Outfit // Red, White, & Blue

Happy belated 4th of July to my fellow American friends out there! It isn't too late to say that, is it? And it definitely isn't too late for a little patriotic outfit post, right? :) Of course, it was my goal to actually post this on the 4th of July, but you know... Things happen and holidays are busy! We had a great weekend, from start to finish. We went to the movies, I spent the day at the pool with my gal pals, we went out for drinks with friends, went to two different BBQs, watched fireworks, and watched the women's World Cup! It was quite the wonderful, busy weekend and I am sad that it is over. The last few weeks have been pretty great and have been filled with lots of summer fun! Hopefully I'll eventually get around to talking about it a bit more, but for now here's an outfit post featuring my cute pup as a special guest :)
With any holiday or event, I always love to plan out the most perfect outfit to go along with it. When I saw this beautiful blue gingham dress on eShakti, I knew I had to have it for the 4th of July. It is such a great dress to add a little American spirit and will be great for pretty much any occasion outside of that as well! Aside from the print, what I love about this dress is the fact that I got it for only $20, with shipping! I have discovered that there are many eShakti coupon codes out there that will help you get great quality dresses at a steal. I even ordered two more dresses at the same price. Oops! Can't pass up a deal like that though! ;)

I like how this dress ties in the front to create a cute little bow detail. It can also be tied in the back for some variation, but I prefer it tied in the front for myself.
I absolutely love the way this dress fits me and the nice shape that it gives me. I'm not gonna lie, I feel pretty great about myself in this particular dress and that never hurts! Gingham has recently become one of my favorite patterns and blue has always been one of the best colors on me since it brings out my eyes.
I don't know if Marly has ever been featured in an outfit post, but I think he has been enjoying being in the spotlight a bit more on the blog :) He is definitely a cute sidekick! I just wish that I had something patriotic for him to wear as well!
This week is going to be another busy, but good one! I have work, school, and will be heading down to San Diego to spend a week with my family. I am really looking forward to relaxing and hopefully going to the beach! I will also be heading up to LA for a day while I'm there for a fundraiser, so I will have to pick out the perfect outfit for that ;)

How was your holiday weekend? Do you have any fun summer plans?

Dress // eShakti

Sandals // Target

Outfit // Floral Fancy

Well hello! This long weekend was quite the whirlwind and it felt like I was constantly doing something! Last week was pretty tiring though, so I definitely needed the extra day this weekend to unwind a bit. I kicked off the weekend with a date night with Dai to have dinner and go see Pitch Perfect 2. We were also kind of celebrating some great news--Dai got a new job! At Fitbit! It is basically a match made in heaven :) On Saturday, I spent the day with my friend and some of her other friends as a bachelorette party day since she is getting married next month! Pretty crazy! Then on Sunday we hung out with one of Dai's friends and her boyfriend and showed them around the city a bit. I also took some fun portraits for them, we ate at Nopalito, walked around Golden Gate Park, & got ice cream at Bi-Rite (so, pretty much what I did the weekend before ;) ). To finish up the long weekend, Dai and I made a trip to the outlets yesterday to get him some new clothes for his new job! I lucked out on some great deals too and got a small Kate Spade purse, some earrings, a pair of jeans, a shirt, and two chiffon midi skirts (that I got on the sale rack for only $6 each!!!!). All in all, I'd say it was a pretty successful weekend :)

Lately, I have been quite obsessed with all things girly, retro, and vintage inspired. I don't know what it is, but I just think that there is a certain elegance and class that comes with things like that. Sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong era when it comes to style! I just love the 50's and 60's style dresses and skirts with all my heart! I found the one I am wearing in these photos on the LindyBop website sometime last year, but hesitated to order it for so long, until just a couple weeks ago when I finally decided to go for it! I must say, I am so glad that I did! The floral print is absolutely beautiful and the quality is really impressive. I like that the fabric is heavier than I thought it would be and that the dress is lined. It also came with a matching belt! I think part of the reason I was hesitant to order for so long was because of the UK sizing confusion, but I e-mailed LindyBop customer service telling them what size I am in US clothing and they converted it for me. I was a bit wary, but I ordered their recommended size and it fits beautifully! Also, I have discovered that LindyBop is really very reasonably priced, especially when you compare them to similar vintage-inspired brands like Pinp Girl Clothing (which I totally adore but can't afford!). 
I've been wanting to try new, brighter lip colors for spring and have been wearing Revlon ColorBurst Laquer in the shade "Croquette." It doesn't really show all that much in the photos (I think some of it wore off a bit), but it is pretty bright in person and I am still getting used to it! Spicing things up!

I really think that after wearing this dress, I will be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful print! I mean, look at it. Isn't it just dreamy? I think it will be lovely in any season!
These teal babies are one of my most favorite pairs of shoes, but I hardly wear them! I'd definitely like to change that and am glad that I paired them with this special dress. I think they go nicely together!
Well, at any rate, I have already decided that this dress is going to get lots of use! I'm planning to wear it to my friend's wedding next month, and then who knows what other adventures we will have ;) I don't like that I am hesitant to wear my pretty dresses because I am afraid of getting them dirty or because I feel a little foolish being so "fancy" for no reason. My job as a nanny isn't quite fit for wearing my swing dresses haha. BUT, it doesn't do any good to have these beautiful dresses sitting in my closet collecting dust, so I will do my best to start wearing them on a more regular basis!

In other news, I am officially on summer break! Woohoo! I was only in one class this semester, so it isn't that big of a change, but I did have an A at the end of the semester so I was exempt from having to take the final. That always helps! Now I am just working as usual and have my mornings wide open for blogging and other things that I have been wanting to work on! With this extra time, I would really like to establish a more regular posting schedule, get around to writing posts I have had ideas for, and to revamp the design of this blog. So much to do!

Here's to a great (short) week!

Dress // LindyBop

Shoes // Chelsea Crew via DSW

Necklace // Forever 21

I think I was born in the wrong era.

Oh how I love vintage style. From the 20's to the 60's, it is all fabulous. I'd like to think that I would have been like one of these women. They look confident, strong, and independent. I love the shape and silhouettes of their dresses and their shoes! Oh their shoes... Swoon. I definitely need to find myself a modern pair of oxford heels or mary jane's. Since hanging out in the Haight a few weeks ago, I have especially interested in this style. I'd love to wear vintage! Some of it is just so expensive though, and you have to be lucky enough to find things in your size. One of these days I will find some great things and build a little collection for myself.

What's your favorite style era? :)

Gypsy-Hipster Liars.

 

Oh my oh my oh my. On Sunday I went to a giant antique fair. Wowzers it was pretty dang cool. I wasn't sure what this event was all about, but it had the potential to either be super cool or super lame. A while back my friend took me to a sewing and quilting fair (neither of which I really enjoy) and it was way lamer than we thought it would be. But this antique fair was definitely not like that. There were rows, and rows, and rows (A-Z) of vendors and we only got through maybe half of them. 

 I made it my mission to find several things: a typewriter, a record player, a hat (you know, because I was so inspired by my trip to the Haight on Saturday), and a side table for the lovely chair I bought at a garage sale a couple weekends ago. I found many old, pretty typewriters that didn't work. And were over $100. I don't really care about it's antique-ness. I just want it to type. And boy did I find a pretty blue gem. It's electric, which I don't mind and it's blue. My color. And I was able to negotiate $25 for it. I took it. Truth be told, once I got home, I found out a couple things. First, I don't know a damn thing about typewriters. Second, it doesn't quite work, like I was told by the two gypsy-hipster looking girls. Now, I don't know if she just straight out lied to me and figured she could pull one over on the blonde girl, or if I just don't know how to use it. I hope she didn't lie to me. Or that if she did, it is something my dad can fix for me. I was really pissed when I got home and discovered this, and could just hear my dad's voice telling me I wasted my money or "you didn't test it?!", so I'm hoping it is an easy fix. Gosh dang gypsy-hipsters. I was successful with another item on my wish list was well: the table! It fits perfectly beside my wonderful chair and will look great once I spruce up the corner a bit (it's all in the works. just need a dad's help. pictures soon to come!).

So, I'd say that the antique fair was a hit! I would have gone through the entire fair had I not had to be back for work in the afternoon. It happens every month, so I think I will bring my dad along next time! Definitely something he would absolutely love. Went for brunch after the fair and was very pleased at the mountain of whipped cream on my hot chocolate! My kind of place :)

Also, did you notice that cool green bag I was carrying? Guess where I got it? It got it from in front of my teacher's neighbor's house the other night in SF! The girl was just putting out free stuff! I had to snatch it up. It's big and vintage smelling. Gosh, I love free stuff!

What did you guys do this weekend? :)

P.S. Please excuse my awkward photo formatting. Blogspot has not been very cooperative lately when it comes to placing photos. Messes up my flow! What a weirdo. Any tips???