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2013-05-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

I graduate from my master's program tomorrow, and in three days I'll be moving to New York City. My fingers and body ache as I type this and ignore the packing tape and boxes currently strewn about in the living room. But I'm at a place where I'm really happy anyways, despite the scattered mess of moving my entire life.

That is a strange sentence to type: In three days, I will be moving to New York City. That's essentially been my dream since I was 11, ever since I started watching "Felicity" and "Friends" regularly and daydreamed about cityscapes and sidewalks. Since I chickened out from applying to NYU and Columbia because I couldn't deal with the remote possibility that they -- and by extension, the city, my city -- would reject me. It has been a dream that hit its fever pitch when I interned up there for three months in undergrad. And solidified this year, when Jeremiah moved up there and started building a home for us.

In three days, I will be ticking off my life dream.

I haven't really discussed much of my personal life on the blog this year. Part of it is because my blog has become a little more public, as I've opened up to more people in my program about it and have mentioned it in job interviews and things like that.

Part of it is also that it has been a really hard year, being separated cross-country from Jeremiah. Our marriage was thrust into long distance very quickly when he moved up to New York, and I've been living down here, just finishing up school and work. On good days, the distance was my friend -- I could keep my head down, work on everything I needed to professionally without feeling pressure to come home at a reasonable hour. Personal projects (like building my online portfolio, learning to cook, writing spec scripts, hanging out with some of the best people ever) got done. And even small things like picking out my own groceries or taking the car wherever I wanted without consulting another person was a nice relief. And then there were the bad days -- being separated for months at a time, hating everything about living down in Georgia and feeling very stuck and lonely.

I've mentioned before that I've essentially lived in the air space between New York and Georgia this year, as I've flown between the two every other month to visit Jeremiah and put all my dominoes together for a possible career and life up there. It's been weird, adjusting to figure out "home" -- having two residences but not feeling like I belonged at either of them.

But.

None of that matters today.

Because today I'm picking up Jeremiah from the airport, and we'll be living together permanently in the same city. In three days I'll be trading my beloved car for public transit, and rural landscapes for skyscrapers.

I've learned a lot from Georgia in the last 17 years. I'll always have a soft spot for this state -- all of its beautiful, haunting and even twisted parts -- and the wonderful people here who I am fortunate enough to call family and friends.

In four days, I will ~~be moving~~ living in New York. And then I'll have to find a new life dream.

Get lost

2013-05-03T16:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! Hope you have a chance to get lost this weekend (in the nicest, most adventure-est way possible).

This photo is from one of my weekend trips to the covered bridge -- I really am going to miss that place!

Turquoise sky

2013-05-03T08:56:00.000-04:00

Just a recent outfit that I've worn so many times this semester for different presentations. I love the abstract design against the landscapes.

The bracelet is a recent vintage find -- it's very similar to my cougar bracelet that I still need to get repaired. Until then, it's a good replacement.

Forgive the brevity -- I'm in finals week! My final finals week ever.

credits - dress and shoes, target | blouse, banana republic | bracelet, vintage, finder's keepers.

Dizzy up the girl

2013-05-02T14:48:00.000-04:00

I've mentioned my frustrations with photography many times on this blog. A new camera takes time getting used to, and whenever I nail the right composition, focus, lighting and pose, all the hours of effort and sweat feel worth it.

But what about those mistakes? I've been poring over my Dropbox lately, and have come across a small collection of soft-focus self-portraits. Normally these would get deleted, but for some reason, I like them now. They skew reality and give off a hazy point-of-view, which is often how I feel whenever I take photos in the morning -- bleary-eyed and half-asleep.

The title of this post is from my favorite Goo Goo Dolls album -- it seemed appropriate for these blurry versions of myself.

And it was all yellow

2013-05-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

I have spent a lot of time at this lake lately. Whenever I get free time from work or class, I just find myself driving those back roads to the park, through farm land and past dilapidated farms. It's like nothing can really, truly reach me when I'm there.

I've been wanting to wear this outfit all spring, and actually envisioned the floral wreath to go with this dress. Yellow used to be my favorite color as a child, and I've been seeking it out to match my current landscapes. I had some difficulties taking photos on this dock -- the outer section floats and doesn't have a foundation, so I had to be super careful with my movements to prevent my camera from falling into the water!

credits - dress, target | shoes, talbots | hair wreath, diy.

What the water gave me

2013-04-24T10:00:00.000-04:00

This post is a direct result of listening to so much Florence Welch and Lana Del Rey this week -- now that it's spring, all I want to do is bust out the floral hair wreaths. I tried explaining all of this to a friend earlier this week and he called me the ultimate hipster. Though I like things that are popular in the fashion blogosphere -- constructing elaborate photoshoots and making hair wreaths, for instance -- I can't say that I aspire to embody certain stereotypes. I like what I like and, well, no apologies.

There's been a sense of urgency in my photography lately, since I've been revisiting all of my photo spots in anticipation of moving in a couple weeks. When I go, I spend a lot more time planning for the locations, hoping to make the most of the weather and my time, everything else be damned. Whenever I go to the usual spots, I sometimes run into bird watchers and ornithologists, armed with their cameras and binoculars to watch for the herons and other aviary. It's always a good omen to see these visitors at the park, because usually my photos turn out better whenever they're there. I'm not sure why my photos end up better, but I think it's because I'm there early enough to watch the sunrise and do some reflection photography. When I took these photos, I shared the dock with some very good-natured landscape photographers. I usually shy away from other people at the park whenever I'm there to take photos -- I don't like having to explain what I'm doing to everyone! So when the photographers came and saw me, they were pretty cool about it and apologized for interrupting. And though for different purposes, we stood on opposite sides of the dock, working in silence on our photography. I don't know if they wondered what I was working on, or cared, but it was nice to have kindred company for once.

credits - dress, vintage, agora | floral wreath, self made | shoes, talbots | ring, heirloom.

Thoughts from the Sidewalk

2013-04-23T18:00:00.000-04:00

I've had "Roxie" from the "Chicago" soundtrack stuck in my head for the last few weeks. I know that murdering sopranos are hardly the best place to cull life lessons from, but this song in particular has been inspiration in this time of graduation and wrapping up things in my town. I originally took this photo on the plane when I was flying from NYC back to Atlanta during spring break. I've spent the last year essentially living in that air space between New York and Georgia, as I've flown back and forth to visit Jeremiah, do interviews and meet people for the last year. With three weeks left here in Athens, I'm excited and scared for the next step of moving up to NYC, and I have to believe it's all for something amazing, I'm just not sure what yet.

Until then, I'll just be singing "Chicago" lyrics and wondering if I too can do Billy Flynn's tap-dance during "Razzle Dazzle" (probably not).

Brella

2013-04-22T10:53:00.002-04:00

Whenever it rains, I try to make it down to the tennis courts because no one will be there so I can practice my photography, and the puddles are just too fun for experimentation. I only had a short time at the courts for this session, because about 10 minutes in, a police car came rolling through for patrols. I've never run into law enforcement during my photo outings (and I haven't gone exploring too far off to garner any trespassing suspicions), but I'd rather keep my streak of not having to explain myself going.

I'm not quite sure why I've never photographed this outfit before -- I practically lived in it during that weird time between winter and spring. Velvet pants are just way too comfortable.

credits - blouse, vintage, thrifted | pants, talbots | shoes, target | bag, vintage, stone mountain | umbrella, gift.

Pollen paisley

2013-04-19T15:48:00.001-04:00

Town has been so covered in pollen, I really am surprised I haven't been engulfed in a giant yellow ball of tumblefluff yet. This J. Crew dress is one of my favorites for spring but it basically matches everything on the ground right now.

When I took these photos, I had to essentially wait in line for this spot. Everyone is out on the historic campus taking graduation photos. I normally shy away from public areas for outfit photos (because it's still weird and after four years, I feel like I still have to make excuses for such weird narcissistic behavior), but there's only three weeks left to hit up my favorite spots. I've been driving to other parks in the area lately -- there is something emboldening about having a full tank of gas, sunscreen and a little more free time.

Here is the last roundup of all the ways I've worn this dress. I like to mix it with khakis and green.

credits - dress, j. crew | blouse, vintage, thrifted | shoes, talbots | ring, heirloom.

P.S. After being a holdout for so long, I'm on instagram now! Follow me at @joannssidewalk.

Classic revival

2013-04-16T12:39:00.000-04:00

I took these photos a few weeks ago when my bangs were still fresh. My hair has grown like a weed since then!

I've been hopping around to different places around the area to practice my photography, but I keep coming back to my favorite building on campus, the Fine Arts Theatre. Some history of the building: It was built in 1941 and was apparently the last building of the Works Progress Administration(WPA). It also was used to train WWII pilots. I like being able to walk through this history, and it's one of the reasons I'm going to miss Athens after I move. Photos in this spot are really difficult to do because it's near a busy road, so my time here was a bit brief.

credits - dress, target | sweater, loft | necklace, thrifted | shoes, talbots | bag, thrifted, stone mountain.

Back in focus

2013-04-03T10:00:00.000-04:00

Confession time: I've feeling iffy on my Nikon DSLR camera for the last few months. Most of it is because with my model, the focus options were really out of place on most of the settings I tried, making most of my photos pretty blurry. After spending lots of time trying to sharpen and correct a bunch of outfit photos, I was pretty much ready to call it quits on my camera and just go back to the point-and-shoot, thinking the problem was that my photography skills had disintegrated over the last few months. Turns out, the focus feature is a common problem with my model, and after finding a few how-to hacks to the settings, I think I am back in business! It's always rewarding to see photos reflect reality.

I've wanted to wear this outfit for months. It's bright and academic-ish, and perfect for campus and work.

credits- dress, nine west | blouse, vintage thrift find | shoes, talbots | bag, stone mountain, thrift find | pocket watch necklace, waltham, heirloom.

Watson Mill Bridge

2013-04-02T19:51:00.000-04:00

Now that I have a lot more free time, I've been visiting some of my favorite spots around town as sort of a "goodbye tour" through Athens. One of my favorite photography spots is Watson Mill Bridge Park. It's the longest covered bridge in the state. I had some fun taking photos this weekend and splashing in the water.

This vintage dress from local store Agora is a gift to myself for finishing up my last semester of graduate school. It fits perfectly and, coupled with my bangs, I cannot help but feel like I'm Zooey Deschanel in "(500) Days of Summer."

credits - dress, 1950s vintage, from agora | bag: stone mountain, thrifted | shoes: target | belt: vintage, from a giveaway.

P.S. There must be something in the water around April, because I seem to visit this spot at the same time every year. Here and here are my last few visits to Watson Mill Bridge.

Muscle memory

2013-03-27T12:26:00.000-04:00

I've been in New York for the last three weekends for job and research stuff, but now that my media research project is over, I have much more free time! I'm looking forward to enjoying my last month in town before I move up North.

So I've been resorting to the same uniform of sorts for the last couple weeks -- dress, sweater, tights, and out the door. I haven't really worn my brooches in the last year or so, but I've been revisiting them as kind of "good luck" talismans I wear throughout the day. I bought this leaf a few years ago before I graduated from my undergrad years -- it seems appropriate now to rewear it while my life is in transition!

It's been very cold down here that my tripod has been freezing in place. I'm so happy to play around with my photography more now that my time is more open.

credits - dress: loft | sweater: talbots | coat: h&m, thrift find | boots: tj maxx | brooch: vintage, from finder's keepers.

Grand Central

2013-03-12T22:09:00.000-04:00

I went to New York last week for spring break to visit Jeremiah, go to some meetings and work on a giant research project. While I was there, I had to shoot some video footage around the city for my project, so we went to Grand Central. Jeremiah lives in the city now, but had never been! We spent some time wandering around and staring at the beautiful constellation mural on the ceiling. I love old architecture in New York, and learning about the stories behind building development. Growing up in suburban Georgia, most buildings have been built in the last 40 years, so it's cool to visit cities that have more remnants of their historical background. When I move up to the city, I'll be checking out a few more places I've found on Scouting NY and capturing these details with my own camera.

I wore this dress multiple times during the week for my meetups -- it's such a great staple.

credits: dress- loft | blouse- vintage, thrifted | boots, tights: tj maxx | bag: stone mountain, thrifted.

Gather ye rosebuds

2013-03-05T10:00:00.000-05:00

I've been in a floral crown kinda mood lately. I bought some more floral tape and wire at Michael's a few weeks ago and have just been making a bunch for spring. I'm not a cold weather person at all, and so working on a craft so associated with summer helps lift my mood. Though it's not quite time to wear them yet because it's so cold, here are just a few looks of mine in the past that have incorporated floral crowns ...

Hepburning

2013-03-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

It's still miserably cold here in Georgia, and I've been favoring more pants this winter than usual. Something about pulling on extra-warm wool tights in the dead of winter just feels really tiring to me. I'm excited there have been more patterned pants the last few seasons — I'm slowly trying to experiment with different styles.

I've been watching a lot of old movies recently, and have been really digging Katharine Hepburn's minimalist style — all strong shoulders and neckties. Not sure if she'd be a fan of bright-colored bowties, but here is my sartorial homage to her. I'm in the middle of comprehensive exams and a giant media research project, so feeling dapper in dress makes me feel less stressed than usual.

credits - coat: michael kors | blouse: lei | button-up: vintage, thrifted | pants, shoes: talbots | bowtie: vintage, from agora in athens, ga.

Brain juice

2013-02-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

It's a little daunting that my graduate school career will be over in a few months! The last year and a half has flown by so fast. To keep myself somewhat sane through this whole process, I've been tinkering around with some design and photography just for fun. I take quite a few photos for this blog, and a lot of them don't get used because they don't necessarily make sense for a post. Sometimes I revisit my archives and repurpose the photos for design stuff.

Below are a couple based on some of my favorite pop culture things!

I've mentioned my love of "Game of Thrones" quite a bit on this blog, and I decided to take it to the next level by making a pretend book title for the series. The inspiration was a photo I took over the summer of a lion door decoration I found downtown.

This next one was inspired by a quote from "No Country for Old Men," one of my favorite movies. I took the original photo in north Georgia, and just transformed it in Photoshop and InDesign. The fonts I used for these are "Clumsy" and "Mexcellent" (both recommendations from Pugly Pixel, a great design resource).

I'll try to share more of my extra design/photography stuff here in the future!

Online/offline selves

2013-02-05T10:00:00.000-05:00

I've been a busy bee these past few weeks, I thought I'd share a little bit of what I've been working on. In addition to doing my assistantship/internship/school, I've also been in graduation mode and have tried to be proactive in updating my online portfolio (which is here if you're curious). I know I've discussed blogging privacy and my hesitations with linking my online self with my personal identity, but I think I am finally at a point where I'm comfortable merging the two. Part of it is because it's so important in the adpr/social media industry to have an online presence, and part of it is because I no longer feel like I have to hide or make light of my hobbies from people in my real life. I've introduced my online self to my real-life friends -- so now online friends, here is a peek at my offline identity. I don't really think there is too much of a distinction with online/offline identities anymore because of social media.

P.S. If you want more talk on blogging identity, the comments on this past post are pretty insightful.

Stage right

2013-02-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

I took these photos on campus in front of the Fine Arts Theater. It's one of my favorite spots on campus because it's such a beautiful building, but it's hard to take photos because it's close to such a high-traffic road. Yesterday afternoon was a bit quiet (perhaps because it was Super Bowl Sunday?), so I took a few quick shots. This headphones sweater is so comfortable -- I found it on sale in the boys' section of Target and I've gotten so many compliments on it!

I got a haircut over the weekend to define my bangs and add in more layers. I think the bangs are just a smidge shorter than what I am normally comfortable with, but my hair grows fast so it's a small quibble. The last couple times I've gotten them cut, they haven't been the right shape and were too piece-y. But these ... I think I am definitely in Lisbeth Salander territory again, and I'm okay with that.

More from the island of lost outfit photos

2013-02-01T11:52:00.000-05:00

Basically, winter is killing me in doing outdoor photography. I've compiled some of my favorites from the last couple weeks.

I wore this a couple weekends ago for a day of vintage shopping and running errands around town. I felt like a grownup Brownie Girl Scout in this one. And with the addition of my beloved "Game of Thrones" brooch, I also felt like a female Ned Stark, as strange as that may sound.

outfit 2 details - coat: zara, thrifted | sweater: old navy | skirt: talbots | tights: kohls | boots: tj maxx.

A typical winter outfit. The coat was a find in a Salvation Army near my apartment in NYC — I went on a discount day and it was around $3. I wear the fox sweater about twice a week now.

outfit 3 - dress: loft | blouse: leslie fay, vintage, thrifted | tights: kohls | boots: tj maxx.

I haven't worn this vintage top in about two years, but I think it works perfectly with this dress.

Have a great weekend!

Thoughts from the Sidewalk

2013-01-25T14:10:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! Just a fun illustration I made from some music I've been listening to lately. Have a good weekend!

Spring fakeout

2013-01-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

These photos were so hard to take over the weekend. The weather's been in the mid-50s to 70s during the day, and so I've been going tightsless in January, which is so strange! When I went to take these photos, so many people were playing outside at all the photo spots I wanted to use, that I had to find my old isolated wall for a few quick shots. This vintage dress has been a favorite for years, but the butterfly sleeves make it difficult to layer, but it works with an oversized sweater. Except for my shoes, this outfit is all secondhand.

Anyway, life is moving forward. I don't feel entirely prepared for how fast this semester is moving. I celebrated my birthday over the weekend by having a few friends over for "Community" and Cards of Humanity. I tested out my mom's lumpia (Filipino egg roll) recipe for the first time, and they came out pretty good. One of my resolutions this year was to eat a new vegetable or fruit every week, even if I am unsure of my skills in preparing them. That's what Google is for, right? So far in 2013: bell peppers, asparagus, starfruit, garlic, soybeans. Not together, of course (though that may not be a bad combination?). I'm working my way up to broccoli.

credits - dress: vintage, label: in roads, from agora | sweater: thrift find | shoes: talbots.

Here are more of my thrift finds.

Black and blue

2013-01-09T10:59:00.000-05:00

My 2013 started with more of a whimper, rather than a bang. I got the flu for about a week and have just been getting back on my feet. School and work started back up this week, and I'm already a bit overwhelmed.This weekend will be all about organizing (my apartment and my life) so I can feel 100% again.

This was my New Year's Eve outfit, made all the more special because Jeremiah was in town to take these photos. We had a pretty quiet evening because he had an early flight the next day that required us to miss the countdown, but I couldn't resist wearing sequins during the day anyways. This Loft dress was a cool sale find. I don't usually wear a lot of black or blue, but I'm branching out! It's made of a thicker cotton and it has pockets so it's basically my favorite dress right now.

How's your 2013 starting out?

credits - dress: loft | boots, tights: tj maxx | sweater: talbots.

photos by Jeremiah.

2012 in outfits

2013-01-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's already 2013! 2012 saw a lot of change and growth for me in my personal life. In 12 months, I finished up four semesters of school, wrote two screenplays, completed an internship and assistantship, worked on several freelance projects, and volunteered for the Peabody Awards. Somewhere in there, I also helped Jeremiah move cross-country to NYC. It's been exhausting and challenging, working and being in school while also in a long-distance marriage. But I'm really excited about pushing through the next few months, and knowing that the end results will be finishing up my master's degree, moving away up north and switching careers (FINALLY SERIOUSLY).

I thought it'd be interesting to share the last year in outfits. Though my style has become more simple in the last year to help with the transition of being at work or in class during the day, I did become more experimental with my hair, opting for shorter, blunter bangs in the spring. (And if you're interested, here's 2010 and 2011 in outfits).

Thank you for reading!

Foxy lady

2012-12-23T09:42:00.004-05:00

I've been enjoying my winter break ever since finals ended a couple weeks ago. I visited NYC for a few days for some job-related meetings and tourist time with Jeremiah, which was fun because I haven't done too many tourist-y things up there the last few times I visited him. This trip, we visited MoMA, saw Phantom on Broadway with family (the Majestic theater is pretty close to our apartment!), and trekked down to the High Line, which was a cool treat for my camera (photos soon). I'm back in Georgia now, gearing up for some more family time this week.

This fox sweater was a recent find at the Old Navy near Herald Square. I know some animals have become really popular the last few years (owls, octopuses and foxes) and I'm usually hesitant to wear anything animal-related if it's become too trendy, but I really like foxes and have worn this sweater like four times a week since I bought it, specifically with these plaid pants. Jeremiah likes to call me "Foxy Lady" whenever I wear it, which just reminds me of Wayne's World. This sweater is quite the cute little heartbreaker!

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I wish you a holly jolly week!

credits - sweater: old navy | blouse (underneath): leon levin, vintage, thrifted | plaid pants: talbots outlet | coat: h&m, thrifted | purse: stone mountain, thrifted.