Tried and True

Shirt: thrifted. Shorts: American Eagle, via thrift. Belt: Walmart. Shoes: Target (here). Earrings: gifted.

There's just something so simple and effortless about a neutral button down and denim shorts.  This outfit was probably my most worn during my time abroad; it was just so easy and comfortable. 

It's been another busy week, so I'm really looking forward to the long Labor Day weekend.  I hope everyone has something exciting planned, or is using the day off to relax!  Happy long weekend!

First Day

Dress, belt, purse: vintage. Shoes: Target (here). Rings: H&M.

So the first week of school just flew by in a whirlwind of stress and chaos.  I can't believe I'm just now getting time to post what I wore on the first day.  

This awesome vintage dress is new (to me), and I couldn't wait to wear it, so what better time then on the first day of classes?  I especially had to get at least one good wear out of it before it gets too much into fall to wear seersucker.  My favorite part of the dress is the tiny anchor embroidered on the pocket; I'm a sucker for those special little details.

Oh, also, I don't know if anyone noticed, but I got my hair cut.  It's been over 2 weeks, and I'm still not really used to it or 100% sure that I like it, but I am starting to work out some different ways to style it that I like.  Hopefully it will grow on me some more.

Naturally Orange

Dress: TJMaxx. Shoes: Payless (here). Clutch: gifted.

I wore this to an art exhibition that one of my friends was a part of.  The gallery is housed in a beautiful refurbished church, which made for a nice backdrop for photos.  I've had this little black dress in my closet for two years and have never had a good occasion to wear it; I wish I had more fancy events to attend.  The clutch was a birthday gift from a wonderful friend and I absolutely love it.  I liked it paired with this dress because I felt like the kind of natural vibe from the tan beads gave just the right bit of casual flair to keep the ensemble from being too dressy.

On a side note, the lovely shade of orange that I am is indeed au natural.  I had just been at the beach for two days, so this is the product of my skin and the sun, plus sunscreen.  No spray tan or tanning booths for this girl.  I must have an oompa loompa somewhere in my family tree.

Today is also my 16th first day of school.  Here's hoping for another great year.

Pretend Instagram

So this isn't an outfit post.  This would be the kind of thing I would share on Instagram if I had iPhone in order to have an Instagram.  But alas, I am sans smartphone, but I still love these pictures.  So pretend this is Instagram, minus all the filters.  

My cat Moxie loves shoes just about as much as I do, but we love them in different ways.  I love to buy and wear them; she loves to lay next to them and rub her face all over them.

I'm in the middle of packing to head back to school this Saturday, so things are a bit scattered all over the place.  Today, I happened to catch Moxie enjoying some shoes I'd left out.  These are my favorite thrifted loafers, last seen here and in one of my favorite looks here.

Now, don't worry, I'm not going to go all crazy cat lady and start posting cat pictures every day.  Regular outfit posts are scheduled to start next week with the beginning of the new school year.  School: boo.  Getting dressed: yay!

Blue on Blue

Dress: H&M. Top: Old Navy via Plato's Closet. Shoes, watch: Target (here and here). Sunglasses: Old Navy. Necklace: Forever 21.

It's Everybody, Everywear time again, and this months theme is monochromatic.  I've gotta admit it's currently 3pm and I'm still in my pajamas (don't judge me!), so luckily, I had this outfit saved in my backlog.  

I wore this back in May, right around the time when the weather was being bipolar.  I originally planned to wear a denim jacket with the dress, but lo and behold, it was blazing hot that day.  The dress is sleeveless and I'm not a huge fan of showing my arms (gotta get on those push ups!), so I decided to throw on this oxford in place of the jacket.  Unfortunately, it was still way too insanely hot.  I'm pretty sure right after the pictures were taken, I gave in and took off the shirt.  But only for a few minutes.

I am so ready for fall.

Pop of Orange

Top: H&M via thrift. Skirt: thrifted. Necklace: Charlotte Russe. Shoes, purse: Target.

Here's another outfit from my Central Europe trip.  One of the really cool things about our trip is that for the first 3 weeks, we were traveling from city to city, so we had a charter bus to take us from place to place as well as on day trips.  The public transportation in Europe is awesome, but it was nice having our own private bus rather than schlepping our luggage on subways and trains.

I wore this outfit on our last long travel day, going from Prague to Berlin.  These pictures were taken when we stopped for lunch in Dresden.  This basic black knit maxi skirt was one of my favorite pieces that I had on the trip.  It was so comfortable for the long bus rides, especially paired with this casual top (another of my trip favorites, also seen here).  I added the necklace and coordinating nail polish for a neat pop of color.

Central Europe Trip Recap

Ok, so maybe the title is a little misleading because I'm not actually going to recap my entire 6 week trip because that would be impossible for me to write and impossible for you to read.  So I'm going to summarize by saying that my trip was absolutely amazing.  I got to live in 6 big cities in 5 beautiful, culturally rich countries.  I learned so much about the history and culture of the countries.  I got to meet new people and grow closer to friends I already knew.  I got to eat some absolutely delicious food and see some stunning scenery. The whole trip was just pretty much unbelievable.  

Here are just a few choice pictures from my trip:

In a dress from TJMaxx and Target sandals before a night out in Vienna.

In a Target tee and Charlotte Russe necklace overlooking Prague (my favorite of the cities we visited!) from the Petřín Lookout Tower. 

A life-size Lego giraffe in Berlin.

Feeding geese in Munich's Olympiapark in a thrifted shirt and upcycled skirt.

 Overlooking the Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Germany in a Target tee and a Chinatown scarf.

One of my favorite meals of the trip: cheesy spaetzle.  

For now, that's all the trip photos I'm going to share here.  If you would like to look at more of the photos that I took while abroad, you can visit my flickr page here.

Thanks for stopping by!