Mr. Goulding goes to Washington

a couple of weeks ago we went on a little trip for Brandon's birthday weekend. Brando can never really decide what he wants to do for his birthday celebrations; he's a fairly stoic fellow and doesn't go wild for the party life or anything like that. (he doesn't even like cake. I KNOW.) so instead we planned a little vacation to see his/our current favourite comedian in Washington, DC. 

it's not that far from NYC, and we were both itching to do a little exploring, so we rented a car a drove down for the show. Mike Birbiglia was amazing; if you haven't seen My Girlfriend's Boyfriend then you really need to, right now. do it now. the show was so much fun, and we even got an autograph and acted like huge dorks. and obviously because it wasn't a two-day event, we had time to do a little sightseeing. 

I'm not usually one to stand in awe of statues or sculptures, but not gonna lie, I was pretty excited to say hello to Mr. Lincoln.

this is our only picture together the entire weekend! (well, except for instagram selfies. which of course don't count.)

one of the (many) pleasant things about taking a little trip is that it gives me an excuse to stretch my photography muscles. I mean, I'm no superstar, skill-wise, and my equipment is standard fair, but it's nice to have new subjects and inspiration. aka I'm sick of taking pictures of myself. 

I loved all the monuments and attractions and the gorgeous weather. DC has so many things to photograph!

on day two of our visit- Brando's legit birthday- we had the arduous task of choosing only one Smithsonian museum to visit. the birthday boy chose the National Air & Space museum, and we are so very glad he did. (that's the royal we, fyi.)

it was amazeballs. I saw a real spacesuit that was worn on the moon- complete with moon dust-, the Wright Brothers' first plane, and the plane Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic in. we're giant geeks and were completely mesmerized. (that's not the royal we, that's the two-people we.)

(click for more photos!)

little island girl

yesterday Brandon and I visited Coney Island! 

that warrants an exclamation point because it was our first visit and also the weather was amazing. positively summer-esque. maybe not for you real New Yorkers, but I come from a place where it snowed last week... so yeah it felt like summer to us. 

skirt- H&M // tee- Lord Fletcher's bar // bag- fr. Morocco // boots- Shoe the Bear // sunglasses- Fray Bans // earrings- gift

I tried my best to dress for the occasion; I went for comfy and colorful. I really wanted to wear my new orange skirt (replacement for old orange skirt, which I still love but no longer loves me back. I feel like I should be a spokesperson for H&M right now because it seems like lately theirs is the only stuff that fits me/makes me feel good.)

I paired it with another of my wearable souvenirs, my Lord Fletcher's t-shirt. I got it at a bar in Minnesota last summer. wow, I cannot believe it's already been almost a year since that road trip! and I still haven't shared some of the pictures... we'll move on from that for now. 

threw on a few quirky accessories and a pair of earrings that remind me of juggling, and my amusement-parky ensemble was complete! (amusement-parky is a legit adjective, right?)

I'm aware that Coney Island is more than just the boardwalk and the beach and the roller coasters... but all that stuff is pretty awesome. it was such a great day! I convinced Brandon to ride the Cyclone (he was not very enthusiastic) and he yelled during the ride that he didn't like it... but I think he did. he even bought that cheesy picture they print out at the end. 

we also went to the Coney Island sideshow, which thankfully isn't as freaky as it sounds, and we got delicious diner food on the boardwalk. I really want to go back and explore more of the neighborhood, get on more rides (Brando's such a scaredy cat), and hopefully do some barefoot beach frolicking. 

also I want to try the pizza at Spumoni Gardens, because I saw it on Man Vs. Food and they put the sauce on top. seems delicious.  

so far all of our Brooklyn explorations have been a success! this weekend I wanna get to the Botanic Garden and the renegade craft fair. Brandon's working all week but maybe I'll do a little wandering on my own. maybe I'll get cupcakes! 

cupcakes are always a good plan. 

I'm a new soul

so I'm a little late (ok, a lot late) with this post, but I really wanted to share it with you! 

last wednesday, March 26th, was mine and Bran-dog's 3-year wedding anniversary (and SEVEN YEARS together!). 

it's hard to believe all that time has passed, but the craziest thing is how much things have changed in those few years. so much has happened- good and bad- and most of the time it doesn't even feel like we are the people in these photos. it's strange how a period of time can feel so short and so long all at once. 

but we stuck it out! and here we are, starting over again, moving to a new city (and new country) and seeing what life throws at us this time. whatever it is, I'm sure we'll make it interesting together. I love my furry weirdo. ♥

aaaaanyway, enough of this sappy stuff; here are some of my favourite photos from our St. John's wedding! (I've shared these before; you can find the original post + way more photos here, here, here, and here.)

all photos by Andrew & Adam of W. Scott Chester Photography. best in the biz, yo! 

click "read more" for the rest of my fave wedding photos!

white winter

Brando and I spent last week in St. John's visiting our friends. it's been a little boring here lately, mainly because of the insane weather that makes you want to curl up in a blanket and never leave your house.  

exhibit a:

and that's nothin'. right now we're in Robert's Arm with Brandon's fam and there are literally 12 foot snowbanks. I'm telling you guys, it's really difficult to run a style blog in -30 weather!

but anyways, here are a couple more pictures from St. John's. we spent most of the time hanging out inside, so there wasn't a lot to photograph! but we did stop by a couple of our favourite eats. 

ermagherd sushiiii. how much do I miss sushi? 

I could've eaten this whole meal all over again. immediately. also, don't sushi dishes have the best names? "black dragon roll." how badass is that? "what did you eat last night?" "oh just a BLACK DRAGON ROLL."

...it's been an uneventful couple weeks. 

enjoy your winters, everyone! 

as much as you can.

something new

today was just another day. nothing all that interesting. no snowstorm, but we lost all available photo light during my trip to the doctor. snuggled the cat, watched some netflix, ate a brownie.

well, I guess the brownie was kind of spectacular, but still. ordinary day. 

UNTIL.

UN. TIL.

Brando told me to give him a haircut.

I don't know why but I agreed.

here is a little photo journal of the experience. 

a before shot. that mane.

he said he wasn't nervous, but he doesn't look very trusting...

no turning back now. the clips are in!

...oops. 

that may have been my bad.

just a little tidying... I'm a little afraid of clippers. I thought I might skin his head.

blurry shot of all the fallen comrades. that's more hair than is currently on my head.

after! I feel I recovered nicely from my initial blunder. 

so handsome, so suave. 

so that's it! what do you think? 

I've cut Brandon's hair before, but it was super long then and I just trimmed it. this was a lot more nerve-wracking because it had to have some semblance of a "style." 

anyways I don't think I'll be quitting my day job, but it'll do.

not that I have a day job... 

erm. anywhoooo. I'll close with this not-so-pro tip: always check for the razor guard. 

the end!

burning down bridges

hey there sports fans!
how about that team and their sports game?

I kid, I kid, I watched the Superbowl. it wasn't the most exciting game of football I've ever seen, but you know. it's an event. I was rooting for the Seahawks, and they won! you're welcome, Frasier.

Brando and I went out of town to visit some friends of ours and watch the game. it was nice to get away for just a night and gorge on pizza and wings and beer. a good ol' fashioned Superbowl night.

plus, they live in Port Blandford, which is a perfect little town for a photo op!

I kept my word and planned a warm wardrobe for outdoors, but of course I ended up not needing it. it was so mild! I didn't need any mittens or a hat, my new puffy jacket was good enough.

Brandon got a similar jacket in blue (which you can check out further down this post!) and I felt like we were a ski lodge couple from the 70s. do puffy bomber jackets remind you of stuff like that? I love those cute little ski bunny outfits with the pink jackets and earmuffs and big white ski boots. it makes me want to take a ski trip, but I know I'd prefer sipping hot chocolate and marshmallows by a fire to falling down a giant snow bank...

coat- american eagle // sweater- ??old // dress(skirt)- suzy shier // boots- aldo

before we move on, I'd like to note two things: one, how awesome my gold nail polish is; and two, how great bridges are for taking pictures. 

seriously, could they be more photogenic?

(click below to see Brando's outfit!)