My First Week on Instagram

I finally got a smart phone and joined Instagram, after being nagged by friends for some time now. I was thinking that I'd just use it as a blogging tool, but I've actually been enjoying capturing random bits of my life. I'm definitely not a #selfie Instagram-er (can you believe that considering how self-involved I am?!!?!?!). I think I took one selfie so far. I'm much more into cats, cars, and other random little things I'm encountering in my life. I'm training myself to keep my phone near me to snap some photos whenever I see something interesting (cars! cats! flowers! fabric!). Follow me at @chloeahlf for more updates! 

Here are some snippets from my first week on Instagram:

Right Now, What I Want My Life To Be Like

My life is kind of blah right now. I don't like the full-time job I accepted and am glad that it's only temporary through mid-August. I've been spending every free afternoon & evening out practicing for my driving test (which I'm taking tomorrow!) and I haven't had much time to relax and see friends. My free-time has been spent laying on the couch feeling too blah to do anything. At one of my jobs, I get yelled at by my supervisor every day. It's not that I'm doing anything wrong. They're just that type of person. And they're not trying to be mean, it's just how they communicate.

I'm not the type of person to yell. I hate yelling. I like arguing, sure. I like debating, I like proving my point. I like to be heard. But I don't yell. I don't respond well to yelling, and I don't expect most other people to, either. Civilized conversations are better. Being heard because you're smart and understanding - that's how I prefer to communicate. I'm already missing my time of underemployment - spent blogging, reading, catching up with friends, working a part-time job that I absolutely love. I'm trying to make the best of things, but I'm finding myself dreaming of a different life. I'm dreaming of taking a road trip. Of not caring about making money, or fulfilling deadlines. I'm tired of having to yell to get my point across and of being yelled at simply because someone cannot talk to me like a normal human being. I just want to be around people I love, listening to music I like, talking about things that don't require yelling, and enjoying life. That's all. So here are some things that I've been dreaming about - what I want my life to be like right now.

Source: Brixton

Friends (1994 - 2004)

Source: Cindy Li

Source: Quentin de Briey

Source: Thomas Vignaud

Source: Miracle Eye

My So-Called Life (1994)

Source: Unknown

Things I Love Thursday: Hipster Photography Edition

I've had an insanely busy past couple of weeks. I'm in talks for a couple of different jobs, I've been putting in some volunteer hours, and I went on a couple of dates - in addition to painting the porch and getting some of my May goals finished before the end of the month and working my usual internship. Most of my free time, which only comes after 10pm, has been spent on the couch trying to relax/frantically hem pants and repair split seams on dresses. I haven't been able to check into my social media all too often, but a few days ago I hopped on Facebook to find my friend Irv Briscoe had sent me some film scans that we took several weeks ago. As a lot of the recent links into the blog have been on a Reddit thread for ~hipster girls~ I thought it would be appropriate to share these ~hipster film scans~ taken with a ~lomography~ camera (so many tildes you guys). There're a lot of funny faces, a lot of me being confused about what I'm supposed to be doing in order to get a ~cool hipster photo~ because I'm not naturally ~hipster~, but I think they turned out awesome. I got a good laugh over seeing the finished product and some of the ridiculous faces I make. I'll be back this weekend with more normal blog updates! I love you all xxxxx

Things I Love Thursday

I'm obsessed with this snap of Veronica at Les Tuileries in Paris. It's so fun - black, white, and red is timeless, but the proportions, the mix of large & small polka dots, and the funky hat & shades make this infinitely interesting & playful - all while staying classic.

I love this look by Ella Catliff of La Petite Anglaise. It's young & funky while keeping a classic silhouette, and who doesn't love a good in-your-face graphic tee?

This look by Marina of Young, Gifted, & Black popped up in my Pinterest feed and immediately grabbed my attention. The skirt & bow tie match. Come on, how cool is that! This is totally the type of thing I'd wear to work.

I'm okay at sewing, but stretchy knits have always been too daunting without a serger. Annika of The Pineneedle Collective whipped up a quick little tutorial on how to craft a crop top from an old tee shirt. Crop top season is upon us and I have so many over-sized tees to do this with!

 This collection of macro photos of snails by photographer Vyacheslav Mishchenko makes me smile all over. I've always thought snails were cute, but these photos just give me a whole new respect & curiosity for the creatures. Meow!

 A friend posted this Buzzfeed article of 16 Ridiculous Lines from "Law & Order: SVU" and it's hilarious. I don't watch SVU because of the nature of the content (I'm die-hard for the original Law & Order though), but even so, these one-liners are unbelievably funny.

 I've been re-designing the blog a little bit. The current header was only supposed to be temporary while I waited on an illustrated one, but my designer disappeared on me & the temp one has been up long enough. A new header & more design changes are coming, but in the meantime, let me know what you think so far!

 I've also changed my Twitter handle as part of the re-branding. Make sure you're following me at @of__north (quite frankly, you should be following me on Twitter already, & if you're not then you're missing out on my endless wit)

Things I Love Thursday

Audrey of Frassy looks fab on the Spanish coast in her beach ensemble. I can't pretend that I love swimming or the whole bikini-beach culture, but I miss the feeling of sand between my toes. This is definitely my idea of the perfect summer day at the beach outfit.

I'm in love with this incredible crop top by ElmaShop. You must go take a look at the cross back detailing. In awe!

Cut Out + Keep (where I recently guest posted!) featured this tutorial for making toggle branch buttons. Wah! I'm definitely going to have to make these. SO COOL, and tugging at my Minnesotan roots.

I need this on my wall! via Olivia of Phantograms

I originally skipped over this post at The Merrythought when it popped up on my Bloglovin' feed simply because children don't really apply to my life at the moment. But I went back to see the photos and this little girl immediately brightened my day. It's good to see such simple, free, childish joy. That's not something that's in my life as much as I wish it were. Plus, look how chic her outfit is with the suede moccasins & the lace kimono!

 A friend directed me to this article at Bustle about personal style blogging & narcissism. I'm often a bit embarrassed about my blog for the simple fact that I don't want people to think I'm narcissistic & completely full of myself & nothing else. The author, Olivia, pretty much hit the nail on the head with this explanation.

 This is a little old, but I only just stumbled upon it. A wealthy woman who fled France during Hitler's reign & never returned (but continued to pay rent on her flat there) died, and her apartment in France was opened up for the first time since 1942. Everything was preserved beautifully. Take a look at the photos for yourself.

Things I Love Thursday

I have been having a rather stressful last few days - my allergies are through the roof and my head feels like it's about to implode, I'm hemorrhaging money by staying at this severely underpaid job that I love so much, and I'm presenting at a research conference tomorrow & am completely unprepared for it! This weekend will be better, but in the meantime, for this "Things I Love Thursday", I just want to share some nice things to make you smile and feel fuzzy.


Disney's The Aristocats (1970)


Hand-lettering by Nicolas Fredrickson


Source Unknown


Hand-lettering by Lisa Nicole


Charles Schultz's Charlie Brown & Snoopy


"You have absorb'd me. I have a sensation at the present moment as though I was dissolving."
by Ann Whitaker


Illustration by Sam Larson of Steel Bison


Tintin & Snowy by Hergé