Secret heart

dress: Ruche | cardigan: Target | shoes & belt: thrifted

Well, that blogging break was accidental! But as much as I missed posting for the last week and a half, I'm not going to let it bother me too much. I was busy having a wonderful holiday. Last Thanksgiving, I didn't take any days off other than the actual holiday itself...big mistake! Our office was the only one open on that Friday, and I arrived to an empty parking lot and dark hallways. Needless to say, it was rather difficult to concentrate. So this year, much older and wiser (ha!), I made sure to take off both Wednesday and Friday. 

With my delightfully long 5-day vacation, my family, Chris, and I traveled to Pittsburgh to see my brother and his family. Even though it had only been two months since I'd last been there, I had missed that city! I'm hoping to visit a lot more now that my brother lives there again. There's always so much to do, and I feel like I never have enough time to do it all...but I was able to fit in some wonderful quality time with my nieces and nephew, and several rounds of Dominion (a nerdy-yet-awesome game).

The weather was gorgeous and warm until the last morning we were there. That morning, I was awoken by my niece Sophia at 6:45 a.m. announcing the first snowfall. "Aunt Laura! Aunt Laura! It's winter!" I really don't like early mornings, and I really don't like snow (especially when I know I have to drive in it), but this time, there was something absolutely charming about both. I had to stand in wonder in front of the window for a little bit. My brother's street is full of quaint-looking houses of brick and stone, and there was just enough snow to dust them all. I know I'll tire of snow soon - very soon - but I think my niece's excitement was contagious.

Well, I've got a busy week ahead (modeling in a big fancy vintage fashion show on Thursday [whoops, Saturday], eek!) so I'll sign off now. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Has it snowed yet where you are?

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Thursday Three: 11.15.12

1. The most perfect house

I'm home sick from work today, and all I really want is to be as cozy as possible - and this tiny house looks like the perfect place to do it! For the life of me, I can't find any information about this place, but I'm going to make it my life goal to have a house just like it. (Probably with the exception of the antlers hanging at the top.)

2. DIY: how to break in your shoes in 2 minutes

Contrary to what my friend Tom thought, this is not a tutorial on how to have warm feet (though I'm sure it would do the trick nicely). Instead, it's a tutorial on how to break in your shoes if they're too tight - and it's incredible! My right foot is just bigger enough than my left that buying shoes can sometimes be a pain, so I'm grateful I found this. It can't work miracles, necessarily, but I've tried this on two pairs of shoes to great effect. Try it out yourself, and let me know how it works!

3. BBC's Sherlock

Chris and I have been on somewhat of a British TV kick, so I felt I would be remiss if I didn't tell you all about Sherlock. In case you couldn't guess, it's a  modern reimagination of the Sherlock Holmes stories. This is the one show I recommend pretty much everywhere I go. Everything about it - the acting, cinematography, writing, everything - is just brilliant. It's funny and suspenseful and has a villain that ranks up right next to Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker. There are only six episodes (though they're each an hour and a half), so it's not a huge time commitment - and just see if you can hold back the tears at the end of season 2's last episode. I'd tell you more, but it's better if you go in spoiler-free and just enjoy it for yourself.

And on that note, Chris and I are going to make (more) homemade hot chocolate and watch (even more) Doctor Who. Have a great weekend, everyone! What are you loving this week from around the web?

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The golden hour

 top: Ruche | skirt & belt: thrifted | shoes: Francesca's Collections

There have been times, especially lately, when I look at dark-haired ladies with something akin to envy, and I briefly consider going from redhead to ravenhead. But then a photoshoot like this happens - with the sun making everything glow - and I decide that I am actually quite happy with my hair. There's something magical about the golden hour, and I'm very glad Chris and I were able to capture it. It's so fleeting.

I'm a little bit overwhelmed by all the attention this little old blog has been getting in the past week! Between mentions on Tieka's blog and being featured on ModCloth's blog and Tumblr, I've picked up more than a few new readers here. Welcome! I'm still trying to catch up with my inbox, so bear with me. I've had a busy week - perhaps best illustrated by the fact that my Bloglovin' reading list stands at a daunting 296 unread posts. I'm eager for the evening when I can make a big mug of homemade hot chocolate and make a dent in that list.

Speaking of homemade, I'm hoping that I'll have lots of cozy cold-weather recipes to share soon! Daylight savings time has made it harder than ever to do photos for outfit posts (it's already dark by the time I get home from work), so I think this blog may become a little bit more food focused in this cold season.

Though all is warm and golden in these photos, we're actually experiencing our first snowfall of the season here - so that's my cue to curl up with Chris and a hot drink and watch some Doctor Who. Have a great week, everyone!

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Urban mermaid

dress: vintage | belt: thrifted | shoes: Charlotte Russe

Ready for my nerdy little secret? I definitely themed this outfit around The Little Mermaid. Yes, the Disney movie. I re-dyed my hair recently (sorry, it's true - I'm not a natural redhead!) and it was so vibrant that it reminded me of a more true-to-life version of Ariel's hair...which would pretty much be a dream come true for my two-year-old self. I was utterly obsessed with The Little Mermaid when I was that age. Everything I owned had to have Ariel on it, and I would run around the house singing the songs, all the while wishing I had a mermaid tail. I don't know if I was just a brave kid or what, but my niece and nephew (ages 4 and 3) just watched it for the first time, and were apparently terrified of Ursula. My mom says I didn't even bat an eyelash at her.

Anyway, this dress has always reminded me of the sea; it shimmers, and has little pleated accents that remind me of fins. So finally I decided to embrace it and go as full-on Ariel as I could without donning a seashell bra. I don't think that would have gone over too well at work...

This past week has been a little bit insane, but even though I've been longing for some down time, I'm glad to be so busy. I submitted my latest column this morning, and now I get to start brainstorming for the January issue. I've been put in charge of a special DIY section...how fun is that? So, for the next few weeks, I'll be scouring the web for simple DIYs to complete, photograph, and write about. This will all be on top of my normal 40-hour-a-week job, but I'm hopeful that I'll have some awesome stuff to share by the end of it all! Does anyone know of any awesome websites with DIYs I should look into?

I've been coming up a bit short on sleep these past few days, so I think I'm going to call it a night. Thanks for all of the kind comments on my new layout - I read and appreciated every one!

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New layout + my first blogiversary

I've been wanting to do this...well, pretty much ever since I made this blog, almost exactly a year ago. So just in time for my blogiversary, here it is - my brand-new layout! This lovely header, painted by Chris, has been done since the summer, but I kept waffling about the design for the rest of the blog. I would come up with ideas and then promptly change my mind. But after a marathon blog-redesign session, I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

I have also added an about page and a contact page, so if you ever wanted to get in touch with me privately, it's now much easier to do so.

On another note, I just wanted to thank you all for your support over the past year. It's been a dream of mine for ages to have a blog, and this year has been better than I could have hoped for! I truly appreciate each and every one of your comments. ♥

Here's to another great year at The Joyful Fox!

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