Twenty-Eight

I said that I'd take pictures with sunlight again, didn't I? Well, success!
I had to get dressed for a trip to the grocery store, and when it's so hot that you're pretty sure you're actually melting (a la Wicked Witch of the West), all you want to do is lie around in your pajamas and listen to music and drink cold things. Alas, I had to be civilized. It's even harder when you're more than a little stressed out, but it's all good, or something like that.
Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow will be a good day.

I'm not sure if you can see it, but my chin dimple looks so deep in this
 photo. Butt-chins unite!

Dress: Ross | Shoes: Payless

Twenty-Seven

Do you guys remember the days back when I took decent pictures at a decent hour and posted things while the sun was still up?

Yeah, me neither. Tomorrow, though.

Camisole: Old Navy | Skirt: Forever 21 | Sandals: Payless

I don't have much of an excuse, either. I slept in blissfully late, made a huge dent in Frankenstein (which I absolutely must finish by Sunday. I can do it!), swam, and had Arnold Palmers all over the place. I'll just say that the Arnold Palmers took up all of my time, okay?

Also, since my oldest niece is staying with us for a bit and is sleeping in my room, my room has become Land of the Perpetual Mess. I ought to tidy up again. Soon.

Finally: since this project is coming to an end (say it ain't so!), it's time I start planning other stuff, right? Let me know if there's anything that you might be interested in seeing me do/write about/mess up horribly (I'll try not to, promise)! I'm always looking for new ideas. Also, I'm planning on doing a small, bright-and-happy little Get to Know Your Blogger post, so if there's anything you'd like to know, don't hesitate to ask! There should be some relatively interesting stuff next month, even if I'm a relatively boring person.

Twenty-Six

I count today as successful. I made sun tea (which will be joining forces with some lemonade tomorrow and becoming an Arnold Palmer), spent a great deal of time at the pool, and got my mom into Doctor Who. I'm a nerd, but I'm a devoted nerd. We watched the first two episodes, and the entire time, I'm thinking, I love Rose! I love the Doctor! I love Mickey! I love Jax! Suffice it to say that I love that show, and if you've never seen it, then change that. Seriously. It's streaming on Netflix and it's on BBC and there is nothing stopping you, guys.

Skirt: made by my mom | Tee: Lane Bryant | Shoes: Payless | Headband: Forever 21

My mom always comments on my hair. See, it likes to do its own thing when it gets wet and I let it air dry. In these pictures, my hair is (still) wet from the pool and while you can't see it, it's quite curly right now. Sometimes it's pin-straight, sometimes I get perfect ringlets. Do you know what I do with it? Wash it, condition it, wring out the extra water on the ends, sleep on it. It does what it wants, and honestly, I'm totally cool with that.

Also, side note, expect something really awesome on Sunday. And, okay, awesome isn't quite the best word to describe it, but it's the vaguest, and I want to see if anyone can guess what's going to happen!

Twenty-Five

Today, I hung out with Erika. We spent the first chunk of the afternoon at her house, playing games on my iPad/her iPhone (right, cool story), eating ravioli, and finding places to hang pictures. We also: went to my house, chilled on the porch with music and iced tea with fancy ice cubes (I made raspberry/mint. Find some extra great ideas here!) in mason jars, a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up her pictures and some cheesecake, and a great many pictures taken.

This, dear folks, is what summer is all about. Spending your evenings drinking awesome iced tea with friends. I know what I'm doing until fall.

Seriously, guys, best iced tea ever. 

Erika and a knock-off Otter Pop. Ye-uh.

Guys, I love my Banana.

Mini slices of cheesecake? Yes, please! I could live on
cheesecake!

Dress: Forever 21 | Shoes: Payless | Sunglasses: Claire's

Quick note about the iced tea: it's just simple refrigerator tea. I put five teabags (black mango tea) into the pitcher (I'd say it holds about a gallon...ish) and let it steep in the fridge overnight. It was in there for sixteen hours, minimum, and it turned out gloriously. I'm probably going to try sun tea next!

Twenty-Four

Today was lovely, so I spent the majority of it outside. Most of that was spent in a pool, which is the answer to every single thing. It was glorious.

My brother finished working on this pocket bike he bought from a friend (I think), and took it on its inaugural drive, complete with my nieces and nephews going crazy over it. That, of course, was hilarious. You'll see why.

To be fair, I think everyone on a pocket bike looks funny.
Everyone.

Top: Marshall's | Shorts: Torrid | Sandals: Payless | Sunglasses: Tilly's

Twenty-Three

Whoops, missed a post yesterday. The day before. Whatever, time gets wibbly-wobbly after midnight (ten thousand points to you if you appreciated the reference. Guys, I'm a nerd).

To be fair, I kind of forgot had a project that had to be finished. I didn't let that stop me today/yesterday, though! I got dressed and finished that essay with half an hour to spare. It was lovely.

Sunglasses: Tillys | Tee: Sure Clothing | Dress: Ross | Shoes that I desperately hope aren't ruined by the hose-wielding twelve-year-old: vintage

Twenty-Two

Since I forgot the jacket I was going to wear in Carpinteria (awesome move on my part. Oh, well, I fit into Casey's extra jacket, and my mom brought one from home, so I didn't freeze), I ended up changing that entry on my 30x30 list. Greet its replacement: a top I haven't worn since high school. It's been at least two years. I used to wear it all the time with jeans, back when I wore jeans every day. Every. Single. Day. For two years straight. People wonder why I never wear them anymore—I'm sick of 'em! That's beside the point, though.

I decided to wear my leggings, and I tried the shirt on a whim. Behold: TUNIC. Leggings and tunic-like-shirts are my go-to looks for outdoor things, like hiking or music festivals. And thus I have rekindled my love with this top.

Top: Torrid | Leggings: WalMart | Shoes: Payless | Room: still messy. Sorry, guys!

Twenty-One

Things I am currently putting off: my essay, rereading Frankenstein, and cleaning my room. Le sigh.

To cheer myself up/distract myself from my procrastination, I decided to wear my favourite skirt and my favourite sandals. The sandals are slowly falling apart. I might need to superglue them together or something. Anything to keep them each in one piece!

Camisole: Old Navy | Skirt: ASOS Curve | Necklace, bangles: Forever 21 | Sandals: Marshall's

And, because I can, I'm going to tell you that this is my favourite nail polish, ever. OPI's "Ocean Love Potion." It's the most expensive nail polish I've ever bought, at almost ten dollars, so I'm determined to use it up and love it forever. But I really just meant to say that it matches my room. Oh, well, tangents are for cool kids. So is knitting.

It's too hot to think logically. I need another Otter Pop.

Twenty

Oh, I'm a day behind! That is lame.

Meh.

Today is too hot to exist. Maybe I'll forgo my essay for a bit and go to the pool tomorrow. At least we have Otter Pops now!

Let's pretend the quality of this picture makes my room look 
neater, okay?

Dress: Avon | Shoes: Payless | Life: melting

I'm home!

I already miss Carpinteria. I fully intend to live there one day. That place is fantastic.

So today, you get to get caught up on my 30x30 adventures, and some travel adventures! Yeah!

Casey's parents drove us up on Sunday and stayed for the afternoon. We had good food at Tony's (they have the best ranch dressing in the history of the stuff, and pretty good fish & chips), checked out the Whimsy store on 7th Street, and took pictures of the hotel. The walls were orange and everything was all modern and I really like hotels, guys. Even if it was a Motel 6.

Monday: we walked to IHOP, hiked through a forest (using a bike path, so it wasn't a hike. At all. I don't care), and found a park. I also ended up buying lipstick and nail polish. That is why people don't leave me alone! My mom drove up around two and then we chilled at the hotel for a long while. That was our beach day. We swam out pretty far and sang "Bohemian Rhapsody" and got hypothermia. That's always fun. We had the Spot for dinner (home of some stupendous burgers, you know), and Casey and I played with snails for a while. They even had names!

Tuesday: We went to the Worker Bee Cafe for a really awesome breakfast, checked out some antique stores (they have good ones there), and got Starbucks on Linden. I got Warheads and rock candy from Robitaille's, to sate my sweet tooth. I got sixteen books (for sixteen bucks! I love you, Friends of the Library!) and even got to spend a bit of time thrifting. That wasn't particularly fruitful, but I know that store exists. After spending some time back at the hotel (mostly on the internet. Livin' the big life), we went back to the beach to look for rocks and shells. Dinner that night was Mexican at Rudy's, and awesome.

Wednesday: breakfast burritos at The Spot, and coming home. It was all very, very sad. Also, this was today. Surprise! (it was for me.)

Now: Pictures!

Get Inspired IV

Guess who's coming home today!

If you guessed me, then you'd be correct. You're one smart cookie!

Here's the last installment of my little Get Inspired series. I hope you did exactly what the title told you to do and got all inspired and stuff and filled your lives with beautiful clothes.

Please note: I don't own any of these. I just found them on various websites and liked them. If you know where they came from, then please share!

Get Inspired III

Here, have more pretty things!

Please note: I don't own any of these. I just found them on various websites and liked them. If you know where they came from, then please share!

Get Inspired II

Some more looks that are currently taking up space in both my hard drive and my brain. Can my closet just be full of pieces like these?

Please note: I don't own any of these. I just found them on various websites and liked them. If you know where they came from, then please share!

Get Inspired I

Let it be known that I love clothes. Actually, I think it's already pretty well known.

I feel like we're on the right track then.

I'm inspired by them. Right now, I'm particularly into high-low hems, floaty fabric, colours that "aren't really colours" according to my mom, pastels, pleats, collars, and leather. Oh, and interesting prints. I'm a sucker for a good print.

Here are some of the things that have been making my heart race lately:

Please note: I don't own any of these. I just found them on various websites and liked them. If you know where they came from, then please share!