get stepping

shoes: vans

I cringe at being such a cliche, but I really do love shoes. I spend a lot of time on my feet, running around, and it's important to me that they don't just fall off. Sneakers, heels, boots, clogs. I wear them all, and will always buy another pair. That said, I moved with a swiftness when The Great Mall invited me to come check out their latest mall-wide sale - 

because a sale at an outlet mall is 2x better than a sale at a regular mall. 

I love to prepare for things as far in advance as possible, but yesterday, I just went with the flow - and tried on every. single. pair. of. shoes. That's not to say that I didn't predict my inevitable purchase of these pastel vans - I've been eyeing them for months - just that I wanted to be sure.

I remember as a kid being so done with shoe shopping that I literally just took them off and threw them as far away from me as I could physically managed. After being forced to walk the two feet to pick them up, I resolved that I would never make anyone go through what was clearly an act of torment.

Sorry Chloie.

x Justina

ps. this post was produced in partnership with simon malls, but remember the rules: 

no pair of shoes can buy my love. 

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fits like a glove

jacket: vintage
dress: tobi 'joleen' dress
shoes: converse
backpack: sunny dushanka

The older you get, the more and more "short and tight but also fancy" becomes this bizarre expectation forced upon your wardrobe. I've managed to avoid it thus far mainly by never leaving my house. I'm also fairly tall and have all of the curves of a highway in the desert, so finding a dress that fits is also a v difficult undertaking.  As you can tell, I have a well articulated excuse for every situation. But I decided it needed to happen, because I am only scared of rational things, like deep water and spiders, and will not be intimidated by a dress. At least not one this small.

You know in a sitcom, where the main character does something they were scared of, and the happy music plays, and they say something along the lines of "that wasn't that bad"? That was me, once I got accustomed to the breeze. This dress is super comfy, and not too much of a ~night out~ look for me to rock on my weekly trip to IKEA.

Speaking of IKEA: settle this for me, guys. Is it "I-KEY-UH" or "E-KAY-UH"?

Loser has to buy me another pillow for my fort,
so I'm heavily invested.

xx Justina


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sign up here

it's me again, your perpetually absent favorite blogger

There's some weird stuff going on around here, and I'm not just talking about the fact that in a fit of delusion I signed up for six classes this semester. People are losing their minds, and their ability to be people, and it's quite frankly a mess. In an effort to help us all survive, I made a list of three subscriptions that you should invest in to keep yourself happy.

1. MeUndies - YOU GET FRESH MEUNDIES IN THE MAIL EVERY MONTH. Not only is your butt now comfy af, it's a great surprise if you haven't done laundry yet this week. Each month, they come out with a new design, and send it to you in your favorite style. My plan is to eventually amass a huge collection and do away with pants entirely. $16 to start, $14 every month after.

2. Amazon Prime - My Amazon addiction is out of hand, I know, but in my defense, it's because I got Prime. It fascinates me, and the free two-day shipping blows my mind. HOW DO THEY GET THINGS HERE SO FAST? Also, how do they get so many of the things? Plus, I can now watch as many PBS Masterpiece programs as I want. $99 a year, but 50% off + a free 6 month trial for students (cause we're all broke)

3. Audible - okay so when you get the Prime subscription, there's gonna be this little notice floating around Amazon about your free Audible credit. You might, as one did, accidentally click on it and then sign yourself up, so that you can get your free audiobook. You may then both fall in love with Trevor Noah, and audiobooks. Things happen. Weirdly, the more time I spend reading textbooks, the less time I have to read book-books, and this makes sure my brain doesn't rot entirely. $14.95 

So there you go. The world may be turning into a giant dumpster fire around us, but we will be in snazzy underwear listening to Aziz Ansari talk about modern dating rituals and receiving lots of packages.

x Justina



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fun with hoodie

Are you having any fun?

No seriously, are you guys having fun? Are you having a good day? I DID.  I was in Hoodie Allens new music video today. Or rather, two weeks ago, if the video has come out when I think it will.  I'm currently writing this as Sallie and I drive away from the Youtube Spaces, where we spent the last five hours sitting behind Hoodie and consuming copious amounts of suspiciously preserved popcorn. That stuff was glowing. My movie date Tyler and I climbed about a bajillion stairs (it was the same five over and over, but still, my fitbit would have counted it) and made some solid wisecracks. Sallie and Josh snap chatted each other from their seats. We all began to memorize the same 30 second part of the song, but it's okay, because it's a classic Hoodie hit. 

You guys will remember (or maybe you won't) that I got to see Hoodie last year in SF on his People Keep Talking tour. The one with the cake. He was great back then, and is getting better now. Plus, in person, he's exactly who you think he is.  He's also one of those rare artists who has managed to completely preserve his thing while still ~evolving~. Needless to say, I'm down with it. Or at least until we're not having any fun.

x J 

ps. #edvins 

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instant summer with fujifilm

all photos taken with an instax mini 8 on instax film, courtesy of fujifilm

wow that's a lot of photos, 

and this is just a summer-y summary 

hahaha a summer-y summary 

see what I did there

At the beginning of summer,

 I decided to consciously document the months in Instax photos. 

So I packed up my little camera and took it on all of my adventures.  

You'd be surprised how heavy that thing gets after a couple hour. 

 These are just a few of the hundreds of photos I took, each a special little moment that I get to keep forever. I keep them all up on my wall and love that by looking at them, I can automatically remember exactly who I was with, what we were talking about, 

and what I was eating.

From the top:

a. The California State Fair.

 I ate way too many Bavarian Almonds, talked about 4-H to every human who walked by me, learned how to properly program a robot to walk the thin line, and then conquered my fear of Poppy The Bear (State Fair Mascot) and HUGGED him.

b. Paul Smith. 

I can't get over this building. It's so pink. The walls are so massive. Sallie took this photo of me taking photos of it.

c. The Tower Theatre. 

You know the story behind this one. My mum and I got yelled at for taking it but 500% worth it.

d. Alfreds Coffee.  

I love this place so much and it was made even better by the company of my main bae Sallie. My drink order hasn't changed.

e. Portos' Cafe, 

with the aforementioned bae. 

GET THE PINA COLADA SMOOTHIE. Just do it. Thank me later. 

Also saw, selfied, and had a lovely conversation regarding overalls 

and red carpets with Greer Grammer.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

f. The Santa Cruz Boardwalk. 

People pile on the sidewalk with my favorites at the 2014 California 4-H State Leadership conference at approx. 11pm. We're the best dressed hobos in town.

g. Beverly Hills.

 (duh) With all my trips to LA, I had never seen this iconic sign. It was everything I wanted it to be, and I met two of the most glammed out humans I have ever see, who were wonderfully French.

h. The Griffiths Observatory. 

Not really the best place to take chances with gravity, but what a beautiful view. This is the very best place in LA to explore European languages, because there are more Europeans there than in Europe.

i. Beverly Hills. 

Again. PALM TREES. PALM TREES EVERYWHERE.

 j.  Santa Cruz Boardwalk.  

Believe it or not, this was my first time ever, and I decided to do everything. I got on the sketchiest rollercoaster I saw (cried off my eyeliner - totally worth it), ate bavarian almonds again (still freakishly good, still not a great idea), nearly lost a Doc on the chair lift, 

and laser tagged the people I love.

Summer is nearly done

and winter is coming

(or whatever version of it we get in california)

but thankfully, Instax photos aren't limited to sunshine.

How do you capture your moments?

x Justina

ps. speaking of capturing moments:

 I'M GOING TO INSTAGRAM TODAY TO SEE THE GREAT AND WONDERFUL LIZ.

Today as in Monday.

If it is not Monday, 

you are late. 

Follow along on (what else) instagram (abentpieceofwire) to keep up with my adventure!

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I trusted you

 bag c.o. pepaloves//film cameras ftw or nah

I'VE BEEN POISONED.

BY FOOD. 

Which is actually worse than being poisoned by a person

 because I trusted food.

Anyway, it took me out for a week. 

No blogging, no going anywhere, 

and possibly worse of all:

no selfies.

I hit post limit on tumblr.
Created eight hour-long playlists.

Read all of my library books.

Wrote some awful poetry.

I even ran out of netflix to watch. 

That is how dire the situation was becoming.

 But I have eaten haggis,

 and once you have eaten haggis, 

there is not a food poison known to man strong enough to keep you down.

So I return, 

with a list of blog post ideas, lots of gorgeous outfits,

and a strong aversion to ranch dressing.

xx

Justina

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(a little over) 24 hours in New York City

Ever wonder what it's like to go to NYC for 24 hours?

Me neither.

But it happened anyway and was completely and incredibly amazing.

Looking at you Clifford. 

 I got to meet some of my favorite people,

eat the worlds best ruben sandwich, 

and watch Parks and Rec on a plane.

I can't decide which part was the best, 

so watch the video and let me know.

xx,

Justina

ps. 

shoutout to our driver Carlos, 

who looked like an extra from The Godfather.

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