Notes to Self

{ f21 top, shorts, sandals; Ralph Lauren sunnies; James Avery ring }

 Notes to Self:

• Make sure all clothing tags are tucked in before taking outfit photos. Rookie mistake.
• Wearing corduroy AND denim on a Texas day in August? Why.
• Don't make eye contact with passers-by because they will ask you what the heck you're doing. Thus following the awkward conversation of trying to explain what you were actually doing.
• Get a haircut. It's too hot for long hair. In fact, just shave it all off. Go full 2007 Britney.
• Leave looking cool in a Delorean car to the professionals AKA Michael J. Fox in "Back to the Future". Only he can pull it off.

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Austin to Boston

Probably the coolest thing I did this summer was go on a roadtrip across the US (well, part of it) from Austin to Boston. According to Google, that's just a little above a 30 hour ride. What. The longest I had ever been in a car was about 6/7ish hours, so 30 seemed like a death wish. I have always dreamed about driving across state lines while taking photos of their welcome signs, but when I found out this dream would finally become a reality, I worried that I wouldn't be able to handle it. What does one do sitting down for 30 hours?? And is dying of boredom an actual thing? (I looked into it. It's not.)


Thankfully, the ride wasn't bad. At all, actually. We entertained ourselves with music, concentration games like naming a movie for every letter of the alphabet (I totally dominated by the way), and a big book of mad libs (which really proved just how immature we are, haha). Arkansas was a somewhat dull state to drive through, not much to see. Tennessee was pretty, lots of greenery. And I got to see the Mississippi River for the first time too! We stopped for the night in Nashville and got to visit the Grand Ole Opry. I'm not a big country music fan, but it was kind of cool to see this iconic building I've heard so much about.

The Virginia state line wasn't too far away from Nashville, so we arrived within a couple hours on the second day of our trip (with help from a Starbucks pick-me-up of course). Virginia was a gorgeous state. It was also our last chance to eat Chick-Fil-A before it basically became non-existent in the northern states. We had to drive a little off course, but it was worth it. As my grandma always says, "good chicken sandwiches are always worth it." Okay, she never said that, but that doesn't make it any less true.

On the second night, we stopped in some random town in Pennsylvania. I wish we could have gone to Philadelphia, but I guess that will have to wait until another trip. We passed by the West Virginia and Maryland welcome signs as well, but I didn't want to make this post into too big of a photo dump. I'm already starting to feel like an elderly person forcing their grandkids to watch a slideshow of their bad vacation photos to the Grand Canyon.

New Jersey was a quick state to drive through, and from it I got to see New York City from a distance! There's a certain rush of excitement I get when I see that skyline. I've only been to NYC once when I was 14-years-old, but I still remember everything from that trip. I mean, those of us who have been know that NYC isn't just a city you can easily forget. We eventually got to drive through New York for what seemed like a total of 5 seconds. But what a glorious 5 seconds it was.

On the third day, we finally made it to Massachusetts! What's weird is that I was so excited to finally have arrived at our destination, but at the same time I was sad that my roadtrip was coming to an end. It was a new experience, and I loved the feeling of adventure and seeing sides of the country I had never known before. I already want to do another trip and visit the other states I've never seen. I wanna go right now. Seriously, let's do it. Who's down?

xx

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101 Dalmatians

{ f21 top, sandals, & earrings; Target skirt & belt; UO watch }

I'm pretty sure this skirt literally has 101 dalmatians on it. Okay, not literally. I didn't actually count them. Ain't nobody got time for that. Unless you do, then in that case, go ahead and get back to me with the correct number. But not really, because I don't feel like changing the title of this post (it's just too clever, right?).

You can't tell by these photos, but my left sandal is broken. A couple of the straps around the toe area randomly decided to bust on me. I was bummed but also relieved that they were still wearable! So no one really has to know that I'm wearing a broken shoe... except now y'all know. Hm. Where's one of those Men in Black flashy things when you need one?

xx

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Sound and Cinema

{ Cotton On top; f21 shorts, ring & sandals; Kohls bracelet }

I love living in a city where there are so many fun things to do for free! I remember a quote from one of my favorite shows where a waitress says to the main character, "Free is good. Even if I was rich, free is always good." I couldn't agree more.

Sound and Cinema is a six-week long summer event Austin holds on the lawn of the Long Center (just outside of downtown). It features a movie on a giant inflatable screen, and there's also a band that plays before it starts. It was a great time to just chill with friends, eat snacks and lay out while watching this week's feature film "Jurassic Park." I didn't realize I had never seen the movie all the way through before, haha oh well! Next week they're playing "Back to the Future," and I can't wait!

xx


(a snapshot of my view taken from my iPhone!)

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Houndstooth Perfection

{ ASOS dress | F21 belt | hand-me-down heels }

I've had this dress since last summer but haven't worn it until now. It's one of those dresses that hangs in my closet for months because I don't want to wear it to just anything. It may not look like much, but it's more of the fit and style of the dress that I just adore. It's perfect! I finally freed the garment from hiding for my college senior portraits taken a couple weeks months ago (still playing catch up!), and I just love the result!

Photo cred: Becca Gamache Photography

xx

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Post Grad

Longest blogging break ever? Yeah.

Of all the blogging tips I've read before starting DF, I never once saw anything that told me how difficult keeping up with your blog would be after college. I don't even know how women with actual full time jobs and kids can handle it, so what's my excuse? I never wanted to take a break from blogging, but honestly, the stress of finding a job, graduating, and maintaining a social life really took its toll. I was trying to find a happy medium between DF and getting to enjoy my senior year of college, but I guess the latter ended up becoming my main focus. I have no regrets about it, but I'd like to find some practical way of transitioning back into the blogging world. I've missed it!

So, post grad life. It's not all it's cracked up to be. The beginning of summer was filled with everyone hanging out with everyone before people either moved away for a new job/graduate school or moved back home for the time being. I took some time off to spend time with friends (especially the ones I knew I wasn't going to see for a long time), and I also went on a cross-country road trip from Austin to Boston. The two weeks I spent in New England were probably the peak of my year thus far. Exploring the historic sights of Boston, driving up to Maine just for lobster, swimming in Lake Winnipesaukee on the 4th of July... it was amazing! Coming back home was tough because I knew there were responsibilities waiting on me, but such is life I guess.

I'm currently still searching in the job market. I've got a couple interviews in the works, so hopefully things will work out! I'll keep ya posted.

Photo cred: Becca Gamache Photography

xx

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