"I Love My Scarf"

Ever wondered how Parisians find endless ways to wear a scarf? Hermes is certainly in the 'too expensive for me, or my dogs, to ever have category,' but "I Love My Scarf" has tons of inspiration.

Check it, and drool.

Less-Effort Beauty

In addition to a few suicidal thoughts, blow drying my hair in our pea-sized bathroom during this unseasonably warm weather has inspired me to do something new with my hair.

The something new I am ready to do is nothing.

It is not just the hellish bathroom inferno, hair has been on my mind since last month's visit to New York City. Through my recent trips out of the Midwest, and browsing street style blogs from around the world, I realize, that here in Indiana, we try really hard when it comes to our hair.

In addition to drastic dye jobs on both ends of the spectrum, it is commonplace to spot highlights in streak or chunk form. We meticulously straighten, use smoothing serums, and fortify with hairspray. It is a lot of work, and too often, this shows.

I am guilty of all of this too. Until a few years ago, I no longer knew what my actual hair color was. At some point, it has been every shade, from platinum to black, and most colors of rainbow. Despite choosing more natural colors for some time now, I still spend a lot of time attempting to tame my thick, wavy hair.

Not ready for my grays to show just yet, I will continue to color my hair, but I am ready to give blow drying and straightening a rest. I am tired of working against it, trying to make it something it is not. If a woman can confidently rock a less than perfectly styled mane in Paris or New York, I am declaring this bit of less-effort beauty good enough for me too.

Lovely Louise

LOOKBOOK.nu: "Hyères." by Louise Ebel: "Vintage Dress, Topshop Shoes, Topshop Bag"

Oh Louise, how I adore your ability to complement vintage with contemporary pieces. I find this a great feat, as do throngs of LookBookers.

If you have not admired Louise, and her blog Pandora, you should. With Paris as the backdrop, excellent photography captures this beautiful woman, in her almost as beautiful clothes.

I showed my husband Louise's blog when talking with him the other night about perhaps trying to shoot some photos of me in my best vintage, and putting them out there for who knows who to see. He response was, "well of course you'd have photos of yourself on your blog if they looked like that."

I will not look as lovely as Louise, but when I get over being camera shy, I might show more of myself to the world. My closet just might be have to be shared.

Parisian Rejects

I found these photos while just now getting around to cleaning off the memory card from last summer's vacation for my trip next week to New York City. These were skipped over for our vacation photo blog, and not saved in the file of photos we hope to some day print for an album, but they provide inspiration for my upcoming trip.

Yeah, I ran around Paris in pretty vintage dresses, and gasp, even light colored ones, and a comfy pair of vintage sandals. I survived, and even enjoyed myself. As I am already dreading packing four days worth of clothes into only a carry on, I will remember how nice it felt to feel pretty in one of the prettiest cities in the world. I will be packing a dress, or four, and at least one pair of vintage sandals.

After our peacefully dreamlike visit to Pere Lachaise Cemetery, my husband and I were briefly lost in a neighborhood that felt more genuinely Parisian than much of the city we saw during our week-long stay. We stepped into this cafe for un cafe, the restroom, and to get our bearings. Although I did not feel comfortable pulling my camera out for the full on tourist shot, I did steal this one from under the bar just to have a small reminder of the place.

Leaving the cafe, on our walk to the metro, we came across a street market where we bumped elbows with real Parisians (literally, they are seriously aggressive shoppers) over pristine produce, seemingly unending varieties of fresh meats, bubbling vats of sausages and sauerkraut, and bins of ladies under-things.

These two spots, and the few blocks of sidewalk in between, will remind me that the unplanned can sometimes be the most memorable and beautiful part of being anywhere but here.