I haven't been blogging the past few weeks, because work has been fairly crazy! However, I have been working on some internal workings of the blog, such as figuring out what happened to my comments when I switched to a custom domain name.

But I've also decided that it would be worthwhile to offer new visitors an explanation of the three styles I discuss most often here: lolita fashion, steampunk fashion, and mori-girl fashion, so I decided to put some of my typical blogging time into creating a short guide on these three topics.

For more information on a beginner's guide to alternative fashion, click the picture above or right here!

I'm kicking this hiatus nonsense to the curb --

It's time for Lumpy's triumphant return!

What have I been up to lately?

♥Graduated (mostly)!

♥Got a job! I can now officially refer to myself as "a writer, y'know, like an employed one" invoke immediate ire.

♥Moved into an apartment in the historic district with my boyfriend 💝

♥Renewed my burning desire for ribbons, ruffles, and lace - not that it ever really left...

For Followers:
  ♥Facebook Fan Page ♥Subcribe to RSS feed ♥Bloglovin 

Where else can you find me?

♥Tumblr  ♥Instagram ♥Pinterest ♥Twitter

It's so good to be back- I've missed you all!

Can you believe it's already been eleven years since the egl community on livejournal was born?! I absolutely can't! It's nice to know that, despite having been pointedly inactive in the past few years, I've still been one of a memeber for almost two-thirds of its life. It's with much excitement that I announce on their behalf to all of my lovely followers, for those who've forsaken the community in favor of fashion hermitage (such as myself- totally would've missed it if Caro hadn't messaged me about it this weekend!), that they're holding a call for creations in honor of their faithful followers! They're also going to be doing contests and giveaways over November and December, so personally I'm adding them back to my blogroll, and you should too! As for the potential prizes, everything will be products from community-based indie companies - it's possible that my own brand, Amaranth Opulent, may have a few pieces in the mix as well.

Heads up, cuties- this is an awesome way for loli-bloggers or creative entrepreneurs to get your name out there, and also to give back to the community! Even though I've had a rocky relationship with egl in the past, I can't deny that I certainly owe them a lot from my own days as a newbie, just discovering the fashion, lost down a dark, winding road of scratchy lace and square dance petticoats with no hope of finding the light, except for the loving, caring community of egl. (#hyperbole!)

So far, I'm planning to submit two pieces: one for the "lolita and feminism" prompt and another that Caro suggested, "lolita and sexuality," which will probably either be for the former,"Thoughts on EGL & the internet Lolita community," or "Thoughts on the Lolita Lifestyle." Either way, I am super excited to see what everyone thinks! Here's a snippet from the second of the two, the first draft of which is already finished:

"A pretty big proportion of a lolita's time discussing the fashion with those not in-the-know is spent saying things like, 'Lolita is not a sexual fashion. No, seriously, it isn't.' I'm pretty sure that most psychologists would say that, the more one says something aloud, the more it's internalized in one's own mind, too, meaning it's not a far jump from 'Lolita is not a sexual fashion' to 'Lolitas are not sexual people.' From this, it isn't hard to begin vilifying any lolita who associates with deviant sexuality, and from there, any openly sexual lolita at all."

 Information on how to enter can be found here, in the main post on the egl community.

By the way, the main article makes it sound like they only want writing samples, but in her post on our local community, Caro says anything like art, comics, creative writing, etc will be accepted, so bear that in mind when deciding if you want to take part! Want to contribute, but not sure how? Here are some ideas, ranging from quick and simple to more elaborate and impressive:

• Write a short essay about your first time wearing lolita on public transportation
• Paint a picture depicting the way it felt to put on your first lolita coordinate
• Write a series of haiku about the importance of bloomers. Or on anything, because haiku are awesome and always appropriate.
• Bring a sketch pad to your next lolita meetup do quick sketches of your fellow guests - ask permission first, of course!
• Take your first picture of yourself in lolita, mimic it in pose, location, lighting, etc with your current style, and juxtapose them next to each other in the same image with photoshop or similar
• Write a short story or poem about a lolita at a museum whom everyone thinks is part of an exhibit
• Turn the fable "The Tortoise and the Hare" into an allegory for coming into your own as a lolita
• Compose a rap about the first time you wore lolita, and set it to Japanese shamisen music

One of my favorite things about lolitas is the immense amount of creativity they're capable of- everything from coordination skills to crafting to my fellow loli-bloggers, all of it seriously blows me away. I find I'm constantly stunned at what this community is capable of when we funnel our energies into positivity instead of negativity, so I am beyond excited to see what we can come up with.

Yep, I'm back stateside (for some reason. No one has been able to convince me yet why.)! After about thirty hours of transit each way, I'm safely back in the USA and am about to sift through two weeks of missed life. I know I said I'd probably be able to update while I was there, but... I lied. I'm sorry! Please don't hold it against me!
New Zealand was amazing. It was beyond amazing. This picture was one of hundreds I took just of the mind-numbingly beautiful scenery hidden behind every other curve in the road- crystalline beaches sparkling under summer sunshine; cliffsides made spiky by a covering of flax and manuka trees; swamps overpopulated with mangrove trees under the grey skies of a summer storm; pastoral hills that look eerily similar to those of my own state, except elongated into craggy peaks that reminded me what sheep's hooves evolved to grip, so unlike their American cousins existences.
Not to mention the people. The individuals I encountered on this trip were some of the kindest and most sincere of any I've ever met, and I've done my unfair share of traveling and meeting people from all over the place. Everyone from the baristas in the cafes to my flight attendants to the amazing individuals who introduced us to their indigenous Maori culture just went above and beyond all of my expectations of how people treat each other. But I guess when you live in perennial summer, there's no real reason to treat strangers as hostilely as we do here in the Frozen North.
Speaking of summer, I came back to my computer to realize that my amazingly talented friend Kayla had found time to edit some of the pictures she and I took at a pastoral-themed photoshoot in... July, I think? So, while I fight jetlag and get back into my normal blogging schedule, her's a little bit of an appetizer for you!

The idea behind the photoshoot was to echo the heavily natural aesthetic of the pastoral convention of literature (think Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and anything about shepherds and shepherdesses and their comparatively innocent lives in the countryside of England and Europe). Hence the natural makeup, mishmash of layers, and hippie-dippie hairstyle. I'm planning on writing more about the pastoral convention and how you can incorporate its aspects into lolita, mori girl, and a slew of other fashions, so keep an eye out!

For more, check out Kayla's post on the photoshoot, or her Flickr!

School, work, family, and friends- we all have them, to some varying degree. Let's face it: as little as it can seem like it at times, there exists a life outside of our computer and away from our blogs. Not only is there nothing wrong with that as a blogger, if anything our passions and commitments make us stronger as writers because our experiences give us more to pull inspiration from. For example, my Literary Lolita series is based entirely off of books I'm studying in school as an English major, and almost all of my daily outfits are coordinates I put together for a day in the city with my friends. However, as a blogger, one will often encounter the problem of budgeting their time, and while this is true for all of one's commitments, as a blogger it seems to be even more pivotal. It's so important for us to take the time out to write, to brainstorm, to create truly inspired pieces for our adoring public while also being a source of catharsis and relaxation for the blogger. But when you're taking five classes and working two jobs and still have friends and dates and family (who has two thumbs and all of the above? This guy!), it can get hectic, to say the least, and often your blog will be the last thing on your mind. There's one little trick that can make this whole blogging thing that much easier, and that is a magical thing called scheduled posting.

And it isn't only you who benefits. Having a blog schedule makes blog-reading easier. Say your readers regularly read a large amount of blogs: I'd say most people have a handful they check often, some have over thirty on their blogroll or RSS feed, while some have over a hundred bookmarked that they look at only rarely. All of these readers' relationships with blogs is made possible by schedules. The blogs that they check every day are often updated every day; those which are read only through an RSS feed may update two or three times a week; and those which are checked only a handful of times a month probably update as many times sporadically. How often do you update? How many of your casual readers could you upgrade into devoted followers if you only changed your blogging schedule?

Scheduling posts doesn't only make blog-reading easier. It's also a great way for you to keep track of your blog. If you have a busy lifestyle and only find yourself able to sit down and write once or twice a month, you have two options: only post once or twice a month, or on these days, sit down and crank out three or four articles at once and schedule them to post for you throughout the week. It's a choice with one determines for oneself, based upon what one can realistically accomplish.

More importantly, though:

If you're having trouble meeting the needs of your blog, though, it may be time to reevaluate, and now I'm not just talking about scheduling but in general. If you're no longer happy, engaged, or interested in your blog, something's gotta give or this ennui is going to show, either in your own satisfaction with your work or that of your readers. While I'm not telling you to stop blogging completely, it's important to have a creative outlet that you can keep up with. It may be time to decide what of your needs your blog is meeting and on which it's falling flat. For example, I consider Miss Lumpy to be a blog where I discuss in-depth ideas on fashion and lifestyle, and that's what it always has been and always will be. However, when I started college, I realized that, even though it certainly went into philosophy, it was lacking a certain depth that I craved. One thing I was really loving about my English classes was the literature I was studying and how I related that in my mind with all of the above topics, so I started a blog series based on that (which is still being updated often despite already being a few years old). That being said, this blog is still not feeding my needs as a writer, an artist, and a person, so I have come to the conclusion that it is time to reevaluate.

As my personal aesthetic turns further from lolita and I begin to branch out in my sartorial desires, not to mention my interests outside of fashion, I am finding the current state of this blog to be less and less satisfying to write. If you've noticed a lack of lolita-based philosophy articles in the past few months, that would be why. That's why, as a new school year begins and I continue growing and evolving into a higher version of myself, I have decided that it's time not to grow away from this blog, but to start including other sides of myself. There is so much about myself that I find personally satisfying - my intellect, my personal relationships, my experiences and hopes and dreams - which I'm yearning to discuss with all of you and encourage all of you to share as well. I've done this a few times in the past, and it's been something I've wanted to do more of ever since. Consider this a warning, then, and I apologize from deviating so much from my original topic of keeping of with your blog (consider this the section of "making your blog keep up with you"), that things are going to change around here; I'll probably start leaning away from the strictly lolita side of things and include more of my life than I normally would. I'm taking a creative writing course this semester, as well as some really interesting history courses, so don't be surprised if you see more than a few related posts on those subjects!

In the end, the important thing to remember is that, as a blogger, you blog for yourself. You may have thousands of adoring fans or you may have a private blog open only to your dearest friends, but either way, in the end your blog needs to be about yourself and what satisfies you as a writer and a person in need of creative expression. Otherwise, what's the point?

In order to better serve mobile viewers, Her Lumpiness now has its own QR reader. To use it, take a picture of the code to the right with the downloadable QR reader app on your smart phone or other mobile reading device (iPad, etc). It will open your internet browser with a mobile version of Miss Lumpy for ease of reading. Please let me know how it works! I don't have a smart phone, but I tried it out on my boyfriend's iPhone and it looked great!

2010 has been an eventful year over here at Her Lumpiness! Not only did I switch hosts from Wordpress to Blogger, change my look (both the blog's and my own), and a slew of other eventful life happenings, but I really got quite a bit done, too, blogging-wise. Here is a collection of some of my favorites from this past year:

• Lolita Heroines Dissected: Dorothy vs. Alice
• The beginnings of Operation LoliBlog
• Alternative is as Alternative Does
• Amaranth Opulent Official Store Opening
• Fighting for the Sisterhood
• Green is the New Pink
• Lumpy Gets Personal
• I Would Love You, if Only You Were Someone Else
• The Zodiac-Loli Series
• The Gaijin's Conundrum
• Cropped Coifs
• Letting the Spectacle Astound You
• Taking Tea

Note: The last handful on the list were imported from my Wordpress blog, so if you've only known me since my time on Blogger, these may be new reads for you! Which is crazy in and of itself... I'm so shocked that I haven't even been on blogger for a year yet. I almost don't remember what blogging anywhere else was like!

2010 for Lumpy: This year, I: was as a make-up artist for a fashion show; brushed up on my modeling; declared a major (for real this time! English and history double-major ftw!); started my own business; hosted my first meet-up; radically reinvented myself; lost people whom I thought would be around forever (gone but not forgotten); made a slew of new friends; became active in my local community; started healing; and, most importantly, finally started reading the story my life had been writing for 21 years.

Thank you all for pulling through 2010 with me! Here's hoping we can make something even better from what's left ♥

I don't think I need to tell anyone how huge the blogosphere is. Even in our little microcosm, it seems like more blogs are popping up every other day, like crocuses after the spring rains. I feel like every few days, I see a blog on my friends' blogrolls and think "Who?! How long have they been around?" Usually, going to their sites shows pages and pages of posts on an impressive array of topics, often so much so that I feel a little embarrassed for having never happened upon their work before. At the same time, lately I've been going to friends' blogs and thinkings, "How can you have so few followers?!" So here's my way of thanking these lovely ladies for their work: whether they only have a few posts under their belts or if they've been around for years, here are some of my favorite under-appreciated blogs, all with less than 100 followers- go change that, they deserve it! ♥

Lolita Wonderland

This sweet blog I only happened upon in the past few weeks. Rosalynn, a lolita from Western Europe, has only been writing her English blog Lolita Wonderland since this past July. Discussing not only beginner lolita topics like "Lolita Beginner Need-to-Knows and Must-Accepts" and "Taking a Bow for the First Time" but spanning an impressive range of topics including weight loss an internet addiction, this blog will appeal to lolitas of any experience level. It also made me embarrassed, as these things usually do, to be an ignorant American when I realized "Wait a second... she's blogging in a language that isn't even her mother tongue?!" And she's doing it well - I'm jealous!

Quaintrelle Life

Is there anyone here who doesn't know Vivcore? I guess it's possible- she isn't as active in the comms as she used to be, but back in the day, Candy Violet was oneof THE beginner brands for American lolitas (and those abroad as well, I'm sure!) With better craftsmanship than In The Starlight and a lower pricepoint than Japanese brand, the first American lolita brand was definitely one to contend with. While she's mostly turned from lolita and to "quaintrelle" style (a term she coined herself as denoting any sweet, innocent style with a vintage or retro feel), her blog is a catalogue of not only her newest works for Candy Violet but also has the air of a peek into a bygone era. With subject matter that ranges from how-to articles for beehive hairdo's and vintage manicures to anecdotes from her daily life (such as her newly-aquired home soda fountain), this is definitely not a lolita blog but is a treat for anyone who loves the ~good old days.~

moss garden

This blog was one of the main reasons I wrote this post. Talk about a fount of sartorial knowledge, on top of a wellspring of inspirational eyecandy! Martha is one of the most knowledgable women I know in terms of all sorts of things, from eclectic Japanese street fashion to literature, which is clear from a blog that posts everything from outfit snaps to fashion advice to type-ups of fairytales by the Brothers Grimm. Her write-up states, "I like nature, books, clothes, folklore and fairy tales, crafts, lomography, gardening, and oddities," and this is definitely indicative of the kind of content you'll find at this blog. If you have any interest in dolly kei and mori girl splattered in with your love of lolita fashion, like Martha, this blog is the perfect read.

dixmacabre sewing chronicle

This is another one that's new to me! While I've known Aria for a few months now and had a vague inclination of her talents as a seamstress and designer, it was only recently that I realized the extent of her talents - conveniently, around the same time I discovered her blog. Aria is amazingly talented, especially considering the fact that she's still in school for fashion design! I don't know if she plans on starting her own line when she graduates or not, but I'm eager to see what she ends up doing with her skills after she graduates - and hopefully this blog will prove the perfect tool to keep an eye on her progress & success!

Honorable Mentions (over 100 followers but still deserve more!):

Her Curious Elegance

I Do Declare shop blog

Lemontree :: A Lolita Blog by Oli!

La Vida Frills

As I've said before, one of the things I'm most excited about with the Operation: LoliBlog series is that it gives me an excuse to reach out to bloggers who inspire me and selfishly gain inspiration from them. This week, I was happy to have the opportunity to "sit down" with Violet LeBeaux and pick her brain to gather some valuable information for LoliBloggers on blogging about cute stuff full time. Violet's blog, Tales of an Ingénue, is a smorgasbord of cute stocked with craft tutorials, nail art, and event snaps, all spiced with a pinch of hime gyaru. But I'll let her tell you the rest! Here is our interview~


Lumpy: Tell us a little about yourself. What’s your name? Where are you from? What do you blog?

Violet: Hi! I’m Violet, I live in Melbourne Australia and I run a blog called “Tales of an Ingénue”. I write about crafty diy projects, over the top nail art and sometimes Hime Gyaru fashion. I’ve been running this blog for around 2 years and before that I was on Livejournal for around 5. Before my current fashion interests, I wore Lolita for quite a long time.

L: What are some of your biggest inspirations, as far as other bloggers, websites, etc. go?

V: There are so many fantastic bloggers out there and I think if I listed every one that inspired me you would be here all day! Off the top of my head I love Trashtastika from The Fashionate Traveller (http://www.thefashionatetraveller.com/) for her sense of style, Mitsu of Universal Doll (http://www.universal-doll.com/) for her wealth of information and Candice of Super Kawaii Mama (http://www.superkawaiimama.com.au/) for her general awesomeness.
 
L: What’s the idea behind your blog? How did you come up with this idea, what made you want to start blogging about it?
V: My blog really started as a way for me to catalogue my crafting and socialize a bit more. At the time I was stuck at home a lot due to an illness so I needed something to occupy my time. After stumbling across a couple of other people’s blogs such as Brooke from Getcha Nails Did (www.getchanailsdid.blogspot.com) I thought this would be the perfect way to keep myself entertained! In the beginning people would comment and ask questions about the crafts or my clothing and hair so I started making tutorials. I enjoyed making the tutorials so much that I kept going… now I have 60+ tutorials in the library!

L: You’re a full-time blogger, and you also run your own graphic design company, Blue Crane Design. What can you say about working for yourself? What would you say is the most difficult part of being self-employed?

V: Separating work and personal life is the most difficult part! I work full time with my partner James in our graphic design company and on top of that I spend many hours a day taking care of the blog related business. So it can be hard to find time to just shut off the computer and relax. While most people clock off from work and go home my work is always there staring at me. When I shut the computer off I just tend to feel a little bad for not replying to comments quicker or for not making more tutorials XD Time management is a very good skill to learn.

I wouldn’t change it though, I work best when left to my own devices and I think that my progress is a testament to that. There are plenty of awesome things about being self employed (like being able to schedule time to go shopping during the week!) which make it worth it. I do miss the certainty of having a set paycheck but this is the life I love so I’m happy to sacrifice some things to keep doing it!

L: What type of work did you do before you started blogging?

V: Before the blog and before Blue Crane, I worked doing freelance graphic design with James. Previous to that I had worked in finance, administration and retail along side of selling my artwork.

L: You say in your book that relationships often become strained when one begins blogging full-time. How would you say that blogging has affected your life, for better or for worse? What kind of opportunities has it opened up for you, and has blogging had any unexpected outcomes?

V: Blogging is very time consuming whether you consider it a hobby or a career. There are only 24 hours in a day and when you work full time (especially self employment) and blog as well there are only so many hours left for relaxing and spending time with your significant other. I know if you were to ask James he would tell you I work too much. Personally I have a tough time taking time off because I’m not good at relaxing! That said, while I would like more free time to relax, blogging has brought me so many fantastic opportunities that I could never give it up!

Blogging has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people that I now consider friends. It allowed me to visit Singapore last year for the Asia Pacific Blogger Awards. It has brought me to up route my life and move to a whole new city recently and I love it! Through blogging I’m able to try so many new products and experiences I could never have been able to hope without it. Most importantly though, blogging has made me part of a really wonderful community of fantastic people. I’ve met some of my best friends through blogging and it’s wonderful to know that no matter where I visit in the world I’ll have a great bunch of people to hang out with!

L: Tell me a little about your pen name. How did you come up with it? Do you recommend using a pen name – do you think it’s something newbie bloggers should consider?

V: Pen names are a funny thing, mine came from when I was briefly in a band playing keyboard and my real name wasn’t cool enough for the Victorian theme hahaha! I’m totally not going to tell you I came up with the name though because it’s slightly embarrassing… yes more embarrassing than playing keyboard in a Victorian themed band!

The name just kind of stuck… Now almost all of my friends and business colleagues call me Violet and the only people that use my legal name are family and James! It suits because I never particularly liked my real name. I don’t think it’s really given me any anonymity though. I don’t think the internet ever allows for real anonymity anymore so I’ve never hidden the fact that Violet isn’t my legal name. People tend to assume though and it’s always a little awkward when I have to give out my real name to have packages sent or something like that. A few people have said that it “ruins the magic” but oh well such is life!

I think a pen name is a great way for new bloggers to find their voice. Having a pen name can allow you to write more freely but I would advise new bloggers to make sure that they don’t stray far from their natural voice especially if they ever plan to meet anyone from their online world in person!

L: Is there any advice you wish someone had given you when you first started blogging?

V: Believe in yourself because very few others will. Also don’t expect anyone else to have the foggiest clue what you’re doing. When I started my current blog no one here knew what the word meant. Even now that it’s gained in popularity people usually still don’t get it… or ask me questions like “You write about what?? Why would anyone want to read that?” If you know that blogging is a good use of your time go for it and don’t look back!

L: One of the most important parts of blogging, besides content, is the way a blogger “carries” herself online- of course, I’m talking about branding and marketing. Do you have any tips you’d like to share on promoting yourself and your image?

V: Branding is so important. This is the graphic designer in me talking but get a well designed site. If you can’t afford to pay someone to build you one then get learning some code and some Photoshop skills and DIY. In terms of promotions don’t be too pushy. Being assertive and being annoying are two very different things and you will find that if you stray into the annoying you will lose potential audience members very quickly. In my blog I have always found it easier to make friends rather than try to find readers but that is something that differs depending on your style and the type of blog you’re trying to write. Be clear about your intentions with the blog and make sure readers can know what to expect from you.

Don’t be afraid of branding but don’t go too overboard with it either. Subtly is the key ^_^

L: Lastly, if you could sit down with any one person for tea, be it another blogger or a celebrity, who would it be and why?

V: Technically I’m cheating by saying three but I would love to have tea with yourself, Caro from FYeah Lolita and Victoria from Lolita Charm! I think that would be the cutest tea party ever!



Thank you so much, Violet, for such an enlightening interview! And if you ever find yourself stateside, let me know and I will make that tea party happen! ♥♥♥

Follow me on Bloglovin here!Bloglovin is a great resource for bloggers and blog-followers; it collects all of your blog posts in one place and allows readers to subscribe to them as well. Like Google FriendConnect, Bloglovin allows followers to create a list of their favorite blogs and read them all in one convenient place. All bloggers and blog-readers should definitely check it out!

I've always felt that the best way to learn something you love is to teach it. Okay, so that's a philosophy I stole from one of my favorite authors, Paulo Coehlo, but the point is, whenever I find something that I really love and want to learn more fully, I've found that the best way to open myself up to knowledge about it is to teach it. The best thing about creative enterprises is that they're every-changing, forever evolving, just like the people behind them, and blogging is no different; just when I think I've figured everything out, I find myself faced with a new challenge.

That's why I'm starting my new series on lolita blogging, which I affectionately term "Operation LoliBlog." This ongoing series will cover more than just lolita blogging but also branding, marketing, and other genres of fashion and aesthetic blogging. I have a handful articles planned already, such as a review of different blogging tools and a few interviews in the works, but what I really need to know is:

What do you want to know?

I know what I find compelling and what I want to learn more about, but I'm not creating content JUST for myself! So, is there anyone you want me to interview or any topics you want me to cover? This series is for all of you out there as well as myself, so please, let me know in a comment or e-mail with the button in the sidebar what you would like to learn more about!

I look forward to hearing from everyone~~


note- I'm tentatively returning from my hiatus. I may have to retreat back into my cave come midterms and finals, but I've been so inspired lately that I just can't stay away any longer! Posts will only be once a week until I get up to steam again, but I have some lovely goodies planned, more than just this!

A quick break from the hiatus to tell you all that I'm not dead! On the contrary, I've been quite alive and keeping myself very busy. This hiatus couldn't have come at a better time- between classes, school/family/social life, and designing my fall/winter line, I can't even imagine what these past few weeks would have been like with blogging thrown in there too! I also didn't forget that I promised you guys pictures of my new hair, so without further adieu...

Are you ready?


'Cause I'm pretty excited about this....

Here's a doozey - a picture of me with no photoshop and only a touch of make-up:

What do you think? Also, like my hair clip? This one was a prototype that I'm keeping for myself, but it was to test out a new style of product I've been playing around with:

I only have two I'm going to be releasing in this style for winter, though, because I think they'll be much more suitable for spring/summer. These are mostly going out to my ladies in the Southern Hemisphere, who are probably sick-sick-sick of earth tones and bare branches!

I've also been devoting myself rather admirably to my studies. I know, weird, right?! Currently I'm studying Renaissance & Enlightenment Europe, World Literature since the 17th Century, World Civilizations in the same time period, War & Peace through Film, and... an introduction to internet applications (read: The Web for Dummies). Everything has proven to be incredibly interesting, and I'm happy to say that I've continued to use fashion as a bit of peaceable excitement in a world of dusty tomes and droning history lectures. Well, no, not really, all of the subjects I've studied so far have been absolutely fascinating (the European witch hunts, how sheep conquered Mexico, and the expeditions of Zheng He, the world' s first explorer). Er... except maybe that computer class (though, the Browser War of the 1990's - that was certainly a humdinger of a lecture! Naaah, I kid, it's fun).

One of my closest friends, Kayla, is in a photography class, and she just finished a portraiture assignment, which I was pleased to be asked to participate in! Here are some gems from our experiments together (in fact, the photos of me above were taken by her, too!):

I suppose that's all that's new for me! I've still been religiously reading all of your amazing blogs that I follow, but even still, how have you all been? I've missed you so!! Hopefully I'll be back to posting again soon, once classes calm down a bit and I have more time to breathe.