::TEXTILES & THREADS:: The First Warm Day

Hello Friends!

So before I tell you anything else about today's post, I'd like to talk about Le Blog's new look! I really didn't like the designs I had up before, they were just something I threw together after Christmas to get all that red and green nonsense off there! haha! Not to say I didn't like it, but I was so excited about the holiday that I started celebrating in early November. Ugg...too much Christmas!

And since my little break from "real life", I've really been thinking about what I like, and where I want the blog and my life to go. I've decided to simplify. Because, simplicity is where my heart has been gravitating towards as I get older. That goes for design, my career choices, and just generally how I want to live. There's too much excess in the world. So the "feel" of everything is just simple and clean. I really like the combination of peach and white, and I think that's where my tastes are heading this spring. Hopefully, you guys like it as much as I do, because I kinda love it!

In addition to just a general astetic change, there's going to be a few other changes happening here. I'm trying to focus the content more and give a sense of wholeness to the blog, instead of the scatter-brained routine I was muddling through. I'm sure you noticed, the giant bubble up at the top of this post..."textiles & threads"... all post will be titled properly now, but I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to go back through all the old post just to retitle them. So it'll just be from here on out. I really like the idea of things being more organized and streamlined. And, I feel like it'll be a lot less confusing for you guys. It just kind of makes a little more sense now. In addition to all the technical changes, we'll be bringing you some new and different things, new posts, and some awesome new projects! Bry and I have been working really hard in preparation for the market this year, and I couldn't be more excited!

So now that all of the design talk is out of the way, let's talk fashion! Because that's what we're all here for right?! This was the first really warm day this year, so we totally took advantage of this gift. As you can see, I went ham. Bare legs all day! The dress is another hand-me-down from my sister. It's a sweatshirt material and HAS POCKETS!!!! Any dress with pockets is instantly attractive to me. All dresses should have pockets. Period. In my humble opinion....

I wore my Minnetonka moccassins and some nerd glasses from Urban Outfitters. All the jewelry I'm wearing, again was made by me. I find myself wearing a lot of my own designs lately, it's something that I just started this year. It always felt weird wearing my own stuff, like I was being cocky or something. But I'm over that noise, I really like my stuff this season! :P




He told me to do something with my arms...this is what I gave him. LOL.

This is his usual look, so don't be surprised if it doesn't change all that much. But I plan on having a little goodwill trip soon, so maybe I'll get him to switch it up a little. But I don't mind, he's so handsome I don't care what he wears...he's gonna look good. Yea, yea, I'm bias. I know.



Le sigh....those eyes!




And as usual, to give balance to the blog world, here are some outtakes. The stupid faces I make in between all the cute glances, and perfect hair....really are just ridiculous. But I like showing them, because you never get to see them on those big blogs. You know the ones I'm talking about, the ones that make us all hella jelly that we don't have that perfectly put together life. I'm just a normal girl that really likes clothes and makeup and I make really stupid faces. I love my boyfriend a lot, a lot, and I am so lucky to have found him. But life sucks a lot and things aren't always perfect, and I think a little of that needs to be shown. And if that means just me looking like a butt to create that balance, I'm good with that.



And of course, you're gratuitous picture of the beautiful, Le Peep. Miss Pepper-cat recently has to be in the middle of everything we do, and so very snuggley. I think it's because we've both been home for so long and she's gotten so attached. We were working on some sculptures for the market the other afternoon and this is where she insisted on laying. It's pretty funny, if we're both sitting on the bed, it's only a matter of seconds before this adorable little kitty is right in between the two of us. Without fail, every time. It's so cute!

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed today's photos. We had a ton of fun on this shoot and I can not wait til it's warm all the time! I have so many ideas for new shoots, and am getting incredibly impatient waiting on full blown spring!!!

What are you guys looking forward to the most??

xoxo.

Holly

Outfit Post: Rubber Soul

Hello Friends,

I'm here today to share a little outfit post. I know the internet is just flooded with fashion bloggers and people with some of the coolest, most expensive, awesome clothes...we're totally not them. We are poor as poor can be, but Bry and I love to get dressed up and I figured it could be fun to document our fashion styles. We love thrifting and I get tons of hand-me-downs from friends and cousins. Any way we can save money, we do! I've always loved fashion, it's something that I just gravitate towards like a magnet. And he goes a long with it, so how could I pass it up, right?!

This post is pretty casual, its pretty much our everyday looks. Really simple, jeans and t-shirt kind of people. So I felt it was a good day for a Beatles shirt, and why not include the record too! I found that record at Jerry's Records up in Squirrel Hill last spring for...(wait for it)....just $8!!!! WHAT?! One of my best finds. So anyhoozle...This is something we'd wear out to the mall, or to go run and grab some groceries. He loves color just as much as I do, so putting him in a bright red shirt with electric blue stripes was no issue. He's so chill, he didn't even blink when I grabbed this look out of his closet.



Look how handsome he is! That's his everyday beenie. No kidding, if it goes missing...everything must be dropped before we can leave the house to find this hat. I get it though, it fits his head so perfectly. We found that shirt in Goodwill. I think it only cost him like $2. It's a skeleton of a short-faced bear. My nickname for him is "bear", so he kind of had to get it. Now he's got a few other shirts with bears on them. It's kind of become a thing. Have you guys seen any good shirts with bears lately? hahah!



I've had that shirt and cardigan for years. I found the shirt in Walmart, actually back when I was at Douglas. That's a 6 year old shirt...yea, I hold on to stuff. Probably for too long. But, that's what being poor and fugal is all about! The sweater came from Target. I am totally obsessed with Target. Seriously. Their products and the design of pretty much everything in that store is just plain magical. I love the color pallets they use, and everything is always top quality. But I'm sure you all know that already, but I figured I'd gush about it any way.

The beanie I stole from Bry, the pants and undershirt are hand-me-downs from my best friend, Amanda. As you can tell, they're a bit long on me and I had to rol them up... a lot. She's 6'1" and I'm 5'2". Yea, there's a bit of a height difference. haha! My moccasins are Minnetonka, and all the jewelry I'm wearing I designed. If you're interested in purchasing similar pieces, visit our contact page and shoot me an email!



Yea, so let's talk about this one. I guess Bry is a little quicker with the camera than I thought he was. He was just snapping photos the whole time, catching the most ridiculous faces I've probably ever made. This one, is pretty intense. I thought it was funny, and I think it's good to show the other side to all the perfect fashion blog photos. I look dumb as hell, but it's funny.

We're going to do a few more of these, I think. It was a lot of fun to get all dolled up for no reason and go in the back yard to bounce around. My dude is so cool and so easy going, I love that he'll give anything at least one chance. AND! For your viewing pleasure, another gratuitous picture of our lovely cat, Pepper being very sleepy the other afternoon. Enjoy :)

Until next time, friends!
xoxo.
Holly

Random Post: Life Lately

Hello Friends, 

I'm sure you've noticed how quite things have been lately, and if you've read my last post...you'll know why. Depression has kicked my ass lately, but I'm finally coming out of it. This post is the proof. I haven't drawn, sculpted, or painted as much as I have in the past two weeks as I have in this entire year. It's been incredible. Bryan and I are home together now, and it's been so wonderful to just be able to wake up when we want and do whatever we want during the day. The no money part is pretty shitty, but we're managing rather well. 

I feel so much better. My medication is starting to actually set in and I can honestly say that I don't hate life at all right now. I wish things could stay like this for the rest of ever, but I know eventually we're going to have to go to real life. That is unless something absolutely magical happens, but let's not hold our breath. haha! We started sculpting little things the other day out of Super Sculpey, and it's been some of the most fun we've had in a long time. Cabin fever is pretty lame, but crafts with my man is pretty swell. I heard birds outside our bedroom this morning and I can't lie....it got me all kinds of excited for spring, so I've been working with a lot of pastel and light colors recently. 

We also sent in our contract for this year's Sunday Market down at the Pump House. The first market is May 4th, and we've been working on things for it like crazy. I've got an entire MONTH to work on crafty things, and that's probably the best thing to happen to me in the longest time! I can't wait for the market to start back up again, I've been missing it like crazy. AND!!! It's not just an every-other week thing this year, it's going to be held EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY!!! Holy fucking crap, I can not wait. 

Anyhoozle....So let's talk about the craziness in this post. The very first picture is of a few really rough character sketches for a project that my darling friend, Colleen and I are working on. Most likely, I'll be sharing more on here once we get a bit further in. We're just in the planning stages right now. The rest of the art below is kind of random. The two single faces are doodles from my new Samsung Galaxy Note3, and yea....I'm totally in a love affair with my phone. Bryan knows, and he's cool with it. The mermaids were a present for a dear friend on the day of her baby shower. She's having a precious little girl and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to paint a tiny mermaid! That baby shower was so fun. A bunch of us girls dressed up like Disney Princesses and surprised her with all kinds of games and fun things to do that day. I was Alice, of course. Who else would I be? Duh! The very last piece of art here today is that of some cards that I'm working on. It's a series of greeting cards with various woodland creatures that live in Southwestern Pennsylvania. I'm so in love with my city and the good ol' state of PA, so I felt it was due time for me to pay a little homage to the gorgeous creatures that call our woods 'home'. Those will be for sale this spring at the Pump House Market. 

The above image is from a short film we helped make a few weeks ago with a few friends. You can check it out here!!

We've also been trying to take more photos in general. Every time we go out now, we try and look at least a little decent because you never know when the opportunity for a good shot will present itself. And the few photos below are just that...I mean, c'mon look how handsome he looks in this one!? And that was his idea for the one with my ring collects (and yea, that's totally not all of them). I've really been enjoying all the time he and I have been given to relax and work on the things we enjoy.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE HAHGRFBKASDGBLAGBALGB!!!! 

Again, his idea. He snatched my phone out of my hand that morning and fiddled with the timers and ta-dah! An adorable photo of us on the front steps of the house. 

The few photos above are from our recent adventures in clay. It's been really fun scouring the internet looking for inspiration for tiny foods, and all the adorable things Japan has to offer. Japan and its Lolita fashions have really been inspiring me this year. It's like a flashback to high school ahaha! Bryan hasn't worked with clay before and for his first time, he really impressed me. But, really, I shouldn't be surprised. He picks up on things so quickly if he's really interested in it.

I think we're going to be pumping out a few more creations today. It's going to be a working day in our house. It's actually pretty hard to stay motivated in our absence/unemployment. But, we're doing pretty well. We've been planning a lot. The market starts soon (EEP!), and spring is just around the corner. That means tons of hiking and probably more photography than you folks can stand! I'm planning on scavenging through the forest for feathers, bones, and any sort of plant or flower that catches my eye. I started drying flowers a little bit last year, and cant' wait to continue again this year! Pictures to come, don't you fret!

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good, and am excited to get back into the swing of things. I'm not rushing, trust me. This month is still going to be very slow for me, because otherwise I'll just be back to where I started. I still haven't found a therapy place yet, I've gotten discouraged because of all the places turning me away...but I'll figure it out eventually. I'm doing pretty good though for now, and that's something to smile about.

And a gratuitous picture of our beautiful cat, Pepper in mid-sneak. I caught her.


xo.
Holly