I talk a lot about rural life. It's personal for me because it's something I never really saw in magazines or anywhere growing up; like people living somewhere quiet and rural but still having a creative job. Living alongside farms but not being a farmer and originally for me it blew my mind that I could live somewhere rural and still dress how I found interesting. Like, nice clothes are just for people in cities with executive jobs?! These days I focus less on how I gained confidence dressing how I wanted to in my bucolic college landscape and more just on how I enjoy being "settled" somewhere so pastoral. I enjoy living alongside farms, picking fresh fruit off the branch in harvest season, cooing over baby lambs in spring, and sighting the occasional fox in the fields near our house. But make no mistake, I'm still so far from a farmer or anyone actually adept at living in this rustic scene. I mean, I have been forced to help shoo the occasional cow out of the road, but it's not a process I enjoy or am particularly skilled at (I usually feel like the cow takes one look at me and knows I will back down). Point being: when we came to this really darling farmyard I was looking forward to feeding some chickens, but also a bit nervous that I was going to get pecked. Those chickens knew you had feed on you the second you stepped forward; my strategy was to throw the feed rather far away from myself in hopes of creating a few feet of safe space between me and the chickens, but those guys had no fear and wanted to be as close to the food source as possible regardless of where the seed was falling! I did get a lot more comfortable being surrounded by a hoard of hungry chickens after one ate some seeds straight from my hand and I realized it wasn't going to hurt at all. They were quite the posers too; one even hopped up on the bench next to me (after I ran out of seed) and started modeling with my handbag--look at how well they matched.  

Just living that moodboard life right now (down to the sunflowers!). As much as I love my little gatehouse this summer I've been finding a lot of really enviable thatch houses that would tempt me away from my current home. This yellow-walled thatch beauty is my new dream home, although luckily for my bank account it's not available to live in. But how perfect are these walls?! I think it's be hard not to have a sunny disposition if you were living in a house as bright and cheerful as this one. Maybe it's the walls, or my little gingham dress, but I've been feeling fairly sunny myself lately. I've been talking a lot about my need for balance and to not stress so much about pointless things and in the past couple of weeks I've actually found some balance. The other afternoon I put away my computer, stopped checking my emails, and just did some doodling and painting. I also found time to finish my first book from my August reading list yesterday and am starting the next tonight. I haven't miraculously added more hours to my day, but I have been wiser at allocating my time and it's making me feel more...er, balanced to overuse the word! Less stressed, more creative. I'm always going to a worrier, but I don't feel that it is controlling my life as much at the moment. Which is good because worrying is quite ineffective; it doesn't make me more productive and it stifles creativity--an essential ingredient to this job.

These days I do most of my reading online. Blogs, random articles, yes, but also novels enjoyed through various free online libraries. I’ve always been a reader, excited to get home after a day at school to curl up with a book, but lately I don’t turn many physical, literal book pages. I’m making an effort to change that though, to spend more time away from my computer enjoying a good book in my actual hands. For August my book reading goals are simple; two novels with a possible third once I finish the first two. It’s funny in high school I used to read whole novels in a single day, barely stepping away from the pages to eat or breathe! Now I’m more easily distracted and not as willing to make time for fictional world when the demands of the real one seem all too pertinent. But I know it's all about prioritizing, making time for the things that matter and I'd like to be a little less glued to my screens! So here's my start of a new tradition; I'll try to share a few books every month I'm planning on reading and you can join in if you like.
The Hound of Baskervilles: I picked this book somewhat randomly; I mean I'm familiar with the stories through movies and television, but I haven't read any of the Sherlock Holmes books before and I wanted to read something more classic than the scifi kick I've been on lately. I'm about halfway through and it's funny how perfect this one was to get me hooked on the series--I mean mystery in the countryside? Local lore and legend? Perfect fit for me. I'm tempted to read another in the series next month, or at least sometime this autumn. Autumn seems a perfect fit for a moody British crime novel.
Anne of Green Gables: This is a re-read for me since I really enjoyed this series when I was younger. I decided to go back to this book this summer as a sort of knee-jerk reaction to the Netflix series Anne with an E…I have so many feelings about that series and none of them are positive! I think it would be great to do an updated Anne of Green Gables; either one that closely follows the books but more cinematic than the 80s version, or an actually updated twist the way Clueless retold Jane Austen’s Emma in the form of valley girls—I think Anne would be perfect for a playful adaptation like that. But Anne with an E is neither of those, it’s a story that drifts far from the original destroying so much of the beauty of the story in the process (in my view at least). One of the beauty of Anne’s story is how it depicts small town life, the reboot makes everything in Avonlea seem dark and despairing. And (spoilers!) key characters are changed; kindred spirits (like Reverend Allen) become enemies in the new version so that Anne can battle misogyny, non-orphans in the books become orphans, and don't even get me started on what they did to poor Matthew. The thing is Anne doesn't have to be reimagined to be a feminist character, nor do her relationships--in the books she's already surrounded by smart, educated women and Gilbert is attracted to her intellect, she transforms and challenges him. The new version is ham-fisted in its attempt to update a story that is considered classic for many reasons...Rant over; I'm looking forward to enjoying the original story soon.

It might be too early in the season for apple-picking, but it's not too early in the season for apple-orchard-strolling; in fact it feels like we're hitting the peak of that particular season. We've spent many a golden evening lately walking around the orchards with Jack nipping at our heels watching the sunset from the top hill and enjoying that sweet fresh scent. The apples are already so big it's wild to think they have another month of growing being picking does start; already the branches are heavy with Bramleys larger than your fist and every day we are inching closer to what has become my favorite season. When I lived stateside I always got annoyed with people who started pushing fall wardrobes and "pre-fall" trends in August. Because where I usually lived August was swelteringly hot and September wasn't too different so fall clothes wouldn't come into play until October. (And also "pre-fall" is such a made up thing, like all of summer is pre-fall???) However, here I'm already mixing in my autumn wardrobe on the grey days--overalls and knit tops, a beret here and there perfect for a cozy head and hiding a bad hair day. I've even started packing up summer stuff and sandals that I know won't get much wear in the next few weeks. So yeah, as much as I hate myself I feel like I'm jumping on that pre-fall and fall wardrobe bandwagon. I've been doodling pumpkins, trying to figure out where I stashed my scarves, and generally trying to make autumn happen a little bit sooner this year...   

I decided to try to briefly channel all the "cool girls" I keep seeing around the blogosphere these days with this top. I think if I summed up the trendiest "look" right now it would be statement tops (fussy and big sleeved like this one, or fitted slogan tees), basket bags, and "mom jeans." Or whatever the hot denim look is called right now--culottes, wide leg, and "girlfriend fit" all seem to be popular choices. I'm still stuck in skinnies mostly because the last time I tried to shop denim and experimented with other styles was a disaster! As much as a disaster as that excursion was I have been yenning for some style change-ups; perpetually cold feet making me eye all of the stylish sneakers on the market. I handpick everything that goes into my shop page (which functions as part wishlist, part catalogue of recent buys), so if you've been scratching your head at a few of the picks--wondering about the sneakers that found their way into my typical mix of strappy flats and what-have-you, rested assured I did select them. I'm always open to style experimentation and find so much inspiration from what's happening around me it's hard to resist trying out new looks or styles no matter how "set" you feel in your own style. But I must admit, that even with my old skinnies on this particular look didn't feel very comfortable. Perhaps it was the poor fit of my old skinnies that kept slipping down my hips which meant frequent stops to hike them back up again and then pauses to pull the blouse down again and left me feeling quite inelegant. Or merely the fact that I'm not sure this look works for my body type. Not that you have to dress for your body type, but I know my body well and how I like to dress it and this was not it. All in all this look felt a bit fussy to me, although I don't mind it in pictures I'm not sure I'll venture down this style path again anytime soon...