Wonderful Wedding Weekend {aka Summertime Saddness}

This summer has been really the summer of weddings for me, attending 5 in total, all over the state and country! This weekend was one for my former roommate out here. We met on craigslist about 3.5 years ago as we were both frustrated with the aggressive/expensive search for a city apartment and were running out of time before our current leases expired. I didn't have the balls yet to post an actual 'wanted' ad on Craigslist, so I started reading hers. Mid-Twenties. Just broke up with Boyfriend. Has nice furniture and cat (if possible). Sounded safe right? I sent her an e-mail and we both agreed to look at the last few places we had showings at in the upcoming weekend and then would get drinks and start our search together.

I went to look at this flat that had 2 rooms available. 1 was pretty tiny, but $100 cheaper than the other one. Moving from the 'burbs to the city I was already going up in rent quite a bit and had convinced myself I could live in the tiny one. The flat was gorgeous, lots of common space and the girls were nice. When one of the girls called to say they'd love for me to move in, they informed me the smaller room had been taken. I was devastated really thinking I couldn't swing the extra $100 a month and passed. I reached out to B {craigslist lady above} and she had found a room that weekend so we weren't going to need to start from scratch. I resorted to looking at studios, within the 24 hours of hearing B took a room, searching for studios and semi-realizing that paying an extra $100 for a huge room is better than an extra $300 for a small studio I received another e-mail from B saying she had just gone to sign the lease at her new room and my name had been on there as well, but she heard I wasn't taking it! I definitely won't say it was fate, I looked at 2 more crappy apartments before sucking it up and taking the bigger room, but it was sure weird. We lived together for 2 years. That boyfriend eventually came back into her life and they got engaged a little over a year ago. It was so amazing to see her and them start from where they were in such a bad place and grow to such a great one.  She was never the "fairy-tale" type. Very laid back. Even when they got engaged she wanted to wait a few years before the wedding. Do to scheduling etc they moved it up a year to this past weekend.

ANYWAY, my point. I went to a lot of weddings this summer. A lot of beautiful, beautiful weddings. Please don't get me wrong when I say this, as I'm a 'fairy-taler', but I think a lot of people's weddings reflect this grand idea of who the 'want' to be and not who they 'are'. I didn't really realize this until I saw B's wedding this weekend. It was in a backyard, with their closest friends and family. The flowers were beautiful, the food delicious and everything felt so them. During the vows, the speeches and the dances you can feel their couple mojo and love emanating through the room and it felt amazing. Something I think everyone should feel one day. It will probably be one of my favorite weddings ever, I can only hope to have the same feel at mine.

Needless to say it was a perfect way to end my Summer (of Weddings) and it was only appropriate that the overplayed song of the weekend was "Summertime Sadness". I literally threw out my neck dancing to it so many times this weekend. Summer 2013 was a great one, a long one and (even though Christmas is right around the corner) I'm sad its over.

Thursday Tumbls

I thought I'd dedicate my favorite Tumbls this week to my favorite "Tumblrs"

...besides myself of course!

Prep In the Bay

There aren't a lot of prep's out here so we have to appropriately represent!

Bourbon and Pearls

Puppies, bourbon, cute preppy outfits with some vintage flair!

The Glitter Guide

This is one of my favorite blogs and the internet and their tumblr

 just embodies everything they put out there!

The Brunette Prep

This might be my favorite tumblr. Classic, elegant, preppy!

Seabelle

Good mix of romance, southern style and preppy boys!

Hollywood Assistant

I do have a minor addiction to all those gif blogs. This one hits the closest to home and is a go-to every morning. Like group therapy, but on tumblr!

The Loved Black and Gold

Kappa Alpha Theta. Elegance. Glamour. I love everything about it!

Recent {Beauty} Obsessions!

Almay Liquid Lip Balm ( in Rosy Lipped)
I have largish lips and it bothers me to bring tons of attention to them. I usually stick with a nude lip gloss to add a little color, but isn't over bearing. I was using a Gap lipgloss for a while (soo 1998, but I loved it) and then they stopped making it. On a trip to Target, I needed a quick replacement  (because finding the perfect lipgloss requires months of research and sampling) and I grabbed this lip gloss mostly because of the color. #1 it turned out to be on sale for $2.99 and then #2 it turned out to be awesome. The color is a neutral with a hint of pink so it doesn't wash out your lips, it lasts forever and isn't sticky at all!!


Origins Modern Friction
In the summer, my skin is oily so I wash my face twice a day. This leads to drying in my t-zone and really attractive skin flakes that attract all the foundation I put on to 1 area. I've used Orgins Modern Friction a couple times a month, but I've upped it to once or twice a week now and it keeps my skin so smooth and those really attractive skin flakes in check!

Bliss Ingrown Eliminating Pads
With all the summer weather I have been shaving a TON (and maybe mixing a little shaving with waxing...sshhhh) but with shaving a lot and cross-waxing comes copious amounts of ingrowns. I've tried a couple things but my Waxer turned me on to Bliss Ingrown Eliminating Pads and they work great! They're not overly drying and they're easier to travel with then liquid roll-ons....oh and they smell great too!

Aveda Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair
I'm trying to grow my hair out, but it gets frustrating when the ends start looking dry and I have to get a trim. My hair stylist told me it was due to heat damage and recommended this heat protectant to keep the ends looking great. It's also a detangler and has quinoa protein to repair existing damage!

Weekend "Getaways"

I've been heading home "for the weekend" about once a month now for the past 4 months. There have been bachelorette parties, weddings, one of those I-Need-To-Sit-On-The-Couch-At-HOME-And-Do-Nothing weekends. When I say home, I'm referring to my parents house which is.....2,000 miles from San Francisco so heading back for 4 days could be quite the adventure. I've officially mastered airport security and the perfect weekend getaway bag! Last weekend I flew back, for a wedding,  and what will hopefully be the last time before the holidays...heres what I'm tucked away!

I find the classic LL Bean Boat Tote in medium to be the perfect carry-on size! Monogrammed, of course, like Reese is carrying here and seem in the background of my instagram from this weekend above! I do wish I would have gone with the longer handles for a little better over-the-shoulder action.

Vera Bradley's 3-1-1 Cosmetic Case is great for getting liquid toiletries through security! I usually throw this in my purse so I can easily remove it  without unpacking everything.

I love Aveda products, I don't use their shampoo, conditioner and body wash in my normal routine, but I find something luxurious about having them when I'm traveling AND they come in travel size! 










When it comes to your ensembles step 1 is to check the weather! Once you've figured out climates, I've found the best way to pack for a short getaway is to do it by outfit. The nice thing about short travel is that you usually know what you'll be doing (Friday: Dinner/Drinks, Saturday: Wedding,  Sunday: Brunch & Shopping) it's just simple to pick out an outfit  (down to the jewelry, shoes and necessary panties) for each and then pack a few extra basics. Plane Clothes, Sweat Shirt, Yoga pants and you're good to go!

September Goals

I cannot believe it's already September! Where has 2013 gone!? Starting the month off right with my goals!

1) Finish all my September Tasks for Fashion Show

The Fashion Show isn't until March, but I've got a ton of things to do. Unfortunately with all the other things I've been working on Fashion Show has been falling to the bottom of my list. I'm going to try to make Fashion Show to-do's a little higher priority this month and get all the prep tasks done. Hopefully, this will save me a lot of time and energy during and after the holidays!

2) Blog 2 times Week

I think we all know why this needs to be a goal.

3) Get a New Workout Routine

I tried to start running again a few weeks ago, but I lost some momentum when I was sick last week. I need to get back into figuring out how to work it in my schedule and make it a solid routine!

4) Learn to let things go

My anxiety has been on high alert this year. I've been busier and my type-A side freaks out at the thought of things becoming a disorganized mess. The logical way to manage those freak outs is to control everything right!? I've started to realize the additional anxiety that creates and I need to focus on accepting that things are going to happen that I can't control everything.....as much as I hate to admit that. 

5) Enjoy the America's Cup Festivities

There are 2 weeks left in the America's Cup races being in town and aside from the couple times I've been out on the water, I've seen nothing! I want to get down the park and see some the exciting things that have been happening down there!

6) Start my Gallery Wall

I've had a PILE of picture frames in the corner of my room for almost a year. I want to get the design and pictures picked out for my gallery wall....next month we'll work on getting them up on the wall :)

Happy Sepetember!!