Downtown Iowa City

Is there anything worse than vacation being over? I highly doubt it. I got back on Tuesday night, and I still feel exhausted, but it was worth it. As I mentioned, I spent the first half of last week in Illinois, where I stayed with my brother's family. I only get to see them once a year, so I tried to pack as much time with my nieces and nephews into the week. We had a blast going in the pool, watching Disney movies, and playing a ton of Barbies, Battleship, and Hi-Ho Cherry-o. Because I also went to college in the town where my brother lives, I took advantage of the time and forced all of my friends who live in the area to come visit. I say "forced," but I truly am floored with how far some of my friends drove to see me. I got to see one of my closest friends from my major and our old professor, and a big group of friends from the newspaper came in for a little reunion. I've been pretty sad about how difficult it is to make friends after college, so it was amazing getting to be back with a big group of friends again, especially at our old bar. I hadn't seen most of them in three years, but it felt like almost no time had passed.

On Sunday, I left with my best friend out there, Jenn, to stay with her near Iowa City for a few days. Jenn and I talk almost every day and Skype once a week, so it almost doesn't feel possible that I hadn't actually seen her in years. She just got engaged to one of my other close friends, and I am so excited that she asked me to be a bridesmaid when she took me to see the venue. We did a lot of wedding talk, browsed some bridesmaid dresses, and ate a LOT. She knows me well, so I fell in love with every place she took me. On Monday, we met up with Ali, who I've been talking with online for years and who is going to grad school in Iowa City. As you can imagine, Ali was everything I'd hoped she'd be in person, and we ended up spending a bulk of the afternoon with her shopping downtown. They definitely peer pressured me into getting a new vintage dress, but we all know I wasn't that hard of a sell. 

OTS Again

Happy belated Father's Day to all of you dads! Just kidding. I am positive that there are no dads reading this. On that note, though, my family did have a lovely holiday yesterday. I made guacamole, my brother brought beer, and we all made s'mores. My dad seemed super happy, which is really all that matters. I'm very close with my dad, so it's always nice to see him in such a good mood.

As for this outfit, I really don't have much to say about it, but I do love it. I kind of threw it together on a whim, and it turned out better than expecting. I'm still absolutely loving off the shoulder tops, so I'm wearing them as much possible. I can't get enough of the neck scarf trend, and now I just want to wear them with every outfit. Would that be weird? Let's hope not because it's happening.

I'm going to Disneyland again tomorrow night, and I'm crazy excited about going all the time now. It was so much fun being back in the parks last week, and I love that having a pass means that I don't have to try to cram everything in each time. Last week we didn't go on many rides at all and instead just walked around and ate, which was perfect. Because I grew up so close, there's something about Disney that just always like home. 

Ethical Plaid

I'm pretty sure if you could look up "perfect summer dress" in the dictionary, there would be a picture of this dress. It's essentially everything I've ever wanted, and it doesn't hurt that it's from one of my favorite brands, Mata Traders. In addition to creating some of the cutest and most flattering dresses around, Mata Traders also practices fair trade. So as if this dress being absolutely perfect wasn't enough, I can also wear it knowing that it's ethically made. Win-win.

I wanted the dress to stand out on its own, but I paired with some neutral accessories and a red thrifted bag. I'm getting really into wearing ascots and neck scarves lately, and I picked up this darling one at the Dapper Day Expo last weekend. I also scored these Lotta From Stockholm clogs that I've been wanting forever on eBay recently. I may have to buy them in every color because I never want to take them off. 

This weekend was relaxing and filled with good friends. Jon and I went to the beach yesterday morning, but it was a huge mistake. I really wanted to go because my nephew had sent me a Flat Stanley in Illinois that I needed to take a picture of, and I thought it would be cute to take one at the beach. Of course it was ridiculously hot, and Jon was miserable, so we didn't stay for too long. If anyone has any suggestions of where to buy a cheap beach umbrella, let me know, because that's probably the only way we're going back anytime soon.

Vote Local

If you've been following along with me during my journey to becoming more politically active, you know that I was very apathetic about voting until last year. I used the flawed electoral college as my excuse, and I will forever be ashamed of it. Fortunately, I've since learned what a mistake it was to feel that way, and I'm proud to now be an advocate for social change. I've been using the past few months to finally become more politically aware and stay involved in the national conversation (though, let's be honest, I had to take another break from Twitter), but my priority now is to start to think and get involved on a local level.

This shirt from Culture Flock could not have come at a better time. I have been loving using blogging as a platform to connect with small businesses, women entrepreneurs, and makers using their talents to make a difference. Culture Flock is an independently owned female-run business out of Springfield, MO and the women behind the brand create the best selection of tees, tanks, sweatshirts, stickers, and more. In addition to being cute, they also donate proceed from a few of their items to organizations like the ACLU and The Conservation Fund. You can also find Culture Flock in my Guide to Makers Who Donate Money. I'm particularly partial to the I Believe in Science Shirt, the Gentle & Kind Shirt, and the Introvert Pin. I also have one more piece from them that I can't wait to show you.

The Culture Flock team is using this shirt to encourage using websites like Vote 411 to find out when the next election in your area is. There unfortunately is no information about my district at this time as there aren't any upcoming elections, however, if you find the same, you can also use the following resources:

US Vote Foundation

Upcoming elections in California

My Time to Vote 

White Dress, Green Vest

I'm hoping that by the time you're reading this, I've gotten a full night's sleep. Or better, maybe I'm still in bed with a full cup of coffee waiting for me for whenever I decide to get up. Last week was so busy (and wonderful), but the only thing missing from it was just a little bit of time to do nothing and sleep. This week is slowly filling up, especially with Thanksgiving/friends and family in town visiting, but I should be able to find a chance to catch up on rest. While nothing could really top seeing Jenny Lewis or Nick Offerman, I still had a great last few days with really good friends. I got to see my friend Greg, who was visiting from Utah, on Thursday, my old Chem class lab group (who still gets together often after becoming good friends) got together for food and drinks on Friday, and I hung out with a few of my best friends for more food and drinks on Saturday. I feel like I've spent a lot of time lately really appreciating what great friends I have, especially after talking with a couple of girls at work who have had harder times finding friends who stick around. I don't know, maybe it's the fact that Thanksgiving in a few days, but I can't help but feel truly lucky to have so many people in my life who would do anything for me, and whom I would do anything for. This is too sappy already, so I'll just quit before it gets too embarrassing and my friends start making fun of me for it, which, let's be honest, is what all true friends would do.

I wore this outfit to have dinner with my family yesterday, and I really liked the contrast of this vest with the pretty white dress. This dress is still one of my favorite pieces that I own, and this time, I decided to grab a scarf quickly on my way out the door. It ended up being the perfect way to accessorize, don't you think?

Quiet

Things have been pretty quiet around here lately, but that's just because finals are upon us. I survived dead week (barely), and I now I just have to make through a couple of tests, a paper, and a presentation. Easy, right? I'm really not too worried about it since the work that was stressing me out was done last week. Even so, posts might still be a little scarce this week. On top of the work, it's my last week here before going back to California for a month, which means spending time with friends before some graduate and everyone else parts ways for four weeks. 

As for outfits, you really haven't been missing much. It's mostly just been throwing on scarves, dresses, and boots and staying warm. This chunky scarf is a new favorite of mine, and while I was worried about it overwhelming on my frame at first, I can't resist that color. More mauve, please. 

Can You Say Fall?

I probably say this about once a month, but this is my new favorite post. It just captures the essence of fall so perfectly — something that I owe to both Mary and my school. Last week, on the way back from taking a different set of pictures and grabbing dinner, we passed by this spot and immediately both said we had to take photos there next. Fortunately, Sunday happened to have the perfect fall weather, while I happened to wear red and mustard by complete chance. Sometimes I forget how pretty my campus actually is, but one look at this lawn reminded me. I mean, seriously. How is it possible for fall to be this gorgeous? I feel like all of the leaves are going to turn brown and fall off when I wake up tomorrow as if this was all one big cruel joke.

Now that I've gotten my millionth love letter to fall out of my system, I can talk about this outfit. I've mentioned before that I'm a member of a couple of swap groups on Facebook where we people swap clothes they're trying to get rid of for permanent keeps. It's usually hit or miss, and I often find myself having to reswap items because they fit weird or don't look right. Somehow, though, after a string of multiple unsuccessful swaps over the summer, I got my hands on this Modcloth dress. I honestly didn't think the owner would be interested in swapping me for this, but somehow she was just as interested in one of my dresses as I was in this one. You guys. It has polka dots and a couple holding a red umbrella printed all over it. Talk about a gem of a dress.

Cozy

It's getting to that point where it's almost too cold to wear tights and I'm not okay with that. I have a couple pairs of pants I don't mind wearing, but I am in no way prepared to give up my dresses every day. I'm glad to be back at school at keeping busy, but it didn't take long for me to miss California weather. It was definitely a nice trip home (and a good break from everything) and I'm glad I'll get to go back again soon for winter break. Leaving home from Thanksgiving break is always the easiest trip to leave as it's only three weeks until I'm home once again for a full month.

Little black dresses

My Good Friend

T.J. Maxx and I are good friends. As much I love the hunt and the prices of thrift stores, the hunt and prices at T.J. Maxx always end up being almost as good for me. I've already spent a ridiculous amount of time there this summer and I regret nothing. My usual T.J. Maxx trips usually go something like this: one of my friends and I decide to stop in when we're bored. I say multiple times, "Don't let me buy anything." I get convinced to try on something because "it doesn't hurt, right?" After it fits perfectly, I justify my need for the item by saying it's a really great deal and that I'll regret it if I leave it behind.

That's how I ended up with this dress. Again, I regret nothing.

All photos, Elyse Katz

I hardly ever trust my family to buy me clothes or accessories, but when my parents returned from Europe with this scarf for me from Venice, I was thoroughly impressed. Not only is lightweight enough to wear during summer, but it's pastel which made me instantly enamored. Speaking of accessories, this belt, a 1970's piece I picked up at my favorite vintage store at least three years ago, might be my favorite thing I own. 

I'm late putting these up, but this is what I wore last month on Memorial Day to a potluck with friends. I'm hoping to do something like that again on the Fourth seeing as I need another excuse to get a big group of people together. Luckily, I'll soon be able to escape boredom with plenty of excitement in the next couple of weeks.

My friend from high school is getting married next week and I'm a bridesmaid, which means double the events to attend. To celebrate the occasion, not only is one of my best friends coming home from the Air Force on Sunday, but my brother and his girlfriend (the maid of honor and also one of my closest friends) will be here next week. And then, of course, I have a visit from my boyfriend (who's name, coincidentally, is T.J.) to look forward to the week after. He's pretty great, especially in the sense that appreciates my style and reads my blog consistently. In fact, he gets mad at me for not posting. Like I said, he's pretty great. I'm hoping if I spread too many nice things about him all over the internet, he'll get embarrassed and stop making me nervous by reading every post.

Dress: T.J. Maxx

Scarf: Souvenir from Venice

Shoes: Threadsence

Bag: Thrifted

Bracelet: Asos

Ring: Jewelmint

Belt: Vintage