Wardrobe Architect Week 1

Have you heard of it? It’s the brain child of Colette’s Sarai Mitnick. Fueled by the rush of adding a new linen piece to my repertoire (the Wiksten dress above), I mad googled for my next pattern and discovered Colette and the Wardrobe Architect series. Ultimately, the series guides us in refining our choices and creating wardrobes we love. This summer I’m taking it on as a way to refresh my closet and create a stronger and deeper connection to the things I choose to have in my life. To sew more and buy less. To not only build a wardrobe, but to architect one with planning and clear thinking. Not minimal, mind you… a collection.

Sarai’s series runs over 13 weeks, each week focusing on a new topic of wardrobe planning. I’ve begun this week and will finish just before the Fall Equinox. This week is about individuality and putting to paper how our personal story influences the way we dress. Touching on our personal history, culture, philosophy, body image, climate, and the day-to-day, this week’s worksheet looks at how we’re all different, and lays a groundwork for the exercises to come.

Doesn’t that sound amazing!? Let’s do this together!! Read Sarai’s introduction to the series here, and then head over to Week 1! If you blog your own progress I’d love to see it (give me your link below!). Here’s to a carefully curated wardrobe that’s uniquely ours. Clink.

The Everyday

The Everyday is a discovery of beauty in the boring. Life is something to value and to celebrate, and I’d love to share in the beauty of your Everyday. Throw some my way by using the hashtag #BeautyInBoring on Instagram.

— Dusty miller is going in the flowerbeds this spring. I’m going to make that happen with a spiked lemonade beside me.

— Stretching—stretching always. I didn’t believe in its power until I felt myself unthaw for the first time after logging so many hours in front of the screen (which I do all day, every day). Awareness of your spine, your back, and your joints is an incredible gift that I encourage you to tap into, especially if you sit at a desk regularly.

— Cantaloupe! Guys! We went out for groceries the other night, and when I spotted these back in season, I danced all over inside. Summertime y’all.

— Shared lattes with my mother and uncle near their alma mater in one of my favorite spots of Ann Arbor, Mighty Good Coffee. Their concoctions never disappoint, and the vibe is perfect for relaxed conversation.

A Weekend Retreat in Alpena, Michigan

During the same trip as my time in Ossineke earlier this month, I spent most of my stay out around town with Chris and my parents. I had packed light, only bringing pieces I could walk in, lounge in, and shop in all on the same day. 

We spent our morning at the harbor. Among other favorite places around town, it’s become a given that we’ll wind up out on the breakwater any time I’m home. It’s one of those spots in a city everyone makes their own—dog owners, runners, boaters from the yacht club, angsty teens, and businessmen lunching from their cars. 

This time the lake was covered in ice, slowly thawing itself out, and in the coolest shades of slate and green, sometimes almost sea-glass green. Every once in a while we could hear the ice crackle apart and see tiny bubbles rising beneath the thin sheets of ice. 

I’ve been coming here since I was very little, climbing out over the rocks with my sister. Now that I think of that, good grief Mom! You must have been worried out of your mind!  But then again, maybe she had that mysterious mother’s sense and trust. Whatever it was, it taught me how to move on my feet and trust my footing, and connect with the earth beneath me. As a result, I grew up a little fearless around similar terrain. Several years ago while visiting my sister in Colorado, I decided to yolo and climb a waterfall barefoot, despite the explicit warning signs not to. Another time I took a series of photographs of my dress in the wind on the coastal breakwater in Southern France. When I got back down to the beach, one of the men we were traveling with was shocked at my gumption to climb up there, barefoot. I remember thinking, You kidding me? That was nothing. 

After a while we left for caffeine to Cabin Creek Coffee, which is my favorite coffee shop in the area. The menu is huge—HUGE—and they’ll still make you something you’re craving off-menu. Like a mocha chai. Which was out of this world. Thank you ladies. They also offer an original, full menu of Shakeology shakes. I immediately saw myself moving back, running every morning in some vibrant, kickass Nikes, and ending downtown for a protein shake. Dangerous, is what that is.

We ended up near the north end of town, taking a walk along the river where a brave soul was still ice fishing. The path takes you behind the old brewery, where I hold ten million and one memories. After things hit the fan in 2008, the brewery changed, and then eventually closed its doors. I can never walk past it without getting incredibly sappy and quiet and my heart just chokes itself out. You know something? And this is going to sound a little bit selfish, but, a part of me is at peace that it’s closed. Don’t get me wrong, the building is gorgeous and it’s on AMAZING real estate where tall ships dock, historic train tracks run through, and the summertime vibe has never been so killer… But it’s a place that was mine, and left when I left. It didn’t live on to become someone else’s, passing hands and bartenders and fresh 21-year-olds, then 22-year-olds… it closed. Sealing it’s last years inside that I was a part of. 

Anyway. 

I pulled myself away and after a couple of days we loaded up the car and headed back downstate. Looking around our home, I know now I'm ready to move. I'm ready for our next stop. I think I'm learning how restless my nature is, a bit rebellious and a bit headstrong. And until I find what's calling for me, we're ready to shake off the rugs, find new ground, see what else we're made of, and hit the road north whenever we feel like a Shakeology on the beach.

An Evening Walk in Ossineke

Last week we packed our suitcases and headed for my parents’ home up north. Ossineke (pronounced by locals, aw-seh-neek) is just south of Alpena, and holds some of my younger memories. As a family, we’d always drive through Ossineke en route to Harrisville to visit relatives—another northern village on the lake filled with charm (which I highly recommend you visiting for an ice cream and a trip to Modern Craft Winery’s tasting room).

I pulled a wool sweater from my mom’s drawer—something my grandmother gifted her when she was a teenager. It was the perfect layer for an evening on the beach. 

When we reached the water, the sand was dense from the rain and the air was filled with moisture. There was no longer an icy chill, and with the occasional light breeze, I was finally feeling spring. It was that feeling of everything slowly awakening and coming out from the heavy, cold winter, including our own senses.

We walked and combed the beach, and I found a shimmery, intact clam. One of my favorite things about beaches on the east side of the state is the color palette and textures found in the sand.

On our way back, we met a father who was out near the bank with his little girl. They were looking for minnows for her turtle who had slept all winter. Her dad said something like, “I’m not seeing any, babe,” and she shrieked in this tiny, adorable voice, “Where are all the minnows!?” I laughed right out loud. She’s going to be a good, concerned mama.

Three Things: College + Life

I wouldn’t call what I’m about to say groundbreaking, or even new. Honestly, I’m sure many of you use variations of these objects in your day-to-day, post-graduate life. But I’ve only just embraced these brilliant, obvious inventions in my final year of college (and I’m a lifer as you recall—what does that say). I’d love to go back and find myself as a freshman, only to hand these items over into her arms with a resounding, “You’re Welcome.”

Three indispensable things for merging college and a full life:

The shoe bag. Michigan State University’s campus is sprawling, and walking up to 20 or 30 minutes between classes is the norm. The winters and springs can be particularly dirty, salty, or just deep with snow, and wearing the same boots day in and day out becomes a drag. So many crisp and beautiful options in the closet remain untouched for months on end because the elements would just kill them. So I pack them! The key for me is something that slips on. Since I commute in boots without any laces or zippers, it makes for a quick changeout when I reach my building.

Evernote. I’m a list person. I’ll write it all down, and continuously revert back to my notes as I work. Evernote keeps me effortlessly organized as I shift from open-ended personal projects to planning a weekend visit to academic design deadlines. We all play 100 different roles, and Evernote keeps all of my roles at the forefront of my mind, everywhere, across all devices, all at once. My favorite thing about the app is that when I’m burned out with one project, I have a seamless, creative refresh by looking through another notebook of things to do.

A convertible clutch. I used to use a clutch that was big enough to hold the necessities and then some, and it would bounce from my backpack to a tote on my days off campus. That was fine, but let’s face it, who wants to take a tote on a quick coffee run—every time? Not only did the clutch lack a hands-free option, but I’d leave it in one bag, forget, and run out with another.

The clutch I use now is a game changer. It’s genuine leather and a year later, still looks brand new. The special touches, like the sleek profile and angled zipper keeps it edgy enough for evenings out, but is basic enough for the everyday run. On a school day I detach the strap and toss it in my backpack where it’s so slender it barely takes up any space. I can’t tell you how many people have asked me about it while at the art shop’s counter buying coffee after coffee, or when I’m out at night and a friend excitedly discovers it has a strap.

What's something that has made your life easier? Is there anything you would have loved to tell yourself?

date night + benjamin francis leftwich

Chris & I went to Ben Leftwich's concert Sunday night. It was the best show I've ever been to (and if he wasn't my favorite before, he sure is now. I'm still wearing the wristband!). We haven't stopped playing his records at home.

For the last song of the night, he came down from the stage & we all sat around him on the dark floor of the venue as he sang Atlas Hands on his acoustic guitar.

Sigh... so surreal.