okc memorial marathon

yesterday i woke up at 4:30am, after a fitful night of sleep to thunderstorms, so i could run the 12th annual oklahoma city memorial marathon.  yeah, it was a short night of sleep.  but it was worth it.  in 1995, i was sitting in my oklahoma history class when news hit that the murrah federal building in downtown okc was bombed.  it was pretty harrowing, even for a freshman in high school.  at the time, it was the most horrific terrorist attack on US soil.  and ever since i'd started running marathons, i'd wanted to run this one.  
there were a record number of 27,000 runners yesterday morning.  we were packed in like sardines.  but the 168 seconds of silence before the race start helped you to remember why you were there.  168-the number of innocent people who lost their lives 17 years ago.  the streets are lined with banners memorializing the victims.  when you are tired on mile 20, all you have to do is look up and see the names of the people who died that day to be inspired to keep going.  it was pretty cool.  
the day was dark and cloudy.  it rained on me from mile 11-18.  but it was my best race yet.  i finished in 4 hours and 15 minutes.  it was hard!!!  but amazing at the same time.  and i'm reminded of how blessed i am :)

the big day

this is it.  this weekend.  this sunday, the big day.  i run my fourth marathon. no lies, i'm a bit nervous about it, but soooooo glad it's finally here so i can get it done!!!  i do my final little training run today.  a wee three mile jog about town to rest and loosen up for the big race.  ahhhhh, i'm looking forward to monday.  
hope your weekend is eventful too!
details:
shirt-gap from yearsssss ago
jeans-vintage jordache, ebay
shoes-liz claiborne, thrift
bag-vintage dooney & bourke, gift from matt

shop talk: names and visions

often i get asked how i came up with the name for my shop.  that story takes us all the way back to 1998, physiology class senior year of high school.  these were the days before smartphones, texting, and high speed internet.  chat rooms were all the rage and you paid by the hour to be online.  yeah.  back in the old days.  my physiology teacher was an idiot so we basically didn't learn a thing.  my friend erin and i sat in the back of class and typed out messages to each other on our TI-86 graphing calculators and passed them back and forth.  then one day she put a bunch of glow in the dark star stickers inside the cover of my calculator and called it amandromeda (a combo of amanda and andromeda) because it was my constellation. i liked it so much that i assigned my first ever email account with that name which is why it's 2012 and i still have a hotmail.  i'm too lazy to make the switch.  so when it came time to decide on a name for the store, matt suggested amandromeda.  i thought it was a great idea.

and i like the fact that it doesn't limit me.  if one day i want to sell comic books, i can still use that name.  used cars?  amandromeda.  tanning salon: tropic of amandromeda.  restaurant: bistro amandromeda.  see?  it's so versatile.  
i really don't have a strict vision for my business.  some may say that's a bad idea.  me, i like to live by the seat of my pants.  i want this to be a fluid venture without rigid expectations or hard limits.  i can tell when my shop needs a shake up.  usually when i get tired of being there i realize i need to move the store layout around or gather more inventory or add something new.  i take a much more organic approach to my business than most.  because i know the moment i start taking it too seriously, i'll be ready to close up shop.  and i'm not ready for that yet.

here's to wednesday

gale force winds, a long work day, tired legs, and a nasty reaction to quinoa did not make for a fantastic tuesday.  but i am april's blogger of the month as honored by the southern fashion bloggers.  so that's kinda cool.

out for a walk

just a wee video matt made from a family walk about town.  
song: 'pictures' by benjamin francis leftwich

all over again

on saturday, i drove an hour and a half to meet with two of my best friends to relive our high school memories and watch titanic in 3D.  i will admit to having seen that movie eight times in the theater back in 1998.  yep.  you heard that right, EIGHT TIMES.  and seeing it for the ninth time on saturday, it was like senior year all over again.  except we got to have drinks at the bar before the movie this time around.  and as near and dear to my heart as titanic is, i don't think i'll go for a tenth viewing.  that would be kind of excessive.
details:
shirt-thrift
skirt-kennedy holmes
shoes-9 west, vintage
bag-vintage

chesney's

we were really chasing the sunlight on this one.  almost didn't make it before it set behind the buildings.  but i kinda dig the mood of the photos.  i also kinda dig leopard shoes and fluttery skirts.
details:
shirt-rodarte for target
skirt-gap kids, thrift
shoes-liz claiborne, thrift
clutch-thrift

shop talk:

Hola, Off of Broadway-ers!  I’m Megan and I own beaucoup vintage, a vintage shop in downtown Fredericksburg, VA.  I have seriously enjoyed reading Amanda’s Shop Talk posts over the last few weeks and am excited about the opportunity to contribute my own thoughts to the discussion. Since Amanda has covered a wide range of topics already and since my shop’s two-year anniversary is coming up on May 1st, I thought I’d share a few things I’ve learned along the way that were completely unexpected (in both the good and not so good ways). 

3 unexpectedly awesome things:

1. I’ve become great friends with people I’ve met through the shop – customers and collaborators alike. I recently attended a baby shower for a friend and when the hostess asked me how I knew the guest of honor, after a moment of thinking, I realized we became friends simply because she was a regular at the shop! I have found my shop girls, look book models and jewelry consignors because they happened to come into the shop and we happened to strike up conversations. 

2. I knew I would enjoy dreaming up and creating new window displays; I worked at an art gallery before opening the shop, and my favorite part of my job was always putting up the exhibitions. I didn’t expect to love it as much as I do and to spend as much time as I do putting them together and searching for the right components (I’ve become intimately acquainted with all our local hardware stores – and I like it!). It has become one of my favorite aspects of the job and now I know that visual merchandising is something I’d like to do when I grow up. 

3. There is no better feeling than to be out running errands in the morning or out to dinner in the evening and spotting someone wearing a piece they bought at the shop. It always puts the biggest grin on my face. Same goes seeing someone walking around with a bv bag after the shop’s closed or during the day when I’ve got someone at the shop. I know having a shop isn’t the same as having a baby, but it kinda is. I’m so proud when I see my clothes succeeding! ;)  

3 unexpectedly not awesome things:

1. It gets lonely. Even with a strong support system of family and friends you know you can always rely on, no one completely understands what you’re going through. No one thinks or worries about your shop as much as you do. It can be overwhelming and isolating, for sure. This is why having a friend like Amanda is so helpful. I have e-mailed Amanda more than once with a string of random frustrations and exclamations in half constructed sentences with her response being an “I KNOW!!!!” Such a relief! 

2. A big tangle of empty hangers is 100% the most frustrating thing in the entire world. Pulling one hanger from my box of hangers is never as simple as just pulling one hanger from the box. 6 other hangers come with it, all at varying angles hooked onto each other in varying degrees of hooked-ness. This one is kind of silly but I swear it really does make me madder than anything.

3. Before I opened the shop, I logically understood the nature of retail is fickle. I knew the holiday season was busy and the following months were slow. I was not prepared just how slow the slow times actually are. Hearing that January is a slow month and then experiencing sitting in the shop every day in January while the cash register collects dust are two verrryyyyy different things. I’ve done it twice now and am still not used to it! 

everything

saturday was a shop day and a very breezy day.  in this alley right by the shop, the wind really picks up as it funnels through the buildings.  makes for fun photos.
and i've been listening to ben howard non-stop the last few days.  his voice is sultry and soothing and is just.....exactly.  you should look into it.
details:
jacket-fancy treehouse
vest-vintage
shirt-thrift
jeans-calvin klein, thrift
shoes-thrift

mickey

yesterday we woke up to tornado sirens and by the end of the day, just before sunset, all the clouds were gone and it was clear.  but the light at 5:00 was amazing.  matt hoisted me up to our roof for photos to take advantage of the moment.  it was pretty spectacular.
i wore one of my very favorite shirts.  i've had this mickey mouse tee since the 3rd grade.  it has multiple holes, is practically transparent, and is frankly a little silly.  but i love it.  my sister's boyfriend brought it back for me after a trip to disney.  a few months later, when i was 8 years old, my childhood home burned to the ground.  i have no idea how this shirt survived because that day i was wearing something else.  it must have been at my grandparents' house.  but this shirt will always be very special to me as the only thing i have from before the fire.  and i like how it goes with faux leather pants and a leopard print cardigan and a gorgeous stormy sky.
details:
sweater, tee, shoes, clutch-vintage
pants-local consignment store