Time is all around (part 2)

First of all, it seems that we have gained several new readers over the weekend, so I just wanted to say hello to you all! I'm delighted you've joined us. I hope you're having better Memorial Day weather than we have here - it's been gray and rainy all day, with the occasional thunderstorm to spice things up. Normally, I absolutely adore storms, but the abrupt change in weather has given me a terrific headache. What bad luck!

Our house-hunting plans have come to an abrupt halt, sadly - not all of the girls are able to afford it at the moment. I'm still hoping to move out, though. It may be a little bit crazy (I don't have a steady job at the moment) but I'm determined to do it. I have a job for the school year - I'll be a writing consultant at my university - so I just need to make it through the summer.

I can't believe I'll be entering my senior year of college. How did that happen? More and more lately, I've been getting the question, "What do you plan to do after graduation?" And I never know what to say. I've been kicking around a few ideas in my head, but I think I'll address that in a future post...

Speaking of posting, I think I'm going to try to get on a more regular blogging schedule. I want to have regular outfit posts, inspiration posts, and store updates...because I've been getting a lot done so that it'll be ready soon! I'm so excited. I may also do occasional features of little spots around the Grand Rapids area...what do you think?

I'll leave you with the second half of the photoshoot I posted on Friday. In case anyone was wondering about the clothes - most of them are Esther's, except for the dress I'm wearing, and I'm fairly certain that each and every item was thrifted. We started out with a slightly 1940's-ish inspiration, but we had to throw in some boho, of course.

Time is all around (part 1)

Sorry things have been so quiet around here lately! It's been kind of a crazy week - job hunting, house hunting, and sadly, a goodbye. Yesterday morning (very early!) we had to say goodbye to Olga, our exchange student, who had lived with us for the whole school year. She was absolutely the sweetest girl, and we all miss her so much already. It feels so strange not having her in the house.

This is just a quick post to share some photos with you for the long weekend! These are actually old-ish - taken last fall - but they could pass for summer, and since I hadn't posted them yet, I thought I'd share. Pictured are Olga, Vera, Rose, and myself. Olga is the blonde, by the way, and Esther will appear in the second half. This is just the first half; I'll post the others at some later point this weekend.

If you like my dress, you'll be able to buy it in the shop soon!

Oh, two other little notes: 1) I have discovered the wonder that is Tumblr, so you can follow mine if you like. 2) If you want to see what I looked like when I was little, head over to the Clothes Horse for her fantastic "Flashback Friday" feature. (hooray for alliteration!) Here's the direct link to the post. Check out my stylin' Little Mermaid sweatshirt!

Without further ado, I'll stop my commentary and let the pictures do the talking. Have a great weekend!

Store preview!

What? There's going to be a store?

Well, yes. It's been an embarrassingly long time since we announced it, but hopefully within the next month we'll have things listed on Etsy and ready to go. Until then, here's a little preview!

Don't think twice, it's all right

Well, it has been an interesting week, that's for sure! Thank you all for your comments on the baby rabbits. I haven't seen the little survivor since last weekend, but I'm just going to take that as a sign that he is safe and far away.

Esther and I took these photos the other day in the park near my house. It was a perfectly lovely day - finally! So far May hadn't been very springlike at all here in Michigan, but the weather, it seems, has turned around. I rode 5 miles on my bike on the trail right by my house (it goes all the way to the zoo downtown - 16 miles, though I've never gone all the way!) and in the light spring breeze, it was glorious.

We were so excited to take these pictures because we had just finished taking the first round of photos of some of the merchandise for our Etsy store! Things had been so busy - she with her job, me with school - that we hadn't had the chance until now. Unfortunately, when I put the memory card into the computer, the photos disappeared. I downloaded a photo recovery program; still nothing. So unfortunately that time was a loss, but I was able to redo some of the pictures today. I'll have some to share as a sneak preview in a future post!

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to cut this post short - I've come down with an awful cold today and my body's telling me that I need to get some sleep. Who am I to argue? What an exciting life I lead - in bed before midnight on a Friday! Anyway, I'll have lots more to share soon - including the story of how I met Nigel Barker. I'll leave you with some more pictures. Have a great (and healthy!) weekend!

Chance encounter

I will do a real post later - for once, I almost have more pictures than I know what to do with! - but until then, I just had to share this photo, taken today at my favorite restaurant downtown:

Yes, that is me, my sisters, and Nigel Barker. In Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was the most random chance encounter ever. Story later!

It's just that it's delicate.

This marks the first post here at Owl Eyes that I've actually had a legitimately hard time writing. Granted, this is a young blog - but still, my heart actually aches a little.

Friday afternoon, I was in a terrible mood. It doesn't matter why; we'll just leave it at that. I was outside doing yard work, letting myself wallow, when all of a sudden I heard my mom and sister yelp that they had found something. I ran over, and it turned out to be a nest of baby bunnies. Most of them scattered, but one stayed: that sweet little guy you see above.

[To avoid the inevitable comments that we shouldn't have picked him up: we've had nests of baby bunnies before, and the mother always comes back. When I was younger, I was foolish and wanted to keep one, and I picked it up all the time (which I shouldn't have, I know) and the mother came back even then. Besides, my sister had already touched them accidentally when she discovered the nest, so we figured a few minutes for pictures wouldn't hurt!]

Holding that sweet little creature - touching its new, soft fur with my fingertips, feeling the rhythm of its little breaths - I completely forgot why I was angry.

dress: Modcloth | headband: Forever 21 | tank top, cardigan, shoes: Target

And then, to further lighten my already ecstatic mood, I went over to our arbor, where we often get a robin's nest. It had been empty just a few short weeks before, but when I climbed up, I discovered:

Once I learned the baby birds were there, I was thrilled. I hadn't thought they were there, but now that I did know, I could keep an eye on them and make sure that this nasty neighborhood cat didn't come and kill them. I see this cat only in the springtime, only when it comes to kill our baby birds.

The next day, my mom and I went over to the rabbit's nest and found all four babies sleeping soundly. We checked on the baby birds - all still there.

I wish I could say the story ended there.

Unfortunately, yesterday morning, tragedy struck. My mom happened to be looking out the kitchen window in time to see - you guessed it - that awful orange cat, carrying away the baby bunnies, as the mother could only stand and watch. She called me over, and shooed away the cat, but it was too late. The baby birds, thankfully, were undisturbed. But the rabbit's nest was empty.

We had seen the cat run into the shed, so later that afternoon, we entered - cautiously - and found the bodies of two of the little bunnies, including the one we had held in the pictures. We buried them in a corner of our garden.

We were devastated. It's an indescribably heavy feeling to bury the new life you held just days before - no matter how small the life.

But thankfully, I don't have to end the story there either.

Yesterday in the evening, my dad discovered another robin's nest - this time, in a place where a cat couldn't get to - containing a single blue egg. So, if all goes well, we'll have at least one baby robin to watch grow up - and if I have anything to say about it, we'll have more than just the one. I know it's impossible to watch the nest 24/7, and there's only so much I can do anyway, but I want those babies to make it.

And as I stood in the kitchen doing the dishes last night, I watched as my brother-in-law went over to our wood and stick pile so he could get our bonfire started - only to see a tiny creature zoom out of the pile and run to the nearest bush to hide.

We have at least one survivor.

The cat is still out there, and I know there is so much that could go wrong, and it's the circle of life and all that...but I can't help but believe in that little guy.