Jul 23, 2014 | Life
Hello friends! Long time no see! I’ve had a ton going on, and am dealing with some really difficult personal things. Perhaps I’ll be sharing soon – but not quite yet. I’m still soldiering through, though I still see no light at the end of this very long, immeasurably dark tunnel.
For now though, I’m back here on this blog again, sharing ideas and inspiration for affordable fashion and DIY.
Here’s a little quote for everyone out there who has ever had to deal with something that threatens to destroy everything, pull down the walls around them, and change life as you knew it forever:
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.
-Confucious
Photo by Fré Sonneveld. Layout by me.
xo
Carly
Link, share & pin as much as you like! Share and share alike 
Jul 9, 2014 | Life
Comparison is an act of violence against the self.
-Iyanla Vanzant
Jennifer Jones, the blogger behind IHeartOrganizing, one of my favorite blogs that I stalk almost daily, recently shared some thoughts on perfection that appears throughout the blogosphere in beautiful, styled photos, amazing layouts, boundless creativity, and an often daunting body of work that some can feel is not reflective of reality. If you’ve ever felt inadequate, left out, or overwhelmed with the seemingly “perfect” lives put out there on social media or blogs, you’re not alone. Don’t be overwhelmed by the careful construction of reality.
Read her post. It will help.
In her post she quotes Iyanla Vanzant, which is a particularly favorite quote of mine, and one I knew was just perfect for my digital typography poster this week.
Photo by Chris Brignola. Layout by me.
xo
Carly
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Jun 25, 2014 | Life
Every time you wink the stars move.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Photo by Hide Obara. Text layout by me.
xo
Carly
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Jun 10, 2014 | Life
When your heart and your mind are aligned, amazing things will happen.
-Anonymous
Not sure who said it, or who I’m misquoting or how I’ve re-appropriated it…but this is something I endeavor to live by. To sync emotion and intention.
Photo by Fabio Rose. Graphic and quote by me.
xo
Carly
Please feel free to share & pin my original graphic as much as you like – just please link back here. Thanks!
Jun 5, 2014 | Life
Obviously I have a thing against the sun, even back then. #vampiresforever
So the Internet is doing this thing called #ThrowbackThursday, and apparently I’m the last one to jump on the bandwagon. I decided to post an old photo of me today, just for fun.
The year was 1990, it was around June or so. My good friend Alyssa Hoefener was moving away (Illinois or something, if memory serves), and she had a going away party at her house. I was 11-and-a-half years old, and about 2 months away from moving to Yokohama, Japan. This was the Summer I had been dreading for months.
In 3rd grade I had experienced a growth spurt, and by 5th grade I was the 2nd or 3rd-tallest girl in the entire grade (about 70+ students). Alyssa (left in the photo) was super-cute and petite, and I look at this photo and remember towering over everyone that Summer, and just feeling like an awkward giraffe.
My bangs were impossible so I was into this phase of just hacking them short periodically. Alyssa’s bangs were always cute and 80’s-awesome, but mine just didn’t do that. *le sigh* I remember I had gotten a camera for Christmas earlier in the year, an incredibly basic Kodak something-or-other, and I tended to use it so rarely that I went through a roll of film like every 4-5 months or so. “Photography” was not yet something that I realized one could do as a hobby, haha. I don’t even remember owning those shorts, LOL. Jelly bracelets were the new thing (as opposed to friendship bracelets – soooooo 1989 – and I think my friends and I had this thing about wearing ankle jelly bracelets on our left ankles.
We had ice pops and threw water balloons at that party. I really missed Alyssa when she left. I think I wrote her after she moved and I heard from her once but then that was it. Such was life before the Internet. Now you just Facebook Friend everyone and stalk them silently when you want to see what they’re up to. But I haven’t found Alyssa on Facebook yet. It’s now 24 years and I have no idea what happened to her since then.
You were a good friend to me, Alyssa. Hope you are doing well, wherever you are!
xo
Carly
Jun 2, 2014 | Life
Life is too short to be small.
-Benjamin Disraeli, former British Prime Minister
Photo by Robin Benad. Text by me.
xo
Carly
Please feel free to share & pin my original graphic as much as you like – just please link back here. Thanks!
