style blog

Ay Jax

Today, I thought I would share two of my favorite places to eat in Jacksonville, Florida with you. I spent all last summer working there, so I’m getting kind of nostalgic, and had to visit my favorites when I went back to St. Augustine last week.

Chamblin’s Uptown

The socialite cousin of Chamblin’s Bookmine, this bookstore-cum-coffee shop-makeshift lunch destination is simultaneously one of the most bustling and calm in the city. Located at 215 N. Laura street right on the city square, smack in the middle of downtown Jacksonville, it’s an oasis of art, literature, and oversize cookies at your fingertips. Best of all, if you forget your book, they have plenty to choose from, and a liberal coffee selection on the cafe side.

2. Bistro Aix

The closest Jacksonville gets to France, Bistro Aix has the smell and warmth of a boulangerie and the wine menu of fine Parisian dining. Complete with a wood fired oven and salmon smoked in-house, pizzas the likes of the one below come topped with caviar at the most affordable price this side of San Marco. Adjoined is Bar X, where you can soak in fashionably low Deco lighting with a Death in the Afternoon even Hemingway would approve of. Afterwards? It’s off to the nearby shops and boutiques lining San Marco’s beautiful neighborhood as the sea’s waves peak at you, just a block away.

Outfit Details:
Blazer: Zara
Pants: Givenchy
Shoes: H&M
Bag: Kate Spade

Roaring Prohibitions

Today in bar prep, I have been “furiously” reviewing Criminal Procedure. All the terminology stirs the imagination towards gangster movies. “Terry” frisks? Search and Seizures? Warrant based off an anonymous tip? You gotta be kiddin me… I got my rights!

You know the Hollywood schmaltz.

In the fervor of the period, here’s today’s selection from my very own rotating crap game. Don’t ask questions. After all, you know the score, kid.

Now scram (if you know what’s good for ya).

Une Pomme de ma Tête

Isn’t it funny the things that we become attached to? When I look through my room, I have so many things: books, hats, clothes—the list goes on and on. And yet, when you ask me to point out the things that I would take with me if I had to leave it all behind, it’s the funny, nearly valueless things that mean so much to me. Now I’m not saying I would leave me rings and jewelry PUH-lease. It’s just some of my favorite things are quite unexpected. Take for instance this picture:

I randomally picked it up one day in a cute shop in Oxford called Arcadia (really a haven for vintage papers of all kinds). I think I probably got it because it was the only old magazine reproduction that was under 10 pounds, and yet, it has brought me so many smiles. One of my friends even referred to it as the “naked girl” picture. But that little French adventurer is more than a sometimes naked girl to me. She’s sort of my spirit animal. Well, the other day I looked at it and found myself caught looking at the white outfit. I couldn’t think if I had any hat that would be anything like hers and more or less gave the idea up. Literally, less than 5 days later, I was browsing an antique warehouse and came upon the on I’m wearing in pictures for 5 dollars. It was fate! I hope you like my interpretation.

Outfit Details: Hat: Thrifted | Shirt: French Connection | Capris: J.M. Collection | Heels: Loft

Ode to Katharine

I have never gone golfing. I feel like it is something I really need to do. One of my best friends golfed in college (and I’m waiting for her to take me out on the green *hint hint*) , but I have never been invited or had a chance to go golfing. Now I could say it was for the learning experience or my future networking endeavors, but I would be lying. The beginning and end of why I want to go golfing has everything to do with Katharine Hepburn and almost nothing to do with my physical prowess. No one does casual athletic elegance like Katharine Hepburn.

Honestly, I see myself jaunting around in a pair of breezy pants, oxfords, and leather kid gloves, making very witty comments with a knowing grin. Basically, I would probably be terribly obnoxious and think I was a lot smarter than I actually sound. But it would be all so terribly marvelous, and who knows… I could meet the next Howard Hughes.

Sunlight to Grow

“She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
“Winter is dead.”
―A. A. Milne, When We Were Very Young

I love straw hats on sunny days. Whether worn with overalls or pencil skirts, they always fit. Straw hats and lemonade. When I travel, I miss lemonade like we have here in the South, or really America in genera. But I think when it comes down to it, there’s something about the climate mixed with Southern lemonade that make it taste better here than when I drink it in Indiana. Sitting outside (or should I say being stifled) in clothes that can’t be cool or loose enough, gulping down lemonade. Isn’t it funny we always miss what we hate? Half the year I go on and on about how cold it is and how I wish I was back in Southern weather, but as soon as I’m here, I’m dying in the heat, gulping down lemonade. I never remember that discomfort. Later, in my mind when I think of home, I sip my lemonade outside, savoring it unconsciously through conversations. Is it that I never have what I want? Or is it there all along, winking in the sunlight?

Beach Bag Essentials (More or Less)

Right in time for nautical week, eco-friendly lingerie brand Naja asked me if I’d like to join some other bloggers and share my beach bag essentials. I’m pretty terrible about the thinking ahead that is involved to pack a beach bag (or even a bag in general), and more often find myself frantically running, arms over chest, up to the house where I drip all over the deck before someone takes pity on me and brings me a towel. But I suppose if I was travelling (or took an unexpected trip to the Azores– it’s a long story), this is pretty much what my beach bag would look like:

1. Beach Hat (Panama, floppy, boater? get in my bag.)
2. Passport (although don’t leave this unattended if you go in the water… or in general!)
3. Sunglasses
4. Binoculars (For boys or birds? It’s a tough call.)
5. Book (This list is in no particular order, or this would be at the top- especially a good vintage Penguin edition 6. Watch (or phone to keep time)
7. Shells and or Sharks teeth (though I’m more likely to find these for the bag home…)
8. Linen/cotton/gauzy Scarf (mostly to blow in the wind while you walk)
9. Cool drink (Perrier, every day.)
10. (not pictured) Kite (When is a better time? With better wind?)
11. (not in bag and probably won’t fit) Umbrella!
12. Towel

I hear the ocean… but I don’t think it’s this shell…

While I personally haven’t had the chance to try any of Naja’s products yet, they are super sassy, and you can find out more about them here. They offer uniquely designed underwear, as well as an eco-friendly bra and swimwear line, which is made with fabric from recycled plastic bottles. So it could be the perfect find for those looking to lessen their eco-footprint. I like this suit, named Faye. Regardless of the reason why, it reminds me of Faye Dunaway (or Bonnie of the Bonnie and Clyde movie duo). Tres chic, non?

Eccentric Glamour: Nautical Edition

Welcome to the newest installation of the Eccentric Glamour linkup, which basically serves as an excuse to dig out the crazy clothes that you felt too shy to wear to the grocery store. As George Bernard Shaw lamented in his epistolary dedication to Man and Superman, “Civilized society is one huge bourgeoisie: no nobleman dares now shock his greengrocer.” I can’t speak to modern day nobility, but I do like the occasion to try and dress like them. Then again, who am I kidding? Ostrich feathers a la 1970 say new money nearly as fast as an oversized yacht.

Speaking of yachts, with this photoset I’m kicking off a week of nautical posts. I’ll try to span the gambit on different style interpretations and throw in a few facts along the way. I’ve got more on Flagler (if you can stand anymore after this), and I think it’s high time that Wednesdays for Women come back. Additionally, I was thinking a Sunday brunch section where I finally get to gush on the Broadway musical number that is the current flavor of the week (currently obsessed with Melisande from 110 in the Shade– maybe due to the temperature?). Please speak up if that would be unbearable, but otherwise I’m going ahead…

Please add your eccentric glamour link below!! Here are the rules:

If you’d like to regularly contribute, please take a moment to follow my blog (links can be found on the sidebar).
Please confine posts to those which showcase some spectacular article of clothing. It doesn’t have to be crazy, but just a bit in line with our theme of “Eccentric Glamour” (although choosing one half or the other of that mantra will also suffice). However, if you choose to post, please provide a link back to the Eccentric Glamour link-up somewhere in your post.
Try to check out a few other bloggers posts to build inspiration and community!

Thanks everyone!

The Tide Is In

Hello Again! Summer for me has officially begun, and with it comes my return to the Sunshine State and the sea (*ahem* ocean). I’ve traded in flat anonymity for vitamin D, but forgot what running in this weather is like: salty suffocation. Hot yoga is retreating further down my “to do” list until I go back to a place air conditioning is optional. In the meantime, I’ve filled my time reading E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime, and at the moment, I’m a bit enamored with everything Edwardian (or whatever Americans call the period from 1901-1915- is it the progressive era? Or did that really center around Wilson? Please feel free to comment). Now that my hair is long(er), expect white frocks and Gibson Girl simpers and fervor for the World’s Fair. This outfit doesn’t really encompass that look, but it is a good mix of of midwestern conservatism (reminiscent of Rodgers and Hammerstein) and vintage sea-going attire.

Thanks you to all of you who have stuck by me in my exam-induced absence. Don’t forget June 1st marks the next eccentric glamour link-up. I hope you’ll stop by and share your style!

Other things in the works include a (very unqualified) make-up discussion, subscription box review, discussion of my new favorite TV series (from Australia, no less!), and lots more. Let me know if you’re interested in anything in particular. I am officially back on the grid.

Wednesdays for Women: no more data edition

Hi there, so I have run through my data allotment on wordpress, and I’m waiting for a few funds to come through before I can invest in more space for more pictures. In the meantime, I thought I’d tell you about a few women-related stories buzzing around:

1. Karlie Kloss is funding twenty scholarships for high school age girls to take a 2 week coding class with the Flatiron School in New York. Get more info. about #KodewithKarlie here.

2. Ever wondered why there’s no women on money? Rumor has it an elementary schooler did too, inspiring her to write to Obama (eventually winning her a coveted invitation to the annual White House Easter Egg Hunt). This little story has inspired a movement called Women on Twenties. The premise being that a woman replace Andrew Jackson, who history has not been so kind to, since he was not so kind to Native Americans. He might have beat the bank (famous last words), but that only holds so much currency. You can get involved/ vote here if you’re interested. Personally, I have a soft spot for Eleanor (UN Charter!!), but pick your favorite candidate.

3. My best friend has started her own podcast. It’s called “Not an Idiot,” and the premise is that she researches different things she’s interested in to prove to herself she’s not an idiot. I think she’s the only one with doubts. This woman introduced me to This American Life six years ago, and hasn’t stop dreaming about creating her own “radio show” ever since. Try it out! Her voice is pleasant, and her second episode, launched today, is called Write Me In, and it’s about what it takes to create a screenplay.

4. At the moment my two favorite ladies (after MK&A of course–I can’t even get over how much I love The Row and Elizabeth and James) are two Chicagoans by the names of Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, and let me tell you why. I have always been interested in politics, history, and current events, but I have never found a way to tap into what seems like a maze of information. If I want international news, am I supposed to go to the page of every country? Enter TheSkimm. A novel news concept that basically tells you what’s going on quickly, easily, and without you having to worry about which political party has put their spin on it. It’s basically like your polisci major friend filling you in on what happened over the weekend while you were too busy gushing over the Cinderella movie. And it’s so quick! Just a short email every morning, complete with linked charts and articles (if you care to delve deeper), and you are ready to act like you engaged in the world. If you try it, let me know what you think!

Beatific Vibes

I’m rounding out the last day of pictures o my San Francisco escapade, and the time has come for over-indulgence. Since there is no hope of affording rent there anytime soon (if you are unsure, this quiz is sure to get you down), I had to pack as many of the Victorian-gone-groovy vibes. This included a stop to the epic City Lights Bookstore, my choice historical book source after the Library of Alexandria, started by none other than Lawrence Ferlinghetti (of Beat fame) and possibly most famous for publishing and selling Howl in the 1950s (despite its status as a banned book).

Word to the wise: horizontal stripes after brunch are not picture perfect.

Coit Tower

San Francisco Harbor- Doesn’t this just look like a beacon promising fresh new hope for the future?

You didn’t realize another feet picture was just what you needed, did you?

This might be my favorite building in San Francisco. A living reminder of the Bohemia in the midst of business giants.

Outfit Details: Hat: Vintage | Shirt: Primark | Skirt: Next | Flats: Jeffrey Campbell

April is poetry month, and as Easter just passed, I’ll share my favorite Ferlinghetti poem here. I couldn’t include the zaniness of the original formatting, so it’s worth looking up for a second look if you like it.

Sometime During Eternity
By: Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Sometime during eternity
some guys show up
and one of them
who shows up real late
is a kind of carpenter
from some square-type place
like Galilee
and he starts wailing
and claiming he is hep
to who made heaven
and earth
and that the cat
who really laid it on us
is his Dad

And moreover
he adds
It’s all writ down
on some scroll-type parchments
which some henchmen
leave lying around the Dead Sea somewheres
a long time ago
and which you won’t even find
for a coupla thousand years or so
or at least for
ninteen hundred and fortyseven
of them
to be exact
and even then
nobody really believes them
or me
for that matter

You’re hot
they tell him

And they cool him

They stretch him on the Tree to cool
And everybody after that
is always making models
of this Tree
with Him hung up
and always crooning His name
and calling Him to come down
and sit in
on their combo
as if he is THE king cat
who’s got to blow
or they can’t quite make it

Only he don’t come down
from His Tree

Him just hang there
on His Tree
looking real Petered out
and real cool
and also
according to a roundup
of late world news
from the usual unreliable sources
real dead

The Clothesline

Style for people blowing in the wind