Right This Second // What I Wore

{dress//local boutique :: cardigan//thrifted :: necklace//vintage :: boots//local boutique :: bag//Emma Fox via TJ Maxx :: lipstick//Rimmel London Kate Moss in 104} 

Sometimes I feel like I have nothing to say whenever I sit down at the computer to write a post. This time, however, that is far from being a problem.

My family spent this weekend in Springfield IL for my dad's family's annual Christmas party. We had a fun weekend and ate way too much food and left early this afternoon to head home. It was starting to snow a little, but it was blowing off the roads like no big deal. I came down before my parents, so I was driving my little Volkswagen Jeta with my 17 year old sister Maddie while the rest of my family drove in my mom's mini-van. Maddie and I accidentally took the wrong exit and had to turn around so we ended up about 10-15 miles behind my parents.

Now, if you've never been to Illinois let me explain something before I go further in the story: there is a reason Illinois is called "the Prairie State." It. Is. Flat. The edges tend to be more hilly/have more trees, but central Illinois is one giant, flat corn field, and you can see for miles. Maddie and I were driving across such a stretch when a big gust of wind blew my little car off course. I turned the steering wheel to put the car back squarely in the lane, and the car slipped on an invisible patch of ice on the road, spun way into the right lane, and I lost all control. I have a vague memory of trying to point the wheels toward the ditch, (but to be honest my memory of the whole event is really hazy and I couldn't even remember what caused us to spin out of control for several minutes after everything was done) and stepping hard on the brake, but mostly I just remember praying "oh God help us!" and "omgsh I am living Jesus Take the Wheel." Yes, that is where my mind goes. LOL. My little sister was in the car and I was honestly more scared for her sake than I was for myself.

We spun completely around at least twice but I think it was three times before stopping in the middle of the ditch between the two directions of traffic. I looked at Maddie and honestly couldn't believe we were both completely unharmed. The airbags didn't even go off.

Maddie called my parents who came back, checked out the car and walked be through getting it back on the road. We pulled off at the next exit where my dad took a better look at the car, and decided that roads were too bad to even attempt going back to my grandmother's house, so we drove five miles north to a hotel in Bloomington, IL, where I'm currently sitting, writing this.

All-in-all the most terrifying day of my life.

On a happier note this dress is what I wore to the Christmas party but on a different day. It didn't look like much on the hanger, but I love how it looks on, and the color is so pretty. A very fitting Christmas dress, I think. ♥

♫ Post title // Right This Second by Deadmou5 ♫

Florals + Polka-dots // What I Wore

{dress//F21 :: sweatshirt//Plato's Closet :: jacket//TopShop :: flats//Me Too :: beaded necklace//local botique :: gold necklace//vintage :: purse//Emma Fox via TJ Maxx :: lipstick//tinted lip balm by Cailyn in "Big Apple"}

You guys/gals, I have a confession to make: when I first got this sweatshirt I may or may not have worn it 2-3 times a week for the first month. *sheepish grin* But seriously - it goes with everything! I think pairing it with this polka-dot dress was one of my favorite outfits, though. And I love the double necklace detail. <3

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like my style has changed so much over the summer. Then again, I think I've changed a ton this summer, so I suppose it only makes sense...

For the first time, I actually feel like I've grown up - like I'm not the same fourteen year old girl I was five years ago. When I think about turning twenty in seventeen days it feel right. Like, I don't feel like "I can't believe I'm going to be twenty!" I feel twenty. How weird is that??

Bit of a Nerd // What I Wore

{sweatshirt//Target :: skirt//Etsy :: boots//Sorel :: pink necklace//local boutique :: clock necklace//vintage :: belt//thrifted :: jacket// TopShop :: bag//Emma Fox via TJ Maxx :: lipstick//Revolution by Urban Decay in "Anarchy"}
 

Is there really anything better than a good graphic tee? I didn't think so until I discovered my love for sweatshirts, and thereby my love of graphic sweatshirts. So freakin' comfy! I wore a very similar outfit to nearly a full year ago. I guess some things just never get old.

Jurassic Park is definitely one of the more cheesy movies of our life time, but my childhood love of dinosaurs refuses to let me dislike it. And since heather grey is quickly becoming one of my favorite colors, I just couldn't pass this sweatshirt up when I found it at Target last week.

And last - but not least - I'm really loving my purple hair lately. It makes me feel edgy, sassy and little (or a lot!) like a pop star. Maybe I should start spelling my name with a "y"? That's how most people spell it anyway... *winks*

Wearing Lady Clothes // What I Wore

{skirt//local boutique :: sweatshirt//Plato's Closet :: scarf//gift :: boots//Sorel :: bracelet//thrifted :: watch//Francesca's Collections :: necklace//Old Navy :: jacket//TopShop :: purse//Emma Fox via TJ Maxx :: lipstick//Revolution by Urban Decay in "Anarchy"}

 

Lately I've been trying to get back into the groove of life. For a while I've felt sort of depressed and just plain off. I've slept a lot, watched a lot of TV, and the dressiest I've been is jeans and a nice sweater. Getting involved in my church has helped a lot, though. I've made some really super-awesome friends, who are a blast to hang out with, and that makes everything seem a little bit better. I've even been wearing lady clothes again...

In other news this "skirt" is actually an awesome jersey sleeveless dress that is so much fun to wear around my waist with a sweatshirt over it. As a tall girl I never get to have dresses that come down to my heels (especially not with wedges!) so I loved walking around with this "skirt" trailing on the ground around my feet.

I like to think that my purple ombre topknot is pretty rad, too. *winks*

P.S. Anyone catch the Thor 2 reference in this post?

Skull and Crossbones // What I Wore

{blouse//Plato's Closet :: jeans//Target via thrifted :: flats//Me Too :: dog bracelet//H&M :: flower bracelet//gift :: watch//Francesca's Collections :: necklace//Betsy Johnson :: bag//Emma Fox via T.J. Maxx}

 

Lately I've been drawn to unusually casual outfits. Not that this is really casual, but coming from the girl who wore dresses seven times out of ten this sudden addiction to jeans feels so out of place. Seriously, though, I want almost every pair of jeans I see in stores. No joke.The skull pattern of this blouse is also out of character for me - I think something about being almost 20 is making me crave pieces with a little bit more "grown up" or "edgy: feel.

On another note, what do you all think of my purple, dip-dyed hair? I never thought I'd experiment with colored hair, but Katy Perry's purple hair was just too tempting not to attempt! It's faded into a warmer purple since I dyed it over a month ago, so one of these nights I'm going to slap some more purple over it. Maybe I'll do that today since I have the day off...

I have to work tomorrow (one of the many joys of working retail is that you have to work three out of four Saturdays. Awesome.) but I took today off since I had a concert last night and I knew I'd be getting back late. It also allows me to catch a matinee of Thor 2: The Dark World - or, as I like to call it "Loki three!" But really, is anyone actually going to this movie for Chris Hemsworth?

Who else is going to see Thor 2 this weekend?

I Saw the Autumn Leaves // What I Wore

{sweatshirt//Plato's Closet :: jeans//thrifted :: boots//Nico Nerini :: bracelet//thrifted :: necklace//vintage :: hat//The North Face :: jacket// Tulle via Plato's Closet}

Peoples of the internet: meet my new favorite sweatshirt. I've been really loving Plato's Closet lately. There's one about ten minutes from where I work and I've been making a weekly or so stop there after work lately, and this is one of my favorite finds so far. I got it, and the red pea-coat in the first picture (did I mention the brand is Tulle?) for negative $2 with the bag of clothes I brought in. Can you spell "score"!?

This is what I wore to the pumpkin farm last month. Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. I love the crisp, sunny days of early autumn, but I think the cold, dreary days of October/November might just be my favorite. I was really dreading them in September, but I forgot how nice they really are. Reminds me of why I love the idea of London so much.

This autumn has been especially bittersweet. I lost a dear friend, my kitty of 16 years to kidney failure in August, which has been harder than I can say. I'm still grieving, but as much as I love/loved her and will always miss her, God has used it to show me some changes I need to make in my life, and I'm thankful for that. Still, I'll always miss My Baby. </3

 {song title // The Real World by Owl City}

Designer Skyline // What I Wore

{photos courtesy of Laura and Hannah}

I had so many photos from the Blog Days of Summer picnic, that I decided to split them up into two posts, and this is my proper "outfit post" post. *wink*

I've always been really interesting in traveling, and I was so, so excited to see Ohio and Pennsylvania for the first time, but the best part by far was getting to hang out with so many lovely gals! Laura and I ended up (by a really amazing set of parallel circumstances) sharing a hotel room - despite the fact that we'd only talked once or twice before this trip. In all honesty, I was more than a little nervous that we wouldn't end up getting along and it would be really awkward, but when it came down to it, it was really more like preschool- instant BFFs! Seriously, within the first two hours of meeting Laura, Hannah and I were crashing in my hotel room venting about crappy former-love interests. (What did you expect from three teenagers/20-somethings??) And I was so, so sad to say goodbye to her. For reals, you guys, if you've never checked out her blog do it now because she is such a doll. ♥

I don't really have all that many photos of the dinner after the picnic or the brunch on Sunday (I looked like such a mess on Sunday due to a wardrobe emergency and not having a blow dryer in my hotel room. Grrr!) but I'm probably going to do one more Pittsburgh with some random posts of Pittsburgh in general. Just as soon as I finish editing those pics... Ugh! Let's do that next week, kay? Kay.

♥ ♥ ♥       

dress: ModCloth

belt: Pitaya

necklace: vintage

Steve Madden wedges: Forest Bootery

watch: Francesca's Collections

bracelet: vintage

sunglasses: Betsy Johnson via Little Black Bag

Blog Days of Summer Picnic

{photo credits to me, Katherine and Hannah, Sarah and Laura}

Phew! I've been slowly, but steadily going through all my photos from last weekend, and goodness, there are a lot! These are all the non-outfit photos from the Blog Days of Summer picnic last Saturday. It was held at Grand View Park in Pittsburgh, which is ridiculously hard to find using Apple Mapas, as Laura and I found out the hard way. Boo! Construction is what started it - we couldn't turn left where we needed to, and Siri could no for the life of us figure out how to route us around it. Add in a few extra long turns, and we ended up being lost for nearly two hours! Yeah, it was pretty much hell.

I (mistakenly) thought that since I've been frequently driving in Chicago for the past year and half, that I was prepared to drive in any city, but Pittsburgh proved me wrong. Let's get one thing clear: I live in the prairie state. The prairie state. And while my aunt and uncle's ranch in Missouri has made me accustomed to driving on hills out in the back woods, driving on San Fransisco-like hills in the city was a totally new experience for me! And then with the whole Siri thing, the whole "driving in Pittsburgh" part of the trip was just miserable! Laura and I didn't get anywhere on time except brunch on Sunday. Way to go, us! *sarcasm*

Later this week I'll share some proper outfit photos from the picnic, including one of my favorite ModCloth dresses. Eep!

Hope all of y'alls week is starting out well, and good luck to all who start school today! I'm really excited for life to get back to normal. :)

(P.S. Thank you all for the kind and encouraging words about my re-brand! All the lovely comments/Instagram comments have seriously made my week. ♥)