2 Patriotic Outfits for July 4th

Happy Monday! Since Independence Day is right around the corner, I have not one, but two patriotic outfits for you. Both of them are casual, but still super cute and perfect for any July 4th picnic.

Outfit #1:

Outfit details:

Top: Old Navy (exact, similar)

Jeans: Kohl's (similar, similar)

Shoes: Target (similar, similar)

Necklace: Old Navy (similar, similar)

This outfit is so cute! I have wanted to wear my chambray shirt with my white jeans for a while now, but for some reason, I have't actually worn them together yet. A variation of this outfit has been on my mind to wear, and July 4th seemed like the perfect day to wear it. I love the way the wedges look with the chambray and cuffed white jeans. This outfit is super comfy, and would be perfect for the 4th of July.

Outfit #2:

Outfit details:

Top: LOFT (similar, similar)

Jeans: Kohl's (exact, similar)

Blazer: Dress Barn (similar but without polka dots, similar)

Sandals: Kohl's (similar, similar)

Bracelet: not sure (similar, similar)

Outfit number 2 is also perfect for any Independence Day shindig. The blazer can be taken off if it gets too hot. And the bracelet adds the perfect pop of red. In my neck in the woods, it is VERY hot, so outfit 2 would probably be the one that I would wear since it gets SO hot. 

I love how each outfit has a pop of red, but each outfit looks totally different from the other. 

How do you show your patriotic spirit?

Easy Refreshing Detox Fruit Water Recipe

Happy Wednesday! Wow, this week is already half over. I can't believe it! How is it already Wednesday?! Enough of my rambles, let's get to the post:

I am a pretty health conscious person, and I am addicted to Pinterest. A while back, I was browsing Pinterest and I came across a recipe for flavored water that detoxes your body. I immediately clicked on it to see how to make it. It was easy enough, and super healthy and yummy. I made lots of it, and drank it all of the time. Some how, I stopped making it, and I haven't had any for a while until a couple of weeks ago.

I got the idea to make some detox water because I was feeling sluggish and had eaten a good bit of unhealthy food. I remembered it and made some almost right away, but I didn't use the original recipe; I made my own! Today, I am going to share with you my recipe for some super yummy and refreshing detox water. I love detox water because plain water can get boring, and this detox water changes it up a bit.

It is super easy to make, so yummy and refreshing for those hot summer days, and it detoxes your body. Here's what you will need:

1. Tall pitcher
2. about 1 small cucumber. The cucumber has lots of detox properties, and doesn't add any gross vegetable flavor
3. 1 lemon. Lemon is also good for detoxing. Plus, lemon water is so yummy!
4. a handful of fresh mint.
5. about 5-7 medium strawberries

Step 1: Wash and chop all of your fruit and veggies and place them in the pitcher

Step 2: Fill up your tall pitcher with water

Step 3: Put your water in the fridge and let it sit for about an hour or so. The longer you let the water sit, the more flavorful the water will be.

Step 5: Enjoy!

Detox water is one of my favorite drinks! It is totally customizable! There are so many different flavors that you could make. For example: apple cinnamon, peach mango, berry. So many options! This particular one tastes like a refreshing, light strawberry lemonade. It has so much flavor!

Hope you found this recipe helpful!

Linking up at Still Being Molly, Garay Treasures, Live Randomly Simple, 

"Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." 3 John 1:2

Summer 2015 Trends: Pineapples, Flamingoes, and Tassels

Happy Tuesday! More like, Happy Summer! Sunday was officially the first day of Summer; although, Memorial Day kicks off Summer for me. 

I have seen so many adorable fashion trends this summer from fruit prints, to pom poms. Today I am going to share with you a compilation of some of those cute Summer 2015 trends.

Top row: one, two, three, four. Middle row: one, two, three, four. Bottom row: one, two, three, four

Pineapples

I am absolutely in love with the pineapple trend for Summer! I mean, how cute is it?! Being from the South, pineapples have always played a part in my life. From Pineapple Upside Down Cake, to being on mailbox flags and other decor. Pineapples symbolize hospitality and a warm welcome. Pineapples will always be one of my favorite fruits, and one of my favorite fashion trends. 

Flamingoes

Flamingoes are so cute at the zoo, but even cuter on clothes and phone cases. If you can't tell, the t-shirt on the middle row is blue with a pink flamingo print. The other day, I was brainstorming what trends I should share, and I saw this skirt on Kendi. When I saw her wearing it, I knew that I had to share the skirt and the Summer trend of flamingoes. 

Tassels

Tassels, especially tassel necklaces, are super big this season. I have seen them EVERYWHERE. I love the trend and can't wait to purchase something, anything, with tassels. The pineapple scarf on the first row actually also has tassels, so you can try out both trends at one time.

What Summer 2015 trend is your favorite?

Linking up at Still Being Molly, Garay Treasures, Live Randomly Simple, The Pleated Poppy, Tucker Up, Get Your Pretty On, 

Mix It Monday: Chevron Top

Outfit details:

Top: Kohl's (similar, similar)

Jeans: Old Navy (similar, similar

Flats: Kohl's (exact, similar)

Necklace: Claire's (lots of simple jewelry here)

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Mine was slightly busy, but overall, really good! 

This outfit is one of my favorites because of how effortless it is. It is super simple, but still cute and comfy. Another reason why I love it is because it utilizes my favorite shoes. If you have been around this blog for a while, you know that I absolutely love these shoes. They're comfy, cute, and can be worn many ways. Plus, they are the perfect color blue. The cornerstone of my style is pieces that are comfy, cute, and can be worn many ways.

These capri pants aren't really capri pants. I usually don't buy capris; I just buy skinny jeans or pants that can be cuffed to look like capri pants. It is a super great idea that really saves me time and money.

I have worn this chevron shirt many, many different ways. I love it, and it is very versatile. I've only worn it one way here on the blog, but I have worn lots of other ways, and have another outfit with it coming up soon. I wore it in a very similar way with my blue flats, some statement jewelry, and black skinny jeans. You can see the full post here, but this is what the outfit looked like:

I have also worn these shoes with lots of outfits. Just like the chevron top, I have only worn it one other way here on the blog, besides the outfit above. I wore them with cuffed jeans, a pink top, and a beautiful scarf. You can see the full post here. This is what the outfit looks like:

I kind of rambled on a bit today, but I guess I just had lots to say. :) Have a great rest of your Monday!

Photography by Allie D.

Linking up at Still Being Molly, and Fizz and Frosting

High Five for Friday

Happy Friday! How is it possibly already Friday?! I can't believe that the weekend is already here! This week flew right by. Check out the five high points of my week:

1. I started back running again after a long hiatus. I can't exactly remember all the reasons why I stopped. I was doing the C25k running program, and when I stopped, I was right at the 5k mark. Unfortunately, I had to start all the way back at week 3 of the 8 week program. I am glad to be back running, though. It feels great!

2. On Tuesday, I posted about some of my Summer must-haves. Some of those include: dry shampoo, sundresses, EOS lip balm, and a good book. You can view the rest here.

3. Sewing has always been one of my hobbies, although I don't pride myself in my sewing expertise and skill. I have a lot of sewing to do today and tomorrow. I need to sew some straps on a maxi dress, alter a dress, and finish sewing a dress. Apparently, dresses are on my mind. :)

4. It has been terribly hot this week! Like, 100 degrees hot. I am not kidding! Needless to say, I have been in the pool lots. I thought I was used to South Carolina Summers, but these temps have really surprised me.

5. Wednesday, I posted my first outfit post in a long time. With holidays and vacations, I really haven't done many outfit posts.  Hopefully more outfit posts are in the future. :) You can see the full post here.

I feel like nothing super exciting happened this week, but I'm okay with that. Sometimes we need breaks from exciting because most of the time, exciting means stressful, and I don't want to be stressed. Have a great weekend!

Linking up at Bright on a Budget, A. Liz Adventures, Meet at the Barre, The Diary of a Real Housewife

Scarves in Summer

Happy Wednesday! I feel like I haven't posted an outfit post in forever! With holidays and vacations, I really didn't have many days or much time to post one. But, I am happy to tell you that there will be more outfit posts soon.

Outfit details:

Top: Old Navy (similar, similar)

Shorts: Old Navy (similar, similar)

Scarf: Old Navy (similar, similar)

Shoes: Target (similar, similar)

Watch: (similar, similar)

Even though I wore this outfit during my capsule wardrobe, I have already finished my capsule, so I didn't title this post with "Capsule Wardrobe Outfit #...", like I usually do. I still have a good bit of capsule wardrobe outfits left, but I will just keep posting them like regular outfit posts.

This outfit came to me when I was looking for a way to wear this coral top with my blue shorts. Oh, and excuse the wrinkles. I wear this shirt for one hour and it gets this bad. Remind me to never buy anything made from this material, regardless of how cute or comfy it is. :) Anyway, my sister mentioned to me that coral would look really good with these blue shorts, so I had the idea in my head to wear this shirt and shorts together. I like to still utilize my scarves in the Summer, so I decided to wear my favorite leopard scarf with my blue shorts and coral blouse. It actually worked out really well, and added some neutrals to my otherwise colorful outfit.

I am super into scarves in the Fall and Winter, but I usually have some trouble trying to wear my many scarves in the Spring and Summer. A good tip for wearing scarves in Summer is to wear your lighter and brighter scarves. The one that I am wearing in these photos is a pretty lightweight scarf, so it doesn't add too much bulk, or make me swelter.

How do you wear scarves in Summer?

Linking up at Garay Treasures, Live Randomly Simple, The Pleated Poppy, Tucker Up, Because Shanna Said So, Get Your Pretty On, Curly Crafty Mom

Photography by Allie D.

10 Must-Haves for Summer

Happy Tuesday! It is great to be back at the grind after vacation. I had such a great time, but it is super nice to get back to the regular swing of things.

Summer is here! I feel like it snuck (a word, not a word? It is in my book!) up on me. Somehow I thought it was still going to be in the 80's in these parts, but today's high is 100 degrees! Goodnes gracious! Here are a few of my must-haves for summer:

1. Flat Sandals
For me, comfortable, flat sandals are vital for traipsing around town, going to festivals, or the beach. These are perfect! They look cute, comfortable, and versatile. The fact that they are affordable is an added plus.

2. Sundress/Maxi Dress
I have lots of dresses in my closet, but I always make sure that I have a few sundresses and/or maxi dresses. In the heat of summer, all I want to wear is breezy, comfortable dresses. Of course, they have to be cute, too.

3. Dry Shampoo
Summer means heat, and heat means sweat. I am not one who likes to be sweaty, and I'm pretty sure sweating isn't your favorite thing either, so after the beach, or just being outside, I like to freshen up my hair with a little dry shampoo so that it doesn't look gross. I even use dry shampoo in all seasons to eliminate greasiness.

4. Sunglasses
Sunglasses are super key to being able to see when summer rolls around. There is nothing like squinting to see what and who is around you. I hat to squint and it actually gives me a headache, so I always make sure that I have super cute sunglasses handy. I am really into aviators right now, and these from Francesca's are adorable. 

5. Swimsuit
I always like to look my best, even at the beach and pool, so a cute, well-fitting swimsuit is a must. I usually go for brightly colored ones, but this one from Target is too cute. I just can't get enough of the scallops!

6. A Good Book
While I do like to relax and bask in the sun at the beach or pool, I also really like reading. I try to make sure that I have a good book, or ebook, right beside me. I like fun, fiction books, but I also like books that I can really learn something from. This book is inspiring, thought-provoking, life-changing, and just plain great! I laughed and nodded my head in agreement all throughout the book.

7. SPF Lip Balm
I have been an EOS wearer for a while now, and the Lemon Drop kind with SPF 15 is perfect to keep your lips hydrated and from getting sunburned. I like all of their (flavors? scents?) of lip balm, but my most used one is Lemon Drop. It has a light scent and feels so smooth.

8. Bright Nail Polish
For me, summer means bright colors. I wear tons of brights during summer, but I really like painting my nails with bright colors. When I was searching the web for a brightly colored nails polish, this is the first one that I saw. When I spotted it, I knew that it would be perfect. The color is amazing, and I really love essie.

9. Beach Bag/Tote
When I go to the beach, I pack everything under the sun. Let's face it. When I go anywhere, I pack everything under the sun, but especially the beach. Packing lots requires a bag to fit it all. This tote is perfect. I love the woven straw, and the tassel is so cute!

10. Soft Shorts
Soft shorts like these are super big this summer, especially ones with pom poms. Personally, I think that they are the best thing since sliced bread. They are just like palazzo pants: they feel like pj's, but can be worn out! How awesome is that?! If I haven't sold you, you must be a robot. :)

That's all! What's on your summer must-have list?

Linking up at Still Being Molly, Garay Treasures, Live Randomly Simple, The Pleated Poppy, Tucker Up, Because Shanna Said So, Get Your Pretty On, In It's Time, Curly Crafty Mom

Vacation Recap: Chattanooga Tennessee

Happy Monday! As promised, today I am recapping my recent vacation to Chattanooga, Tennessee. My family and I go camping quite a bit, but this trip was the longest drive we have ever done with a camper. It took us about 5-6.5 hours to drive up there. We stayed in Raccoon Mountain RV Park and Campground. We left for Chattanooga on Saturday morning, and we left Chattanooga for home on Thursday morning. Over all, it was super fun, and I can't believe that it is already over.

I am going to try to put the pictures in chronological order, but I didn't take many pictures on any of the days we were there, except for Wednesday because the campground really didn't have much to photograph. On Wednesday we went to Rock City which was one of, if not the, reason that we went to Chattanooga. It was breathtakingly beautiful and had so many cool and interesting features and rock formations. Let the photo overload begin:

Rock City had some of the coolest rock formations where God used erosion to create some really interesting formations. One of them was called Fat Man's Squeeze, where you had to squeeze between two rocks.

There was a pretty water fountain at the beginning, birdhouses everywhere, and beautiful nature.

Gnomes were scattered around the trail everywhere. It was fun to try to spot them. We tried counting them, but there were so many that we lost track.

We were hiking, of a sort, so we were up higher than ground level, and there were some pretty cool drop-offs.

They had some pretty cutely named rocks. The first one is called Mushroom Rock, second is called Tortoise Shell Rock, and the third is called Balance Rock.

There was a place/area called Deer Park in which everyone would walk across the area on a bridge, and on the ground were real-live deer. It was pretty neat! We spotted about 5-6.

After crossing a swinging bridge, which actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (I have a fear of heights), we got to Lovers Leap. On Lovers Leap you could see the most amazing, stunning, breathtaking view. You could also see seven states which was super neat.

This is what Lovers Leap looks like from the ground. Isn't it the most beautiful view you have ever seen?! There was so much of God's stunning creation all around. It was so awe-inspiring. 

After that, we walked a bit and came to a cave. The cave was awesome! There were stalactites, stalagmites, crystals, coral, and rocks. There were also little fairytale scenes that were carved out of rock and painted. There was Cinderella, Snow White, The Old Woman and the Shoe, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and many more. At the very end of the cave there was a place called Mother Goose Village. Mother Goose Village was a lot like the fairytale scenes, except better and they were Mother Goose rhymes, instead of fairytales. It was so magical and fun. It's too magical to explain.

I couldn't get a lot of pictures because it was too dark. I wish that I could have gotten more pictures, but even if I could have, I would have never been able to capture all of the magic and beauty.

Rock City was so fun, breathtaking, and beautiful! I had so much fun there with my family and will definitely go again soon.

Linking up at Still Being Molly

High Five for Friday

Happy Friday, y'all! Wow! This week was great. The reason why it has been pretty quiet around here at the ol' blog, is because I went on vacation. Check out the five high points of my week:

1. As said above, I went on vacation. We left on Saturday and went to Chattanooga, Tennessee for a 5 day camping trip. It was so much fun! I am very close to my immediate family, but also my extended family. It was great spending more time with both my immediate family and my extended family. Including myself, 16 people were there. Granted, we did have two campers and a cabin, so it wasn't too cramped. On Monday, I will be posting a trip diary with TONS of pictures.

2. Some of you may know Rachel from Garay Treasures. A while back, she generously offered a giveaway to Oakleigh Rose, an online boutique, for $25 off any purchase. I won that giveaway, and with the $25, I ordered the Multicolor Maxi Dress. It came on Friday right before we had to leave for Chattanooga. Perfect timing, right? I love it so much! It is so cute and comfortable. Really one of my best purchases. I'm planning to wear it either tomorrow or Sunday.

3. On Tuesday, I posted my second Style Snippets post on pattern mixing. Pattern mixing is one of my favorites, and I offered a few of my tricks in the post. The first tip: Use common colors to easily tie the patterns together and make your outfit look cohesive and put together. 

You can read the other tips and the rest of the post here. Don't forget to vote at the end of the post on what you want to see next month!

4. Rachel from Garay Treasures hosts a link-up each week, Bloggers Who Have Inspired Me. She features a few people each week. Tuesday, she featured my What I Learned from My Capsule Wardrobe post. You can see her sweet words here. Thanks so much, Rachel!

5. Next week, I will go back to my regular blog posting. Even though I enjoyed my vacation, I am glad to get back to the normal swing of things. Have a great weekend, and see you Monday for my vacation recap!

Linking up at Bright On a Budget, A. Liz Adventures, Meet @ The Barre, The Diary of a Real Housewife 

Style Snippets: 5 Tips for Pattern Mixing

Happy Tuesday! How are you guys? It's time for my monthly Style Snippets post. I asked everyone to vote on what topic they would like to see, and tips on pattern mixing won. To be honest, I am kind of happy that it won because I love pattern mixing. I also believe that a lot of people are scared to mix patterns because they fear that they will end up looking like a clown. Keep reading to see my 5 tips for pattern mixing. I guarantee that if you follow these tips, you will not end up looking like a clown. :) Oh, and don't forget to vote at the end of the post!

1. Use common colors to easily tie the patterns together and make your outfit look cohesive and put together.

Here I used grey, black, and white to tie these to patterns together.

2. If you are scared to wear your patterns like I did above where the top and the bottom are both patterned, try shoes or belts.

Here, my second pattern source is my shoes. It looks a lot less busy, don't you think?

3. Leopard is the best pattern to pattern mix with because from far away, it looks like a neutral, and it goes with everything.

Leopard shoes are my favorite, but I also wear my leopard scarf a lot.

4. Don't be afraid to go bold

I say this because sometimes, most of the time, bold is always the way to go. Make a statement! Girl, rock that pattern mix!

I had to include a close up so that you could actually tell that this top is striped. Silly camera.

Here I used three patterns, but it actually looks really put together. Remember that going bold isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

5. And, lastly, use small scale patterns with big scale patterns

As you can see in tips one and four, when you follow tip five, your outfit ends up looking really good. The reason why: the small scale pattern balances out the large scale pattern. Large scale patterns are so bold that they need something to tone them down. Small scale patterns do the trick.

Some patterns look better with certain patterns. Stripes go with almost everything, but look especially nice with floral prints. Sometimes the same patterns work well together. For instance: I wore the polka dot blazer above with a pink and white tiny polka dotted blouse. Gingham looks great with floral and stripes. 

Just remember, never mix plaid with stripes. I've broken lots of fashion rules, but I will never, NEVER, mix plaid and stripes. :)

What patterns do you like to mix?

Voting time!!

What do you want to see next month?

1. How to Make Your Summer Outfits Look Interesting,

2. How to Wear an All-Neutral Outfit,

3. How to Wear Colored Shoes, or

4. Ways to Wear a Graphic Tee

Please cast your vote in the comments!

Linking up at Garay Treasures, Still Being Molly, Live Randomly Simple, Bless Her Heart Y'all, The Pleated Poppy, Tucker Up, Get Your Pretty On, Miller Affect, Curly Crafty Mom, Bright on a Budget