Criss Cross Applesauce

Get the look:

Things have been a little crazy over here (per ushe) since I'm getting ready to go to away for the long weekend. Here's an outfit I wore to work last week: A simple peplum, colored cardigan, and jeans—nothing too fancy. This top is super comfy and stretchy and I love the criss-cross detailing in back! I usually can't pull off shirts with open back details because they always show my bra, but this one hits at just the right spots!

Happy Hump Day!

P.S. My banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe has been going a little viral on Pinterest! If you're looking to bake a healthy dessert, you can repin the recipe here :)

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Outfit Details:

Top—Anthropologie "Neo-Gingham Crossback Tee" (shop)

Cardigan—Anthropologie (similar | remixed)

Skinny Jeans—Joe's Jeans (similar)

Earrings—Anthropologie (similar)

Sunglasses—Ray-Ban (shop)

Bag—Anthropologie (similar)

Sandals—Target (shop)

A Little Bit of Everything

I'm pretty sure this outfit is the product of my indecisiveness. I couldn't decide if I wanted to wear color, lace, or florals...so I just threw them all together and called it a day! However, even though this outfit is a little busier than what I normally wear, I'm happy with how it turned out. As I mentioned in my last post, I snagged this skirt at a cute little boutique on London's Portobello Road. I like the fact that it is fitted, but still skims my knees. I hate when I have to constantly pull down short skirts because they ride up after I walk two steps down the street!!

Anyway, these photos were taken over in a Hollywood neighborhood near Grub. Andrew and I ate there for the second weekend in a row, because—believe it or not—my assignments for my sociology seminar require me to explore new parts of Hollywood each week. As much as I hate school sometimes, there are definitely perks to being a sociology major :)

P.S. I can't believe it is already February! Even though it has already been over a month, it still feels like I just left Europe yesterday...

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Outfit Details:

Lace Top—Anthropologie "Tulip Lace Shell" (remixed // similar) | Floral Skirt—Appletree Boutique 

UK | Cardigan—Anthropologie (similar) | Boots—Anthropologie (similar) | Bag—Fossil (shop)

Shandon Bells

Andrew managed to capture my intense focus while ringing the church bells quite well...

On a lazy Sunday morning, we decided to take a walk around town and visit St. Anne's Church, known for its Shandon Bells and 360-degree views of Cork. For a small fee, we were able to climb up to the top of the church unattended, and take in the wonderful view. Some parts of the climb were actually pretty terrifying (example: at one point we had to duck under wood paneling and climb up a rickety ladder in the small bell tower filled with live birds and plenty of their poop haha), but the view at the end made the whole climb worth it. I was especially proud of Andrew for making it to the top, since he has a strange fear of birds as well as heights :)

sending love to all my friends and family back home! (and in other parts of Europe...) MWAH!

Kissing That Old Blarney Stone

{Denim Jacket—Life in Progress, Cardigan—Anthropologie (remixed), Sweater Dress—Nordstrom BP, Scarf—Forever 21}

The day before I left for my study abroad orientation in Dublin, two of best friends from home came to visit! While they are currently studying abroad in Spain, they had been traveling around the UK and Ireland before their program started. Luckily, there was a day of overlap between my orientation and their flight out of Ireland, so we were able to spend a little time catching up and visiting Blarney Castle, which is just a short bus ride away from my apartment in Cork.

It's amazing where a 20 minute bus ride out of the city can take you. After driving over a hill on the outskirts of the city, the landscape instantly changed from city street fronts to beautiful Irish countryside, with Blarney Castle as a small stop along the fields of green.

Of course, a visit to Blarney Castle would not have been complete without kissing the Blarney Stone, which is said to give the "gift of the gab" to anyone who kisses it. So...I put my life in the hands of the nice old man working the "stone kissing" (the Blarney Stone is wedged between two rocks and you have to lay down and lean your head backwards to find it) and kissed away!

Limbo

{What I'm Wearing: Polo—H&M, Cardigan—Anthropologie (remixed),

Skirt—Anthropologie (shop similar) Pearls—vintage, Flats—Anthropologie}

About halfway through summer every year, I start dreaming about fall styles and clothing. So, naturally, I begin to create autumn-inspired outfits in the middle of July without even realizing it. This outfit perfectly exemplifies the weird seasonal style limbo I have been in these past few weeks.

Let's call it my "back-to-(summer)-school" look...

Repeat

{What I'm Wearing: Blouse—Ruche "Chance Encounter Floral Necktie Blouse" (shop),

Cardigan—Anthropologie "Anza Cardi" (remixed), Jeans–Holding Horses, Boat Shoes–Sperry Top-sider}

Although this outfit is very similar to my last post, I still figured I would blog about it because I love this Ruche floral blouse. The ascot tie is very retro, and the color goes with pretty much anything. So, naturally, I decided to pair it with my favorite orange cardigan ever. Seriously though, I have worn this cardigan like crazy since I bought it last summer. Check out my outfits with it here!

P.S. You may have noticed I have been wearing more pieces from Ruche lately. Well...this small fact has to do with an exciting announcement I will be sharing soon :)

Happy Thursday!

On Paper

{What I'm Wearing: Tank—Forever 21, Cardigan—Anthropologie "Anza Cardi" (remixed),

Scarf—Anthropologie "Arno Scarf" (shop), Denim—Holding Horses, Necklace—Dogeared, Wedges—Cathy Jean Shoes}

I wore my new cityscape printed scarf out on a date with Andrew this past Memorial Day. I absolutely love the simple print, and I'm excited to continue to style it into more outfits. I know I will be able to throw it over any simple clothing combination—like the one I am wearing—to instantly make my outfit a little more fun and interesting.

For our date, we got Sprinkles Ice Cream and saw What to Expect When You're Expecting. Unfortunately, both were a little disappointing. Sometimes, a date sounds great on paper and winds up being a bit of a bust. Nevertheless, it was still nice to spend time together at the end of a long weekend and before finals stress sets in.

I know it's a little late...but I hope you all had a great long weekend! Summer is almost here...

Floral Pop

What I'm Wearing:

Top: Anthropologie "Petal Window Tee" (remixed, shop)

Cardigan: Anthropologie "Anza Cardi"

Jeans: Madewell "Rail Straight Jeans" (shop)

Scarf: Forever 21

Flats: Anthropologie

When I first put this outfit together, I was only wearing my simple mint top and orange cardigan. However, when I looked closely at my new floral scarf, I realized that it matched the colors in my outfit perfectly so I threw it on to complete the look. I must be on a winning streak with Forever 21 lately, because I found this lovely scarf there last week for only eight dollars! I definitely can see myself using it as a go-to for many spring outfits to come. 

Anyway, I am currently sitting in a Starbucks in Seattle (I know, it follows me everywhere...) waiting for Hayley to get out of class before we head downtown! So far it's been pretty rainy but I have loved exploring different parts of the city and can't wait to see more.

Bed Rest

What I'm Wearing: 

Dress: Nordstrom BP (remixed here & here)

Cardigan: Anthropologie "Anza Cardi"

Sweater (underneath): Nordstrom BP

Scarf: Nordstrom (remixed here)

Tights: HUE (similar here)

Boots: Anthropologie "Buckled Paddock Boots"

Remember that relaxing weekend I was hoping for? Well...it definitely didn't happen. Unless you count being sick in bed for two days straight as relaxing. Although I suppose you could argue it as being some sort of forced-relaxation...

Anyway, don't let this post fool you. I wore this outfit on Tuesday before my body decided to catch an especially nasty cold. The problem with this cold was that it decided to fool me on Friday into thinking I was feeling better...and then sneak up on me the rest of the weekend—forcing me to miss work and put myself on a 48-hour bed rest.

Today, I'm feeling slightly better and I'm hoping that this cold doesn't persist through tenth week and finals (there's nothing fun about being the sniffly girl in the library). So, here's to a week of vitamin C, chicken noodle soup, and lots of tissue.

Happy Monday!