thoughts of you, warm my bones

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I took Thursday and Friday off this week since I have to second shoot a wedding Saturday AND Sunday. By Wednesday, it already seemed liked it was Friday for some reason. I'm not sure if I would've made it through the entire week working. How nice it is to sleep in, get caught up on personal stuff and clean my apartment. And been on this Lisa Hannigan kick listening to one of my favorite songs of hers, "ocean and a rock" hence the title of this post. Good tune.


Since my mom's birthday was on the 28th, I'm heading back today to visit and take her shopping. I promise better photos soon of my outfits--just been short on time!

I wore this button up in a post a couple months back and wore it quite differently. I've been all about tying up my shirts lately and since this shirt is so comfortable, I thought it would be the perfect outfit to lounge around my mom's house and to go shopping. I'm not a fan of super hot summers so it's been a lot of simple tops and shorts for me. As much as I hate winter, I'm more inspired by fall and winter weather styles. I don't think I'd survive in an area without four seasons.
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[shorts by zara, top by trouve, shoes so old i can no longer read who they're by]
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Oh, p.s. my hair is straight. Finally got a haircut yesterday and Maggie likes to straighten it to finish the cut.
My eyes are closed and I look stupid, but wanted to share my construction gear look with you all..I've been going on worksites photographing construction for a work project. I laid down on my stomach in a gross area to get 'the shot'. I was covered in dirt and dust, but after this I stopped at a restaurant to pick me up lunch and I overheard little kids asking their mom, "what's all over her? Is that paint all over her?" Gotta love little kids.
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Gone Cloggin': The Affordable Edition


Thanks to Chanel and Miu Miu, the fashion crowd has been embracing the new clog trend whole-heartedly. Well, not entirely whole-heartedly. There are definitely those who can't seem to look past the hated clogs of yesteryear. I understand, but my main hesitation when it comes to putting those backless babies on my feet has been entirely different. Sure, clogs are clogs, but I like 'em. Have you seen Alexa Chung in them? Super cute! My problem is that they're always so darn expensive. And yes, in my opinion, $100 Jeffery Campbell shoes are expensive. So what to do? As an obsessive online fashion geek, it was a simple matter to troll the web for some cheaper options. And since I made the effort, now you don't have to! You're welcome. Check it out:




1. Payless, $24.99. I'm rather partial to this pair, actually, although I couldn't tell you if they look really cheap in person. I do like that they're a reasonable height, though, and you know I'm always down for anything with studs.

2. Target, $24.99. Studs again! And they're from Target, aka my faaaavorite store! Clogs, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

3. Baker's Shoes, $69.99. These ones look a lot more like the Chanel ones people have been raving about. Only they're about a million times cheaper. Go get 'em, Tiger.

alainn bella!

alainn bella, a super cute and affordable online boutique is offering my readers a 25 percent discount off any full priced items using the code "blondebedhead"

Head over and check alainn bella out! I'm drooling over the remi & reid bags. 

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make your siren's call



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This past weekend turned out be quite exciting! I was supposed to second shoot a wedding up in northern Michigan and found out I wasn't actually needed! Instead, I went to Detroit to visit my friend Erin and as usual we went to Birmingham for lunch and to hit up a few of our favorite shops. We ate at a super cute restaurant, Forte and after I was really craving a caramel macchiato from Starbucks..

As we sat waiting for our drinks, my eyes met one super hot man and in an instant I realized I AM LOOKING AT GERARD BUTLER. We knew he was in town filming a movie and he's staying in Birmingham. Erin and I sat in shock for a moment and then stood next to him to grab our drinks. We stalled to leave to gather our composure (and sneak a photo) and as we left I noticed Ger following behind so I held the door open for him. He had his face down, but he said thank you to me. I think I might have blacked out. I don't remember saying you're welcome back or anything but just in shock that I had a moment with him. I love hot ruggedly handsome men and he fits that description. I think I would have had the same reaction to him whether he was a celebrity or not. He's just so good looking.  Woo!
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[top from nordstrom, skirt by silence +noise, oxford heels by ciao bella, accessories from east lansing art festival vendors and tiffany]


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gerard

Yay! I forgot to mention before, but I was selected as one of the third place winners for the Beso Inspired Contest on Chictopia! I didn't win cash, but I'll be featured in their August lookbook!

another andrea & a radio show!

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A couple weekends ago, Andrea and I were on In Her Shoes, a local radio talk show. We were the young professionals to be represented on the show. Andrea dressed cute and comfy while I showed up looking like a bum in a grey t-shirt. Andrea has great style and looks polished whenever I see her out and about. She's the talent retention director for Lansing Economic Development Corporation and I adore her. This particular afternoon she wore a printed, flowy dress on dressed down with flippies. I believe her plans were to hang around downtown following the show since it was a Saturday and there were fun things going on downtown.
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[dress by f21, sunglasses by kate spade and necklace from Guatemala]
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One of the hosts, Shelley, really cracks me up. I met her a couple times at Toastmasters, but I never realized how absolutely hilarious she is until the show. I wish I had her quick wit. Shelley owns Mieshel Image Consulting and she kept talking about how she had to go shopping after the show with a client at the best mall in Michigan and my favorite: Somerset. Oh her rough life!
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Tiffany is the owner and president of Motion Marketing & Media, the publisher of the magazine, Capital Area Women's Lifestyle and co-host of the show. I want to be her when I grow up!
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and a photo of our shoes!
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The Want List: light & fun dresses

Shopping the internet for things I like is one of my favorite pastimes. In times of stress, I shop and lust over items from different online boutiques. I've been looking for some cute dresses and below are a few that I'm infatuated with!

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4. Of course..one of my faves
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5. I'm not normally one for bows and pink, but I find this so adorable and fun.
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20 miles

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My lack of posting is due to last week's busy schedule of work--all kinds of work. Ah! Of course even with my schedule, I take on more projects. Must learn to say no sometimes. I have been making a recent effort  though at not forcing myself to do as much for the sake of earning a dollar. My life has been consumed with that for as long as I can remember. It's a constant struggle between my innate selfishness and putting people and relationships first. And managing my time. Anyone else feel that way sometimes?
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I picked up this galloping horse top a week ago and for work, I paired it with a black skirt, belt and my new boots, courtesy of ModCloth. I had my eye on those boots for a while and I danced out of happiness when I saw the box containing the boots outside my door. I traipsed all over town in this outfit, going out to lunch downtown, meetings galore and of course changed into my favorite pair of cut offs after I got out of work to run errands and meet up with friends for drinks. I like wearing this outfit with a skirt and with shorts so I'm posting photos of both looks and how I easily transitioned it from a more work appropriate oufit to after-work.
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 Now with the skirt and belt..
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[top by truly madly deeply, skirt by silence+noise, belt by ecote, boots c/o modcloth, bag by bcbg]
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Photos by my fabulous friend, Kimmi!
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Here's a link to a wedding I shot last weekend if you're interested in taking a peek!


psst...the boots will be in stock again soon and if you visit ModCloth's site, you can sign up for notification on the product page if you want to know when they're back in stock!


Reasons Why Print Will/Should Not Go Away


I love magazines, and I love books. That's pretty much a given if you so much as glance at this blog. And while I find the online ones fun and different, and while I find readers like the Kindle to be a convenient idea, the concept of print being replaced is enough to bring me to tears. Take one look around my room, and print is the overwhelming theme. The walls are completely lined with photographs torn out from the likes of Nylon, Elle, and Vogue. I have shelves and shelves of books, with magazines and stray novels scattered across the floor. Lula has its own cherished little section in my closet where the thick, glossy pages are safe from the possibility of spilled food or accidental crumpling. In short, I am obsessed with print.

I know there are plenty of people like me out there, but will we be enough to save print? In my opinion, that's really not the issue. Print-obsessed or no, I am increasingly convinced that the existence of print actually has a lot of things going for it. So let's talk about a few of them.

1. To me, this is the most important point. There's just something nice about being able to hold a publication in my hands. I like flipping the pages, being able to scribble hasty notes in the margins, or even clipping things out. I like the feel of smooth magazine paper and the different - but equally intoxicating - smells of books both old and new. I even like that the best-loved books are always the most worn out. There's something just so comforting and tangible about print. Also, as one of the editors at Boston Magazine pointed out the other day, what happens to bedtime stories if print goes away? It's not like the parent can say, "Okay, honey, go ahead and turn the page." There are no pages. Maybe the kid can click or scroll, but does that really have the same effect? A lot of parents don't like their children to touch expensive electronics, so there goes the idea of the child getting to hold the book too. And it will be a sad day when my future son or daughter can't run to the bookshelf and grab their favorite book for me to read. No, I don't think print could possibly decline to that extent. At least in the near future.

2. Print lends itself to being read on the toilet. It's just a fact. I'm not gonna bring my expensive Kindle into the bathroom, but a $6 paperback? Why not! Is that too much information to put out on the internet? Do I even care?

3. Sharing works better with print. You can't really lend your friend the magazine on your iPad or let them borrow that new book on your Kindle. They can buy it, but they can't really borrow it. I love sharing. It's easy on the pocket and definitely a bonding experience. Are we really willing to give that up?

4. Print has variety. I don't want to read from the same device every time. And I suspect others feel the same way. We're a world of short attention spans these days, what with the internet stimulating our brains every second. The last thing we need is a little tedium.

5. Experience shows that print isn't going away any time soon. We all have mp3 players now, but CDs are still around. Less popular, yes. Pushed to the background, yes. But they are very much present. If you're feeling iffy about this, take a look at your car. Does it have a CD player? I thought so.

Of course, there are a lot of pros to the end of print as well. The fact that we wouldn't have to make paper aka kill the environment, for example. Only - and I don't pretend to have done any research into this kind of thing - check out this quote from entrepreneur Jay Walker's TED talk:

"And what does a lump of coal have to do with the Internet? You see, it takes the energy in one lump of coal to move one megabyte of information across the net. So every time you download a file, each megabyte is a lump of coal."

Did you ever think about that?

Just saying there are multiple sides to every argument. And that print is here to stay.

What do you think about the end of print? Coming quickly, coming slowly, or not coming at all? How do you feel about it? Can you think of any more reasons why print is or isn't becoming obsolete?

luckless romance

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I bought this fabulous romper when I was in Birmingham, a suburb of Detroit, from a cute boutique called Lexi Drew. That same day I was in close proximity to Gerard Butler but didn't get to actually see him and my friend's roommate got to see him twice (jealous!), but I digress. I was hesitant about the romper. I felt so cutesy and like a real life cupcake, but I suppose giving in to your inner girly girl isn't all that bad. I'm pretty much in love with it now. It makes me want to prance, ride a unicorn, pet bunnies and kittens and eat cotton candy.

I was saving this for a momentous occasion and thought it would be fun to wear to Common Ground Festival today to see Neon Trees with my friends. I absolutely love my friends and it's so much more fun to enjoy events like this with a big group of them. I'll walk to the festival from my apartment and get to meet up with them and have a blast!
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[romper by fifth culture, bag by badgley mischka, sandals by exhilaration]
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Sweetheart necklines are my favorite. It sold me on the romper.
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What I've been up to the past year or so...

...writing poetry like the nerd that I am. I decided to share a poem of mine with you all, even though it makes me nervous to put something up that's so different from my usual bubbly fashion writing. Please be kind.

The best time to visit your old playground


is at night.

The moonlight glances

upon legs like skinned knees,

the sand clinging to them

when you kneel,

little pebbles leaving

dents in your skin

as if the memory of

schoolyard laughter were

trying to burrow underneath.

The chains on the swings rasp

eerie lullabies in the breeze, and

you can almost see the

little girl you once were

perched there,

kicking her legs,

ghostlike.


The trees are alive and

you are sleeping.

By the beech tree there

you made moss beds for

fairies and

tasted earth on your fingers,

traced the shape of your

grandmother’s face in the soil

when she passed,

tore the legs from

that spider once as a dare

and waited ‘til the other kids left to

whisper a quick prayer,

give it a hasty burial

beneath the jungle gym,

and blow it kisses you

would never waste on a boy

back then.

Even now you are

still sorry.


I think he’s still waiting for you

by the blacktop,

the boy with the curls you

used to twist and pull.

Walk over now and

lace fingers,

press kisses on his collarbone,

speed off in his

gray Honda

and wipe the cuts

from your knees and

tell him how happy you are

to leave this godforsaken town.


Do not mention how much

you miss it.

riverbound


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After 24 years of living in Michigan, I've finally partaken in a common summer activity that most Michigan folk seem to do every summer: tubing! I met up with my friend Kristen, her Danish fiance, Rene and her friend Dan that I haven't seen in years.

As much I'd like to pretend I'm not prissy, I suppose I am just a bit. It doesn't bother me when I get sweaty, dirty and not showering every day. Yet, I don't like to touch the bottoms of rivers with my bare feet or submerge myself in murky river water. Eek! This activity was definitely a stretch from what I would normally do, but it was relaxing to catch up with my friends while floating down the river with a beer in my hand and freely peeing whenever I needed to.

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[shorts by h&m, flats by kenneth cole reaction, bathing suit by american apparel and tank by piacara di pico]
The river!
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Kristen's sippy cup filled with coconut rum and Dr. Pepper
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Rene and Kristen! This pair is so cute. They met each other when Kristen moved to Florida and now they're moving by the end of the month to Copenhagen for the next couple years.
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