my weekend in the c-bus

Before my parents moved to Florida, I would come 'home' from university to a suburb of Columbus; home was a small, colonial-themed town to the north east of the city. And though I am not one who is rooted exclusively to Ohio (if anything, I want out!), there are certain charms to Columbus that one simply cannot escape. The Short North district, for example, sits right in the heart of downtown, and I make a ritual of grabbing some pearl milk bubble tea from Zen Cha or wildberry lavender ice cream from Jeni's (yes, you really can taste the lavender!) and strolling down High street, admiring a new mural or some sidewalk chalk art or even a band playing in the street. This sort of artistic back alley, unique to Columbus, isn't something you would expect from a sports-crazed, mid-sized, midwestern city. And maybe that's part of its hold over me: the unexpected charm and magic of North High.

But it wasn't until this weekend that I was able to attend my first Ohio State University football game; people in this city tend to take the football team with exaggerated zeal, but the atmosphere is fun, none the less. My boyfriend and I drove down especially for this game, and I was able to stop by Easton (a mall I had worked, and practically lived in, as a teenager, and one I had taken for granted until moving up north) to shop at their gigantic Forever 21.

1. Button Up Woven Skirt: a basic staple will transition well from summer, summer-fall, fall to winter weather (you never know with Ohio weather, after all). It's cute by itself or with tights and boots.

2. Long Woven Skirt: I've resisted the maxi trend for as long as I could manage: I despise empire waist styles; I can't help but grimace at girls wearing big print maxis that seem to swallow them hole; I also abhor the idea of 'carrying' your dress around with you. Though I understand that -- under certain conditions -- a maxi can elongate a figure (my boyfriend's sister, for example, looks great in them), I firmly stand by my age-old "too short and curvy" theory.  This isn't the exact skirt I bought, but the length is what is important; long enough to not emphasize the thickest park of my leg, short enough so I won't have a skirtful in my hand, a la Renaissance. Mine is a thinner material (a good transition piece!), and a beautiful dusty pink color.

3. Koi Fish Charm Necklace: This picture does this necklace no justice! It's a quirky, and in its own way elegant, koi charm with a beautiful navy and orange color combo. My boyfriend bought it for me after I kept coming back to the piece, unsure of whether to buy it or not.

Aren't spontaneous adventures fun?