My New Blog

Hello all!

As you might have guessed from the extreme absence of posts lately... as in the past year or so... Dress Up and Tea Parties has retired.

However! I have a new blog! It is Left Handed Compass and it will follow me through the very exciting time of studying abroad in Denmark for the next year and perhaps even college adventures beyond!

Just a quick update on how things have been:

I graduated high school with high honors or something.

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This past year was my first at college.

My dorm

I am double majoring in English and French with an emphasis in linguistics. Fancy, useful shit.

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I spent winter break working at Massage Envy corporate headquarters as a filing clerk and substitute receptionist (during Christmas). I don't have any pictures but it pretty much looked like this:

It was probably one of the worst, most soul-sucking activities I've ever done.

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I spent the past summer working at a YMCA summer camp near Prescott, Arizona called Chauncey Ranch.

It was probably one of the best experiences of my life.

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And now I am waiting to study abroad at the University of Aalborg in northern Denmark.

My hand decorated bags are literally packed.

Come with me for the ride at lefthandedcompass.blogspot.com. It's gonna be a fun one.

A Vintage Prom

Prom. That day that is so built up in the small subset of culture which teenagers create for themselves. The connotative elements range far and wide, all the way from "the greatest night of your life" to "tacky and gross." In the face of the two perceptions which seemed to dominate the one-time event, I attempted to fill my prom with the dreamy and whimsical characteristic of proms of yesteryear rather than the short, tight, shiny fabric worn by girls today as they immitate the sex only held back by the existance of the clothes on their back (grinding actually was a lot more prevelant than I expected!). I began shopping for my vintage dress in January out of concern that everybody at once would have similar thoughts around April, and I found this wonderful little beauty!



Hair flower: Gardens of Whimsey

Necklace: Vintage

Dress: Vintage via Jumblelaya

Purse: Vintage

Stockings: Preston New York

Shoes: Fergalicious

I always expected my prom to be nothing more than an excuse to play the ultimate dress up but, somehow under the magic of such an event, it turned out to be one of the better (though definitely not best!) nights of my young life. I got ready really early because I wanted to be pretty and dressed up for as long as possible. My mom immediately wanted pictures with my boyfriend so I called him and told him to suit up and come over! Ha ha. My mom took a series of pictures and then we went to his house for his mother to do the same. She took 179 pictures over the course of an hour and a half! It was more exhausting than the dance! After everybody had arrived, we climbed aboard our rented limo and had dinner, then the actual prom which, as I have mentioned, was a sweaty cornacopia of hormones manifested in grinding, then we went back to my boyfriend's for home made crepes, rockband, and freezing cold swimming/hot tubbing. While at the dance, I overheard a boy I knew in my history class tell my boyfriend about how that night was a night to remember. Although, of course, a little cliche (as is all of prom) I do not believe any phrase to be more appropriate a description. 

Finding Aspirations among Reality

Dream a Little Dream of Me~ Doris Day

Sorry for my lack of posts recently! It's that dance concert time of year again with daily rehearsals till five after school every day followed by the homework I'm not allowed to do backstage for some reason! The shirt I'm wearing here is new though! I got it last weekend with a trip to Forever21. It is the exact shirt I've been looking for forever. Long sleeved white shirt with peter pan collar and slightly sheer but not overtly see through. I haven't been able to find it for less than fifty dollars on the internet and ran into it at an actual brick and morder store for twenty! Apparently I need to expand such searches to a world of more reality more often.



Sun glasses: Kiss

Ear rings: Vintage

Shirt: Forever21

Ring: Forever21

Skirt: Forever21

Tights: Hand me downs

Shoes: Fergalicious



Granny Chic (Maybe?)

Comme Des Enfants Remix~ Coeur de Pirate and Le Matos Andy Carmichael

TWO NEW THINGS FROM OKLAHOMA ADVENTURES! I got the skirt at this wonderful vintage store called Chip Thrills Vintage on Cherry Street in Tulsa. I could have shopped their forever but I had to settle for probably about an hour and a half as my mom and brother were getting noticeably irritated. Later that day, I wore the skirt and a coat I got to my aunt and uncle's. They loved it so much my aunt gave me this jacket (along with a number of other things!).



Jacket: Vintage

Necklace: Schmutzerland

Dress (underneath): ChicWish

Skirt: Vintage

Shoes: Secondhand

A Parrot Necklace

Who Do you Love?~ Bo Diddley

Once while I was in Oklahoma, my family went through my Aunt Linda's extensive jewelry collection. She makes jewelry for fun so it took hours. Anyway, we ran across this parrot necklace she wore in the 80s and we all had a good laugh at its silliness. I asked if I could take it back with me to see if I could work it into an outfit or two. This is my first attempt!



Necklace: Vintage

Shirt: Second Hand

Shorts: Forever21

Shoes: Converse

Pretending Its the Forties

Firewood~ Regina Spektor

I promise that the stagnation of this past week has been due to being on vacation with family in Tulsa, Oklahoma rather than pure laziness! I'll have pictures from the trip later but for now, all I shall share is this adorable vintage dress that my aunt gave me while I was there. I know that it is reminiscent of the forties, but I don't know nearly enough about fashion history to pinpoint which decade was remembering it. So instead I shall simply do my hair in the fashion of the memory!

Dress: Vintage

Shoes: What's What



Puffy Knots

All the Rowboats~Regina Spektor

This morning, I woke up with the grossest, poofiest hair ever. I had curled it the day before and then slept on it creating the epitome of bed head! What is one to do with such poof? Make a giant bouffant of course! I wish I could have my hair like this everyday; it makes me feel like I am living vintage. Oh geez, I feel sure that I am going to become that eccentric old lady with fluffy hair when I'm older.

Bow: Dillards

Dress: ModCloth

Tights: Target

Shoes: Kelly and Katie