i’m following myself just this once

Off-shoulder top: Brandy Melville, Pants: Brandy Melville

This week we stopped by my old elementary school to take these pictures. I had wanted to shoot somewhere with an open field and a fence, and then I remembered how I used to go tobogganing down the hill behind my elementary school in the winter when I was in day care, going so fast sometimes that I couldn’t control it and would actually hit the fence at the bottom of the hill.

No toboggan and no snow this time around though. Instead of snow pants and boots, I decided to pair this navy and white striped off-shoulder top with matching pants for a sporty yet wearable look. Even though the top and pants were not sold together as a set, I tried them on together, and to my surprise, I loved how they paired! So of course I ended up buying them both. The great thing about a set is that you can get so many different outfits out of it since you can wear them together, or pair them with another top/bottom. The vertical stripes on the pants help to elongate the legs, and when paired with the matching top, the off-shoulder shows off a little skin to keep it from looking frumpy.

To go along with the throwback location, I’ve chosen a throwback song this week. It’s Jack’s Mannequin’s “Rescued”. In fact, the entire Jack’s Mannequin debut album, Everything In Transit, is one that has really shaped me into the person that I am today. This album was the soundtrack to my high school years, getting me through the hardest and the best of times. I felt like this album just understood me during those times. When I couldn’t find the right words to express my feelings, there was always a set of lyrics in one of the songs off this album that expressed those feelings EXACTLY for me. The song Rescued in particular was one that really expressed the conflict I felt between following a path that I believed would benefit my future vs following what I felt in my heart. What this song means to me probably means something completely different to someone else, and that’s the beauty of music.  To this day, Rescued remains one of my favorite Jack’s Mannequin songs, and will always hold a special place in my heart.

I encourage you all to check out the Everything In Transit album, and anything else that lead singer, Andrew McMahon has put out. I have followed his career since the beginning of his Something Corporate (his old band) days, to Jack’s Mannequin, and now to his solo career, and I have never been disappointed. Besides putting out great music time and time again, he is one of the most inspirational musicians I know. I won’t go into the details, but a quick search will tell you the story of how McMahon was diagnosed with leukemia the same day he finished recording Everything In Transit. After receiving a stem cell transplant from his sister on the same day that Everything In Transit was released, McMahon is now healthy, and continues to raise money through the Dear Jack Foundation for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Here is Rescued to get you started, but feel free to check out his more recent solo work as well (under Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness).