Weekend Wears #2

Considering I take photos of my outfits every weekend, but can barely muster up the motivation to blog them regularly, I figured that sticking to a consolidated format would work great. Going forward, I'm going to be sharing a few outfits at a time, with some exceptions. I have a few of really exciting collaborations coming up, and I'm starting to feel optimistic about keeping this up again!

As for this past weekend, it was the first one in weeks where I had virtually no plans. The last few weeks consisted of my sister-in-law's bachelorette party, my brother's wedding, and Dapper Day, so needless to say it's been a little exhausting (in the best possible way). I wanted to take it easy this week so I slept in, did some cleaning, and caught up on a lot of TV - both myself and with Jon. We watched all of Barry, and I'm so into it. I can't wait to watch more. 

On Sunday, we did some grocery shopping and photo shoots before going to a friend's place for Thai food and even more TV. This first outfit is what I wore on Sunday, and I'm obsessed with this dress. It's a bit different from what I normally wear so I had a little bit of struggle with styling it. I actually wore it out to dinner on its own during the bachelorette weekend in Palm Springs, but I felt much more comfortable wearing it with a cardigan over it. I wouldn't call myself a "modest fashion blogger," because I'm all for others sharing their skin and showing off what they've got, but I always feel a little naked without a sweater. I swear I have some skin under there though!

Olive

It's kind of funny; I spent so long wearing darker and neutral colors, but now that I've been wearing so many brighter tones, I've actually been struggling with how to wear the less colorful items in my closet. Case in point: this olive Apricity dress. It's one of my absolute favorite pieces, but I hadn't been wearing it lately at all. I adore this olive green color, but for some reason, I had really been struggling with styling it. Suddenly, none of my cardigans or shoes seemed to go with it, and I was letting it collect dust. Despite the fact that's been 80-90 degrees every day, I decided that now that's it's "fall," it was the perfect excuse to put this dress to good use again. Turns out, this cardigan was made for it all along. Of course, it doesn't hurt to see it against one of my favorite colorful walls...

I wore this to go to my parents' house with Jon and my siblings last night, and it was great to be able to be there after the fires that happened last week. My parents live extremely close to wear the Orange County one was happening (where I grew up in Anaheim Hills), and they got evacuated for a day. They were fortunate enough to be safe and have no damage to their house, but many near them and far too many people in Northern California were not quite as lucky. While I'm extremely grateful that no one I know was hurt or lost their house, it definitely puts things into perspective.

Other than seeing my family, it was a pretty laid back weekend. Our friend, Greg, was in town from Washington for a wedding, and he stayed with us for a few days. I got to see some old friends when he had a little get together at a local bar, and it was nice spending some quality time with him before I dropped him off at the airport. He's technically Jon's best friend, but he and I have been close since high school as well, so I'm so happy that Jon and I share a place now that we can offer to our friends when they need somewhere to crash. I often hate that we still live in Orange County, but I have to admit, it works out pretty nicely that all of our friends who have moved away will always end up coming back to visit.

Meadow

Oops, I certainly didn't mean to take a week off of blogging. I've still been taking outfit pictures and posting on Instagram, but work has been so busy that I've been crashing early every night. I couldn't keep up that, though, because this Apricity dress deserves a full post. As you know, I've been a huge fan of Apricity since its inception, and I've been fortunate enough to be in touch with Eileen, the brand's designer and founder. When I last talked to her a couple of months ago, she mentioned some new designs, so I've been eager to see what she was talking about. She sent me photos of her new design, the Meadow, early last week, and I couldn't believe how perfect it was. 

I'm such a sucker for a dress with a cute back, but being on the bustier side, I can't pull off backless pieces that require going bra-less. This dress is the answer to all of my struggles with its sweet back panel. I have a few other Apricity dresses, all of which I'm in love with, but this one is quite possibly my favorite. It's so lightweight and feminine, and I love how versatile it is. I'm already thinking of a million ways to style it. 

Giveaway: Enter to Win A Dress from Apricity and $20 to Femme De Bloom

Can you believe that this month is my five year anniversary of blogging. How did that happen?? I'll have a little introspective post up soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to share a little giveaway to thank all of you for following along these past five years. This started as a fun little side project, and it has turned into a full-blown hobby, complete with an amazing community. I can't thank you all enough.

To celebrate, I've teamed up with two small businesses - one of my favorite clothing brands and one of my favorite accessories brands - Apricity and Femme De Bloom. Both have created some of the best pieces that I own, and Eileen and Melanie are two of the most inspiring business women I know.

The winner will win the Apricity dress of her choice and $20 to Apricity. I'm jealous that I can't enter myself! All you have to do is enter through the Rafflecopter widget below. You have until midnight on 5/9. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Apricity Eve Dress + Brown Wedges

What's this? An actual outfit post with photos taken outdoors? What are the chances? I hung out with Erica on Saturday, and it was the perfect opportunity to actually take a cute dress out of my apartment for the first time in a while. We met up in Burbank for brunch and thrifting, and it was as wonderful as it always it when I see her. We both found some cheap thrifted finds, and I got my first lipstick from the Besame store. We also visited Ashley at the Pinup Girl boutique for her last day of work. I hadn't seen Ashley in over a year, but it felt like no time had passed. Erica and I had never been in the PUG boutique, so we had a ton of fun getting to see all of the gorgeous items in person finally. Even if I'm too cheap to actually buy anything from there. I'll just settle for swooning over Ashley's wardrobe for now.

I got this Apricity dress recently after staring at it for months, but I had been waiting until it was warm enough to wear without tights. I sized up, as I usually do with button down items, and while it's a little big in the shoulders, it was a good call. I have such a weakness for Apricity items, and this one is no exception. I think everyone has their brands that they remain loyal to, and Apricity is definitely mine. I can't get enough of it.

Apricity Dress + Modcloth Heels

Though things will undoubtedly take a while to feel "normal" again (and I don't think they necessarily should), it's certainly back to the grind. Work has been busy, and everything else has been great. My parents are moving back to Orange County, which means that they've been in town more often while they gear up to move. My family got together on Saturday for an afternoon of playing with my niece and nephew and eating In N' Out. I also got to see my "other" family that night, as a few of my friends got together for drinks and games. We crashed at our friends' apartment and woke up to have waffles, coffee, and a lazy Sunday. I'm a little bit in denial that the weekend is ending, but what else is new?

In terms of the outfit, this is definitely a new favorite. I wish I could live in this dress, but since I can't, I'm constantly trying to find different ways to wear it. I always kind of forget about this white tee, but I'm really happy about how it worked under the dress. I'm also a fan of this pin and these shoes,, but that's besides the point. 

In all honesty, I started watching Jane the Virgin, and I'm very distracted watching it while I'm typing this. So if what I write doesn't make sense or feels like I'm not paying attention, it's because I'm not. But I feel like TV is a valid excuse.

Head to Toe Remix: Shoes

Welcome to another week of Head to Toe Remix, my weekly remix post where Priya of Perfectly Priya and I style items from our closet that need some extra love. After tackling accessories, outerwear, tops, and bottoms, we've reached the bottom: shoes. We still have one more category to go next week, but I have to say, this one ended up being much more difficult than I had expected. Accessories and shoes should be the easiest, right? Wrong. 

I decided to take another stab at these Hello Holiday shoes. Oh, these beautiful, glorious shoes that I never know what to do with. They're one of my favorite pairs that I own, but they're completely different than most of my wardrobe. That's usually a good thing, but it also means that I have a difficult time matching them with anything. I've considered giving them up because they seem so out of place in my closet, but they're too awesome to let go. So, challenge accepted. 

I decided to fully step outside of my comfort zone in the spirit, and I paired this shirt under a dress to create a combination that I'm still not fully sure if I love or hate. I'm leaning more toward love, though. These shoes still are a little out of place with everything else that I own, but it's nice to have an edgier option once in a while. They're definitely staying for now.

Gingham Headband + Apricity January Dress

There's one problem with perfect weekends: they end. This past weekend was one much-needed, relaxing, and, you guessed it, perfect. Jon and I spent the weekend in San Diego, where we stayed at his aunt and uncle's condo near Little Italy. They live in the Midwest and only spend a few months of the year there, so they were kind enough to let us use it free of charge. Jon and I both have been stressed out with various "adulthood" problems, and our schedules are a little conflicting, so we don't get to spend much time together during the week. We had been trying to plan a little getaway for months, and it turned out to be exactly as wonderful as we were hoping. We went to a farmer's market, got sun burnt walking to the harbor, ate as much brunch as we could, and lounged for hours. And by lounged, I mean we accidentally got more hooked on a teen Chopped marathon than any person should, but still. Worth it.

While we were at the farmer's market, Jon indulged me by getting some $2 flowers to make my pictures cuter. I finally got to break out this Apricity dress, which so unbelievably comfortable. I've also been using every chance possible to wear this coffee pin from Hello Holiday. The woman working at the gelato shop could not get over how much she loved it, which I think means it's a winner. Plus, I've discovered that I like headbands. I borrowed one from my best friend last week just to see how it looked, and it turns out, I think I can pull them off. This is at least what I'm telling myself, but let me have this. I immediately ran to Target to get one for myself, and it was love at first sight when I spotted this gingham one. I guess I'm a headband person now. I barely recognize myself.

Apricity Sunday Dress + Red Cardigan

Will I ever get over this Apricity dress? No. No, I won't. It's one of the most perfect things I own, and I just may have bought another Apricity dress. I may have also sworn that I wasn't going to buy anymore clothes in an effort to save to save up for a new apartment. But hey, when one of your favorite brands offers a 50% off flash sale for one day, you don't pass that up. I would be doing a disservice to dress-loving girls everywhere if I passed up that deal. I don't want that responsibility, no sir. So I did it. And I stand by decision.

Of course, I wish I were happily wearing this dress and hanging out in my brother's neighbor's rose bushes while they're not looking, but I have to face the real world instead. I recently started applying for new jobs, and it's a hell hole out there. I've made my current job aware that I'm looking, which I was able to do so because my bosses are wonderful and understanding about me wanting to get out of customer service and into a more creative position. I only wish I could bring them with me to a different industry. The job market, as I'm sure you all well know, is the worst. I'm struggling to find something in my experience-level that pays more than $0, and even more so, I'm struggling to get anyone to respond to emails. So if any of you would like to hire me to write bad jokes and talk about pretty dresses, please get in touch with me. I will also accept payment in sandwiches and iced coffee.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win a feminism-inspired pin or piece of jewelry from Ectogasm. You have until 04/11!