Witch Baby

annnnd i'm finally getting used to having black hair. for a while there i was having a hard time recognizing myself in the mirror! lol.

so this top is hilarious solely based on the fact that its shape is a square. it seriously looks like a tablecloth...but i like it. i like the flowy-ness of it all, especially when i extend out my arms and it looks like i've got bat wings. plus i feel like a total witch baby when i wear it--especially now with the witchy hair! 

top: threadsence, jeans: kohls, boots: vagabond via urban (on sale!), necklaces: erica weiner & threadsence, bracelets: vintage & vanessa mooney, rings: vintage & erica weiner, bag: fjallraven kanken mini (now found at urban!), lip color: make-up forever rouge artist intense no. 48

i need more days at the park with D. now that our schedules don't coincide with the same free days we hardly ever have time to spend together during the day, hence the lack of outfit photos around here. oh, adulthood!

Black.

I suppose now would be a good time to mention that I got rid of the teal in my hair. I was pretty bummed about letting it go because I have never before felt so "me" until I went teal but, it's been a long time with it and I needed a change. A fresh start for 2014 if you will. But of course, knowing me, you know I had to do it my way--so i mixed leftover teal with the black and it created a freak color so indoors it's black and in the sun it's a witchy black with a greenish tint. Come on, you know me, I couldn't just let it go 100%, but honestly, i'm stoked for it. I like it and that's all that matters. Now moving on to try to tame my bangs to do the middle part thing and eventually get layers so I can try to rock a 70s rocker babe look. Onward!

dress: Ruche, shoes: Betsey Johnson via Macy's (sold out, similar) , necklace: Erica Weiner, glasses: Derek Cardigan, groceries: Sprouts ;)

In Dreams: Free People January 2014 Catalogue!

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

Have you guys ever fallen in love with a dress so much that it hurt? LOL okay, exaggeration aside, how can you not love this FP New Romantics Delphine Dress [1]? I am seriously so in love I want to cry because i just cannot justify this purchase right now. Take a look at this dress, see the back? IT'S PERFECT!!!! I. NEED. IT. I just, i do. SIGH. I also need it in the black. it's just too good. I can't even form full comprehensive sentences i'm so captivated by this dress. I need to sell my soul or something just so i can buy that dress. 

Craziness aside, i'm so stoked about this January catalogue because so many pieces are sooooo good. It was hard narrowing it down to just ten pieces because everything was super awesome. Like this romper [6], what!? It's so freaking awesome--i don't even wear rompers. I know this romper would really look great only on girls with small breasts but damn, if i owned this i would make some alterations to the top part to make it work for my girls, because let me tell you, i don't need them in anyone's face. But this romper is so awesome i would make an exception for it in my wardrobe. 

This New Romantics Pinnacle Mesh top [7] is super perfect for the ever present summer weather we have here in SoCal--I know i would live in this top! 

Overall, SO MUCH GOODNESS for this January's catalogue. Now i'm gonna go and balance my checkbook and figure out how long it's going to take me until i can afford the Delphine Dress. le sigh. 

2014

It’s 2014! Hooray! Maybe I’ll actually post often! Okay I’m not going to promise anything. I gotta say, I’m so freakin excited that 2013 is now OVER!!!! Yes, four exclamation marks because that’s just how done I am with last year. It was a really tough year for me but don’t worry guys, I totally understand that you have to go through bad times to find the good times. So here’s to looking at the positive.

Although 2013 was literally a hot mess for me there was tons of stuff I learned and experienced lots of exciting things. For example:

• D & I moved in together
• I learned how to ride public transportation
• I quit my retail job of 6.5 years and am a million times happier
• Learned to explore a new city
• Began to make better eating choices (75% gluten free, yeah!)
• Successfully finished my first internship
• Played photographer at my good friend’s wedding
• Went on lots of hikes with D
• Finally mastered the art of Pot Roast

And now for 2014, I want to find a job that pays me well so I can buy a new car. Don’t get me wrong, I love public transportation, but some things are just hard when you don’t have a car…like grocery shopping, or seeing your mom whenever you want to. I want to be healthier! We’re already eating mostly paleo but I want to go on more hikes and be outdoors more often, relax and such. I want to rearrange the apartment so it actually feels like we live here. I want to be more organized and I want to work on more crafty projects. I want to cook more often, even though washing dishes is the bane of my existence. I want to spend more time with friends who are willing to put as much effort as I am into the friendship. I want to be more independent and be okay with doing things on my own more often. Something happened to me (I don’t know what) somewhere between college and post college where I sort of lost any desire to do things on my own and find it hard to push myself to do things. But I’ve started with little things, like eating brunch at my favorite local spot, walking to Urban (lol I know, but its so close to me I don’t even have to cross the street) and lurking the sales rack on my own, taking the bus to meet friends, etc.

But seriously, I am super ready for some changes around here. I am learning to accept the universe’s greatness and know it has some really awesome things in store for me this year. So I’ll leave you with this photo I took today on the Surfliner on my way back home from Oceanside. 

Yeah, I took a solo trip for some freelance work i do out there, and it was super relaxing and awesome. I kind of enjoyed doing my monthly insta updates, but I’m not sure if I want to recount old business from last year. If I feel up to it I will!

Lookin' Back: September in Review

all photos from my instagram: @atthisvolume

Hello friends, I’m back from the dead! Well, I’m not making any promises about a casual return back here because I gotta tell ya, life is happening to me. I find it really hard to keep up with this here blog, so you guys who blog with consistency are my heroes! And I promise that I do read your blogs I just don’t have the time to comment. That’s pretty much what my bus ride to and from work consists off—catching up on blogs on the Bloglovin’ app. Haha. I was going to give you a detailed recap of what’s been going on but I think I’ll combine that as a September In Review post okay? Ok.  It’s just easier on all of us ;)

• went bowling with D for the first time in FOREVER. okay so it was actually my second time going bowling EVER. so it still counts. i'm still awful! My aunt was a pro at bowling so i remember growing up and going to her bowling matches and such but i never took any interest. now that i'm an adult i'm totally into it though! i wish she was still around to teach me all her tricks. i think we decided that we want to make bowling more of a thing since we live so close so we might just invest in our bowling shoes because that rental fee adds up! hehe

• saw this ART sticker on a door on my way to trivia. i'm too into trivia so i never really have my phone out (because duh i dont want to get accused of cheating), i hardly ever document trivia days. i feel bad right now i havent been to the last two trivias and i'm missing my friends already! anyway, i seem to have trailed off, this was basically a reminder that art is everywhere you look you just have to look closely sometimes.

• this isn't really a specific recap from the month but does this happen to you when you are going out with your partner and then you realize you guys match or are wearing similar color schemes? it drives me crazy sometimes so much that if D and i end up wearing something similar i either change or make him change, depending on who wore it first. haha. sometimes though, neither one of us wins that battle and we end up looking like it's twin day.

• Philip had a bday rager one of the September weekends and it was great time because it was all trivia buddies getting together outside of trivia. I even re-did my hair as you can tell. The night got really crazy and dramatic towards the end though. It was honestly one of the biggest headaches ever so i'm just going to ignore it and move on. oh but during the time i was having fun, someone showed up with Grumpy Cat cake pops for Phil, they were really cute!

• this is a ridiculously fun way to repurpose these blocks don't you think!? the people at Ruche Inc. are obsessed with succulents and i think i am too now! while my internship ended beginning of September, towards the end of September i started at the warehouse as an order fulfillment associate for a few days a week. it's not glamorous work, like styling, but it's not half bad either. it gives me something to do and i enjoy it! i get to be on my own most of the time so it's really cool. only bad thing about it is that some days depending on when i'm scheduled, if i dont have the car, i have to take the bus at 6:00am! SIX. like. i've never been a morning person so this has been particularly straining on me. but it is really easy to get to by bus, it just takes two hours (for a drive that's usually 22 minutes!!!). but whatever, i'm grateful to even have a job.

• on one of the weekends Debbie and i went to the Lululemon warehouse sale at the convention center and it was R I D I C U L O U S. we waited in line for FIVE hours. but we did score on major things. it was my first warehouse sale experience and it was pretty exciting not gonna lie. i'm not that into Lululemon, because hello that price tag is ridiculous, but at a major discounted price how could i resist? We went back the second day because we didnt really have anything to do and wanted to see what was left and how much more discounted the garments were, and i'm so glad we went! we scored even more on the second day. well, i didn't really buy anything for me, but D is the one who totally scored! he didnt have any workout clothes so i decided to be a nice girlfriend and get him some! we're totally prepared for hikes now!

• last weekend of September my childhood friend Angie got married and became Mrs. Catano! I'm really proud of her for hyphenating her name though, hahaha. She had a Mexican style wedding and it was awesome. It was held at a mission! talk about staying on theme. haha. I played photographer that day and while it was stressful work, i'm really glad i did it, and am glad that Angie put enough trust in me to let me do pictures however i wanted. i wish her happiness and all the best in her marriage!

• and while we're on that topic, i have a ridiculous amount of photos to still edit so i most likely will be absent from the blog a lot. life is happening, photo editing, making dinner, and being tired are all things that contribute to my absence, so again, sorry, but i'm taking care of life!

• lastly, this past month i've spent less time online, giving me more time to explore real world and see the beauty of the details. it's weird, i know, because i spend a lot of time on the internet, lurking blogs, on facebook, job hunting, but taking a walk across the street to get cucumber lemonades is enough to freshen up my soul and make me feel good. i suppose vitamin D IS actually good for you. haha. 

well friends, thanks for tuning in! add me on instagram if you'd like! it's more up to date with the daily haps! let's keep in touch!!