Farewell, summer

These are my grandpa golf pants. They're one part old man, one part awesome. (Okay, so they could be old lady pants, but it's much more fun to say "old man pants.") I found them at a thrift store last year for a couple bucks. I realize that they're not exactly flattering (and I realize that pink and green may not actually go together), but they make me happy, so I'm going to wear them anyway.

This was my "farewell to sandals" outfit - by the time you're reading this, it will probably be raining in Portland, thus ending our delightful three-month rainless summer, and I will have to put my sandals in storage for eight months.

Pink swan sweater: Urban Outfitters

Green pants: thrifted

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Scarf: gift

Necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

White bracelet: H&M

Young or old

I'm currently embracing florals and sandals with all my heart, because I know they're going be packed away to the back of my closet in about a week when it gets cold and rainy. I bought this dress a year ago, and this is the first time I've worn it. I don't feel so bad about that, because it only cost me a couple bucks, but I still don't like letting my clothes sit around unworn. But this dress is so dang girly. I just didn't know how to wear it. It's comfortable, and the print makes me happy, but I can't decide if this dress feels too young for me. I hate that I've reached an age where I sometimes look at a piece of clothing and wonder if it will make me look too young. (Obviously that didn't stop me from wearing it, though!)

Floral dress: thrifted from Village Merchants

Jean jacket: thrifted from Rerun

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

White belt: Forever 21

Ring: In Pink

Weekend fun

Here's my outfit from Sunday! We were surrounded for the whole photo shoot by geese pecking at the grass and squirrels running around like mad (in the photos below), which was very entertaining.

On Saturday we went down to Oktoberfest in Mt. Angel with some friends, and were highly disappointed to discover that you had to pay $9 just to get in to the beer garden, so we went elsewhere to drink beer :) But first we stopped at the Mt. Angel Abbey, which was gorgeous. (Those photos are at the bottom of the post.)

Green dress: gift from my dad, vintage

Jean jacket: thrifted from Rerun

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

White belt: Forever 21

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Dragon necklace: purchased in China

My friend Rachel and her awesome sparkly top!

The abbey

Calvin, the cutest baby in the whole world (named after Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes!)

Eric and Matt trying to do gang signs for the camera

The grounds of the abbey

The Rose Garden

On Saturday evening Josh and I headed up to the Rose Garden at Washington Park. It's such a beautiful park, and one of my favorite places in the whole city. Since Oregon weather has already turned towards fall (crisp mornings, leaves changing color), I figured I should probably wear these shorts and wedges as many times as possible before I have to tuck them away for the rest of the year.

White t-shirt: Walgreens (?)

Mint green cardigan: Old Navy

Pink shorts: Loft

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Gold necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Pink bracelet: H&M

Green bracelet: thrifted from Village Merchants

Crazy hat lady

This hat is almost comically huge, but I love it because it means I don't have to put sunblock on my face and neck when I'm out in the sun. (Okay, let's be honest here: I almost never wear sunblock anyway, so basically the hat just makes me feel better about that.) The gigantic hat plus the bold printed dress plus the bright shoes made for an outfit that felt on the verge of overkill, but it also felt very fun and summery. This is one of those dresses that would be improved upon if I hemmed it up about six inches, but I have so many dresses that I've been meaning to hem that I've been overwhelmed into procrastination.

Thank you all for your lovely comments on yesterday's post. You were very sympathetic, kind and flattering, and I appreciated it :)

Floral dress: vintage, from my mom

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Gigantic hat: Columbia Sportswear

Blue belt: free from my aunt

Blue bracelet: B. Lee Designs, gift from my aunt

I looked too funny and horrible in this photo not to share it...this is what happens when someone whistles at me while we're taking outfit photos...

More blue and green

This was a casual outfit for my day off work yesterday. I spent most of it lounging around the apartment, reading Anne of Green Gables and watching Community. I wish I had worn a longer necklace to break up the monotony of the white shirt, instead of my blue and green glass bead necklace that was covered up by my hair.

Speaking of my hair, I've been loving it lately. The last time I had hair this long was in 2005 when I was going through my ugly feminist phase. I decided to stop wearing makeup, stop plucking my eyebrows, and gained 40 pounds. So in general, I did not look great, and eventually chopped off my hair because it wasn't doing me any favors. (And yes, I eventually started plucking my eyebrows again.) Now that I have a nice haircut, a color I love, and have made peace with the general mad enthusiasm of my hair, I really appreciate the way it looks. Yesterday I did nothing but wash it, rub in some coconut milk serum, and let it air dry, and this was what happened. I loved it.

White shirt: H&M

Mint green cardigan: Old Navy

Jeans: Levi's from Urban Outfitters

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Blue hat: H&M

Blue and green necklace: purchased in Florence, Italy

Embroidered bracelet: thrifted from Village Merchants

Summer brights

It was love at first sight when I saw the lattice-work on the top of this blouse at Anthropologie the other day. It's one of the softest shirts I've ever owned, as well as one of the most interesting styles. Plus, it helps that it's patterned and bright. Try as I might, I just can't bring myself to buy sensible, solid-color clothes very often. Maybe I'd start doing that if I ever worked in an office - but since I don't, I can wear whatever the heck I want!

Happy second day of summer! This was what I wore to celebrate the start of the season yesterday and the 80-degree weather we had! Because to me, nothing says "summer" like clothes so bright they hurt your eyes.

Blouse: Anthropologie

Hot pink skirt: Zara

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Green earrings: B. Lee Designs, gift from my aunt

Blue bracelet: Charlotte Russe

Green bracelet: thrifted from Village Merchants

Summery outfit

This is an outfit from about a month ago that I never posted because I wanted to save it for while I was on vacation! Although such a summery outfit is not currently appropriate for the weather in Portland (we're calling this month Juneuary), it would be perfect for where I am right now (the Grand Canyon)!

Tank top: Target

Denim skirt: Gap

Mint green cardigan: Old Navy

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Pearl necklace: gift from a friend, from Tan Tan Charms

White belt: Forever 21

White bracelet: H&M

Blue and green (again)

I suspect these shoes will not last through the year. (Though that's not for a lack of quality.) When I bought them back in March I wore them at least once a week, and now I wear them at least twice a week, sometimes more. And I wear them to do ridiculously active things, like going on evening walks with Josh in our hilly neighborhood, or on hikes. They're so comfortable, though, and if I can be moderately comfortable while wearing heels, I will choose that over being incredibly comfortable in flats nearly every time. At least I only paid $20 for them, so when they inevitably fall apart at some point during the summer or fall, I won't feel like it was a waste of money. Do any of you have a piece of clothing (or a pair of shoes!) that you love so much you wear it until it literally falls apart?

Blue sweater: Gap

Green skirt: thrifted from Crossroads Trading Co.

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Green hat: free from my aunt

Green necklace: purchased in Hong Kong

Turquoise bracelet: Charlotte Russe

Light blue bracelet: gift from my aunt, from B. Lee Designs

I'm linking this post up to Monday Mingle and Visible Monday.

A picnic in the countryside

This outfit was a bit of a fashion hodgepodge (gingham! floral! embroidered belt! bright wedges that don't really match anything!), but I liked it. I've been displeased with many of my outfits lately, so it was satisfying to finally hit on one that felt sufficiently quirky and interesting.

My family went on an early Memorial Day picnic on Saturday because it was supposed to be the nicest day over the weekend, but it was still a bit chilly so I layered some long-sleeved tops and brought a blanket to wrap around my bare legs while sitting at the picnic table. Then we went on a short hike - and yes, I wore these heels, which just proves how comfortable they are. (Or how stubborn I am. Or how determined I am to look stylish even in the woods.)

Blue sweater: Anthropologie

Gingham shirt: J. Crew

Floral skirt: thrifted from Village Merchants

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Purple necklace: gift from my aunt

Embroidered belt: Scandinavian Midsummer Festival in Astoria

Layered

Sometimes I think the fashion world tries to be innovative by adding a lot of layers. I mean, seriously, J. Crew - is anyone really going to wear a button-up shirt, a sweater, and a jacket with shorts? (Except for Blair from Atlantic-Pacific. She may look cute, but I don't imagine that she's ever really comfortable.) The problem with layers on top and bare legs on bottom is that you're pretty much guaranteed to have one half of your body be either too warm or too cold. In the case of this outfit, I was too warm on top. But at least I felt cute, and I eventually got some ice cream to cool down. (From Salt & Straw, of course.)

Lace dress: H&M

Chambray shirt: Sears

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Purse: Michael Kors, thrifted from Salvation Army

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Blue and green necklace: purchased in Florence, Italy

White bracelet: H&M

White belt: Forever 21

Today I'm linking this post up to Monday Mingle and Visible Monday.

Summer fling

Spring has finally returned to Oregon after our brief fling with summertime; temperatures are cooling, the sky isn't clear blue anymore, and my plants have stopped withering on my windowsill. It felt nice to be able to wear jeans again, though if the hot weather returns I won't object.

On the plus side, cooler weather makes me feel less guilty about staying inside and watching TV - when it's hot out I feel like every moment not spent outside is wasted. But now, I can catch up on the season finales of all my favorite shows. (Like NCIS - I just watched the finale yesterday. So good. Normally I don't like cliffhangers, but this one was excellent.)

Floral peplum top: H&M

Pink cardigan: gift from a family member

Jeans: Levi's from Urban Outfitters

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Green necklace: purchased in Hong Kong

Green bracelet: thrifted from Village Merchants