Motivation.

Beach Day by kelynjoy

Go ahead and laugh.  I know it's still January.  When I walked into the stores today and saw all the bikinis on the racks, my initial reaction was the usual comment to myself, "I can't believe they put these out so early."  But, as usual, I was compelled to try a few on.
In the fitting room, with my underwear tucked up under the bikini bottoms, I checked out my bod.  It'd been a while since I took a good look at myself in a bikini (and by a while I mean since the summer).  Back in August, I'd just begun training for the Wicked 10k after having taken the summer off from running.  I hadn't quite been able to work off the mini beer belly I'd acquired during my lazy summer, so the last memory of me in a swimsuit is a bit of a flabby one.
Last month I signed up for the Shamrock Half Marathon.  I was doing great training, and made it all the way through an 8-mile run.  Then I got lazy.  It's been about a week and a half since I've gone out for a run.  The point of all this, is that while in the fitting room, I was able to notice the changes in my body from the training I'd been doing.  It made me happy to see my belly look less pudgy and see that my butt could actually fill in the bottoms I'd put on.  It also made me realize I definitely can't stop training now.  Sure, I've been lazy and obviously I'm not going to STOP training, but my 5 minutes in the fitting room was all I needed to make me WANT to run again, and KEEP running.
I bought the bikini.  By the time my little revelation had passed, the bikini deserved it.  It did it's job.  I understand now why stores put swimwear out so early (Okay, okay, the motivation and well-being of the general public is probably NOT the reason, but we can pretend.).  I will no longer skoff at the racks of bikinis in January, or at the people looking at them.

I bought a few things to wear with my new bikini when the weather warms up.  I  had  have Edie Sedgwick on the brain.  While I didn't buy those pieces above, I did buy a navy striped bikini, a pair of sunglasses, and a set of bangles.  I plan to rock them Edie style once summer rolls around.

Edie Sedgwick

I was going to wait til next summer to cut all my hair off again, but now I think it's impossible.

  

Edie Sedgwick has put me in a trance.  I need her haircut.  I need her makeup.  I need bikinis with large earrings and necklaces.  I need armbands.

Hold the anorexia, drug/alcohol abuse, and psycho-ness.

Something to Remember




Isn't it lovely?!  What I wouldn't give to have a this bouquet, so fresh and colorful and dainty, to brighten up a white wedding!  Altough, with no ring on my finger, I suppose I could settle for this beautiful arrangement in a vase, brightening up my room instead.

What a combination - the yellow and apricot and pink paired with silver and white!  It makes me want to grow poppies and dusty millers specifically to have the two ready for home arrangements!

...So refreshing after all these cold snowy months!

october wind

October is here.  Instead of being a good blogger, I've been off flying kites!

Recounting the Memories: Part 1

Well!  I'd say summer blew by fast enough!  It's a week past labor day, and only a week short of the fall equinox!  I think now is as good a time as ever to take a look back on my summer, and share the captured memories.  This first post (one of a few, I'm sure) will start with the beginning of the solstice.

Only three days into the official first day of summer, I was delighted to attend a friend's wedding!  He and his bride had a beautiful ceremony out in Suffolk, Virginia in the early afternoon.  It was HOT!  I was so glad their ceremony was a short one - I worried one of the groomsmen might pass out from heat stroke!  I can't imagine wearing a black tuxedo on a hot, humid June afternoon!  Despite the sweat, the whole thing was amazing!  Simple and sweet - I absolutely loved it!

The reception inside was wonderful, too! The happy couple was surrounded by lots of family members, friends, yummy southern food, good music, and so many smiles! 

Hydrangeas and Hershey Kisses decorated the tables, and I adored the mason jars filled with wildflowers as centerpieces...

      Oh, and did I mention the cupcakes?!  They were delicious!

But I think the best decoration of all had to be:

the bowtie on the moose!

The wedding was a great way to kick off the summer.  I wish Denver and Mary all the best!

Where to next on my summertime journey?  A road trip with the girls!

The Endless Summer

Like I said before, with summer in full swing, I have lots to blog about, but hardly any time to do it!  Amazingly, my camera is backed up with pictures from a month ago that I still haven't transferred to the computer!  That never happens!  This is my first Saturday in a long time that I haven't been rushing to do something.  Last night I watched one of my queued movies on Hulu (Vanity Fair) and stuck some curlers in my hair, then I practiced the art of the fortune teller head wrap using a long scarf.  This morning I woke up with a big, fluffy, poodle-head and decided I had to put on a fun outfit and go out shopping since it's been over a month since I've really gone shopping!
Once I was all set I glanced in the mirror and decided I really had to take an outfit picture, cuz the curls are just too fun!  So here we are, in a dress you've seen before, but I absolutely love...

dress: Barr-ee Station (Duck, NC)

shoes: Victoria's Secret catalogue

necklace: American Eagle (years ago!)

On the way: a wedding and a road trip!

Another Teague for Two

Now where did I leave off?  Oh, yes,  Dan and I were just leaving the Assateague Lighthouse to find several cars parked on the side of the road.  It's not until we park along with them that we realize what everyone's taking pictures of...

WILD PONIES!!!!

Dan let me take a quick shot from the window before he sped off to our final destination, Chincoteague!  If you ask me, Chincoteague was the prettiest place we stopped, well, with the exception of the gross toilets we had to use!  EEEEW!!

 

The gross toilets weren't enough to shoo us away though.  We were still able to manage to enjoy what nature had to offer here... and goof off a little!

Button-Down: Wet Seal

Shirt: Victoria's Secret

Jeans: Thrifted

Shoes: Havaianas

Of course, as I took all kinds of silly shots, Dan worked on some real, artsy ones, like this:

This was my idea actually.  Dan is always taking pictures on a long exposure- 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 10 minutes!  He'd taken a few long exposures of the landscape already, but it was so windy I thought it'd be cool to see what it'd look like if I stood still and let the wind blow my hair around and my open shirt a little.  Pretty cool result, I think!

Did you guys know I became a Ranger while we were there?!

Such a fun time!  We managed to get ourselves back to the car eventually, and drove home.  The end.

What?  What do you mean I forgot something??  I did?!?!  Ooooh yeeeah!  I did promise Dan some ice cream, didn't I!  Well don't you worry, I didn't forget!

And so.  That's the end to our adventurous tale at the Eastern Shore!  I had so much fun and can't wait to have many more adventurous tales with Dan!