Making Statements

As I'm sure you're all aware, today's Monday! That means that it's actually Marvelous Monday, of course, because we deserve it.

This week's theme: statement jewelry!

I got this necklace for a dollar months and months ago, and I think I've only worn it once. That's a tiny bit disappointing, as I really like it. I finally busted it out today, though!

Now, I'm going to continue melting a little (summer in the desert is horrible, guys) and think about taking a nap.

And I'm switching up my photos a bit by taking them in the Cat Room, mostly because my own room is sort of a kittentopia right now.

Dress, earrings: Forever 21 | Headband: WalMart | Sunglasses: Tilly's | Necklace: Claire's | Sandals: Payless

Now, let's go see what sort of statement the others made!

Sian: Sort Life Out; Buy Milk

Jocelyn: Fat, Fashionable, and Feminist

Cheri: Cheri'z Angel and Style Luvin

L: goodbye hollywood

Summer Uniform

I discovered this outfit in Sedona, and I've since worn it more times than I'm sure sure is acceptable for a blogger, but whatever.

I've also realised that I like the lighting in my mom's sewing room the cats' room, and while I had a bit of trouble with a chair/my face, I might end up shaking things up a bit and presenting a new background on occasion. Lucky us!

Also, sorry for the wrinkly quality of my dress, I'd just pulled it out of my laundry basket so I could be clothed for a trip to the 99 Cent Store.

Whoops, chair.

Whoops, talking to my mom.

Dress: WalMart | Tee: Old Navy | Sunglasses: Tilly's

Bravery

So I'm assuming we've all heard about Gabi Fresh's collaboration with Swimsuits for All. I'm also assuming we're all drooling over the fabulously cut fatkinis coming out on the 15th.

I love myself a fatkini, I really do. I think that they look just as good as onepieces, if not better. I just don't know if I'm brave enough for one. I still have issues with body acceptance on my own, and while I'm generally pretty willing to shell out over $75 on a bathing suit that actually fits, I'm not sure if I'm willing to do that with something I might be too terrified to actually wear.

I've gone through more boring black onepiece suits over the years than anyone ever should. I used to wear tee-shirts and shorts over them, too. Then, a couple years ago, I bought a new black suit from WalMart that fit poorly around the bust and just wore crazy bright boardshorts with it. Short ones, too. That felt good. Then, the following year, I bought a bathing suit I really liked; it was still black, but with these fabulous mesh details that made me feel amazing. And it was from WalMart, no less!

Last year, I got my first two-piece in well over a decade from Torrid, and it fit beautifully and I looked great, and my brother accidentally threw it out a few months back. He threw out that one, my suit with the mesh, and those swimshorts. My heart broke.

Anyway, now I'm on the hunt for a new suit, and I'm trying to convince myself that a fatkini is not a bad idea. I might have a bit more of a belly than the girl in this picture, but why on earth should that stop me?

I'm looking to my friends for succour and any bravery that they can pass on. I like my body, so why should baring a few inches of midriff be so scary?

Big Adventures

So, another adventure today. I like this. Erika and I decided to end the summer with something awesome. Hiking at Devil's Punchbowl works well enough.
After she called me at six in the morning (just wrong), she picked me up around 7:45. We made lunch and ate breakfast at her house with her boyfriend, Beyrin, and headed off to pick up our friend Noel and hike through the wilderness. The Punchbowl is one of the prettiest things that the AV has to offer, really. Sheer sandstone rocks, big skies, near silence, and (if you're lucky) a creek running at the bottom.
We weren't lucky.
We did the mile-long hike and decided to go to nearby Big Rock Creek for lunch. We stayed for about half an hour, and I waded in the river a bit. I tried skipping rocks, and failed spectacularly. We soon realized that we needed a parking pass, so we left to go to Jackson Lake instead. There, we ate our lunch and played cards.
Beyrin cheated.
On the way back from the lake, though, Erika's brakes started to burn out, so we ended up waiting by the side of the road for a good half hour. I did some exploring. It's lovely out there. It's almost completely silent, and the trees provide a bit of shade, and everything smells so fresh. It's probably the best part of where I live, even if this was nearer to Wrightwood than our hometown.
When we were finally able to leave, we went to this great, hokey place called Charlie Brown Farms. If it exists, they sell it, I promise. We wandered the endless halls, found a creepy and endless (to me) room of porcelain dolls, saw an awesome fiberglass shark hanging from the ceiling (which I want (desperately)), and tried to understand all the bacon-flavored candy.
We had dinner there, which was really good, and then left. All in all, I count it a very good day. Even if Noel probably got a cold. At least I saved him from the river!

I just can't take these children anywhere. They wander off all the 
time. All. The. Time.

They are very soft, whatever they are.

Day Nine: Is This the Real Life?

No matter where we go, Casey and I will always find a farmer's market to wreak havoc at enjoy. Fortunately for us, the one in Park City was within walking distance of the condo! Also near the condo: the cabriolet. Which was free. Being the children that we are, we spend an obscene amount of time going back and forth on it, in between wandering the market and eating.

We had snow cones and lunch (mint limeade (served by cute guys who totally played along with our mild insanity) and an apple strudel) before going back on the cabriolet. Again. For very long stretches. We yelled things to the passersby down below ("This is your sign!") and sang along to "Bohemian Rhapsody" and generally had a great time.

When we got back to the condo, we lazed around, decidedly in love with civilization again.

After dinner, though, we chilled in the hot tub. Well, not chilled...

Regardless, it was wonderful just being incredibly lazy for a day, you know?

Day Eight: Fear of Heights?

Casey and I spent the morning on our iPads in the living room, so that we could socialize without actually socializing. Welcome to America, or something like that.

We went to lunch at this great restaurant on Main Street, the Wasatch Brewery. They have ridiculously fantastic fish & chips.

My aunt left us to do some errands, so we took the time to explore Main Street. Casey let me into a bookstore, and I left with two new books. Le sigh. I can't complain, though, because new books always make me happy.

After exploring a few more stores, we decided to go on the chair lift. It's a roughly forty-five minute shindig, round-trip, and it's so worth it. You get amazing views of the city, and everything. Even if you're afraid of heights (and really, there is nowhere worse to realize this than on chair lift several feet off the ground).

We took the bus back to the condo, and on the walk from the stop to the front door, my aunt caught up to us. We got in the car and headed to Wal-Mart for some barbecuing essentials. After that, we got dinner at Panda Express and went to see Ted.

If you're wondering, you do need to see it. Desperately. Seth MacFarlane, you are my new favourite person.

Day Seven: Let's Get Civilized

Before I discuss this day, I just have to tell you all that I am very, very excited about the new Doctor Who trailer that came out yesterday, and I don't know what I'm going to do with my life until the twenty-fifth. Re-watch the series, maybe?

Ahem.

So we finally bid goodbye to Wyoming and headed off for Park City. Approximately five minutes after packing up and leaving the campsite, we saw another moose. This time, however, we saw a good one, giant antlers and all. Everyone should always listen to me: I said that we'd see a good one on the way to Park City, and I was right!

Our drive through Wyoming passed through several small towns, all strung together. When I say small, I mean towns with populations of 300 or less. Minuscule. Tiny. Dinky. Etc.

We stopped for lunch at this little diner called Tootsie's (excellent sandwiches) before heading off again.

We went through Idaho and spent a great deal of time admiring Bear Lake. It's huge and incredibly blue and incredibly pretty. We stopped at a rest stop in Utah to admire it, and play with grasshoppers (they'd be out on the cement paths, and we'd run down the paths to make them jump back into the grass. Big fun).

By the time we got to Park City, it was raining, but who cares? We were finally at a shelter that wasn't made of nylon, and our beds weren't inflatable.

Okay, so I like to complain about camping. It's all good, because no matter what, I will love very few things as much as I love camping.

Anyway.

After a home-cooked dinner, showers, and the discovery of wi-fi (horray!), we all went to bed and reveled in civilization, because really, what's better than a memory foam bed after sleeping on a slowly deflating air mattress for a week?

Nothing, that's what.

Day Five: Multistate Adventure

Casey and I woke up...lazy. Not sore or exhausted or anything, just lazy. So we nixed the original plan (hiking the Grand Canyon) in favour of something a little less ambitious. So sue us. Regardless, we'd seen the canyon from above. That was all we needed, you know?

Right. We're hideously lazy, we really are.

Since it was our last full day in Yellowstone, we did something awesome: we went on a two-for-the-price of one hike. We saw the Grand Prismatic Pool and the Fairy Falls.

Being the lazy fools that we were, we complained (quietly and amongst ourselves) about the short trek from the parking lot to the lookout for the Grand Prismatic. Keep in mind, that when I call it a lookout, I'm both being generous, and severely underselling it. That "lookout" is actually the side of a mountain, littered with fallen trees that serve double duty as hiker-helpers and benches. Casey and my aunt climbed up higher than I did (Casey for the picture, my aunt for fun), but you don't have to get very high to get the most spectacular view.

For those not in the know (and keep in mind that my pictures will not lessen your status), the Grand Prismatic Pool is this roughly 300-foot hot spring. It's this deep, vibrant blue-purple in the middle that extends out into the clearest, most flawless blue and then yellow, and then orange. When it's sunny out, it's so bright and gorgeous and bizarre. The steam coming off of it is either turquoise or orange, and it's one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

After a while, I hiked down to perch on a tree and read. Let me tell you that going down the side of that mountain was tricky business. It's all loose dirt and rock and dangerous and awesome.

When my people came back down, we "hiked" to the Fairy Falls. I say hike, but really, it's little more than a long (1.something mile) walk down a gravelly path through a forest. We did more complaining (the best part of anything, really), but when we got to the Falls, we couldn't complain about a thing. At all. Ever.

It's two hundred feet of sheer gorgeous. And it does a neat job of cooling you off. It's absolutely ridiculous how pretty it is.

After our trek, we drove to Montana for showers in a laundromat and pizza. If you're ever in West Yellowstone, MT, then get pizza at Rocky Mountain Pizza Co. on Canyon Street. Best. Ever. Plus, they have huckleberry Italian soda. Be still, my heart!

On the drive back to our campsite, we saw several animals of the baby variety. Be aware that there are few things in this world as adorable as a baby bison.

Also of note, Wyoming doesn't understand nighttime. It was ten o'clock, and there was still plenty of light on the horizon. Of course, when it gets dark, it gets dark, but still. Casey and I carried on and on about the sky. It was great.

Day Two: Oh, Idaho!

It goes on.

We left the hotel bright and early and drove through Idaho. I met up with an old friend from high school, which was really nice. I haven't seen him since graduation, basically. Anyway, after the socialization, we left. Casey and I played our roles (tourists) wonderfully and bought cheesy things from a gas station. We also took the time to take pictures. Oh, yeah.

After a small roadblock (literally) in Montana, though, we finally made it to Yellowstone! Within the first mile of the park, we saw some elk grazing. Being tourists, we stopped and took pictures before continuing to our campsite. Basically, in one day, though, we went through the rest of Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. That effectively knocks several states off my to-do list.

We got the tent up in less than ten minutes (Casey and I were both Girl Scouts, once upon a time) and went to this place, the Lake Lodge (I think) for dinner. There, I discovered that I'm basically going to be addicted to huckleberry stuff for the rest of my life.

Also, we saw a bison.

Also, I bought a bison. His name is Jerry.

Also, I counted this day as a success.

Day One: It Begins

So, as I told you, I went off on an adventure. I drove up to Yellowstone with Casey and my aunt. And since it was such a long trip, with so many pictures, I decided to drag it out and make a post a day. Yeah, buddy.

Anyway.

On the first day (Tuesday), we headed out. We got the car packed valiantly and headed off. We drove through a good chunk of California, Nevada, Arizona, and stopped in Utah. Provo, Utah, home of the sad Mexican food. Really, we should have figured that Utah wouldn't have California-approved Mexican food. Hopefully I'll get some tonight, though!

Also in Provo, Utah: our hotel. It was really nice, complete with a fitness room (abused my Casey and myself) and an indoor pool. I love pools, indoor and otherwise.

Arizona...

More Arizona...

Virgin margaritas, like all the cool kids do.
Mine tasted like chili tamarind candy.
It was supposed to be kiwi.

This is how we do.

Oh, Marriott, you know us so well!

So, by the end of this day, I could honestly say that I'd been to Vegas! Well, in Vegas.

Okay, through Vegas. Whatever.

More tomorrow!

Summer Daze

I'll start off with tonight's outfit, because that's how I roll. I just wore this for Chinese with Casey and my mom. Also, buying more nail polish and lipstick, neither of which I lack. Oh, well, it was cheap.

Top: Ralph Lauren/given by my mom | Skirt: Fashion Bug | Bag: Ross | Shoes: Payless

Now, to cover two days, where we didn't do much but took a lot of pictures regardless.

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-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

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!

It's Only For a Few Days!

Sorry I didn't post an outfit yesterday. I kind of forgot in the haze of a cold and an essay that I really don't want to do. Unfortunately, I can't even promise one later today. Or for the next few days. I'm going to Carpinteria from Sunday till Wednesday, and I don't think I'll be taking my laptop. That just means that you can either expect one really long post Wednesday night/Thursday afternoon, or a bunch of regular-sized posts. Either way, expect stuff around Wednesday night or Thursday afternoon. Till then, I'll be sure to post stuff on Instagram, so you can live vicariously and fall in love with Carpinteria just a little bit.

To tide you over, I'll post a hair tutorial tonight. And until then, here's a picture of a cuttlefish, because cuttlefish are adorable.

Expect a few random inspiration posts throughout the week. Or don't. It's your mind. See you guys soon!

Fourteen

Erm, so I didn't get an outfit photo today. Sorry. But, I did take a lot of pictures. I basically wore a repeat outfit anyway, so it works. I wore this dress and these sandals.

Let's look at a face that isn't mine today, though, shall we?

Bag: Claire's | Sunglasses: Tilly's

She falls in love with food all the time.

Our hideout has awesome acoustics. Perfect for spontaneous
performances of "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Casey and I went to the farmer's market for the first time in three weeks. It was bizarre—we go so often that we like to think that we're friends with half of the vendors. Well, some of them. Like, five.

Anyway.

We wandered, had lunch at the nice little place called Juice Box (expensive, but delicious. It evens out, I think), met up with Erika and her boyfriend (actually, they found us sitting in an alcove to beat the heat), and had frozen yogurt. I love frozen yogurt, and Casey loves all things gummy. We also sang in our hideout and spent a bit of time at an open mic night. We didn't actually catch any of the open mic part, but we'll try again.

Thursdays have missed us.

We'll back to our regularly scheduled outfit posts tomorrow. Promise!