(pretty happily) lost in transition

i am...

- still doing post-honeymoon laundry.

- looking forward to upcoming celebrations and picking out dresses that are way more structured than the ones i generally gravitated to in the past. i just have to be careful to not look like Mellie Grant (i have also been watching WAY too much Scandal.)

Nordstrom

- looking forward to browsing Charm and Chain for accessories...I loved the pieces in the recent Design Darling post about it and can't wait to check out the all the beautiful goodies on the site.

- so excited to use my clutch with my new initials from Social Monograms.

- even more excited to audit a class starting the first week of July! I am going to take SO. MANY. NOTES. (clearly i miss grad school quite a lot.) 

wishing everyone a fantastic, fun, and relaxing weekend! 

the most special of places

i went to Lake Tahoe almost every summer from the time i was six months old to when I was 14. after that, my summers got more busy...in high school there were my beloved nerd camps and summer classes, and in college there were internships. And then there was grad school and jobs and all manner of grown-up things. all of a sudden, thirteen years had gone by since i'd been there. i asked Dude if we could go there on our honeymoon because it is such an amazing place and i have so many good memories there. happily, he said yes and we had a terrific time. 

i am so, so grateful that we got to start off our marriage in Tahoe. looking forward to many sweet (pun intended, see above) years ahead.

happily home.

it has been a pretty whirlwind two weeks.

i got to marry this bro in a Florida wedding full of love and family and friends and happiness and crazy coral peonies.

then, we went to Lake Tahoe for our honeymoon. it was awesome and so relaxing and radically different from DC.

we finally arrived in DC this morning after a flight cancellation/rerouting "adventure." we are both exhausted and our apartment is full of packages and suitcases and it is pretty safe to say that we'll be devoting significant time to making it look a bit more sedate. on the plus side, there are tons of mini unicorn lollipops that returned home with us (leftovers from our wedding's candy bar.)

i am so excited to be back home and get back into the swing of things, see my friends, and enjoy the summer. (and hang out with my new best friend, my Paper Source Embossing Heat Tool.)

it sure is nice to be back.

The Positive Power of Giant Sunglasses

Right now I am so in the mood for a MAJOR pair of sunglasses.
I was flipping through the June issue of Vogue and I saw pair after pair of awesome shades. Some were more subdued than others (and some were the opposite of subdued.)
At first I was going to write about how a giant pair of sunglasses can be an excellent way to block out the world around you. Then I realized that most of these pairs are exuberant and colorful and really don't fit that description. For me, they bring back fond memories--my high school graduation (sunglasses were a must because we were in Boca and it was summer in Florida), beach drives, and hanging out or going to brunch/lunch/dinner with my best friends.
As I move toward my wedding, I would be lying if I said there weren't challenges. The two most prominent of these are my health, which is still iffy, and doing my best to make sure that all of my wedding guests are happy while maintaining my own sanity. If pulling pictures out of a magazine makes me happy and brings back really good thoughts, I am all for it.
So with that little intro, here are the aforementioned ads and pictures. I hope you have a great weekend and that they do the same for you!

All photos originally published in the June 2013 issue of Vogue magazine.

Little Escapes and One Big One

My apologies for posting less now and in the next several weeks! I definitely will try to post as much as I can, though.
The main culprit is this:

Dude and I have had some really fun adventures (for quasi old folks) recently. We spent part of Memorial Day at the Southwest Waterfront, which was awesome and provided me with ample opportunities to take pictures of Dude (I realize that I have now posted that his name is Jon and no one actually cares, but clearly I have issues letting go) posed next to seafood trucks.

We saw a screening of The Heat, with Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock, at Tyson's Corner last night. It was hilarious and I was reminded of how absurdly nice that mall is. 

Hope everyone stays cool today!

Lilly Pulitzer Gifts on Rue La La

When this boutique pops up, I can't control myself from scrolling through it. It is very emblematic of my attitude towards Lilly Pulitzer: No matter how much I try to be Miss Edgy Girl Who Lives in the City With Her Black Nail Polish, there will always be a part of me that is a sorority girl who loves her some pink and green and flowers and sea creatures, all gloriously thrown together. Here are a couple of my favorite items:

See You Later, May Flowers

These magnetic frames are so perfect for the kitchen--so perfect, in fact, that they make me want to actually want be in mine. (For a limited quantity of time.) There are actually 6 magnets in each package,  which my friend J and I discovered when we ordered the magnets the last time this boutique was happening. On her advice, we pulled an elementary/middle school move and gave each other 3 magnets. Now we each have 6 different magnets to brighten up our fridges/kitchens with!

Skip On It Market Bags

I've mentioned this bags in a previous post, so I'll be brief. 3 for $15 is an awesome deal. The handles are really strong, actually comfortable, and make awkward trips to Trader Joe's and CVS so much more tolerable. Plus, if you are like me and live in a city that taxes plastic bags, you'll save a little money. And to be honest, avoid judgment from people like these:

Chum Bucket, Fallin' In Love

So good for organizing. I have a weird little closet in my bedroom and I think these bins would store things quite nicely on its not-very-reachable top shelves. 

Happy Thursday...and happy shopping!

Basics For The Boss, Etc.

I wanted to keep my outfit simple and appropriate for a big dinner we attended for Dude's boss' birthday. We had an awesome time and excessive amounts of meat were consumed by all. 

This outfit also features Alexis Bittar earrings that 

were unsurprisingly obscured by my hair. 

Moving on, I love these Kate Spade totes. All these graduation ceremonies happened over the weekend and I overheard/was totally jealous of GW students in the elevator talking about getting books for summer classes, so I guess summer is officially here. I think they're pretty fantastic for all kinds of summer adventures.

Nordstrom

For spiky bracelet fans who do not want to pay over $200 for the bracelets I posted about yesterday, Dude pointed out last night that I'd already bought these J. Crew bracelets for myself and my sister. In my wedding colors (although my coral is more subdued.) Vomit/oh well. I had trouble finding them on the J. Crew website, but they were kept with a bunch of other similar friendship-y bracelets in the store (not in a case.) I got four of the bracelets and with a store promotion they came out to a little less than $20 each. 

My apologies for the tags!

It's a little gloomy here, but I hope everyone has a good and easy Monday!