Sunday, October 26, 2008

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!


23 comments:

Rox said...

Eep! I loved Silly Symphony as a kid and "The Skeleton Dance" had to be one of my favorite ones. The cemetery you went to Sunday is a pretty one. I stopped there once on a road trip! Ah, the memories :)

I'm glad you finally brought out the lace dress. It looks really cute with the striped tights!

nitovuori said...

What a beautiful outfit!

Tabitha said...

Great outfit!!! Where did you find that dress?

Anonymous said...

How awesome that your parents took you to "those bells." And the blue lace frock is a stunner, all right.

Martha Joy said...

I love that dress and the tights together! Plus that church is beautiful!!! I LOVE old white churches...I wish there was one like it where I live!

Anonymous said...

Can I just say 'wow'? what a wonderful dress & it's simply fantastic with those tights.

I never thought of myself as someone who haunted cemetaries but every time I've travelled, it ends up being one of the places we go. They're great for taking photos...

Missa said...

Rox: I know, aren’t Silly Symphonies the best. That’s cool that you’ve actually been to that cemetery. Also thanks, I’m glad I finally brought it out too!

Vasiliisa: Thankyou so much!

Fashion therapist: Thanks! I found the dress at the Salvation Army.

Sal: I was definitely “blessed” with awesome parents ;) Thankyou :)

Martha Joy: Thankyou, I love the old white churches too. There are several in my area but none right in the town where I live. My parents were married in a tiny one out in a field back in MA.

Ambika: Yes you can, and can I just say ‘Thankyou’? I love taking photos at cemeteries when I travel too. I saw some really great ones when I went to Ireland.

Alexa said...

I too have a thing for Saint imagery (Saint Lucy is my favorite) and old cemeteries. One of the reasons I love Savannah. What a wonderful thing to find an image of a childhood memory like that! And what a picturesque street to spend your first years living on.

Caroline said...

I love old cemeteries too! We have a couple oldies right near us that I insist we walk through regularly. Also, hurray for that dress! I've been anxiously waiting for it to make it's debut. I have not been let down.

Ashley Bilodeau said...

Perfect clip for this rainy afternoon.
Thank you.

Laura said...

I love that dress. You always look so pure in your pictures. :)

Skye said...

The dress looks so lovely on you - but definitely more on the light side than the dark.

Those hippy parents - mine dragged us round to every religion/denomination going (hindu! Quakers! spiritualists!) so we could make up our own minds. Result = a family of atheists!

Milla said...

A thing for old cemeteries: check!
whacky hippie parents with dislike for organized religion: check!
boundless love for this outfit:check!

loveology said...

Wow, such a gorgeous outfit again!
I just love the boots and the dress and the way you combined it! Just lovely, Missa.
It must be amazing to see the street you grew up for a few years again, after so much time!
I think i am going on a search for my birth town too. ;)

Love for you and the little Clover!

X
Mila.

Eyeliah said...

great take on the look, you totally made it your own.

Diane said...

I really enjoyed reliving your Church St. memory with you - verbally and pictorally! Lovely.

How DO you take such good pictures of yourself with your thrifted outfits? I can't take a good pic even when I'm behind the camera! Well done.

Owl and the Grapes said...

Oh isn't that issue of Lula just wonderful? Mine got lost in the mail for a few weeks but I finally got my little hands on it a week ago. You've interpreted the look fantastically well too. Just thought I'd drop by to let you know I've added you to my blog roll.

Anonymous said...

Such a beautiful dress and a sweet childhood memory.

Violet Folklore said...

what an amzing post! starting with that absolutely FABULOUS dress... ahh, dress, envy, now I have it!... and ending in the coolest cemetary ever. sigh.
(:

Anonymous said...

great post, I love your stripey stockings!! where ever did you find them!

Violet Folklore said...

Love the outfit.
Mycelia and I walk around old cemeteries quite often. They are so fun for her (jumping off of things, climbing up stairs) and give me a break from the park scene.
And thank you for posting this cartoon! The memories!

ashley said...

the dress and tights combo is beautiful- i find lula tres inspirational also:)
have a great week-end sweetie,
x ashley

Missa said...

Thanks so much for your comments everyone, I really do enjoy reading them and it means a lot that you take the time to write them. So I know I won't be able to do this every time but I at least wanted to try to respond to everyone's comments this time because it's always nice when people do that and I'll try to do it more in the future too. So here goes:

Alexa: Ahah, more things in common aside from our loves of ridiculous vintage album covers and cupcakes! :D

Caroline: I would imagine that Hawaii would have some amazing old cemeteries, all jungley and overgrown. Thanks for your patience, so glad the dress did not disappoint ;)

Ashley Bilodeau: So glad you enjoyed the clip :)

Laura: Thankyou, what a sweet comment!

Skye: Thanks, and those hippy parents, you’ve just gotta love ‘em! Also, I don't know how you manage to do this every time but it's so nice that you do... you are a far more skilled blogger than I!

Milla: If we were keeping a tally of all our similarities I wonder what we would be up to by now ;) Thanks so much for the Netflix suggestion, it’s next on my que, looking forward to seeing it! Also, it really is funny how often the two Mil(l)as end up leaving side by side comments, I’m constantly counting L’s when I read the comments through email, haha!

Mila: It WAS very cool to find that photo of my old street, especially since early childhood memories like that can become so dreamlike over time. It was fun to see that this is actually still a real concrete place. Hope you were able to find yours, and thanks from me and the little Clover!

Eyeliah: Thanks so much, glad you liked it :)

Diane: Thankyou, I’m glad people enjoyed the post because it was fun for me to put together. As far as the picture taking, it’s all about quantity, if you take enough photos of yourself and check to see what looks good and what doesn’t, you are bound to get some good ones by sheer probability ;)

Emma Harrison: Thanks so much for you’re comment and the blogroll add! Yes, I am loving that issue of Lula but then again I always love their issues, they must be doing some kind of subliminal brainwashing with all those beautiful dreamy pictures!

Strikematch: Thanks so much and totally looking forward to our swap!

Violet folklore #1: I’m assuming that both of you girls left comments since there are two violet folklore comments and the other one is obviously from Amber, so that would leave Sasha, am I right? If so then thankyou sasha, glad you enjoyed the post!

Sara: Thankyou so much! I got the stripey stockings (they are actually footless leggings) last year at Target. I haven’t seen any like them there this year though :(

Violet Folklore #2: Thanks Amber! We took Clover around the cemetery in her stroller but that’s a great idea for when she is bounding about on her own. I will definitely be taking her back :) Glad you liked the cartoon!

Ashley: Thanks so much dear, and a great weekend to you too!