hello moto

What is it about a leather (okay, faux leather) moto jacket that makes you feel infinitely cooler? I mean, I feel like Sandy at the end of Grease. Tell me about it, stud.

Aside from the boost of cool, this jacket is a great way to bundle up without the bulk. I don't know for how much longer I'll be wearing it alone, though.

It's getting to be that time where I'll be wearing a tank under a tee under a button up under this jacket. I'm talking layers, y'all. 

photos: @cookayemonster

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tropical getaway

This past weekend I had a few summer firsts: I went to my first cookout, I made my first campfire s'mores and I found my first pair of tropical shorts. So, all in all, yeah, it was a pretty good weekend.

These are an H&M pair and were perfect for outdoor grilling -- not too clingy. The only downside to shorts, for me anyway, is that mosquitos hone in on my legs and I'm left with red welts that itch like crazy. But that's the price of summer, ain't it? 

Note: I've made some changes to the blog layout, hence the delayed post. Thoughts? Happy humpday, y'all!

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hot tin roof

I can't tell you how much I've tried to make slip dresses work for me (so many attempts), until one day I finally threw my hands in the air and said, fuhgeddaboudit! And then, like with most things in life, the minute I stopped stressing, it came to me.

This picture of Elizabeth Taylor  in a slip dress from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof has long been an inspiration for me. Remembering it, I decided that trying too hard to make a slip dress work, wouldn't work. Simplicity would have to do.

Then I thought, duh, what would be simpler than throwing something over it? This trench (only $3 thrifted, might I add) takes away the question of, "is she wearing a nightgown in public?" It makes it structured. 

Don't get me wrong -- this is still a saucy look -- but it was just perfect to wear for a drink, channeling Maggie the Cat, on a cooler summer day. 

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switching stripes

Take away the moto jacket, and you've got what I've been wearing to the office this past week. Wait, let me say that again: office. Oh my gosh, you guys, I have an office! Okay, just a desk, but still! 

As much as I love playing with different outfits, I keep coming back to the same element: stripes. I've worn them three of five days just because, well, what else am I supposed to wear? Seriously. Tell me. What else?

So that I don't get entirely bored with my structured work stripe outfits, on my down time I've been pairing them with edgier things: a faux leather jacket here, distressed denim there. 

It makes me feel like a superhero, switching stripes -- by day, a blazered-up journalist and by night a street-chic party girl. Except instead of partying, I'm grabbing dinner and immediately falling asleep because, as it turns out, running around doing interviews all day is tiring. The life of an intern, right? 

out of season

 

I'm a city girl at heart. I have New York running through my veins. Whenever I get nostalgic about city living I try to make a day of going to Atlanta. A lunch date to catch up with a friend is usually the first stop and then, of course a little shopping. 

This week's trip consisted of fried chicken sandwiches, new gold rings and a summer-perfect little white dress from Rag-o-Rama that I can't wait to wear. On the topic of things I can't wait to wear, this breezy boho dress was another one I'd been itching to pull out this summer. 

I bought this dress last year at H&M for half the original price, a great deal, because they were cleaning out summer styles for their new fall items. Aside from the sticker price, the drop-waist silhouette is what made the dress for me. I'd wanted one for a long while, but it was tricky finding just the right one. 

So even though it was out of season, I bought it anyway. It was too good to leave behind. What can I say? I live life on the edge. I basically waited a whole year to wear this dress, and it was completely worth it you guys.  

Photos: IG @cookayemonster 

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short fuse

This past weekend it was brought to my attention that I function best when angry. Naturally, I was incredibly shocked, offended...and then a little angry. "Me? Angry? Never! "

It all began to click the more I looked at it. I am astrologically an Aries, a fire sign, born under the sign for the Greek god of war. I can also be very argumentative. For me, trying to contain anger feels like subduing a raging fire with a thimble of water. 

I've accepted that anger can motivate me (I can clean my entire house when I'm good and riled up) and that I have a short fuse. I've also accepted that with these constant 80 degree days it was about time for me to let my legs breath and start fusing with a pair of new shorts. Yeah, I know. The wordplay was a stretch. Wanna fight about it? 

But really. I found these lacy shorts at H&M and I loved them instantly. I'd been wanting a pair like this since last summer, and these were so perfect I bought them in black too. So while awful wordplay, it is still a fact: I am and will be pretty much fused to these shorts all summer long. 

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a year's time

 

Around this time, just a year ago, I was finally settling into my new position as boutique #girlboss, taking a semester off classes, turning 22 and freaking out in the process. There were a lot of oh god, what is my life moments going on then. Being the super nostalgic person that I am, it's nice to be able to look back and see the times that life ruffled your feathers, now knowing, "hey, I made it out alive. I'm even better for it." There are still oh god, what is life moments going on now, but at least I know that in year's time, I can look back and go "really girl? That's what you called a problem. Bye."

Another thing I like to get nostalgic about is my closet. A year ago, I bought the Anthropologie Linkbloom bracelet as a birthday gift to myself. It was my first "not Forever 21," semi-grown up jewelry purchase. And, in "not Forever 21" fashion, it's stood the test of time. Or at least a year.

As for the rest of this get up, I'm a big fan of mixing hard and soft pieces and, I mean, what could be harder than a super bad ass biker jacket? This maxi could've easily been one of my lazy-day-throw-on dresses (it probably will be eventually), but with this jacket it felt more complete. An outfit worthy of the 23-year-old me.

 

 

 

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life savers

Last week was my first week back in classes after Spring Break and I was already over it the minute my alarm rang on Monday morning. The only things that kept me present that day were a chai latte before class and the attitude boost I got from wearing a punchy pair of kicks. This might come off as a little bit dramatic, but hear me out, okay? These shoes saved my life.

 I bought them at H&M on my lunch break during a painfully long shift at work and before I left the store they were on my feet. I could not have been more grateful for the instantaneous relief. I didn't expect to wear them beyond that day, let alone to be wearing them purposefully with one of my favorite dresses.   

I've worn this dress so many times, in so many ways, all last winter. It's absolutely perfect. It's easily layerable, it stretches in the right places and has pockets. Hello, it's the best. I was starting to think it was all worn out. But, for a second time, these sneakers came through like a champ and gave my dress a new breath of life. 

 

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