Madewell for Spring

It's been a while since I've talked about Madewell. In fact, it's been a while since I've shopped there! But that's because my favorite thing about the brand is their Summery dresses. When the heat kicks up, I want to wear leather sandals and flouncy dresses, and long pendant necklaces, and maybe even a straw hat. And that is always the perfect mood for Madewell! What are your Summer go-to pieces this year?

1  Chambray Eyelet Dress   I   2  Silk Shapesketch Twist-Back Tankdress

3 Stucco Stripe Songbird Dress   I   4 Stitched Dress

Peachy in Columbus!

Until 6 months ago, I had never lived anywhere but Ohio. And I am not even a little bit ashamed of that fact! It was a great place to grow up and, franky, it's the state with the cutest shape in the union... So there's that. Since I moved to NYC, my life has been on overdrive. So much so that it felt like I warped into this alternate reality, and when I got back to C-bus on Saturday morning, my old life just picked up right where it left off. Very sci-fi, I know. I got to see lots of friends, eat delicious food that I have been craaaaving, listen to great music, hang out in the Peach District, go swimming, dance and dance and dance some more, celebrate the Summer Solstice early, wear a crown made of flowers, sit on a front porch, lay in some grass, and enjoy a record amount of Brooklyn Summer Ale (a little taste of new home at old home prices. Score!) Here is my entire weekend in photos. Enjoy your own little taste of Columbus!

My favorite old sign on High St.

My faaaavorite swingset ever right near Aab India in Grandview

Delicious breakfast at Marshall's in Grandview

I helped make these snowflakes right before I moved. Still there!

Party at the most famous backyard swimming pool in Columbus

My fabulous friend Abigail at the Peach District Classic

Peach District Classic: Photo by Cate, aka Pearrier on Tumblr, aka my BFF

The wonderful Johnny Newman performing at the Peach District Classic

The DewDroppers, aka my favorite local band in all of Columbus

I was having so much fun, I missed the bus back to New York...
Luckily, there was another coming in 2 hours! 

Wink, Wink

Somebody payed a little surprise(ish) visit to Columbus this past weekend! Spoiler Alert: It was me. I had an amazing time, and now that I finally have this handy, dandy iPhone, I am about to resume blogging in full force. Thank you, Instagram! So, a full post about my weekend will be forthcoming, but for now, here's a little tease... BAM! ...Yeah, I did that.

Magnetic Valentine by Laura Sanders and Cate Humpage

Seasons

Spring has (sort of) sprung in New York. It's hard to believe I've technically been here for two seasons, five months, six monthly metro cards, two broken Amazon Kindles, 8 failed attempts to find just the right Indian food, two campaigns headed for launch, the passing of a grandparent and another, recently, of a dear friend... Happy and sad things have happened in my six months in exile. I've been straddling two worlds and two selves. The me who always made time to write in this blog no matter how crazy life got, because it relaxed and centered me...versus the me who feels so detached from her old self while navigating this new experience that she forgets to call her parents, sometimes for more than a week, and hardly ever has time to catch up with her best friends.

I have learned these past few days that just because I'm finding myself a bit changed doesn't mean I have to completely shed my skin and restart my life. There is no BC or AD about my life in NYC. I accept that everything is a juxtaposition, an oxymoron, a beautiful green park dwarfed by massive metallic skyscrapers, the gorgeous smell of a fresh flower market cut off by the less-than-desirable smell of that nearby dumpster, a bedroom that is ready to be finished save for that last box waiting to be unpacked, clothes to be folded and put away until next winter. Life is tricky, but we'll never stop learning. Never stop questioning. Never stop trying to figure out who we are. And maybe that's okay. For now.

Photo taken at Bryant Park on a lunch break