make-believe: springtime wardrobe.

I'm a creature of habit. If you've been reading these tea leaves for awhile, you know this. I relish in creating rhythms and routines, but in general it doesn't take much for me to decide that something that I'm doing needs shaking up. When I went off to college, I took a few classes that touched on modern agriculture and I decided to change my food purchasing habits. I read an article (or four) about parabens and phthalates and I started paying closer attention to the stuff I put on my body. Watching this documentary was all I needed to convince me to curb my reliance on single-use plastics.  I worked on a sustainable farm and decided that eating animals--even ones that are happily raised--isn't something I want to do. Those Green Mountain Energy guys? All they had to do was look my way and I signed right up. Okay, you get it.

Coming around to slow fashion has been a harder pill to swallow. It's not for lack of interest or understanding, but where I've been able to absorb the additional costs of organic food and natural beauty products, buying into sustainable fashion has been more difficult. First there's sticker shock and then there's my perpetual desire to "get something new."

Sometimes it is hard to break habits. The clothes above are what I'd be wearing this spring if money wasn't an object. They aren't all made here in the United States, but from what I can gather they've been made thoughtfully, without overt exploitation of people or the environment. This year I'm hoping to finally go in for a few investment pieces; beautifully-made clothes that will last and last. I'm also taking a page out of the book of my French friends and not giving a damn if I wear the same pair of jeans every day of the week. Quality over quantity. Michelle has the right idea.

1. Ace and Jig Button Tee 2. Maria Highrise Jean 3. Emma Grey Stripe 4. Everlane Tees 

5. T-shirt dress 6.Discovery Dress

*There are a few links to stories on slow fashion in this post from last week. I'm still waiting on someone to return this book to the library.

PS. This just in.

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make-believe: spring foraging.

Any moment now the linden trees in Brooklyn are going to open and shower the streets in their sweet scent. When that happens, I'll be ready with a pair of pruners and a bike basket to carry my rewards home with me. Here, a few accessories that are necessary (and not so unnecessary) for getting the job done.

1. A button back tunic for looking elegant.
2. Handmade shoes for treading lightly.
3. Latin for Gardeners for doing my grandfather proud.
4. A herringbone scarf for waving dramatically behind me as I bicycle around looking for low-hanging branches.
5. Fancy pruners for harvesting.
6. Healing salve for patching post-foraging scrapes.
7. A bike basket for carting home the goods.
8. Sunglasses for staying ingognito...just because.

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make-believe: spring linens and other things.

After yesterday's post about my sleepless night, I've got sleep and bedrooms on my mind. While my nighttime dreams may be lackluster lately, my daydreams have been as active as ever. I've been scheming about ways to brighten up our tiny sleeping loft and I've got an ideabook in the works about springtime linens and bedroom accessories. If I came into a little extra spending money, I'd change things up by mixing and matching colors and patterns. I might tend toward being somewhat of a neutrals girl, but I don't want to be boring. Bright yellow checks for spring? Yes, please.

1. mini lamp 2. vespertine floral pillow cover 3. yellow checked pillow cases 4. white cotton throw 

5. ticking stripe blanket 6. big sur sage sachet

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make-believe: making my own clothes

Lately, all I can think about is how much I'd like to be able to make my own clothes. I imagine running my hands over bolts of linen and cotton, cutting along patterns, getting the fit just right and having a whole collection of go-to dresses for the warmer weather that I know, I know, is just around the corner. I don't own a sewing machine and the last time I used one I broke the needle not once, but twice. Still, I can't help thinking about slipping on a simple dress to wear all spring and summer long. Here, a few beautiful bits of inspiration made by other people.

What about you? Have you tackled making your own clothes?

1. Bridge & Burn: Wren 2. Modaspia: Fiji 3. Pamela Tang: W. 4. Rennes: Vergennes 5. Mother: Mary-Jane

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make-believe: hawaiian vacation

In December, right before Christmas, our friends Simon and Jenny moved to Hawaii. James and I have been dreaming about a getaway to visit them (and soak in the island air) ever since. An email from Simon this week with a link to Hawaiian Airlines fares so low they looked like typographical errors sent us into a virtual frenzy of number crunching and daydreaming. Alas, even the rock-bottom fares weren't quite low enough to allow for a last minute trip. We're left staring at the giant surfboard in our apartment and wiping our collective tears. In homage to our Hawaiian daydreams, a make-believe post about our would-be adventure. 

1. malwitz surfboard 2. slub cotton dress 3. surfer's journal 4. sexy wax 

5. & 6. prettiest dang multi-floral underwear-turned-swimsuit (top/bottom)

7. & 8. performance suit for surf lessons (top/bottom)*

*It should be known that James is the real surfer in the "family"(evidence, here). But I'd be totally game for giving the death-defying sport another go...in Hawaii.

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make-believe: valentines

I know there are a lot of folks out there who could really rather do without Valentine's Day.  February rolls around and I begin to hear sighs about the hype of what's essentially a commercial holiday.

Well.

I won't deny that the consumer push around this holiday borders on outrageous, but I will say that a wholesale disregard for the day also seems sad. What could be better than a day devoted to sending little messages of love? I say that we all take a lesson from our friends in kindergarden and get crafting.

Here is an assortment of things that you could purchase--and some you likely already own--to get you in the spirit. A valentine can be made with a few snips of a scissor and a few strokes of a pen and it doesn't take much money or extravagance to do into that.

1. flowers and sentiments notecards 2. pen 3. hearts 4. washi tape  5. baker's twine  6. scissors

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make believe: planning.

January's come and put me into a contemplative mood. Maybe it's all of those Gregorian chants I've been listening to as I try to plow through my work. Whatever  it is, the new year has landed me somewhere between an existential crisis and business as usual. I'm making plans, listing goals, figuring out a path. While I'm here, I figure there's no harm in daydreaming about a pair of sharp new shoes and an i-would-wear-it-every-day-until-it-falls-off dress. I've never been much a journaler (unless you count this space), but I've been making taking an awful lot of notes longhand these days. Any moments when I can drag myself out from behind a screen feel like good ones. What about you? Where have these first ten days found you?

1. dress 2. journal 3. watch 4. ticking stripe pencil case  5. what good shall i do this day? 6. shoes

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make-believe: a train going north

On Christmas Eve, James and I are boarding a train and heading northward. I am ridiculously excited. My excitement stems 110% from my expectations that the entire experience will be straight out of The Polar Express. I'm especially looking forward to my cup full of hot chocolate as thick and rich as melted chocolate bars. But just in case the train travel pales in comparison to my all-time favorite Christmas story, I will be satisfied with bringing along a project or two to work on, a good book, a snack or two, and something cozy to snuggle in. Is it too much to also wish for snow?

1. cozy sweater 2. playing cards 3. a christmas carol 4. montana mittens kit 5. peanuts 6. possibilities bag

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