Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Honey, You Cannot Wrestle a Dove

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So, if my blog presence is a little sparse in the coming days, it's because I'll be all caught up in doing last minute errands before I leave Friday for California! My goodness, I'm excited. My parents, Zak and I will be going to the Bay Area of California to visit my brother, who lives in Oakland. We made the trip out last year as well, and I've been itching to go back ever since we touched down in New York. Since I don't really want to be on my computer too much (though I'm sure I will be) I'll have a few lovely ladies guest blogging for you while I'm away. I don't know why I'm going into these details now, since it's only Tuesday, but I guess that's just what I'm thinking about now.

I recently noticed my wardrobe is lacking in wearing skirts. Some are too big, some have broken zippers, and some shrunk in the wash and are too short to wear without looking, well, downright indecent (said in my best elderly man voice). So, what I ended up doing was taking a sleeveless dress with a high elastic waist that I don't wear anymore, and cutting the top off. And, voila! Instant sort of new skirt.

Also, if you guys have any tips on taking vibrant photos, could you send them my way? I thought I was getting the hang of this DSLR but some of the photos keep coming out overexposed or just plain weird and If you guys have any help I'd greatly appreciate it :)

Blouse: H&M
Skirt: Urban Outfitters/diy
Sandals: Urban Outfitters

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And a silly jumping shot for you guys to laugh at and/or frown upon, depending on your personality. Seriously, how do you guys take such flattering jumping shots? I look like a jumping salmon (the shirt color isn't helping)!

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Until tomorrow,
Nicole
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17 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 12, 2011 at 10:43 AM

    Love your hair up like that, it's very pretty! How exciting, you'll be coming to my home state! In regards to the pictures...hm, I know that if you set it on the baby/child picture mode the colors pop a little more. But I'm sure there's a better way of doing it.

    Lidi @ Eclectic Flair

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  2. Emily, Ruby Slipper JourneysJuly 12, 2011 at 11:44 AM

    Jumping shots are the most unflattering things in general. And when they do turn out well, usually Albert has cut my feet off!

    Anyway, I really love that skirt/dress. I have the worst time finding skirts I like, so hmmmm

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  3. callieJuly 12, 2011 at 12:53 PM

    haha my jumping shots tend to be pretty goofy too. :) I really like how your skirt turned out!! It's super cute- looks like something from UO. I love that it was a dress before. Anyways, as far as your camera goes. I never use the flash with my outfit photos, it always overexposes things. If you don't want to do everything manually (aperture, etc), I'd put it on the auto w/out flash setting right next to the auto setting on the dial. Also, if you're shooting outside & it's midday or the sun is still pretty high then try to find an all shady area so the sun doesn't wash out your shots. If they're still overexposed, try using a photo editing program like picnik.com (or photoshop if you have it) and use the exposure fix button to fix the levels a bit. :) Hope that helps!!

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  4. SOJOURNED IN STYLEJuly 12, 2011 at 4:38 PM

    lucky duck, getting to travel to california. what an ingenious idea to cut off the top of a dress and make it a skirt, I might just borrow that idea. loving your hair in a bun! I've made attempts at jumping shots, but have never made the cut on account of blurrines. but not fear we are all a goofy loving bunch :)

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  5. RachelJuly 12, 2011 at 4:50 PM

    The colors on the skirt are lovely, and it's cool that you got to convert it to something you needed/wanted! Have a great trip! :D

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  6. Amber SchmidtJuly 12, 2011 at 5:58 PM

    Oh, have a wonderful trip! I'm so excited for you!!

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  7. SaraJuly 12, 2011 at 6:00 PM

    oh what a pretty "new" skirt! :) Your trip sounds amazing, i can't wait to see all of the posts you will do upon your return!

    I have a hard time with exposure too, I tend to just edit them the best I can in flickr :/

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  8. KuleighJuly 12, 2011 at 8:30 PM

    This is so cute! Your comment about the jumping shot made me laugh. I'm digging the unexpected color combination. It just works!

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  9. UnknownJuly 12, 2011 at 8:46 PM

    You look so good with your hair up Nicole! When you're shooting, there should be a meter of the exposure. The pointer-thingy (lol so technical) should be in the middle but if you put it to the right it becomes overexposed and to the left, it gets underexposed. You just need to adjust accordingly because sometimes you want it to be overexposed to make it brighter (ie. if you're shooting in a shady area). But that's for my Canon DSLR so I don't know if there's the same meter in the Nikon. I think there should be.

    Love how you made that into a skirt! It looks so pretty with the coral top :)

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  10. geeJuly 12, 2011 at 8:47 PM

    nicole. i love the colors in this outfit. i am ALWAYS a fan of plaid in the summertime. you just look beautiful..esp. with your hair color.
    i am so jealous you are going to California!! can not wait to see all the pictures.

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  11. EllieJuly 12, 2011 at 9:38 PM

    I love all the titles to your posts lately- I see we have similar summer playlists! The colors look lovely in this outfit as well!

    Also, have fun in California! I live close to the bay area, let me know if you'd like to have a meet-up! :D

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  12. Caitlin of doverpeakJuly 12, 2011 at 9:39 PM

    I hear you about the skirt predicament. I hardly fit into any of my skirts and the ones that I do, they're way too short to see day light or they're just not cute anymore. You look super lovely, by the way & yay for recycling older clothes!

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  13. Hannah | The Outfit RepeaterJuly 12, 2011 at 11:36 PM

    I keep having the same troubles with my DSLR. I figure it's just something you learn as you go along. My picture expeditions end up being 10% good, 90% bad. haha

    That is a very clever trick with your old dresses. I actually don't have a large collection of dresses or skirt, but I'm totally going to keep that idea in mind if I find just the dress!

    Oh, one more thing! I didn't mention it early, but I'm excited for you about your trip to California! I hope you're experience is just as good as it was last time (if not better!!)

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  14. Ashley/ MILK TEETHSJuly 13, 2011 at 1:09 AM

    I am alllwwaaayyys amazed at how many cute jumping shots of style bloggers are floating around. But then I just think that they probably had to shoot a million to get a decent one ;)

    For vibrant photos I think the trick is just to shoot the pictures during the "golden hour", right at sunset when everything looks glowy and nice

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  15. Miss KaitJuly 13, 2011 at 2:02 AM

    I love everything about this! Those shoes are great!

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  16. JulJuly 13, 2011 at 6:55 AM

    Haha I never take jumping shots because I'm always afraid I'd look goofy! And also because I think I'll fall down, especially if I wear heels ;)
    Hope you'll have fun in California!
    Love your outfit, transforming a dress into a skirt is such a neat idea!

    http://lifeisaromanticpoem.blogspot.com/

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  17. xJuly 13, 2011 at 7:58 AM

    love your skirt!

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Thank you so, so much for taking some time to comment on my blog!

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