Pumpkinfriends.

I have to say, this was not the outfit I had hoped to debut my new beloved wellies in, but the bits and pieces of the desired look were languishing away in the washing machine, so I had to make do with some gingham and flannel. I also forgot to upload the up-close picture of my new boots, so we will consider this an impromptu meeting, and save the actual day for when it's raining or muddy.

I ended up ordering them in navy blue--my mother has a pair of green ones, that are a big too snug for me, and I rather liked something about the navy instead. They look almost like a soft black, which is ideal, and I love them to little rubbery bits. I had tried them on at Nordstrom, and I suspect they were a slightly different boot, since the ones I tried on were slightly more mailable and light. These heavier versions are probably better though, if the state of my every-day footwear is any indication of how hard I wear my shoes.



I also opted to wear them despite the fact that it was not doing anything even remotely related to rain yesterday. I don't care, I will probably wear them whenever the feeling strikes, weather appropriate or not.

It was less awkward to wear them to the orchard though, to pick up little pumpkins and eat a donut or two. I have a real problem with things like pumpkins, especially the teeny ones. I want to bring them all home! I was really taken with the little ghost pumpkins, but only ended up with two. I have grand plans for these little dudes, so let's hope my procrastination doesn't get in the way of my ambition.

Never Let Me Go

I'm all tucked up in bed, meaning to be asleep a good half-hour ago, but my sleepytime doesn't seem to be doing to trick. Lately, my inspiration for dressing myself comes from a curious place. Not that movies are a strange place to look at for that sort of thing, but I always feel a little bit silly taking inspiration from sad movies. Nevertheless, life is now about thick tights, little dresses, too-big cardigans and some variant of wellington rain boot.

The movie is Never Let Me Go, and after seeing the trailer, my interest was piqued, and so I trotted myself off to the bookstore for my own copy of the novel. When the movie came out, I went to see it with Kim and then again today (with Kim again, as she is a lovely friend and also awesome). I've been obsessively re-reading the book since then, and honestly thinking about little else (if you haven't seen it, I urge you to both do so and read the book first).

I'm not entirely sure how to describe it. It's one of probably two movies that, for me, almost surpasses the book (an unfair statement--comparing books and movies is one of the most useless endeavors of all time, since how on earth are they ever comparable to begin with?). It fills me up until I feel I might be obliterated, and I can't bear it as the days go by and the spell of it starts to ebb away.



But besides all of that, I love the careful assemblage of outfits that happen in the movie. It's somewhere between utilitarian, throwing on what makes you warm or easy to walk in, and the heartbreaking care taken when there are only a handful of things to wear. It also makes me want that thick bang across the forehead, but alas, there is nothing that looks quite so terrible on me as a blunt bang.

My boots are in the mail and I think I have a few acceptable sweaters to toss on in the remaining weeks of fall.

Grandma

Anne Ruskan Dowd, my maternal grandmother, 1945.

Today is the one-year anniversary of my grandmother's passing. I've been saving this post for a while, and yet I find I can't quite hit the nail on the head for what I'd like to say. Somehow, my sentiments don't seem to fit just right, or come up short, or feel contrived. I suppose the best way is to let the pictures speak for themselves! It has been a very difficult year, but I'm really excited to share these with all of you, since I know so many love to look at and take inspiration from vintage photographs. These are a few of my favorites of my grandmother, who besides her completely perfect sense of style, was lovely and full of kindness and grace. I hope you all enjoy them :)


At Point Pleasant, NJ, 1948




Anne and Tom, 1964, in a photobooth in NYC.


At Tom's Rive, NY 1948(ish).


At 48 E. 16th St., in Bayonne NJ 1946/7


My grandparents with my mother and my two aunts.

Too Much of a Thing.

I'm in one of those funks where nothing feels quite right. Knowing what to wear suddenly seems daunting and my old striped shirt trick isn't quite settling my spirits the way it usually does. I need a haircut, but I don't know what to do with it, and I haven't much nerve to change it too much anyway.



It might be the rain, or the curse of favorite pants that don't fit because of Nutella croissants, or a general malaise brought on by years of too many prim little dresses. In any case, I'm have this weird feeling of uncertainty about my style. I'm a little sick of things that are twee and overly girly, and I find myself gravitating towards things that are a bit more cool, effortless, dilapidated. I'm starting to really enjoy pants. My goal these days seems to be to try and dress by just throwing things on, adding layers, all that.



In the end though, I end up in something like this. It's a little, to use a word more than once in a post, prim and precious. I suspect I've gotten used to dressing this way, so now it's the kind of thing that comes eaisly--but of course, as soon as I think I've got the hang of one thing, I feel strange and want another!

For the moment though, I'll just go along with everything and figure out what to wear somehow.

Rose Colored

A few weeks ago I got a lovely little note from Kelly of Kellyssima on Etsy. She offered to send me something from her shop, and after looking around I couldn't resist! All of her little treasures fit in so well with jewelry I already had!





I was tempted to go with something like my rose earrings and necklace I already had but that's the thing--I already had something similar! Everything there has a really delicate, lovely, vintage feel that fits in nicely with what I think I'm going for style-wise. I've been wearing earrings with much more regularity lately, and so I chose the Rose Colored Glasses style.



I've enjoyed wearing them to work so much latley, I'm sure you'll see them popping up here and there! Thanks so much, Kelly!

Please have a visit over at the Kellyssima Etsy Shop to check out all the other little goodies :)