Against the Storm of Life

Dress: H&M * Cardigan: UO * Scarf: c/o Affordable Scarves * Belt: thrifted * Bangles: H&M

Doesn't the pattern of this dress remind you of those Magic Eye things? I could never see the hidden dinosaur/building/sailboat/etc., no matter how hard I stared, so I'm actually not quite sure if this dress is actually displaying fabulous 3-D images. I hope it's a muscle car...

Joe took these pictures a couple of weeks ago while he was staying with me in Chicago. We've been lucky to have a bit of extra time together lately, which will (hopefully!) make up for the fact that we pretty much won't see each other at all over the summer. He's leaving in one week to spend nearly two months in South America doing fieldwork, and I couldn't be more jealous if I tried. Because of a combination of schedules and finances, I wasn't able to finagle a tag-along trip, but I'm hopeful that he'll have many more Andean excursions in the future.

I'm so excited for him, though. I've spent my fair share of time in South America, mostly in the Andean regions and Brazil, and I know how incredible the area is. The last time I was down there was in 2006. I spent the summer in Bolivia, and almost didn't come back. I remember sitting in my bedroom in La Paz, looking at Mount Illimani and feeling this incredible calm wash over me (it may have just been the altitude sickness, but that moment has stuck with me for all these years). I love that area, and it sucks that it's been so long since I've been able to go. I fully intend to live vicariously through Joe's pictures, souvenirs, and stories when he gets back in August.

In the meantime, I'm gearing up for a summer alone, which is actually much less sad than it sounds. I'm really looking forward to some "me" time. This has been a hectic year, in many ways, with many people coming in and out of my life. As wonderful as those new relationships are, and as happy as I am to have had the time and opportunity to foster them, at my core, I'm a true introvert. I think that in a way all this social interaction has worn me out a bit. So I'm kind of excited about structuring my days on my own, and spending time reacquainting myself with myself. :)

Title song: Dolly Parton, "Hide me Away"