6/24/11

friday flavors of the blogworld



Also via 
                                               Natalie Off Duty, Not So NakedLa Belle Oiselle, Ruby Slipper Journeys,
                                               The Golden Diamonds, Style in Lima, Local Honey, Cali Vintage 
And the last three, my total girl crush and inspiration these days,
the cutie farmer from Longest Acres.

It should be a good weekend.
When Phil gets home from work we're going to sit and do nothing, 
drink some beer and lay in the backyard with the dogs. 
Then we'll probably eat our fill of whatever good stuff is in the fridge, 
hit up the farmers market in the morning, 
and make a fresh rhubarb pie sooner than later. 
Hope you all have a nice and relaxing weekend, too.

6/22/11

The Importance of Taking it Easy


pleased and full of fried food



A little snippet of last week, 
spent on the Ohio River with my lover and his kinfolk, 
and in one of my favorite places, 
Hazel, Ky, on my grandparents farm.


by the way, anyone else been having trouble with blogger and uploading photos? i had a ton to share but could never get them to upload via my computer or from flickr URLs. Whodunit. 




6/12/11

90s Resurgence, Tomboy Style, And The Everlasting Cool of Feminism

I don't know if I can somehow jumble up all of the inspiration that has been flowing through me lately, thanks to way too much time spent reading and perusing photos in the vast vast land of the internet. I only just learned of Kathleen Hanna and the Riot Grrl movement sometime last year (I know, where have I been?) from this lovely lady, Lauren Leydon Hardy, a friend of a friend and one smart and stylish cookie herself. Anyhow, I stumbled upon this article, "Kathleen Hanna, I Love you but You're Bringing me Down," which got this giant ever growing Gak like ball rolling on all that is booming in 90s resurgence, nostalgia, and genuine tribute to one of the foremothers of 90s punk feminism. 


While I was just a kid scrambling to figure out the day to day existence of being human, let a lone a female in the 90s, Kathleen Hanna and the rest of Bikini Kill  were trying to change the world for women and everyone by simply starting a little girl based punk rock band and some zines. Mind you, all without social media like Facebook, Twitter, E-Mail or even !!gasp!! cell phones and text messaging. With all their "like, and duh's" they were speaking out about things that mattered that no one else was talking about at the time, like sexual oppression and violence, LGBT rights, and things as simple as the idea that women can start bands, play music, mosh at a show, and do anything else they want, without having to convince the rest of the world that they're first a desirable and beautiful sex object. I have to admit, I love this interview she did with CNN Entertainment where she says of current performers like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, "None of these women ever wear pants, first of all. Second of all, just because you're wearing a goofy hat doesn't make it performance art." That was completely taken out of context, but I had to throw it in there. You should just go ahead and read the interview yourself, or read the earlier mentioned one above. 


Aside from all that, it's interesting to me how past cultures begin to re surge into popular culture. In February of 2009 I visited Chicago for a weekend and was shocked and delighted to find all of these young people my age wearing styles and trends of the 90s. That was the first time that I had seen the style back in action since I was a kid, and I thought it looked great (maybe even better the second time around)! Since then, there has been this whole cultural throwback to everything about the 90s, not just the fashion, that really seems to be resonating with today's youth. They're learning about people and influences of the decade, and young people are obsessed with Twin Peaks and other media and music of the time. I guess this is the way of the 20/25 year nostalgia cycle, where people with a fresh eye can look back and decide for themselves what they think about the time. There are even archives and exhibits now being put together by NYU about Bikini Kill, with collections of letters they wrote to one another, zines they made, flyers, set lists, etc., and I'm sure there are plenty more 90s archives that I don't know about.





..................................................................
While on this vein, I figured i'd go ahead and talk about my everlasting love of menswear for women, or what one blogger has decided to call Tomboy Style. I, of course, can't get enough of this simple blog and her great interviews with cool-girl California folks like Jessica De RuiterWandie Kabule, and Mariah Kunkel
Jessica De Ruiter
Wandie Kabule
Mariah Kunkel



This is not exactly cohesive thought, but I did my best. 
Now, go enjoy your Sunday afternoon!











6/8/11

BIG CITY, TURN ME LOOSE AND SET ME FREE

Just a couple of outfit photos from a day toying around downtown in Richmond. It was so hot, pretty much as awful hot as the Kentucky summers i'm used to. Meanwhile, back home, I've been working on moving out of my little shop and putting some awesome stuff up on the Revival Vintage Wear Etsy. Also, I've been eating. A lot. The farmer's market is back and kicking so there is plenty of good stuff to fill my tummy with.


Sunday Phi and I finally went to the little Mexican grocery store that is literally a half minute walk from my house. It's so close, I can't believe I haven't been going there all along! They have awesome spices and they  make tacos that are a $1.50 on weekends. On top of all that, they sell the glass bottle Coca Cola's from Mexico that have less sugar and calories and no high fructose corn syrup. Success! Will definitely be frequenting this place for the next few months before our move.

I've also been spending a lot of time with my family since this will be some of our last months together for a while. Hanging with my grandparent's has been really fun, enlightening, and a bit disheartening in a way. They are not exactly supportive of my move, and now, just when we get close and have these great conversations and they tell me all of these stories, they usually end every conversation with a sad and remorseful tone about my leaving. I know, they will miss me, and they want me around, but still. It gets really frustrating to hear their sometimes pessimistic attitudes about big cities, leaving home, and in their opinion the sameness of everywhere you go. My grandfather lied about his age and joined the air force when he was 16, so he's been all over the world before returning the to the farm in Kentucky he grew up on. My grandmother was 15 when she left her home in South Carolina to be a wife and mother hundreds and hundreds of miles away. She had no phone to call anyone from home. She said she would cry for days. I'm sure this sounds a bit ignorant, but speaking as someone who has barely lived away from home for 23 years, this type of attitude and discouragement only makes me sad and scared. My grandmother actually said today, "Do you know what homesickness feels like? It feels like you're dying." Gee, thanks grandma. I guess it should be mentioned, they're last name is Overcast. Haha. But, seriously, it is. How fitting. They're both in their 70s now and have been trying to impart a lot of life lessons on me these last few months. I've been hearing stories from their youth and early marriage and it is one of the most alive and connected feelings, hearing the beginnings of the people you came from, you know?
hot kentucky hair next to a photograph of my grandparents as young teenagers in love. don't i look so happy?


Anyway, this is way too much personal info, but it's what i'm going through right now, and I thought i'd share.

About to go for a bike ride now and forget all my troubles. 

6/3/11

Hooray!


This is how I feel right now! We finally, finally found out officially that we have the little place we were wanting. We had so much dang trouble with that Real Estate company. But anyhow, our new residence will be...


here! Anyway, more Richmond photos and an outfit post to come. Now, for all the packing up and moving out...ahhh

Happy Weekend!