An Ordinary Girl's World: Fashion, Love, Life

Dearest Devotees,

Like I mentioned in my first indie appreciation week post, to me part of being independent means being free to travel and explore the world around me. I absolutely adore travelling, and I never feel more at ease with myself than when I am in the process of moving. Packing, unpacking and exploring new places are actions that are second nature to me. The way people have adventure lists of death defying/ extremely thrilling activities they want to do like bungee jumping and skydiving is the way I have a running list of places that I really want to go always at the ready. I see the world as an exciting mélange of people with different cultures, histories, and lifestyles and getting to live these experiences really thrills me. Below are the top 10 places I currently desire to see:

10.Cairo, Egypt: Oh the richness of culture with just a dash of danger that seeing the pyramids would give me! From what I've heard Cairo is a city that is just bursting with life in which the new and the old live peacefully side. I also long to have a camel ride along the desert to the sunrise.

9.Dublin, Democrat Republic of Ireland :I love Northern Ireland dearly. It is a place that is truly close to my heart and I've driven through Dublin before but I've never really seen it before. I love Gaelic. I think it’s a beautiful language and I feel it would be really nice to see it used more.

8.Dubai, United Arab Emirates- It's so exotically beautiful there and apparently they have a booming arts and crafts industry with lovely textiles and even more stunning jewelry. Add that to the enlarged beach city feel and you're looking at a lovely holiday.

7.Toronto, Canada: pure curiousity and lovely grade school friends to see.

6.Sydney, Australia: also sheer curiousity with the added possibility of running into Natalie Tran, one of my favorite youtubers.

5.Milan and Florence, Italy: Apparently they are the textile and art capitals of the world. I would love to see these assertations proved.

4.Barcelona, Spain: Been to Madrid and I liked it but something tells me I will probably fall in love with the regal elegance of Barcelona.

3.Venice, Italy: 1. It’s VENICE! 2. It may be one of the most unusual cities ever (structurally). 3. I really, really want to sail in a gondola (sea sickness be damned).

2.San Francisco, California: The Academy of Art is there and it’s my current art grad school lust. Also, it’s rumored to be a ridiculously beautiful city what with the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. 3. I am in the United States after all; therefore I must seize the day.

1.Paris, France: Fashion Capital of the world. Home of incredibly stylish men and women and land of so much inspiration. Almost anywhere else on this list can be switched around but Paris is most definitely no.1 for me.

Love you all and Stay inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. What places in the world do you really want to see? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Photos from: We Heart It

Celebrate your individuality and love your independence.

My Dearest Devotees,

I love being myself. I am independent, and to me this means that I am independent thinker. I form my own opinions and I do not mass think. I try to make sure that never follow the crowd blindly or accept information without questioning its source. It also means that I am quite adventurous and curious about the world. I always want to know the why behind everything. Knowing the why behind things helps me makes informed decisions. To me, being independent also means that I love to explore. Trying out new things and travelling to new places is almost constantly on my mind, and meeting new people is par for the course.

When I was younger, I couldn’t wait for the day I would go away to university, and this was because I looked at it as a huge adventure. It was never something I feared and distance from home was never a factor. Now that I’m here I still don’t feel differently. Some days I wake up and can’t still believe where I am and how far I’ve come. When I catch myself doing “grown-up things” like paying the bills and making doctors appointments I still wonder the time has gone. When I came to university I never really felt homesick. I missed my family and friends, but being able to do my own thing sits really well with me. I’m the kind of person that likes to dance to my own drum and be my own person. Since coming to the blogosphere (almost a year ago now!) I’ve met so many lovely and wonderfully unique people that are beautifully independent and strong in their own ways, and I’ve decided I would to make this week “ Indie Appreciation Week”. I know that there has been a subculture built around being ‘indie’ with particular things to identify but I feel this is against the whole point of being independent. Therefore, the list below is what being independent means to me.

Doing yoga to de- stress

Making my own decisions about my faith and actively taking part in it.

Making my own decisions about all sorts of topics- big and small.

Owning my personal style.

Wearing loads of chiffon and billowy shirts.

Taking loads of seemingly random classes (but not really) that challenge me and make me think.

Reading tons of non-fiction and fiction books.

Getting on top of things by being organized in my random and sporadic nature so that I can do all I want to do.

Being comfortable in my relationships with people.

Standing up for what I believe in .

Living in beautiful floral prints.

Wearing flowers in my hair.

Essentially emulating gyspy style and making it mine.

Buying a fabulous leather trunk – vintage or antique

Go vintage/flea market, etc shopping to get unique pieces for my room

Finding out about tarot cards.

Learning widely different styles of dance- I’m taking ballroom and hip hop this summer.

Wearing lots of lovely, lovely vests.

Having an owl- a snowy one like Hedwig.

Hanging ethnic printed carpets and fabrics around the room e.g. wrapping a TV in jewel toned sarong and (false) peacock feathers.

Wearing loads of beautifully colored scarves

Enjoying fabulous poetry

Learning to ride a horse

Travelling as much as possible by plane, train or road

Chemically developing my black and white photos with my vintage Canon SLR camera.

Always seeking to experience different cultures.

Reading loads and loads of books on different cultures and about people that are different from you

Meditate upon every topic under the sun.

Wear loads of gold colored jewelry.

Trying out loads of crafts: knitting, basket weaving, jewelry making, etc.

Trying out loads of art forms: painting, designing, drawing, etc

Dancing with abandon but to the beat and with rhythm in my room and in wide, open fields.

Listening to folksy, vocal and instrumentally dominant music. Think Iron and Wine, and Furlough but also to any kind of music that takes my fancy and speaks to my soul.

Recording my music and putting them on CDs.

Visit parks and open fields. Keep in touch with nature.

Learning to control my range vocally and to play piano.

Being open to different culture and the possibility of learning new languages.

(All photos from: We Heart it)

Love you all and Stay Inspired,

P.S. So let me know what you think. What does being independent mean to you and how do you celebrate your independence? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.