outfitted:: mustard, pink, and bronze

I've been meaning to participate in Kileen's (of Cute and Little) Color Brigade challenge for a while, but just haven't gotten around to it. I've also been meaning to take the tags off of this skirt and find things to wear with it. Consider both goals complete.

I've actually had this skirt for a few years (I picked it up on clearance), but I've never actually worn it. This is definitely not typical of me to purchase things and leave them hanging in my closet with the tags on; usually, I'm ripping off the tags and wearing my fresh purchases out the very same day. But something about this skirt stumped me. I love the color and I love lace, but it just isn't super practical for my lifestyle. I couldn't wear it to work and I just never bothered to wear it out.

For the Color Brigade challenge, I thought pairing it with an unexpected color like pink would be fun (plus some sparkly bronze shoes and a touch of aqua in my earrings). And now I'm on a mission to find other ways to wear it (be on the lookout for a blog post about that).

In the meantime, hope on over to Kileen's blog and check out the other members of Color Brigade Vol. 25. Also, feel free to "like" my outfit on her blog- the Color Brigade participant who gets the most votes gets featured next week on Kileen's blog.

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{Shop}::
top: old/no tags; skirt: rodarte for target collection (on ebay); shoes: old (similar- thinking of buying these for myself since mine are starting to wear out!); bracelets: j. crew, charlotte russe, h&m; earrings: sun sugar studio, my jewelry line (these are one-of-a-kind but contact me for something similar!)

Shirt previously worn here.

35 before 35

I'm ready for a challenge. Life has been sort of icky lately, with me getting laid off and some other unfortunate incidents happening concurrently. And honestly, the series of unfortunate events didn't stop after that- there were some petty hate issues (in real life, not just online) and then my beagle, Meadow, partially tore her ACL and has been on vet's orders to rest for a few weeks.

But you know what? I don't need to be shut down by those things. I'll admit, I did a good amount of moping about the job situation (mostly because of the circumstances surrounding it, not necessarily because of the loss of the job itself), and I also found myself extremely down after we came back from our trip to Los Angeles (I'm homesick for that place every single day).

But then I realized I needed to pick myself up off the floor, dust off dirt of depression, and start moving forward again. Opportunity doesn't always knock politely on our doors. Sometimes we have to chase it down and beat it into submission. And so, I created my 35 Before 35 Challenge.

This isn't a new concept. In fact, lots of people and bloggers do it, whether 30 before 30, 25 before 25, or something else. Two bloggers I love who inspired me to take on my own challenge are Brandi of Brandi Girl and Kate of Divergent Musings. Both of them are doing a 30 before 30 challenge. (Check out Brandi's challenge here and Kate's challenge here.)

Since I'm already past 30, the next big age for me is 35. I'll be 32 this August, so that gives me three years to get in gear and get my life moving. I think I'm ready to grab some opportunities. Whenever I hit a goal, I'll post about it here, so I hope you'll join me in my journey. And don't forget to check out my full 35 Before 35 list right here (I also added a link to the list in my top navigation).

new to my shop:: siren song necklace

I recently listed the Siren Song necklace in my Etsy shop (after much debate as to whether or not to keep it for myself, like I did with these earrings). Any other jewelry designers have trouble parting with certain pieces (especially the one-of-a-kind ones)?




Buy it here.

PS- If you're reading this post in a reader, hop on over to my blog and check out the redesign. I simplified things around here so the photos are the focal point instead of extra graphics. Hope you like it and I'd love to hear your feedback!

recipe:: Sage-lavender couscous with peaches and spinach

This is such an easy and refreshing summer dinner (or side dish for a summer picnic), and you can swap out the ingredients to create endless options, depending on what you like or what's available at your local farmer's market.

Ingredients
2 cups Israeli pearl couscous
3 fresh peaches (sliced in cubes)
3 cups fresh baby spinach
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. lavender buds
3-4 fresh sage leaves (finely chopped)
Sea salt to taste

Instructions
Add vegetable oil to large saute pan, and cook spinach until slightly tender.

In a medium saucepan, bring vegetable stock to a boil. Add couscous, reduce heat to simmer, and cook until soft. Add peaches, spinach, lavender, sage, and sea salt. Stir thoroughly and cook for another minute. Serve hot or cold.

Enjoy! (Pairs well with a crisp white wine.)

outfitted:: rosettes and cargos (and some beagles)

I know I've been light on the outfit posts recently, but do you all really want to see my t-shirts and ratty old cargo shorts that I wear most days around my house? Didn't think so.

Yesterday, I managed to dress up a little (sort of kind of) to head out to Home Depot for some paint. Mr. DU and I are in "designed to rent" mode for our house (can't say much more than that at this point, but I'll keep you posted!). But what it means for the house is that my decorating plans of wallpapering and updating living room/dining room with new furniture are on hold right now. I'm working with what we have, and I'll try to post my new inspiration board later this week.

And since we haven't had a Beagle Mania Monday in a while, here's a picture of Lucy and Meadow trying to get in on the outfitted photography action (and me with a ridiculous look on my face).

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{Shop}::
top: urban outfitters (from 2008), similar; cardigan: abercrombie & fitch (really old, similar; cargo capris: amercian eagle (really old- maybe 2004?), similar; sandals: antik batik via anthropologie (2009); bracelet: madewell; headband: charlotte russe; necklace: american eagle

friend beauty fashion friday:: vacation packing (and what to wear on a long flight)

This week's Friend Beauty Fashion Friday couldn't be more appropriate. We're talking about vacations and what to pack. Which is exactly what I'm doing today- tomorrow Mr. DU and I head out to California for a much-needed break from life (although, not too much of a break since I'm planning on Skyping an interview out there and I'm still scoping out the job scene plus I'm conducting market research for my thesis project- I like to multitask). So here are this week's questions:

1. When it comes to packing for vacation what’s your mantra?
   Don't forget to pack enough underwear. And accessories, accessories, accessories. They can really change up your outfit from day to night. And I pack lots of neutrals with one or two pops of color to make it easier to mix and match pieces.
   
   Also, throw some underwear and contact solution in your carry on. I know I keep mentioning underwear, but really, missed flights and lost luggage happen. And no one wants to be caught with dirty underwear.
   
2. What are your must packs?
   As far as what I'm wearing, that depends where I'm going. More on that in a minute. As far as other items, I'm never, ever without my DSLR camera or my iPhone. Most of the souvenirs I have from trips are the pictures I take.
   
   So back to wearables.
   
   For the past several years, Mr. DU and I have headed out to California for vacation (hey, if I can't live there, I'm sure as hell going to visit as much as possible). I always take a lightweight jacket, no matter what time of year and no matter where I go in California, because I always get cold there, especially in the evenings.
   
   Other than that, I pack items I can wear for hiking and kayaking, plus cute clothes for site seeing, and clothes for going out at night. Generally the latter two can be mixed and matched, but the hiking/kayaking clothes aren't going to be mixed into my evening wardrobe.
   
3. What are you happy to leave behind?
   Stress. And PA.
   
4. Any packing secrets that help you get everything into one suitcase?
   After a few horrible experiences with too much luggage (seriously, I did not need an entire suitcase of shoes for just one week), I've pretty much mastered packing a lot but packing it well.
   
   I pack the heaviest items first, like jeans, and lay them flat on the bottom. Then I roll up knits instead of folding them. I stuff socks into shoes, and just generally make sure everything is arranged neatly. Sloppy packing means less room for your stuff, or results in stuffing it in and possible suitcase rippage. Trust me, you don't want your suitcase to ripp open at baggage check because of your lack of packing skills combined with your tendency to over pack, and then have to duct tape it shut just before you leave for a month-long trip to Europe. Not that I know about that from experience or anything.
   
5. Beach reading… what are you taking with you to read in the sand?
   A big stack of fashion magazines. And those trashy celeb weeklies. Summer beach time is not the time for me to stimulate my brain.

And while we're talking about traveling and vacations, I might as well throw in my two cents here about what to wear when flying. My rules: It has to be comfortable, cute, and layerable. Sort of like this outfit (which I actually wore to lunch with my mom this afternoon, but decided that it will do just swell for the flight tomorrow morning, too):



I had two people stop me on the street to ask me where I got this dress (for the record, the Target clearance rack, summer 2009), so I guess it fulfills the cute requirement of my flight attire rules. And it pretty much feels like a nightgown, so we can check off comfy, too. Easy to wear with a cardi and a scarf, so....we're done. Cute, comfortable, layerable. Rules to fly by.

So anyway, everyone, I'm off to California! I'll be back June 13 (or around there) with posts again. I'll be posting regularly to Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook while I'm away, so check in with me there! Have a great weekend!

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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!

i love this etsy shop:: ana osgood jewelry

Some of you may know me originally from my old blog, The Blooming Wildflowers Project, where I blogged mostly about indie and handmade finds. I've been meaning to bring back a regular column here on this blog for the same type of posts, but haven't gotten around to it until today. So, here it is- the first Blooming Wildflowers Project post on Displaced Urbanite.

Up first- Ana Osgood Jewelry. I just love the mixed media this LA-based artist uses to create her jewelry, and that she also uses vintage finds. The end result is just lovely and totally wearable, don't you think?


shop ana osgood

from my studio:: speaking of inspired...

In case you missed it, I wrote a guest post yesterday over at Brandi Girl blog where I took a photograph, created a color palette, and then built an outfit around that color palette (go check it out!).

I'm thinking I need to start a similar column on my blog. But for today, since I'm still inspired by the photograph I used, I'm sharing a pair of earrings I designed using the color palette from the photo (made with artisan lampwork beads, of course!).



And yeah, I know I haven't posted as frequently as I anticipated, but I've got a few projects I'm working on behind the scenes and I'm getting ready to head to LA for a week (yay, yay, yay!), so there's much to do! I'll be back in mid-June with regular posts again, and I'm hoping to get one more post in this week before I head off for vacation. But don't forget, you can still find my iPhone photography over on Tumblr and, of course, you can chat with me on Twitter.

i'm a guest poster

I've got a guest post up over on Brandi Girl, which is a lovely blog by my blogger friend, Brandi, about color, inspiration, photography, and handmade. Brandi also designs the gorgeous jewelry line, Catie's Blue.

Hop on over to her blog, say hi, and check out my Inspired Style post (with a little bit of photography, a little bit of style, a little bit of California, and a lot of inspiration)!