Quiet Hours

Skirt- BB Dakota (via Value Village)

Cardigan- Target

Necklace- Value Village

I'm in love with this skirt! It's to heavy and thick, it seems almost as if they stole some curtains from a

french chateau and decided to make a lovely skirt. :)

I got this mask from Venice because it reminds me so much of Phantom of the Opera. It does, right?

♥

Eras of Elegance

I stumbled upon this website and have been completely excited to share it with you!

Eras of Elegance.com is a huge and information filled website all about the traditions, fashion, arts, entertainment and lifestyle from the Classical period through the Edwardian era.

The lifestyle section is even relevant to today, using historical information to

describe how to set a table properly, address invitations, serve tea etc.

One of my favorite things was their idea of a 'Victorian Weekend Retreat'. They have planned every hour out for a 48 hour period, all dedicated to living out the Victorian lifestyle.

"7:00 a.m. Rise and Shine. Learn to simplify your morning routine by not using the curling iron, hairdryer or electric toothbrush. You may be surprised how much extra time this leaves for yourself in the morning. Go easy on the makeup regiment for a day, and instead take a quiet morning stroll outside or get a fragrant pot of tea started early.

8:00 a.m. Breakfast. Keep it simple, but consider serving freshly baked scones, muffins or bread (prepare the dough the night before to save time). When was the last time you had breakfast right out of the oven? "

Sounds divine...but also quite difficult! I plan to do this some weekend, and will document how it goes. If you do, please share how it went!

This is such a thorough website, I can't find anything it doesn't include. :)

All images belong to erasofelegance.com

♥

Gone again

I didn't really mention that I was going to be traveling abroad, what with all of the end of school finals and holiday hubbub, but I've been in Italy for the past two weeks! It was a semi pilgrimage/vacation and I'm still pleasantly jet-legged from the journey.

Hopefully this picture post won't bore too much.

Thanks for taking a look :)

♥

Underwood

Christmas morning was beautiful - frigid, but cloudless.

One of my favorite gifts was this beautiful 1955 Underwood typewriter..

It's in perfect condition, even with the original brochure and carrying case.

Tell me what you received and how you celebrated the holidays!

♥

Deeper Well

Currently enjoying:

-foggy mornings

-rainy days

-baking

-Atonement soundtrack

-desserts with friends

-Phantom of the Opera

Thank you for all of your lovely comments as my posting grew quite scant!

{Any comments or suggestions for the blog?

Just want to say hi? email me at abookofblair @ gmail.com]

♥

Waiting

Forgive me for the lack of posts over the next two weeks.

As finals approach, my nose seems permanently glued in my overpriced textbooks...

“The bitterness of studying is preferable to the bitterness of ignorance”

~Unknown

Dreaming In Color

Sweater, Necklace and Dress - Target

Tights - Nordstrom

Boots - Payless

1. Untitled, 2. I need more of it., 3. weistling: reflection, 4. Untitled

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Yankees out there! :)

♥

The Compasses' Rose

Skirt - Anthropologie

Blouse - H&M

Necklace - Nordstrom

I found this botany book in the 'expensive items' section of Value Village for $10.

It's about 30 pages of hand-applied plant specimens, along with a page of notes.

The notebook was published in about 1899, and was written c. 1910.

I love how much time and effort this person put into learning about all of these plants,

and carefully made observations and notes about them. Charming, non?

♥

Pour Présenter

I'd love to be able to collect some real calling cards,but for now looking at pretty ones online will have to suffice.

(Sorry, I don't know where these are from. Please let me know if one is your image!)

What do you think is the modern version of the calling card?

In other news, I recently stumbled over Pimpernel Clothing

They carry beautiful velvet and corduroy waistcoats, frockcoats, and robes.

Almost makes you want to be a 18th century man, eh? ;)

Well, luckily for us, they also have leather goods and period-style playing cards.

Check out their blog, as well.

♥

Edit: Blogger is being extremely belligerent today, thus the messed up format..

Reflections While Gazing Up

It's the feeling - and I grin again at life.

Everything reflects and the leaves grow prisms of crowns and roses.

This is a million summers combined, with feelings more endless than any season before.

Welcome to the humming mandolin times, served with his cider.

The leaves above glisten: (listen!)

It never could be truer that the wind brings change,

for the leaves are us

growing quietly but steadily

they burst in sudden -

beautiful flashes

As time passes

they fall (like us)

even more graceful than before

Then, settled on the ground

they take

a

final

resting place

to become one with the earth

Cling - for as long as ever

but refuse to fall alone.

Remember your antiquated

bursts of color, and reflect the lights

and know that

the mandolin keeps playing

ne'er worn from use.

{Poem and photo by me, model: Annika]

Thanks so much for all of your decorating suggestions!

I've been studying so hard, that I haven't had time to do

much more with the room, but I hope to find some time soon. :)

All of your comments are very appreciated, and I love reading them.

♥

Nothing to write home about

Thought it would be fun to show you where I'm currently living -

you know how I love it when people share pictures of their room or home.

It's certainly not glamorous, but my roommate and I have done our best to make it cosy and neat.

So give me some ideas! What should I hang on my big blank wall? (Apart from my Declaration of Independence, of course). ...Did I mention that I'm a history major? ;-)

♥

A little inspiration

1.Day 68 - Under a tree, 2.Untitled, 3.Untitled, 4.Untitled, 5.Paysage D'anjou, 6.Untitled, 7.Untitled, 8.IMG_6288, 9.What I See

This now hangs right above my desk.

What inspires you?

♥

His mad hat

This pretty Fall weekend, my mom and I went to a local 'Mad Hatter's" market out in the countryside.

Take a look...is it not to die for? :) I ended up buying a lovely little vintage Virgo Carmeli medal from Italy.

Also, if you haven't seen the video on the TOAST homepage, you're missing out!

It's sort of my perfect little dream world tucked into the mansions and beauty of Ireland.

♥

To Youth

Dress & Jacket - Urban Outfitters

Shoes - Target

Autumn is here. Everything glows.

Mornings are full of open windows, curtains flying.

Bright gems drop off of trees.

This is the real Spring - everything is turning.

♥

My Package

There's honestly nothing better than receiving a package or a letter...I've said it before and I'll say it again! :)

When I started Brown Paper Packages a little less than a year ago, I had no idea how well it would do. So far, I've paired up over 145 girls from all across the globe!

I paired myself up with the lovely Sam from England. I never did show you the package she sent me, and I don't know why! It was absolutely beautifully put together, and completely made my day. ♥

♥

Revival

I'm keenly interested in the current revival of Romanticism that I seem to run across, both in bloggers writing styles and fashion. I suppose I'm not just interested...I love it! I think it could be possible that people (aka all of you lovely blogging girls) are all discovering the little, beautiful things in our lives that we wish to photograph, read and wear. I'm generalizing Romanticism, but I know we all hold a special place in our hearts for a bit of Beethoven, Delacroix, and Keats.

The Girl I Left Behind Me - Eastman Johnson

Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog - Caspar David Friedrich

Speaking of Keats, I can't wait to see Bright Star:

A period piece, poetry, romance...what could be better?

♥

The Secret Life of Daydreams

Dress - Finder's Keepers

Cardigan - Urban Outfitters

Boots - Ralph Lauren

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, 

and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." -George Eliot 

♥

In the press!

Last month, I was featured in a local magazine and I finally got my hands on a copy..well just this (not very great) scan, actually.  Nevertheless, I'm very excited about my first time in print and I'm really glad how everything came out.  

A raw shot from the shoot

My page!

See full-size

All photos by Cameron Glass

♥

Summer's End

I was so glad that my friend and I got together to do this little shoot.  It reminds me of everything good about summer, while school is beginning and times are changing.  

I'm currently going through my first days of college, and don't know how much blogging I'm going to be able to do over the next couple of weeks.  Please keep sending me kind messages, though and I'll be back soon!

♥

An alluring diversion

Thanks to a great magazine article I happened across, I've recently become totally captivated by a new pursuit (to me) - letterboxing!  For those of you that don't know, letterboxing is, "an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming treasure hunt style outdoor quest."  I love it, and I think you will too!

What you must do is collect clues online, the two most prevalent sites being Letterboxing.org and AtlasQuest.com.  (If you don't live in North America, it should be pretty easy to find clues for your area too!)  Then, you decipher them or follow the trail they lead out in your town - for all clues lead you to your letterbox in a different manner.  

Once you have found your loot, you will find that a stamp will be inside, that you will stamp in your notebook, and then you will take your own stamp and make your mark in the notebook in the letterbox.  

   

Sorry for the sloppy handwriting!  I was crouching down in a dark tunnel, with only lantern light to see by...

I think this is great fun - really brings out the Nancy Drew in me! ;)