Verdant

Here we are, once again, in that lush green limbo of late spring, when the first flush of seasonal color has faded away, and the burnt brown of summer has yet to descend. 

  

This time of year, mother nature dresses in green and white, wrapped up in the pale-trumpets of blooming bindweed, trimmed with lacy viburnum blossoms, and crowned with glorious blooms of the southern magnolia. 

And, without realizing, I follow suit, wrapped in my own frock of green and white.

...

It's been two months since my last post, and lately I've been feeling less than inspired.

Work, life, and nearly two solid weeks of entertaining house guests has sapped any energy, creative or otherwise, I've had.

It's times like this, in a moment of creative drought, that I am incredibly thankful to still be blogging. 

While the blog is a great outlet when my brain is bubbling with inspiration, it's also fantastic for resuscitating my creative spirit as it is constant encouragement to keep getting dressed and to keep exploring my world-- always searching for the perfect secluded spot to snap a few pictures. 

And, while I did little more than slip on a frock and stop by a city park (far from my goal of a grand historic site) I feel renewed-- my spirit revived. 

Last summer, after my visit to the Pelletier house (one of the few historic sites in town),  I had dismissed the small city of Jacksonville as little more than a modern monstrosity of big box stores and fast food joints, so when I stumbled on this old water-treatment-facility-turned-park in an adorably historic part of town (that I had no idea even existed!) I was in awe. 

As I tread its mile or so of boardwalk paths along the river and through the swampy forest, I could feel the strain of the past months slipping away as I admired the flora and fauna (deer, turtles, and a myriad of birds), and lined up photographs in my head. 

When I reached the end of one boardwalk, I was surprised to find a historic civil war plaque commemorating a river raid that took place in 1862-- I got my historic site after all!

And best of all, save for one fellow explorer, I had these wooden paths and trails entirely to myself and was free to set up my tripod without feeling embarrassed or uncomfortably self-conscious (though I suppose that's the advantage of exploring on a rainy weekday afternoon).

It's rare that I run into vintage clothes at an auction but one Saturday night this winter I got lucky and happened into an auction house with a whole rack of them. 

Thanks to my bid master beau, we won the entire rack and this gorgeous green and white gown was among them. While many of the other frocks are headed to my shop, I just had to save this one for myself.

  

It's a bit too big for me, a problem that is quite rare these days, but with its glass buttons, scalloped details, and gathered hips (below), I couldn't resist this dress.

I love how sheer and lightweight it is-- I can see getting a lot of wear out of it this summer.

I'm sure I've said it before, and I know I'll say it again, but there is something so wonderful about being able to just slip on a dress, select a pair of shoes (my Miz Mooz wedges in this case), slap on some lipstick (Besame's red hot red here), and head out the door feeling confident in the way I look.