entertaining / kori's wedding

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my family specializes in weddings on a budget, and makes them look awesome every time. this wedding is another event that my aunt angela put on, and did a fabulous job at making the wedding look amazing, while saving money. the wedding was held at a reception hall, and was supposed to be on an outdoor rooftop, but the rain forced us to move it inside. for the tables, she had the chevron runners made, and also put together all of the flower arrangements. her husband crafted and stained the wooden boxes. the flower arrangements had lots of different roses, blue hydrangeas, berries, and twigs. they are probably my favorite centerpieces i have ever seen, i was happy to take one home after the wedding! she also had ribbons to hang from the chandeliers, which added a nice touch. the wedding cake was ombre blue with flowers that we placed on top. the food for the wedding was soft serve yogurt and italian sodas. i don't have great pictures of the food room, but it was super cute. she made signs and had an all glass serving area. she hung puff-ball garlands on the ceiling to make the room, which was somewhat detached, feel like a part of the wedding. here are the pictures that i took of the decorations, keep in mind i was not the official photographer, just practicing using my camera! 

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and now i'm going to include about a thousand pictures of all of my family. how cute are all of my cousins and sisters? and how good does jarman look with a beard? i can't wait until he can have one year round. i seriously love all of these pictures and miss my family every day!

inspiration / fall prints

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i officially declared it to be fall last tuesday. there was a sudden chill in the air, and i saw the first leaves start falling. i may have been a bit preemptive, i was sweating in 80 degree weather wearing a sweater this weekend, but i have absolutely been loving trying to put together fall looks. my favorite fall trend has been mixing print on prints on prints. it's all i want to do. i feel like i need to go out and buy more printed shirts just so i can do so. i have been toying around with doing a fashion column on my blog, but can't decide if i am vain enough to do it. anyways, here are some looks that have been inspiring my fall outfits.

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from my camera / valley forge

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we thought we were going to philadelphia this weekend and would maybe pop on over to valley forge (the trip was orchestrated by the school), but quickly realized that we were spending most of our time in valley forge. we were definitely disappointed at first, but it turned out to be just fine. we learned quite a bit about the american revolution. somehow i can tell you lots of things and dates about the french revolution, but know very little about the american one, i feel like i need to study up on it. we are still planning to go back and explore philadelphia more, there is so much that we missed! here are some pictures from the weekend. 

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there was this awesome forest behind the place where we were staying. i never knew what an obsession i have with trees until i got a camera, i have hundreds of pictures of trees. they enchant me and i love them. oh and can you find the surprise rainbows in two of the pictures? i was so excited when that happened! i don't know why or how, probably a very scientific reason, but it makes me so happy. and remember me mentioning that i thought we would be in philadelphia the whole time? that is why i am wearing a flowy jumpsuit/onesie (why do either of those terms sound so weird? what should i call it?)

we did a tour of valley forge and got to go to george washington's house while the troops were stationed there. they had to build those little log cabins in the middle of december in the snow with no shoes and minimal clothing. the whole thing sounds miserable. i'm so grateful to have people who were actually willing to go through such lengths to make it possible to live in a free country! 

i have just a few pictures from philadelphia, and will be sharing more of a museum we visited later this week. we also had a tour of independence hall, saw where the constitution was signed, and saw the liberty bell. luckily we got to put everything in context by watching national treasure on the way home! 

art spaces / rothko

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rothko is one of my favorite artists. i know i say that about everyone, but i really mean it with him. he was a color field painter in the 60's and 70's, and created works that were supposed to be sublime and take you to an almost religious place. rothko made his works very large so that they would take up your entire view, and you could be completely enveloped in them.

the phillip's collection in d.c. has a 'rothko room', where four of his masterpieces hang. it is a must see when you come to d.c. i have a hard time deciding which is my favorite. i love the varying feelings that each work gives. today i have paired each of the paintings in the rothko room, with an interior that i feel reflects that same feelings. the first has a feeling of old world class, the second a sombre and moody scene, the third is bright and cheery, and the fourth an exotic den of iniquity. isn't amazing that the same forms in different colors can create such different reactions?

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inspiration / fall flats

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i tend to go through major phases in shopping. when i decide i like one type of thing, i go out and buy lots of that thing. not all at once, but over a few months i will realize that i am buying the same things over and over. this summer i was on brightly colored lipsticks (i bought 7 or 8), printed pants (i bought 5 pairs), and swimsuits (i bought 5 or six sets, and a few random tops and bottoms). i don't mind shopping this way, the way i see it i get stocked up for a few years until i go out and replace all of my old thing. a few years ago i went crazy buying boots: i bought like 5 pairs, 3 of which were knee-high brown boots that were just different enough for me to justify buying. and i haven't felt the need to buy boots since.

before that i stocked up in flats. but apparently i'm ready to move on from those flats, and purchase a new collection.  i am especially excited to buy some new flats for the coming fall season. i don't think i have ever been so excited to start wearing fall clothes- i'm a summer girl all around. i think i was want a shift in color scheme mainly, i'm loving dark maroons and oranges and yellows. such great fall colors. anyways, these are the flats that are on my list:

i don't have a single pair of oxfords, i always think they are too manly. but give me a patent pair in deep burgundy and i'll be singing a different tune. plus, this pair from urban outfitters is a steal at $39, i almost feel like i need them just because of the price. i would pair them with cute ankle socks that would undoubtedly accentuate my kankles, but i'll just pretend to ignore that. 

i actually already bought this pair at the nordstrom anniversary sale. again, i haven't been on the bootie train. normally they have little heels that are very unflattering, and sometimes they look like pigs hooves. this pair, in a grey leopard, just spoke to me. i have been saving them for fall, but think i will pull them out this weekend for their official debut. 

this is another super affordable pair from urban. i just got a pair similar, with the patent black for the back and the d'orsay style,  but the front is snakeskin and there is an ankle strap. i am in love with them. i have a feeling this pair may be a bit more comfortable, and i probably have to buy them because i have no camel colored shoes. right girls?

i have a thing for metallic shoes. sorry, i have a thing for metallic anything. i love these booties with all my heart, but i really would never buy them. unless they go on sale. then they are mine. i love the gold fringe that adds just enough shimmer to not look outlandish. not that i don't love outlandish things, just sometimes it gets exhausting being teased for your ridiculous clothing.  

um, this pair is on sale at anthro for $29.95. most of you have probably stopped reading at this point so that you can hop on over and buy them, but you should know they are out of stock. such a tease. i might have shed a few tears. apparently i am into the d'orsay style. but i mean really, pink and glitter shoes with an ankle strap? how can you go wrong? 

i have wanted this pair for a while, and now they are on sale at nordstrom. and the only size and color they have left are my size and my favorite color. so if anyone wants to send me any gifts (ahem, jarman), don't feel like you need to be creative. you can just get me these!