Fall Time Again.

One of my newest late-night habits is re-reading my old blog posts. 

I have been writing this blog for a year and a half. 

Looking back, I have changed SO much, my attitude towards life, my openness to love, my fashion and my friends... 

One thing that hasn't changed... 

and that is my LOVE for fall. 

I love going back to school, I love the excitement of making new friends, decorating a new room, and creating a new style. 

Ahhhh a new style. 

As you are all aware, I'm not the most fashionable of people, but this summer I have gotten so much more confident with expressing myself through what I am wearing. 

Plus, traveling around the world made me aware of all of the interesting things that people are wearing and making. 

One thing that made me a floppy dresser in the past was the fact that I didn't think I had the money to be fashionable. 

People relate having a fashion to high-end retails and white collar girls. 

Well

I don't have money to buy from high-end shops and still have enough money to eat every month. 

I see how much money girls my age spend on online shopping and I still don't think I will ever own a Gucci handbag. 

I am okay with that. 

I am the best thrift store shopper I know. 

Seriously. 

If there is a deal, a ridiculous outfit or over-sized sweater I will find it. 

It is the best high there is.

I never look for the simple things.

I never look for the half great things that I could buy any where else. 

I look for the craziest things I can find. 

And when I find something? It feels great. 

Finding a treasure in a store full of awkward junk, it's kind of what I live for. 

Making something that was deemed "ugly" by society into something fashionable and fun.

It makes me giddy.

I get whole outfits for less than ten dollars.

I can spend hours looking in corners of the store that people have forgotten about. 

Pintrest is filled with all sorts of fun ideas for fall outfits, but most seem WAY too expensive for the "average jo" 

So, instead of getting irritated by that fact, I have started looking at those fun outfits as a challenge. 

I WILL find that 300 dollar sweater for 3 dollars. I will find those high heels that I have been pining over... somewhere soon. And I do. 

So, here are my newest challenges for this fall.

 I am in love with these outfits and these styles and want to incorporate them into my wardrobe.

 But I want to do it the cheep way. 

Australia Wedding.

I am back home and already looking through pictures, which, will be coming your way shortly.
If you remember from earlier posts, I was just recently up in Washington hiking with my two best friends. After we finished, we all went to our old teacher (and my current employer at the camps that I went to in Australia and Whales) and our good friend's wedding in Seattle on Bainbridge Island. It was incredible. And stressful. I was handed a clipboard and put in charge. I also did all of the flower arrangements. It all turned out to be a smashing success and I am so thankful that I could give them a bit of peace of mind on their wedding day. You see, they have already gotten married TWICE this year. They have had ceremonies in Costa Rica AND Australia. (And now Seattle) I got the opportunity to be at the gathering in both Australia and Seattle. I know that the pictures from the wedding most recently are going to be INCREDIBLE. But they aren't up yet. Boo.
You all know how much I LOVE weddings though, so I thought I would put a few pictures from the wedding in Australia that I attended. Enjoy!

Angel From Montgomery

I bought a used acoustic guitar from a grimy

pawn shop coming down highway 1 yesterday.

I own a fake Fender.

Her name is Lucy and she's beautiful.

She makes due with my poorly trained hands

strumming her strings the wrong way.

She sings sweet, the only two cords I know.

It was around exit 552,

That I began to miss you again.

So instead of calling you to rehash painful wounds,

Lucy kept me company as I sat barefoot in the sand.

On that forgotten California coast last night.

Her smooth wooden body held my hands, keeping them busy.

I was no longer empty. My lap was full of music.

I had something to distract my heart from loneliness.

And there in that solitary second the waves began

to make my sorrows into something to sing about.

My busy brain feels hushed for a moment.

Letting in the simple sound of a single tune.

I can hear the rhythm coming from me.

I am here... only here. 

Not all who wander are lost.

120 miles.
Finished.
I am dark.
My legs permanently look "swoll"
My hair is two shades lighter.
My stomach two sizes smaller.
I can run without stopping.
I can hang my food in trees.
I can walk 14 miles in a day with a 55 pound pack on my back.

I wrote less in my journal than I had planned.
I didn't think much about my life goals much.
I thought about grilled cheese sandwiches and hot showers.
I didn't fight with my friends.
We snuggled each night, thankful for surviving another day on wild trail and slapped bugs off each other.
We laughed when things weren't funny because we liked the way the sound cut through the silence of the woods. We ate dehydrated food and dreamed of greasy fries and fresh veggies.
We were the youngest girls on the trail, doing the hardest section of the p.c.t (Pacific crest trail) in washington.
We finished 120 miles in 10 days.
We did it.
And I am the happiest and proudest I have ever been of myself and my body.
I am sure I will write more later, but as of now... A few pictures to keep you guessing.
Xoxo