worth it/quality sunglasses

one/two/three/four/five/six

Once upon a time in my early twenties, I resided firmly in the camp of cheap sunglasses.  I strongly believed that if I purchased myself a pair of nice ones, I'd lose them just as quickly as I do the plastic Forever 21 pairs that are scattered throughout my car at any given time.  Truth be told, I probably would have - and did once, on a float trip a few years back.  If you are now the proud owner of a pair of river-rescued folding wayfarers in tortoise, please be nice to them.  

Now I am (the obviously super mature and adult age of) 25, and my main activity on sunny summer weekends doesn't involve nearly the quantity of alcohol it once did, so lo-and-behold!  I am a person capable of owning a nice pair of sunglasses for as long as I please.  Darrell, however, not so much.  He is a prolific loser/breaker of sunglasses.  Although I find that to be true of men in general, have you ever noticed how much more often they lose things than women do?  And how often it's us that happens to find whatever's lost?  So Darrell has one pair of nice sunglasses, and then he borrows from my embarrassingly large collection of Ray-Bans with close supervision.  Sometimes, on occasion, Fitz borrows them as well.  

I thought before it gets well into summer we'd all better get ourselves a new pair for 2014, and these are my picks!  I already tracked down pair #3 on eBay last week, and I love them.  Note though, that not all of these are Karen Walker-crazy expensive.  Pairs four and six are from my favorite affordable eyewear site, Warby Parker.  Darrell really needs a pair with prescription lenses since he doesn't often wear contacts, and since you can get these WITH the prescription for a ridiculously awesome price, I might trust him......might.  

These particular pairs aren't available quite yet, they're part of a sneak peek of the summer line for Light Sleeper, Heavy Dreamer readers.  For now I would definitely check out what they already have in store - you can request up to 5 trial pairs of glasses or sunglasses for free (yes, 100% free, including free shipping) to try on at home - just another reason they're so awesome.  

summer salad series/watermelon basil feta

If you're lucky enough to have good watermelon this early in the season, then it's pretty much required that you make this salad.  

I'm from southern Illinois, and we have a very distinct way of eating watermelon around here.  We salt it.  I know, it sounds crazy, but if you like chocolate dipped pretzels and candied peanuts, you might get where I'm coming from.  Salted watermelon is the ultimate in salty-sweet, and so is this salad.  

Watermelon & Feta Salad

serves 2

1.5 cups watermelon, cubed

3 cups arugula

handful fresh basil leaves, shredded

2 oz feta cheese

olive oil and balsamic, whisked together

plenty of salt and pepper

Basically, you toss everything but the dressing together, then mix in the dressing and season to your liking.  Pretty simple, really delicious.  

all.things.girly

the more you read, the more things you will know. the more that you learn, the more places you'll go - dr seuss

This past week has been exactly what I wanted it to be - I spent it reading tons of books, cooking up all the amazing produce I bought at farmer's market this weekend (recipes for a yummy way to use your sweet corn HERE), and listening to Darrell become more & more attached to this guitar - a sound I love much more than hearing his xBox turn on!

I'm getting to know the local librarian much better now, since I become quite the reading fanatic in the summertime. I have an iPad, which I could buy books on, but they certainly aren't free on the Kindle & iBooks stores, so for now the library suits me just fine. Plus, free books equals more $ for nights out. One of the perks of living in a city is that the library network can find you just about any book you want, and although I love the convenience of having access to my book always, through my iPad, iPhone, whatever, there is nothing quite like a library book.

My current recommendations would be "History of Love" by Nicole Krauss - so beautifully written and heartbreaking. Afterwards I read "Water for Elephants" in just a day. It was quite addictive and also very beautiful, but definitely more of a summer "beach read."

"Maybe if they all could be combined - art, rock and fashion. Those were always my favorite things."-Stephen Sprouse

sanity and happiness are an impossible combination

Well, so much for our "slow summer" plan. I've had a sort of nutso work week, and on top of that my car was hit & run, and then I got into an accident in the car I was borrowing from my Dad while mine is getting fixed. So now me and Darrell are working with one car to share - something I know many people do, but I'll admit it's harder than i thought! I like being able to go and do as I please.

However, we don't have to go anywhere until next Friday (when I'll get my car back), our best friends are out of town for a bit, my biggest plans for the next few weeks are the upcoming Harry Potter movie & yoga classes, so I think you can officially say we're on hiatus with the exception of work.

I've also been slowly adding to my wardrobe again after a few months of devoting all extra cash to fixing up our house the way I want it, so outfit posts may or may not resume soon - stay posted! I still have a few things on my home improvement list - namely, randomly framed maps & photos in a large collage over our sofa. I all of a sudden felt like our walls were too white, and I've been feeling a need to cover them with more art ever since. Maybe pictures of the changes soon....

Also, I don't know if you've noticed, but I added a link to a blog I started a few days ago in the top left corner (all vegan food, and other random posts related to my new-found way of eating) so check that if you're into foodie blogs!

"Maybe if they all could be combined - art, rock and fashion. Those were always my favorite things."-Stephen Sprouse

photo credits: i love wildfix, tumblr

"It's all happening...." - Penny Lane

Bonnaroo countdown is on: according to my app-7 days, 2 hours, and 21....20....19 minutes until Centeroo gates open and I'll be dancing to the music. If all goes as planned I expect my trip to look a lot like the pictures above. And if you're coming along, take a look at these and start dreaming.

"Maybe if they all could be combined - art, rock and fashion. Those were always my favorite things."-Stephen Sprouse

the.times.they.are.a.changin

I started packing today - a process that always stirs up silly feelings about memories and "how life will never be the same" as it is right now. I always have mixed feelings about moving, because there's always the thought of what you're leaving behind. That isn't so much tangible things when what you're leaving is Charleston, IL - our house is crumbling down around us a little more every day, and the only activity here is Wal-Mart. Charleston always felt a little bit like a "pause" in life - Darrell was still in school a year behind, and I was already working full time, albeit in a college town. Some days it felt like we had only halfway started life. Monday thru Friday meant work, while Saturday and Sunday meant frat parties and kegs. Leaving here together, we're really going to be on the same page.

Still, when I think about the intangibles - the fact that there will never be another "first house" again, I get a little nostalgic. This will always be the place where we learned to live together.

We have a lot to look forward to in our second home. While our first house was as cheap as possible, the kind of rental where at least one thing is always broken, our second place together is new and shiny, and we'll be the first ones to ever make it our own. The preparation for moving is daunting, it seems like I've been dreaming about moving to the city forever, and now it's so close to happening that we are really getting excited. We have lots of friends close to St. Louis, and too many plans for summer already - trips to the lake, trying out Bikram yoga, the farmer's market on Saturdays, recently opened wine bars, and (probably going to be our most frequent summer activity) baseball games at Busch stadium. What better time to go to a new city and explore than right at the start of summer.

All this crazyness is going to pay off - life wouldn't be any fun at all without change.

"Maybe if they all could be combined - art, rock and fashion. Those were always my favorite things."-Stephen Sprouse

i want indian summer

Around this time of year it seems as though everyone is hoping, praying, wishing for fall to get here as soon as possible so they can slip back into their fur jackets, leather leggings, and plaid flannels.

I am not one of those people.

I cling to my bare legs, freckled skin, and cotton dresses until September's end, when I start to get goosebumps from lack of tights under my chiffon dresses, and finally cave into the beginning of fall. I soon miss the warmth of these nights, and the freedom that comes with summer, so I refuse to give into the draw of these shiny, rich, pretty new clothes. My current inspiration? Any look from the spread above.

I'm claiming this as my personal August style reference - after all, I suppose I was born in Texas.

picture credits: knight cat

"Maybe if they all could be combined - art, rock and fashion. Those were always my favorite things."-Stephen Sprouse