Visiting Mississippi...

We're finally back from visiting our family in Mississippi! This was the first ever 'Spring Break' trip I've taken. We had a nice, relaxing time catching up with my Grandfather Jim. He was very hospitable and kind to us. We did not miss a meal by ANY means. He also put us up for three nights in a lovely condo.. it was so beautiful.

Meet the sweetest little things... Minnie and Pearl. They are Grandpa Jim's puppies. I loved on them for almost the entire time. They are so cute.

 One of the most delicious dinners I've ever eaten & our dessert... a slice of Banana Foster ice cream cake....

I hope you had a wonderful Spring Break, too! What did you do? Did you spend it with family?

love, polly :)

10 days of family (day two)

For day two of Ten Days of Family I wanted to share this wedding portrait of Fritz Zeigler (my Great Great Uncle) and his wife Kate (maiden name Deckert- my Great Great Aunt). Fritz was German and he was a brother to Louis W. Zeigler (my Great Great Grandfather) who was my Great Grandmother Zeigler-Frisina's father. They were married and had their wedding portrait taken in Decatur, Illinois which is about 28 miles from Taylorville (my home town). I wish I knew what date this photo was taken.. I am definitely estimating from the clothing that it was around 1850. I love his hair! What era do you think it is? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

love, polly

10 Days of Family (day one)

Hi! I've decided to make a new feature called "Ten Days of Family" in which I share a photo from my family's history each day. Day one is brought to you by my Great Great Great Grandfather Clark Lockwood. He illustrated this post card and sent it to my Great Grandmother Lucille Zeigler some time in between 1896 and 1910 when McKinley was president of the United States. There is no date on this post card, just Mckinley's face on the stamp and the "POSTAGE ONE CENT" writing under. In fact, he didn't even have to address the post card.. it simply says Lou Zeigler (for Lucille) on the back of it. The family portrait below is my Great Great Great Grandfather Lockwood's family. He is the man with the beard in the photo. 

Apparently the town was so small that it got to her safely without a problem.

I really love learning about my family history.. I am so fortunate that my mother has all of these old photos and post cards of our family from so long ago!

love, polly

spring in the summer

Here are a few snapshots I took of Taylorville before we left for Mississippi on Sunday. This magnolia tree was completely bare when I came back and my heart sank. I am so happy I photographed it when I did... it literally bloomed for four or five days. Wow..... what a beautiful but short Spring we've been having..

My cat, Joao and his little friend peeking out of the window. 

A small bite to eat fixed by my Grandma Kutch before visiting my Great Grandma Polly at the nursing home.......

It really feels like spring in the summer this year. It's so HUMID for Springtime, no? Regardless, I've been enjoying every single minute of it. XOXO

love, polly :)

OBSESSION.

(hydrangeas I spray painted for CFW!)

Hi, there! It's been a minute. I wanted to update you on my progress with College Fashion Week and the decorations for it. I am a busy busy girl these days... I've been listening to this song NONSTOP, spray painting hydrangeas and getting it all over myself (my tattoo looks speckled!), and I've been casting models for my spring Paulie Antiques runway fashion show on April 14th... not to mention homework and midterms. I am also decorating all of the venues (I was named VP of design & decoration!) for college fashion week so I've been busy making decisions about budget, design, and locations. I've definitely found some great local deals for decorations that I hope will suit our budget. On that note.... it's nice to actually HAVE a budget!!!!!!

Okay... here is a teeny weeny PEEK at one of the pieces in my collection this Spring. I've been constructing this skirt for a week or more and I'm so excited to pair it with accessories, a hat, gloves, and a shirt I am making, too! WOAH. This month is incredible.

Here is a peek at my studio yesterday... I am making a skirt out of this fabric... I am obsessed with it! My mom actually gave me the fabric from a project she made years and years ago. Also... here is my runway model, Mercedes, last week when we shot a feature downtown for Impulse Magazine! So excited to start fittings with her this week!

ALSO: PLEASE don't forget to enter my Automatic Doll necklace giveaway because it's gorgeous and it's hand made by one of the sweetest bloggers I know♥.

love, polly

Automatic Doll Giveaway

Hi, there! I am so excited to announce that I've partnered with the amazingly talented Jessica from Automatic Doll to bring you this beautiful necklace giveaway! To enter to win this amazing hand made necklace by Automatic Doll, visit her shop and leave a comment on this post about your favorite item!

for extra entries:

follow Jessica via GFC

'Like' Automatic Doll via facebook

follow Automatic Doll on Bloglovin

Please leave an extra comment for each entry. Interested in hosting a giveaway, too? Simply fill out this form! XOXO & Good Luck!

love, Polly and Jessica :)

my mother

This post is about my mother. She is so beautiful and the most amazing mother I could ever ask for. I love her to death. We share all of our secrets with each other. I just stumbled upon this photo of her from the 1990's. :) Totally Flashdance! Haha! I love it! What do you think?

love, polly

Ben wearing Paulie Antiques!

We're starting a band.... obviously! Haha.

This is my adorable friend, Ben wearing a bow tie I made for Paulie Antiques. I am styling him for an Impulse Magazine shoot soon and this was a great little practice we had to warm up to the shoot. He is a featured artist in Champaign-Urbana and he is one of my most amazing friends. I love him to death. He loves bow ties and can't wait to wear one that I design just for him! I'm going crazy thinking of designs and we picked out fabrics for his bow tie today :)

love, polly

outfit: pink and blue

LISTEN WHILE YOU LOOK!

blouse c/o my wonderful friend, Maria Elyse! 

 I used to write all of these lovely poems back in 2008 about how I wanted to find myself and what a "lonely lovely struggle" it was. I am back to this slate of re-creating myself anew. It feels so invigorating and horrifying at the same time. I'm looking forward to bettering myself and my blog and artwork. I have a lot of exciting things in the works and a lot to be happy and thankful for in my life. I hope to love myself more in this process and love my readers more as well. Thank you for reading and being beautiful.

love, polly

A collection of photos of my shoes.

Here is a collection of some of my favorite photos I've taken of my feet over the past few years. I have listed more on my Pinterest if you'd like to take a more in depth look! Which is your favorite? I can't choose just one. 

Happy Thursday! I am signing a lease for a studio apartment today :)

love, polly

Emily and I go antique shopping at Carrie's!

Yes, I am STILL posting more photos of Emily and I's adventures two weeks ago. We had such a laugh. I can't wait to go up to Chicago over Spring Break to visit her. I took her to Carrie's Antiques in Champaign, IL... which is DEFINITELY my favorite place to shop in the whole city. We both got a little something small. Thank you all so very much for your kind words about my new position at Impulse Magazine! It means so much to me ♥. The last two black and white photos were taken of Emily and I by Kyle Dunn. We had so much fun on this shoot one cold night with him! I'm off to study for a huge theatre history midterm tomorrow and ship an order! XOXO

love, polly :D

suitcase + macaroon!

Here's a little photo full of some of my favorite things this week. My designer of Barber of Seville, Amanda, gave me this macaroon and macaroon recipe book today. It's so amazing... the recipes are heavenly and I can't wait to bake them! These were taken on the fire escape of the new house I am moving to in August. I will finally have my own studio.. it's about time! :)

LISTEN WHILE YOU LOOK!

What's your favorite item in these photos?

love, polly