the ice storm cometh

Or so the weather peeps keep saying. Apparently, Central PA is about to get pummeled by snow and ice and snow and ice and snow and ice. In that order. Over the next two days. Don't be jealous.

In honor of the impending ice-over of my city, I thought I'd post some of my favorite snow and ice (and snow and ice) inspired Etsy accessory finds.


{ 1. snow owl steampunk ring by enchanted lockets 2. snow blossom kanzashi flower brooch by petal mix 3. bloom handmade white flower earrings by dreamy vintage 4. white druzy sterling silver ring by andrea bonelli jewelry 5. snow white leaf and vine necklace by fourtyfour0ranges 6. snow garden enamel earrings by star of the east }

fashion beauty friend friday:: blogger mechanics

Welcome to my second Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) post! This week we're talking about technology and the tools we use for blogging.

1. What technology do you use in blogging? (computer, camera, video
camera, tripod, etc...)
I use a Dell PC (meh!) to post most of my blog posts. And I use a combination of cameras, depending on how much time I have.

Sadly, I am not fortunate to have a boyfriend/fiance/husband/friend photographer-person who can shoot magazine quality pictures of me, so I'm stuck doing it myself. If I have time and want to take a bunch of photos, I use my Canon Rebel xSi. I have several different lenses for that, plus a tripod and a remote. For quick shots, especially quick shots for What I Wore posts, I use an Olympus Stylus point-and-shoot with a self-timer.

And of course, I do love my little Hipstamatic iPhone app. I use that a lot (obviously not for outfit pictures, but for a ton of other photos). I have over 1000 photos on my phone right now. Clearly, I have some updating and file management to do.

2. What computer and online technology do you use? (blogging system,
photo storage, photo editing tools, etc..)
Right now, I'm running my blog on Blogger, which is okay for now, but eventually I'd like to migrate over to Wordpress. But first, I'd like to actually get back into the blogging rhythm and get a suitable design up on my blog on Blogger before I go tackling Wordpress.

I use Photoshop CS3 for photo editing and an external hard drive for file management. I use Flickr as my online photo tool. To keep track of inspirational photos and things I may want to blog about in the future, I recently started using Pinterest.

3. What is your process for taking pictures?
Right now, since I'm just working out some kinks, I don't have a set process. Generally, I'll set aside a few hours on the weekends (when I have a few hours on the weekends, which happens every 8th weekend or so) to shoot several outfit pictures using my DSLR. Then I load them onto my computer and edit them.

If I don't have time, and I get home from work early enough so there's enough natural light (which only happens when we have a snow day), I'll snap a few quick shots with the point-and-shoot of the outfit I actually wore that day.

And that is why I don't post daily outfit photos.

4. When it comes to backdrops for your photos what do you consider? Do
you scout locations or shoot the same spot daily?
It's been a struggle for me since I haven't had a very good, well lit spot to take pictures and I just don't have to the time to go tromping all over town to find good spots. But, we recently moved in a very bright house and I have a third floor studio space that I can use for pictures in the winter (like yesterday's picture) and a nice backyard that I can use for pictures when it gets warmer (which is happening soon, right?).

5. If you could splurge and get one new piece of equipment what would
you be buying?
A Mac. Okay. Two Macs. A desktop and a laptop. I have a Mac at work and I just love it. It makes me hate my PC even more. I'd also like some more camera lenses and other fun equipment like lights and bounce boards. And I'd like an iPad. And a video recorder. And...oh. Wait, the question was only about splurging on one thing, wasn't it? Okay. Two Macs it is then! (That counts as one thing since it's from the same store, right?)

---

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) is the brainchild of Katy over at Modly Chic. Every week, she creates a set of questions and FBFF participants answer them on our blogs. On Friday. See, that's why it's called Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. Visit her blog to find out more or join the fun!

Photo by me

what i wore:: snow day!

{ dress: target | cardigan: j.crew | necklace: madewell | tights: spanx in latte (love this color!) | socks and boots: ? }

Yep. It snowed. Again. I feel like I live in a snow globe that a crazed child keeps shaking and shaking and shaking. And shaking.

The good news is, I got to work from home today and spend some time with Thing 1, Thing 2 and Thing 3 (ie, the dogs). The bad news is, snow days are not good days for dressing up. Or dressing at all really. I'd rather be in sweatpants. But since the office didn't close at the start of the day, I still slogged and skidded and slid my way there. (And without a single snow plow sighting. Where were you PENNDOT?) I wasn't about to slog and skid and slide in heels. So, I wore flat boots with tights and knee socks. And a dress.

I think I'll do this again sometime. I like the look. And I didn't have to worry about falling on my face in the parking lot. Okay. I still had to worry. I can fall on my face in a parking lot while wearing flats in 90 degree weather. But at least had I fallen today, I could have blamed the snow, even though I wore flats. Me? A klutz? Pssht.

Also, what do we think of the stylized image? Since this isn't strictly a daily outfit blog, I thought it might be nice to style my outfit pics (this is the first of the styled pics, which eventually will match/coordinate with the look of my blog). Thoughts?

All photos and layouts by me. Wrinkled paper texture by bittbox.

52 weeks of downtown lancaster:: week 3

Last Thursday, a raging fire robbed downtown Lancaster of a wonderful treasure. Zap & Co., a famous indie retail landmark, and all of its painstakingly curated stock burned in the flames. Oh, how I loved riffling through the racks there, looking for unique treasures and fashions from every decade since the Roaring Twenties.

But this picture above, that blackened building facade is the only thing, a ghostly shadow, that remains of this former downtown Lancaster icon.

And while we mourn the loss of this shop, we also mourn the suffering of the shop owner, Steve Murray, who was caught in the blaze and remains in the hospital with 3rd degree burns covering 30 percent of his body. This man was a pioneer in developing the indie business culture that exists today in this city. He set up shop in 1973 and helped bring the 300 block of North Queen Street to life.

Look closely at the picture below. That's Steve. Standing in front of his store. In the middle of a huge snow storm that dumped two feet of snow here last winter. The whole city shut down, but there was Steve, at his shop, ready for business. And right next to him is Hilda, the famous Zap & Co mannequin who donned roller skates, big sunglasses and Santa costumes. Both were fixtures along the 300 block of North Queen St., and both are terribly missed.



But where there is sadness, there is community. And there is hope.

This little city of Lancaster is certainly rallying behind Steve and his shop. Twitter and Facebook are buzzing with people's concerns, well wishes and offers to help Steve and his family. His daughter set up the The Steve Murray and Zap & Co. Foundation on Facebook earlier today and there are already over 700 fans.

So let's hope. Let's hope for a speedy recovery for Steve and, if he chooses, a return of Zap & Co. to downtown Lancaster from those dusty ashes.

---

52 Weeks of Downtown Lancaster is my photo project for 2011. It's meant to keep me creative and posting about a consistent topic on a weekly basis. And it's also to get the word out that there's so much more to Lancaster, Pa. than the Amish, farms and outlet shopping. View the rest of my 52 Weeks of Downtown Lancaster pictures here.

All pictures taken by me, unless otherwise noted.

a gigantic case of the mondays

Raise your hand if you ever felt like you needed a weekend to recover from your weekend so you can get the things done you were supposed to get done over said weekend had your weekend plans not been hijacked by the weekend plan stealing banshees?

This weekend, I intended to:

• Set up my photo studio and take What I Wore pictures
• Write this week's blog posts, or at least a few of them
• Make root vegetable pot pie for dinner on Sunday
• Relax and zone out mindlessly in front of the TV
• Run a few miles on the elliptical

Instead I:

• Ran around for most of the morning on Saturday, buying not-fun things for our new house (like mouse traps and plastic containers)
• Visited the Humane League (twice) and came home with another beagle (her name is Meadow, she is awesome and I'll introduce her to you soon)
• Went to the pet store to buy Meadow lots of presents
• Nearly set the kitchen on fire by using the oven for the first time (for that pot pie I wanted to bake), but apparently, the oven is broken

I see no resemblance between list one and list two here, do you? And that is why, you are stuck with this random post, and that pretty picture of orchids that I snapped while shopping at Lowes for mouse traps and containers.

fashion beauty friend friday:: being authentic

Happy Friday! I don't know about you, but I had the longest week ever. It started when I woke up on Tuesday and thought it was Wednesday, then Wednesday I thought it was Thursday, then Thursday I thought it was Friday. Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to do three days twice in one week?

But today is actually Friday (right???) and I'm introducing a new weekly feature. I can't take credit for this idea. Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) is the brainchild of Katy over at Modly Chic. Every week, she creates a set of questions and FBFF participants answer them on our blogs. On Friday. See, that's why it's called Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. Visit her blog to find out more or join the fun!

This week, we're talking about the value of authenticity in the blogging world.


{ express yourself fine art photography print by gabrielle kai }
1. Most readers and fellow fashion bloggers value authenticity in the
blogs they read. How would you describe blog/blogger authenticity?
It's so funny that this is the topic for my very first FBFF. Authenticity is the exact reason why I chose to merge all of my blogs into Displaced Urbanite and the topic has been rolling around in my brain for a few weeks.

To me, authenticity is just being real. Being yourself and letting your own voice shine through. Not trying to mimic a popular blogger or forcing yourself to take on a voice and a persona that's not really you. Obviously, blogs are highly edited versions of our true selves, but when someone is using an obviously forced or fake voice to their blog, readers can tell. For me, that fakeness is an instant turnoff.

2. When it comes to your blog how to you infuse it with that true/
authentic feeling?
As mentioned, I moved all of my blogs into this blog because I felt like this blog was the most "me." Yes, I love indie shopping and handmade and I will (and do) continue to blog about that here. But for me being able to just let loose and use my true voice and write exactly what I'm thinking all while delivering (hopefully) interesting content just trumps trying to produce something that isn't the best representation of me.

It's far more fun, far less exhausting and requires much less thought to just be myself and post about what truly interests me at that exact moment rather than posting about just one topic.Plus, I work in marketing. I deal with strategy and planning all day, every day. I want my blog to be a refuge from the strategy and the planning. (Not that I never plan out posts here, but allowing myself some leeway to post about a variety of topics feels much less confining than posting in a niche.)

3. Have you stopped following a blog in the last three months? What
made you lose interest?
I wouldn't say I've stopped following a blog, but I do read a few with less regularity. And my loss of interest does boil down to a lack of authenticity as opposed to uninteresting content. I understand if you're not the greatest writer but you still want to blog. I can look past that, but if it becomes obvious to me that you are trying to sound like another blogger or what you think is popular out there in blogland, even if you have content that interests me, I'm going to stop reading regularly.

Using a fake blogging voice is the equivalent to carrying around fake Gucci bag. It's tacky, it devalues the creativity of the creator and it makes you look like a wannabe. And it cheats you out of something that's truly unique and more valuable than that fake bag ever will be- discovering your own voice. Better to be the less expensive but real non-designer bag than the fake knock-off, right?

4. We can't communicate effectively on our blogs, something we don't
live in real life... what are some ways you try to live an authentic
life?
Remember when your mom told you to just be yourself and your real friends would like you for it (or in spite of it)? Well, mom was right. I'm myself all the time, every where. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't put on a fake facade. If I like you, you know it. If I don't...well, we'll be cordial but we won't be grabbing a coffee together or laughing over drinks any time soon.

5. Give a shout-out... Which bloggers do you think are truly genuine
and why?
Fortunately, there are so many bloggers out there who are genuine (more that are than that aren't). Here are a few of my favorites:

• Brandi at Brandi Girl
• Kelly at Dresses & Cake
• Vivian at Diamonds & Tulle
• And here's a brand new blogger (to me)- apparently, we share an affinity for Ghost Whisperer fashion: Kylie at Girly Girl

Whew! I made it through my first FBFF. Check out the rest of the FBFF bunch right here. Happy weekend, everyone!

styled:: casual weekend boots

After tromping and clomping around in snow and ice and slush for the past few weekends on our trips around town, I decided that I'm in desperate need of some casual weekend boots that I can tromp and clomp around (in) in snow and ice and slush but that still look somewhat put together (ie, not Uggs). And while my precious Anthropologie Winding Ruffle boots are adorable and comfortable, subjecting them tromping and clomping in the elements horrifies me on so many levels.

So, I found these clog-boots from Dansko that look like they'll be okay for clomping (I mean clogs clomp, right?). Maybe they'll be good for tromping, too. We'll see in a few days because they are currently en route to my doorstep. And I'm pretty sure they'll work with skinnies and bootcuts, alike. Witness:


skinny jean, american eagle outfitters
handmade cowl neck sweater by isabel amyo
woven chains bracelet, madewell
deena & ozzy zip-front moto satchel, urban outfitters
the emma boot jean, abercrombie & fitch
sequin sweatshirt, j.crew
long feather and crystal necklace by solis jewelry
the brownstone suede minibag, madewell
Boots- Dansko Reegan (available at Zappos)
(Things I discovered while posting this post: I really love grey sweaters/sweatshirts as casual weekend wear and yet, I have none to speak of in my closet. As with any fashion emergency, this must be remedied quickly.)

current soundtrack:: hayley westenra- never saw blue

If this (posted on my old blog, Blooming Wildflowers) was the theme song for 2010 (and oh my, was it ever!), then this is my theme song for 2011:

52 weeks of downtown lancaster:: week 2

This one's a bit of a cheat since I actually took it over the holidays. But it's just so pretty, I had to share.

As I already mentioned, over the holidays D (the husband) and I saw The Sound of Music at the Fulton Theatre downtown. I snapped this with my trusty Hipstamatic app just before the show began, which is probably prohibited or something (the snapping not the Hipstamatic app), but I did it anyway. (I am such a hooligan.)

Let me also put it out there that the show was fantastic. If you're ever in Lancaster and you want a little taste of Broadway in the small city, definitely check out the Fulton. For real, they hire actors who have performed extensively on Broadway and off-Broadway. So, what was that about Amish buggies and cow tipping?

52 Weeks of Downtown Lancaster is my photo project for 2011. It's meant to keep me creative and posting about a consistent topic on a weekly basis. And it's also to get the word out that there's so much more to Lancaster, Pa. than the Amish, farms and outlet shopping. View the rest of my 52 Weeks of Downtown Lancaster pictures here.

what i wore:: bachelorette party

Way late in posting this one since the wedding is over, but here's what I wore to my bachelorette party in Atlantic City.


Dress: H&M
Necklace: J.Crew
Shoes: Aldo

This dress was a last minute decision since the dress I ordered didn't arrive on time. By the time I realized this little snafu had occurred, all the stores downtown were closed, so I spent the evening before the party trudging from store to store to store to store to store to store (lather, rinse, repeat) for three hours.

Awful.

This is why I avoid the mall. I never find anything there. Anthropologie, J. Crew, are you listening? Please open a store in my local mall- I will single-handedly keep your ROI afloat.

So I got this dress. And it was the first dress I looked at. If I had just been able to whip out my future-seeing super powers, I would have only spent 10 minutes in the mall, instead of three hours. Le sigh.

But it ended up working out all serendipitous-like because when my supposed-to-be-bachelorette-party dress arrived the following Monday, I discovered that it was clearly not made for me (I'm not really sure who it was made for but it sure looked beautiful all folded up in the mailing envelope). I just love a serendipitous ending, don't you?

PS- Maybe someday soon I'll get my photo studio area set up (lots of natural light- yay!), but until then, you get to look at pictures from November, mmmkay?

swoon:: anthropologie spring 2011 store windows

I'm loving the punchy oranges and dreamy blues in Anthropologie's spring 2011 store windows. Their visual merchandising team is fantastic, and they didn't miss a beat with these gorgeous art-meets-craft-meets-fashion displays. These windows make me want to pack my bags and escape to a warmer, sunnier (preferably exotic) destination with endless blue skies and sparkling seas. Or eat an orange creamsicle. That's sort of the same thing, right?

{ images from Anthropologie's Facebook page }

Wants and Wishes:: Skinny Wedding Band

As you know (or maybe you don't, so go read about it here), I got married recently. I love my wedding set (pictured below left) with its blue diamond engagement ring and two white diamond eternity bands, but I feel like I still need a plain band for those times when I don't want to walk around with the rock on my hand. I mentioned this to the husband and shockingly, he said he thought this was a great idea. Really? Buying more jewelry is a great idea? Sold! (Or rather, bought!)

So of course because I love Etsy, I looked there first, and it didn't take long to came across exactly what I'm looking for. It's just a simple palladium band (my set is platinum, but palladium is part of the same metal family) and I think it will complement my wedding set perfectly, don't you (pictured below right)?

{ Left, Wedding set by J.A.. Sharp Custom Jewelers, Right, Skinny 14k Palladium White Gold Ring by Seababe Jewelry }
PS- For a better picture (ie, not taken with my iPhone) of my engagement ring, visit this post. No picture has been able to truly capture the crazy amount of sparkle that radiates from my rings, but the pictures in the older post are more true to the ring than the picture in this post).

Introducing 52 Weeks of Downtown Lancaster

I've been trying to think of something I could do on a weekly basis that didn't require a ton of thought or time. Not because I'm lazy, but because I want something I can do with some semblance of consistency despite my busy schedule. And because part of my mission with this blog is to spread the word that there's more going on in Lancaster than Amish buggies and outlet shopping. So, I came up with the idea to combine those two goals into this project.

This idea stems from the other creative ideas out there in blogging land. There's an e-book out there in the indie design/handmade blogging world called 52 Weeks of Blogging your Passion. It's a great book and a great project, but not one that I'm ready to take on. Not yet. Not this year.

But there are some other bloggers out there who are starting their own 52 Weeks type of projects and after reading them, I got inspired. Do you need inspiration, too? May I suggest starting here with Brandi and her 52 Colors project. It's a lovely idea and I love that she's combining color and photography (two of my favorite things!). When exposed to those two things in tandem, I turn into the likes of a 2-year-old on the loose in a candy shop - pretty colors, pretty pictures! Can I have some more, please?

So, back to my own project. Whether I take photos with my Canon DSLR, my little point and shoot or my favoritest (yes, favoritest) iPhone app ever, Hipstamatic, I'm ready to document the places, spaces and faces I encounter here in downtown Lancaster, Pa.

Ready? Let's go!

52 Weeks of Downtown Lancaster, Week 1
It's snowing here tonight and this is the view of the snowy rooftops from my 3rd floor studio space.

Inspired by:: Paris in winter

I'm all moved in to my new house. Big YAY! I'm so excited to start the renovating and decorating process. This will probably keep me busy for the next decade or so.

We're planning to start with the third floor, which will be my studio, and I have a very clear picture of what I want there - lots of greys, creams and taupes with dark wood and antique white wood accents (and this Pottery Barn workstation). My inspiration for the entire room is Paris in Winter.

I poked around on Flickr and found some wonderful pics to help get me in the redecorating mood (as if buying a new house didn't already make me want to direct deposit half of my paycheck to Home Depot):


{ image source }

{ image source }

{ image source }

{ image source }

{ image source }
PS- Yes, I'll post some before and after shots (and maybe some during shots, too, since the idea of me renovating anything just seems like it could produce some pretty hilarious photo opps).

Things that suck:: packing and moving

I found this picture on Flickr and the photographer's description was, "There are no words which adequately convey how much I hate moving house." I'll throw back a beer or three to that sentiment.

I say this in the midst of hastily posting a this post while surrounded by boxes and packing up my life. We're not moving far. Just a few blocks, actually. We bought a house (our first house- yay!) and I really am excited. But mostly right now, I just feel exhaustion from the past few weeks (holidays, wedding, etc) and dread for the next few days (moving). I'll be a happy camper (home owner?) on Sunday morning when I can kick back and relax with a cup of coffee in my new house (if I can find the coffee maker amongst the boxes).

But until then, I'll have limited internet access. I'll be posting on Twitter and Facebook, though, so catch up with me there. And also, you should check out this hilarious post about how dogs don't understand moving. My dogs are a drooling, freaking-out testament to that. Fortunately, they'll be at the pet resort for the bulk of the move.

So, have a good weekend, all! I'll catch you next week.

{ image credit }

What I wore: A very happy holiday!

As mentioned in my previous post, my holiday season was extremely busy but filled with wonderful activities. In the five Christmases that we've known each other, Husband (I need a better name for him on this blog) and I not only joined each other's family traditions, but we've created some of our own, like going out for a lovely dinner and then seeing a show at The Fulton Theatre downtown, and eating Overnight Eggs (minus the ham and with a few of my own additions, like paprika) for breakfast on Christmas morning.

Since what I wore on Christmas morning is of no consequence (do you really want to see my flannel PJ pants? Really?), I decided to share what I wore for our holiday theatre tradition as well as Christmas Eve spent with the in-laws and Christmas day with my family at our house.*

What I Wore: To dinner at Checkers Bistro and to see The Sound of Music at The Fulton Theatre


Dress: H&M
Blazer: Target
Necklace: FENTON/FALLON™ for J. Crew
Shoes: Nine West
Tights: Spanx Tight-End Tights in Latte
What I Wore: On Christmas Eve


Dress: ModCloth (last summer)
Sweater: American Eagle (many seasons ago)
Scarf: Target
Earrings: Displaced Urbanite (aka, elliot + jean)
Tights: New York & Co.
Boots: ???
What I Wore: On Christmas Day


Dress/Top: ModCloth (Holiday Season 2009)
Sweater: Target
Leggings: Abercrombie & Fitch
Boots: Anthroplogie Winding Ruffle Boots (from last year)
*I think my mother has decided to institute a new holiday tradition where I always cook Christmas dinner - I guess that's fair. She did it for years. Payback time.

I got a husband for Christmas

So, I'm pretty sure my Christmas gift was better than your Christmas gift. Not to be a one-upper or anything, but on December 30, I married my best friend. Despite all of the chaos with wrapping up my grad school semester, starting a new job at the end of October, and buying a house and getting ready to move next weekend, this holiday season was probably one of the best I've ever had.

We kept our day simple, with a visit to the JP in the early afternoon followed by a three-hour photo session downtown and then had dinner with our family and drinks with friends. It was the perfect day for us and I'm so glad we went the simple route. Of course, I still had to have a pretty dress. We haven't gotten our professional pictures back yet, but here's a picture of us that my (very camera happy) mother snapped after dinner (you can sort of see the dress):


Excuse our tired looks. Husband just loves getting his picture taken, so after a three-hour shoot earlier that day, I was lucky he smiled for the camera at all after relaxing at dinner.

We're already onto that "in sickness" part of the vows. He seems to have caught some kind of flu bug and has been on a strict schedule of laying on the couch, eating chicken soup.

Perfectly imperfect

Happy 2011! (When did that happen?)

What are your resolutions? Did you make any? Want to hear mine? No? Don't worry, I'll tell you anyway. This year I will not beat myself up for not being perfect. Really. That's it.


A Beautiful Thing by Lisa Barbero
Specifically speaking, when it comes to blogging. You see, I love to write (I majored in it in undergrad, for cripes sake), but I've found that over the course of my blogging journey (which sort of resembled a bouncy ball zinging all over the place), I've let my quest for perfection cripple me to the point where I just stopped blogging altogether. Yes, over the past few months, I had a ton of other things going on- 9 credits of grad school, a new job, my wedding, getting ready to move into a new house (more on those last two three things in a later post)- but I'm sure I could have squeezed some time in a few times a week.

But I didn't.

Because my fashion photos weren't perfect, because my outfits weren't perfect, because I didn't have the perfect thing to say, because I didn't have the perfect blog layout or logo, because I wanted each of my blogs (all 3 of them) to have their own separately perfect niche content...perfection, perfection, perfection.

But you know the funny thing about perfection? It's kind of boring.

So instead of reaching for perfection, I decided to simplify and just do what I love. Here's how:

• I moved all of the posts from my fashion/inspiration blog, Moxie/Grace, over here.
• Instead of blogging about indie design over my indie/handmade blog, The Blooming Wildflowers Project, I'm going to create a special category here for such posts.
• I completely nixed the idea of creating a marketing blog since I got a new job as a Marketing Director and I'm responsible for the blog there.

So now instead of trying to compartmentalize all of my interests into different niche blogs, I'm just going to blog here at Displaced Urbanite. Whether fashion or indie or handmade or just about life in general, whatever inspires me. I'm freeing myself from the constraints of perfection, embracing the work-in-progress nature of my blog (and of my life), and allowing myself to just be.

Imperfect by Fourteen23