Purple Gingham and Denim

Whenever I'm feeling uncreative or just want to feel good about myself, this dress is my go-to. I feel like I write a love letter to it every time I wear it on here, but it never stops being perfect. It's one of my all-time favorite pieces to put on, and I don't feel even a little bad about how much I gush about it. I wore this outfit on Sunday to visit my parents, meet that adorable puppy I mentioned, and grab a drink with friends later. Typical weekend shenanigans. 

Things are pretty busy right now, but exciting. My job is going well, I just finished writing stories for my freelance gig at a local paper, and a work friend and I decided to start looking for an apartment together. I think I've finally had enough time to figure out my budget, so I can't wait to start looking for places and be on my own finally. That's right, adulthood. I'm actually coming for you for real this time.

A Light Jacket and Spring Floral

Here's another work outfit that makes me not only grateful for spring, but for the fact that I don't have a dress code in the office. It was raining off and on the day I wore this, so I went with different shoes, but when I took photos in it, some sandals felt necessary. That's right, it actually rained in California, and even though everyone forgets how to drive when it happens, it's pretty wonderful. It was the rain that reminded me that I own this jacket, which is perfect for spring days and my favorite floral skirt. I really need to wear it more.

This weekend was wonderful and much-needed. I've been insanely busy with my full-time job, the one day a week I've kept at the restaurant, and freelancing for a local paper that assigned me two extra stories this month, so good friends and relaxation were appreciated. Most of my friends were in the mountains for my friend Jeremy's bachelor party weekend, so for the first time in a long time, I found myself with just girls to hang out with. My friends Whitney, Casey, and I had a great night getting frozen yogurt on Friday, and Whit and I decided to be productive at a coffee shop on Saturday. Yesterday, I went over to my parents' house after work, and if you've seen my Instagram feed at all, you know that I got to see their new puppy. He's a silver lab, his name is Samuel Adams, and he's adorable. I'm going to steal him. Or maybe I'll just be making the drive to my parents' house a little more often than usual. 

Tread Lightly

I couldn't tell you the last time I wore earrings if I tried. I got my ears pierced as a baby, and I was obsessed with collecting earrings as a pre-teen. Now? Not so much. I always find myself with rings or necklaces galore, so the idea of earrings always seems like too much. Then I discovered Nerdy But Still Girly, a little shop with the best earrings I've ever seen. I was lucky enough to receive a credit to the shop, but choosing a pair was quite possibly one of the most difficult things I've had to do. After debating between a pair of Jon Snow earrings and a pair of baby Groot ones for far too long, I finally decided that there was no contest. When Heisenberg is an option, you always choose Breaking Bad. Like there was ever another choice. 

I wore the earrings with an outfit I wore over the weekend for strolling around my local downtown area and babysitting. This J. Crew Factory collared top is by far one of my most worn items, and it's easy to see why. It goes with practically everything. I hadn't thought to layer it under a dress until now, and I'm loving how it looks. Then again, I love how it looks with everything.

Aggie Again

This outfit is pretty typical for me, which is probably why I love it so much. I'm assuming that most of my readers and people in my life are probably a bit tired of seeing this Fleet Collection Aggie skirt all the time, but I can't help it. There's never a time when I don't want to wear it. I picked up this collared top from Buffalo Exchange a little while ago when I sold some clothes there, and it felt like something that belonged in my wardrobe. Like most shirts, it works perfectly with this skirt. The outfit also paired well against my favorite backdrop: this ridiculously beautiful house down the street from me. I hope the owners don't mind that I like to post photos of their home all over the Internet sometimes. Can they blame me?

Everything has been busy and lovely lately. The CEO of my tiny company (who is wonderful) was in town last week, and she took my office out for dinner and drinks after work one night. She's the best. I started taking calls (if you don't remember, I work in customer service) for one of my favorite designers last week, so that's also exciting. Other than that, I've been hanging out my best friends, spending time with my boyfriend (which I'm still getting used to saying), and catching up on TV. I only kind of was so exhausted that I feel asleep during Game of Thrones last night. 

Mustard Scallops

The hardest part about working Monday through Friday, is by far dealing with how short the weekends feel. This past weekend was honestly wonderful, and I couldn't stand to see it end. One of the most exciting parts was getting to meet up with Erica in LA and attend Modcloth IRL with her on Saturday. I had met Erica in person about a year ago, and after hanging out with her again over the weekend, I'm beginning to think that I was crazy for not making it a point to see her all the time. She's the the best, and we had an absolute blast together. I have a bunch of pictures from the Modcloth event, so I think I'm going to try to do a post on it, but it was great. There were gorgeous dresses on display and ready to try on, jewelry and vintage clothes to buy, and adorable Modcloth employees to chat with. Erica and I both fangirled over meeting Susan Kroger, Modcloth's co-founder, and Winston, that adorable pug mascot. I'll try to post all of my photos this week, but the meantime, check out my Instagram for a few photos.

This outfit was one that I wore to work last week, and it's a new favorite of mine. I love the mustard color of this top and the scalloped detail is beautiful. It's nice not having a dress code for work, but part of me does kind of wish I had an excuse to challenge myself more with business professional attire. Though I have to admit, I like the fact that someone in my office building most likely thinks of me "that girl in the polka dot dress." I wouldn't be surprised. 

Lovely Dresses for Lovely Weekends

I'm going to keep this post short and sweet because I'm writing it during a free moment over the busy weekend. I just want to drop by real quick to say that everything about this weekend is/was wonderful for so many reasons. It included seeing multiple of my favorite people who were in town, a night staying at my parents' house, good food, a birthday celebration for my mom, and one boy who I may or may not have gotten to see for the first time in a couple of months. Should I tell that story soon? I'll get around to it eventually, I'm sure.

This is dress is one of those pieces that has sat in my closet for a few months. It's a Modcloth piece that I got from a Facebook swap, and for some reason I didn't love it at first when I got it. I've since grown to appreciate it, and I'm glad to have another easy black dress to throw on. This was the perfect outfit for grabbing lunch and walking around Downtown Fullerton with my brother and oldest childhood friend on Saturday before heading to my parents' house. I'm seriously loving these Saturdays off.

Pinstriped Pure Joy

If I could design a dream dress for myself, it probably wouldn't be too far off from this one from Shop Ruche. I've been trying so hard to save up for an apartment, but I can't lie. Right after I got my job, I might have done some perusing on Ruche with thoughts that I deserved to treat myself with adulthood finally on the horizon. From the moment I laid eyes on this dress, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I put it in my cart, left it there, took it out of my cart, put it back in, and dreamed about it. Then I came back it to it the next day, promotional code for a discount on all dresses in "hand." And, well, somehow I magically found this dress in my room two days later. I told myself that it was really an excuse to support a local business (Ruche is based out of the city I currently live in), but we all know I'm just weak. So, so weak. 

I wanted to save this dress for a time when I knew I'd get good use out of it and a time when I'd be able to take outfit pictures. I waited until I went to Venice over the weekend with my friend Caitlin, and did that embarrassing thing most of us bloggers do of asking someone I don't see often to take photos of my outfit. Fortunately, Caitlin was game, and she took some great photos for me. I remembered this sidewalk and green house from back when I took photos with Kelsey, and it proved to be perfect and secluded once again. Venice is just too damn photogenic in general if you ask me, and it's the perfect place to highlight a perfect dress.