Pals + Pastels

Look where I am! Or was, rather. I was lucky enough to be able to spend the weekend with Kate! I'm so glad we finally had the chance to meet, and I had an absolutely lovely time hanging out with her and her family. Living in the digital age definitely has its pitfalls, but it's pretty amazing when an internet friendship translates so well into real life. Also, her room is just as dreamy in person as it is in her photos! I definitely need to step up my decorating game.

I also got to meet Arrietty, which was quite a treat!

Since Kate and I both own this dress, she had the great idea of taking some photos in our matching outfits. We headed over to a nearby park with some beautiful gardens, and we even tried our hand at some jumping photos (my first attempt ever!). 

Outfit Details

Bernie Dexter dresses: ModCloth (similar style here)

My flats: Aerosoles (similar)

Kate's shoes: B.A.I.T. Footwear

On Friday, Kate was kind enough to accompany me to go see a friend from college in his production of Rock of Ages, and I ran into some other college friends while there. The show was great, and it was nice to see all of them. On Saturday, I met up with my two closest friends from school, and we had the most wonderful lady teatime date I could ever imagine. We had a delightful lunch at Alice's Tea Cup (consisting of peach tea, triple chocolate + lemon blueberry scones, and curried chicken salad sandwiches), and I haven't laughed so hard in quite a long time. The weather was perfect, we did some window shopping and walked through a street fair... it was pretty much the perfect afternoon. Oh, and Kate and I saw Shaun the Sheep at an awesome movie theater (with the comfiest reclining chairs you can imagine), and it was such an adorable movie and everyone should go see it immediately.

There are times where I still get a little sad going into the city. I tend to be prone to nostalgia, and I have a lot of memories of New York, both good and bad. I spent a lot of time in the city in college, and it simultaneously feels like ages ago and just yesterday. I haven't remained close with that many people from my time there, and sometimes I feel like a failure because I'm not currently living there (and am frankly really intimidated by the prospect of moving back). I'm also reminded a lot of my previous relationship when I'm there, and sometimes still fear that I'll run into my ex; as unlikely as that seems in such a big place, I always bump into someone I know, so it wouldn't be unheard of. Maybe most of all, being in New York reminds me of how much time has passed since I lived there, and how I'm not the same person anymore. Ultimately, I think that's a good thing, but I still don't know if it's really the place for me or not. I think I'd regret it if I didn't find out for sure. And luckily, I do have some wonderful friends in the area – both old and new – with whom I'm still close, and that brings me a lot of joy, even in times of uncertainty.

Have a great day!

Rose of Sharon

It shouldn't surprise anyone that I love Pinup Girl Clothing's Magic of Mary Blair line. The designs are so magical (I've worn other Mary Blair pieces here and here), and I always feel incredibly special when I wear them. However, I wasn't totally in love with the lips & roses print dresses when they first arrived on the site. "Beautiful," I thought, "but not quite kitschy enough." And then I saw these dresses on social media and on bloggers I love, and I immediately changed my mind. PUG had a pretty significant sale recently, and I was convinced to give this lovely dress a shot – and I'm so glad I did! 

It's pretty awesome to have an "inside woman" who can give fit insight, and Ashley recommended that I size down, as the Ella style runs large. I was a little worried about ordering a medium, and it's a tiny bit tight on me right now, but I'm certain that the size large would have been too big (and I'm a large in all of my other PUG pieces, except for the Heidi dress). I really love how the Ella fits on my frame; I think it actually hits my proportions better than the Jenny dresses, and I love the whole bodice of the dress. I was unsure whether to go for this lavender colorway or the pink version, but since I have so many pink dresses (and my girls were rooting for lavender with my skin tone), I think I made the right decision!

Outfit Details

Dress: Pinup Girl Clothing

Shoes: Amazon

Petticoat: Amazon

Necklace: similar

I'm leaving tomorrow to go visit Kate for the weekend! I'm taking the train, which is a long trip, but I enjoy it (and it's much less stressful than flying). I have lots to do before I leave (i.e., all of my packing), so I might not be doing another post until Monday... but be sure to tag along on my trip via Instagram! :)

Have a great day!

Ballerinas + Beethoven

Whew, I'm exhausted from this weekend. I packed in a lot of adventuring, but I definitely need to catch up on sleep! I went to the public market, saw a friend's show, saw Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (which I'd enthusiastically recommend), and took a ton of outfit photos. I'm actually going on another adventure soon – I'm visiting Kate this weekend! – so I wanted to get a good backlog going for future posts. 

It's only appropriate that I'm finally wearing this clever brooch that Kate made. When I saw it, I laughed out loud. Since I used to work for an orchestra (and still do, technically, since my mom is their publicist), I had to add it to my collection. I did already have a ballerina dress, but I was powerless to resist this one when I found it on eBay. It's a little big on me (which is surprising, since it's a large and it has a button-down front, which usually equals bad news), but I'll be holding onto it for sure. 

Outfit Details

Ballerina dress: eBay

Bae brooch: Kate Gabrielle

Pettislip: Amazon

Flats: Amazon

Belt: from another dress

Have a great start to your week!

Friday Favorites #102

Happy Friday! I sure am glad it's finally the weekend! Here are a few fun things that I've been loving this week:

I'm obsessed with obnoxious phone cases lately, including all of these. I'm so sad the popcorn one doesn't come in an iPhone 6 version, but I might have snagged the jukebox one for my collection.

a   ||   b   ||   c   ||   d   ||   e   ||   f   ||   g

I might need a pair of pale pink flats in my life.

a   ||   b

These new arrivals from Heart of Haute are the dreamiest!

a     ||     b

This little mousy bag is so squeakin' cute!

I need these Golden Girls thank you cards by Kate Gabrielle!

I also might need this mug:

Even though it's not something I'd typically be drawn to, I really like this dress from ModCloth's new label.

We just bought the gray version of this futon, but I love the teal just as much!

This owl canister is so dear!

Pretty dress alert!

a   ||   b   ||   c

I love these pins:

1   ||   2

And finally, one of the funniest & cutest short videos I've seen in a while:

Have a great Friday!

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Painting the roses red

I think this dress from Unique Vintage has the best rose print I've ever seen. It's so romantic, and I love the classic silhouette. It'd make a perfect Valentine's Day dress, but since there are still some roses in bloom, I decided to take a trip to the Maplewood Rose Garden here in Rochester. It's sort of a strange place for a rose garden (it's surrounded by department stores and located near an iffy area of the city), but it does provide a sense of serenity and escape. Weirdly, I've seen at least four other bloggers who had the same rose garden post idea around the same time... but since I had a backlog of outfits, I've been sitting on these photos for about a week.

I'm in complete denial that July is nearly over. What happened to summer?? I'm determined to get as much out of this last month as I possibly can. I have a couple of little trips planned (you'll hear more about those soon), and I still have to cram in some other things on my summer to-do list, like going to the beach, an amusement park, and the Renaissance Faire! I did manage cross one big thing off my to-do list this week – we did a big overhaul of my room and did some redecorating, with which I'm very pleased. I'm hoping that now it'll look nice enough to use as a photo backdrop for the colder months. 

Outfit Details

Heart of Haute Rose Garden Dress: c/o Unique Vintage (on sale!!)

B.A.I.T. Footwear Spectators: available here

Pettislip: Amazon

Do you have any plans for the rest of the summer?

Baby Blue + Book Reviews

I've always been an avid reader, though I've recently found it difficult to find the excess time or energy to dive in to a new book. I love the written word, and I'm convinced that my early love of books helped me to become a skilled writer and eloquent speaker. It's been a challenge to make reading part of my routine again (I'm usually so exhausted by the end of the day that I pass out pretty quickly!), so I realized that if I combined it with my blogging calendar, I'd be able to reach my reading goals and provide some different content for my readers – a win-win! I'm planning on making it a semi-regular feature, and first up for review is The Book of Joan by Melissa Rivers.

In general, I am very much a fan of biographies and memoirs, especially ones that chronicle those in the entertainment industry. I love being able to peer into the lives of fellow performers (even when their books aren't especially well-written), and these books usually provide a lot of sound advice. I always liked Joan Rivers, and since I also have an incredibly close bond with my mother, I was eager to learn more about Melissa's and Joan's relationship. Overall, I enjoyed the book, though I felt the humor was forced at times (Melissa has an immense appreciation for her mom's humor, to be sure, but her own execution of it often fell flat). Joan had such a big personality, and I'm impressed by how skillfully Melissa held her own and learned to thrive while working so closely with her mom.

The book felt a bit scattered, and I wish Melissa's editors had been more unwavering in their duties, as there were some cringeworthy oversights that they failed to catch (though admittedly, they were things that most likely bother me more than they would the average person, i.e., the use of "guesstimating" and incorrect usage of semi-colons). Joan wrote two memoirs of her own, and ultimately, I wish this book had relied a little less on Joan's voice and comedic bits; although I was amused by all of the Joan-isms peppered throughout, I would have been interested to read a more focused account of their unique relationship. It seemed to me that Melissa feels like she has big shoes to fill in terms of comedy and tried too hard to make her jokes land. The book would've been a more successful piece if Melissa had simply remained true to herself and let go of the desire to make everything laugh-out-loud funny. Comedy doesn't work if you're trying too hard or if you're not being honest, and I wish those facts had been among the many lessons that Joan taught her daughter. However, writing a book is no easy task, and I think Melissa is to be applauded for the heartfelt moments that she did manage to include in this book, especially when Joan's sudden passing is still so fresh. It's clear how much Joan doted on her daughter (despite any jokes made at her expense), and finding out more about their bond was certainly the highlight of the book for me.

If you're interested in reading The Book of Joan for yourself, you can find it here! 

Have you read any good books lately? Do you have any recommendations for my next review?

Outfit Details

Vintage dress: Geronimo Vintage

Book ring: ModCloth (similar)

Flats: Aerosoles (similar)

Have a great Monday!

I received this book from the Blogging For Books program in exchange for an honest review.