End of Summer Floral with eShakti

If you've followed me for a while, you'll know that my love for eShakti is nothing new. I did my first ever collab with them, and since then, I've had the pleasure of working with them multiple times and have gotten some of my absolute favorite dresses from their site. 

If you're just reading for the first time, or maybe you've somehow never been introduced to eShakti, you're in for quite a treat. eShakti makes gorgeous clothing that is all customizable, meaning that you make sure that whatever you order, it looks and fits exactly as you'd like. 

As usual, I had a tough time deciding between all of the adorable dresses that they offer, but when I saw this one, I knew it was it. It combines all of my favorite things: a collar (of course), my favorite color yellow, purple flowers, and a shirt dress. I customized the sleeves to make them cap sleeves because not only do I like the style better on myself, but I've also found that they are easier for layering under cardigans. The dress was everything I ever wanted. It even came with a slip, which is SO rare with dresses that tend to be a little sheer. Living in SoCal, I always look for thin dresses so that I can wear them in the heat and also layer them easily. The downside is that they tend to usually be a bit sheer, this getting a slip with this one was such a nice surprise.

I've already worn this dress twice, but I first wore it on Saturday to get coffee with my friend Whiteny at Morning Lavender. I'd been wanting to try this coffee shop for a while since I've been seeing people sharing photos of it, and it was even cuter in person. I did feel a *little* judged when I made a big mess with my croissant, but whatever. I can't be classy ALL the time, right?

Colorful Summer with Dolly and Dotty

It's hard to believe that it's not actually summer. It's hot as hell most days, and it just feels like summer is in the air. Naturally, I'm already dressing like it is too. The folks at Dolly and Dotty were kind enough to send me this dress and one other recently, and I can honestly say that this dress is spectacular. It's one of those pieces that took me forever to figure out how to style just because there were so many ways I could have done so. It's so versatile and fits perfectly that I can already see myself wearing it to death all year. Not only is it very well made, but it also has pockets - obviously that in itself is reason enough to love a dress. It feels perfect for days at the park (like this one) or days walking around downtown. 

Speaking of perfect, yesterday included both of those things and more for me. Jon and I spent the first half of the day taking pictures (yes, he's an experienced Instagram boyfriend) and walking around both the park by our apartment and the downtown area across the street where a little farmer's market happens every Sunday. In the afternoon, we headed over to my parents' house to celebrate Mother's Day. My brothers, sister-in-law, and nieces and nephew were there, but Jon's parents also joined. We're incredibly lucky that not is Jon's immediate family small, but our parents get along really well so we've be able to do some holidays together in the past year or so. It's really the best to have both sets of parents in one place and see our families like each other so much.

Don't forget to enter my 6 year anniversary giveaway!

Flat Tires and Thrifted Gems

Not only am I finally back with another post, I'm also finally back with an entirely thrifted look. It had been a little bit since I had been thrifting, so I decided to go on Saturday and it turned into quite the trip. On my way there, a car pull up next to me at a red light and honked their horn to get my attention. I thought I hadn't left them enough room to turn right so I started moving, and they motioned for me to roll down my window. It was a middle aged couple, and they let me know that they noticed that one of my tires was flat. I hadn't noticed anything, so how lucky was that they took the time to let me know? Luckily, I was about a block away from the store I was going to, and yes, I still went inside and shopped. No regrets. 

I apparently don't know how to take care of myself (or at least I'm clueless with cars) so I called my dad, who was with my brother. My brother came to my rescue with my dad's AAA card, and even though there was a nail in the tire, the tire shop we took it to was super nice and patched up for free. Phew. I've had the worst luck with my car - in the past year my battery died, someone backed into me, my brakes wore out, and someone hit it in a parking lot. I'm thankful that I'm at least safe AND still got to go thrifting. On the bright side, I had one of the best thrift trips I've had in ages. This top is actually a dress that I hated the skirt on, but I seriously adore the top of it, which means that I obviously had to get it just to wear as a top. The best find though? These red heels in perfect condition that I scored for $7. Hell. Yes. 

Collar Game Changer

Hello, and welcome to my regularly scheduled "once every couple of weeks" post! Now that it finally is starting to feel like fall some days, I'm in full cardigan mode. Most importantly, though, I added a couple of collars from Magnus Clothing Co. to my collar collection, and I feel like they've really helped step up my wardrobe. I've been following Magnus on Instagram for a while, and I was so excited to see her launch the line recently. As a self-proclaimed collar obsessive, a line of detachable collars is a dream come true for me. I'm constantly putting my collared tops under my dresses, but having detachable collars is a total game changers. I have quite a few pieces that are too thin to wear shirts under, so it's seriously helpful to be able to just add a collar easily. This post is in no way sponsored, I just really love these collars. I got two, but I definitely plan on getting more. 

I wore this to go see my brother's new place on Saturday and work on a project with him that I'm super excited about. I can't wait to share more soon hopefully. The rest of my weekend was relaxed and filled with watching Bob's Burgers and going antiquing with Jon, which is pretty much my ideal weekend. Everything else is business as usual: working a ton, rewatching Futurama, and still thinking about Stranger Things. Things are boring around here, but in a good way. As usual.

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.

Colorful Life

I owe this entire post (and probably the next few to come) to Jessica from Midwest Muse. She's in town visiting, and not only has she been my excellent photographer this weekend, but she's been the best sounding board for outfit advice. Jessica and I met through blogging four or five years ago (we started Flock Together with each other!), and she's been the person I've gotten to know the best through the Internet. We've been emailing back and forth for years, but we've never gotten the chance to meet in person, despite always talking about it. Finally, Jessica was able to score cheap tickets out here, and like a totally normal person, I invited her to stay with me and picked up a complete stranger from the airport on Friday. 

As expected, it hasn't felt like a weird thing at all. Jessica is exactly like how I expected her to be, which is what you always hope for Internet friends. It feels like we've known each other forever, and it was evident from the moment we met in person that if we lived closer, we'd hang out all of the time. We've spent the past couple of days doing everything I love - walking around Balboa Island, eating a lot of breakfast, trying a ton of coffee shops, and taking cute pictures. We also met up with Erica and Ashley in Burbank for breakfast and vintage shopping, which of course, was the best time. Those girls are seriously so wonderful and fun to hang out with.

I wasn't sure if I'd like these pieces together, but Jessica confirmed my belief that these colors would make for a killer outfit. It was the best opportunity to bust out this incredible colorful clutch from Teluna. I was so excited to find this brand because not only are all of the pieces seriously adorable, but Teluna donates proceeds from every piece to worthy organizations. This Colorful Life clutch is SO fun and supports Reef Check, which focuses on preserving oceans and reefs. I am a huge fan of cute items that also do some good, and this one is no exception. I may need to get all of the Teluna clutches soon.

Courage and Succulents

I've had this dress sitting in my closet for three weeks before I finally worked up the confidence to wear it this past weekend. It seems a little silly considering it's really not that different than the dresses I usually wear, but in a weird way, it represented an insecurity of mine. The dress is by Voodoo Vixen, one of the brands that pinup bloggers wear that I usually can't afford. It was a fraction of the usual price on Zulily last month, and I decided to try it out. Other than too long straps (a common short girl issue of mine that I usually fix with some janky safety pin work), it fits great and is absolutely beautiful. So why was I afraid to wear it?

As I follow more and more pinup and vintage bloggers, it's only natural that my style would start to shift that way. Until now, though, I've stayed away from brands like Pinup Girl and Bernie Dexter, and I've only recently started finding out that I could afford things from brands like Lindy Bop and Collectif. I've been incorporating some of the styles I always see into my wardrobe, but I've yet to go full pinup. I'm not necessarily sure if I want to, but I've been nervous that once I start shopping with more these brands and going full out with the styles, I would lose my identity in a way. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the girls on Instagram who I see wearing these items. There's a reason why I follow so many. That said, I've been worried that if I did too, I would come across as trying too hard to be like them and I'd just end up looking like everyone else. That's not even to mention that I've always felt that pinup style came with an amount of confidence that I just have never felt like I possess. The hair, the poses, the way they look like they can command a room...that's just not me.

I don't think there's a way for those insecurities to ever fully go away, at least not overnight, but I'm proud to say that even though I still worry about what people think (it's almost impossible not to in this Instagram age), I still bought and wore the dress. And you know what? I felt damn good in it. Sure, it's not the most pinup item I could try and it's really not too different from my other dresses, but it's a step in that direction. Maybe I'll invest in a petticoat and a sweetheart top, maybe I won't. Either way, I'm still taking baby steps to figure out what I really like vs. what is trendy, and wearing what I want regardless of my insecurities. I know I've mentioned this thought process of mine before, and if you read regularly, it's possible that this is a little redundant. I suppose this is more of a "style journey update" of sorts. 

There's probably a lot more to be said regarding what Instagram does to our self esteem, but that's a longer post for another day. For now, I'm excited to see how my style evolves. 

Twenty Five

Why, yes, I did drive to an elementary school on a Sunday with a party hat in hand just to take birthday pictures in front of some colorful walls. That's what you do when you're 25, right? Adult things? Yep, I am indeed 25 today, and I do feel pretty great. I'm not doing too much to celebrate, but I'm fine with that. Jon and I are going to dinner with our best friend Adam tonight and watching Game of Thrones after, and tomorrow we're all getting together with a couple of our other friends to try a rolled ice cream (and ice cream taco!) place near my apartment. I definitely feel like I've outgrown throwing a party or doing something big, so just getting to see a few close friends over food sounds perfect to me. 

Just for fun, here are some differences between my once expectations vs. reality of being a quarter of a century:

• I'm not "enjoying my 20s" the way I once I thought I would, but I'm definitely enjoying them. I've never been very adventurous or spontaneous, so when I was a teenager, I always thought I'd use my 20s as an excuse to go crazy and do stupid things. I've never felt like that was really me, so I feel pretty good about being happy in my quiet life.
• On that note, I didn't expect to be settled down with a serious boyfriend. I always thought that I'd finally figure out how to date around and that I'd be casually dating while focusing on my career at 25. NOPE. I'm happily settled and living with Jon, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I was never going to enjoy casually dating, and thank goodness it didn't take me long to figure that out.
• I AM finally feeling like I'm on the right track in my career like I was hoping I would at this age. I was so afraid that I'd still be in the job I was in a year ago, feeling stuck and behind in my career goals. Over a year later, I'm in a job that I love and just got promoted!
• I definitely expected to be living outside of Orange County, and while I often do dream of finally moving elsewhere, I'm much more okay with it than I expected to be.
• Probably the biggest difference is that I prioritize my relationships more that I always said I would. I used to be big on believing that I would be career focused at 25. I actually used to say that I figured that I would break some guy's heart by putting my career first. Yeah, I was dramatic. Fortunately, becoming an adult and being in an adult relationship has made me realize what's important and also how lucky I am to be with someone who supports me in career so that I can have both. I also thought that I would be living somewhere else because I wouldn't care about living far away from my family, but now they're probably the biggest reason why I'm still here, and I'm good with that. What's the point of traveling and living in a new place if I don't have anyone to share it with?
• No, I am not a famous and successful blogger like I was once hoping to be at this age. I also don't want that anymore. Blogging has been my favorite hobby and I love the process of connecting with my community and growing my following, but I'm okay with not making it my job or being a big success. 
• I still haven't learned how to use chopsticks. I'm actually pretty embarrassed about this one, but you'd think that I would learned that by now. One day...

If anything, being 25 is much more boring than I once thought it would be, but I think this was all one long way of saying that I like boring. But that's what adulthood is all about, right? Just being boring and being happy with it.

Pineapples

I'm going to be honest with you here. I'm not really paying attention to what I'm writing because I'm watching the new season of Orange Is the New Black while I'm putting this post together. I've haven't exactly been loving the past few seasons, and I'm not sure how I feel about this new one, but I can't look away. So forgive me if this isn't the most eloquent post.

Why pay attention the writing anyway when this dress does all the talking? I took advantage of Modcloth's Memorial Day sale (as well as possibly a few others...) and finally got my hands on this pineapple print dress. Emily and Fin's newest collection is seriously the cutest, and I have my eyes on a few other pieces as well. I ended up stopping at my favorite thrift store, Saver's, on Saturday and picked up this cardigan, which will probably be making plenty of appearances soon. This may just be my new favorite outfit.

Other than a Saver's trip, this weekend was pretty uneventful, but nice. Some friends and I had a movie night on Friday night, and we had dinner with Jon's parents on Saturday night. The most exciting thing to happen, though, is that my work treated me to a Disneyland pass! I've been wanting one for ages, and my whole family is getting them so I can't thank my bosses enough. Despite the fact that I live right around the corner from Disney, I actually haven't been in three years. Those tickets are expensive! I'm so excited to start going all the time now. Well, as much as my pass allows. There are a ton of blackout days, so I might not be going all the time, per say. But hey, better than nothing.

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!

Self Love Club

I am so excited to share that I officially an ambassador for Heartman Clothes! I found Heartman through Instagram a little while ago, and I was immediately in love with the brand when I learned that they donate proceeds from all of their items to worthy organizations. I included Heartman in my Guide to Makers Who Donate Money, and I've been following along with them ever since. I don't usually enter ambassador searches, but I really love the shirts Heartman makes, so I decided to give it a shot. Turns out, the love was mutual! I'm pumped to get to be part of the team and share more with you all.

I had such a hard time choosing my first shirt, but I ultimately had to go with the Self Love Club tee. I feel passionately about all of the causes that Heartman donates to, but it felt appropriate to go with something that represents confidence, body image, and feminism. 10% of the proceeds goes to I AM THAT GIRL, an organization that helps girls with self-doubt and provides a safe space and honest conversation. I'm definitely guilty of thinking of "adult" issues when it comes to feminism (like the wage gap, abortion, etc.) that it gets easy to forget that feminism has to start early. You can read more about I AM THAT GIRL here and donate directly here. 

You can also get 15% off at Heartman Clothes with the code ELANA15. Get yourself a cute tee that does some good!

Rainbow Stripes

Is there anything better than this dress? I posted a picture of it on Instagram that didn't show it in full, and I probably got more comments and messages asking about than I have about any other dress I own. I ended up browsing eShakti last month and somehow found three dresses in my cart. I'm really excited about all of them, but this is by far the best one (you can find it here). I mean, you can't really blame me. I've been doing a lot of closet cleanout (I still have some stuff up on my Poshmark!) and focusing on shopping smarter lately. I've actually been doing a lot of reflection on this in general. There will be a longer post coming soon (I mean it!), but basically, I've been really looking into what clothes make me happy. I think we're all guilty of overthinking things, and I've definitely been worried about liking things just because they're trendy or what I see a lot of people wearing on Instagram. It's impossible not to worry about these things, but I've decided to just not care. Yes, I've been more inspired to dress more colorfully because that's what I see on Instagram all of the time, but it's understandable that that's where I get my inspiration from now. The reason why those people who I follow inspire me is because they look like they're having fun with their style, and that's how I want to feel. Ever since I started looking for more colorful pieces, fun prints, and more vintage-inspired pieces, I've felt so much happier and comfortable in what I've been wearing. And that's what clothing should be about.

My style may be getting louder (and who knows, maybe more pin-up inspired in the future?), but it certainly hasn't changed that much. Case in point, this dress definitely needs no accessories, but I still had to put a Peter Pan collar under it. Some things will never change.

Thrfted Floral Dream Dress

I usually don't wear too many taupes and tans, but when I tried on this dress at Goodwill, I couldn't pass it up. This Saturday was my nephew's 7th birthday party (Pokemon themed, of course), and I had some time to kill after the party so I decided to stop into a Goodwill that I don't go into often on my way home. I ended up having some really great luck there in general, but this dress was by far my best find. I've definitely gained some weight recently (did I mention that I baked cupcakes on Saturday too?) so I've gone up a size, but this dress is actually the size that I've recently found myself not fitting into. So yeah, I'm really in love with this dress because not only is it adorable and flattering, but it also makes me feel good about myself because it fits. Hooray for clothes that bring good body image! P.S. this dress is actually from Lauren Conrad's line for Khol's, and this is the second time I've picked up a dress from the brand at a thrift store. Maybe I need to stop into Khol's soon?

Other than a Pokemon party and making cupcakes for no reason, Jon and I hung out with our friend Adam on Saturday night and then had a super lazy Sunday. We did some laundry and went to the grocery store, but other than that we really just lounged, watched a movie, and watched a bunch of reruns of The Office. I can't tell you how many times I've seen every episode of that show, but I'll never get tired of it.

Latte Cappa Thing

Oh yes, here I am wearing a silhouette that is NOT A-line. I can hardly believe it myself. But since I've been trying trends that I previously wasn't sure about lately, I figured that it was time that I - 

Okay, fine. I'm lying.

I did not purposely go out of my way to try a shape that was not in my comfort zone. Save your awards and applause for someone who deserves it. I bought this dress off of Poshmark and the seller's photos were cut off so I stupidly assumed that it was an A-line cut. If you saw these pictures, you would assume as much too! Or maybe it was just wishful thinking and not seller's fault at all. Either way, I chalked it up to my own inability to pay attention to listings and accepted the dress. 

That said, I did decide to try it anyway, so I guess I deserve some sort of praise? Right? Probably not, but I am pretty proud of myself for wearing it anyway, even if it still is pretty flattering and super tight as I had feared. Turns out, I like it! A lot, actually. I'm not a big fan of puffy sleeves (hence the cardigan), but the shape? You know, I think I can get behind it.

I also paired it with this new Larry David enamel pin that I scored from Bee & Mae, so that doesn't hurt either. I had been eyeing this pin for months, and I finally decided to just get it. I only watched through all of Curb Your Enthusiasm last year (before that I had just seen an episode here or there), but I obviously loved it enough to know that a Larry David is necessary. Bee & Mae must have the same exact taste in pop culture as I do because every single pin she makes is right up my alley. I may have also gotten the Bob's Burgers/X-Files one too. It's too good. Side note: Bee & Mae's shop is closed right now, but it will be reopening this week if you want to snag one of these pins too! This post isn't sponsored (I'll always make that clear in the outfit details if it is), I just really like her pins and have a feeling you will too.

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.

Dots and Rainbows

You know those outfits that you just feel like yourself in? This is one of those. It just feels so classic "me." It actually has been a while since I've worn polka dots on the blog, which strange for me. Obviously that needed to be fixed. I've actually had quite the struggle to find the perfect polka dot skirt, despite the fact that I've bought plenty. They've all either been to short, too small, or just plain not quite right. It has been much harder than I would have expected to find the right one. Luckily, Kristina of The Eyre Effect recently recommended a brand on Amazon in a blogging Facebook group that we're in, and it turns out that there were perfect A-line skirts for cheap with my name on them this whole time. This one is everything I've been looking for so I may have to buy it in multiple colors and patterns. This outfit also featured my new pastel rainbow wedges that I scored for $10 at the BAIT warehouse sale. Talk about beautiful. I don't think I'll ever take them off.

This week is weirdly busy for me, but that mostly consists of getting dinner with friends. Other than that, it's just my same old watching TV and falling asleep early every day. I did watch all of Girlboss even though I thought it was terrible. Funny how I still ended up binging it all. It was definitely interesting considering I've been following along with Nasty Gal since its birth, but I straight up hated almost every single character. I also didn't appreciate how it made fun of the vintage community. But alas, addicting TV is addicting TV. 

Warm Tones for Warm Days

Did I mean to write this last night? Did I instead end up falling asleep while rewatching the first season of Community? Yes, and hell yes. Since I'm writing this real quick before starting work, let's just keep this short and sweet. This dress is one of my "ol' faithfuls" that never fails to look flattering. I wore this to explore old town Tustin and take pictures with friend/photographer extraordinaire, Hanna over the weekend. I lived in Tustin a while back (when I lived with horrible crazy roommates), but only explored the area a little bit. It's adorable, and we had amazing pastries from a shop there as well. Hanna brought her dog, Sol, so he is once again the star of my photos. How can I compete with him? 

The only other thing of note in my life is that my car battery died yesterday while I was at a gas station, which is never fun. My dad was nearby, fortunately, so he let me use his AAA card and got me help. So all is well now. I also made a ton of mac and cheese for dinner last night, which let's face it, is the true highlight of my week. 

Downtown Lace

I'm sharing a few more photos than I normally do today, but it's only because I'm so in love with this set. This is the second set that Hanna and I took in Old Towne Orange over the weekend, and it solidifies that it's by far one of my favorite places to take photos. I decided to get an ice cream cone "for pictures," but we all know that I really just wanted an excuse to get ice cream. Turns out, licking ice cream doesn't exactly make for the most flattering angles. It also doesn't help that I broke the cone within a few minutes of getting it, but that's besides the point. Oh well, it was still good ice cream.

Things keep getting busier at work, and we just signed a new client who I'm very excited about. April in general tends to be a good month - two of my family members and two of my best friends all have birthdays to celebrate, and this April in particular I'll be going to the BAIT warehouse sale this weekend and the Dapper Day expo at the end of the month. So many things to get excited about.

On-Trend Parisian

I am fully aware that this outfit is very un-creative, but I still love it. Despite the fact that I feel like I've seen a million different bloggers wearing essentially this same exact look, I hadn't worn this on the blog yet and I couldn't resist. This was actually my first time trying out the bandana scarf look, and I'm pretty pumped with how I managed to pull it off. Naturally, I couldn't help but look to blogger babes Devinne and Nicole for inspiration. Those two have been rocking the neck scarf since before it was trendy. In all honesty, I look to both of them for inspiration on a daily basis so if I can look even half as flawless as they do, I'm happy.

I took these photos with my friend Hanna again, and even though scheduling forced us to take them during the brightest point of the day, we still managed to get some great shots out of the afternoon. The Orange Circle is forever one of my favorite places in Orange County (you've surely seen me share photos taken in the area before), and the backdrop of Old Towne antique stores never fails. As for the rest of the weekend, my family got together on Saturday evening to celebrate my mom's birthday, and Jon and I stopped by our friend's apartment to hang out for a little bit after. We're trying to make exploring new places a regular thing, so we took a little drive to Laguna to visit Crystal Cove for a bit on Sunday. I complain about living in Orange County often, but the multitude of gorgeous beaches in the area is hard to dislike. Living 20 minutes away from my hometown isn't so bad when I live in a place like this. 

Leather Jacket on the Trail

I'm so excited to share these photos that my friend Hanna and I took over the weekend! I've known Hanna since high school, but despite the fact that we always had a ton of mutual friends and got along well, we never really hung out for some reason. Fortunately, she and Jon are good friends, so when she moved back to Orange County last year, we were able to "reconnect." As luck would have it, Hanna happens to be an amazing photographer, and we finally got around to taking photos together on Saturday. She took me out of my homebody comfort zone and into some trails in my old hometown, where we had a blast. It's always so wonderful to have someone helping me with photos who actually enjoys it as much as I do, and I can't wait to do this regularly. If you're in Southern California, I highly recommend checking out Hanna's website and working with her!

Also exciting? This skirt from Lands' End, which I can't get enough of. I honestly didn't think I'd like the items Lands' End sent me as much as I did since their audience tends to skew a little bit older, but I'm in love. I've been stocking up on midi skirts for summer, and I've already worn this one twice. I wore this outfit with a gray cardigan for a client meeting with a high-end clothing brand, and it felt perfectly professional and stylish. I also decided to go to my favorite thrift store on a whim before taking these photos, and this jacket was the first thing I spotted. It happened to be half-off (for $5!) and in my size. Thrifting never lets me down.