Long weekend

There will probably be two posts for today, so I thought I'd get this done nice and early.

On Saturday, Germany played Argentina, and it's not that I'm superstitious - I'm really not - but I thought I'd wear the exact same thing I wore when I last dressed for their victory.

All remixed:
Men's undershirt: Target
Ankle zip leggings: H&M
Yellow flowered infinity scarf: J Crew
Ball earrings: Banana Republic
Red beaded bracelets: gifts
Red flip flops: Gap
It was so comfortable and kinda stylish, so I thought it'd be great. And it was. And Germany started out crazy strong and played really well. Deutschland!

Sunday, we went to church, a BBQ, and downtown to see fireworks. I only have pics of my church outfit:

"Paz" tee: Bitten for Steve & Barry (DIY neckline by me - I'm so creative)
Black pencil skirt: Gap (remixed)
Denim tie belt: from my fabulous denim dress (remixed)
Espadrilles: Soixante Neuf, thrifted (remixed)
Elephant earrings: Kohl's (remixed)

I actually ended up loving this outfit. I've had that Paz (that's Peace in Spanish) shirt forever, but it fit funny. The neckline was super high and when I wore it I looked like my torso was nothing but bust. I don't know about y'all, but I don't feel the need to accentuate that any more, so I cut out the neckline so that it's clear that I have a collarbone and suddenly the shirt is wearable.


The shoes are just insanely fabulous, and I love them for being so stinkin' comfortable even though they're crazy tall. I felt like a giant at church, but that's fine since B. is actually a giant, and we balanced each other out.


I like how the pieces worked out, especially since I always want to dress up a graphic tee and can't seem to "make it work" and since this tee has been languishing in my closet since the day I bought it.

And this is me on Monday, wearing nothing but a swimsuit, cover up, and sunscreen:

Mini-dress: Volcom from some surf shop in Puerto Rico (gift from my aunt)
Flip flops: Rainbow
Black headband: Goody StayPut Headband
I would also like you to know that the patheticness above is my first 30 for 30 outfit. Sad, I know, though it's totally appropriate for the day's plans.
B. and I went to the Shore since it's oppressively hot in Philly right now. I got that dress in PR, and I swear it was longer then. It's shrunk a bit, but I usually wear it with a tank underneath and a pair of leggings. Except that for going the beach, I can't put on so many layers, especially since the AC in our car doesn't work very well.

Oh, but I love the beach.

I swear, nothing makes me feel closer to God than looking at the ocean. Is that weird? Meh, it's still true.


This is what happens when your husband is a foot taller than you and you try to take pictures together: one of you doesn't make it into the shot. Sorry B. I still love you!


Sandy feet.

ATL recap

To cheer myself up after the Brazil/Netherlands game, I've decided it's time for an ATL photo dump:


My plane outfit consisted of my faithful Banana jeans and Banana blouse with turquoise sandals and a scarf for the freezing plane. It's an easy, plane-friendly summer outfit: comfortable, easily adaptable for heat or cold AC, and stylish. My mom gave me that necklace and the bracelets, and I love them. My bad posture is clearly something I need to work on.


Saturday morning, I met B's old teammates, St. and D., who later got married and had two adorable children (and have one on the way). It was good to hear some crazy stories about B's Mission Year experience from eye witnesses.

We did some driving around in the city:

This sign cracks me up....

Anyway, we went to a picnic that afternoon, then went to Community Grounds to watch the US/Ghana game, and after that, it was time for hanging out with my girls and going out to dinner. I wore something that would take me from day to evening with few changes, so I went with the denim dress: flip flops for day, wedges for night.


This is my Mission Year team attempting to recreate our first team photo. From front to back, S, me, J, BK, and M. We were just as cute in 2003 as we are in 2010. It was so good to see them all again.
B and I live in Philly, J and her husband live in Florida, M and her husband live in the Florida panhandle, BK lives in Atlanta, and S lives all the way out in Washington state, so it's hard to get together on a regular basis. Both BK and M were in my wedding back in December, so I'd seen them fairly recently, but I hadn't seen S since M's wedding in November of 2008 and none of us had seen J since her wedding in November or October of 2004. It's crazy how you can live with a group of people during a really intense period of your lives and get back together years and years later and still "know" each other. We might not be totally up on every little detail of our lives, but we kind of settled into something really comfortable and easy over the weekend, goofing around and hanging out like we used to.


Look! It's a proper outfit pic!
Denim dress: Ann Taylor (remixed)
Zebra print belt: Target (remixed)
Red wedges: Nine West (remixed)
Turquoise cuff: Chaps (remixed)
Silver flower earrings: gift from my mom
Red bracelet as hair tie: gift (remixed)
Flowered scarf: Liberty of London for Target - gift from M
S was an enthusiastic photographer; I have a ton of great pictures thanks to her.


Look at that sunset!


Y'all have no idea how I love that skyline. Oh, Atlanta, you'll always, always have a special place in my heart....


Monday, we stayed in B's old neighborhood, and his landlord and some old friends threw us a BBQ. BK came over to hang out. She and M are definitely two of my besties - I cannot tell you how much I love these girls. We all shared a room that year and would frequently stay up doing ridiculous things like talking with Minnesota accents late into the night. Good times. Also, how stinkin' gorgeous is BK?! She has tons of style and a shoe closet that made me squeal in absolute delight. I showed B and tried to convince him it was the kind of thing I needed in my life, but it wouldn't fit in our itty bitty Philly closets.


We took tons of pictures.


I met some folks that B was good friends with while he lived in the ATL and had good, good food and good conversation. The guy in the middle there, Brother L., is a grill master. A patient, patient cook and a man who really loves the Lord. The other guy, S. is a total sweetie, even if the picture doesn't convey that. He works at the airport now. And to think that he was in, like, 8th grade when B. first met him....

Overall, good times with good people.
Mission Year was an experience that changed my life and B's and all of our teammates' lives, too, actually. I'm really grateful for it and it's good to go back and see how things have changed in our old neighborhoods and to see how Mission Year continues to grow and impact lives.

Styling a big shirt and cheering for Brazil

Vintage green and white striped top: thrifted
White tank: Target (remixed)
Ubiquitous straight leg jeans: Banana Republic (remixed)
Yellow gladiators: Chinese Laundry (remixed)
Blue and silver earrings: New York & Co. (remixed)


After two days of lazing and feeling lost, the games are back on; I'm only a little melodramatic. Hehehe. Anyway, I'm cheering for Brazil today, and I dressed for the occasion.


I found this shirt on a thrifting adventure at least a month ago, and I was drawn to the bright green stripes and the drapey shape, but let's be honest: it's enormous. Sometimes sizing up gives me that kind of 80s vibe I kind of like, and sometimes it makes me look like I'm just swimming in my clothes. Every time I pull this shirt out I feel like the proportions are just a bit off, and decide that I look like a kid dressing up in Mom's clothes and end up changing. Today, though, I'm kind of feeling it. I feel like I have to rearrange it just so on my shoulders and hips, but it's not too hard to do when your big plans for the day involve watching two games and cooking.


I feel like a big part of making this neckline work for me is making sure that the tank top should be peeking out underneath. Is that weird? I can't stand it when my bra straps show, but tanks are fair game. It's a little Flashdance (a movie I've never seen, but for some reason is what I think of when I think of 80s style) but I like the kind of layering and draping that makes me look like a dancer.


Even Kiku likes how I styled this top today. Mostly I can't resist pictures with her. The cuteness!


In the end, I'm pretty satisfied with my Brazil-inspired look, and we'll see if I'm also satisfied with Brazil's performance.

The Big Meeting

Black shirt dress: Target (remixed)
Zebra belt: Target (remixed)
Turquoise bracelet: gift from my uncle
Bubble hoops: gift from my mom (remixed)
Red peep toe wedges: gift from parents (remixed)
Super hero pose: I'm just that cool.

I'm still editing my ATL pics, which is why they aren't up yet, but I did manage to get these ready. I had a meeting today with one of the directors from my school to discuss some concerns and suggestions I had. I was so nervous about it because I knew there was a lot I had to say that could be taken very personally, but I feel like God really helped me out on it. Believe, I prayed a TON before this meeting.


Anyway, I needed something that would be appropriate for a meeting, but not too dressy - I wanted to come across as professional but approachable. Also, I was so stinkin' nervous trying to get my thoughts together that I didn't want to spend forever trying things on and discarding them. I reached for this dress, which has long been a summer staple and I ironed it. Y'all: I. IRONED. This is a big day. That alone shows my commitment to professionalism.


Once it was ironed, I funked it up a bit with an animal print belt, turquoise bracelet and bright red shoes. Professional but still summery and approachable. Oh, and I popped my collar. Because I love that. The picture above shows what I look like after successfully popping my collar.


The meeting went well, I think. I was able to get some stuff off my chest and also to offer some suggestions and ideas for the future. We didn't agree on everything, but I'm really hopeful that some good will have come out of this. And while I was initially quite nervous, once I got started, I felt really confident in what I was saying. I may even have offered my services to help prepare some activities for the next school year, shy little me with my big mouth....

Tomorrow, lighter topics and ATL pics.