's too long the way I bought it, I plan on hemming and fixing it up a bit. I also got a pair of red heels and a brown clutch for next to nothing. I'll be posting about the dress and shoes in the near future! For now, here's today's outfit, including my new clutch.

I felt like a blue jay today!

wearing-

grey skinny jeans-Pacsun

blue off-the-shoulders sweater-The Limited

brown sweater dress-thrift

scarf-a nameless one I've had for a while

striped flats-Gap

clutch-Bijoux Terner

Singing in The Rain!

   I've decided that I would try to post more outfits throughout the week. It's hard to post often during the week because of school and then drama rehearsals until 5pm.

   So here's this week's first outfit! I wore it on Thursday last week when the stretch of rainy weather had just begun and lasted all through the weekend. I wasn't actually too bothered by the rain...normally I am, but for one reason or another I liked it for a change. It melted the rest of the snow on the ground and it was relaxing to listen to at night. All the rainy weather was a great opportunity to wear my new trench coat...yes, I finally got one (if anyone remembers, I posted last year about how much I wanted one)!!  I got it at H&M when I was in Boston.