Organized? Me? Yeah Right!

Oh man, I am having writer's block. I hate this! It typically happens on a Monday, since it's probably the crappiest day of the week, especially after a 3 day weekend. But them's the breaks right? Oh and the following pics were taken in my lovely dining room window, since it's hot as hell outside. There was no way I was getting Zach outside to walk 1/2 a mile to get to a little photo spot. It was probably 105 today, and it's not even July!

Nothing too exciting happened today, but I did put on my favorite chambray skirt. It was funny because I planned this outfit, like a good organizational person, only to lose the whole ensemble in my closet and I was frantically searching for 20 minutes for my new skirt. Finally I remembered it was hung up with this blouse over it (explaining why I didn't see it in the first place) but I felt like a total dweeb.

I guess I just need to get used to this whole planning my outfits thing. I'll work on that tonight!

Skirt, H&M ($10)
Blouse, Target ($3)
Shoes, Thrifted ($4)
Cardigan, Thrifted ($3)
Belt, Ebay ($7)

Family Time

Sunday was a nice day, but it was sad saying goodbye to our family who came in from out of town. We will definitley be seeing them before the year end though, so all will be good.

Here's a few pics from the wedding celebration that was held in a picnic shelter in Virginia Beach. It was so much fun, but hot as hell. No body was trying to escape the shade of the shelter.

My nephew Connor cooling off.


Zach took an inopportune photo and only Keli caught on. Mark and I just stand there looking goofy..hehehe


Zach's Uncle Norman and Zach's Mom


The playground of death. It was so hot it burned!


Connor chasing his Dad, Anthony, with a baseball bat. Cute kid, huh? Yeah, he's the cutest!

The Mad Hunt

So this weekend was the celebration of marriage for my mother in law and I was frantically searching for a dress that would be light weight and light colored, since it was going to be an outdoor which would last 4 hours. The heat out here is miserable, so basically I had to find something that would feel like I wasn't wearing anything all.

I was also on a strict budget. Nothing could cost more than $5. No joke...that's how broke I am right now. So I've been hitting up thrift stores like no other! I couldn't find a damn thing for the first week of looking, so I basically gave up and was praying that I could just use something in my own closet. But everything just seemed too heavy for 4 hours of nonstop heat. Then on Thursday, Zach and I were on our way to Trader Joes and I remembered there is this neat little Goodwill store not too far away. So I made a mad dash and ransacked the dresses and found this little goodie that fit me perfectly. It flows away from my body in the breeze and it's basically the most light weight dress I'll ever own.

And the print!! It's such a confusing little pattern but I love the little birdies scattered throughout the whole dress. And the colors are very cute. A little red and green splashed with grey. I'm so happy I found this for $5 and can't wait to incorporate it into more outfits for the summer.

Edit: Pictures of the event will be posted at a later date! We had fun and I took a ton of pics of my nephew Connor.

Forever21 Dress, Thrifted ($5)
Shoes, Payless ($10)
Sunnies, Forever21 ($2)

Brown and Black?

I love driving my co-worker crazy with my outfits. We have gotten in quite a few debates when it comes to mixing brown and black, black and navy, grey and brown....the list is endless. Oh and don't even get her started on stripes and florals...she goes bananas!!! So I was so excited when I put this ensemble together and knew it was probably driving her absolutely nuts...hehehe...I'm so evil!

There is black in the print of dress so it made it much easier to mix the black cardigan and other accessories in the mix, but then I added the reddish brown belt with it, to tie in all the shades of brown for a little more pop. Other than that, just a simple little summer outfit. I would've much preferred to go sans cardigan, but the AC in our building is absolutely frigid and I can't stand it! When your nose starts dripping and your fingers are numb, that's when you know it's time to dress in layers. Oh and the dress was a gift from Tieka. It's fits perfect and I'm loving the fact that it's a very light and airy dress for this hot as hell day...the thermometer tipped the scale at 110 degrees. You can see how she styled it here!

Well I am totally looking forward to this weekend! I probably won't be able to do any posts until Saturday night, since Zach's mom is getting married and all of our family is coming into town!!! Yay! I'm so excited. Even though we saw most of them this year already, we have so much fun together. I'll be sharing pictures for sure!! I'm most excited about seeing my 1 year old nephew again.

Cardigan, Thrifted ($3)
Dress, Tieka's closet (swap)
Belt, Thrifted ($2)
Shoes, UO ($28)
Necklace, Consignment ($14)

Dressed in 30 Seconds or Less!!!

Here's an interesting tidbit about my outfit today. I chose my outfit in about 30 seconds. So here's the story.....today was the day that the pest control guy was going to be coming to our apartment. As I emerge from the shower in my towel there was a loud banging on my front door. I look through the peephole and some guy is standing there. I freaked and locked the door handle (since that key hole is different from the deadblot) and bolted to the bedroom to change into something. I was so pissed that the bug guy would be coming at 8 am! But it turned out that the guy was actually just some weirdo from our electric company doing electrical work outside and wanted to make sure our cars were moved from the work area.

The outfit is also a great example on how to take a simple dress and turn it into something interesting by adding some simple accessories. The cognac belt and wedges just go together well and the hat was the finishing touch! Obvisouly this wasn't rocket science, but I was just trying to look pulled together in a very short amount of time.

Oh and isn't this door the cutest thing ever?! I love the little art piece above the metal door. These are the loft apartments/studios that have that awesome marble mosaic, which I discovered on my little trip to the farmer's market. It was fun doing a little photo shoot in front of the pretty door, until creepy auto men from across the street started making comments and totally gawking at me. I swear, Zach is taking my pics and they still say stuff! Crazy weirdos. But I guess it seems strange to them that I'm hamming it up in front of the camera, for no apparent reason.

Dress, Ross ($10)
Shoes, Ross ($15)
Belt, Vintage ($3)
Hat, UO ($10)
Bracelet, Antique store ($4)

A Lovely Day in Smithfield

Zach and I also used our weekend to visit another cute historical location in Virginia. I swear, we're so lucky that we have so many things to do around here. Smithfield (you know like the ham) is a town famous for it's pork product but it was also a huge town back in the 1700s for new settlers. This place was seriously cute and reminded me of all the other cute main streets throughout the US. We ate lunch at the Gourmet Smithfield Bakery and indulged ourselves on some scrumptious food. Since Smithfield is know for pork products Zach ate a bacon and chicken wrap while I had a veggie sandwich on sundried tomato bread. I couldn't believe how big the sandwich was when it arrived. It definitley would've fed two people.

After our little lunch date, Zach and I headed up the main street to visit some more historical landmarks. One of which was a very old English style courthouse. It was fun talking with the old lady who ran the tour of the courthouse and she even offered to let us sit in the justice seats and take our picture. She was really excited that we were even visiting the courthouse and talked to us for about 30 minutes about the history of Smithfield....I'll spare you the details.

After our little trek about the town we headed up to a boardwalk to experience the swamp lands. This was the best place to take my outfit shots, since the sun was just right and the landscape was just so pretty.

This is definitely a photo heavy post, so I hope I didn't overload you.

Striped Top, BDG ($10)
Skirt, Thrifted ($3)
Shoes, UO ($28)
Hat, UO ($10)

Mmmm.. Bacon's Castle

Just kidding. Bacon's Castle has absolutely nothing to do with the scrumptious breakfast food (I speak from a previous meat eater's perspective) but instead was a home that was taken over because a man named Nathaniel Bacon. He ordered his his followers to do so and for the next four months this home had become a sort of fortress against the English Government. He was a pioneer farmer who became bothered by the idea that Indians were still among the settlers in Virginia. He decided it was his duty to unite farmers and slaves by revolting against the Indians and against the government. They used this place as their fort, while they battled against the government and burned down Jamestown. If you're a nerd like me, here's a little more background .

Most people don't know this about me, but I'm crazy about history, but more specifically Virginia history. It's so neat that these kinds of places are right in my own backyard. We drove about an hour out of our way to the oldest standing home in the entire country. It was built in 1652 by an English merchant named Arthur Allen. The APVA Preservation Virginia took over renovations of the home in the 1970s and have done a wonderful job of up keeping the property. It most certainly would've gone into disrepair if it hadn't be for the APVA Preservation Virginia buying the property.

Sorry if this is boring to most of you, but I'm just so passionate about history! So here goes the outfit details!! My little chambray skirt was a lucky find at H&M the other day. The cute little pleats and the light fabric made it perfect for a hot summer day, touring a mansion. I paired it with my floral shirt, since I knew there would be a large garden on the property and I figured I'd match my surroundings a little bit. The rest just fell into place. The wedges are part of the ensemble because they'd be comfortable, while giving me some height, and the belt for an added vintage touch. Then my favorite bag! This thing is huge and was a big help in carrying my 2 cameras and all my other crap.

Blouse, Thrifted ($3)
Skirt, H&M ($10)
Wedges, Ross ($15)
Belt, Vintage ($4)
Purse, UO ($20)

A Diamond in the Rough

Isn't this mosaic fantastic! It's actually the location I wanted to use a few days ago, but I ended up getting rained out. I found this amazing mosaic wall in a very dicey area of Norfolk, which is slowly going through a revitalization movement. It's actually the wall of some neat lofts that are occupied by artists and it's connected to the farmer's market. Yeah, the one I visit on a nearly daily basis.

As you can see, I kept it nice and neutral with my tan, black and white, so my bag could be the statement! This purse is such a bright color and I really wanted to find a colorful and large bag to use for the summer. I couldn't have been more excited to find this on Urban Outfitter's website for just $20! The faux leather is super soft and I love that it can be converted into a should bag and a cross-over bag.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! Zach and I are heading out of town for the Saturday to experience a little history. Virginia is full of such amazing places to visit and we are finally going to head out to a couple of towns I've had on my list for the summer. Where you ask? Oh, just a castle! Pictures to come soon!

Top, H&M ($5)
Skirt, Thirfted ($5)
Shoes, UO ($28)
Bag, UO ($20)
Sunnies, TJMaxx ($10)
Belt, Forever21 ($3)