pleats in the park

Being home for the past two weeks or so has been all kinds of great and distracting. I mostly just like to lounge around in my bed and use every excuse in the book to be lazy, but it's also been so good to see my friends and wander around Ann Arbor. I had to drag one of my friends out to take these photos for me in Gallup Park by the Huron River - which is slightly less compelling than taking pictures in the middle of New York City, but not so bad either. Hope your summers are all going well!

(Thrifted slip from AuH20 in New York, BCBG denim skirt, River Island sandals, my mom's old Céline bag)

This slip seemed like an acceptable thing to wear in the ridiculous heat of a couple weeks ago (that has since died down), but I had to slide a skirt underneath it to make it an acceptable length and not flash everyone in town. Also I just enjoy the way pleats look under everything. Enjoy this excessively awkward photo of me posing on a bench and this shot of my old sandals and the yellowing grass in Gallup Park.

the time i wore my tutu

When I was younger, there was a very brief period in which I desperately wanted to be a ballerina. I'm pretty sure it's a phase most six-year-old girls go through, but in retrospect I think mine was a little bit more about getting to wear a tutu and a little bit less about actually dancing. So when I saw this tutu at Forever 21 last year, I went against every rational part of me that was saying I would never, ever get a chance to wear it and bought it. Up until the day I took these photos, the tutu hadn't made it out of my closet (not even for a themed party, which is kind of a shame) and so I figured I owed it to myself to at least try. I had my friend take these pictures in my neighborhood park, so at least the setting seemed semi-appropriate for the very immature outfit I was wearing.  

(Free People bralet, Forever 21 skirt, BCBG belt, JC Penney flats, various bracelets - one handmade, one from a street vendor in Italy, one from a bead shop in Amsterdam)

And so here you have my first outfit post from home! It's a shame I never got to test this outfit out in Times Square - people probably wouldn't have even looked twice. I've only been back for a week or so, but I miss New York already. I love being back in Ann Arbor so much though - and to the credit of my hometown, I wore the tutu out to lunch after these photos were taken and no one seemed to find it too out of the ordinary. To more outfit posts to come, hopefully, as we now enter the hottest, muggiest, most annoying month of the year. Happy August!

i just like ann arbor a lot, so yeah

1. One final snapshot of some of my clothes hanging in the closet in New York before I had to finish packing up // 2. The picturesque sky over the highway on the drive back home

3. Drinks and desserts from Sweetwater's Coffee & Tea, a local business that I was entirely convinced was a national franchise before starting school away from Ann Arbor // 4. Standing in front of the delicious Hut-K Chaats food cart at Mark's Carts, a little food-cart courtyard that I visited for the first time this week

5. A ridiculously satisfying mac 'n' cheese grilled cheese sandwich from the Cheese Dream cart in the aforementioned food-cart courtyard that tasted every bit as incredible as you'd expect // 6. A very poor-quality shot of Ann Arbor's clock tower from the rooftop of a downtown parking structure, a semi-routine hangout place for me and my friends

7. A fairy door in front of someone's downtown home that my friend and I stumbled across. To learn about fairy doors in Ann Arbor, click here // 8. One of the tastiest (if not the prettiest) "cookie-wich" I've ever had, from the new Insomnia Cookies that opened in downtown Ann Arbor

9. A refreshing watermelon salad from Sava's on State Street // 10. Iced coffee and tea from Comet Coffee in Nickel's Arcade, famously referred to as Ann Arbor's best coffee -- and sometimes the world's best, if we're feeling cocky. I'm not a big coffee drinker (the tea is mine), but as a fiercely proud Ann Arborite I assure you it must be really damn good coffee

Apologies for the half-hearted blog post title. Also apologies for the lack of posts that aren't "Sunday Snapshots." My blog is just turning into one giant Instagram feed... Oops. I arrived back in Ann Arbor this Tuesday, and I've spent the week finding a dozen reminders of why it will always be the best home a girl could ask for. Pretty much that means I just ate a lot of really good food and took pictures of it. Also, you should really read about fairy doors, in case you missed my subtle link above, because they are endlessly adorable and fascinating to me. These photos are not the most accurate representation of why I really love being home, but the inside of my friend's car/my own bed/me lounging around the house in my  underwear probably don't make for the most aesthetically pleasing Instagram photos. It's good to be home.

sheer is the best policy

I just wanted to take the time to share this high-quality selfie I somewhat accidentally took while adjusting my camera on this particular day. Let's paint the scene. It's 1237251 degrees (fahrenheit, obviously) in New York City and wearing anything other than nothing seems like a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Which is how I ended up wearing this stupid sheer H & M blouse with my Stella McCartney bra on full display.  Inappropriate? Necessary? After somehow managing to spend an inordinate money on lingerie and barely any money on actual clothing (not what I was expecting to happen when I decided to spend my summer in New York), I've somehow decided that I should just buy flimsy $12 sheer things and wear expensive lingerie underneath. My mom is here for the weekend and she okay'ed this outfit (just barely), so I'm going to pretend it's semi-appropriate to wear in public. 

(H & M blouse, American Eagle shorts, my dad's belt, Stella McCartney bra, awkward arms akimbo pose)

One last goodbye behind the counter with some of the lovely sales associates at Journelle!

Happy Friday - have a great weekend, everyone!

homeward bound

My final week in New York has come to a close, and I'll have to start packing today to head out either tomorrow or Tuesday morning. Packing is my absolute least favorite activity (you know, within reason) and so this blog post is a much appreciated excuse to continue avoiding the elephant in the room (my empty suitcase). I spent this week going to some of my favorite places in New York for the final time, and also trying a couple of new things I've been wanting to do but haven't gotten around to. It's been a wonderful seven weeks here, and I will always love New York City for being the first place I ever really lived by myself. Here's to goodbyes to NYC and finally being homeward bound:

Perfect view from Highline Park // A blue toggle coat from Comptoir Des Contonniers that made me feel like Paddington Bear

Delicious Pineapple and Coconut Panna Cotta from a fancy shmancy restaurant called Tocqueville outside Union Square // Obligatory awkward crotch shot of my favorite glittery shoes

Yummy dessert case at Paris Baguette in Korea Town // Froyo from my favorite yogurt place in the world, 16 Handles (I am a notoriously bad topping-picker - you're looking at blackberries and mangos with mini Reese's cups, all covered in graham cracker bits...so awful but so good)

Mid-week flash flood/hailstorm outside Journelle // My room for the past seven weeks (which is actually my best friend's room, as this is her apartment I'm staying in while she's having adventures in Spain)

Grilled cheese (the ultimate comfort food) from Gorilla Cheese food truck with muenster cheese, pesto, chicken, and roasted red peppers // Eating Mexican-style ice pops with the adorable kids of a family friend (I had a passionfruit one and it was the yummiest popsicle I've ever had)

Baking funfetti cupcakes with lingerie decorations for my last day of work! // And finally, the best for last: 

I feel this final photo is embarrassing enough that it deserves some explanation (but not embarrassing enough that I'd keep it off the internet altogether, clearly). I FINALLY watched The Amazing Spider-Man tonight with my mom (hear me obsess over Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield here), and it kind of made my month. I just want to watch Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy flirt forever on an endless movie reel. So naturally, after walking home from the theater, the first thing I had to do was try and find their kissing scene on youtube to watch over and over again (weird? No. Not weird). The only one I could find was super poor quality and of course, had Spanish subtitles. I thought it was funny enough to take a photo of. But sometimes I have bad judgment, and tonight it was especially impaired by Andrew Garfield's face, so please forgive me if I wake up tomorrow and regret this. Other things I enjoy watching over and over again on youtube include: more cinematic kissing scenes between other pretty couples, cute kids singing, cute kids saying funny things, and more kisses. If it wasn't embarrassing before, it probably is now. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

farewells at journelle

The prettiest ID Sarrieri Sweet Memories set on display at the front of the store.

Yesterday was my last day of work at Journelle, which snuck up on me so fast I'm still having trouble issues believing I'm going home on Monday. I decided a proper goodbye to the store warranted another purchase, so I left work on Friday with another pretty purple-ribboned package and an unhappy bank account (I don't want to talk about it). Other than acquiring gorgeous new lingerie, one of the cool things I got to do while here was organize an Intern Soiree with the other Journelle interns. We invited interns from all around NYC to come shop (25% off!) and socialize with us, and I lugged my camera along to snap a handful of pictures of the event. 

Fun peach and grapefruit mocktails concocted by me and Abby + a floaty Beautiful Bottoms set on display.

From left to right: me, Laura (social media coordinator), and two other interns, Abby and Christi.

More than the store and the gorgeous merchandise, I'm going to miss everyone I've gotten to spend time with while here. I've learned so much about lingerie and what it can represent, but also about social media, small businesses, and working with a team in general. To see some much nicer photos from the event, check out this album on facebook (and like our page, while you're there!). I'll be seeing you soon, Journelle. Also, to lament the fact that I couldn't afford everything I wanted in the store, I'll probably be compiling a Journelle wishlist later this week... stay tuned. Now I'm off to spend my last weekend in NYC with my mom, who drove up from Michigan to pick me up. Enjoy your weekend, everyone!