E.A.S.T.

I haven't posted in almost a year! I just haven't been able to get into blogging regularly but I really really want to try now.

In my last post I mentioned that I was enrolled in Stephen F. Austin State University but wanted to transfer to UT Austin and I needed straight A's. Well I got in!!! I am almost finished with my first semester now, and it's so different. It's great to be back in my hometown and around old friends and family and familiar places. However Austin is so big and diverse that I can experience new things any time I want.



For example, the past 2 weekends I attended the E.A.S.T. Austin Studio Tour, which opens up hundreds of artists studios and workshops for the public to walk through. I was imagining pristine white walled wood floored galleries with paintings hung up and people walking through silently, but it was the complete opposite! I never ever go down to East Austin, because it used to be really trashy and crime-ridden, but it was really transformed into a unique artists neighborhood, with some Mexican influence still lingering around.

All the artists showing their studios were so kind and being able to see where they work was so inspiring. I saw studios and workshops of woodwork, pottery, painting, photography, metal work, collages, screen printing, and even bamboo art. They've been doing this tour for 7 years and I'm so sad I just learned about it, but I will attend every year from now on! Another awesome bonus, most studios provided free beer, wine, and food! Amazing.

















I took so many photos but I still had to share a bunch, and these are just from my point and shoot camera, the first weekend I went to the tour I used the SLR, so I've got to share those soon!

safari

My Dad and I are both amateur photographers, and we love to go on these "photo safaris". He's really into the whole ghost town, broken down buildings thing. I focus mostly on details so I can get the pictures I want pretty much anywhere! We recently went to Dallas and it's surrounding towns, and he snapped this photo of me in Pilot Point, Texas. The bank down the street was actually robbed by Bonne and Clyde! Pretty cool. Generally I'd say I'm not a huge fan of bright colors, but when I wear them, they're almost always very bright jewel toned pieces that I found at Goodwill or Salvation Army. I have tons of blazers, and out of them I have a deep yet bright purple one with gold buttons, a mustard yellow, cobalt blue, neon pink, and more. The one shown below is a woven teal blazer-I adore it! I've also included one of my favorite photos from the trip-this sweet calf was so friendly and outgoing!

patterns

According to Chicintuition.com, mixing patterns, whether it be bright florals, contrasting tribal patterns, or daring animal prints, is IN this Spring. Here's a photo of one way I interpreted this idea.

outfit

Starting my outfit diary now!!




I liked this outfit, very casual and simple but I feel either the tunic needs to be longer or my legs need to be skinnier heh oh well. The boots were a great find at Goodwill

back

I'm going to try to start this up again. I'm in college now at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX which is a wonderful school but unfortunately the town which consists of around 26,000 people just doesn't match up to my hometown of Austin which has more than 1 million. I'm working very hard this semester to bring my 3.35 up to a 3.6 and get into UT Austin-I can't wait to be back!

There is something quite charming about this town, it's in deep east Texas so the pine trees create soaring canopies above my head. I will miss the pineywoods as well as the bright red dirt. 1st semester I found myself really toning down the way I dress, trying to fit in more and get less stares throughout the day. Now that I'm leaving the town (hopefully), I'm discovering I don't give a shit.

Here are some photos of my favorite pieces of jewelry:

more things :\

Paypal is ruining my life. Luckily that's not literal-I don't have rent to pay or any expenses other than paying for gas (I'm 17-living at home) but it's really hurting my bank account. Up until a few months ago I never bought things online because I never had a debit card! Then I discovered that Paypal can tap into your bank account and take the money out-and tons of online stores use it. Ugh. On the plus side, I've gotten/will get some really cool stuff. Very pic heavy and some weird/huge ebay pics-sorry!




This dress is amazing. I'm usually very frugal but I'm paying around $60 for this-which is a lot for me!

I have a antique owl necklace from a vintage shop-this one will be a perfect mate to it!

So I ordered the Bona Drag leather motorcycle jacket, it came, and it was lovely but the leather was very thick and it made me look too bulky. It will look great on thinner girls but on me no way. I found this Victorias Secret one on ebay, looks awesome!

Someone hand-knit this on etsy, it's adorable! They call it The Park Bench Beanie-a fitting name!

So gorgeous, haven't ordered this yet but I think I may have to soon, someone else might snag it before me.

I haven't ordered this one yet either, it has great components-neon, leather, and studs! I'm just not sure if I'll wear it or just look at it.

Ah Steampunk, my new love. It's an antique spoon bent with a watch movement on top. Paid $25 for this which is a lot to me for a ring, but it's just so cool. I'm going to do a post soon about steampunk.

This one may turn out to be very uncomfortable but I'll wear it anyways.

From a punk rock seller on Etsy, I'm wearing this almost everyday.


All are from Ebay or Etsy-let me know if you want seller names. OK, next time I post, it will be an outfit post. First one!

Amanda

Purchases Cont.

Okay here's the rest of the stuff I've ordered!

I've been looking for a nice black leather jacket for so long, I wanted 3/4 length sleeves, cropped, and zippers! I found this and fell in love, from bonadrag.com (amazing site) for $95!!!! Sweet deal for real leather.

These were $6 a Target.com :) love

My friend has these in black and I adored them, she let me borrow them once and I didn't give them back for weeks, she literally had to drive to my house and make me give them to her haha I suck. She said she got them at Buffalo Exchange but as I was browsing Urbanog.com I found these!!! For only $17.99! She has them in black so I got them in gray-we can share. I think I may get them in the brown or cognac as well, which color do you think?

more studs :\ I hope I don't get over this trend anytime soon! From Etsy-handmade by ShopDeviant

Haven't ordered these yet but I want them...

Pretty cute, I love nude!

Beautiful! From shopruche.com, $19.99

From shopruche.com also, paid $54.99 for it :\ pricey (for me) but it's gorgeous-hopefully it's as gorgeous in real life.

More later