All you need is Luff

Double Exposure

2013-02-17T18:06:00.000-08:00

In photography, double exposure is a process where, for whatever reason (failure to forward film, on purpose, etc.), the film is exposed twice in the same frame. When film was the main source of photography, this process was rare but still possible (a neat trick with the Holga). However, with digital photography, there is no accidental or natural double exposure. This saddens me because what results of a double exposure is often extremely cool. Thus, I created my own digital double exposure using photoshop and various blending properties.

Inspired

2013-02-11T17:25:00.001-08:00

I recently heard about the R&B artist Elle Varner and was quite intrigued when in the interview, they asked her about her unique style. This prompted me to do an image search to see what they were talking about. I was instantly in love with her quirky, eclectic style. Below are just a few of my favorite outfits of hers.

2013

2013-01-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

Happy 2013!
I have a lot in store for this blog for this year. I've finally decided to jump start this thing again. I've missed blogging for a while but haven't been too sure what to make of it. However, I've had a little bit of a lightbulb moment while contemplating my possible new year's resolutions.

So keep checking back for an update, as well as a new layout. As for any religious debates that never seem to end in the comments, I will refrain from fueling them so they might as well cease.

Photography

2012-11-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a while, hasn't it? I'm not even sure why I'm posting this out of the blue. I just feel like posting some of my recent photography that I've just completed editing.

Enjoy!

Blog Shop Open!!!

2012-06-12T20:18:00.001-07:00

I finally got around to getting my blog shop up and running! If you'd like to head over that way, check it out here:

Luffly Goodies

{HFW Update}

2012-05-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

I am sad to report this news but unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in HFW this time around. It's something I've enjoyed since the beginning and was looking forward to it this time as well. However, the next week is one of the hardest for me in grad school. Basically I have an extremely challenging oral exam and presentation that will determine a lot for me.

If I outright fail, which I don't foresee happening, I could fail out of graduate school (if I fail a retake as well). What is a more likely possibility, though, is not failing but still performing poorly. I'm working on being less dramatic about things. This exam isn't life or death nor will I flunk out of school in one fail. I will, however, be quite embarrassed about doing poorly and I need to do well so I do not waste time. My intention is to switch to the PhD program and if I do poorly on this exam, there's less of a chance I can do so. Plus, who wants to retake a high stress, anxiety-ridden oral exam on just about everything they've ever learned?

If I was intelligent, I would have taken my outfit shots weeks ago when things weren't in such high stress mode. I did not do this, however, so this is why I regret having to say I'm sitting this one out. I look forward to seeing everyone else's beautiful looks!

<3 Stephanie

{My Current Obsession}

2012-02-26T06:38:00.001-08:00

I have an obsession with colored denim. I've always had an odd inclination for wearing bright colors. A few years ago I spotted a photo of some unimportant celebrity wearing green pants and that is when I decided I needed a pair in my life. Well, it's taken a few years to acquire said pants but nonetheless, I have found my perfect pair! I'm kind of in love with them.

{The Art of Today}

2012-02-06T20:01:00.000-08:00

The art of doing it today, now. Not in an hour. Not tomorrow. Today. Now.

Photo Credit: Me

I'm working hard on changing a lot in my life. I'm sure that's quite apparent to many of you. In particular, one thing I'm working diligently on changing is this horrible habit of mine to postpone just about everything. I've never seen myself as a procrastinator per se because I always am very diligent in my studies. I rarely wait until any academic deadline to start something. However, being this diligent in my studies deceives me into believing that I'm not a procrastinator.

I was wrong.

Everything I do, I postpone it for hours, day, weeks. I find myself constantly telling myself, "I will do that on the weekend when I have some free time." However, on the weekends I tell myself, "I'm resting now, I will do that during the week, when I'm productive." It's a vicious cycle. Doing laundry in a couple hours turn into a couple days. Answering emails tomorrow turns into weeks. This behavior disgusts me, I must do something. There's a quote I repeatedly tell myself,

"Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today" - Benjamin Franklin

I need to take this quote to heart. I need to stop procrastinating everything. One way I hope to achieve this is make a to-do list for each day. I'm always a list-maker. I love making lists. I've gotten quite lazy about paying attention to them, though. So, for now, my main goal is to actually pay attention to my to-do list. Only list things that I actually intend to do that day and work hard to not procrastinate. I'm open to any other suggestions as well.

{Hiatus}

2012-01-15T19:45:00.000-08:00

I've decided to take a hiatus from blogging. I always told myself I would never do such a thing. However, my circumstances are dire and I must step away from everything. I wish I could explain in more detail but I need to work through some problems by myself. I've gotten so much advice from my loved ones but I've come to the conclusion that at the end of the day, we're the only ones who can make decisions for ourselves. I wish I could include you all on my decision making process but I'm kind of overwhelmed with advice right now.

I've made istakhara and inshaAllah my decision will be aided or prevented. As soon as I have an update on what is going on, I will fill you all in.

I may put up a few new videos on youtube over the next couple weeks but that is the extent of Saluff for now. I apologize in advance and hope to come back to my beloved blog as soon as possible.

Now I leave you with this cool shirt I made

2011: Year in Review

2011-12-31T10:17:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we've gone through an entire year again. Alhamdulillah I survived, it was a rough year. I'm very optimistic that 2012 will be much better for me inshaAllah. I don't usually make new years resolutions because it's futile, I only make changes when I have the spontaneous urge to do so.

This year has seen quite a long of changes and struggles, for me and for millions of others.

I graduated from my undergraduate university. I started graduate school to get my masters. My desires for the future have completely changed and now include a PhD. I moved myself from Florida to Indiana and from Indiana to Delaware two months later. I've spent the majority of the year living absolutely alone. I've gained numerous friends all while losing my closest. I've had a couple broken hearts. I've gained and lost some weight. I discovered yet another failing organ.

And yet all these trials for me seem minuscule compared to what the citizens of other nations have had to endure. Arabs have fought and died for their freedom. Natural disasters have destroyed entire cities and livelihoods. Old leaders have been replaced with a glimmer of hope for the respective nation. What keeps me sane, however, is that for every bad, there seems to be some good that follows. Allah (swt) is just.

Anywho, here are my favorite outfit posts from each month throughout the year. This is my first full year of blogging, since I started halfway into 2010.

Thank you for all the support throughout the year!

{HFW Day 7: Friend Time}

2011-12-05T06:48:00.001-08:00

Wow! It just occurred to me I never posted day 7! I'm a silly girl. So this is something similar to what I'd wear if I was hanging out with friends. Laid back, colorful, with blue jeans.

It's cold outside!

{HFW Day 6: Date Night}

2011-12-03T10:32:00.001-08:00

Gosh I can't believe how slow I've been this HFW. Anywho, this is what I'd wear if I was married and were to go on a date with my hubby. Sometime I worry that I will never find anyone compatible for me. Then I remind myself that I need to be enjoying this time in my life.

If I ever get married inshaAllah, I may never have a moment like this again. I only have to worry about myself. I pick my schedule (relatively), I go where I want, when I want, and if I want complete silence, it's extremely easy to find. Not many people, even those single ladies out there, can say this. I should be grateful, yet, as usual, not grateful enough. Sometimes it's hard to appreciate what you have when you're extremely lonely.

The reason I picked this outfit is because I wanted something with girly materials and prints. Silks, pearls, animal print…. very girly indeed!

Picking out my jewelry for the evening

Got to smell good for the hubby

{HFW Day 5 - Eid}

2011-12-01T20:28:00.001-08:00

I realized after I took these photos that this is the shirt I wore for my last formal outfit during HFW. I can't help it, I don't have much formal attire. I don't really have a cultural outfit, which makes me really sad. I love salwar kameez but the one I had wasn't actually mine so I had to eventually return it.

Anywho, so this is normally something along the lines that I'd wear for Eid. Nothing too wild, just a pop of the orange color. I love these flats so much, I wish they were broken in so I could wear them more often.

{HFW Day 4: Travel}

2011-11-30T12:54:00.001-08:00

The one place I've wanted to visit for the past few years is Malaysia. Partly because Malaysians are so adorably fashionable, but also because the food always looks very yummy! I would say the only downside I've ever seen is that it's quite warm.

Since it's the opposite hemisphere, It would be entering summer right now. I might appreciate the warm weather in the middle of winter actually. Being the middle of the warm weather, I picked a more springy outfit. Something that would be cooler in the warm weather. Also, the Malaysian bloggers I follow usually wear bright colorful chiffon scarves so that's why I chose this one. The style I tried to do from this tutorial from one of my favorite bloggers.

{HFW Day 3: Break the Rules}

2011-11-30T07:03:00.000-08:00

To me, this was the most challenging theme for me. I'm someone who regularly breaks the fashion rules because I don't really believe there are any rules. I love mixing strange colors, patterns, and materials together on a regular basis. So when I was thinking of one thing I've never worn in public due to not being brave enough, it was layering multiple dresses over each other.

I've seen this on the runway some (Chanel Fall 2009 I believe) and I've contemplated it. I have yet to wear an outfit like this but it was an interesting outfit to put together. Also, I'm not someone to cinch me waste ever but there was so much fabric I had to slim down the bulk.

By the way, sorry this post was last. I'm swamped with work.

{HFW Day 2 - My Hobby}

2011-11-28T15:27:00.001-08:00

Whenever I'm completely stressed out or upset about something, the thing I always turn to is my favorite hobby. My hobby is photography. I've been doing photography for 8 years now. Over the years I've learned so much and have tried many different kinds of photography.

I've been the photo editor of the high school yearbook and worked professionally for the Purdue University newspaper. I've experimented with so many different kinds of photography but I always turn to the same kind - nature. I love nature photography so much. I have such a strong connection with nature I just can't explain it.

That's why It's so ironic I have a fashion blog - I hate portrait photography. It's just not my thing. That's why I've struggled to improve my outfit shots on the blog. Anywho, this is a typical outfit I may wear when doing photography. Super comfy with a big baggy top in case I need to crouch down or bend over, my plumber's crack or gut won't show.

{HFW Day 1 - Teaching Assistant}

2011-11-26T20:56:00.001-08:00

The leadership role that I've play since the start of this semester is a teacher. eeeeeek! I never in a million years thought I would be a teacher - or that I would enjoy it. I, however, absolutely love it! I'm surprised by how much of a challenge it is. When you have to know something well enough to explain it, it makes you really know it.

I'm not a full teacher, though. Just a teaching assistant. I run a couple lab sections of introductory biology. I need to look professional but I don't want to look too stuffy. I like to keep it in between fancy and casual so that the students are comfortable enough to approach me with questions.

Here is something similar to my usual attire

My trusty pink highlighter for grading ^.^

I love my according folder. The OCD freak in me loves organizing all my papers that I need to grade

Briiiiing on the dorkiness!

{PA}

2011-11-14T17:00:00.000-08:00

The other day I was looking at gmaps and I surprisingly realized that I live only 10 minutes from the Pennsylvania border! I have lived here 3 months and never knew I was so close! I usually only drive east and west, never north!

So as soon as I had this realization, I jumped in my car with my camera on a mission to cross the border. I was extremely pleased to find myself in rural Pennsylvania with winding roads full of plush orange trees! The smell of nature was absolutely intoxicating!

I won't take it personal if you ignore me to stare at the gorgeous trees around me.

{Cardi: J. Crew}
{Dress: Target}
{Scarf: c/o The Souq}
{Flats: Walmart}
{Bracelets: c/o The Souq, Walmart, H&M}

Isn't this sooo gorgeous? I stopped my car along the side of the road and whipped out my tripod and took my photos right along the road.

{Jamers}

2011-10-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

I love mixing pink and red together. Not sure why but there's just something so interesting about the combination. I also am seriously in love with this maxi skirt. It's an uber soft cotton material so it's basically like wearing pajamas all day. scooooore!

{Cardi, Bracelet: H&M}
{Maxi, Sandals: Target}
{Scarf: Walgreens}

{Tretorn}

2011-10-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

One thing I had to invest in recently were some good boots. At my old university, the parking garage was right next to the building, and I rarely spent time walking in the rain. At my new university, however, I park about a mile away from the buildings and usually I spend all day trekking over campus in the rain. One day of wet pants and I knew I had to buy some good boots.

I instantly fell in love with these pure white ones. I've never seen white boots before and they just looked so gorgeous on the screen. I couldn't resist. Plus, I love Tretorn. I hope they work well in the snow as well.

{Cardi: J. Crew}
{Tee, Scarf: Walmart}
{Bracelets: c/o The Souq}
{Boots: Endless.com}

{Exposed}

2011-09-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

I only post about fashion. This is a fashion blog after all. Why, though? Why exclusively fashion? The title doesn't even pertain just to fashion.

I figured on occasion I will include photos of other things going on in my life. Right now, I've been enjoying taking apart my phone. I have so much fun tinkering with all the parts and connections.

The only reason I initially did it was because I broke the LCD and needed to replace it. To do that, I had to take the whole thing apart. A week later, the new screen died on me for no reason. To no avail, I took apart the whole thing and reconnected it. Then I had to take it apart again to send back the screen. Right now its laying naked on my table, parts sprawled out, covered with a paper towel. Cringing yet?

{Calm}

2011-09-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

I'm finally starting to get used to grad school. The first two weeks were horrid. It was a huge slap in the face. I've always been someone who needs to be in control of the situation 100% of the time. I hate being late and I hate not doing everything perfect. After three weeks of grad school, I have completely changed.

My third week was supposed to be my busiest one yet. I was fearful of how it was possible to even get worse than my second, but my schedule was definitely more packed. However, I had a completely sense of calm the whole week. No rushing anywhere, no stressing about getting things done perfectly, no freaking out about every detail. And yet, everything turned out exactly as it would if I had stressed.

I have no more care left. It's like I only come equipped with so much care to disperse amongst things and I've run out. I don't even care that I don't care. I'm not saying I've become lazy and unproductive because that's completely out of character. I'm just extremely more relaxed about being busy for 12 hours a day.

{Cupcake}

2011-09-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been 15 days since I've posted. I'm pretty sure that's a record. Grad school is unbelievably busy. I've always been the kind of person to fill my life up so that I'm always busy, but I have never been this busy in my entire life! I've been waking up before the sun comes up and not completing my day until long after the sun has gone down. I'm sleeping little and stressing too much.

Part of the stress is my obsession for everything to go perfectly, which it inevitable will not. I have so much pressure on me right now, partly self induced, but also from numerous sources that are out of my control. I'm so behind on many obligations I have. I feel like I'm doing everything wrong. I don't know how to stop screwing up.

One of the things I've fallen behind on obviously is my youtube and blog. When I'm finishing my day at 1AM and I have to be up at 6AM, the last thing I'm thinking of is recording a video or editing photos. I have a lot of shots accumulating, so I've decided to spend some time scheduling some posts for the next couple weeks.

These shots are from my birthday. That was August 29th. I bought myself a cupcake because I didn't have anyone to celebrate my birthday with.

{Training}

2011-08-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is the first outfit from my TA Orientation and Training this week. I wanted to be uber comfortable since it was all day so I wore a cotton dress. The whole week was extremely exhausting but I'm looking forward to guiding new minds in the laboratory.

{Dress: F21}
{Cardi: J. Crew}
{Tee: Kohls}
{Scarf: Pearl Daisy}
{Crossbody: Target}
{Bracelets: c/o The Souq}

Question: Does it gross you guys out when I take shoe shots? Just curious.

{Elk Neck}

2011-08-27T07:33:00.000-07:00

I wore this to Elk Neck State Park this past weekend. I love nature. It's the only thing that get's me through my tough times. Sure, it also throws disastrous hurricanes my way as well, but there's always rough patches in love.

It was such a beautiful park too! I hope that during my hurricane isolation in my apartment, I can edit the photos I took and upload them on my flickr soon inshaAllah.

I wanted to wear something super comfortable and lightweight. When doing photography, the outfit needs to be roomy enough for climbing and bending, as well as lightweight so I don't have a stroke in the middle of a forest.

{Cardi, Pants: Off Saks 5th Ave}
{Tee: F21}
{Scarf: c/o The Souq}
{Sandals: Target}

P.S. I'm going to schedule a few posts so that I have some things going up during the storm.

P.P.S. I'm really slow to reply to comments but I promise one day I will get to it inshaAllah.