Why I Love St. Patrick's Day

Connemara- Photo by Me

Good evening Readers!

I love Ireland.  In college I took a mini-mester ("J-term") class on the Irish Renaissance Literature that took me on a 10 day adventure through Ireland visiting places where history happened, walking where famous authors once stepped, sleeping in a castle, climbing hills, eating potato and leek soup with brown soda break to my heart's content, and capturing snapshots of the country's beauty with my camera and journal.

Cliffs of Moher: The wind was so strong that you could lean against it!

Monk's Pub: One of my favorite restaurants in the world in Ballyvaughan

I revisited this romance 2 years later through another mini-mester class (2 weeks this time, as a "May term") in the form of an independent study of nonverbal communication in Ireland.  On this visit, my love for this island expanded even more with a visits to new places, like The Aran Islands.

Dun Aengus, Aran Islands

Kissing the Blarney Stone

 My third (but hopefully not last!) trip to Ireland was with two lovely friends (Kellie & Rachel) during our Spring Break in 2008.  We brought only our purses, backpacks, and 1 suitcase and traveled across the Republic, staying in mostly hostels- even though we managed to experience rain, snow, sleet, and extreme winds within a 30 minute span of time (Waterford)- this was one of my favorite vacations ever! No one in our trio was old enough to rent a car (without a major fee), so we trekked across the country with a Irish Rover pass in one of these buses:

 Ireland has a very special place in my heart, and it is because of this fondness that I LOVE to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  I don't drink Guinness, but I do my best to enjoy rich chocolate and wear green.  This year, I went a bit overboard with my green wardrobe. . . Here I am in verdant St. Patrick's Day splendor with a painting I made of a scene from Ballyvaughan:

 Retail Details:
Mint Green Cashmere Cardigan: Martin + Osa
Seafoam Green Ruffled Tank: Anthropologie
Green Tank: Target
Beaded Leather Belt: Anthropologie (this season)
Olive Green Cords: AG (Stevie) from Anthropologie
Olive Green Jeweled Flats: Via Spiga (Nordstrom Rack)

*All photos, except for the ones of me, were taken by me.

How Inspiring: The Ocean

(Pipeline, North Shore O'ahu- you may, or may not recognize this beach from Blue Crush)

Readers,

Those of you who know me well know that I love being near the ocean. In the water, on a boat, or standing on shore; there's a certain ease and peace I experience when I'm near a large body of salt water. The ocean, in all of its beauty, is a constant source of inspiration in the way I choose to narrate my life through clothing. How?

1) Color Palette

(Ocean Park in San Francisco, CA)

All at once subtle and stunning

(somewhere in Ireland- I've forgotten where exactly)

2) Movement

(Northern Ireland, somewhere on the way to Bushmills)

The ocean is ever-moving and always fresh, qualities reflected in the large stocks of flowing and ruffled skirts and blouses in my closet.

(Ocean Park, San Francisco, CA)

3)Its capacity for fun (when you know the rules)

(Ocean Park)

The ocean, like fashion, is an incredible resource of endless possibilities for fun and leisure. But, in order to participate in this fun safely, we must enter the water with a sense of adventure and the common sense to stay away from the dangers that lurk in the water (ie; MC Hammer pants, leggings with UGGs, or generally wearing leggings as pants).

(Ibiza, Spain)