Darkness and Light

On Sunday, I finally got around to wearing that dark blue lace dress with the big pockets that I thrifted months ago. What took me so long?... I don't know, I guess when you have too much stuff in your closet, even good things can get lost in the shuffle.

It also seems Lula "the dark issue" has gotten to me as well. Maybe it's the Halloween spirit, but I'm feeling drawn to this whole dark fairytale style right now...

... and this dress seems to fit right in.

I have a thing for saint imagery and like to collect old charms and trinkets and such. It's not a religious thing, I just find them beautiful. The top charm on this necklace was a flea market find and the one underneath came from the Welfare League Thrift. I strung them on an old thrifted chain and love the way they look together.

I believe this fascination can be traced back to when I was quite young. In fact, one of my earlier memories of when I was 3 or 4 years old, occurred in a small town in Massachusetts where I was born. The street we lived on at the time was Church St. and I remember it being on a hill at the top of which, there was an old white church.

One day in the parking lot of the local supermarket, the bells of this church began to ring. Now, from a very young age, I was familiar with spiritual endeavors, my parents being hippies and all, but not in the form of organized religion or church going. So, it was a little strange when I then proceeded to very matter-of-factly say to my parents "I must go to those bells." Yup, those were the exact words that came out of my little mouth and from what they have told me, I was quite serious about the matter. Pretty cute right... and yes, maaaybe even a little bit creepy.

To their credit, my somewhat surprised and totally amused parents obeyed my wishes. I still remember being carried through that church by my father. Looking up at the super high ceilings, watching the colored light come in through the stained glass windows, and hearing footsteps echo while marveling at all the beautiful statues. I remember there being many colorful, life-like statues, and for me at the time, this put the church on par with some sort of wonderful theme-park. From what I can remember, which is all a little surreal and hazy, it was a beautiful church and remains a favorite childhood memory.

I did a quick search on flickr and ahhh, the wonders of the internets... I was able to find this photo of Church St! We moved to California when I was 5 years old and I haven't laid eyes upon this street or that white church up in the distance since. How crazy to see this again! I also found a better view of the front of the church here.


On Sunday afternoon Lucas, Clover, and I took a stroll through the old rural cemetery not far from where we live (I also happen to have a bit of a thing for old cemeteries). It was a functioning cemetery from the mid 1800's up until the 30's. In the years following, unclear ownership lead to it becoming dilapidated and overgrown. Though, in the mid 1990's, volunteers began it's restoration and it has since been given Historical Landmark status.


The cemetery is located right in town but kind of tucked away on a small hill in an old oak grove. Oaks are one of my favorite trees, Lucas and I were married under a huge one :) I love looking at the intricate carvings on the worn headstones and reading the old fashioned names.

With the dappled light filtering through the trees, what a peaceful little afternoon getaway, or I assume it would have been had my one-year-old not been crying due to painful teething as I forced her reluctant father to try and get a decent outfit shot of me ;)

I'll leave you with this thematically and seasonally appropriate Silly Symphony cartoon, I love these!