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

It’s time for another round of Friday Four, a fun survey I’m doing so that my readers can get to know me a little better. This week I’m talking about four TV shows I watch. I don’t want a ton of TV and when I do, it certainly isn’t Game of Thrones or even Scandal. (GoT is too violent and rape-y for me and I somehow missed the train with Scandal, Orange is the New Black, etc.) BUT the four shows I  never miss are as follows:

1. Orphan Black.

According to Wikipedia, Orphan Black “focuses on Sarah Manning, a woman who assumes the identity of one of her clones, Elizabeth Childs, after witnessing Childs’ suicide. The series raises issues about the moral and ethical implications of human cloning and its effect on issues of personal identity.”

The lead actor, Tatiana Maslany, plays the parts of ALL the clones. She’s so talented and mesmerizing that you totally forget that one actress is perfectly capturing all of the little nuances of each character. It’s currently in it’s third season but is available on Amazon Prime if you want to catch up.

2. Criminal Minds.

Again from Wikipedia, this series “follows a team of profilers from the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) based in Quantico, Virginia. The show differs from many procedural dramas by focusing on profiling the criminal, called the unsub or “unknown subject”, rather than the crime itself.”

My undergrad degree is in Psychology and one of my dream jobs back then (I’ve had a ton of them because I have a ton of interests) was to become a forensic psychologist and do what they do. Alas, that dream didn’t pan out so I have to live vicariously through them. Nick and I started watching it from the beginning back in November and finally caught up in the middle of this season, which is it’s 10th season! I hope it never ends.

3. Broad City.

Described as “an odd-couple comedy about two best friends navigating their 20s in New York City. Abbi and Ilana are broke and flawed, and they don’t shy away from the sticky situations NYC throws at them — they dive right into the muck. No matter how bad it gets, these broads are always down with whatever hits them.”

They make me laugh so much and taught me that I have FOMO – fear of missing out. The second season just ended but you can watch full episodes on Comedy Central.

YAS KWEENS!

4. Little Women: LA and the spinoff, Little Women: Terra’s Little Family.

IMDB describes this reality series that “follows close-knit friends with big hearts and big personalities, who have a physical trait in common: They are little people. The ladies travel around Los Angeles while dealing with relationships, parenting and careers. As with any friends, they express feelings — from laughing, to crying, to fighting — but lend emotional support to one another. While dealing with everyday challenges, they are out to prove that — just as people say about age — “height” is just a number and being short doesn’t keep them from having normal lives.”

Terra, one of the ladies, has a spin off about her experiences with pregnancy and her first months home with the new baby.

I love all of these women and watching them navigate this things called life.

Honorable mentions:

Parks and Recreation. This is my favorite show of all shows that ever were. Only a show featuring Shakira would bump Parks & Rec out of my #1 spot. Amy Poehler is my #2 favorite celebrity, after Shakira of course, and I would watch anything she does. It’s just a bonus that Parks & Rec is so good. (OMG, speaking of which, can someone make that happen, please? A reality show featuring Shakira? It would be heaven for me!) I’m so glad that they play reruns on both Esquire network and FX because we always end up there, watching it!

You’re The Worst. “Centers on two toxic, self-destructive people who fall in love and attempt a relationship.” – IMDB. There’s something about this show that I CANNOT get enough of. There isn’t a single character that I don’t like, even though I should.

Masters of Sex. Based on the biography of the real sex researchers, Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson, this show offers a fascinating look into how we know as much as we do today about the human sexual response. It plays on Showtime and is on it’s third season, which will begin this summer. My passion is sexual health education so it should come as no surprise that I would love a show dedicated to the pioneers. Also, I have an embarrassing crush on Michael Sheen.