Weekend

Oh, summer. What is it about you that makes me just want to throw something light on and be done with it? For non-internship days (especially days after working at the restaurant), a sleeveless top and airy skirt are just about all I've been putting on. I assume we're pretty much all in the same point at this point of summer, so I don't feel so bad.

The past few days have been fairly exciting. One of my best friends, Jeremy, proposed to his girlfriend last night and as "the female groomsmen" as I've dubbed myself without telling him, I've spent some time helping him with the proposal. His family owns a limo (because that's normal, right?) and he had our friend Adam drive his girlfriend and her friends around on a scavanger hunt around Orange County in it. On Thursday, Adam drove all us, plus our friend Jon, out to dinner in it to practice driving, which meant I got to be fancy for the night. Then yesterday, I helped Jeremy set up for the proposal at his girlfriend's house as she was being driven around. For once my inner Pinterest side came through as I helped make paper lanterns to hang from trees in her backyard. I'm not a particularly sappy person, but I have to admit that it was incredibly sweet and the place turned out to look beautiful. 

Even though Jeremy's a couple years older than me, it's still weird to be at that age where my friends are getting engaged. All of this growing up stuff is messing with my head.

Flock Together: Relaxed

If you're looking for me today — and I know you are — you can find me over at Flock Together. I'm wearing Jen's gorgeous vintage skirt and it's so comfortable, I may never take it off. See you there!

Skirt: borrowed from Jen

Top: Urban Outfitters

Sandals: Target children's section

Bracelets: Fifth & Mae

Belt: Thrifted

Forgotten

Dear dress,

I can't apologize enough for how I've neglected you over the past six months. It wasn't you, it was me. You see, somehow I had forgotten about you, tucked away, waiting patiently to be worn in my closet. It's no excuse, really. How could I have ignored how flattering you are? How was I so blind to to what a standout piece you are? I'm obviously not worthy of your beauty, as I've proved with the way I left you untouched for so long. 

That said, I hope you'll accept my apology and that we can turn over a new leaf together. I'm ready to start giving you the use you deserve. I'm looking forward to pairing you with just about everything, and these peach oxfords seem like a good place to start. They too are versatile, yet unique, and I think you're hitting it off splendidly so far. Mark my words, dress, this won't be the last we see of you for quite some time.

White, Coral, and Growing Up

I don't know what it is about summer that makes me crave white dresses, but they're all I want to wear right now. I think summer does that most of us, but it also might have something to do with my strong desire to create a more classic, mature style. I'll never stop loving Peter Pan collars and polka dots, but with a year left of college until I'm out in the real world, I think it's time to start dressing like a grown up occasionally. A white dress, a statement necklace, and nude flats is exactly the type of style I'm going for — classic, but not boring. I love the idea of mixing timeless clothes with fun accessories like this coral collar necklace from Fifth & Mae. I've always loved the coral, but it's never looked right with my hair color and skin tone. Fortunately, I'm finally figuring out that I can actually get away with it as accessories. Thank goodness.

Of course, part of building a more mature wardrobe may have a little bit to do with turning 21 next week (July 17!). It's my last milestone birthday for a while, and one of the last "Oh, crap. I'm an adult now, aren't I?" birthdays. Side note: I'm not really big on the whole drinking thing, so I'm not expecting to get super crazy on my 21st. I'll go out with my friends and let them buy me drinks, but nothing too crazy. I'm less of a "go to parties and get blackout drunk" kind of girl and more of the "let's go to a trendy bar so I can get a drink named after a Pulp Fiction character" kind. Seriously, there's a drink called the Marsellus Wallace at a nearby restaurant that I fully intend on getting, regardless of what's in it. 

Things that caught my eye this week #31

The clothing from Brkich is so sleek and beautiful.

Fountain

Welcome to Friday's outfit, which I wore to visit my aunt and uncle. My brother and I always make a trip to their house whenever he's in town and we stop at this awesome outdoor mall right by their place on the way. Since it's such a cool place, I had Lucas help me take some outfit photos while we were there. It was a bright day and most of the spots didn't work out very well, but I loved this fountain. I'm finally starting to become more comfortable taking pictures in public places, which I'm pretty proud of. 

This cropped crochet top from Threadsence is fairly new and it's perfect for throwing on over dresses for summer. I bought on clearance and they were out of my size, so I had to size up and it's definitely bigger than I would like. It's still a fun piece though and one that I'm sure will get plenty of wear over the next few months. If it seems like you've never actually seen this floral dress on its own, it's because I always insist on layering it. You see, this dress has become my go-to, comfortable piece for flights and lazy days. It's difficult not to have that feeling of being gross or on a plane when I wear it now, so I turn to layers to make it wearable for days when I actually feel like trying. This was one of those days.

Arboretum

This post is very photo heavy so I'll try to keep this relatively short. I spent Thursday afternoon with Nataly and had a wonderful time — well, minus a minor car accident with a pole, which I'll explain next time. We had lunch (or rather, breakfast at lunch time) at a cute little place in downtown Fullerton and then headed to the Fullerton Arboretum for plenty of nature and photo taking. It was an awesome day, as expected.

My brother, Lucas, came into town last week for a short visit and he and I spent the day together last Wednesday. After getting breakfast at our dad's restaurant, we went to an outdoor mall close-by and ended up in Urban since it was one of the only stores that carried both men's and women's clothes. I found myself coming back to a pair of coral oxfords and this top in the sale section, but kept talking myself out of getting them to save money. I'm not sure if he was just tired of hearing me go back and forth about buying them or if he really is just that nice (he really is just that nice), but Lucas insisted on buying them for me. Apparently he forgot to get me a birthday present last year, and with my birthday only a couple weeks away, he wouldn't take no for an answer. If any of you thought your brothers were cool, think again.