Santa Barbara Roadtrip! Part I

Greetings, my friends. :) I have returned from my roadtrip to Santa Barbara! It feels weird to be home again, and also, to be blogging again. But I'm very glad, because I have a lot to tell! My mom and I had a great time, and we luckily managed to take a lot of photos each day. I'm choosing my favorites/fashion shots to put here though. Today's post is PART I because this needs to be spaced out in four days worth of posts! Lengthy, indeed! Let's begin?

(dress, & belt: forever 21 // necklace: from derek ♥ // minnetonka moccasins: thrift store // purse: antique shop)

Thursday we started our trip, leaving at around 11:30. We stopped in Salinas, CA for lunch and afterward, found an antique store. I found this amazing vintage purse that you are now viewing in these photos! I got it for $20, and I'm really glad I did. It's lovely.

We continued our drive and for dinner, we stopped in San Luis Obispo, CA. It is a great college town with a lot of shops and such downtown. Oddly enough, Thursday nights are farmer's market nights - so we joined the throng of people! We ran around a bit getting outfit shots and managed these before it got too dark. After sharing a taco salad for dinner we left San Luis Obispo and continued on our way to Santa Barbara...! :)
We drove into Santa Barbara around 10:30ish and got our key to our little cottage dump house. Why do I call it that you ask? Well, cause it sort of was. They didn't even have a light bulb in the bathroom's lamp... But I found the whole place rather charmingly tacky and kitsch in a weird way. But anyway... It was a nice spot because we were in the middle of town - close to the beach and close to the downtown shopping area. We learned our way around Santa Barbara within no time. ;)

Look out for Part II tomorrow! ♥
xoxo Elanor

currently listening to... my own thoughts.

Santa Barbara!

(source: "santa barbara sunrise" on flickr)

I thought I was going to have a chance to do an outfit update today, but I didn't manage any photos. So frustrating! Oh well, because... tomorrow I leave for Santa Barbara with my mom for our road trip! Aaaand, I'm going to be taking many photos. ;)

Today I had an oddly special day with Derek. We tried meditating and talked all night about life, important things, music, & et cetera... ♥

I'll be back on Sunday (7/25) from my road trip and will have plenty to share with you all...!

Talk to you then!
xoxo Elanor

currently listening to... my own thoughts.

Street Style #1

Hey there. I've decided when I don't have outfit updates, I'm going to do either a street style post like this one, or one similar, except the photos will be my favorite bloggers etc.

(sources: the style scout & hoy fashion)

from left to right, and onward each row et cetera...

1. I love the simple, but vintage feel to this outfit. The gray frock is darling and those red shoes really do make the outfit pop.
2. How I would love to have a coat and a pair of shoes like that! I really must start looking. Her sunglasses are cute, too.
3. Sort of mixing of patterns here - I love the long scarf though! When this fall and winter roll around (which seems to be sooner than I thought, now...), I would like to buy a few more scarfs. I also like the scarf-in-the-hair look! I need to figure out how to do that!
4. I don't like myself in shorts, but this gal is a complete doll. Socks, shoes, and coat. So adorable. (i love her haircut too!)
5. Again with the red-popping shoes! Ahh, Doc Martens. Really can make an outfit, can't they? I love how these shoes look with her pretty, dainty skirt. The clutch is rather neat, too.
6. In this outfit, I like the dress, sweater, and necklaces. The details on the dress are quite darling (i don't like her shoes though, oddly enough).

xoxo Elanor

currently listening to... The Beatles - A Day in the Life

Everything's Up In The Air

(loose mustard dress, & belt: forever 21 // gray cloth vest: h&m // navy keds: goodwill // bracelet: tibet shop)

I wore this yesterday to spend the afternoon with Derek at his house. Looking back at these photos, I realize - I like this dress, but I've got to admit, I don't quite like how all of Forever 21's fabric material is so thin. I guess because they are inexpensive they are allowed to do it. Oh well... It it just bothersome because then I have to wear a slip under their dresses because they are see-through.

Only just now did I realize, also, that I didn't post anything Friday - which means I had no "Thankful" section this week...! I apologize! Next week. ;) What I did Friday was not too crazy, but I am excited to say that I got new sheets and such for my bed! It made and is continuing to make me happy. The quilt is so darling, and I adore the huge sham that I now am going to be leaning up against to read every night (i just need a tall light fixture for the corner next to my bed... my room tends to be fairly poorly lit). And, of course they aren't new, my plushie kitties. :) Not as good as my real feline friend, Zoey, however! If you didn't notice, I once again managed to get shots of her! Success!

currently listening to... Nothing! How strange.

Painting the town red.

Yesterday, Derek and I went to a town about 20 minutes away in order to go to a clay class, but we forgot the check... so, we ended up just walking around for a few hours. And we took photos! Yay! I didn't like the photo updates on Monday that much because we took the pictures on a different camera than my normal one so the shots weren't as nice. So I was glad to use my own simple Powershot. :)

We got scones at Starbucks and discussed Worldly Matters while chewing. Hehe. At that point, I hadn't got an outfit shot yet, so I asked Derek to take some when we were finished. Luckily he obliged! About my outfit... I always feel boring when I wear pants, but ah well, I figured I hadn't worn them for a while. I really like this shirt though! I got it from Target, to boot. :)

(scarf, & flats: mom's closet // mint shirt: target // forest green cardigan, & hobo purse: all vintage everything event // jeans: forever 21 // belt: dad's closet // necklace: h&m)

Poor Derek and me. Me, with my torn up leg and the back's of my heels constantly being ripped off (not good shoes...? heh.)... and Derek, a brace from screwing up his wrist! (see image below) Sheesh. :( Maybe we need to be more careful...

We found this really cute garden nook in the middle of the town to take the photos at. There were pretty purple flowers and red flowers and it was all just lovely. Perfect location for a short shoot! And Derek took the photos of me, which was great. It's nice not having to use a tripod and do the time-and-dash (setting the timer...running to pose...).

Have a great night, everybody!
xoxo Elanor

currently listening to... Spill Canvas - Bracelets