So inspired by this Norwegian tumblr and particularly, these laid-back photos of their friends that I found there. It almost makes me want to go out and buy a nice digital (gasp!) camera! It would be nice to be able to shoot at a moments notice, instead of having to find and load film and figure out all of your settings... huh?

We'll see.

I had so much fun hanging with our friends during the Holidays at our place this year. Of course we missed our friends on the coasts so much, but we had a surprise visitor in town from SF, so that was a huge treat for everyone. And the film photos I am known to take at parties turned out especially well, so I thought I would post them here for the record!

Shenanigans.

My beautiful friend Carla Alexandra Rodriguez has been killing it lately. Check out some of her new photographs!

She's also been making some great work with another friend of mine, Zoey Melf, under the moniker Photo Projecto. Seriously, guys, these tintypes are not only a complicated and historically important art form, but they also have a particularly weird, dreamy quality that could only come out of their fingertips. You can see more of her work, here and here.

I hardly ever wear skirts anymore. Aside from the occasional maxi skirt / dress, I've almost completely forgotten how to wear them. But then I spotted this skirt in a drawer and decided to figure it out. This is a pretty crazytown outfit for me, you cant hardly see the light blue and white vertical pinstripes on this blouse in the pictures, but I assure you it is striped. So I'm feeling pretty psyched about my successful skirt-wearing and pattern-mixing!

In retrospect, I think this outfit is comprised entirely of Emma things! I snagged the blouse and skirt from her before heading out to LA (lucky me!), and the booties (you can tell me if I'm wrong lady, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess) are a pair that she happens to have too :) Funny how things work out sometimes.

the deets: blouse and skirt (H&M): from Emma // booties: Target, thrifted

You guys, I am obsessed with photobooths (who isnt?), especially the old-timey "real" photographs kind. And I was lucky enough to find no less than THREE of them within the span of a recent week for my friends and I to take advantage of. It's been too long! I am also sooooo happy to see that there are more photobooths being installed at bars/restaurants/places around town than there were just a few years ago. They were a dying breed, but I am so happy to see more all the time!

Although, I have to say, that digital photo frame booth at Memory Lanes bowling alley was pretty hilarious as well. Nice choice on the "marriage is a wonderful journey" frame, you guys! lol.

Up next, lots of film and instagram photos from the most photogenic wedding of two of my best friends in the universe! Many tears were shed, much fun was had and drinks imbibed. Stay tuned!

I have now officially not blogged almost all summer.

I have to be honest, once July rolled around, I was all like, hey how about a no-blogging summer?!? I have things to do, people to see, and I shouldnt be inside on the computer! Welp, I couldnt stay away folks. Nope, I've just had too much to report on. What a crazy hectic summer it has been so far. I have been trying my darnedest to soak up as much sun and relaxation as possible amongst the crazy. And so, I will leave you with the first of several summer posts, in chronological order, a (lengthy) sampling of film photographs from our trip to Istanbul, Turkey from back in June. It was such a great trip and the chance of a lifetime. But, I just got the film back (I know! getting it processed and scanned was an ordeal.) I am so thankful... I hope all of you out there are taking as much time for yourselves and enjoying the summer as well.

PS: I have so much to report on: the trip, cabin-times, the patio! and backyard!, miscellaneous house projects, friends visiting from out of town, friends moving out of town, new babies coming into the world, BBQs, parties, epic thrifting trips and even some new personal work. (I know, I know, you know everything already because you follow me on Instagram, right?) Prepare yourself friends, it's gonna be great.

PPS: It feels good to be back.

Today, the birds were chirping, kids were outside laughing and playing football in the street, and Alex and I got darn near the whole house cleaned and a bunch of little projects finished! IT IS OFFICIALLY SPRINGTIME PEEPS. (Edit: It is not Springtime, it is Second Winter...) I'm over the moon excited, over here! And tomorrow I plan to eat myself silly at our annual friends brunch (photos to commemorate our 5th annual brunch to follow, for sure).

I actually wore this outfit to work the other day, and applied lipstick for evening. One of my absolute favorites to date. I wish I could just dress this simply and easily everyday! Well, I guess I try.

And a few angsty shots, for good measure...

white button up: F21
jeans: free shelf! (brand?)
suede booties: Jessica Simpson, DSW
gold bangle: Madewell
frames: vintage

YOU GUYS, I am getting so excited to attend my friends' upcoming SPACE PARTY! Any and all kinds of space related costumes will be in attendance, and all sorts of weird alien foods & beverages will be consumed. Last time around (yes, this is our second space-themed party, the last one was so epic we had to do it again! Flickr proof here!) my costume was pretty blah, and thrown together last-minute, but this time around I am determined to be prepared (there is a grand prize for the best costume... we are nerds.)

Emma and I went to the craft store last weekend to collect items for our costumes, and I ended up getting super inspired by all the weird plants and materials in the floral aisle. I even started construction and spray-painting some things the other night. I cant wait to see how it turns out! But to give you a little sneak peek, here are some of the inspirations I've gathered from the diverse corners of the internet. Think sort of a white ethereal moon-princess-type-creature. But with a little edge. ;)

This great outfit via The Fashion Void that is DC

The Childlike Princess from the Neverending Story

Moon Princess by McMugget on Deviantart

white leather harness by BCBG Max Azria via Elle (via an amazing DIY harness tutorial by DeSmitten)

Whitish alien plantssss

And of course, I cant decide what to do for a manicure yet but, GEMS? PEARLS? YES BOTH!

Exciting news! Alex and I just booked our plane tickets to Istanbul, Turkey for this summer! We had an amazing opportunity to meet up with Nick & Cassi, friends of ours who are now currently teaching in Kuwait, after a long sting teaching in Korea. On their summer teaching breaks, they fill their time with traveling around the world, and we all decided to meet up somewhere nearby Kuwait, and settled on the beautiful and fabled city of Istanbul!

I cant wait to check out the Grand Bazaar, the underground Basilica Cistern, drink lots of Turkish coffee and maybe even haggle for a beautiful turkish rug for Laurel! It will be the first time we've ever left North America, so we're super pumped. Let's just see how long that excitement lasts after I board the 12 hour flight to Europe right??

Do you have any exciting travel plans out there, friends? Anyone been to Istanbul and have recommendations??

HTTP://COUNTINGDOWNTO.COM