Author: hellosamanthadear

Hello, all!! I thought I’d post two outfits I wore this past week. I loved both of them! 💘

I wore the Kuromi outfit to go to Starbucks and the Hello Kitty outfit on an afternoon walk with my friend. 🦋💕

See ya next time! 💖

What’s new lately?! I’ve been enjoying the ending days of summer with…*drum roll* fashion fun and reading. So buckle up for some fashion goodies and diving into a new read!

Lately, I’ve been really loving to wear dark outfits paired with really bright accessories! These two skirts I’m wearing were both handed down to me by my mom, and I really love how they fit! 💗💙💚

💖 Fun side-note: This little notebook is something I’ve had since I was a kid, and I still use it nowadays as an adult to write my daily to-do lists for work-related stuff! The Ballerina Bunnies have always been my favorite Lisa Frank illustration! 🐰

I’ve always admired the idea of being in a book club. I’ve never been in one, and it’s always seemed like a really cute idea! What’s a gal to-do? Well, I sort of devised my own “sense” of a book club – it’s not a club per se, but I can view it as one!

I subscribe to Harvard University Press and Princeton University Press, and they’ll email me sometimes with new political science book releases. I can browse them and if I’m ready for a new book, I’ll pick one and order it! So, it feels like my own kind-of book club. 🥰

When I spotted The Chevron Doctrine: Its Rise and Fall and the Future of the Administrative State by Thomas W. Merrill in the new release list, I decided on that one. Boy was I in for a surprise when I received it and started reading it – it’s WAAAAAAAY beyond my intelligence level, LOL! (I also picked up a bargain book at Barnes & Noble for supplemental reference!)

I swear I started reading it and I heard…

…PING!!!

The last thread holding my brain in place. The ol’ gray matter couldn’t handle it. BUT!!! I kept going, and I still keep going, letting myself take the book in slowly. I have heard The Chevron Doctrine referenced in the news lately, so I wanted to understand what it was.

I won’t try to explain it because I can’t explain it sufficiently enough, but I’m hoping by the end of the book, I’ll have a better understanding! 🥰

Thomas W. Merrill, who is a law professor at Columbia University, definitely knows this subject matter inside and out and goes above and beyond in explanation and perspective. Good job, sir!!! I salute your intelligence and you inspire me to keep on truckin’ through this book, no matter how hard my brain gears are turning as I do so.

And shoutout to my brain for trying to keep up! You rock! 👉🏼🧠💕

I let my imagination wander and I came up with some great biographies for the two of them!! 💗

Eugene holds the spirit of an Ivy League student who had high hopes for his law studies at Yale back in the 1950s. Spending long evenings with his nose buried in books at the university library, he tragically met his end when he studied himself to death. 

Charlotte holds the spirit of a gossip-loving Southern belle from the 1930s who loved Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers flicks. A sassy Georgia peach, she met her demise when unrequited love drove her to drink one too many mint juleps. 

Because we all have a story, right? 😉 These two deserved their own!

I love butterflies, and always have!! 🦋 I wear them every single day in my hair. Lately, I’ve been pairing the butterfly hair clips with colorful snap clips for that ultra nostalgic feel! (Because even if I’m approaching my late thirties, my accessory choices will forever remain in my ’90s childhood).

Needless to say, this butterfly skirt from SHEIN was a must-have for me! I love, love, love it!

So!!! I thought I would show you guys a sample of a journal I keep, which I use to write down notes from books I read, new words I’ve learned, or quotes that have stuck with me. As of lately, the pages have been filled with lots of constitutional law jargon, since I’ve been reading books on that topic for fun!

As an artsy person, I can’t refrain from making it look pretty! 🦋

It’s nice to look back on my writing and get a pretty visual with it! 💜 Do you enjoy journaling and if so, what kind of journal(s) do you keep?

I layered my white skirt extender with this pale yellow skirt from SHEIN, and together, it sort of made me feel like a Disney princess or a character from a fairytale book, LOL!!

(I’m trying out new little graphics to organize my blog post…hope you like it! I find it fun!)

I chose purple hair clips because I love that it descends into a gradient (light to dark purple)! 💜 And I can’t resist a spiked choker!

The last book I read was How to Interpret the Constitution by Cass R. Sunstein, which I greatly enjoyed and it was my first toe-in-the-water of trying to understand what the Constitution’s all about. And now I’ve fallen into a rabbit hole of sorts, because now I’m reading this!

I picked this book because I thought: what better way to learn more about this topic than through the eyes of someone who actually SERVED on the U.S. Supreme Court?!?! It was a no-brainer; I bought the book immediately after finishing my previous read!

There are different ways to interpret the Constitution, which is how Supreme Court justices come to conclusions for their decisions! Stephen Breyer offers a very in-depth reflection and comparison on both pragmatic and textualist approaches to the Constitution, and he weighs in on his personal opinion of why he thinks the pragmatic approach works best. Breyer references many famous Supreme Court decisions within the book, which has inspired me for my next Barnes & Noble trip; I want to buy a small book I’ve seen there called The Supreme Court: Landmark Decisions as a supplemental reference!

Breyer’s easy-to-follow writing style, bite-sized chapters and extensive knowledge and experience makes for a book that I find myself looking forward to reading each day! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I know, I know; it seems like this rabbit hole I’ve fallen into of all things Constitution has come out of nowhere – but not necessarily! ✨Quick story time✨: I worked at a law firm for 11 years back in the day. I didn’t want to become an attorney or anything – I was (ironically!) working there while I studied Art in college. While working in the law library, I was never really interested in any of the law books I saw (I just had to organize them and update material). Except for one law book. One book in the entire law library always caught my attention, and I found myself flipping through it a few times. It was called Constitutional Law, and I still remember exactly what the book looked like! 💗

So, it’s an interest that remained dormant and inactive for a reeeeeally long time, and I’m just now diving into it! Is it weird that I feel like I’m falling in love with this subject matter…?! Have you ever found a topic or book genre that you just couldn’t get enough of? 📖☕️💕 Do tell!

Charlotte and I taking a photo op; I really liked my pink and purple hair clips I wore today! 🥰

I went to Barnes & Noble on Wednesday afternoon, buying myself an iced mocha in the café section and beginning my slow, leisurely stroll throughout the store. I love checking out all of the displays, no matter the genre, because they have cute little signs at each of the display setups that make it seem so cozy. Iced coffee in hand, I was ready for my lovely afternoon in the bookstore!

That evening, I wrote a journal entry about the experience of being in a bookstore. Here’s what I wrote, and I hope you enjoy and can relate to the feeling! 💓

“It was lovely to look around at the book displays and even just see all the fellow book lovers looking around. There really is something enchanting – almost romantic in a sense – about books, regardless of the genre. Different genres appeal to different people, and book choices are so personal. What calls out to us when we reach out to pick up a book? The texture and feel of a book is part of the reading experience, too. We crack open a book and are enabled to get lost in a new world filled with either lots of imagination or lots of knowledge, depending on the genre.
It’s also cute to see other people exploring books. I saw lots of people roaming throughout the store; I saw a woman in a summery white, off-the-shoulder dress with a fashionable hat looking at a book display near the front entrance, seeming to feel as pulled into the bookstore experience as I was. It’s a great place to feel at home amongst fellow bibliophiles!

– from my journal

I’m actually deep into a new book that I can’t seem to put down, which I’ll write about soon! Do you feel the same about bookstores?

Lastly, I’ve started creating a few new Halloween-themed necklaces for my Etsy shop (thought I’d start early – why not, right?) 🧡🖤💜 I love the vintage Halloween vibes!

Don’t mind the brown tarp behind my head in these outfit photos; it’s been put up to try to shade some of the sun from getting in the living room! I think it adds a visual flair, heh heh.

First off: I loved these two outfits I documented! 💙💗💜

I finally picked out my first book from Princeton University Press this summer! I decided on How to Interpret the Constitution by Cass R. Sunstein.

Looking at the reviews printed on the back of the book when I received it, I noticed that most of the reviews were from people who went to prestigious law schools. Like, Yale, Stanford, HARVARD. Wait – what?!?!

I realized that the book is geared towards those studying constitutional law. Yikes!!!!!! Could ol’ fine-arts-degree-me handle a book this intellectually advanced? I was a bit nervous until I started reading it – then I couldn’t put it down! The author writes in such a way that is pretty easy to understand! I didn’t think I’d be able to keep up, honestly.

I come off as air-headed and a bit derpy when you talk to me in person, and it’s made me feel intellectually inferior for much of my life because it makes me seem kind of immature, I guess? (My written communication is SO MUCH better!). So the fact that I’m trying to learn about such a complex topic as the constitution makes me feel smart. And that makes me feel like a million bucks!!! It’s exactly the confidence boost I needed, but didn’t know I needed.

I did not expect this book to boost my confidence. NOT AT ALL. But it has! And, it’s such a great read that has me learning a lot. I will very likely buy another book in the future from Princeton University Press! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So, cheers to summer reading and feeling good about yourself! 😎 How has your summer been? 👇🏼

I’ve always loved fans; there’s just something so vintage and pretty about them!! This one is definitely my favorite, and it was a gift from my sister last year.

I use it a lot to keep cool around the house in the summer. It’s portable, pretty, and surprisingly offers quite a breeze!

Paired with this red skirt, it definitely fit the vintage vibes. ❤️ Before heading out to enjoy some Starbucks and free AC while I was there, I left the fan at home, but of course, took my cat purse and laptop with me!

Lastly, I wanted to include a poem I recently wrote!!! This was taken straight from a dream I had this past week. I even woke up around 3AM from the dream, grabbed a pen and notepad, and began sketching out what the dream looked like before it vanished from my mind’s eye.

By the next day, I’d turned the dream into a poem. ❤️ I really love how it turned out! I hope you enjoy. It depicts a scene after a Civil War battle, so it’s a tad dark.

Ever have a hobby that you lose touch with for awhile, and when you reconnect with it, you feel on top of the world???

That’s how I feel about my artwork lately! 🥰

I used to create a LOT of art, a few years back. Then it transitioned into reading a lot more, and writing poetry when I felt inspired. I’ll continue to do those things because I’m very passionate about those hobbies as well, but now I’m revisiting my art and adding little twists to my original prints so they’re ready for prime time again!

I framed this art piece and decorated it with little butterflies and roses. 💗 The inspiration behind the art is: I tried to capture the essence of getting lost in one’s own imagination (something I do often). I think I’ll put it in my Etsy shop as well, and I’m pretty pumped to do this sort of thing with other art pieces in the future!

I feel like when I partake in my favorite hobbies, I have a certain glow and renewed sense of self, so I captured it today. 📸✨ It’s not really about the outfit (although I did love wearing it!), but the glow I captured in my face!

My mom and I went on a morning outing this last Wednesday to downtown Clovis, which is a quaint little place that has small town vibes – AND filled with many antique shops!!! We went into two, and I came across this little gem that I bought for a whopping $8:

I love colonial-style figurines, and also, the history nerd in me geeked out when I spotted what was written on the bottom (although slightly scribbled out): Made in Occupied Japan. This means this was manufactured anytime between after WWII ended (1945) to 1952!

Speaking of history nerd, I’m currently reading a biography on Calvin Coolidge, who was our 30th U.S. President from 1923-1929. Who knew that amidst the roaring twenties, the president presiding was ultra old-fashioned and a conservative man of few words?

I’m very much enjoying learning about Silent Cal (as he was nicknamed), and thus far, I can’t help but smile at his witty sense of humor. At an event, he was approached by a guest who said to him, “I made a bet with someone that I’d get you to say more than two words tonight.” Mr. Coolidge’s response?

“You lose.”

Rocking the My Melody look today!!! 💕