Fish in trees
 Details: Shirt ($3.99), camisole ($1.99), and skirt($2.50), thrifted; shoes (unknown, under $10), Target; necklace, gift.
Approximate outfit cost: Â $18.48
My brother bought me this necklace. I rarely wear it, since its chain is quite long and I prefer my necklaces to fall just below my collarbones. But the neckline of this shirt is perfect for a longer necklace.
I went out for coffee with an old friend this morning, and had planned to do one of those picture an hour posts… until I realized that the rest of my day was incredibly boring. So instead, you get a picture-an-hour for the first half of my day. That should be enough. Right?
 
 
Aaand that’s it. 😉
I got a few stares, one attempt at starting a conversation, a compliment on my shoes, and a compliment on my skirt at the ferry docks. People dressed like me aren’t common in my town. There are middle-aged folks dressed in sweatpants, tourists dressed in Hawaiian shirts, and teenagers dressed in skinny jeans, or guys who are my age and think they’re cool… and thus garb themselves in pants that hang on for dear life and shirts that are five sizes too big.
Yeah. My town is the total epicenter of fashion these days. (not.)
There was a guy at the ferry dock that reminded me of a young David Bowie, though. I wanted to snap a picture of him, but his back was to me and I’m not brave enough to stop people in the street for random fashion pictures.
I love the benches at the ferry dock. They’re so fun!
Since this post turned out to be mammoth, click through to keep reading.
So! A few of you might be wondering where the Weekly Writing Challenge picture is.
After a lot of thought, I’ve decided to cease the challenge. It takes a lot of searching to find good pictures, and while I love the weeks when I get entries for the photos, it’s become more a burden to find pictures than it is fun. Especially lately, I’ve been spending hours trying to find the perfect picture only to have nobody write an entry. And I don’t blame you– I haven’t done much writing lately either– but since I’m going through writer’s block and the entries have been tapering off, I think it’s time to stop the challenge. It was fun while it lasted. If you still want to see the archives, I’ll be creating an extras page where you can get to it.
Secondly, I’ll be cleaning up my static pages (About me, outfits, etc), and removing the comments on those pages. I love getting comments, but since the focus of my blog has changed I’ve been rearranging quite a lot, and most of the comments on my About page and FAQ page are no longer relevant. (Speaking of the FAQ, if you have a question you want answered but are too shy to ask here, you can go to my Formspring and ask anonymously, and if the question is repeated enough I’ll put it on the FAQ page.)
That, and I prefer comments to stay on my blog posts or in personal emails rather than on my static pages. It starts looking messy after a while.
Thirdly… Goodwill haul pictures! I didn’t take pictures of two garments, but you’ll see them later.
First, a dress that I plan to give a tiny makeover:
I’m going to shorten it to just above the knee, and add buttons. I bought it solely for the back cutout. LOVE. ($3.50)
Next, one of the most amazing skirts I’ve ever found. I already did the mini-makeover on this one, but if you think it’s a good idea I’ll do a tutorial on how to redo the elastic in a skirtwaist. It’s quite easy, and perfect if you’ve snapped up a skirt like this one that needs a smaller waist.
I am so in love with the print on this skirt. The elastic in the waist was so ridiculously old and stretched that I was able to wrap it around my waist TWICE and still have some left over. I mean, I do have a small waist, but still. And since it was $3.99, it was definitely worth buying and replacing the elastic!
And then there are the brooches I found. I still can’t believe I found so many good ones! Does anyone look for brooches any more?
1. Fish($2.99) 2. Frog($3.99)
3. Leaves($4.99) 4. Flowerspray($2.50)
($4.99)
The last one is so sparkly that my camera refuses to focus on it. Annoying. But it’s pretty.
And that fourth one, the flowerspray… it’s stamped “Monet” on the back. I looked up Monet to see if I could f ind where it came from, but so many different things popped up– most of them vintage brooches– that I’m not sure what to make of it. I might have inadvertently stumbled on a vintage buy while picking up  my brooches. Does anyone know about the Monet brand?
And, of course, the skirt I’m wearing in this post is the second skirt I found. The shirt in yesterday’s post is one of the two shirts I bought, and I haven’t photographed the other shirt or the other dress I found…but I like them, so you’ll likely see them quite soon.
One other thing: after I pointed out that I was having skin problems (and you all gave me such good advice!), I remembered hearing very good things about L’Oreal’s Go 360 Clean facewash, which is cheap and comes with a fun scrubby device. I bought their Anti-Breakout Facial Cleanser ($4.99 at Target). I’ve used it twice, and already my skin is looking better. I have high hopes for this product.
Normally, I don’t go with things that are targeted for acne, because I have dry skin and acne-treatment washes tend to make my skin even dryer. This cleanser, however, left me feeling only a little bit squeaky (which was expected), but didn’t all-out dry my face to flakes as most cleansers would.Plus, the scrubby thing (I know, I know. There’s a more professional name for it. I don’t care.) was fun to use and seemed to work very well in getting all the makeup out of my pores.
And speaking of pores, one of the claims on the bottle says something about smaller pores after use, and it wasn’t lying. I don’t have particularly large pores on my cheeks, but they’re visible on the apples of my cheeks and after using the cleanser with the scrubby thing, I noticed that my pores were less visible.
I like things that work like they claim to work. Also, it’s more likely I’ll wash my face daily if products are fun to use. And this is definitely a fun product to use. It also has a nice light fragrance, which is a plus for me. I don’t know why, but I hate using cleansers/shampoos/lotions that aren’t scented. I know it might not be great for my skin, seeing as it’s a bit picky, but until I know for sure that it’s the scented products that kill my skin, I’ll continue to get pretty smelly things.
Anyway. I’m  hoping that, if my skin continues to improve as drastically as it did after two uses, I’ll have much clearer skin by the end of the week.  We shall see.
I feel like this post is a bit discombobulated. Sorry about that. 😉
I’ll be trying to go through and post my camping pictures tomorrow or Wednesday.
I hope you are all having a lovely Monday!
27 Comments
Linda
Did you photoshop the bird into the picture behind the frog? and seriously you live in a most beautiful place. We want too move. Where you live looks very interesting! Might not be the height of fashion but it looks beautiful and the temperature is not hot!!!!!
Mara
Bird? I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about. I didn’t photoshop anything into the pictures, though. 🙂
Thank you! I definitely do live in a beautiful place; I think this area is the best area of Washington, but I could be prejudiced… since I grew up here. 😀 The weather is nice and moderate, it’s all green and gorgeous all year, there are lots of fun little places to visit… yeah. I love it.
Asia Morela
You got such pretty things! I know I don’t have the patience necessary for thrift-shopping (or even shopping, period), but seeing your finds makes me want to be brave and try it someday. 😀
And sorry to hear about your writer’s block… I was actually going to ask you a question about that on Formspring. Ah, maybe I’ll ask it anyway 😉
Mara
Haha, thrift shopping is definitely something that you have to have the patience for! IF you don’t like shopping, I would suggest going to a thrift store with a specific garment in mind and only looking through that garment’s racks– like, if you’re looking for a jacket, only look at the jackets; if you’re looking for a dress, only look at the dresses. That way you’ve narrowed the store down to one or two racks vs the ten or twenty there are to peruse.
Or go with someone who generally has a good eye for picking specific things out of a collage. 😀
It’s weird, I haven’t been creative at ALL lately, and I’m not sure why. Ask anyway! I still have good answers, even if I am having writer’s block. 😀
Linda
I want to start packing right now!!! If my kids would then I would.
Mara
Ah, kids. 😀 I’m sure they’d probably love it here. But moving is hard, because then you have to make new friends.
gascona
I just asked at your formspring! 🙂
Mara
I saw your question, and it has been answered. Hopefully helpfully.
jsh0608
Seems like a great day. Oh and if you think 70 is hot. You will not survive here in TX. It is really hot here. Great pictures. :0)
Mara
Oh, no. I don’t think 70 is hot, that’s just the only short caption I could think of for the picture. I have lived in Mississippi and New Mexico, and I will never think Washington weather is hot after those two places– Mississippi in particular. The humidity intensified the heat so much!
😉 Thanks.
rosalina
I like your maxi dress! 😀
I am trying to find “follow” button, but the available one is just bloglovin ):
xoxo,
http://rosalinaaa.blogspot.com/
Mara
Thank you. 🙂
Yeah, I tried to put the Google friend follower in my widgets, but it wouldn’t work for me. So there’s only Bloglovin’ or subscribing. Or you could follow my RSS feed I’m going to try to figure out Google friend connect again later today because I’d love to have that option as well.
Snigdha
The brooches are splendid 🙂 they look magnificent.
And the green dress? SUPER.
nice shopping skills you have 🙂
Mara
They are rather great. I love them all. (Of course, or I would not have bought them.)
The green skirt, you mean? Or the sunflower dress? Because the dress is actually blue.
Haha, it’s an acquired skill, I think.
Snigdha
I meant the sunflower dress. Sorry, I’m sort of colour blind 😉
Mara
Hehe. It’s okay. 😀 It’s a smallish picture.
Demy
Hello hello!! LOVED this mamooth post lol! First, your outfit is lovely! The skirt is so cute and the necklace your brother bought you is wonderful! However, I too prefer necklaces that with a shorter or a much longer chain 🙂 All these pics you took during the day are awesome! I love the one with the benches! How cool are they? 😀
And as for your finds, you’re too lucky, I’ll tell it again! The dress is adorbs, the back cut is SO amazing, but to be honest I don’t like the lenght, so I applaud your decision to shorten it. It’s gonna look FA-NTA-STIC!!! And mogosh, this skirt was super big! It looks perfect altered 🙂 You’re right, the print is so beautiful! Love the brooches too! Now I see what you mean with the title lol! The fish and frog ones are the cuuuuteest! 🙂
Is this product really good? I think I’ll give it a try, because my acne pisses me off… :@ And this thing about the pores is SOOO good! I’ll definitely try it 🙂 I’m looking forward to seeing your camping pics! 🙂 Byyyye!
Mara
Aren’t the benches cool? I love it! I think I took pictures of all of them, but they’re all underwater-scene creations. 😀 It’s fun.
Yeah, I don’t like the length either. I need to find some buttons for it, too, since the front skirt part is supposed to button shut but is missing all of its buttons. Hopefully the shortened version will be done soon!
So far, it’s been lessening my acne. I’m waiting for a week or two before I say whether it’s really good or not– most products take a week at least to show their true colors. And then I’ll let you know!
Jennifer
Another brilliant blog and ensemble. The only fashionable people around here are students, when the university is back in session. Mainly, art and theater girls have the best style, the same with the guys.
Oh please be sure to work on your asking someone to take their picture. On one hand, you will miss out on several darling photos if you don’t, especially if they look like a young David Bowie!!. Also, it makes the person of your photographic attention feel tremendous.
Once my daughter overcame her shyness, she has been able to get so many amazing portraits… 🙂
It takes time, you can do it.
Mara
Same here– nobody really has style except art and theater people.
I will work up the courage someday! I wish I’d had courage to photograph the young David Bowie guy; I was also feeling a bit odd since I was with a friend and didn’t want to interrupt her talking. Ah well. Someday.
Hugs, Kisses and Snot
Please to a tutorial on the skirt! I see skirts I like at the vintage shops but never get them b/c they are usually way too big. A little sewing help would be great!
Mara
Tutorial done! Hopefully it was helpful. 🙂 I’ll try to do tutorials whenever I get garments that need makeovers. I think a lot of people want to sew, but aren’t quite sure how to do the little things– I grew up with a mother that sewed constantly, so to me it’s all simple. And I love doing tutorials. And I need more sewing practice.
Margaret
Ah, I feel your pain. I live just enough North of Seattle that everyone thinks it’s farm country so it’s alright to walk around in pajamas, and just close enough to Seattle that the rest of the population is all Seattle-grunge style. Going to Paris was seriously like stepping into a dream where everyone cared what they looked like and knew how to dress themselves. <3 Good job dressing nicely! 🙂
Mara
Haha, it’s the same here. Pajams are WAY too common.
I’m jealous! I so want to go to Paris! I think Europeans tend to dress better than Americans anyway– they pay more attention to… enjoying life. Americans are work-obsessed and lazy at the same time. In my generalized opinion, anyway.
Jamie Rose
All those pins are so nice! I need to start looking for some fun ones. My mom has an epic collection though so maybe I should borrow from her. We should all try to bring them back! They’re just such great accessories. Great thrift finds. I love the dress with the cutout back; it’s going to look so cute shortened.
Mara
Yes, we should definitely try to bring them back! Brooches and hats are two things that went out of fashion that I think need to come back. Brooches are so versatile, too. You can wear them as a pin, a necklace, a hat pin, pin to scarves, stick on your belt… pretty much anywhere you want to wear them, they work.
sarah
I really like the picture an hour thing…sounds interesting. Today my day would be terribly boring but I think I might attempt that next time I go out thrifting or something 🙂