Holiday

So, when you guys will be reading this, I'll be off in Cape Cod! I don't have any internet access, so I decided to make a post before I left to put up (via my handy internet ready phone) while I'm away. As I mentioned in the last post I got a haircut! I decided Wednesday that I really needed some change, and for some reason a new hair cut seemed like a good first step. So, on Friday I got a lot of length cut off...



Ta da! So, it's shorter but I really like it! Half of me feels way more put together, and half of me feels like a five year old because I had a really similar hair cut when I was younger, but it was much more... awful back then than it is now. I keep forgetting it's short though! I'll run my hand through it and then there just won't be anymore hair. I probably sound like a weird-o, but it's true! Anyway, I like how it turned out and I think I'm going to keep it like this for a long time :)




Romper, as top: Zara, Skirt: UO, Belt: Target, Shoes: Steve Madden, Necklace: Buffalo Exchange




I hope you all have a great week, and I can't wait to catch up with all of your lovely blogs next weekend.

-Nicole

Sister Feature!

So, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, I visited my sister last night to show her the clothes I bought her and put outfits together for her. I had a budget of about $400 and bought her twelve pieces: 1 dress, 2 cardigans, 2 pairs of shorts, 5 shirts, and 2 skirts.
A few things to know about my sister:
1. She's in her mid twenties, so her outfits had to be mature, but cute, and not too old.
2. She's a lawyer, so her work wardrobe has to be professional, but I tried to incorporate some more color into her outfits.
3. She's adorable.

Now, onto the outfits! Most of them are more geared towards work-wear (I forgot to take pictures of the first outfit), but I think they all turned out well! She was happy with almost all of the pieces (the pencil skirt and one top have to be returned) and honestly, I think she looks adorable in all of the outfits.



This is one of the casual outfits. She's wearing a pink ruffle top and cardigan from Ann Taylor Loft and her own jeans.



Here, Cheryl's wearing an Ann Taylor loft top, and NY&Co cardigan and skirt.



Here, she started getting into the photo taking, as you can see! She's wearing and Ann Taylor loft cardigan, dress, and belt. It was difficult to get her into this belt. She was all, "but isn't it too much? I mean, a cardigan AND a belt?!". Oh, Cheryl. So, I encouraged her to try it and we agreed that it looked really nice on her!



In this outfit, and the next one, I tried to style some things she already had but didn't know how to wear. This is actually a dress, with a bright pink ruffle top and a line gray skirt. She didn't love the top part, but she really liked the skirt, so I put this cute floral button down from GAP over the dress and belted it, and she really liked it/was amazed by the power of belt. Also, she looks super cute!



This is my favorite outfit that I put together for her. She was all, "I bought a navy skirt because black was too boring." And I was all, "you bought a navy skirt but were afraid of belts?!". So, navy was a little bit of a challenge, but I took this adorable peach top with flowers from Ann Taylor loft and paired it with a cream cardigan from NY&Co, and I think the result is so cute!


All in all, I earned eighty dollars (ten dollars an hour) which is not shabby at all for shopping and putting outfits together (things I already love to do!). I hope you like these outfits, I had a really fun time putting them together and making this post!

Also! I will be going to Cape Cod with my boyfriend's family tomorrow! There's no internet (boo!) so my bloggy presence will be scarce. I'll have another post (probably sunday) of today's outfit and a now, which I'm leaving right now to go get! I hope you all have great weekends :)

-Nicole

It's the sound of sunshine coming down

Today was so much fun! My parents and I (my boyfriend was supposed to come but couldn't make it at the last second. boo!) headed over to Coney Island! First, we went to the New York aquarium which, aside from the mass amounts of obnoxious screaming school groups, was really nice. There was this huge walrus who would disappear and then out of nowhere just swim down right in front of the glass. It was really silly. I took a few pictures of my favorite animals! (There were no otters in the otter tank. Super disappointment :( )




So, after we left the aquarium we headed to the boardwalk! It's so cheesy and wonderful. We saw the infamous cyclone roller coaster (which I was too afraid to ride!), tons of fried food stands and silly games, and the lovely beach. We didn't stay for too long, but I had a good time. There was a lot to see, so I hope to go back soon :)





Dress: Pacsun, Cardigan: Forever 21, Sandals: Steve Madden, Sunnies: Ray ban, Belt: Target





I actually ended up seeing my sister tonight to style up some clothes for her and I think it went really well! She liked all of the things I purchased and I put together some outfits we both really liked! Seriously, she looked adorable. I took photos of her and can't wait to show you all tomorrow!

Until tomorrow,
Nicole

What's so simple in the moonlight

So, my emotions have been absolutely running amok all over my brain lately. Seriously, it's ridiculous. From feeling mopey about the people in the car accident, to wanting to cry over miranda cosgrove songs (I know. I have no idea. "Kissin' You" should not evoke any strong emotion other than disgust, but alas), to fears about my ability to write better poetry than a five year old, to love confusion, my head is a puddle of mucky, teenage-girl water at the moment. So, in an effort to clear my mind, my mom and I had a day out and went to paint pottery! Seriously, painting pottery is really relaxing for me and I love to be creative in any way possible. I picked out a mug to paint and immediately knew what I wanted on it...


One side has a mustache (that should line up swimmingly with my nose) and the other has two little birds. I think it's a pretty good representation of me: pretty girly, but with a strong affinity for mustaches. Now, my outfit



Top: UO, Shorts: Levi's, Sandals: Nordstrom, Vest: Delias, Belt: Thrifted







I've been thinking about something lately that I wanted to throw out to you guys. I'm a bit leery about bringing it up because I feel like it's a weird thought. Do you ever feel like you could really love someone if you got to know them really well, got to spend more time with them, or just speak more freely with them? I've been thinking about this a bit lately, and I'm not sure if it makes sense. I guess it's like, you know someone great, but you want to know them better, or more. And something tells you that if you could just have a real, heartfelt talk, something great could happen. Maybe this is just me, and I'm okay with that, but I was just curious about what you all thought.

Thanks for reading, you guys are the best :)

-Nicole

It struck me that the two of us could run (and giveaway winner!)

Thank you all so much for your encouragement and for sharing your own stories on yesterday's post. It really helped so much. I'm sorry for being such a debbie-downer, but fear not! Today is a new day, and I'm trying to have a better outlook :)
Anyway, today was my first day of work as my sister's personal shopper! And let me tell you, it was exhausting (but wonderful)! I tried everything on, making sure that the clothes had a good shape that would fit her body type and that they would fit (she's about a size bigger than me, so I used my best judgement). I had a lot of fun with it, actually! I love putting outfits together for myself, but putting together a wardrobe for my older sister, who works as a lawyer and needed not only casual clothes but also a work wardrobe, is a new challenge that I'm enjoying tackling. I think I'm going to meet up with her Friday to help her put some outfits together so maybe I'll even do a sister outfit post :)



Dress: JCPenney, Sandals: Nordstrom, Belt: Another dress Headband: Forever 21

I definitely chose comfort and ease over fashion today. I find that I have the most difficulty putting an outfit together for shopping than any other occasion, ironically. I want to wear something easy for trying on clothes, but not sloppy, and my usual shirt tucked into a skirt with a belt and maybe a sweater isn't the easiest thing to take off and put on over and over in fitting rooms.





And now, what you've all been waiting for! I picked a winner for my headband giveaway!
And the winner is...



Chloe from Dirt on Your New Shoes!!!

A big thanks to everyone who entered. It means so much to me that you support my little ol' blog. And Chloe, I'll email you shortly!

Until tomorrow,
Nicole

You're tied to your desires

Oh goodness. Today's been a bit disappointing. I found out what insurance is doing with my car, and it's not the best it could have been, but I guess it's not the worst either. The money doesn't matter to me, nor does a company paying for my car getting fixed. It's just the people and the lies that bother me the most.



Shirt: Nordstrom Rack, Jeans: UO, Sandals: Steve Madden, Belt: other shorts

I've been thinking a lot lately about people and why some people are "good" and some "bad." The reason my car damages aren't getting paid for in full is because the other person chose to lie about what happened and say that I was the bad driver. When I got upset, my mom said to me "That's what happens with car accidents. You'll very rarely find someone willing to take responsibility for what they did." I feel like my trust in people to do the right thing is waning more and more. When I responded to my mom that I would have taken responsibility. She just said "Well, that's you."



If I had to name one of my biggest character flaws, I would certainly say that I'm too sensitive. People yell at me for it all the time, tell me to lighten up, and that there's nothing I can do about whatever I'm upset about. This is one of those times. Contrary to what everyone in my house currently thinks, I'm not upset about insurance. I'm upset about people being to self-interested to take responsibility and lighten someone else's load.




Sorry this post is a bit of a downer, but I really wanted to get all of this out and try to put it behind me. I appreciate you reading <3

Also, my headband giveaway ends tonight, so if you haven't entered yet there are a few hours left.

Until tomorrow,
Nicole <3

Do you feel a certain sense of synergy between yourself and me?

First off, I just want to thank all of you for your support and kind words on yesterday's driving post. You guys are the best :)
The other day, when a few of my high school friends came over, we were discussing our first impressions of each other and the ways we used to act and dress. One of my friends recalled thinking I was weird and kind of creepy. She immediately reinforced that she was wrong (about the creepy part), but honestly, I don't blame her nor am I surprised to hear that. When I was a freshman in high school I had a strict uniform of dark (olive or black) pants (rarely jeans) and a band tee shirt.



Shirt: Probably Hot Topic, Skirt: UO, Belt: Target, Shoes: Steve Madden



All of this reminiscing made me want to revisit some of my old clothes. While I've given most of the horrible pants away, I have kept nearly every single band tee shirt I used to wear. Seriously. I have two and a half drawers full of all different tee shirts for all different bands. I would call it a collection, but I used to wear one every single day until junior/senior year, when I started wearing what I disgustedly called "girly shirts".



I hardly ever wear tee shirts anymore, but meeting up with my friends really put me in the mood to wear one of them. I've definitely updated this tee shirt, which in the past was most often worn with skinny jeans and converse. I think tee shirts and skirts look cute together, though. And while the fourteen year old me was scowling and vomiting, I was pretty happy with it.



Also, I bought these floral knee highs when I was in San Francisco and I've been trying to figure out how to wear them. While I've seen a lot of girls wearing ankle socks with adorable outfits, I'm still iffy about them on myself.


Before I go, just a reminder! Don't forget to enter my headband giveaway if you haven't already! It ends Monday night :)

Until tomorrow,
Nicole :)

There is nothing as lucky, as easy, or free

I can't believe I wore tights yesterday. Seriously. I think today may be the hottest day of the summer so far. So crazy!



Top: H&M, Skirt: Forever 21, Sandals: Nordstrom, Belt: NY&Co, Bag: UO

I spent a lot of today driving. To my school, to stores, to anywhere. When I first got my license about a month and a half ago, you couldn't get me away from the steering wheel. I would jump at the chance to drive anywhere you needed to go, or didn't need to go for that matter. Since my accident though, I've been quite comfortable in the cozy little passenger's seat.



Immediately after my accident, staring in disbelief at my disfigured driver's side door, I assured everyone, including myself that I was not afraid to drive. I would get behind the wheel again no problem. This was not my fault, so what was there to discourage me? But as time went on, and I didn't drive, I grew comfortably passive, and uncomfortably fearful.




Today, though, I reluctantly pulled myself into the driver's seat. I started off insecure. Triple checking for oncoming traffic before proceeding through those intersections and green lights. But as I successfully thwarted highway on ramps, impatient and reckless drivers, and double parked cars I could feel myself regaining the confidence I unknowingly lost. I remembered why driving made me feel free, rather than trapped. It's a good feeling.



Thanks for reading my whole driving saga. I know it's not fashion related, but it's me related, and I want this blog to be one-hundred percent what's running through my mind.

On another note, my headband giveaway is open until Monday! So don't forget to enter if you haven't yet :)

Until tomorrow,
Nicole

You couldn't keep the great unknown from making you mad

Hello there! Today was such a nice day. Not only was it a few degrees cooler, allowing me to wear tights, but I also got to go to lunch with a few of my favorite people, some of whom I haven't seen in ages. It's really nice to catch up with friends you haven't seen in a while. That relief when conversation carries on exactly the way it always used to is such a nice feeling.



Dress:Little store in San Francisco (max factor?), Tights: Macy's, Boots: UO

I picked up this little number at a boutique in San Francisco. For some reason, I had such a strong desire to pair this dress with my bright blue tights. So, when I checked the weather shortly after I woke up to see rainy (boo!) and 76 (yay!), I knew I couldn't miss my opportunity.




So, I took these pictures in front of my house since it was rainy and I didn't want to trek too far. And while they look like normal pictures, I realized that when you look closely, you can see the plethora of strange items my dad's purchased over the years to adorn the lawn. I figured I would label them for you



It's pretty ridiculous, but I guess our lawn has....a sense of character, that other lawns just don't have!

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway! The contest ends monday, so be sure to enter in the post below!

Until tomorrow,
Nicole :)

Flower Child (And a Giveaway!)

Hello! So, a few weeks ago I came across this tutorial by Carrie at Wish Wish Wish and knew I just had to make my own sweet little floral headband. So, I went to the craft store, got some materials, and voila


I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out. Since I wanted the headband to be the focal point of my outfit today, I decided to keep it very simple. There's something I love about seeing sunflowers and the color blue together (is that weird?), so I put on this blue and white sundress and finished the look off with some sandals.



Dress: UO, Sandals: Steve Madden

I decided to take some pictures today at this huge park pretty close to where I live. I've hardly been there, but it's a really nice place to walk around and take in the sun and a nice breeze. As I was taking these photos I was spotting some other locations that I can't wait to show you guys :)





Now, onto the giveaway!
I'm so excited you guys! After I made my headband I had a lot of extra materials. So, I decided to make another headband to giveaway to one of my readers as a thank you for being so supportive!
Here's the headband I'm giving away! It's purple with two gold leaves




How to win!
Simply follow my blog and leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite flower or your favorite poem (or both!) and an email address I can contact you at if you win!

The giveaway will end Monday night, and I'll announce the winner on Tuesday! I'm so excited to send this little headband off to one of you as a thank you for your support! :)

Until tomorrow,
Nicole