Strong Suit

To an outsider, style blogging is weird. And when I think about it...maybe it is a little strange that I genuinely enjoy taking outfit photos on a tripod in a stairwell after work. But you know, everyone needs a thing and I guess this one's mine. Another thing of mine is blogging in bars. (I swear—I'm going to make this trend happen. The era of laptops in Starbucks is coming to an end!)

I'm currently blogging at a wine bar in Santa Monica while eavesdropping on people chatting about their reality TV connections. Because...LA. I love the West Side in every way—but thought-provoking conversation isn't its strong suit.

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Outfit Details:

Oversized Green Blazer

Madewell Grey Dress

TOMS Bellini Sunglasses

Vintage Black Cameo

GUESS Classic Gold Watch

Black Opaque Tights

Madewell Glasgow Satchel

Madewell Black Ankle Boots

No Parking

This floral bomber jacket and grey sweatshirt dress are two of my favorites. So, it only makes sense that they eventually found one another. Honestly, this outfit randomly came together in a morning daze but luckily turned out okay. That aside, can we talk about how Downtown LA really has an endless supply of walls that make surprisingly good backdrops for blog photos? The no parking sign and surrounding trash are all a part of its charm...

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Outfit Details:

Floral Bomber Jacket—Ruche (shop)

Sweatshirt Dress—Madewell (similar)

Wishbone Necklace—Etsy (similar)

Sunglasses—Ray-Ban (shop)

Watch—GUESS (shop)

Tights—Anthropologie (similar)

Boots—Madewell (similar)

Tough Balance

Get the look:

I'm normally not the moto trend-wearing type, but I decided to step outside my style comfort zone with this jacket. To make my outfit a little more feminine, I paired it with a dress rather than jeans or pants. I always like to find a nice balance of different style elements to keep my outfits as classic as possible. Initially, I was a little worried about how to style this jacket. But, I'm happy with how it paired with my grey sweatshirt dress and I definitely think it will be a good piece for fall.

Speaking of balance, this is something I've been struggling with lately. Being the Libra that I am (yes—I'm secretly into horoscopes), I have a tendency to feel unsettled whenever I don't have a sense of balance or moderation in my life. I'm still catching up on sleep from sorority rush and there is so much going on since it's the first week of classes and no one is actually studying yet, that I feel like I haven't had a second to just relax. It also feels SO weird to be back on campus since I was working full-time this summer, so I think that might be throwing me off too. Like, I have to wear a backpack and study on weekends instead of just have fun? What? Anyway, honestly who knows where this ramble is going buuuut yeah, balance.

Ok that's all—happy hump day :)

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Outfit Details:

Moto Jacket—GUESS (shop)

Dress—Madewell (shop)

Belt—Nordstrom (similar)

Watch—Michael Kors (similar)

Handbag—Fossil (similar)

Ankle Boots—Target (shop)

Beachside

Shop this post:

One of my and Andrew's favorite places to go when we are back home is Balboa Island. It's a cute little beach town that is technically an "island" (by like 10 feet of water...) and is always fun to spend the day at. All the houses are so beautiful, and it's nice to walk down the coast and then take the ferry over to Balboa Peninsula to play arcade games and ride the ferris wheel. We were both so busy over spring break that we weren't able to spend an entire day together until Saturday, so it was nice to end our break at Balboa.

For my outfit, I decided to wear my new—and amazingly comfortable—sweatshirt dress. I had been eyeing it at Madewell for months and finally treated myself to it as a reward for landing my new internship (more details soon!). At first I was worried it was too plain, but then I realized its grey color makes it easy to pair with any colored accessories! That's the thing about simple basics—I have to force myself to buy them, but once I do, I always get such good use out of them by remixing them in new and different ways. So...don't be surprised if you see quite a lot of this grey dress from now on :)

P.S. Don't forget to make the Google Reader switch, and follow along on Bloglovin'!

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Outfit Details:

Dress—Madewell (similar)

Scarf—Free People (similar)

Earrings—Anthropologie (similar)

Sunglasses—Ray-Ban (shop)

Watch—Michael Kors (similar)

Bag—Fossil "Explorer Tote" (shop)

Ankle Boots—Target (similar)