A 60's vibe

I put together this modern 60's looking outfit today and kinda loved it, the whole look made me think of Sher and how lovely the 60's must've been.

The outfit is kind of all over the place, but seems to fit together quite nicely! I thrifted this cute top last week and couldn't wait to find an outfit to wear with it, I also loved the way it goes with my faux fur vest from H&M.

 

These awesome boots were a gift from my sister, luckily we both wear a 5/6 in shoes! I love the detailing on them and how they sort of mirror my top in pattern! These boots definitely have a *ren fair/larping* quality about them that I simply adore.

I'll never grow tired of this purse, it's just too darn classy.

 I really wasn't sure what kind of necklace to wear with this outfit since I don't really have "statement" necklaces yet, so I decided to layer my more intimate necklaces and I really love the look of them all together!

For the big bangle bracelet, I took old fabric and wrapped it around an old bracelet that never fit me, with the added material, it fits great and looks super fun and chic!

shoes {gifted}, top {thrifted}, skirt, faux fur vest, & tights H&M, purse ModCloth, necklaces Silpada & hand made.


 xox, modern dame

p.s., in case anyone's interested:

Busy Birdies

As the title of this post implies, we have been some busy little birdies! The past few weeks have been non-stop go, go, go! It's been really hard to keepup with weekly posts, so I made a point to do this one ;} 

In this post I decided to bring along our bird, Marley. She's a sunconure and nearly 2 years old. Marley and Aaron are best friends. Marley likes me, but loves him. She's a pretty smart birdie, although very loud. If she's not saying "He-llo" she's squawking for Aaron's attention, which can be tiring some days, so we like to bring her on small walks to keep her calm and happy :}

It was pretty cool that her feather colors were the same as my shirt! Aaron loves to say, "look at how nice Marley's dressed today, what with her amazing coat and clown pants." Some days she simply outdresses me. 

When I saw this pencil skirt at the thriftstore, I nearly died. It's just too cute and super fun! I really love how it looks with the black tights and heels, it made me feel very tall and professional, with a casual twist. 

dress, shoes, purse, and pencil skirt {thrifted}, tights, owl necklace, & earrings forever21, faux fur vest H&M

xox, a modern dame

Steps To Maintaining A Healthy Body & Mind

I had a long conversation with Aaron's mother over Christmas about a seminar she went to which talked about toxic people in the work place. This topic didn't really apply to me, personally, but the solutions presented were amazing in terms of bettering one's health and wellness.

~

Here are the three different goals one must meet in order to truly start to have a balanced emotional and physical healthiness within themselves.

1. Exercise.

30 minutes of exercise a day can:

Relieve stress
Improve sleep
Increase interest in intimacy
Increase endurance, stamina, and energy
Increase happiness & healthiness
Reduces fatigue
Maintains a healthy weight
Reduces cholesterol 
Improves cardiovascular fitness
Increases self love
Increases motivation

Aaron and I started out by jogging two times a week for an hour, to going to the gym 4 times a week for 2-3 hours. You start to feel empowered and healthy. Your body starts to crave the healthy foods and long walks, which are so relaxing!

2. Meditation, Religion, or Yoga.

This part is to create a sense of balance in your life. All three of these are designed to relax and nourish you.

Meditation & Yoga are similar in that they help your mind be at peace, to cleanse you.

Religion helps you put your worries into the hands of something higher than yourself, which can relieve a large amount of stress and increase a healthy mental state.

I, personally, do Yoga every day. Every morning I wake myself up with a light yoga session that helps me get up and out of bed without feeling "pushed" out. I've recently been trying more meditation, which I have a harder time with. I love Tera Styles's yoga tutorials on YouTube, they definitely help get you motivated!

3. Spending time with friends.

This one, at first, I had a hard time believing would benefit my mental state, but the truth is it will and it does. I have, for the past month, been spending way more time with my friends than I typically would as the majority of my days are spent with my fiance.

When I started hanging out with my friends more, I started to feel a sense balance when I came home to my fiance. I felt like all the things I needed to get off my chest that he may not have necessarily understood, were heard and resolved, just by spending those few hours with my girlfriends/friends.

~

After utilizing these steps, I've found that I sleep better, I feel more energized, find that small issues that I would normally be upset by do not phase me in the least. I have recently started to feel really, really great about myself and my life. I'm accomplishing more of my goals and finding more peace with myself.

Not everyday is bliss, but most are and that is what keeps me going ;}

xox, a modern dame

Liebster Awards

Cassidy from Things Like Skeleton Keys & Me nominated me for the Liebster Award. Thanks Cassidy!

This award is like a chain mail style letter given to up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers to help promote them.

The Rules

• Each person must post 11 things about themselves
• Answer the questions that the nominator set for you, then create 11 questions for your nominees
• Choose 11 people with less than 200 followers and link them in your post
• Go to their page and tell them
• No tag backs 

11 "About Me"'s:

1. I am a freelance artist. I absolutely love to draw and paint!

2. I'm an Aries, which pretty much means nothing to you unless you care, in which case; you now know I am hard headed, vain (obviously), passionate, and daring.

3. Number 3 is my favorite number. It reminds me of deep violets and Wednesday afternoons.

4. I grew up reading Harry Potter and will always have an amazing connection to those books. I went through some severe depression and those stories were my safe haven.
 
5. I am writing/illustration a children's book as well as working on a novel. Both are trying, but amazing goals to be met!

6. My family is pretty big. I have 3 sisters and 1 eldest brother. My two older sisters are married with two children, one with twins, the other with a small son and daughter. My brother was married last year in April and is planning for his first child! My youngest sister is a free spirit with more wit and sass than most adults I know. I love my siblings dearly and miss them all the time.

7. My boyfriend, Aaron, has a 5 year old daughter. She has my heart, this one!

8. I have three addictions, chocolate, tea, and thrifting.

9. We have over 5 pets on our home. A cat (miss toffie), a sunconure (miss marly), a snake/sandboa ( miss pumpkin), a mexican redknee tarantula (eeek!), and several aquatic pets that Aaron cares for. We've had jellyfish, puffer fish, octopus....

10. My front tooth broke in half during some immature shenanigans in LA last year, half of that tooth is ceramic.

11. I have two tattoos, one of a small fairy on my right  hip line, the other under my right collar bone, that reads, "passion rules reason" - its a wizards rule.

Cassidy's Random Questions List

1. How many shoes do you own?

That is a loaded question. I have an unhealthy obsession with heels now that I'm older. As a teen I owned one pair of shoes: Vans.

Now? Well...

2. If you only had one beauty product on a deserted island, what would it be?

This adorable owl lip balm my friend bought me:

3. If you could choose to have anyone's closet, whose would it be?

I want every article of clothing that Sarah from Classy Girls Wear Pearls owns. 

  
Just look at how classy that dame is!

 4. Favorite Disney Film?

Yeah...

 

5. What's your maternal grandmothers name?

Betty. 

Always makes me think of Betty Rubble, or Betty Boop.

6. What is the best thing you've ever eaten?

Shawarma!

It's an Arabic meal with a variety of different meats and seasonings wrapped in a pita bread, similar to that of a gyros. AMAZING. My mom would make it for me on special days when we lived in Holland, I haven't eaten the meal in over 8 years.

7. If you could win a shopping spree to any store, which would it be?

Ugh. Probably Zara. I love me some vintage, but Zara is absolutely fabulous in every way!

8. What is your favorite perfume?

Falling in Love by Philosophy. Aaron bought me a bottle some years back and I simply adored the aroma. Silky sweet!

9. What blogger/bloggers inspire you the most?

In no particular order:

BleuBird Vintage

M loves M

A Clothes Horse

Delightfully Tacky

Gala Darling

A Beautiful Mess

Kendi Everyday

Things Like Skeleton Keys & Me

Classy Girls Wear Pears

Color Me Nana

The Shades of Monet Chronicles

The Mad Twins 

Fashion Freaks

hearted girl

and many, many more....

9. If you had to watch a 90s sitcom for the rest if your life, which would it be?

Buffy, duh!

10. What color is your kitchen?

"Not appealing" in sickly off-white.

My 11 questions:

1. What is your fondest memory?

2. What advice would you give your younger self, if you could?

3. If you could choose a film to describe your life, which would it be?

4. Name 2 guilty pleasures.

5. What was the nicest compliment you've ever received?
6. Planet Earth is crumbling, you need to move to Mars, what do you bring with?

7. You rub a magic lamp! Boom! Genie asks, "What are your three wishes?"

8. What is your most treasured article of clothing/accessory?

9. What is your favorite YouTube channel?

10. If you could own any pet, what would it be?

11. If you could be fluent in any language, which would it be? 

My 11 Nominees

(will update)

xox, a modern dame

Sweet Dreams

I thought that instead of creating a collage of my Ruche item wishlist, I'd brush up on some more drawing and create a "scene" with all of my new favorites!

Some of these items have and will be out of sale before I have a chance to buy them, but I feel like I already own them after painting this :}

1. Force Of Beauty Heels By Poetic Licence

2. Nectarine Smoothie Scarf 

3. Amber Fate Necklace

4. Love Interest Scalloped Dress In Cream

5. Quaint Woodlands Printed Blouse

6. Boulevard Stroll Collared Sweater

7. New Day Polka Dot Blouse In Mint

8. Sweet Peach Collared Cardigan

Mmm, what sweet dreams I dream when I look at Ruche Items

xox, a modern dame

Sunlight Secrets

So I finally had some extra funds to buy a few things on my Ruche Wish List, first being these Eternal Light Earrings that I absolutely adore. Unfortunately they are now sold out, but thankfully Ruche has a variety of adoring jewelry to choose from!

I am simply in love with these navy oxfords  they go with so many outfits and seem to be this thrifted dress's soul mate! I am so happy with this purchase, its overwhelming!

This belt is simply divine  I definitely have plans for it. I was quite surprised how cute it looked with the cardigan without making it seem too*overdone*

earrings, belt, & shoes {Ruche}, dress, cardigan, & purse {thrifted}

Again, I just couldn't be happier with these little statement pieces, they really brought this outfit to life,and I hope, many more.

xox, a modern dame

High Tides

Aaron and I took the day today and decided to visit the beach since it had been so long since we'd watched the tides. It was a lovely day, the breeze felt wonderful and I can sense myself yearning for warm weather once again. I'll definitely miss the coldness and warm winter coats, but I'm looking forward to all the beautiful days spring has to offer!

For this particular look, I decided to keep it a bit more casual, as I wanted to walk around the beach comfortably. I paired my denim jeans with a simple off white long sleeve, some basic boots, and a knitted coat.

The coat really throws the whole look together, I think. It worked quite well with the beach look, which I thought was kind of surprising! I brought along my light pink purse to add some color to my otherwise neutral look. 

The boots were a steal, I got them at payless for $25-, knocked down from $59.95! They're really comfy and water resistant! 

These cute rose hoop earrings were $3.99 at Forever21, how I love that shop! 

The day only got better after the quick shoot, we had lunch at Cheesecake Factory, drank mojitos and indulged in some cheesecake. We've been exercising and running a lot, so it was a treat!

xox, a modern dame

A Winter Delight

It's been quite some time since my last post, this is both due to the Holidays as well as a tiny hiccup in my creative center. I am sincerely grateful for my loving family and amazing friends, without them I don't know if I would have been able to push through. Some days are just tough and it's crucial to have someone you can turn to.

I had planned to take the camera with to my Sister's for Christmas and then to San Francisco for some shoots, but I decided against it. I wanted to just *focus* on myself and really enjoy my time with everyone.

After my much-needed vacation, Aaron and I decided to go have a little date since we got back to O.C. early and brought his camera along for the ride.

We went to Big Bear Mountain and drove around Running Springs, it was an absolute ball! Here are some images of my snow outfit:

Cassidy from Things Like Skeleton Keys & Me bought me these adorable owl earrings from Ruche for Christmas. She is such an amazing person, I am so lucky to know her! Thank you, Cassidy!  

 hat & cashmere shirt {gifted}, dress & leggings maskye, coat & knitted cardigan forever21, earrings Ruche, boots DSW

I just had to snap one of this cute fellow

After that, Aaron and I drove back down the mountain and enjoyed the fantastic view.

It had been a while since I'd seen such a view, so I thoroughly enjoyed it. On our way home we listened to Young Blood by The Naked and Famous. It really lifted my spirits and moved me.

It was a wonderful start to 2013, I'm excited to see what the rest of the year will bring. :}

xox, a modern dame