Girl From the North Country

Monday, January 4, 2016

What Year Is It?

It's 2016!

Hey everyone! So much has happened since I lasted posted; my blog has been sorely neglected over the past few months. I promise I have a good excuse though - I graduated college last month! The weeks leading up to my graduation and portfolio show (the Art Institutes require a finished portfolio for graduation) were hectic. I got, on average, about 3-4 hours of sleep every night, spent more time at FedEx than any normal person should (and spent a fortune in printing costs), and lived on my computer. I was seriously at the point where I couldn't close my eyes after a while because my eye lids would flicker like I was still looking at a computer screen!

Despite the busyness though, life has been going so great. My boyfriend Eric and I have some big plans moving into the new year, that I'm excited to share with you all! I'll be doing a much better job at keeping my Instagram updated as well. :) I'm so excited to have time again to do what I love, which brings me to my New Years Resolution - doing what I want! I'm one of those people who let's other peoples' feelings and thoughts influence my own all too often, so my focus on 2016 is going to be to be as selfish as I need. But that's a lot harder than it sounds!

Madewell.

For those of you just tuning in, I am completely obsessed with Madewell. If you haven't shopped them, you should definitely make it a point to check it out. The brand is owned by J.Crew, but the vibe is much more fun and sort of a chic-beachy-preppy. Super cute. I've been drooling over this button down all summer and my boyfriend surprised me with it (+ the hat) today! You can say it was a pretty good day.

Also, I'm back from summer. It was a "stressful and surreal blur" (holla at you in the comments if you know the movie that's from), and I'm honestly glad that it's over-with; though, of course, there were a lot of good times as well spent with my friends and my family. But as a creature of comfort, I prefer my alone time. Blah, I digress. Anyways, I'm glad to be back and blogging again!

How's your guys' summer been?

Top, Hat, Jeans, & Sandals - Madewell

Instinct

When I put on this outfit, I was doubtful. I wasn't sure if it was flattering or a hot mess, if it was angelic or stupid, or if it was a fashion score or an epic fail. To tell you the truth, I'm still not sure, but I can tell you that after going with my gut and looking at these pictures now, I'm glad I decided on this bold outfit, rather than some of the safer versions I had on before my little photo shoot. It just goes to show, style is only a matter of instinct.

Band of Gypsies Maxi | Similar Cheekies

Intrinsic

There's something so essential about being outside. I'm from a place where you take two steps out the front door and you're in the wild, so going to parks and walking on pavement are newer experiences to me, that I sometimes have to work hard to enjoy. Though, no matter where I go, the sky never changes - And there's something about a sunny sky that calls for a pretty skirt and a little bare skin. It's only natural.

Force of Nature

This dress makes me feel like a bad ass. It makes me feel confident, and sexy, and happy to be a woman. Courtney Love once said, "a woman is a force of nature"; I think we all need an outfit that makes us feel like the forces of nature we are. One of the reasons I love fashion is because it makes such good armor. I, like most every human being, am faced with feelings of loneliness, weakness, discouragement, and self doubt. On a fairly regular basis, even. Fashion, for me, is a way to show the world I'm okay, life hasn't beaten me; I'm tough, I'm beautiful, I'm vulnerable, I'm real. I'm alive.

I'm a force of nature.

This Dress | Those Booties

MIA

Sorry I've been a little MIA, lately. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of finals and then an amazing trip to Hawaii. My boyfriend and I decided we were due for a vacation and spent five days in Maui! (That's where I got my tan.) I'll post pictures of our trip here in a few days, after I'm done settling in to the first week of school. It never ends! I bought these pants at the Gap outlet on Maui, and I'm kind of in love with them. They're so easy to style, and ridiculously comfortable. I was hesitant to buy them at first, and then ended up buying this pair and a pair that's really similar. The price tag was very persuasive.

What have you all been up to?

Urban Outfitters Crop Top | Florida Birkenstocks | Gap Pants

Blended

Lately my life has been a blur of working on finals and rewatching Girls. As you can imagine, that hadn't left much time for taking blog pictures. I'm going to try to be better about that. Bet you've never heard that one from a fashion blogger before!

Despite the stressors of school and the relationship turmoil among Hannah and her pals, I'm feeling pretty optimistic. I am planning on moving back to Alaska with my wonderful boyfriend after graduation (which is only 8ish months away)! Also, this term I took a class called Writing for Fashion and though I hated actually going to the class, I loved blending my love of words and fashion. I might see about creating a career for myself somewhere between the worlds of writing and style, but of course, that might just be my plan this month.

I guess I should say a bit about my outfit. I love this top but struggled with it because I don't really like wearing just tank tops under things and typically loathe wearing bras. However, this bra from Victoria's Secret was super easy to wear underneath it, because the light colors blended in just enough but not too much. Also trying the whole literal-boyfriend-boyfriend-jean thing again, and one thing I can say is that it's super convenient to have such deep pockets.