Puppy Dress Addict

What's up, first post of 2018? I'm running on a new year high of new motivation and new clothes. I hadn't purchased anything new in a couple of months to prepare for Christmas...and then I immediately bought a ton of items during sales the day after Christmas. I have no self control, but I'm stoked about the new items I got so I'm not even that mad at myself. My favorite item by far is this puppy dress for obvious dress. You may remember that I have another puppy dress so it should come as no surprise that this one is also from Dangerfield Clothing. Have you ever seen a dress more perfect? I'm so happy with how this one fits, although if you're considering buying it, I'd add that it's runs a little large, particularly in the chest. I highly recommend it.

Of course, if you follow me on social or caught the end of my last post then you already know my biggest news of the year so far. I launched a pin shop! It's called We Said Shop, and I'm running it with my brother, Lucas. After being so into pins, I had the idea to create my own sometime last year. I wanted to make ones that I'd like wearing - pins with quotes from my favorite TV shows - but work got hectic, and I never made it happen. Fast forward to a few months ago, Lucas had started getting into pins as well, and he asked if I still wanted to start a shop. We decided to do it together, and it's been such a blast coming up with designs and working on all of the business aspects. We just launched last week with three designs based on our favorite shows: The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Arrested Development. I'm so excited to see our store grow! If you haven't already, please check out the shop and follow us on social!  

Museum of Ice Cream

What does one wear to the Museum of Ice Cream? It feels like a lot more pressure than it should be. I spent more time than I care to admit trying to put together the perfect outfit, and after all of that work, I like to think that I succeeded. 

I went to the Museum of Ice Cream on Saturday with Erica, and it was a TON of fun. We got our tickets back in May or June, and it was worth the wait. We started off the night getting delicious pizza down the street, and then immediately were handed chocolate when we walked into the museum. It was everything I was expecting, but also quite fascinating to see in person. While the desserts and artwork were amazing, it really was just a long line of people taking photos for Instagram. Not that I'm complaining; that's obviously why I was there too. That said, it was hard not to chuckle once I realized that every room would be a moment of looking at what was in it until everyone would disperse to find the perfect spot to pose and take pictures. Considering how social media obsessed people are, it's a pretty genius concept for a museum. Even after being hyper-aware of the true reason of its existence, I couldn't resist it. I like to think that I don't fall into many of the negative traits of millennials, but when it comes down to it, I'm a millennial through and through. How could I not take photos with the pink phones, the hanging bananas, or the rainbow gummy bears? What am I, some kind of monster who can get on a swing and not take a Boomerang? Nah. I'm still about that life, and I'm so happy I had Erica with me to do cheesy poses and know when to take a camera shot vs. an iPhone shot. That's what true friends are for.

And as for the perfect outfit? I got a Modcloth gift card recently, and I couldn't help but get this skirt with ice cream and pie on it. It seemed like a match made in heaven with my pink leather jacket (which, yes, was the exact same shade of millennial pink as the sprinkle pool) and my rainbow wedges. I want to live in this cheerful outfit every day, but I also want to live in this museum. That pink soft serve at the end was messy as hell, but I still can't stop thinking about it.

Feel Good, Dress Better

If you're anything like me, you have a long list of bloggers/Instagrammers who you love, and then a handful who you essentially stalk and spend a borderline creepy amount of time looking at. Nicole from Writes Likes a Girl falls into the latter for me. While I'm guilty of not reading nearly as many blogs as I used, Writes Like a Girl is one of the few of which I still read every post. Nicole is such a captivating writer, funny, relatable, and has essentially my ideal closet, and I feel so lucky that I've been able to connect with her through the Internet. I've been on the edge of my seat waiting for her style workbook to come out, and I somehow managed to snag an advanced copy. I'm so excited to share with you a few of my takeaways from it! 

If you somehow don't obsess over Nicole's updates like I do and are unfamiliar with her workbook, Feel Good, Dress Better is a comprehensive guide to transforming your closet to better reflect your personal style. Filled with tips and worksheets, the guide is a helpful way to start looking at your closet as an extension of how you feel. I always stay away from style guide books because most present a set of rules that are impractical and don't take personal style and preferences into account. Feel Good, Dress Better is more about using your clothing for self-expression, body positivity, and confidence. This honestly could not have come at a better time for me, as I've mentioned that I've been doing a lot of thinking about this. I've been struggling with defining my style, gaining weight, and spending an obscene amount of time on Instagram comparing myself to others. Some days I feel like I'm letting people down if I'm not "on-brand" and wearing all thrifted clothes. Other times I think that I look like I'm trying too hard by dressing in a vintage style. I also find myself wanting to define my style by who I follow and building my closet around what will get me close enough to looking like them. But what I've finally decided doing lately is just saying: fuck it. I'm going to wear what makes me happy. Feel Good, Dress Better's closet cleanout section proved to be a huge help in this. I started getting rid of clothes that I don't feel good in or don't fit (which meant being more honest with myself about my weight gain). I stopped saying that certain trends weren't for me or being worried that people were judging me for anything, and I've started buying things that make me happy. 

In this process, I've been wondering how I define my style. It hasn't exactly strayed far from what I've always worn, but I've felt so much more confident in what I've been putting on lately. Feel Good, Dress Better has a great section on creating your personal style ID that proved helpful. I took a list at Nicole's word bank and chose a few that I felt like I identified with: colorful, consistent, feminine, modern, and vintage. To sum it up: colorfully feminine with a vintage-inspired twist. In all honesty, choosing a style ID felt so silly at first (why do I even need to define it?), but actually has really helped me think about it while I'm shopping. Does this fit with my style ID? also translates to will I actually wear this? or will I feel like myself and/or confident in this? 

More thoughts below the jump!

Dogs and Cats

Phew, what a weekend! It feels like it was a crazy busy one, but in reality, most of it was spent relaxing and doing nothing. I did go to a wedding on a Saturday night, which was the same night that two of my very best friends got engaged, so one could see why it felt like a whirlwind. My parents' friend, who also happens to be my old neighbor and my friend's mom, got married, and it was lovely. I grew up a few doors down from my friend Kylie (we figured out that we've been friends for 18 years) so I always felt like part of her family and she was part of mine. Her mom's wedding was at a winery in Temecula, so obviously it was gorgeous. Happy people, free wine, and my oldest friend - what more could you ask for? 

...well, finding out about two other friends getting engaged could do the trick. They haven't officially announced it yet so I should probably be considerate and not go into detail (even though I'm positive the only person reading this who knows them is, well, one of them. Hi, Copy Chief). Basically, all that you need to know is that my heart is so full of joy and I can't contain my happiness at knowing that two of the best people I've ever known are getting married to each other. I'm worried that I'm already being overbearing and annoying, but when your best friend gets engaged, what else are you supposed to do? Probably give them some space, but whatever. That's just not my style.

On to more important things: this dress. This dress, you guys. I'm not convinced that it's legal for something this adorable to exist. The silhouette itself would be perfect enough, but puppies in baskets? I can't handle it. I got it while it was on flash sale from Dangerfield, and I still can't believe at how cheap I scored it for. I don't have any dog pins yet, but I thought it still felt appropriate to wear my cat pin with it. I wore this to celebrate my brother's birthday yesterday, and while my niece did point out that I had puppies on my dress, she wasn't nearly as excited as I was hoping she'd be. Psh, kids these days.