How I Spent My Summer

OOTD 09022016

White Pants | Shoes | PurseEarrings | Bracelet 1 | Bracelet 2 | Lipstick

Good news, guys, I’m still around! My Labor Day weekend has kicked off with a trip to the Minute Clinic to find out my husband has a sinus infection and bronchitis, so I thought it might be a good time to explain my absence while he hopefully sleeps those antibiotics into his system. You may notice a bit of a change of scenery there in the background there, as we’ve started redoing our bedroom this summer! I’m obsessed with the changes so far, but that’s a post for another day.

I said awhile back that I needed to press pause, and at the time, it was because I was just too overwhelmed with work, training for the half-marathon, and just general life stuff. Although my training ended, work didn’t start to slow down until very recently. I was so exhausted by late nights (the kind where your husband asks if he was dreaming or were you actually on the phone with your coworker at 1 a.m. – yikes), deadlines, and everything else we had going on this summer, that the idea of getting back on my computer and blogging was just too much. I missed it and still took lots of pics though; my phone is basically an “I should blog about this” graveyard.

I’m excited to say that things have finally slowed down enough that I think I’m finally able to make my return. I’m ready to share outfits, recipes, and all of the other stuff I’m excited about again. To make up for a complete lack of posting all summer, and in honor of the time-honored tradition of starting the school year by sharing all of the details of your summer break. I figured why not finally share some of my photos, so get ready to scroll!

Run 317 Circle

My cousin and I ran a 5k through downtown Indy less than 2 weeks after the Mini Marathon. The Run 317 series goes through Indianapolis neighborhoods, supports local charities, and comes with two beers at the end from Thr3eWiseMen! This one started and ended on Monument Circle – so fun!

Indy 500

We went to the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. It was an awesome day with our friends and family. It was also HOT, so this one is me in all of my sweaty, unfiltered glory.

Colin-Liza Wedding

We celebrated the wedding of one of our oldest friends (Colin, my chili-adoring bestie)…and thought we were still young enough to close down the bars in Bloomington like college kids (we’re not). If you’re ever in B-town, check out The Big Cheeze! True love is your husband surprising you with a grilled cheese at 2 a.m.

Happy Camper

We spent a weekend in Chicago catching up with old friends and celebrating one of my best friend’s baby shower. The picture is a little blurry, but the look of pure joy on my face is because the Happy Camper is a bar with tire swings. Beers with friends from high school, pizza, and tire swings made it basically the best thing ever.

Run 317 Mass Ave

We did another Run 317 in the Mass Ave area of downtown Indy, and this time my sister joined us for her first ever 5k! It was the kind of ridiculously hot and humid day where you sweat just standing still, so they had to turn it into a non-timed “fun run,” which was just fine for us. We have one more Run 317 left in October, so hopefully my sister will be joining us again!

My very favorite weekend of the year every year is Dave Matthews Band weekend with my husband, brother-in-law, and our friends. Dave plays two shows in Indy, and each night is a totally different show and setlist, so we go both nights. Our first night was up-close and personal in the pit so you can really see the band, and then the second night is on the lawn and dancing barefoot on our blanket (although that part is more just me…). It was SO HOT – are you noticing a theme here for this summer in Indianapolis?

Alyssa Wedding

August kicked off with my cousin’s wedding and an after-party at our house that lasted into the wee hours of the morning. I have a lot of cousins, and I LOVE hanging out with all of them. It was so much fun, and will definitely be a night we remember for a long time.

First Anniversary

Speaking of weddings, we celebrated our first anniversary on August 15th! I cannot believe it’s been a year already, time truly does fly when you’re having fun. I honestly planned to do so many wedding-related posts about how I got ready for our big days (we had two weddings: one on 8/15 at a church with just our family, and one that was a great big party with our family and friends on 8/21), but we’ve already been over my lack of posts. Now that we’re getting ready to ramp up planning my sister’s wedding, I fully plan to share my tips, tricks, lessons, and memories from ours as we go, so stay tuned!

Speaking of our anniversary, Kendra Scott just happened to open a store in Indianapolis the weekend before. My sweet husband knew I’ve been lusting after this necklace forever, so he played detective to find out when exactly they’d be opening, and he even figured out that if we went on opening day, I’d get this (perfectly Colts blue) bracelet for free! Isn’t he the best? Did you know that if you go to Kendra Scott during your birthday month and show your ID, you get 50% off of a piece of jewelry? August just happens to be his birthday month, so it was even more of a bargain. You can guess where I’ll be heading in October!

So that was our summer in a nutshell. Can you believe it’s already September? I love summer, and it’s my favorite season, even when it gets ridiculously hot. I have to say though, I’m ready for the calm that comes with fall. Fall means calmer schedules, bonfire and chili nights with our friends, football Sundays (and the snacks that go with them!), and so many other great things. I love my sundresses, but I also love the fashion that comes with the cooler temperatures.

Thanks for bearing with me while I took some time to re-group, and I promise to be a much better blogger in the weeks and months to come.

signature copy2-7

OOTD: Spontaneous Garth Brooks Concert!

OOTD 04082016

Top | Jeans | Earrings | Booties (similar)

I may not have done better about finding time to post this week, but I did at least do something exciting! While watching the ACMs on Sunday, we decided to see if there were any shows left on the Garth Brooks tour. To our surprise, there were shows in Louisville on Friday night, so we decided to be spontaneous and snag some tickets. (Special thank you to my husband for indulging my whim. He likes the old-school Garth Brooks stuff, but I’m definitely the country fan in our relationship.)

Because everyone likes something new and fun to wear for a night out like a concert, I took the opportunity to finally pick up a new pair of jeans. I’m no stranger to the distressed jean – I worked at Abercrombie all through college. The thing about working there, is that I ended up with a ton of jeans. I have a tough time buying something new when I know I have the same thing that still works, so replacing all those jeans has been an embarrassingly slow process. While I’ve seen rave reviews for the the AG Legging Jean, my bank account can only handle so much spontaneity. I decided to go for the very reasonably priced and equally stylish dark distressed legging jean from Express, and let me tell you, they’re amazing. Perfect fit, super soft, and comfortable enough for the two-hour car ride down to Louisville. I’ll definitely be going back for another pair.

I also picked up this super cute off-the-shoulder top from H&M. It’s part of their Coachella collaboration, so I figured what better way to get in on the off-the-shoulder trend than a collection inspired by music and concerts. It was also an absolute steal at under $15.

Have you ever shopped for a shirt specifically to go with a pair of earrings? Because that’s exactly what I did when looking for a top to wear, I knew they had to go with these squash blossom Baja Drops from BaubleBar. They’re gorgeous and so fun, but I will warn you, they are heavy, so make sure you pair them with these.

KY Mule GB 04082016

(Please excuse my chipped nail polish.) The concert was a 10:30 show, so we stopped by Down One Bourbon Bar in Louisville for a quick drink before attempting the crazy crowds waiting to get into the second show of the evening. They have over 160 bourbons, so I decided to fully embrace our Kentucky night out with a Kentucky Mule – basically a Moscow Mule made with bourbon instead. I love a Moscow Mule, but I’ll definitely be recreating this one at home sometime; it was the perfect combination of bourbon and ginger.

JandJ GB04082016

I actually ended up losing an earring back, but luckily I heard my earring go crashing to the floor before the show, so I was able to rescue them to have for future wears. I would’ve been absolutely devastated otherwise. Hence, the no earrings pic.

GB 1 04082016GB 2 04082016

The show was AMAAAAAZING! We both grew up on Garth Brooks’ music, and he played literally everything we could’ve wanted to hear and then some. Unfortunately, Trisha Yearwood was sick and unable to perform, but he made up for her absence with a solid two-hours of fun and great music. We had such a good time, it was the perfect mini-getaway to take a break from the craziness!

P.S. At least I can tell you some fun new stuff is coming. No trip down I-65 is complete without a stop at the outlet mall, and ours included a crazy sale day at J.Crew Factory. Here’s a sneak peak at skirt and necklace I picked up and cannot wait to wear this week!

Outlet Score 04092016

signature copy2-6