Running Through Water

My legs, captured by Alexis Coram

When you are trying to accomplish many new things in a short period of time, it can often feel like you are trying to run through water.

It may feel like you are putting out as much effort as you can, but are not seeing immediate results of getting very far in the process.

This is how my past week has felt. Sometimes it can be completely overwhelming when many new opportunities jump into your life that are full of exciting new prospects, but also require a lot of time and energy to fulfill. Over and over again I have found myself in this position, where I let the feeling of being overwhelmed completely take over, rather than just taking some time to breathe, figure things out and move forward.

I also have the terrible habit of often anticipating the worst of a situation, especially when it pertains to something new that I have never experienced before. Though there is nothing wrong with being practical, maintaining a positive attitude through all new things is essential for happiness. After all, what would a person's life be like if they pushed away every new and wonderful opportunity just because they could potentially foresee it somehow going wrong somewhere along the line?

The truth is, whatever new venture arises probably will go wrong in one way or another, just because almost nothing ever ends up being exactly the way you anticipate it to be. But that's okay- because although there might be one or two (or several!) glitches down the road, you are still learning in the process and still moving forward, accomplishing the things that you set out to do, even if they end up being a little different from what you originally expected.

These are things I need to keep telling myself as I venture out into the world of fashion and pursuing dreams in creativity- all the while remembering once again the wise words spoken by my literature professor when encouraging us to write- despite our qualms, despite our insecurities and excuses:

"perfectionism is the enemy of art"

And art doesn't have to mean painting a picture, making a sculpture, capturing a photo- it can mean living out your dreams- understanding yourself, and pursuing your goals, and ultimately trying to find, and keep whatever brings you happiness. 

Because that's what life is really all about, right?

Xoxo,

Camille

City Sport

Isn't Jules' dog, Rufus, just hilarious? I love this expression we caught in between our fashion shots.

When it comes to what I choose to wear on a daily basis, usually I don't really have what most people would call a "sporty" sense of style.

Upon being asked to define my "look" by one of my fashion professors this past semester, I decided on describing my look as "somewhere in between 'girly' and 'edgy'". But "sporty"? Never.

However, finding the summer sun to be a bit intense on most days, with a need to protect my fair and freckled skin, I decided that it was important to start integrating more hats into my everyday wardrobe- which could then allow me to take different chances with how I would decide upon the matching items to create a complete look.

So, this simple baseball hat encouraged me to try my luck at adopting a much more "sporty" look than I likely would have worn otherwise- creating a style that looks toward tomboy influences integrated with a tough city edge.

This past weekend I was able to meet up with Jules of Canines and Couture once again, and we exchanged photography skills as she captured this look, while also catching up on our latest happenings and laughing at all the ridiculously cute faces her dog Rufus made between shots.

Soon after putting together this outfit, I also came across this photo of model Page Ruth, wearing this outfit  on a shoot, which is nearly identical to the one I am wearing here! Haha. Maybe you'll be seeing a lot more of these looks in the near future!

What is your favorite way to "sport" a hat?

Xoxo,

Camille

Alien Maiden

Have you ever wanted to just take every bit of wild and colorful makeup in your collection and put it all on your face all at once?

That feeling is what inspired this wild "alien maiden" look that I came up with a couple of months ago (when my hair was still black, obviously!) While looking through old photos, I realized that although I chose one of these pictures for my banner, (as you can see above) I had never gone through and posted the other photos at all!

The inspiration was from my Sugarpill "heartbreaker" eyeshadow palette which I absolutely adore to no end. Sugarpill shadows are just so lush and soft to apply, and go over the eyelid with effortless even perfection. I find that most other highly pigmented shadows are either cakey and dense and tend to look chalky, or they appear to be bright and pigmented in their packaging, and end up showing barely any color in the application. (FYI: This is not a sponsored post- this is just my own opinion!)

Though the purple lips and blue eye combination is a bit extreme, I actually really liked how my eyebrows looked when colored blue- which made me want to dye my hair blue! That hasn't quite happened yet (enjoying my much more natural shade of blonde now) but is still a possible option for the future!

When was the last time you decided to just go totally wild with your makeup and try something new?

Xoxo,

Camille

Shifting Focus and Moving Forward

A quick photo I took of the beautiful Stanislaus River while rafting this past weekend

After spending a weekend away in the country, coming back feels a bit like I am pressing restart and honing in again on what I want to accomplish here in the Bay Area. It's funny how taking a break can sometimes create so much more productivity and positive focus than just pushing something all the way through without stopping.

A bit of reflection can often be a huge help in paving the way through accomplishing larger goals to make sure I am staying on track, as it is far too easy to make excuses and stopping points along the way when pursuing many lofty creative endeavors at once!

Lately I have found that another great way to move forward with building creativity in my life is to surround myself with others that inspire me. Though it may sound trite to those who have heard this suggestion time and time again, building a field of creative energy through those you spend your time around can make an unbelievably huge difference in how you perceive the world and its possibilities.

I find that being around people who spark this energy in me makes me feel as though there are limitless opportunities for creating and doing wonderful things- and recognizing this feeling after a meetup or discussion is a good way to assess that I am making positive choices.

When I begin to feel like this every day, then I will know that I am really doing things right. It's still so difficult to know exactly what I want to do with my future, but there are many things in the meantime that I want to accomplish along the way, including:

♥ Writing and publishing an autobiographical novel of (at least some of) my travels (I have the beginning written here so far)

♥ Writing and publishing a collection of short stories that deal with identity and gender and sexuality (and so far I have two stories written for this)

♥ Traveling more! (Keeping in mind Spain, Canada, Mexico, Chile, The Netherlands, Morocco, Greece, Cuba and India as perhaps my next few destinations!)

♥ Acquiring a ukulele and learning how to play it. (the only instrument I can currently play is the flute, and the ukulele seems like a lot more fun! Plus I want to write music and lyrics which I will sing while playing, and that is pretty much impossible with the flute, haha)

♥ Making a full collection of clothes for a clothing line (including at least two tops, a dress, a pair of pants and a pair of shorts!)

♥ Taking an acting class. (I LOVED taking these as a kid, and think that an improvisation class would be a blast!)

♥ Taking a sailing class, and learning the basics!

♥ Taking yoga classes (at least semi-regularly)

♥ Sailing somewhere far away and wonderful. (Perhaps with one of my sources of inspiration-and new friend- Glenda!)

♥ Taking several dance classes- (including swing, salsa, belly-dancing and burlesque!)

♥ Making beautiful and creative pieces of art! (Drawings, photographs, printed t-shirts, pottery, mixed media sculpture... whatever!)

♥ Experiencing New York Fashion Week firsthand! Or Paris Fashion Week, or both!

♥ Throwing fabulous themed parties (the first I want to have is a "gentleman's party" where everyone, male and/or female dresses as their idea of a "proper gentleman" haha)

♥ Practicing language- (of the two I speak- French and Chinese, to the point where I feel much more comfortable in conversation with either or both languages)

♥ More modeling and getting involved in the creative projects of others! (which is great for building creative energy while simultaneously helping people with their goals and building a portfolio of my own!)


With these things in mind, I have a lot to accomplish, but I also have so much to be excited about! And of course alongside all this will keep doing all the little things that make me happy and continue pressing forward!

What has inspired you lately?

Xoxo,

Camille