Mint on Prints on Prints

Happy Hump Day, lovers! This week feels like it's flying by. We are T-12 days to internz! It has always felt kind of cray cray before the kiddies arrive. On the one hand, we're trying our best to enjoy the downtime after finishing our hiring for the year but at the same time, I kind of feel like I'm running around frantically trying to tie up loose ends before they get here. It's all good though, it's a fun kind of busy and it's helpful to lean on the energy of my teammates. To say that we're "excited" about the arrival of our 2016 summer intern class is a serious understatement!

So, I'll keep this post short! I've been having lots of fun experimenting with prints and colors now that the temps are on the up and up! This kimono has been a longtime favorite in my wardrobe. It mixes surprisingly well with other prints (evident here) and in this case serves as a neutral against this delicately embroidered mint top and abstract printed shorts. On an average day I would have opted for my comfy birks but I must have been feeling a little sassy on this day because I went for some block wedges instead! I kept the shoe color neutral because there's already so much going on in the outfit.

That's it from me this time around :) I hope y'all are enjoying the week. Cheers until next time!

Mint Embroidered Top Lush, similar
Floral Kimono Forever 21, similar
Abstract Soft Shorts Forever 21, similar
Wedge Sandals Vince Camuto, similar

Summer Blues & Whites and Chowing Down with Cycle Dogs

I told ya it wouldn't be too long before you heard from me again! Truth be told, I couldn't WAIT to share this post with you guys! One of the things I've been looking forward to most after work travel is spending time with friends in my favorite city. Yes, of all the cities that I could choose, I choose YOU, Seattle! I actually live east side now because let's be honest, dat 5 minute commute is seriously so clutch. However, I take every chance I get to cross the bridge to catch a good meal with a good friend, peruse one of the dozen farmer's markets or shop downtown. This past weekend, Mitch and I had a damn good friend visiting from Boston. Thompson is a former Seattleite and a Washingtonian through and through. I planned a fun Seattle Saturday which included nomming with our friends, Cycle Dogs, at Peddler Brewing Company, checking out a few open houses (because why not?!) and grabbing dessert and taking a stroll down memory lane in the u-district. I have a few more snaps to share from our awesome day but first, the outfit!

The temps have been rising in the great northwest so I took the opportunity to rock a couple new favs I picked up while shopping in Santa Barbara with my work wife, Sarah. I've always been a fan of soft shorts decked out in festival worthy details. Styles like these gained huge popularity with the rise of music festival culture thanks to events like Coachella and EDC. I've never been to a festival, but I absolutely adore the style vibes. When I saw these beautifully embroidered shorts on the front table at the A&F on State street, I was immediately enamoured. It didn't take much convincing for me to take these home with me. I purchased these beauties at full price for $40 and TBH, that's A LOT MORE than I would normally spend on an item like this but if I'm being even more honest, I am completely in love with these and they make me happy. So fuck it. TREAT YO'SELF, y'all. I also picked up a new chambray on clearance at Franchesca's for $20. Y'all know I appreciate the versatility of a good chambray shirt. There's a slit in the back that gives this chambray an interesting twist and helps the extra luxe fabric lay well on my body. I forgot to get a photo from behind of the shirt, but you can see it in action in the video at the end of this post! You may recognize the crop top from my previous post. This blue+white striped linen pretty is here to stay for summer :) And of course, my favorite necklace and a fun sandal finish the look.

Striped Crop Top Forever 21, exact
Teagan Chambray Shirt Francesca, exact
Embroidered Soft Shorts Abercrombie & Fitch, exact
Embroidered Lace-Up Sandals Forever 21, exact

I also needed to give a big ol' shoutout to my friends over at Cycled Dogs for keeping us happy and well fed after a day of house hunting. Cycle Dogs is a one-man vegan hotdog bicycle cart funded by a Kickstarter in October 2014. Keaton, the man behind the dogs, was a professional lead-certified architect in his previous life. He left his 9-to-5 to pursue his dream of bringing vegan goodness to his community. I am so inspired by Keaton's story that I've basically dubbed myself the official unofficial poster child for these stupidly delicious hot dogs AKA I plan to eat as many of these as I possibly can this summer and I'm hoping that you will join me!

The best way to stay up to date with where the bike cart will be is the Cycledogs instagram or their facebook page. Check out the super cute video that our friend, Thompson, made of our hot dog trip at the bottom of this post! Nobody had any idea he was filming so it's completely candid :) I hope y'all have a lovely weekend, lovelies!

His & Hers: Tulips for Days

Oh Harrow, Friends! I'm FINALLY home from work travel and it feels so damn good to be back! I've taken the last week to get settled back into home life. Hanging with the handsome hubs, organizing my home and office, catching up with friends and soaking in the PNW sunshine. TBH, when I was on the road, I didn't miss the blog at all. My brain space was consumed with work and such. As I was getting ready to return home, I was wondering if I'd feel like picking the blog back up again since I hadn't given it too much thought for so long. But of course, it only took me a week before I was ready to get back in the style blog game :) It helps to have a loving and supportive network of blogger friends. Special shoutout to my blogger boyfriend, Hector of Geek-Q, for getting my excitement levels up up up with our visit to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival!

I wouldn't have made my annual pilgrimage this year if it weren't for Hector's encouragement. Thanks for making sure I didn't break my tulip streak, boo! Did any of you get the chance to make it out to the tulips this year? Fields of flowers have been blowing up my Facebook newsfeed these past few weeks!

Hector and I both had new camera equipment to play with and it definitely contributed to the best photo set we've ever taken together! As you may have noticed, Hector and I love our collaborative His & Hers series. Ever since our Christmas and New Year posts, we've been making more of an effort to do these more regularly. It's kind of silly, up until now we were relying on the unknown skills of kind strangers to get the shots of us together. Those days are behind us because Hector purchased a tripod for our adventures and we broke it in at the tulip fields! I wish I had my phone with me when we were taking our timed photos. It was SO CUTE to watch Hector daintily jog through the rows of tulips after setting the timer to get next to me in time for the shot.

As for me, I recently purchased a Sony a7ii from my photog hero, Dara of Love Darbie. Don't get me wrong, I love my Canon 50D but I needed something more lightweight. Before my parents gave me my first DSLR (it was a hand me down), I carried an easy going point-and-shoot with me everywhere. When I converted to the Canon 50D full time, my cameraphone became my everyday camera because it was super inconvenient to tote the big camera around. I regularly missed out on capturing high-quality candid moments because I didn't have my camera on me due to me being too lazy to carry it without a guaranteed opportunity to shoot. So, enter the Sony! This mirrorless camera is an absolute dream. The color quality is ridiculous. Every photo is basically upload ready straight off the camera. The tech features allow me to instantly transfer my photos to my phone. That, combined with it's lightweight design makes it a perfect everyday camera.

I can't wait to share more of my spring time shenanigans on le blog. You can expect more regular updates from me and my camera. Hopefully, you feel like that's a good thing :D Until the next one, my friends!

On Hector:
Peacoat Topman , similar
Floral Shirt Topman, similar
Pink Chinos J. Crew, exact
Polka Dot Bow Tie and Suspenders Asos, exact
Duck Boots Lacrosse for J. Crew, exact

On Kim:
Striped Crop Top Forever 21, exact
Striped Skirt Forever 21, sold out but this would pair well.
Rain Boots Forever 21, exact style, different colors
Classic Trench Vintage London Fog, similar