Black and white

Dress: F21, Blazer: Vintage (Mom's), Shoes: Target, Flower Pin: DIY, Necklaces: Thrifted, Bracelets: F21, Guess, Watch: Movado (Gift), Bag: Vintage Gucci

I've been singing Michael Jackson to myself all day. And to Dusty. He extra appreciates my MJ singing abilities. And now he has an appreciation for what goes into getting dressed every day. We just picked out my clothes for tomorrow. It took about three rounds and a second opinion, but we did it. He's napping on the couch beside me right now. Poor thing. It is a bit exhausting.

My second point. Law school really reverts you back to highschool. For real like. We have lockers, we all carry around large bookbags, and we eat our sack lunches in the "cafeteria area." It's rather cute. Except for the abundance of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on campus at lunch time. Don't get me wrong, a PB and J has it's place, but I'm suffering through a bit of a headcold and that is the only thing I can smell. It also appears to be the only thing all the poor law students in my section know how to make. Seriously. I sat through a peanut-buttery lunch break that about did me in, then walked into class and guess what the gent beside me whips out? Really. If I have to sit beside one more PB and J eater, I'm not sure I can quite control myself.

Here's to a turkey and cheese kind-of-a Wednesday!

Love,

Ramsey

The Law Student

Button-Up: Belk, Crop pants: Ann Taylor, Belt: thrifted, Necklaces: Borrowed/Thrifted, Bracelets: F21, Premier, Watch: Movado, Shoes: Nine West, Bag: c/o Shop Kempt
Today was the first day. I guess the cat is out of the bag. The proverbial cat. Because it would be cruel to place a real cat in a bag. In fact, I wouldn't even have a cat to start with because I'm allergic to cats. Besides that, today was the first day. And of course we know {the mouse in my pocket and I} that there is no better way to prepare for your first day of anything than your old faithful, favorite, gets better with every wash denim shirt and a pair of Ann Taylor pants. Because what doesn't go down smoother with Ann Taylor pants? I'm still alive on the flip side. Just came up from briefing cases for a little air. Actually, I'm taking notes on the pages of the book that were photographed with a camera phone and sent to my email. Sad, but I'd rather be prepared than face another wet my pants {pardon the expression} experience like today. I got called on in the one class that I cannot seem to obtain the book for, despite my continuing efforts {continuing=daily trips to the bookstore to beg for them to get it in soon with pathetic puppy eyes and sob stories}. You know that scene from Legally Blonde where she's completely unprepared? Yeah, I felt like that. I winged an answer with the help of an iPad and a 15-minute in-class brief of the case during the syllabus-explaining session. Whew. First one called on. First day of class. At least I left the room with my dignity intact. And dry pants.

Love,

Ramsey

Wedding Shower and the Monster Book of Monsters

So, I haven't a cool story to share with y'all about why I've been completely MIA this week. Honestly, I've been overwhelmed with the load of responsibilities that I have self-dumped in my own lap to take care of and unfortunately, they have caused me to pack up the blog in a nice (bubble wrap-padded, of course) little box and place it in the backseat of my Honda Accord. Litterally. In the form of my computer. And ya know what, the whole thing has made me right sad. I've been thinking about you guys and missing your sweet words and weird stories. And so it stands, I really like you as friends. Really, really. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. So here I sit. With my ratty, third-day {+} hair in tangles, glasses on the tip of my nose, still wearing my pajamas, nails unpainted, with my stack of textbooks sitting in the corner, gnashing their angry teeth in my direction, nagging me about reading for (tomorrow's!!!) approaching classes, looking more and more like the Monster Book of Monsters {fellow nerds, catch the Harry Potter reference. Gotta represent.} by the second. Blogging pictures of the bridal shower we threw yesterday as evidence of the fact that I have been working away at something. Me and mommy crafted all of the graphics and most of the yummies, logging many man (lady?) hours on the job, with a big scoop of help from our lovely, flower-talented friend, Mrs. Amy. I hope these will suffice. Until tomorrow. When I do, in fact, have to get dressed. And will hopefully photo-document the occasion for you all.

Oh and one last bit, these aren't remotely edited. Just pretend they look like they came out of Southern Living for me. K?

Love,

Ramsey

The case of Dusty and the onsie

Romper: c/o Emporium, Belt: c/o Sparkle Designs, Sandals: Gift, Clutch: Vintage Gucci, Scarf: Old Navy, Bracelets: DIY, F21, Premier, Shades: F21

There are just certain clothes that men hate and women love. Case in point. The romper. Built for comfort, built for speed, built with a massive case of the grandma butt. After much cajoling one day, Dusty admitted to me his distaste for the romper. He said it reminds him of a onsie. And a grown person in the equivalent of a onsie is apparently far too much to swallow. I say I'm outdoing myself by actually getting dressed today, onsie or not. As opposed to the yoga pant episode from yesterday, I'm quite impressed with myself. I suppose it had a bit to do with the discovery I made while putting on my workout clothes this morning. It appears I have been showering too late as of recent. With my eyes shut. In the dark. Half asleep. When the hair on your legs and under your arms is long enough to notice, it's time to give yourself a shower, shave, put on some makeup and your best onsie and take yourself out to run errands.

Don't fret if you don't see me here tomorrow. I have orientation and a whole pile of other things to do and I may not be able to drop by. If that's the case, you can feel free to come back and read this post again. I promise hearing about my under arm hair is just as interesting the second time.

Things we forget to be thankful for...like yoga pants

Jeans: J. Crew, Shoes: Gift from somewhere in Italy, Belt: Buckle, Shirt: Ralph Lauren, Jacket: F21, Scarf: Plato's Closet, Bag: Burbery, Bracelets: F21, Guess, Watch: Movado {Gift}
1. I am thankful that my office was cool enough to allow me to wear this outfit and pretend it was fall all day on Friday. {By the way, pretending it's fall does not make it cooler outside. :(}

2. I am thankful for flat shoes. Like these. And my Sperry's. And my Keds. Even though they make my feet so stinky I can barely stand to be around myself.

3. I am thankful to have made it through my first wedding photography experience with my head still {for the most part} attached. And to have learned some valuable lessons along the way.

4. I am thankful for Tervis tumblers and a constant supply of iceeeay H2O all day long.

5. I am thankful that my bathroom is only about 15 steps away right now because...see above. And I have a bladder the size of a pistachio.

6. I am thankful for the four-legged, furry ball that is sleeping beside me and keeping me company as I edit my insides out.

7. I am thankful for a party to plan this weekend. And another excuse for procrastination.

8. I am thankful that I have tomorrow to do my reading before orientation. Even though I will probably wait until Wednesday morning.

9. I am thankful for the wonderful goodness that is Nutella. It's like Ferrero Rocher on a spoon.

10. I am thankful for yoga pants because they are like a warm, soft hug for your bum. And I'm thankful for long-sleeved tees to go with them. And the fact that I get chilled enough to wear their little selves all year 'round.

Love,

Ramsey

The peas to my carrots

Sweater: c/o Karen Kane, Shorts:lei {so long ago, you could probably call them vintage}, Shoes: Target, Bag: Vintage Gucci, Shades: F21, Bracelets: DIY, F21, Guess, Premier, Watch: Movado {Gift}

Last night, as I was putting an {extremely delicious, homemade. (homemade=only one part explicitly came from a box)} dinner together for Dusty and me-self, I had the brilliant idea to kill some time playing around with some different lenses and my ring. Ya know, just for practice in using my creative license. I won't bore you with the details of that little adventure. {Because I'd probably break into tears recounting it.} I'll just say that I thought my camera was broken. My baby. My sweet little baby that I have been shooting with for a month. Broken on Thursday with a wedding on Friday. Dusty called. I held my junk together. And I acted like an adult. And I patted myself on the back for said responsibility. And then Dusty walked in the door. And I. Lost. It. Not like a sweet, sobbing maiden. Like an incomprehensible ohmygoshmycameradinnerbestwhatamIgonnadobuySaturdayThursdaywedding. All between muttering similar concerns to the Best Buy lady on the other end of the phone. One second it was "baby, I'm home, how are you." and the next, I was a little puddle on the floor gasping for breath to explain my problem to the Best Buy lady who I half forgot I was on the phone with while Dusty tried to console me. When I finally established that they {BB} could do nothing at the moment, all the while pacing the floor and casting nervous glances back at my camera bag, I returned to Dusty, teary-eyed and sweating. And guess what. He had fixed it. He snapped that little piece right back in and explained that the "scratched" part played no role in the image quality. And then he hugged me and told me that everything was ok. And that was the best part. He is the peas to my carrots. When I fall apart. He picks up the pieces and puts them back together. And then he tells me it's ok to cry over silly things. And go shopping to make myself feel better. And burn the bread. And he does it with a smile.

I {heart} peas.

Love,

Ramsey

P.S. This sweater is the snuggliest, comfiest sweater ever and I have a feeling that I will wear it to the point of unsanitary come fall.

Walmart

Shirt: Old Navy {$100 Summer}, Skirt: F21, Shoes: Keds, Scarf: Gift, Shades: F21, Belt: c/o Sparkle Designs, Bracelets: F21, DIY, Premier, Watch: Gift

I know I gotst lots of haters out there. But sometimes nothing is better than a good ole Walmart run. Sure, sure, I love supporting local businesses. I could jump on etsy like white on rice. I adore my local farmer's market. I would love nothing more than to spend every weekday morning perusing local antique stores and boutiques. I {heart} the locals. But then sometimes, real life sets in and you need to buy composition books, business supplies, dinner ingredients and some form of entertainment. At 7:00 at night. And that is when I become a Walmart girl. A one stop shop. And we walked out with 18 notebooks, a jar of pasta sauce, noodles, bread, broccoli, and a couple of movies just for good measure. Call me lazy. Call Walmart the spawn of the devil. But I just called it a night and we happily {and histerically} watched the Proposal. Which, by the way, happens to be one of the funniest movies eva. And I'm quite sure our bums have drastically shrunk in size due to laughing them off for two hours.

Best be off. I must return to the books for some pre-school learning and some photo-studying. Guess which one is more fun.

Love,

Ramsey

Yesterday

Gawsh...one word and now I'll have a Beatles song stuck in my head all day.

Regardless. This is what I did all day: Editing, posting, blogging, making lists. Photography stuff. This also means that my only co-workers were furry and four-legged. Which finally, in turn, means I wore sweats, no makeup and glasses all. day. long. I could show you a picture of my stained, smelly t-shirt and un-polished nails if you would like, but I have an inclination to believe you'd be less that impressed. Instead, I'll leave you with this beautiful couple that I photographed post-wedding bridals for this weekend. We'll call it an extra pretty dry run for my {very first solo!!!} wedding this weekend. Holy wowzers. I just said {wrote?} that! The jitterbugs are having a dance party in my tummy. I'm sooooo excited! Ok, I think I aggrivated spell check with all of those exclamation points. {!} Better wishes for me actually getting dressed today, but first I'm off for a nice walk with my wet-kissing, four-legged co-worker. It's rumored to be a bit cooler than the usual scalding this morning and I'm quite looking forward to it.

Oh, and if you know where I can get a car like this to keep, pray tell me where that might be and I'll notify Santa. It's never too early to start your Christmas wishlist.

Love,

Ramsey

Books

Top: c/o Karen Kane, Skirt: Ann Taylor, Shoes: Target, Scarf: Old Navy, Belt: Thrift, Shades: F21, Bag: Burberry, Watch: Movado {Gift}, Bracelets: F21, Guess, T and Co.

Funny thing about them. They tend to be pleasurable so long as they are not required reading. Then, the moment someone hands out a list of page numbers to read and ponder over, it becomes a job. I always say at the beginning of summer vacation that I can't wait to read a good book or many during those long, hot stretches of summer afternoon. This summer, I am ashamed to say, I have read approximately one. Plus a few cookbooks if you can count those. {cookbooks that I lovingly rearranged yesterday by type and season} And the Country Livings and Pottery Barns I've been devouring. {Yes, I read those, not just look at them. I know, whoa. And from back to front, no less}.

This weekend was not a good one for me and books. I endured a loooong trip to the bookstore searching for my texts, which, by the way, appear to be shuffled beyond recognition purely for the entertainment of the bookstore staff. All this only to get home, read the first page of one and find that after much deliberation, I had bought the wrong book. Property instead of Property. How could I have possibly made that mistake? I think I should work with these publishers to come up with more distinguishing titles, like Property and Other Property. Just a thought. Another thought, if they are going to make books so bizzarely expensive and almost impossible to sell back, why can't they at least make them hardback and give them pretty covers so that they will actually look pretty on a shelf later? Another thought for the publishers. Perhaps I should put them in touch with Pottery Barn. That'd teach 'em a thing or two.

Love,

Ramsey

Prep in my step

Shirt: Ralph Lauren, Skirt: Old Navy, Shoes: Steve Madden, Bag: LV, Vest: Belk, Flower Brooch: DIY, Shades: Old Navy, Belt: Gap, Necklaces: Thrifted, T and Co., Bracelets: Gift, F21, DIY, T and Co., Guess

Have you guys been feeling the prep juice flowing in my outfits lately? I think it's just my subconscious leaning toward the whole fall-school vibe that is floating around in the air these days. My subconscious is largely affected by Wal-Mart advertisements for 10 cent notebooks. Among other things. But we won't bother going there. I'm sure once I get back in school I'll fit right in. Until Thanksgiving, when all the Christmas decor starts popping out. Then it'll be light-up rudolf sweaters all the way. What can I say, I have a really strong, festive subconscious. Speaking of school, might I say that I am dreading that little booger like a head cold. I've been practicing hibernation mode {by going into 5493509340-hour-long compulsive picture editing mode, albeit}, but still hibernation. The verdict is out. By the end of the first semester, I'll be cross-eyed with carpel tunnel. Apparently this old lady caaain't hang no ma. I suppose I'll just have to invest in more sunglasses and an armful of bracelets to distract the attention. The things I do for vanity.

Love,

Ramsey