On The Road: from Austin, TX, to Anchorage, AK.

It's barely been a month since I've said so long to my life in Austin, and already so much has happened! John and I have both started working again, and we already have a house on base to move into next month. Slowly but surely, John and I are adjusting to life in Anchorage, and soon, we'll be ready for the winter...I hope! To help myself along, I recently splurged on a new peacoat.

Double Breasted Pleated Peacoat from Steve Madden.

I told John that it's the first new winter coat of the season--not the last! He scoffed at this, asking, "How many coats does a girl need?"

I have yet to determine the exact number, but I'm thinking four, at least. I want one with a vibrant and loud pattern, as well as a black one...and red! I've always wanted a red winter coat. I think the contrast with the snow will make it stand out. And of course, I will also need a coat with double-lining, for when the weather is severely cold out. 

What type of winter wear do you prefer? The coat I am wearing is a short wool, and it's very cozy. In Austin, however I could get away with just wearing a sweater or light jacket all winter long.  

Speaking of Austin, I finalized my photos from the Great North American Adventure I took last month. What I have posted are just a sample of what I saw, and I hope y'all enjoy them!

Goodbye, Austin.

Between Austin & Amarillo: "Anyone home?"

Wind Power: we saw fields of windmills in every state we crossed.

A wind propellor, at the Amtrak Station in Lamar, CO.

Back to the state where John & I first met...awww!

Couldn't resist this photo, as John is a long-distance relative of General George Custer.

General George Custer died at Battle of the Little Bighorn, in 1876.

With Biscuit in Garryowen, MT, edge of where Battle of the Little Bighorn took place.

In Bozeman, home of the Montana State Bobcats.

At the Clark Fork River in downtown Missoula, MT.

The "M" on the hillside is for "University of Montana".

With my sister/actress/singer/songwriter, Alyssa.

Wildlife Land Bridge--I wonder if the woodland creatures know of its existence.

Flathead Lake: the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River.

The resort town of Bigfork, on Flathead Lake, where John & I met in high-school.

The goofiest brother-sister portrait, ever!

(Everything I'm wearing is from Target.)

On our way through Canada, with our trusty Milespost & prayer quilt.

Leaving Edmonton, Alberta; home of the world's 5th largest shopping mall.

Enjoying ice-cream in my new H&M sweater & Simply Vera Vera Wang jeans, in British Columbia.

Headband & Sunglasses: Target. Crossover Bag: ModCloth.

At Mile O of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, B.C.

So close, and yet so far away! from our destination.

Buffalo, napping, in the Yukon.

Lunch/Construction Break in the Yukon.

Finally in Alaska!

The only moose John & I saw the entire trip, outside of Anchorage.

Come back later this week for my post on West Edmonton Mall, North America's largest mall!

P.S. Are we still not following one another on Pinterest or Instagram?
If so, my handle on both is thatchelseagirl--leave yours in the comments!

"At least you don't buy clothes from H-E-B."

If there's one personality trait I don't like in people, it's snobbery. Whether it's about cars, fashion, music, or other etc. whatnot, I have no time for snobbish behavior. Growing up, though my grandparents did take me and my sister birthday shopping, most of my clothes were from the local thrift store or my older brother's girlfriends. Seriously.

I wasn't "into" brand names, like some of the girls in class. You know, the girls who made claims that they only wore Polo Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger. I once overheard that I dressed like a "nerd", along with that I wasn't "that pretty" (as in, "Chelsea's nice, but she's not that pretty, and she dresses like a nerd"; 10-year-old girls can be bitches).

I could understand the "nerd" thing: I was, and am, way into books and learning. But that's not the point. The point is, I didn't (and still don't) understand the name-calling zoning in on my personal appearance. I thought I looked nice in my "nerd" clothes!

That's when I began learning the names, along with the difference in quality and style, of the off-brands. Many of these off-brands were actually private labels, available at the Herberger's and JC Penney in Kalispell, MT, a 30-minute drive north from Bigfork: Amy Byer, Arizona Jean Co., Mudd Jeans, ByerWear Too, just to name a few...Even when I started buying my clothing with self-made money, my prom dress was from the JC Penney and $15, while some girls took the 4-hour drive to Spokane, WA, to find their gowns inside a two-story mall.

Side note: After googling the mall for old time's sake, I found out that Kalispell Center Mall is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. Weird!

In high-school, I started to shop at Buckle. I put their layaway-payment plan into good use for several years, in order to afford my favorite brand jean, Lucky. While the brands at Buckle are exceptional, the prices aren't, and this has led to a personal decline of shopping there. Since moving back to Austin in 2008, in order to save money while still transcending my closet from a teenager's to that of an adult's, I have generally shopped: where I am working, mostly due to fringe benefits; at thrift stores; at consignment stores, e.g. Buffalo Exchange and Plato's Closet; at the outlet malls.

A product of an environment built on saving money while dressing sharp, I have a secret to share: this 100% Rayon dress is from H-E-B, which is a supermarket chain in Texas and Mexico.

I hadn't gone into my local grocery store looking for a dress. But when I saw the brightly-dyed, sheer rayon fabric, I knew I had to have it. The colors remind me of sherbet. Even though H-E-B has reasonable prices, I was shocked to see it was only $9.99. Paired with a belt I wore in a previous post, it's a sundress made for the weather Austin has experienced this summer.

Ballet Flats: Maurices.

Tote Bag: Gifted; Free People (instead of plastic bags, the stores gives out totes).
Shift Dress: Shoreline, by way of H.E.B.
Belt: Gifted; BKE by Buckle.
Sunglasses: Dots.

Speaking of weather in Austin, the beautiful capitol city has been surrounded by devastating wildfires. I am donating whatever I can to the American Red Cross, as nearly 800 homes have been burned in the nearby town of Bastrop, TX. That fire is still only 30% contained, while other parts of Central Texas have their own fires to deal with.

If you reside in the greater Austin area, I encourage you to donate whatever you can--someone out there just lost everything. The Austin Chronicle is keeping an up-to-date list of places to donate. To those who are not in Texas, if and when a natural disaster strikes in your area, I hope you can lend a helping hand to your local relief efforts. You never know when you may be the person in need.

How One Country Bumpkin Learned The Art of Hipsterism (aka That Time I Moved 2,000 Miles for a Boy).

This is a little detour off the fashion road. In Fashion Capstone (re: Senior Project), we've created a magazine. I was assigned to write a column and do an interview. I wrote the column about my move from Montana to Texas, and I would like to share it with y'all.

Three years ago, I left behind everything I knew--my family, my friends, and the small town of Bigfork, MT. I moved for two reasons: a boy and school...mostly for the boy.

The boy is history. The good news? I’m still in school.

My 2,000-mile move to Austin was a whim. The university I was attending asked me to select a major. As a junior, I was still in the “University Studies” program. I ended up selecting a course of study that the university did not offer: Fashion & Retail Management.

The original plan was to move to Seattle. But after learning The Art Institutes was opening a branch in Austin, where I had lived as a child, my plans changed.

A friend from high-school, my future ex-boyfriend, was living in Austin at the time. After a reassuring phone call and securing a place to stay, I quit my job in Glacier National Park. I immediately packed up my Chevy Aveo with all of my belongings.

Three days later, I found myself at the 21^st Street Co-Op in Austin, with only a trunk full of clothes and a coffee table I had constructed when I was thirteen.

Now, I’ve moved around a few times, but never had I experienced something like “the coop.” The 21^st Street Co-Op is a (clothing-optional) student housing cooperative in the West Campus area, several blocks west from The Drag. Constantly referred to as a treehouse, it reminded me much of a maze. I spent the carefree summer earning my keep at the co-op by cleaning Suite 4B, the smoking suite.

Then the boy and I broke up.

This could be the part in the story where I go all Felicity and chop off my curly locks, circa the late 1990s television show, but that’s not my style.

Instead, I immersed myself into all that is Austin. I went to local events, shopped at second-hand boutiques and farmers markets, and began writing a blog about Austin fashion. I became a full-fledge vegetarian, met Austinites and other gypsies, and adopted a dog I named Biscuit. I have traveled from eastern Canada to southern California, made The President’s List at school, and worked two jobs. I danced in the rain at Austin City Limits Festival, volunteered during South By Southwest, and returned to the 21^st Street Co-Op on Sundays to cook for Food Not Bombs. I’ve moved three times, which is also the exact number of times I’ve fallen in and out of love with the same person.

In the past three years, it’s easy to say I've changed from the 19-year-old that showed up with all of her belongings in the back of her car.

I’ve gone back to Montana twice. But it’s no longer “home”.

There’s truth in the old adage “home is where the heart is.”

As of now, mine is, literally, deep in the heart of Texas.

Betty and the Boy & My Sister.

My sister, Alyssa Rae Hands, was recently in a music video for northwest band, Betty and the Boy.

Josh Harvey & Bettreena Jaeger of Betty and the Boy.

The band consists of four members: singer and guitarist Bettreena Jaeger; Josh Harvey on vocals, banjo, and mandolin; violinist Michelle Whitlock; and Jon Conlon plays the upright bass.

I've known Ms. Jaeger for several years now (we became friends in high-school), and it's been a pleasure to watch Betty and the Boy form in Montana and migrate to the college town of Eugene, OR. Over the years, the band has transformed from the original duo of Mr. Harvey and Ms. Jaeger to the current quartet, but still plays a unique mix of folksy bluesgrass.

The complete line-up.

The band's combined musical talents allows Ms. Jaeger's melancholy voice in "Pennies" to become serene and dreamlike in others ("Slow"). I recently downloaded a live set of theirs to my iPopd, via archive.org, and I literally cannot stop listening to it: my favorite is "Babble", a song of deep contemplation and retrospect.

I'm currently trying to convince Bettreena to re-record one personal favorite of their old songs, "The Man Who Loved Sound". I used to listen to it on Betty and the Boy's Myspace when I first moved to Texas (back when I HAD a Myspace; you can find Betty and the Boy on Facebook here). The band's youthful perspective on growth helped me not miss home as much, and I'm happy they finally have a music video that I can share with y'all. Now only if I could find a way to get them to Austin...

Aside from the music, the music video for "Moth to a Light" was solely created by Ben Jacobson of Roothead Films and features actress (and my sister) Alyssa Rae Hands.

Also, thank you to Betty & the Boy for the photos!

Oh, Montana!

As you may or may not know, I was born-and-mostly-raised in Montana: I lived in a small town on Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. So you can imagine my surprise and excitement over hearing Dsquared2's campaign for Wood, their signature fragrance, was filmed not too far from where I grew up.

The European brand filmed down an old dusty, county road that leads to Swan River, which empties into Flathead Lake. According to Holland Lake Lodge, Dsquared2 originally wanted to film at the lodge, with Holland Lake as a backdrop. However, on the third day, they found the perfect location with the magnificent Swan River as its setting. The following is a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot:

Truth? While watching the video, I realized exactly where the commercial had been filmed.

Now, I have gone out there to go camping a handful of times, and I mostly remember the area because I once lost my wallet there (luckily, I found it) and it's also where I had my only "fight" in high-school: I was ambushed by the ultimate mean girl while sleeping in the bed of a pick-up; I ended up with a broken nose. Regardless, I don't regret a second of my camping adventures. Here's the Dsquared2 commercial in full:

It makes me want to go camping!

Just without the punch-in-the-face part.

Home on the Range: a look at Montana style.

Locations: Bigfork, Kalispell, Polson, and Woods Bay.

June 19th-29th, 2009.

Last month, I went to my hometown of Bigfork, Montana, for my mother's funeral. Over the trip, I saw a lot of friends and family who agreed to let me take their photos. I even helped stylize my father for his gun show (we went with white shoes, but unfortunately only the black shoes are shown).Over all, despite the sad circumstances, I had a pleasant time while in Montana. The weather was the biggest change, as I have grown accustomed to Texas heat; it was a mere 55 degrees when I landed in Montana!

Clothing in Montana, for one thing, is mostly laidback: a lot of jeans, t-shirts, and, in the summertime, flip-flops. Young people hardly dress up unless they are going to a fancy restaurant. I noticed a lot of brand-name t-shirts (Billabong, Vans, etc.) and college-attire. Because the weather was still a bit chilly, people were still wearing sweaters and jackets as well.