Midwest Fun

I've really enjoyed my stay in the Midwest so far. This is a first for me, with the exception of Chicago. I can't get over how genuine everyone is out here. Our friend said it best, as it's a little unsettling at times, since back home in Virginia everyone is cynical and not the most hospitable. Everyone was sweet, right down the the cashier at Urban Outfitters and everyone wants to know your story. It's really sweet. It almost makes me wish we lived in Lawrence.

And another thing I love about this place? The abundance of Bubble Tea. It's everywhere in the Midwest and I never even knew it existed before. I love it more than words can describe and somehow I will need to get another one before the day is over.

The days in Lawrence will be spent vintage/antique shopping (because that's what I do), visiting Eudora for the experience of seeing where the Get Up Kids produced their albums, going to parks, people watching, and just enjoying all that Kansas has to offer.

Strapless dress, Thrifted ($2) Sunnies, Forever21 ($2) Sandals, Ross ($13) Clutch, thrifted ($2)

The Long Long Drive

Yesterday was the first day of our 'little roadtrip' and I have to say, "What a drive!" It was a long 20 hour drive that had us going from Virginia through West Virginia, then Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and finally Kansas! When we finally got to Illinois we had to take a break, so we stopped at this quaint little rest area, that was bustling with travelers and doggies. It was the most clean place we were able to visit on our trip, so I was thankful for the much needed break in the shady grove of the rest stop. It was a magical experience, after driving for 15 hours.

And this look was basically for comfort only. This dress is light and airy, the hat was great for keeping my hair in check and the sandals were great for taking my shoes on and off easily for the car ride.

And look!!! Zach and I still love each other after being stuck in our car for hours on end. I don't think we've had this much togetherness time since our honeymoon.

Dress, H&M ($30) Sandals, Ross ($12) Hat, Target ($13) Sunnies, Forever21 ($2)

The Serene Morning Walk

As promised, here are a few pictures from my lovely walk to work. Sorry it's a day late, but it's been crazy busy lately. I've been trying to tie up some lose ends before vacation starts....tomorrow!

Enjoy the serenity that surrounds you!

Beautiful Sceneries

What a lovely day it was at work!!! Well, I'm being totally sarcastic, but at least the evening was fun! Zach and I partook in a good time with our friends to Taco Tuesday, yet again, before we all leave for separate vacations. It's so nice to go to the same place once a week, where you meet the same friends, the same waiters, and just have a wonderful time all around. Margaritas were a plenty, and I'm still trying to recover....they like to make our drinks strong, since we're regulars...but anyways.

I really wanted to dress springy for the nice weather this morning. It looked like it was going to storm like crazy, but it ended up just being breezy and cloudy so I went ahead and chanced it and walked to work. It was perfect weather and then I grabbed my yummy coffee, muffin and walked and sipped all the way to work. I wish you all could experience I what I experience each morning! Everyone knows everyone in this little community so you always run into locals and catch up a little.

So then I made my way through the neighborhood to go to work and admired all the pretty historic mansions. Seriously, it's the prettiest site when all the gardens are blooming in front of the homes. I think tomorrow I'll post lots of pics so you all can see what I see.

Delias Dress, Thrifted ($7) Top, H&M ($5) Cardigan, Thrifted ($3) Belt, Vintage ($7) Shoes, Thrifted ($4)

The New Bag!

So yesterday was meant for me to have some alone time and just do my thing. One of those things was spending an hour on this Polyvore set for my road trip wardrobe. It's best to be prepared. So I took my Polyvore ideas with me to the thriftstore and set to work. So far I have about 3 and 1/2 outfits, since I wasn't able to find everything. The weather was getting gross so I had to head home early. I had so much fun trying to piece together looks by only thrifting, but I had to stick to my list. Which meant I couldn't buy the pretty Liberty of London dress at Goodwill:(

And look at this fabulous bag!!! I was so excited when I came home and it was sitting on my coffee table. The bag is seriously so cute! It even went well with my work outfit, so I decided Zach and I would go to dinner so I could wear it out. Thanks you so much Amanda for the awesome giveaway:) I can't wait to listen to the mix cd either. I have that on my list of things to do before work tomorrow!

Sweater, Dillards ($9) Top, Target ($10) Capris, Old Navy ($10) Report Flip Flops, TJMaxx ($20) Clutch, Off Of Broadway (giveaway win) Ring, Jewelry Bazaar ($7)

A Day For Me

Well I hope this doesn't sound selfish, but today has to be an all about me day. Sometimes I just want to be alone and do my thing without anyone rushing me or bothering me. So what's on today's list of All About Me day? Well, I am going to do my own nails, go thrifting for some new outfits for my road trip, buy dog food and run errands, read an interior design book, watch a movie, and just relax.

I kicked off my all about me day with a yummy organic iced coffee from my favorite coffee place in Ghent. Fair Grounds has the best employees who really love their jobs as barristas and they dusually make my day. Today they offered me a balloon complete with a nipple drawn on it. It was pretty hilarious, and they warned me not to put them in my top, since they will pop...hehehe...duly noted.

Anywho, I am sporting this fun blue summer dress for today's festivities. My mom bought this for me for my birthday back in January from ModCloth's clearance section and it's pretty awesome. I'm not gonna lie, I love how bouncy this dress is, due to the heavy ruffles on the bottom and the color is really vibrant against my pale skin.

Dress, Modcloth (gift from mom) Scarf, H&M ($3) Report Sandals, Ross ($12)

Week Night Date Night

Zach and I totally don't leave the house for little date nights during the week, but today was an exception. I wish we could've taken pictures at the Pagoda (you can see a hint of it behind my head) but they were having some kind of a Thai Chi session, so we may have been a little distracting. So we ended up getting the pictures taken at the decommissioned USS Wisconsin.

It was so pretty outside and the weather was absolutely perfect! Quite a turn around from the last three days of none stop rain. I hated taking my pics inside yesterday, but the rain was constant, cold, and unwelcoming. OK, enough with the babbling...

So our little date night turned into a trip to the nearby mall, after our original plans of the Pagoda flopped. We went straight to H&M and I ended up leaving with a pretty white shimmery scarf for $3! And then For Love 21 so some new sunglasses. My friend's little girl found mine in her couch and decided they were hers now, so I needed to find some new ones:)

Tomorrow, I'll be sporting my new sunnies and scarf for a trip to the baseball field!! Should be a great Friday!

Dress, H&M ($30) Cardigan, H&M ($5) Belt, Thrifted ($7) Patent heels, Thrifted ($4)

Pleasant Surprises

I was pleasantly surprised today with so many wonderful things. I won Off Of Broadway's giveaway today, I received a few new readers, and I was lucky to come home with a vintage Coach purse today. I spent my half day from work relaxing with my friend 'D', and we had some quality time with our friend Rachel Zoe. That girl has some serious style to match her serious job. She wears the most amazing things. I think we watched about 5 hours of The Rachel Zoe Project while munching on Taco Bell, so it made for an amazing day!

My outfit was so much fun to put together. I found these super cute rope wedges from the thrift store over the weekend and they were in perfect condition! My only complaint is I haven't been able to thoroughly break in this high wedges and I walked around in them all day long! So now my tooties have little blisters, but that's just the price of beauty and style I suppose. Anywho, my skirt matched the shoes pretty spot on and the rest of the look just fell into place. I found my crumpled up blouse in the back of the dresser, threw it on, added the cardigan and voila! Super easy neutral palette for a super easy day:)

Blouse, Target ($4) Skirt, Thrifted ($5) Cardigan, Thrifted ($3) Nine West Wedges, Thrifted ($3) Locket, Forever21 (gift)

Gloomy Days Melt Away

I was tired of the gross rainy days we've had, so I decided to brighten things up with my yellow dress! I've had this dress hanging in my closet for 2 months now, and I've finally remembered to wear it. When I saw it on Tulle when it was only $7 I couldn't not buy it! Although, I love the dress, it is difficult to mix it up with more things in my wardrobe. The color combo of the dress makes it hard, but I'm determined to find other things for it. I may need to go to the thrift store to find some fun accessories to liven it up, but as far as today goes, I just wanted the dress to stand on it's own.

And I did have it stand on it's own for a little while, but then decided my birdie belt would add some fun to it. It did need something after all, but next time I'm going to get a little more creative with the colors.

My only wish is that my dress helped make the rainy gloomy day into a sunny one. I was desperately wanting to walk to work today, but the weather + no umbrella = not possible. Oh well, maybe tomorrow!

Dress, Tulle ($7) Black flats, Kmart ($5) Belt, Fred Flare (gift) Black bag, Thrifted ($4)

Running Errands in Style

It was such a great day yesterday!! I swear, Sundays are the most relaxing day of the week, and yesterday was no exception. I spent half the morning finishing up my Madmen season 3 (was anyone else completely depressed?) and then my sister and I took a trip out to Jerrys Artarama to pick up some items to get our creative juices flowing. Basically all I bought was a bunch of paint brushes, a couple of canvases and a pencil sharpener. And then I meandered over to a thriftstore in the same shopping center and found the most awesome decorators book. It's a Better Homes and Garden's book from the 1960s.

During all this running around, it was great to be in an ultra comfortable outfit that was breezy and light. I should just get more skirts like this, since I seem to be wearing this one a lot! It's so perfect and fits like a dream.

Skirt, Thrifted ($2) Blouse, Thrifted ($3) Jacket, The Gap ($30) Belt, H&M ($5) Sandals, Ross ($12) Purse, FredFlare.com (gift)