I must have unknowingly had this outfit by Audrey in mind when I went shopping and purchased all of these pieces, so I guess that makes me an accidental copycat. Coral is in this summer and I’m glad; it’s one that I’ve always thought looked good on me! I’ve been wanting a lighter denim jacket, and I just happened to try this outfit on in the store and loved it. The flowy top is light and summery, the coral color is in, and the jacket is the perfect complement.

I had planned to wear a hat and my glitter sandals with this outfit – I’ll save that outfit for another post – but I wore this one to the grocery store and my feet ALWAYS get cold at the grocery store so I wore flats. They also look great with the coral pants so they were naturally a great choice.

Blouse, Jeans, & Denim Jacket: Gap | Flats: Target | Necklace: Banana Republic | Bracelet: Old Navy

Linking up with A Pocketful of Polka Dots | Penniless Socialite

This past weekend was one of the best that I’ve had in a long time. I had a friend date on Friday where we had dinner, drinks and saw a movie as is our tradition; then on Saturday, I had a lovely brunch with a friend I haven’t seen in a few weeks; all ending with Nick and I grilling out and got a lot of yard work done.

We ended up having an impromtu fiesta for two with grilled steak fajitas and a delicious black bean and corn salad. We ate outside on our deck, which we haven’t done in a long time. It was the perfect little fiesta!

We grilled the fajita veggies (red, yellow, and orange peppers along with a white onion) in the cast iron skillet on the grill and they tasted fantastic.

Our black bean and corn salad was thrown together using black beans, corn, a diced jalapeno, a small can of rotel tomatoes, and diced red onion. We also threw it in the cast iron skillet and it turned out really well with the perfect amount of spiciness.

On a separate note, I haven’t done much shopping these last few months, but I really wanted a new denim jacket that is much lighter than my current one. While I was out, I picked up a few extra tops and a pair of coral pants, because they’re all the rage right now. I’m sure you’ll be seeing both of these outfits show up on the blog in the near future.

Dressing room photos from Gap

What I like most about this top is that it’s knotted in the middle, hiding my “problem area” (my tummy).  I try really hard to practice self love and appreciate my body for what it is and all of the amazing things it can do, but I am only human; I fall victim to society’s often unrealistic standards of beauty from time to time. It doesn’t help that I’ve gained some weight over the past year or so when I was in grad school, so most of my pants are a little snug. A knotted top like this one lets me to take my mind off of my body while I work on my fitness. I also really like that there are both horizontal and vertical stripes in one shirt. That makes it so much more fun!

I see this outfit as being a good base because there are a lot of ways to wear it for every occassion. I can wear it with heels and a cute clutch for a night out; I can switch out the pants for shorts and a hat and wear it to the farmers’ market or a daytime festival; I can wear it with black trousers and a blazer for a more polished look; it’s basically perfect!

I’ve already worn this outfit several times, most recently on a friend date to dinner/drinks and a movie. Two of my friends and I have a tradition where we get together at least once a year to watch a horror movie, a tradition that started with the Paranormal Activity movies. We went to see Poltergeist and, to be honest, we werent impressed.

Here’s the fun blooper: I don’t know what I’m doing but it looks like a move from my BodyFlow class during the Tai Chi portion, where we hold our energy ball in front of us.

Top: Gap | Jeans: Banana Republic | Shoes: Old Navy | Vest: Ross | Sunnies: Target

Linking up with Fizz & Frosting | Still Being Molly | More Pieces of Me | Trend Spin Linkup | Not Fancy, Just Life

The best thing about this floral tank is that the colors in it match almost every cardigan and blazer in my closet. I’ve worn it once already with a plum cardigan and navy cropped trousers to a baby shower. This time I kept it a bit more casual and wore this outfit to dinner. I spent the day babysitting the two most adorable one-year-olds on the planet, but I wore these jeans and a gray t-shirt. When I got home, I wanted to wear something nice to dinner so I changed into this tank and mustard cardi, ad the result is really cute. Is mustard a fall or spring color? Or both? Oh, who cares, I wear it year-round! And this outfit will be put on repeat for the rest of the summer.

P.S. I’m loving these d’orsay pumps. They’re perfect for everything!

Here’s the fun blooper: I was pulling up my sleeve; it kept getting caught in my FitBit.

Cardigan: Old Navy | Blouse: Sunny Girl via ModCloth | Belt: Target | Jeans: kensie via Stitch Fix | Heels: Brash via Payless | Necklace, Sunnies, and Handbag: Target 

Linking up with Maria of Not Fancy, Just Life

I wore this outfit to my very last day of graduate school. I had lunch with my work crew (my professor, classmate, and coworker) and then I spent the afternoon in the library, finishing up my last final, and I ended up at the bar with my best friend, enjoying some celebratory drinks. It was probably the best Monday ever! I was feeling very spring-y so I decided to pair turquoise with yellow, which I probably wouldn’t normally do, even though it looks great. Later that week, I switched out the white pants for white shorts and ran some errands and did some shopping in preparation for hosting my family for Graduation/Mothers’ Day weekend.

This shirt was a birthday gift from my sister-in-law. She has great taste, doesn’t she?!

And here’s the fun one: I was running out of pose ideas so I just started twirling. It kind of looks like I’m surfing! I do wish I was at the beach right now…

Jacket: Gap | Blouse: Kohl’s | Jeans: Old Navy | Shoes: montego bay club | Flower Clip: Target