It took a bit longer than usual this year, but I have been feeling fairly festive lately. When autumn lingers on and snow doesn't arrive, it sometimes feels odd to truly transition to winter and thoughts of the holidays. But lately I have been feeling in the holiday spirit--cozy mittens, red wellies, and giant wreath included. This wreath was actually a creative project I did to make myself feel better about all the trees chopped down in the park by my house this winter. I'm not sure if the trees were diseased or dying, but they cut down so many trees by me this year and it made me feel a bit blue to walk down those familiar paths with only scattered branches and defeated little trunks where giants once stood. So I made the effort one day with Thomas's help to gather up various branches chopped down in the park to make some wreaths and other decoration with. It felt good to forage and find a use for the bits left behind. Thomas even used some of the trimmings to make a lovely arch over our front door; I don't believe the wee gatehouse has ever looked so festive! If trying to make something pretty out of some scraps and sadness isn't a big metaphor for 2019--I don't know what is. It's very true that we can't control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond. Sometimes that means making giant wreaths with remnants from trees you loved and will miss. And with that said I'm going to take a wee break from blogging for the holidays! I'll probably still post to Instagram every so often, but otherwise I'll see you all in 2020. Merry Christmas!

And the Ocean was Our Sky by Patrick Ness falls more into the short story/graphic novel category rather than novel which makes it a bit outside of my normal reading list. Still with the premise of Moby Dick turned on its head (quite literally in parts) and gorgeous, atmospheric illustrations throughout by Rovina Cai I was intrigued to read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. In the book we follow Bathsheba, an apprentice hunter as they trail after a myth and monster who leaves destruction in his wake. But Bathsheba isn't a human, rather a whale, in a pod that swims upside down (to us humans) through the ocean and call the air and land above the Abyss. The whales are locked in battle and an ongoing war with the humans who live below them and are obsessed with prophesy. Bathsheba herself did not wish to become a warrior whale, but was prophesied to be one by her grandmother and thus we begin to experience one of the novel's main theme of fate and destiny and determination (the last seems to be mostly illusion in this book). While short, it is well-written allowing us to jump straight into the strange and unfamiliar world that exists in parallel to our own. One of my favorite details of the book though is the illustrations by Rovina Cai; she works in a limited color palette of grays and red that makes for very striking and ominous images. The illustrations are also designed to be an intentional "pause" within the story, some are scattered with a few pages of written word in between, but at other parts the words melt away and we slowly page through picture after progressive picture. As a reader who frequently creates her own pause in stories --does no one else feel the need when reading a particularly good book to stop a moment, hold the book to your chest and just breathe?--I really enjoyed this element of the book. On the downside, I felt the story was bit short and the morales throughout a bit heavy-handed, but both of those can be chocked up to the fact the book is likely intended for a younger audience and thus the reading comprehension can't be too complicated. Still for sheer originality I did enjoy the story and it makes me intrigued to read more of Patrick Ness's work. 

Today I'm walking through misty peatlands, talking about a classic novel all while wearing a dress inspired by the era of that novel. Some people might think this is all terribly old-fashioned, but I usually prefer to think of it as classic or even timeless (and perhaps a bit romantic). Certain stories are so good and true we return to them generation after generation--fashion can have that same quality with pieces passed down or at the very least made to last and not be thrown away whenever a new trend emerges. I appreciate how historically things were so well made; it wouldn't be unusual for someone to alter a dress multiple times or pass it down, companies had success not by creating a need for the latest gadget, but customer loyalty because their work was solid and endured. Lately it's also what draws me to new clothes when shopping--I feel far more drawn to something that seems well made even at a higher price point, than something cheap that feels flimsy.  Even the new copy of Little Women I received recently from Abrams & Chronicle has the feel of a proper vintage book; in a sea of books with flashy graphic covers it's a throwback that (to me at least) will never go out of style. I feel the same about my linen dresses from Little Women Atelier; they're modeled after vintage styles and there's definitely a romantic, vintage-look to them, but I also feel that there's something completely timeless about a well-made dress. Rendered in rust with long sleeves I feel this dress has the potential to become a real staple for me, it doesn't hurt that it's named after one of my favorite characters in Little Women either! It's been years since I've read Little Women, so I'm intrigued to re-read it this Christmas and see what characters and moments stand out to me as an adult. Books never change, but we as readers are changed when we return to familiar books after several years away and it has the potential to make a story completely fresh. I wonder if I'll empathize more with Meg as an adult or have greater sympathy for Amy, or if I'll still be drawn to Jo's impetuous anger and Beth's timidity...
“There are many Beths in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence and shadow behind.” ―Louisa May Alcott, Little Women “Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.”

I had plans to share more posts this week and was so excited to explore some new areas and take pretty and festive pictures. Whenever I talk about slowing down and choosing less I almost never mean less photographs because I love taking photographs. It's probably an addiction for me at this point since I've been taking photographs almost every day since 2007. But my trusty camera broke over the weekend and since I only own one non-vintage working camera my creative pursuits have been on hold. It's annoying and frustrating and I hate having to buy a new one, partly because it is expensive and partly because I'm not looking forward to getting familiar with a new camera. A huge part of taking quality pictures is being comfortable with your camera; knowing the settings to go manual and being able to make quick adjustments mid-shoot. But it's also good to be forced to take a break now and then. Writing three to four posts a week does sometimes seem like an impossible race to maintain and still stay inspired. Anyway, due to my unexpected camera expense I've discounted all of my preset packs in my shop; they're usually £30 down to £20 (which is approximately $26USD) per pack. So now would be a great time to check out the shop and snag some presets if you've been thinking about buying one before. I'm still editing with my Harvest Pack--today's pictures were edited with Hygge--but I'm looking forward to switching to my Festive Pack once things get a bit more wintry in my region. I'm also using my downtime to work on a new preset pack that I started developing back in August but I'm still not completely happy with yet!

It's A Wonderful Life (1946): It's no exaggeration to say this is one of best films ever made and worth watching in any season, although it is always especially poignant this time of year. It stars Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, a man who throughout his life sacrificed his own dreams for others and finds himself suicidal on Christmas Eve. An angel, Clarence, intervenes and shows Bailey what his community would have been like if he had never been born. It's heart-warming and optimistic without being naive and I dare anyone to finish the film with a dry eye.

I'm not always one to recommend "if you love something, buy three versions of it!" I mean sometimes I wish I thought that way--after I fall in love with something I'll kick myself for only getting one, but generally I don't tend to buy a lot of things all at once so it doesn't even cross my mind to buy one skirt in three colors! However when you have a set style repeats do tend to happen even if you don't buy them all at once! that is what happened with this skirt; I started with the black version and then added the maroon and brown versions since I knew how much wear they could get.  My intuition was right since I've now had these skirts since 2015 and I still wear them loads. So it still seems advisable to me to start with one piece and then buy it in another color later once you know it will gets lots of wear and not before. Another tip when investing in multiples is to stay practical with the colors you choose; even if you love the style you should still choose colors you know you will wear a lot and match the rest of your wardrobe. I stuck to very classic colors with mine: black, brown, and a deep red; all of which have stood the test of time and still match most of my wardrobe. If I had bought this skirt in a bright color like teal or pink it would never have got as much wear! And that should be our goal when shopping: buying clothes that we will wear again and again. This style skirt is called a "skater skirt" with a button/tab front; it's quite simple really but sometimes you need those basics to allow your other pieces to take center stage. My skirts are pretty old so I can't link to the exact ones I bought, but this style is still around so I'm linking to similar styles at the end of the post if you love this skirt too.

Before anyone panics--or the opposite and starts telling me how excited they are that I have finally cut my hair--I have not cut my hair. I was thinking recently what a shame it is that I have long hair and I never style it in interesting ways. This is largely because my usual style (an overnight curling technique) is so low maintenance and easy that most mornings I can't be bothered with something that would take longer.    Still while I'm not making any promises, I would like to switch things up a bit more and practice some of the fun hairstyles I used to attempt on occasion. I do say attempt because while I have been known to write hair tutorials for professional sites, I have always written them as very much a non-expert. On this day I decided to try out a messy faux bob for fun because while I am not ready to cut my hair, I do miss a bob. A bob haircut is pretty much my default style, I mean I did have a pixie cut for several years, but I grew up with a bob hairstyle--look at my baby pictures and I have this hairstyle! Plus, with 2019 coming to an end we are heading into 2020 and the 20s always make me think of flapper hair and their cute little bobs. This hairstyle is perfect for a flapper-inspired New Year's Eve party (I might do a fancier tutorial for this style with NYE in mind), but it also works just thrown together for the day for a bit of fun with a knit cap on top.