Author Archives: Rae Nudson

backwards

Sometimes, you just need to wear your cardigan backwards. 

Buttons up the back, yo. It’s a fun twist on what’s already in your closet. And it felt like a whole new outfit. 

I like this look but couldn’t help but wish I had something a little more fun to wear with this sweater. Like these.

What a crazy week. Work was bananas. I went for a walk to shake it off, and the trees were lovely after a rain. My new glasses came in, so at least reading was a little easier. I also showed you this clutch I made this week—I still really like the way it came out. At least someone could relax this week. The week ended with a super fun time at Googa Mooga! We ate great food and saw the Roots and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. To see more snapshots during the week, find me on Instagram as raenudson.

simple

A simple outfit for a tricky day. Black DKNY dress, belt from old navy, shoes from JC Penny. Bag from H&M, scarf from Macys. And yeah, I did tie my scarf on my bag to go with my belt. 

I’m trying to take pictures outside now that it’s not winter anymore but with my limited equipment in my shoebox size apartment there’s only so much I can do. Luckily, I should get some things to help soon, so hopefully better pictures will come. In the meantime, this is what it looks like outside my apartment.

dark tower

I’ve just finished book two of the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. The first book, The Gunslinger, introduces us to Roland, the last gunslinger. Gunslinger is pretty much what it sounds like, only way more badass. The first book whets your appetite for Roland’s world—one of many worlds—and touches on the surface of his quest for the tower, the evil of the Man in Black, and Roland’s troubling past that has left him without his family and friends. 

I still am not sure if I like Roland, but I respect him. His discipline and focus is admirable and though I haven’t quite figured out what his values are, I believe he has them and sticks to them. In book two, I think this quote sums up a lot of what Roland is: 

He was a romantic in his own harsh way..yet he was also realist enough to know that sometimes love actually did conquer all. 

Using the word “harsh” to describe Roland is a huge understatement. He goes where he needs to, for as long as he needs to, and does what he needs to, even if that includes losing the loved ones he has left to get closer to the Tower. Even if it includes losing his fingers and crawling for miles while his arm gets infected. Even if he kills 100 people without missing a shot. Why does he need to go to the Tower? I have no idea. But I’ll stick around to find out. 

Other quotes I liked:

  • The only contingency he had not learned how to bear was the possibility of his own madness.
  • It was an old yellow sound, like turning pages.
  • …but it’s very rotten. Like the ideas of certain people, maybe.
  • No, sugar was not cocaine, but Roland could not understand why anyone would want cocaine or any other illegal drug, for that matter, in a world where such a powerful one as sugar was so plentiful and cheap. 
  • Eddie was doing well. The gunslinger measured just how well by the fact that he was fighting naked.
  • “cliche. Do you know what that word means?” “It means what is always said or believed by people who think only a little or not at all.”

Just about every time I picked up these books I couldn’t put them down. Stephen King’s language is as beautiful and intriguing as the characters he’s introducing you to. He comes up with people and scenarios and sentences I couldn’t imagine in my entire life. 

One of my favorite moments in the first two books was when Detta/Odetta, the black woman who lives in the ’60s and doesn’t know she’s schizophrenic and who lost her legs when someone pushed her under a subway, looks into the gunslinger’s purse and is awed. Now this is a very manly purse. Here’s what I imagined was inside.

What’s in your bag? Bet it’s nothing like that.

clutch

I’ve probably worn this outfit a hundred times.

It’s easy, a black button up from H&M with Gap skinny pants and my striped shirt from Topshop. (Sweater from Uniqlo and watch from Target, if you are wondering.) And on the day I went to work after vacation was over, it was an easy thing to grab for because I knew already that it worked. But, this time, I added a fun clutch to tie it all together. I like this clutch. I like the gray and yellow color combination. I like that it tied my sweater and pants together and kind of played with the idea of stripes and texture. But most of all, I like that I made it. 

It’s knitted on the outside, black cotton on the inside. And it’s sturdy, so it will hold and of your things and fit into your hand without getting all droopy. 

I’ve been toying with this idea for a while and I really like the way it came out. I just need to make a few adjustments and then I hope I can share more with you!

Oh, and if you want to take your clutch to happy hour but need more room for work? just toss it in your bag and make the switch later.

Now that I’m back from vacation, it’s back to real life. But first, a few snapshots from the past week. I knew I was on vacation because the tiny bottles of booze at the airport had party hats. I also knew because I could stand in the ocean. We went to see my brother and his wonderful now-wife get married at a beautiful spot on St. John. Esmerelda was a permanent guest of the hotel. When I got home it was back to shlubby weekend style to run some errands. Or to just sit in the sunshine in the park. To see more in real time, find me on instagram at raenudson!

back

I am so tired. Since I’ve gotten back from vacation I’ve done very little other than buy oreos and watch this season of Secret Life of the American Teenager. I’m not perfect. Sorry I’m not sorry. 

I just got back from the Virgin Islands where I watched my brother get married. The wedding and the island were both beautiful, as you can see. 

It was an amazing week, full of family and the beach and iguanas.

That is the beach.

That is an iguana in a tree. Can you see him? He’s very sneaky.

But now I’m back! We should hang out and catch up.

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Some #fatcat to brighten this gloomy morning

(Source: http://www.adobe.com/)

Want to know a secret? I can’t take off my sweater today because I couldn’t get my dress all the way zipped up this morning. What’s worse is when you can’t reach to get it UNzipped.