Into The Skies

If a skirt can't be worn with freedom and comfort, it's probably not worth wearing (for more than hour). Not only does this little swingin' number from oasap keep it's cool with side pockets (my favorite) but it has little built in shorts to save you from any mini indiscretion! The summery turquoise color and sassy pleats caught my eye immediately.

I am so satisfied with how my first attempt at galaxy t-shirt using bleach came out. I turned an old band shirt inside out to give me a "new" canvas to spray with water/bleach solution. The sun has been shining it's hardest lately (cue the farmer's burn at the baseball game) but it helped the lightening efforts a lot. Next I want to lighten wavy stripes into some skinny jeans and tie-dye bleach some cut-offs. I knew I should have picked up the larger Clorox bottle! I used {this tutorial} ♥

retro ruffled skirt w/short c/o oasap

diy galaxy tee

thrifted necklace

target wedges

Here Comes the Sun

Yay warm weather! It was a beautiful weekend in Santa Cruz, sunny and in the seventies.  The trees have blossomed and nights are warming up. Between the weather and the time off, I am a happy camper and ready to face the workweek. I've already got a bunch of to-do's lined up for this week: finish several bracelets, paint the entryway shelf, and make a few new pairs of cut-offs. Besides these button-front shorts, cut-offs are some of my favorite summer weather wear.

But stheriousthly guys, this outfit contains some gems I am excited to pull out, least of these being my white legs haha. Breeze and sun on my knees is actually a novel sensation still, and bare toes? Babies need a paint job. These shorts are such a comfortable fabric, and I like how the athletic cut of the hem updates the classic sailor style. I want to have these button-up shorts as trousers, a skirt, everything nautical on the bottom! And since ladybugs love the ocean, obvs, I slipped on these adorable wedges I scored a few weeks ago, but have been too cold to don. Have I mentioned ladybugs are one of my favorite insects? Along with bees, so the black and yellow scheme hits two bugs with one shoe-stone.

forever 21 top & bracelet
bdg sailor shorts
lulu guinness wedge sandals via crossroads

Red-y Set Go

Happy Sunday ya'll! I'm pretty excited for the holidays (and food!) to swing through, are you? I need to stock up on apples and cinnamon and a white elephant gift! It's not exactly wintry here during the day but for some reason I find red corduroy with white and black stripes to be pretty festive! I wore random corduroys from Crossroads that I cropped, a thrifted and altered shirt, bow sweater and shoes from Wet Seal (the boots were on sale for $13!).

P.S. Need to get something for a fashionable friend at the last minute? Le Mode is having a sweet sale on gift cards! You can get a $35 gift card for $30, $50 for $40, or $65 for $50! Just enter the code "merry" at checkout and the extra amount will be added :)

Ladybird

Happy Mondays! I hope you all had a good weekend; I sure enjoyed mine! I only got a quick phone photo of what I wore, I'll have to find a way to showcase the awesome ruffled polka dotted red blouse I found at a thrift store in Carmel. On this breezy day off, I just used the blouse for warmth and collar impact. It's too chilly for strappy wedges, so I wore some burgundy ones with black birds printed on them, plus a thrifted sweater. It turned out to be the perfect sartorial choice since I later narrowly avoided prancing over this beautiful red ladybug:

I adore the bright little creatures so much; I'm considering getting some randomly tattooed on me (just a few, not all crazy Beloved style). My grandparents, or Oma und Opa, live in Germany and the lucky bug is all over everything they sent me as a kid: birthday cards, pencil boxes, good luck charms, figurines, underwear (she sent undershirts until I was fifteen). I recently discovered that ladybugs can also be pink! How cute is that? 

I got to spend a wonderful evening stuffing delicious food  in my face while catching up with my amazing friend Andy. We uncorked a bottle of Black Oak chardonnay, selected our crackers and spreads of choice, settled back and talked about her summer trip to England and Amsterdam, Eric and I's plans for finding a place after the New Year and growing veggies and nesting. 

My favorite way to spend time with friends is with good food, comfortable furnishings, and good music. I can't wait until we get settled into our own place so I can host poker nights, craftaculars and dinner parties! 

In the meantime, I'm tiding myself over with planning my contributions to a low-key Thanksgiving dinner and game night with a small group of family. I'm thinking Stove Top and a pumpkin pie or pear gingerbread upside down cake! 

What are your favorite things about Thanksgiving treats? 

Have any bombastic recipes to share?

♥ 

(Former) Teacher's Pet

Indian summer seems here to stay for a while longer, so I'm staring woefully at my new socks and biding my time. Usually Halloween is freezing in Santa Cruz, but this year it looks like it might be eighty degrees during the daytime. Many thanks to Shabby Apple for sending me their swingy, pleated Teacher's Pet skirt. If I end up going out next Monday, I might pull out my reading glasses and a hair-bow and dress up as a teacher's pet in this midi!  

Plus:: Shabby Apple is offering $10 off all black and orange dresses this month with the code TREAT or, 10% off site-wide and free shipping with the code IVY. I should mention that Romwe is having a Halloween sale, too: 20% off with the code HLW20 & free shipping as always. Also between now and the 31st, get a $10 instant credit off a $20 purchase at LovingEco with the code DEAL10. Gold stars all around!

I wore the shabap skirt with my trusty Target wedges and tied up my shirt. I found this striped blouse recently at Crossroads and thought its candy-striperness would be perfect with the studded collar I've been meaning to try. I picked a gaggle of square studs from my etsy-purchased grab bag, and I love how it turned out! Since I'm so stain-prone, I'm afraid to sit down in this crisp (mostly) white skirt, I'm thinking of dying it a dusty pink. Whatcha think?

Burning Patience

I tried my (lazy) hands at whipping up a simple asymmetrical hem skirt. I basically just made a column out of some jersey I had lying around, added an elastic waistband, and cut the front shorter than the back. Then of course it was a little too windy to actually show off the subtle fishtail hem this time around! I paired the skirt with a studded sweater and quilted bag from Crossroads Trading Company, diy bracelets and Target strappy wedges.

♥

Here are some inspiring words I've been loving recently, from Pablo Neruda's  Ode to Life:

"Let’s avoid death by small doses,
remembering always that being alive
requires a much larger effort
than the simple act of breathing.

Only burning patience will bring
within reach a splendid happiness."

Helter Sweater

Several weeks ago I also wore this gray gingham shirt, tucked into the same shorts. I didn't even realize I was pulling a repeater. It's a pretty solid pairing that I imagine would also look awesome with black tights, heels and some bright accessories for a Fall night out. I've never really pursued the preppy look before, but that darn Alexa Chung has been wearing me down with her cuteness. And Liz of Late Afternoon certainly rocked the look well this week, too. Now I kind of want a bunch of jewel-toned sweaters and gauzy printed shirts to pair with them. {I'm wearing all secondhand clothing from Crossroads Trading Company}

Indian Summer

So yeah, it's been very warm this week. The kind of warm where I cannot stand the weight of hair on my neck and I don't need long sleeves until nine at night. I keep admiring everyone's autumn transition and back to school outfits, while struggling to come up with something equally interesting when it's eighty-five degrees out and I have to go to work. I wore a vest over a camisole to feel cooler in the heat; oooh, the innovation! I've had the pretty cami for years, but I'm only starting to appreciate it recently. I found it secondhand at Crossroads along with the wedges, Forever 21 vest, and bag (not all during the same trip). The shorts are cutoffs made from a friends pair of stretchy jeans.


I'm caught up in reading The Paris Wife right now. My equilibrium takes a beating every time I put down that beautiful little book about damp, cramped apartments, long wool skirts, and love in post-war Europe and walk out into the blinding twenty-second century California sun...

Wind in the Willows

This was from last week, but I have nothing to say about it now except that I'm wearing a gauzy H&M cardigan, thrifted camisole, self-made skirt, random necklace, and Target wedges. Sorry for the bummer ya'll, but I'm having a hard time dealing with the loss of a job thanks to my spam filter. So ladies, I'm sure you already knew this because you all have better jobs than me (no really, you do) but in case you didn't know, sometimes your spam filter will suddenly filter out averyimportantemail from someone it never filtered before. I know, if this was a Brita thing, I'd return it. So lesson learned: check your spam box more often if you're awaiting important news!

Have a happy Monday & think about new opportunities being borne on the wind...

Pink Flowers, Best Friends

On a beautiful Sunday in early September, I spent a lovely afternoon with wonderful company and amazing food. My wonderful, funny, amazing friend Angelina (in the middle) will be off on a jet plane tonight, back to Brooklyn, and into my "missing" mental storage compartment. She'll be back in November though, so Dorey and I can't get too sad! I wore a new pleated skirt I recently traded for at Crossroads, an H+M top, vintage belt, Target shoes, and a random faux-leather jacket when the breeze got too breezy.

see more weekend snapshots of San Juan Bautista, the Mission, and avocado margaritas...

Denim + Brown

Hello Fall, how are you? I'm fine, just chillin' in plaid and wide leg jeans. Nothing like a little seventies flare to, well, add some flare? I'm wearing secondhand jeans from Crossroads, Target wedges, and a ruffled plaid flannel from the sale rack at one of those teen stores (it was $1!) and some cheap round plastic sunnies.

Annnnnd just in time for back to school season and Fall shopping fever, check out these sales: In honor of their new line, Academia, Shabby Apple is offering 15% off with the code "IVY" plus free domestic shipping. Need an easy new way to update your fall look? All Le Mode scarves are all $12 until midnight!

...and have you entered my LovingEco giveaway?

Have a happy weekend!!

Fever Yellow

I'm having technical difficulties, but here's some outfit shots I snapped with my cell :)

Eric met me for my lunch break: we went to Betty's Burgers (again) and soothed my frazzled nerves with an Olallieberry & Honey milkshake and nachos. As early as I got up that morning, I didn't get together a very rad outfit. Which worked out, because while I was trying to take some outfit photos in the corner of a parking lot, some dude came over and started asking me for money and asking what i was doing, so I just threw the tripod back into my car and gave up (I don't know what it is about having an audience that I just hate while I'm taking photos; it's not like I don't later post them where EVERYONE can see! I suppose I just don't like the eyes of strangers boring into me while I'm trying to do stuff...). I ended up taking some Retro Camera photos with my phone, which turned out pretty fun. I'm wearing a yellow Forever 21 tank, beaded necklace from Cost Plus, Wet Seal blue jeans, Miz Mooz wedges via Crossroads, and Aztec pattern sunnies [[like these]].

Marooned

I found this marvelous maroon number in the blue tag (*new*) section of Crossroads while I was trading in some clothing. I've had my eye out for a long sheer skirt that would work well into fall, and I'm happy to have found it! The vintage Western-style belt was another closet-warming find of the hour. The very next day I couldn't resist pairing my new treasures with my trusty self-made polka dot tee and wedges from Target. Thankfully the sun shone bright and the wind blew gently.

The nude underslip is a little long for me, I'm thinking of cutting it so it's at least an inch above my knees. Do you have a sheer skirt? Is a short skirt underneath too dangerous for real life?

Join the Masquerade

During the summer months, the Boardwalk hosts free friday night concerts on the beach. Last Friday was one of the last of the series: I went to dork out to Berlin with my bestie while the sun went down. I have to confess that I haven't been to the beach all summer, even though I live in a beach town. Growing up in Santa Cruz, the Boardwalk is pretty much taken for granted, but it's neat to think that some families look forward to their summer vacations here all year long. During the magic hour before sundown, no matter where you're from, it's pretty magical to sit among palm trees, rollercoasters, blinking lights and air thick with the scent of popcorn and cotton candy.

After Berlin banged out some of their [80's] hits, like The Metro, Masquerade, and Take My Breath Away, we headed downtown and saw our friend's band Tater Famine play. Nothing like Berlin, the famine is a rollicking good time. I say, there's nothing better than being able to sing along and dance with your friends. And foot-long corn dogs. It was a fun weekend.

I wore cuffed Kill City jeans from Crossroads, a floral H+M top, and Target wedges.