When in...Mexico?

Why hello there! Today I'm blogging from Mexico. Yep, that's right Mexico. Cancun to be specific. Or even more specifically, Maya Riviera, at the Secrets resort. Ritzy, right? Somehow good fortune looked down on me and gave me the opportunity to travel internationally with the company I work for, Protection 1, taking photos of one of their big annual events.

These pictures I took on our first night here are definitely going into my portfolio. They were Mayan dancers the company hired to perform. It was an interactive dance / story thing about ancient sacrifice. Suffice it to say, I was impressed. The extensive make up and feathers? Gorgeous. After the performance they even stuck around long enough for a ton of people to get pictures with them.

There's been a big learning curve as well while I've been here. Just after about three anxiety attacks and slight hysterical crying over skype calls to Patrick, I've really began to figure out my best work flow and what I'm uncomfortable with and what I need to make sure is prepared for any future events. For me it was the first day and a half that was so overwhelming, getting to this giant resort and knowing there was so much for me to accomplish in such a short amount of time.  It really freaked me out in the beginning, but I as I look back on it I'm so motivated. I'm energized about my photography and other graphic design elements that could advance my career. 

Organization of my equipment and files is going to be essential for me. I've always been the kind of person with a desktop full of random files and photos but that's not going to cut it anymore and it's time for a big clean up job. In future events like this I would want to have the complete video all set up so it's basically a giant template for me to plug in photos and videos and each night import and edit every photo. Printing can be set aside during the morning while I'm getting ready and eating breakfast. Then comes the triple checking. 

The only negative here is that I feel like I haven't actually seen Mexico. Working in beautiful rooms and eating good food all day hasn't been half bad at all, but I'd love to be able to go explore the Mayan ruins and that kind of thing. Maybe I'll get the chance to come back someday. I've always liked being able to climb all around those kinds of areas. I've always said I would like mountain climbing if I lived in an area where that was feasible...Kansas? Not so much. 

I'm not saying my favorite part was the free Ray Bans, either, but it's on the list... ;)

Patrick and I have started planning a two week trip to Seattle in the middle of August. When we talk about our future and where we hope to end up the answer is always in Washington, be it a suburb of here or maybe closer to Tacoma, so we really want to take the chance to visit while we have the resources and time. 

I'm really excited to visit such a beautiful state, but I'm also a huge sucker for tourist traps and we plan on making a bunch along the way (Well, okay, maybe just a couple, depending on how many I can talk Patrick into - we'll see). Since we'll be so close we're also going to stop in Portland, Oregon for sure, but Patrick also has family in Idaho and I have family in Utah, so we'll try and work in as many stops as possible along our way. 

Okay, here we have Bear World, at Yellowstone, and get this - you can literally hold a baby bear and feed it. A baby bear. I can't get over how adorable that is. Second is a photo from the Garden of the Gods, in Colorado. This one is maybe a little more unlikely that we'll visit, but I will go one day!  

P.S. How beautiful is this picture? Thatcher Kelley has some really beautiful location photos if you look through his stream on flickr!

In other news I've just about wrapped up the training part of my job. I'm actually working with my mom, sister, and sister-in-law right now at a really great company It's a call center customer service job, but the company has so much life in it, y'know? It's really not a bunch of people that hate their jobs, and beyond my own great family that works there in the month and a half or so of my employment I've met a ton of really cool people. And I've possibly wormed my way into a Dungeons and Dragons group, so you know I've got a good thing going there.

I'm still a ways away from my 90 days of employment, but I start my own schedule next week versus the training one, so I'm getting there slowly but surely. Right now it's still dark out when I leave for work in the morning, so once I switch I'll be able to take more photos!

 Let me start off by saying how much I adored all of the fall line from Dear Creatures. This coat though, man, I have coveted this coat for months before it was available anywhere. Then one day it was added to modcloth's inventory and the inner battle began. When speaking about practicality, it's a pricey coat but, very much unlike most fashionable coats, is very warm and cozy. The buttons are very sturdy and I"m not at all worried about them falling off at any point.

And in terms of how cute the coat is in person and when worn - well, that pretty much goes with out saying. I've received numerous compliments about it whenever I've had it on. The big collar and slightly ruffled sleeves are super adorable. It's a bold color, a deeper red than I was expecting, but in a very good way. It's fit is very slimming as well.

The only con I can possibly name here is that it takes a few minutes longer to button or unbutton it, but really all that ensures is the sturdiness of the buttons and I'm more than okay with having a slight wait if all my buttons are going to stay attached.

This was another dress I purchased with my Black Friday shopping at modcloth. I wasn't anticipating the collar to be a necklace, but it's really pretty and I wear it with other things all the time, so it gets even more use this way.

I really love the way this dress feels when I have it on. It's black, so the color is slimming, but even beyond that somehow it has this magic ability to make me feel really tiny but at the same time fit super comfortably, as if I was wearing a relaxed tshirt. I think it's the most flattering dress I own, to be honest and it's a great winter dress. There might not be sleeves, but it's material is fairly worm and it combined with my Dear Creatures makes for a perfectly cozy winter outfit.

My sister Jamie and I have been watching a show that my parents and older siblings used to watch when we were little, The West Wing, and nostalgia-ing all over the place. It's really strange sometimes, actually, because I remember this show playing in the background while I did other things. Hearing the theme song playing reminds me of being younger, yet here I am now, watching it fully for the first time and moving on to much more grown up things in my life. It's one of those weird circles of life things that I"ve been contemplating over the weekend.

I'm almost done with The Kryptonite Kid and after that I'm definitely reading the rest of the Game of Thrones books to kick off my reading goals. Oh, and it really occurred to me for the first time that I'm nearing the end of my training for my new job! I'll make a more in depth post about it at a later date when I hit the 'graduation' mark, but suffice it to say I'm extraordinarily happier with it.

The New Year

New Years Resolutions: 

01. Read more books

I've always been an avid reader since I was a kid. Always delving into the midst of fantasy worlds and letting myself get carried away in these foreign environments. So different and complex from the world we live in. In recent years, though, that's tapered off quite a bit until the past few months. First I stumbled across John Green's novels, satisfying an emotional need in the past year that had been bothering me. They were the kind of books that I could identify with in such a way that made me feel a little less alone and a little less bothered - and I had read his complete works by the end of two weeks. After that it was The End of Eternity by Issac Asimov, one of the most inspirational Science Fiction authors. Patrick had been telling me to read this one for a very long time, but I put it off for some reason I could never justify in light of experiencing the book first hand. And this was it for me, this was the book that inspired me to start reading again. I can not recommend it enough! 

02. Take more photos

This feels, well, almost silly considering the amount of photos I already take, but I want to get into a better habit of keeping my camera in my purse pretty much always! It'll help me remember to update my blog more as well so it's a win-win-win. 

03. Blog Blog Blog

I really like blogging and I really need to do it more. I used to write all the time and I've long since gotten out of that as other hobbies have introduced themselves to my life, so I'm interested in anything that can bring that back. I've also found that when I'm blogging more I'm putting more effort into my appearance and such which always makes me feel better in other ways throughout the day. More win-wins! 

p.s. I haven't been able to get a chance to take some nice pictures, but Patrick took a couple snap shots of me yesterday in the most beautiful coat. After seeing me coveting it for months he gave it to me for Christmas. The coat is from the Dear Creatures winter line, which is my favorite designer ever so it's a pretty big deal! :3

I got a cape from my favorite grown up clothing store at the mall the other day (The Limited, of course). Not only did I get a cape, but I got a cape for 70% off. Which means I got a cape for $130 off. Hence an extremely happy Christy! I really was going to sigh, drool for a little while over it, and leave without it, but Patrick totally talked me into it and I am much better for it. Seriously, there is something to be said about the feeling that wearing a cape gives you. As a naturally awkward person it's significant to me that when I'm wearing my cape I'm basically feeling like I'm on top of the world. Ready for a classy ass date, because I am clearly the fanciest lady in the world. The. Fanciest.

So I don't know about anyone else, but on Black Friday when ModCloth had dresses for $25 dresses I was basically jumping all over that like a little kid that had just discovered the wondrous wonder that is pixy stix. If my self control about buying pretty dresses is low when they're 70+ dollars I'm pretty sure you can only imagine how nonexistent it was then. This was one of my favorites of those purchases and one of the dresses I've received the most compliments on. The collar has a unique touch and the buttons are adorable. It's a flattering cut and a rich color that I've been told countless times is very 'cute and Christmas-y!'. My only complaint could be the fact that it's sleeveless, but honestly it's not a big deal - it looks good with cardigans and sheer long sleeve blouses underneath as well. 

Also it was cold enough taking these photos that I broke out some fleece tights for this outfit and they were warmer than I thought that they would be! I'm chronically cold so I'm really happy about that.

It's been awhile since my last post and for that I apologize! There's certainly more for this coming week in the works so no more of this slacking nonsense. I have more clothes than I know what to do with from modcloth that need reviewing so there will be a lot of that coming up, along with some book recommendations and diy projects and all kinds of things. So keep on the look out, okay. 

This weekend was one of the best I've ever experienced. I started a new job last Monday and it's infinitely better than when I was at Payless. This job is flexible with the other things that I'm trying to achieve and put together in my life and has a consistent work schedule that I really like. Very much unlike at Payless, I don't want to cry after every shift from being overworked in a helpless position. The pay increase doesn't hurt either, that's for sure. 

I spent Friday night at Patrick's apartment so Saturday morning we ate at the Huddle House which is still super new to me. I've only had it twice when I've gone out to visit him, but I would definitely give it a superior rating to iHop or Denny's. After that we were marathoning the third season of The Office pretty hard, but we made time to go to the park and play around for awhile! It was one of those days with perfect just-cold-enough-for-a-sweater weather and besides the playground we were initially at we found a  little graveyard of old broken down wooden bleachers. Thus began a game of tag, climbing around from one set to the next. We are totally going to go rock climbing one day.

We've been meaning to get some more pictures of us together for awhile, so we took advantage of the perfect weather conditions as well. It was the kind of atmosphere that felt very surreal and dreamlike. As if we were hiding in a memory like in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind or something. Definitely something beautiful to share.

Well, that's more than enough rambling for one day! Look for a Monday's outfit post tomorrow. 

winter is coming.

Despite the fickle weather of the Midwest the past month or so I knew that when I was trying to pry myself away from my cozy bed and get myself to work around eight in the morning and there wasn't any sunlight streaming through my window there was a change in the seasons coming.

There's something to be said about the distinctive camp fire esque smell of Autumn. It's so particular and comforting. It's like a warmth in the slightly chilly atmosphere and it's so welcome. I probably won't stop being bitter about Kansas skipping most of my favorite season, but there were a few special occasions that I spent evenings outside basking in that scent. Those nights will have to tide me over for now. 

Today, though, today was different. Today was the briskness of Winter. Sharp, like how snow feels on your bare skin. Fresh, but with a bite to it. Later that day as I proceeded to get ready to spend a large portion of the evening outside attending the local art crawl I realized that I am so very much over due for a warm go to winter coat.

one / two / three / four

*all found on modcloth

Here we have my top four favorite coats from ModCloth that my indecisive heart just can't pick between! I love the simplicity of the two on the far left, but who could resist the military inspired buttons and lace trim on coat #3? Those are outrageously cute and just dainty enough to make me feel girly and adorable.

Reasonably I keep telling myself to go with the black, because it'll match more of my clothes, but the bright red Dear Creatures jacket is my absolute favorite. I've probably talked myself in and out of purchasing that one four or five times already. I've always said that there isn't a clothing line that embodies my personal style more than Dear Creatures and this coat is the epitome of that.

Clearly I have some serious decisions to make.