Design Projects

Style Inspirations No. 001: The Great Gatsby (2013)

Fitgerald's The Great Gatsby was one of my favorite books in high school. In addition to the great story it told I was in love with the portrayal of the 1920s in the novel. Fancy parties, beautiful dresses, lavish homes. The Great Gatsby was probably the thing that sparked my love affair with all things vintage. I'm excited for the new film (which comes out today!) but am I bit worried the story will be ruined... Regardless, the costuming for the movies is absolutely amazing and there have been some awesome Jazz Age inspired fashion lately due to the hype about the movie.

The pieces I'm featuring are mostly way out of my price range. This is simply an inspirations post of Gatsby inspired clothes and accessories.

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photos from Warner Brothers

18K Yellow Gold Elongated Aquamarine Stud Earrings // via Hautelook

Mulberry Metallic Brushed Leather T-Bar Pumps // via Net-a-Porter

Inspiring Sonnets Dress // Modcloth

Lace Drop Waist Dress // via Pinterest

Gatsby Lace Drop Waist Dress // via Pinterest

Cara 'Opalescent Dream' Head Wrap // via Nordstrom

20 Random Facts About Me

Just in case you were curious about my life. Here's 20 random things about me, ranging from the silly to serious, the mundane to completely random, in no particular order:

1. I just completed my junior year of college.
2. I'm a double major in Communication and Media Studies and Graphic Design.
3. I have a twelve-year-old Golden Retriever named Penny.
4. I danced for twelve years, competitively for eight.
5. Ballet on Pointe was my favorite, although I only did it for a year.
6. I've worked at least one job since I was 16. I work two now during school breaks and one throughout the school semester.
7. I love Supernatural Horror movies and TV shows.
8. I also love goofy mockumentry shows, like Parks and Rec, the Office and Arrested Development.
9. I feel incomplete if I'm not in the middle of reading a novel.
10. I'm addicted to caffeine.
11. I prefer salty things to sweet.
12. I'm sort of an adreneline junkie.
13. I'm a bit superstitious. 
14. I hate perpetuating any sort of heteronormativity; therefore I identify as cisgendered and queer.
15. I love anything with polkadots on it.
16. I've been dealing with depression, anxiety and self-injury since I was 13. I'm trying to not be ashamed of it anymore.
17. I'm addicted to cosmetics.
18. I always wear glasses or contacts; I can't see without them!
19. I have 3 tattoos and plan on getting many more.
20. I love baking and cooking.

Tell me something random about you in the comments. Or better yet, make your own post and link it below! I love finding out random things about people. Thanks for reading!

Looking Back in Instagrams

Yesterday, I moved back to my mom's house for the summer after finishing my junior year of college. It's so crazy that I'm almost ready to be out in the real world. The last few months have been a whirlwind of papers, studying, endless hours on InDesign and some great times. I've barely had time in this past few months to sit back and appreciate all of the great things I have going for me right now, never mind blog about them. But, it's reasons like this that I'm so grateful to have Instagram.

So without further ado, here's the past month or so of my life that I 'grammed:

Currently

Reading- Lots of Baudrillard for my final Media Theory paper. I'm looking forward to summer when I can read some fun novels.

Watching- "Hemlock Grove" on Netflix. This is an awesome television show produced by Netflix. I just finished the last episode and I can't get enough. It's very interesting and I love the mystical, science fiction elements. Just a warning, the show is a little graphic, especially in the later episodes. Also, the main characters are very attractive. =]

Designing- My portfolio. I'm revising some of my former projects so my portfolio will be in great shape. Once I'm happy with the state of my projects, I'll be binding them into a physical portfolio.

Looking Forward to- Plans for this weekend. My bestie, Molly, is also getting a tattoo this Saturday (sadly, this time I won't be joining her) which is exciting and afterwards we have plans to go to an awesome bakery with our friend Alex. 

Thinking about- The people in Boston whose lives will never go back to normal.

Happy about- Spending time with my "man friend." I've been seeing someone and we have the best times together, usually getting burritos, watching movies, and taking long walks where we look for people walking their dogs. I really like spending time with him and he makes me so happy.

What's going on in your life? Leave me a comment or link to your own Currently post.

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Post Inspiration 
Damask Pattern
clementine sketch Font

Events in Boston

I live in Boston. I didn't grow up here; I'm originally from a small suburb in Rhode Island but I chose to go to school here. I'm getting to the end of my junior year and have been here for the better part of three years. I consider myself a resident. I know the map of the T by heart, I get angry about all the traffic from Sox games and I know where to get food after midnight. 

Seeing all of the terrible things going on in the world is heartbreaking. It's impossible to ignore that most days something awful happens but it's hard to cope with the fact that a lot of what's recently been reported in the news is going on ten minutes from where I live. I've been to MIT and the area where the Marathon is held. I've walked by those places more times than I can count. I could have been there on those days. I'm one of the fortunate one who wasn't.

Monday, I went home to RI to see Penny. As I've mentioned a couple of times on here, my 11 year old Golden Retriever, Penny has kidney failure. She's been getting sicker lately and I've been going to visit her frequently. I was on my way with her and my mom to the vets when I got a text from a friend. "Turn on the news now." I was confused as to what was happening. My friends know I don't usually care about what's happening on mass media. I was in the back seat with my dog so I googled "Boston news." In a few seconds my search was overwhelmingly filled with news of the bombing at the Boston Marathon. I quickly texted all of my friends who were in Boston that weekend. "Are you okay?" Hoping so badly that I would get back texts from everyone. One of my closest friends works at a building nearby. I was so relieved to hear that he was okay and heartbroken by his panicked responses to what was going on several stories under him. Again I'm fortunate enough that everyone I knew was fine.

The next couple of days I hesitantly read about the progress being made by the police, FBI, etc. I saw some graphic pictures that still make me want to cry. I tried to comfort myself by the small grouping of letters and candles left in the quad by classmates and the sight of everyone's faces around me as usual. I made a plan to give blood next week because I live next to some hospitals where victims were taken. 

Then last night, at work, I heard the news about the events at MIT and Watertown. I was absolutely heartbroken that my city was yet again hit by senseless tragedy. I was up most of the night and heard that the attacks were related to the bombings earlier in the week. It's so upsetting that two people wanted to hurt so many people. I'm sad that they didn't get the clear psychological help they need and even sadder that they chose to act out their anger against innocent people. I got text updates from my school's emergency service saying that the city was under lockdown, all public transportation is closed and businesses are urged to not open. All I can hear are sirens everywhere.

Now is a time to fully appreciate everyone around you. To not judge people for being a certain color or believing in something. To be grateful to the police officers and other various authorities working hard to keep your city safe. Yes, there have been actions by the authorities and by the media which disgust me. I'm trying to not think about that and just focus on how lucky I am that my loved ones and I have emerged unscathed

As a disclaimer, I'm not pretending to be affected irrevocably by these instances. I understand that people lost their lives, their loved ones and limbs because of what happened and I lost nothing. I live in close proximity to these events and it is upsetting to see my city under attack and terrified that something else will happen, this time to someone I love. I'm sharing my experience as someone who lives in and loves Boston. I hope I didn't offend anyone; I'm just trying to process these tragedies myself. 

 

20 Before Twenty-One {Progress vol. 1}

A few months ago, I posted a list of twenty things I want to accomplish before I turn twenty-one. I've made progress on some of my goals and instead of doing what would be a (hopefully) massive post, I'm going to post little updates on my progress. View the whole list here.

8. Be more active as a feminist.
This is a goal that is extremely important to me. Depending on who you speak to or what your beliefs are feminism can be a dirty word. However, it's true meaning is that people should be treated equally and given the same rights, privileged and opportunities, regardless of gender. Lately, I have been doing my part in advancing awareness on my school's campus. As I've mentioned briefly in a few posts, I stage managed a production of Mrs. Packard for a friend who directed the play as a theatre graduation requirement. The play speaks about the unjust imprisonment of women during the 1800s. In that time it was legal for a man to place his wife in an insane asylum for disagreeing with him. Mrs. Elizabeth Packard was a remarkable women who worked to change the law in order to protect others from this fate. It was an incredible show to work on and I highly recommend researching the play and the remarkable woman who inspired it.

Also later this month, I was invited to speak at a panel hosted at my school about gender in the classroom. I'm super nervous about speaking in front of professors, administrators and fellow students! I'm currently working on what to say for my part of the panel and am so excited to share a cause I am passionate about with my academic community.

12. Learn to drive a car.
I'm learning. I can (almost) drive in a straight line and make turns. 

14. Dye my hair a crazy color again.
I wouldn't say it's crazy... but I used the Loreal "Wild Ombre" kit on my hair. It's just sort of blonde at the ends with some pink in the back from previous colorings but I'm thinking about dying it blue over that.

Every Cloud has...

I'm the first to admit it: I'm cynical as they come. I'm the first to doubt, to make sarcastic remarks and to roll my eyes. Lately, I've been feeling overwhelmed and unaccomplished in everything. My relationships with friends and family have been shaky. I'm not confident in my design work. I've gone on the worst possible dates. The advice I've been getting is everything I don't want to hear: "Work harder." I'm burnt out. "Be patient." I hate waiting. "Give yourself a break." I don't have time for that.

But taking a step back from it all and doing little things has really made a difference. Treating my roommate to iced coffee when she's had a long night or texting my mom to see how her day is make all the difference. Through small acts that took barely any effort, I have already eased the strain I've felt with two people I care about very much. 

Like I mentioned in a previous post, I've been trying my hand at online dating because I'm really bad at introducing myself to people. I've met some of my aforementioned horrible dating on the internet. I'm kind of at the point where the thought of meeting someone else new and spending any amount of time with them makes me crazy anxious. But there was one guy who messaged me all the right things. And we had so much in common so I gave it a shot. It went amazing. Everything was perfect and the next day he wanted to see me again. I can't even describe how happy I am that things are working out.

My last graphic design project was a C. Read: not acceptable. I wasn't happy at all. But my current project is going really well and I'm so happy with it. It's a layout for an artist catalog inspired by illuminated manuscripts. As someone who would like to create magazine layouts in the future, I'm hoping that this piece will be an A and portfolio worthy.

It's nice to have things working out in the midst of all of my course work, various health issues affecting family members and just the general bullshit that is every day life. Looking on the bright side makes things a little more bearable in my cynical world and I'm doing my best to keep finding that silver lining.



photo credit
font

Links of the Week

Here's some things that I've been enjoying this week:

Shopping
Sephora + Pantone Universe Brush Set
This $10 necklace from ILY Couture (Living Social Deal until 3/26/13)
Forever 21 Sale

DesignCathie Bleck's "Becoming Human" Catalog
Brighton's Dome's new branding
Beautiful Business Cards
Jay Hafling's Portfolio

Blogging
Emma Chapman's engagement photos via A Beautiful Mess
Currently posts on Sometimes Sweet
Weekly Feminist GIF on Feministing

Currently

Location. I am on Spring Break this week. I guess it's nice having a break from classes and homework and the general insanity my school life has become but home has it's own issues. On the bright side, as I'm sure you know if you follow me on Instagram, I've been spending a bunch of quality time with Penny. 

Reading. There seems to be no end in sight with the reading for my classes so no "fun" reading for me. I am reading Under the Feet of Jesus right now and so far I'm enjoying it. 

Watching. I've been on a total Netflix binge lately. This week from the hours of 11pm to 4am you can find me in various states of wakefulness in front of my laptop. I've been watching some good movies on Netflix, which I might post on soon, as well as, 30 Rock and Pretty Little Liars.

Trying. I have been (re)attempting online dating. I've had varying degrees of success in the past, I've met "friends" and boyfriends on various dating sites but I've also had many more bad dates and terrible messages through these ports. As someone who is terribly shy and had a fair share of my dirty laundry aired around a small college, it is hard for me to just meet someone. 

Achieving. I am working to finish my 20 before 21 list. I still have a good amount of time before December but I'm starting to exercise more regularly (at least once a week), I'm learning to drive and stage managing a show with a very clear feminist message (three out of twenty? not too bad!)