what's in my bag?

I know that I'm about seven thousand years behind in the "What's in my bag?" post, but I figured I'd try and bring it back for the summer!

when it comes to bags, I usually look for a durable tote that leaves my hands free for taking pictures. I usually alternate between these two-the blue backpack was brought back from Senegal by my best friend, and the tote is from flipped bird (excuse the typo in the picture), which is super durable and has made the train rides between school and home a million times, holding cameras, laptops and other heavy things without even straining. 

for the contents of my bag;

moleskine notebook-for all my thoughts and ideas-and, as Amy Winehouse once put it, "once you go black  ((moleskine)), you never go back"

pens-pencil and I don't get along (perks of being left handed), so loads of pens are always neccessary, and as for the sharpie, well, you never know when you'll encounter a nice wall or stall

reading-gotta keep myself cultured somehow, and keeping some literature handy makes it easier to pass the time without reaching for the phone 24/7

iphone- i spend too much time on this thing, mostly instagramming (@shay_brod) or tweeting (also @shay_brod)

wallet-its made out of a london underground map, to hold cards and cash, but usually not cash because i'm poor

film cameras-I always have my babies, usually one of my film and my digital cameras, with me at all times, in case there's a goat or something

umbrella-you'd think that after being caught in several showers, I would remember to bring this with me at all times. Nope. And when I do, it never rains. 

burt's bees chapstick-Keeping dem lips poppin'

sunnies-i'm a movie star, ok? And round frames are the best. 

extra film-feeding my babies when they get hungry (and starving my wallet to develop them)

Ok, so tell me-what's in your bag?

  instagram//etsy//twitter

we're not kids anymore

So much has changed in the last year-especially me. In a good way, of course. 

I apologize for not blogging in a while, but I'll try to start putting up pictures from the last few weeks, which has been a strange juxtaposition of sundrenched walks and sunless hours in the dorm making art.  hope everyone is enjoying the weather xx

listening to//Frank Turner, Tape Deck Heart

                                         instagram//etsy//twitter

and the sun was on the rise

Spring is in the air and it's wonderful! As the weather gets warmer, i can't help but let my mind wander towards new purchases for sunnier days, which results in little sketches like these.

What's on your spring wishlist?

instagram//etsy//twitter

guest post; Lauren, Introvert's Introduction

dress/tights/jacket: forever 21 // shirt: mom's closet // collared shirt: thrifted // shoes: target

Hey everyone! I'm Lauren from Introvert's Introduction and I'm here guest posting for Shay! I was so excited when she asked me to guest post for her, not only because I discovered her totally awesome blog, but also because she and I are so similar to each other (we're both college freshman, we both dyed our hair for the first time, etc.). It's always so comforting to know that the world isn't really that big of a place, that everyone goes through the same things and experiences similar stuff, and we can all come together through that. It's like one big universal community, and you're never as alone as you think you are. Just around the corner is someone who knows exactly how it feels to go through some of your situations, and we can all lean on each other because of that.

As for my outfit, I am in love with mixing prints. (So much so that sometimes I leave my dorm room looking absolutely ridiculous ...) I feel like some people are scared to mix prints and colors. I know I sure was! The reason this outfit works though is the fact that I really am only wearing two colors, red and blue, and those two are complimentary colors. All the other colors are simply tints or shades of those two, or they're neutrals. Mixing prints is really all about mixing colors, and if you stick with two or three colors plus neutrals, then it almost doesn't matter the prints that go with those colors. But a good rule of thumb with prints is to have one big print (example: my tiger striped shirt) with a small print (the stars on my dress and the flowers on my collar). If you have two big prints, it's harder to mix together because they like to compete with each other and the eye can get distracted and lost easily in a sea of crazy patterns.

Thank you so much to Shay for letting me guest post, and I hope you have a fantastic day!

The Hair Diaries

august 2012//side bangs and dipdyed pink

september 2012//dipdyed magenta, longer side bangs

early november 2012//bangs and ombre

christmas eve, 2012//mermaid!

january 2013//tealish green

someone recently compared me to Nymphadora Tonks, because I change my hair so much. I figured I'd show you all the different ways I've worn my hair this semester. While I've always varied the length of my hair and layers, recently I've been dying it too. The teal has been my favorite so far, but it comes out in a week or so, leaving behind a greyish for a couple days. yuck. I'm letting my locks rest a bit and going back to plain ole' ombre for a while. 

stay tuned for a wicked exciting announcement!

Playlist: Islands, XX//Schizophrenia, Sonic Youth//Thrift Shop, Macklemore//Rambling Man, Laura Marling//Have Fun, Bleeding Knees Club//Watch Over Me, Teen Haze//Pickpocket, Kate Nash

i've tasted, that sunlight

forever 21 shirt, buffalo exchange//skirt, h+m//boots, francesa's collection//earrings, newbury comics

"We'll give 'em triangles. Hipsters love triangles"-people who designed this shirt

lo and behold, I've finally found a place to take outfit posts where (most) of my body can be captured in one shot. (damn 50mm lens). I bought this shirt at Buffalo Exchange (goodwill for hipsters like myself) for a whole whopping seven dollars, and it has been christened with a little white paint today (accidentally, of course), so it's offically part of my wardrobe. 

stay tuned for a wicked exciting announcement, coming soon xx

Thanks to Lauren and Elle for following!

Playlist//Escape into the Afternoon, French Films//Hold On, Alabama Shakes//VCR, xx//Ocean Bed, Zoo Kid//the Future, Teen Daze//Pretty Face, Soley//Quiet Life, Dirty Gold

2012 in review//blog anniversary

Almost exactly one year ago, I started A Thousand Million Words with the desire to document an exciting time of my life. 2012 has lived up to my expectations-looking back, it was probably my craziest, most wonderful year yet! In 365 days I have....

won my first art award-All Scholastic Gold Key!

gotten my driver's license

explored an abandoned building

Became an Adult-18th birthday

learned about disappointment 

partied at prom

Graduated High School!

truly fostered my love for photography

dipdyed my hair

watched my best friend-almost sister- get on a plane and go home

Traveled Internationally-on my own

Spent two weeks living with a family in Germany

ate crossiants and acted touristy in Paris

said goodbye to more best friends

moved to Boston to attend Massachusetts College of Art and Design

learned how to live on my own

joined a woman's rugby team

made some amazing new friends!

endured five hour studios

experienced a swaying room on the 20th floor

ran around during a hurricane

voted in my first election

stayed up til five on finals

fell in love with the darkroom

There are so many more moments and experiences, but I'm going to leave it at that. It's been quite a rollercoaster this year, so I'd really like to take a second and thank my 80 amazing followers-it means the WORLD to me that you want to know what I'm thinking, want to see my art and have stuck around for the ride. so THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!

Here's to a great 2012, and an even better 2013!

with your feet on the ground

November 2012//Canon 20D

Cut my hair recently, bangs and (mostly) even ends. 

Much love for the awkward lips in the first shot, can we all tell I'm uneasy in front of the camera?

Playlist: I Wanna Be Adored, the Raveneottes//Where is my Mind, the Pixies//Shark in the Water, VV Brown//Flash Delirium, MGMT//About a Girl, No Doubt//Polly, Nirvana//A Punk, Vampire Weekend

'cause this is [par]id[is]e

forever 21 shirt-thrifted a&f (supah old) cut offs-toms-topshop ring-h+m scarf-Gap bag

hey there! 

I've just returned from a lovely little trip to Europe! 10 days in southwestern Germany, and four days in Paris. What an amazing experience xx

Here's a quick little outfit post I shot on the street we stayed on, the rue de Passy. I wasn't looking my best, as we had no hair straightener, and didn't end up taking as many outfit posts as I anticipated. Oh well, I have hundreds of beautiful shots to show you guys! Expect two or three posts full of photos :)

I've also got this lovely new header and layout here-got a few kinks to work out of it, but I really wanted to have something new and bright for the big school year-specially as I'm off to College in two weeks, where the frig did the time go?

What do you guys think of the new header?

twitter/photography/bloglovin' 

Hey Guys!

So, while I'm gone I figured I'd throw together a visual packing guide on how to pack light. As you can see, I essentially keep it simple with shapes and colors, sticking to one scheme and bringing essentially plain things, so long as they can wear long and in many different ways. Then I spice it up with some fun accessories in all shapes and forms, and in loads of different colors, in order to get a different look every time ;) Believe it or not, but all of my clothes are shown packed on the bottom picture! It only filled up half the suitcase, leaving plenty of room for gifts for Kay and her family.

Hope everyone's (still) having a great week! I should be home soon and posting pictures of Germany and PARIS! xx

live fast, die young

I've always admired the "grunge girl." They have a certain careless, laid back attitude, and tend to seem like they swim the opposite way in a sea of conformity. Society dictates that you're not "supposed to" wear shredded tights and dye your hair purple, yet they do it anyways. 

  Four years of a school uniform-and two years of a work uniform too-left me with little time to build a wardrobe. And although my parents were cool with whatever I wore (barring special occasions), school  rules dictated that I never wore shorts, ripped apparel, or dye my hair. Instead, my wardrobe became a mish mash of american eagle cast offs, boho accessories, and "trendier" staples from H+M. Scrolling through the archives of my old blog, one can see that I dabbled in almost every sort of style-girly to boho, and everything in between-but kept a sort of tomboyish element in every look. And as senior year progressed, I stopped buying flowy skirts, instead lusting over granpa sweaters and nineties shorts.  I gave myself a pink streak and started breaking school dress code rules-sometimes breaking seven or eight on one day. I think that it's a surprise to a lot of people that I want to dress this way-I'm an obedient, 4.0 gpa, never getting into trouble kind of  girl. But dressing unconventionally is a way that I let my personality, and love for art, shine through. I'm excited to let my style evolve, and I like where it's going -kind of a mix of festival artsy grunge, different from the others yet totally my own. Its a great thing, and being able to show it off every.single.day. in college is so invigorating.

What would you consider your personal style to be?

Hopefully I'll be posting some photo diaries soon, once I get photoshop for my new laptop. Oh, and this cool guy John wrote this poem called a thousand million words, which caused him to stumble upon this blog, and he used some of my pics for the poem! check it out here, it's pretty sweet.

thanks to gem and annchica for following!
twitter/photography/bloglovin' 

we rattle this town

h +m top//zara cutoffs//doc martens

How do I love this shirt? Let me count the ways. It's deliciously Georgia O'Keeffe, It has a skull on it, and oh, it was seven dollars. Score! I want to know why this was on the sales rack, can't people see how awesome it is? (guess not.)  I've added it to the ranks of my current white top obsession, which is growing at a frightening pace. It seems that all I've been wearing is white shirts with denim shorts, not a particularly great combo when you're so pale (thank you, swedish/irish ancestors), but hey I like it so that's all that matters. 

I apologize for super awkward webcam photos but camera's still broken and I'm working with what I got. It was way harder than I anticipated, setting the webcam at the right angle and then sprinting in three seconds to the back wall and trying to get half decent, not wierd photos, but I'm happy with these ones.  I got my baby (macbook 15 inch proooo) today so I should be up and running with photos and commenting soon!

thanks for following: Charlotte

twitter/photography/bloglovin'