The Return of Grunge (or how to do summer grunge)

The Return of Grunge (or how to do summer grunge)

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

As each August chapter sprouts, I slowly begin to wish for autumnal waves to enchant my world. As much as I try to live in the moment, it is so very difficult to show gratitude for hot, humid 90 degree Fahrenheit days, especially when you have been having them since early May. In so many words: I am weary of summer's thickness wrapped around my neck.

With these feelings in tow, I can honestly say that although I definitely identify my style as bohemian on the strength of grunge, the latter does take a bit of a backseat when the May tide brings waves of heat. Whispers of autumn, however, trigger cravings of it's return, and thus, this year, I am tempted to find summer grunge styles that capture the slight edge I so crave, but also give way to my summer bohemian love affair.

Needless to say, I have done it. With a dress that I have literally worn at least 4 times on this blog. Donning my trusty floral friend, black stiff tee, tenacious combat boots, and a berry lip that I wear regardless of the calender's whims, I can dance my way into that autumnal waltz, while still remaining cool enough to function in summer's blistering fever.

I am glad of it. I always miss the grunge aesthetic in summer, but now, perhaps I can have a marriage of the two. Or at least a peaceful tolerance.

How do you dress grunge in the summer? How do you transition from summer to fall without feeling like you are baking in an oven? Are you craving autumn as much as me, as much as I do every year? Why do I have so many questions?

Dance your way through the seasons, loves.

Stay Beautiful,

Liz

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How I have come to love summer

How I have come to love summer

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

A swipe of grunge on the strength of bohemian.

That is what I called my personal style this past spring, when the leaves were not yet on the trees and a chilly air lingered among the city's rooftop. I was right then, and perhaps I am still right today, but the thickness of the summer's breath has left my fingterips grazing across fabrics that barely touch my skin. Things that lightly sit there, floating downwards onto my shoulders when I sit like a feather dropped from a rooftop.

Today, I am drifting from the sublime into the ridiculous and further into the realm of clothes that technically, I should never wear. But I am happiest in breezy fabrics and layers and softness kissing my skin, bare without its under-layers that I so clung to only two months ago. In fact, summer makes me crave a soft, form melting wardrobe even more. Really, I think am in love with the soft haze of summer, period.

Simply typing those words is hard for me to believe because I used to hate summer, you know. I've mentioned many times in the past how the thickness of the air feels like a pillow shoved onto my face, making me want to vomit onto the sharp blades of grass, but this summer has become oddly different. Maybe it was the long winter. Maybe I enjoy photography too much. Maybe the humidity levels are much lower than they ever were before, but this summer, I feel as if I wasn't simply born to die.*

Once you become buried in the woods or look out into a thick blanket of green and see life everywhere you go, you become grateful not for just life, but all life. In turn, it makes me love my surroundings in a way that must have been buried somewhere in my past. I am in love with all the life I see - the baby birds who have made my front porch fern their home, the clover that is in full bloom two days after mowing, and even the weeds in my strawberry bed. I am in love with the life summer brings and the thunderstorms and the long golden days.

I am even in love with myself. I find myself hardly ever wearing makeup this summer... on this day I think that I wore none. Perhaps that is bad for photographs, but I feel so alive and free of late, that it would be a crime to blanket my natural color with something God did not place there (that is to say, I love makeup, but I just don't want it right now, kind of how one loves a good earl gray, but this is not the right time).

Do not get me wrong. There will always be a place in my heart for crisp leaves followed by that first snowfall, but for the first time in my adult life, I am in love with the summer. Let us rejoice together.

Do you love summer, or do you wait it out for cooler temperatures?

*After writing this, I realized: I moved. Into a beautiful tiny space with a front porch and flowers and bushes. That is probably why I enjoy this summer, thus this post is wasted, but alas! It is already written.

Stay Beautiful,

XOXO Liz

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The Wild Dancer Celebrates Solstice

The Wild Dancer Celebrates Solstice

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

The solstice was Monday. A day I always look forward to though I never really celebrate. Nonetheless, I was happy that the solstice was Monday.

As I walked out of dance class and watched those pink hues melt with orange ones over the railway tracks, I stood there frozen. I wondered how many sunsets have I seen drag past the horizon and surely the answer is this: not nearly enough.

One can never have enough sunsets, or enough green life, or enough dancing. There are never too many fireflies lighting up your window or an excess of marshmallows waiting to be roasted. Never too many dances to be performed in the wild for only the flowers and mosquitoes to see. Never too many bees to suckle the sweet clover, and never, ever enough time for dancing.

So how are we to enjoy summer's savory treats when we are trapped in fluorescent jungles?

Put on a bell sleeved dress that moves with the wind and we dance. We dance, outside, inside, in our mind, in our hearts. We just dance. Let every step this summer be a movement in the dance of life.

How did you celebrate the solstice? Did you at least see the strawberry moon? My moon was clouded over. :(


Stay Beautiful,

XOXO Liz

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Welcoming Fall into My World

Welcoming Fall into My World

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Well, it's officially the end of summer and I couldn't be happier. Goodbye bugs, goodbye giant hair, goodbye sweltering heat.

But wait, that's wrong, even though it should be right. Every year I face this wall, somehow believing that with the passing of Labor Day the world should magically turn shades of orange and the air should become clear and crisp. I expect this, though I do not think this has ever happened in my lifetime.  If you're like me you are itching to pull out all your fall clothes but sweaters and knee boots are not well suited to 90 degree evenings. The days are playing with my mind, giving me cool morning walks with my dogs and miserable 5:00 pm drives home. Yet, somehow, the days are cloudy so I do not even have the blessed summer sunsets to comfort me and remind me of the cool days ahead (because fall sunsets are equally beautiful). How am I to deal with this? I am simply waiting it out.

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Reflection: My Summer Bucket List

Reflection: My Summer Bucket List

Saturday, September 5, 2015

I really can't decide if I like the effect of these outfit pictures, which is why I only included a few of them. Part of me loves the light, airy, golden hues of the new sun... the other part of me loves higher contrast. I guess there is room for everything in this life, right?

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