Castles and Dreams // What I Wore in Elgin IL

Well, these photos are slightly oldies. They're from last month when I spent the weekend with the lovely, Laura of Thrifting Through Life. We've been friends for over a year (ever since the Blog Days of Summer meetup in Pittsburgh), but have actually only spent one weekend together IRL. The saddest part is that she's been just an hour from my house for seven months and this was the first time we got together since her move to Illinois! We've both been so busy with work, boys and moving that we hadn't carved out anytime to see each other. She also doesn't have a car right now, so meeting half way or her visiting me is hard to manage. As such we decided the best, and easiest way to get some girl time was for me to just spend a weekend at her house.

Obviously such a weekend included thrifting, donuts and lots of photography (also one of us may have convinced the other one to sign up for Tinder - which lasted all of, like, an hour - but that's a story for another time). However, the highlight of the trip was definitely finding and photographing this castle. Who knew Elgin, IL had a castle!? Certainly not either of us! Obviously this discovery demanded a photo shoot complete with dresses and bright lipstick.

My outfit was largely influenced by Meghan Trainor's new music video, Dear Future Husband. The styles in it are so swoon-worthy, and I just so happened to find this dress at Walmart for $15! It took me a while to get the cat-eyes, just right, though - I haven't done a bold cat-eye in so long! I think it all turned out well, though. I was pleased, at least. 

This castle is by far one of the coolest things I've ever seen! It even had a moat and bridge and I'm pretty sure I went into geek mode and started randomly quoting the Lord of the Rings. I wanted to yell out "I cannot jump such a distance you'll have to toss me!" or "You said this keep would never fall as long as your men defend it. They still defend it - they have died defending it!" Haha! I was worrying Laura, though, by walking back and forth across the bridge though. It wasn't so much of a "bridge" as it was a bunch of (semi) sturdy boards. It bent a little in the middle and the boards were not flush and she was convinced I was going to fall in the moat (that would have been a Grey's Anatomy worthy hospital trip!).

Head on over to Laura's blog to see her photos and hear her side of the the story!

Outfit details:

dress - Walmart :: faux leather jacket - Top Shop :: shoes - Francesca's :: necklace - Francesca's :: lipstick - Rebel by Mac

Top Three Renaissance Inspired Movies

Like I said a few posts ago, I'm already looking forward to the renaissance season. This weather is giving me serious cabin fever, and all I want is to don my skirts, chemise and bodice and parade around outside in the warm sunlight.

Since that is still several months away, however, I'll have to content myself with some good, renaissance/fantasy inspired films. Obviously the Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia are good go-tos, but here are three, lesser-known fixes for your fantasy/renaissance inspired film craving.

1. Ever After (1998)

This movie - staring Drew Barrymore - is set in the the time of the French Renaissance, and centers around Daniel and the Henry, the prince of France, in a more realist Cinderella story. Obviously it's not 100% historically accurate, because a prince in the renaissance would never fall in love with - much less marry - a commoner, but it's a cute story with good character development and great acting. And the costumes are very well done - which is a huge plus for me!

2. The Court Jester (1956)

This movie is a quirky comedy rife with stereotypes and cliches (and more color than was ever seen outside of a rainbow in the time of the middle ages), but that's what makes it so lovable. Danny Kay is perfect (as usual), Basil Rathbone's fencing is flawless, and the songs are so catchy you'll find ourself singing them all day. Definitely worth a watch!

3. Stardust (2007)

This movie is more of a fantasy than renaissance inspired, but isn't that part of the fun of a renaissance faire, anyway?? It stars Charlie Cox (who you may recogize from the first episode of Downton Abbey) as Tristan Thorn, who ends up on the adventure of his life when he ventures into an unknown, fantasy world in search of his birth mother. Full of adventure, humor, and romance, you're sure to like this film! Be advised, however, that there are one or two brief sex scenes that may need to be skipped for younger viewers. Other than that it's completely clean as far as I remember (but I haven't seen it in the past few months). For a full parental guide please see PluggedIn.com

Team Dean Forever

So apparently one week is how long it takes me to run out of things to post. I even missed yesterday, which sucks. I think it's primarily because my life has been so boring lately. I've done very little besides work and watch TV. All my shows have come back at once and it's awesomely awful.

It doesn't help that - against my better judgement - I started Supernatural. And then yesterday one of Maddie's friends from church got her started on it, which led to us spending most of our Monday afternoon/evening watching Supernatural and avoiding posting by googling Dean Winchester gifs. So I figured, "why not write a post on Dean so I can use some of these awesome gifs I'm finding!?" So here we go:

Why I Love Dean Winchester

Since my first or second episode I've known that I will be a Team Dean member for forever. He's handsome, confident (most of the time), hilarious and witty, and drives an awesome car. What's not to love?? Plus he's a big brother looking after his little brother, which I can completely relate to (except, you know, sisters, not brothers).

It's not that I dislike Sam, Dean is just my favorite. I think I see a lot of myself in him. He puts up this facade of being so confident and fearless all the time, when really he gets scared a lot - especially of what will happen to Sam - and he even gets lonely at times.

Dean's family is the most important thing in his life and he's willing to do anything to protect them - which I love. I told Anna the other day that he's probably the worst bad boy ever. He has all the appearances of it - the leather jacket, devil-may-care attitude, he drinks and sleeps around - but at the end of the day all he wants is to keep his family safe, and he would jump off a bridge if his dad told him to. He's like Tony Stark meets Beth March. I just love the complexity of his character. ♥

So, ok, there's my post. Not the best I've ever done, but it's one, and it's finished, and it's 12:12am and I am going to bed. Hope you all have a great week! See you tomorrow.

Nerdy by Nature // What I Wore

(me holding my imaginary blaster)

{skirt//Plato's Closet :: sweatshirt//F21 :: boots//Dansko :: necklace//Christmas gift}

I'm really bummed that these photos turned out so grainy, because I just loved this outfit. It just felt like the perfect combination of nerdy and sophisticated. And how about the TARDIS necklace!? It was a Christmas gift from my friend Rachel, and I just love it. Thank you, dear! I love that we both got the other one something Doctor Who related. 

In other news it's almost the weekend and even though I have to work Saturday I'm still excited. This will be my third Sunday off in a row (*hallelujah chorus plays*), which almost never happens, which is great. Sunday is one of my favorite days of the week - especially now that I no longer teach Sunday school every week. I'll get to sleep in, attend church, and generally just spend a nice, relaxing day off work. I can't wait!

Clara Oswald Cosplay // Wish List

Last night I (finally!) got to see the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special in theaters. And although it wasn't quite all that I'd hoped, I still really loved it.

As cool as it was to see David Tennant as the Doctor again, I think I was equally amazed at Clara's awesome outfit. Working retail definately has it's downsides (*coughs*blackfriday*coughs*), but one of the perks of the job is knowing exactly where to find the clothes and shoes you so desperately crave. Since I already knew of two good stand-ins for part of Clara's outfit, I thought I'd put together a short guide of how to get her look. Let me know what you think.

P.S. I'm really hoping my parents decide to give me money for a Barbour jacket from the shop I work at, for my 20th birthday next month. It's the last thing I need to be the absolute perfect companion. Lol. Jk. (but not really)

1. Cute Classmate Dress in Red
2. Layer it on Tights in black
3. Union Jack International Waxed Jacket
4. Dankso Faith Boot
5. Real Leather Fingerless Short Gloves

Bit of a Nerd // What I Wore

{sweatshirt//Target :: skirt//Etsy :: boots//Sorel :: pink necklace//local boutique :: clock necklace//vintage :: belt//thrifted :: jacket// TopShop :: bag//Emma Fox via TJ Maxx :: lipstick//Revolution by Urban Decay in "Anarchy"}
 

Is there really anything better than a good graphic tee? I didn't think so until I discovered my love for sweatshirts, and thereby my love of graphic sweatshirts. So freakin' comfy! I wore a very similar outfit to nearly a full year ago. I guess some things just never get old.

Jurassic Park is definitely one of the more cheesy movies of our life time, but my childhood love of dinosaurs refuses to let me dislike it. And since heather grey is quickly becoming one of my favorite colors, I just couldn't pass this sweatshirt up when I found it at Target last week.

And last - but not least - I'm really loving my purple hair lately. It makes me feel edgy, sassy and little (or a lot!) like a pop star. Maybe I should start spelling my name with a "y"? That's how most people spell it anyway... *winks*