Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Year in Review: 2014


About a week ago I realized that 2015 was suddenly upon us.  So much chaos comes along with the end of year holidays, that the new year sneaks up out of nowhere almost every year.  I'm always left scrambling to figure out what this should mean, what goals to set, etc.  I'm a very analytical person so I
really do like to take the time to stop and look back at what has happened in the past year, see what has changed, what has grown, how we are different, and where we should go from here.

Back when I was in school the end of the year came naturally — May would roll around, there would be a massive build up of work married with mental breakdowns, and suddenly all would dissipate, leaving you with the fruits of your labors and a nice 3 month hiatus to regroup, refocus, and hone your skills at your own discretion.  "Adult life" is much different. Life is constant. Work is constant.  The struggle to make ends meet is real.  Thus, setting those distinctions, finding those groupings of time are only possible if you take time to reflect.  People may then compartmentalize their lives by the time spent living in a certain town or working for a certain company, and thus associate the work they did and the people they interacted with in tandem with these distinctions.

Being a creative person, I have always marked time by the projects and things I've made.  For example, the Fall semester of my fourth year in college will always stand out to me as a turning point in my life when this whole Lovely Red Fox thing was really born.  I didn't channel it into a blog until another year and a half had passed, but it was like I thought to myself, "maybe I should try this", I took a risk devoting a lot of time to something that I didn't know how other people would feel about, and it has stood as the very first building block for everything I've done since.   And to an outsider it might not make a whole lot of sense as to why my deciding to sew some buckram, flannel and feathers together to hang up on a wall for critique could possibly lead to me creating a blog that I would pour my soul into endlessly, but from my perspective I know and understand that if I had not taken that jump I would
very likely not be in the place where I am now.


I'm getting a little off track.  My point is that now looking back on the year is a little more difficult to break up into portions to show you.  So in order to show you all of the things that I did this year in an organized way, I have broken up the highlights into seasons.  This is a long one folks, but I hope somebody out there is interested enough to get through all of it, because looking back, I realized that a lot of awesome stuff happened this year both on the blog and outside of it.  Throughout the post I will include links (through images and text alike) to the original posts if your heart so desires to check out more of an outfit, style post, or diy project!  So here we go:



Winter 2014 // January - February

Favorite Looks of Winter

In the beginning of the year I was living in Champaign, and boy was it chilly!  Snow swept the ground, and frost covered the trees. I did my best to stay bundled up in all the cold, and it never seemed like it was going to end!  Some of my favorite winter accessories were woodland animal - inspired hats and gloves like this raccoon hat from Urban Outfitters.


     

I also unearthed a love for coats, my favorites being this military style cape coat from White House Black Market, and this steal ($16.99???) orange sale coat I found by some miracle at Forever 21


As it got just a bit less snowpocalyptic-y, I ventured out to the frozen prairie where I took a lot of my pictures when I lived in Champaign.  My adventures in the frozen lands were always very cold, but there was something sort of magical about seeing the half frozen creeks and hearing the soft silence of nature in this wintry time of year.

     



         

        

Winter Style Extras

The cold weather also brought about a lot of introspection into my own style and the idea of personal style in a larger sense. I wrote a few posts about reflecting on personal stylebeing open to new styles, and breaking down your walls to explore new things.  Its a topic that is seemingly always relevant and always an important factor in how I feel about fashion.  




Spring 2014 // March - May

Favorite Looks of Spring

In the spring, I turned once again to animal inspired adornments as additions to my outfits, such as this deer necklace from the Sheinside.com.  I also tried a lot of fun prints that I don't usually go for.  I think it's important to always mix it up once and a while.  Something that you think you may not like or you may not be interested in can surprise you.



http://www.thelovelyredfox.blogspot.com/2014/04/oh-deer-oh-my.html 



As the winter turned to the seeds of spring, I started incorporating florals here and there (probably a little early, just because I wanted it to get warmer so badly!!), and switching to lighter weight layering pieces since coats were no longer necessary.

      



One of my favorite outfits this year was this Dear Creatures sweater with a fun nautical tie paired with my cat print shorts from Forever 21.  The cat shorts are a somewhat difficult piece to style, but I really liked how the colors were brought together with the mustard yellow.


     


First Wedding with Fox and Hound Photo

In April Crissy and I shot our first official wedding with Fox and Hound Photo.  We could not have asked for a better day than the one we spent with Sarah and Michael as they were married at Allerton Park on a beautiful 80 degree day in April.  This was seriously such an amazing event and we were so happy to be able to capture it.






Summer 2014 // June - August

Favorite Looks of Summer

The summer was quite possibly the busiest part of the year, and the part that involved the most change.   I started the summer off embracing some of the summery trends like long maxi skirts and crochet.  The foliage had finally filled in, so I was able to go back to the prairie lands and do some great outfit features with all the liveliness of the leaves.  

        

       

         


Moving House!

Quite possibly one of the biggest things that happened to me this year was my move upstate to an adorable vintage apartment in the suburbs of Chicago with my boyfriend Drew. We started 'partment hunting early summer, and finally signed one in June.  We both successfully landed job transfers to the new locale... and we LOVE IT.  I have so many ideas for decorating the new place, and I've shared a few already on the blog, but there is SO MUCH to come.  I can't get enough. 



Favorite Summer DIY

My favorite DIY this summer was definitely my crochet-trimmed shorts.  I just love the floral print mixed with the loopy crochet!  

  


Summer Style Extras

I did a number of style explorations this summer including tips on styling scarves, building outfits, print mixing, and color mixing.  I think these tips are helpful and I hope you readers like them and find them worthwhile.  If there are any topics you want me to cover in the new year related to styling and building outfits don't hesitate to shoot me a message or comment about it!


  




Late Summer 2014 // September - October 

Favorite Looks of Late Summer

During late summer I did a lot of exploring in my new town, and fell more and more in love with it.  Some of these ootds were my favorites to date, no doubt due to the exciting new places to travel to for shoots.  I love being able to find unique backdrops for all my ootd posts, incorporating the right colors, and just as importantly, being able to have an excuse to explore new places. 

      



      


      

     




Late Summer DIY Love

My love of mustard reached a whole new level with the addition of pom pom trim to a mustard tee, wonderful finds at Goodwill transformed into the perfect side table, and a long term handcrafting project was launched in the form of a felted ball rug (this is going to take me soooo longgg!!).

      


Late Summer Style Extras


In late summer I professed my love to the color mustard yellow, shared a history of my hair, and went to the fall Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago. 

        



The Final Voyage

In October I got the chance to visit my grandparents' house on Lake Michigan before it was sold.  There were so many memories from that house, the rocky shore, and the forest surrounding it.  I was so glad to get one last chance to see it and reflect on all the good times.  


   



Weddings with Fox and Hound Photo

Also in October, I shot two more beautiful weddings with Fox and Hound Photo.  Each wedding is so unique and special (yes I know that sounds cheesy, but it's all too true!!), and getting the opportunity to illustrate these days through photography is seriously so incredible.  












Late Fall 2014 // November - December


Favorite Looks of Fall


As the days get shorter toward the end of the year it becomes increasingly difficult to get everything together for ootds while there is still light out.  In some ways though, it may actually make the outfits more purposeful. Some of my favorites this fall include my pumpkin patchy look and my new plaid pleated skirt paired with the Dear Creatures sweater (what a winner, huh??).

     


     


Fall DIY and Style Highlights


I designed a fun paper garland for thanksgiving, gave a styling update on our awesome apartment, attended the winter Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago, and made some killer stockings for Christmas!

    

    




And Finally...

A peek at some recent events and things to come in the new year!!









Hello, 2015!

- The Lovely Red Fox




2 comments:

  1. Sigh. I tried posting a comment already, but it may not have gone through - I basically said, I love this post! You're a great photographer, and I love your styling as well. If you're ever in Champaign again, please let me know - I'd love to set up a photo shoot with you and my family! And, if you have time, I'd love for you to check out my new blog - MemeAndSheShe.com. Hope you're doing well, and good luck in Chicago!!!

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  2. You are a great photographer! I loved these photos. It looks like you had a very nice 2014 :)
    I completely agree with everything you said about life as an adult. To me, it seems the last 3 years (since starting my official adult life) have been one huge blur!
    xx
    Jenny // Mish Mosh Makeup

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