if i were a schoolmarm

le outfit:dress: H&M :: floral top: thrifted:: quilted flats: Target:: panda necklace: Forever 21::

Every once in a while, I wonder if I shouldn't be a schoolteacher. I love teaching and passing on factoids (my knowledge on sedimentary rocks and clouds spans volumes! like, 3 pages total.) and I used to think I would love to teach children.  But in all honesty, I have no patience for screaming, snot-nosed, extremely hyper kids. I hate cleaning up after them, and I also don't like children's food, which to me consists of macaroni and cheese and chicken fingers.

But I totally enjoy channeling the schoolmarm through my outfits. Comfy flats for running around? CHECK! Dress with a poofy skirt to hide legs while sitting Indian-style at storytelling? CHECK! Modest top that double duties as a bib? CHECK! Whimsical details? CHECK!

I'm totally set. At least to LOOK like one.

ps. One more day till my GIVEAWAY ends! Enter now!

Mango Pico De Gallo

It's basically summer, which means lots of fresh produce! I truly get excited when I see shiny tomatoes or sprigs of cilantro or huge basins full of arugula, lettuces, and other greens at my market. All the yummy produce inspires me to be in the kitchen more often, making easy but flavor-packed treats. This is a recipe I make almost weekly at my house during warmer temps. The mango is from the grocers, but I do love the extra fruity sweetness it adds to the mix.


Ingredients:1 mango, peeled and chopped.3-4 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped.  I like using Roma. cilantro, choppedonion, 1 medium, chopped as thinly as possiblelemon juice, about 2 Tablespoons1-2 jalapenos, seeded (if you don't like that much heat)
Directions1. Add all ingredients in a large bowl. 2. Refrigerate and let sit for at least an hour before serving.

too much fun

You've probably noticed that I've gone a bit crazy lately with the add-ons in the photos of my recent blog posts. Ever since I discovered Pugly Pixel, I've been playing around with brushes, fonts, textures, and other graphics. Though I hate being hunched over, staring at my laptop, I can't stop it!!! It's just too much fun! I'm still not at the level of actually editing my photos like playing with color/ light balance/ smudging or anything like that. That may never happen since I'm too preoccupied cutifying everything else. 
A few of you asked what kind of ice cream cone my husband was holding in this post. He got a giant waffle cone, dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with crushed Butterfinger. The ice cream shop we went to offered quite the variety of dipped waffle cones, and I included some photos of those that I remembered to capture. I dunno how he does it, though. I can barely finish a kid scoop of ice cream, let alone the skimpy sugar cone in comes in. He gobbled down a large scoop AND the whole cone! SUGAR COMA afterwards.
Before this post gets out of hand, I wanted to show off my new pink specs! They're from Coastal, and I LOVE them to death. You can't see them (because I forgot to take close up pics) but there are little hearts on the edges of the cat eyes! If you didn't know yet, your first pair at Coastal.com is free! *I wasn't sponsored these glasses, I just love them a lot!!

a weekend to remember

outfit detailsmaxi dress: GAP:: lace shrug: Forever 21::necklace: c/o Anjolee:: floral shoes: Report::feather cuff: H&M:: specs: Glasses USA
Here it is, folks, the last of the photos from my anniversary adventure. If you missed them, check all three parts here: 1, 2, 3. In retrospect, actually, I don't think we had much of an "adventure," since we mostly just relaxed and stuffed ourselves silly with pastries and delicious food. On our last day, we had the yummiest breakfast I've had in a long time. I'm not a fan of Cinnabon since they're just too sweet for me, but I did love these mini Cinnabon pancake bites. Oh my gosh, just typing it out made me drool. Perfect tiny bites of sweet.
We spent the rest of the morning at the Farmers' Market and got some delicious cheese and creamy honey. Sharp cheddar + a bit of creamy honey + fresh baguette= delicious snack. For realz. 
I hope you're having a beautiful, long weekend!  and don't forget to enter my giveaway. 

More exploring: an (almost) wordless post

le outfit:

dress: Old Navy:: floral heels: Report, buy here

There are a lot of pictures in this post, so I'll shut up and let them do the talking. Hope you have a happy, long weekend!♥ 


*ps. don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Anniversary Adventures Part 2: This Old House

We decided to spend the weekend in a beautiful, old mansion converted into a Bed and Breakfast. And I'm not talking about the fluke of a Bed and Breakfast with reproducing flowers and insufferable hummingbird-watching visitors that Rory and Lorelai Gilmore spent the night in on their drive to Harvard. I'm talking about the historic, creaky, heavy furniture kind of Bed and Breakfast. I even took a bath in a super pretty claw-foot bathtub that Eleanor Roosevelt bathed in! Should I be impressed or creeped out? I'm not quite sure.

There was only one other couple staying that weekend, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. During the couple hours of exploring and ogling all the pretty decor, I wore this cotton dress that's been sitting in my closet forever. I packed it just in case I needed an extra dress, and since it got to a boiling 90F over the weekend, it was the perfect emergency attire. My husband and I whittled the afternoon away sitting on a gorgeous, well-lit reading nook, reading comic books.

Anniversary Adventures Part 1: We're Just Kids

I'm wearing:silk shirt: Liz Claiborne, thrifted:: Rockstar jeans: Old Navy::floral wedges: Report:: gold cuff: vintage::

This was my traveling outfit. I always travel sans makeup or color because everything melts during the drive. For realsies. I usually don't like wearing jeans, but these Rock Star Flares from Old Navy are just so darn comfortable and make my legs look skinny! I built the rest of the "outfit" around the jeans, so I thought I'd keep it simple with a plain white shirt, tied in the front. These photos don't really do the outfit justice, though. The shirt is a bit sheer, and I wore the neckline a bit low because I was trying to go for that effortlessly sexy look, which always seems to backfire on me. I mean, seriously, guys, who wears a high side ponytail with this look? This gal does.
Let's face it, starting a five-year anniversary weekend with a trip to the zoo, hot dogs, and ice cream is pretty much what a six-year old would imagine the perfect holiday to be. But guess what? It was fabulous. The zoo we visited was pretty tiny (what do you expect in small-town Illinois?) but I got some awesome shots of those so-ugly-they're-cute Tamarins (bottom right). And the ice cream was the creamiest, smoothest, most luscious ice cream I had ever tasted. 
If you wanna see more pictures of the critters I saw, check out my facebook page!