Making My Peace With Shorts

What I Wore [Top: Zara (old), Shorts: Lucky Brand via TJ Maxx, Shoes: Sam Edelman for Target, Bralette: Victoria's Secret (old, similar)]

I've never liked shorts. I find them to be just about the most uncomfortable article of clothing I can wear and they've never flattered my athletic build - but with summer comes summer heat and, sadly, I can't wear a dress or skirt everyday. I couldn't pass up this pair of denim shorts I found at TJ Maxx last week because they actually fit my criteria of being longer than 3 inches and not being skin tight, which is an issue I have with a lot of shorts in stores currently (I sound like such an old lady). To make myself feel more comfortable in this outfit I paired them with two of my favorite pieces of clothing - this beautiful printed lightweight top from Zara and an airy lace bralette underneath. Although I don't think I'll ever be one of those girls who wants to wear shorts every single day(yet another reason while I'll never live in a hot place), slowly but surely I think I'm becoming more at peace with them and the way they look on me.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Eva

Patterned Pants

What I Wore [Top: TJ Maxx, Pants: H&M, Shoes: Lucky Brand, Sunglasses: Cole Haan]

In the summer I am all about loose clothing that is easy to wear, so when I saw these pants in H&M a few weeks ago I knew that they would be a great addition to my summer wardrobe. I was a bit hesitant when trying them on because I'm generally not one who likes patterns on my legs but these were just so cute, comfortable,  and surprisingly flattering that I couldn't pass them up! I've already worn them a few other times since these photos were taken. 

The most important part of this post is not the outfit though, it's the fact that I am (finally) off of Tumblr and running on Blogger! This is very exciting to me because Tumblr was definitely not offering me everything I wanted in terms of running this blog, and with the help of my wonderful sister I was able to move things over here. I am quite pleased with the design and how everything has turned out and I am looking forward to using this platform from now on! I can't believe I've been blogging for a year and a half now!

Thanks for stopping by!

Eva

Floral Smock Dress

What I Wore: [Dress: Asos, Jacket: Macy’s, Boots: Sam Edelman, Bag: Jessica Simpson, Necklace: super old from Accessorize, Lipstick: Bobbi Brown “Rosy”]

I’m home! Finally, after 4 months of being abroad, I’m back in my hometown for the remainder of the summer. As much as I already miss London, which is an indescribable amount, it feels good to be back home with my family and friends and no longer living out of a suitcase. One of the best things that goes along with that is that I have been reunited with about half of my wardrobe (the other half still being at school in Portland) that I had been without for 4 months. I’ve been enjoying rediscovering pieces I’ve forgotten about and putting them together in new ways.

This look is made up of a dress I bought last september (after I saw Julia from Gal Meet’s Glam post a photo of her on Instagram wearing it and fell in love), a freakishly old utility jacket that I don’t even remember buying, and my beloved Sam Edelman boots. The smock shape of this dress is something that took some time to get used to because, let’s be honest, smock dresses are not meant to be flattering on anyone. They’re meant to be comfortable and easy (this one definitely is) which makes me not care so much about how my figure looks in it. Overall, I’m quite pleased with how this look turned out.

Thank you for stopping by!

- Eva

Who I'm Following: Round Two

About a year ago I wrote a post dedicated to my biggest blog crushes at the moment and I am pretty sure it has been my most popular post to date, so I thought it was high time I write up an updated version! So here we go, my favorite blogs as of April 2014:

Beauty

Vivianna Does Makeup 

Lily Pebbles

I am going to lump my two beauty favorites together because I love them equally and for very similar reasons. The two lovely girls behind them, Lily and Anna, are both UK based beauty/fashion/lifestyle bloggers and vloggers with pretty massive followings. More than any of the other beauty blogs that I follow I know I can trust these two to constantly be on top of every single new trend or release that has come out in the beauty world, and because of how incredibly down-to-earth they both are I trust their recommendations completely. It probably doesn’t help that everything they feature is lit and photographed beautifully and that they are both able to churn out at least one new blog post every.single.day (it’s insane!). I would also highly recommend checking out their beauty videos, which are often linked in posts in their blogs, for more in-depth reviews, hauls, tutorials, and everything else - but beware, one can very easily fall down the rabbit hole and end up spending an entire friday night watching every single one of their videos. I can also vouch that these two are just as lovely in person as are they are online as I happened to run into them at a restaurant in London just a few weeks ago, let’s just say I was quite starstruck. 

Fashion

Kendi Everyday

One of my most recent follows is Kendi Everyday, which features the ever chic. modern, and just really cool Kendi. She is the queen of pattern mixing, loves a nude heal, and has seriously drool worthy hair - making her posts the ones I am most excited to read when scrolling through my bloglovin’ feed every morning. Ever since is starting following her I notice myself being drawn towards clean cut silhouettes, fresh ways of wearing bright colors, and an overall more effortless esthetic whenever I wander through the shops. Maybe someday I’ll be able to rock a pair of floral pants as well as she can….

Food

Hummingbird High

A baking blog….written by a Portlander…..inspired by a bakery in London that is just down my street? This blog is truly the best of every single world put together. The recipes are creative, beautifully photographed, and easy to follow - so pretty much perfect. On the top of my list of “Things I Am Going To Bake When I Don’t Share A Kitchen With 15 People” are the Dark Chocolate and Earl Grey Cookies, the Lemon Blackberry Tart, and the Wild Berry Cheesecake Bar - they all look so mouthwatering!! One of the things I love most about this blog is that the author, Michelle, writes in her own personal tips for each individual recipe which I think is just such a nice little personal touch and definitely makes tackling some of these seem a lot more doable. 

A Beautiful Mess

This is the blog than needs no introducing, the blog of all blogs that inspires everyone to blog. Seeing as I’m not the most crafty person (although I’m trying more and more to be) my favorite part is the food and drink section of A Beautiful Mess. This semester has been my first time cooking for myself 100% of the time so I do a lot of looking up easy, healthy, quick, and cheap recipes that I can make in the hopes of not eating frozen pizza every night. That is exactly where A Beautiful Mess comes in. Their posts include really great variety of food recipes and amazing looking drink ideas (I am getting excited to be 21 this fall so I can try out some of these cocktails!) that are all relatively easy to recreate and edit/make your own - all that I’ve tried have turned out wonderfully as well! 

And that wraps it up for this installment of my blog crushes, hopefully you got some inspiration and can come join the fan clubs with me! Who are your favorite bloggers at the moment?

Thank’s for stopping by!

- Eva

A Day In Brighton

What I Wore: [Sweater: Zara, Button-Up: Target, Pants: J. Crew, Shoes: Born, Earrings: Kate Spade New York]

Here are a few snaps of the outfit I wore on my little day trip down to Brighton today. Two of my friends and I took the train down and spent the day wandering Brighton’s many little streets, poking around in shops, and consuming a lot of really amazing food. Even though it was overcast all day the weather was warm enough where I didn’t have to wear a jacket and cover up my outfit all day (I’m really obsessed with the sparkles on this new sweater, so I wanted to show them off), which is always a good thing in my book! I can’t believe I’ve only got 16 days left in England before my time here is over, I’ll really miss being able to just hop on the train and take little day trips like this all of the time.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, thanks for stopping by!

-Eva

Pleats in Paris - Spring Break Part 2

What I Wore: [Dress: Topshop Sale, Necklace: Nordstrom Rack, Shoes: Born, Coat: Michael by Michael Kors, Lipstick: Bite Beauty Lip Crayon in “Rhubarb”]

For the second half of our spring break my friends and I got to spend 5 beautiful days in Paris, otherwise known as my favorite place in the world. The weather was beautiful everyday we were there, we ate Laduree, had tea at the original Chanel boutique (still cannot believe that happened), walked and walked and walked, drank champagne, took in as much amazing art as we could handle, and overall just fell in love with the city of light.

I brought this dress along because 1. I love it, it’s so cute, I nearly cried when I tried it on at Topshop because it’s so perfect and 2. It’s pretty visually interesting piece so it’s great for traveling when I have limited space for packing accessories and layering pieces. It also felt kind of Paris-y to me, so everything just worked out perfectly. I’m also now on navy-colored dress buying ban, because this girl has a few too many in her closet right now.

Here are a few photos from our time in Paris:

A perfect example of the beautiful weather we had while in Paris, spend one day wandering around Montmartre, seeing Sacre Coeur, eating Creme Brûlée at the Amelie Cafe, and poking around vintage shops.

It was Kaylie’s 21st birthday the first day we were in the city which meant a trip to the huge Ladureé on the Champs Elysees (the excitement was so real and everything was amazing).

The last night in Paris my friends and I bit the bullet and stood in line for two hours so that we could go to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night, it was so worth the wait - I really couldn’t have imagined a more magical way to end an amazing spring break.

Everything is Nice in Nice - Spring Break Part 1

What I Wore: [Top: Forever 21, Skirt: American Apparel, Boots: Franco Sarto, Hat: H&M, Earrings: Anthropologie, Belt: Forever 21, Lipstick: Bite Beauty Lip Crayon in “Quince”]

I recently got back from spending a week exploring France with 4 of my friends for spring break. And let me tell you, it was an amazing experience. Like the title says, we spent the first part of our trip in Nice on the French Rivera. It felt so good to be able to get some fresh air, sunshine, and slow down from fast paced city life. Although I can’t say we slowed down too much, with such a short amount of time (only 4 days) there was a lot we wanted to see and do in the area, so pretty much everyday was packed. I took the two photos below on our first full day there from an amazing lookout point at the top of a huge hill - getting up there was definitely the most exercise like thing I’ve done since being abroad - but the view was so worth the hike. I was one of my most favorite things we did while in Nice.

The photos above were taken on our last day in Nice as my friends and I stopped for our final helping of the amazing locally made ice cream before we headed off to Paris (I went for the mango sorbet). As I have always had a big spot in my heart for stripes I made sure to fully embrace quintessential French style and pair my stripes with a big “I feel really cool when I wear this” hat.

A post from Paris should be up within the next few days, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, thanks for stopping by!

-Eva