warning :: prepare for some epic shiz

white & orange striped tee :: H&M (love this version) | cutoff denim shorts :: L.E.I. (similar) | braided taupe sandals :: forever 21 (similar) | straw fedora :: maurice's (similar) | bangles :: my sister's | sunglasses :: charlotte russe | straw purse :: vintage (similar) | silver arrowhead necklace :: forever 21 (sold out, but I love this one) | dia de las muertos skull bead earrings :: Tooele Arts Festival vendor (similar coming soon to the shop) | yellow scarf :: wet seal (old, but similar here)

Celebrated Independence Day with a family BBQ and a very basic look; white tees and cutoff denim shorts define iconic American style.

Tonight's post started out as a lecture on flag etiquette, then moved into some lengthy, existential explanation as to why the blog has been so conspicuously silent over the last week, but upon revision of the finished text, I determined it was just too damn whiny. What it amounts to, friends, is that I've wasted the last two years under the guise of putting my life back together, and I'm ready to move on and bring it on. Enter:

26 before 27

Prepare for some epic shiz.

1. Buy a car.
2. Find my writing voice.
3. Top Secret. (This one will only be revealed upon completion. Intrigued? Stay tuned.)
4. Reach 300 blog followers.
5. Rock red lipstick (in public and in a style post).
6. Impress myself. Twice.
7. Meet some new people. Make some new friends.
8. Go for a walk...
     -In the rain
     -In the sunshine
     -In the snow
     -In the middle of the night
     -Somewhere I've never been
     -In the middle of nowhere
     -In the middle of somewhere
     -To clear my head
     -On the beach
     -With Annie
9. Write a book.
10. Write a letter (by hand) to someone I admire. Send it.
11. Go somewhere I've never been before... by myself.
12. Take a random road trip.
13. Learn to sew.
14. Design, create and wear five items of clothing.
15. Open an Etsy shop.
16. Move out of my parents' house.
17. Get healthy.
18. Try a new (nice) restaurant.
19. Have a glass of expensive (>$150) wine.
20. Go ice skating.
21. Start taking classes.
22. Go to the beach.
23. Challenge myself. Daily.
24. Make a difference.
25. Find and implement a new blogging vantage point.
26. Publish three articles.
27. Write, every day, every word, every dream, every feeling, however fleeting. Write like no one is reading. Write to remember. Write to forget. Write to let it go and write to keep it in. Write, until my heart bleeds all over the pages and the words run together and one moment becomes indistinguishable from the next. Write, because no one will ever be me again [and I'm damn well worth remembering].

I invite you to hate. To judge. To pass by. To join in. To become wrapped up in. To write your own list, and to accomplish it. We'll do it together. Leave a link to your list of epicness in the comments so I can check it out.

Also :: Tune in tomorrow night for the secret to applying tanning lotion + the scoop on how I achieved split end-less hair in less than three weeks - without giving up daily heat styling.