cherry blossoms

this past weekend was one of the best weekends i've had in a while! we had some friends in town and on sunday we hit up the cherry blossom festival in DC. this is usually the peak time of the season, but (i'm assuming) since it's been such a cold winter, the blossoms are a bit behind schedule this year. you could tell they were thisclose to looking their best. but oh well, we still had so much fun walking around the tidal basin, snapping some pics, and enjoying the sunshine. 

we had the most picturesque day in the city. the blue sky set the perfect backdrop for the beautiful monuments and it was a great day for lots of walking around. all you needed was a light jacket and you were good to go. i can already tell that them denim number is going to be a closet staple this spring. i got it for steal from avalon exchange in pittsburgh last fall. i'm so glad i was thinking ahead!

besides visiting some big monuments, we also went to the botanical gardens. i don't know if i'm a huge nerd or what, but i love that place. a huge greenhouse full of every kind of plant you could imagine. the theme this month is orchids, so they had what seemed like hundreds different variations of orchids all more beautiful than the next. but the cacti were still my faves. i wanted to steal one of these little guys for my apartment!!

visiting the botanical gardens and seeing the cherry blossoms seemed like the perfect opportunity to wear one of my favorite floral dresses. i got this one from h&m a while ago and it's just so pretty. i swear, i could live in floral dresses alone. they're so feminine, yet can be dressed super casual as well. as spring continues to slowly enter the picture, i see many more floral dresses in my future. and moccasins. lots and lots of moccasins.

thanks for stopping by, y'all! i'll be back later in the week with a fun birthday wishlist. i turn 22 on friday! woot woot.

xxoo,

n

outfit details

dress: h&m

jacket: avalon exchange

purse + shoes + tights: target

sunnies: doubledutch boutique 

denim diaries

over the weekend, anthony and i had our little sisters in town. and by "little" i mean 15 years old and (maybe) taller than me. both of them are awesome and hilarious and it was great hosting them in baltimore for a few days. we tried to jam pack as many fun things as possible in their less than 48 hour trip and i'm pretty sure that we succeeded. i've found that when having people visit for the weekend, equal parts rest and adventure is key. because as much as everyone loves a good brunch, sometimes you just need an extra hour or two of sleep on a saturday morning!

they both got here friday night, and we started off by ordering indian food and watching a movie. neither of them had ever tried indian food before (!!!!!) and there was no way we were letting that nonsense go on for another minute. indian is honestly probably my favorite kind of food ever. so we ordered a lotttt. ya know. for the sake of them trying as much as possible. not so i could eat more than half my weight in naan and curry.

saturday we woke up late and headed out to hampden-- an adorable neighborhood outside of baltimore. we browsed some antique stores, did some shopping, and ate at cafe hon for lunch. this little town is so cute and colorful i almost couldn't take it. i mean there were pastel houses on every corner; it doesn't get much better than that. it was the perfect scenery for a gorgeous spring day.

it was by pure coincidence that we all got dressed in varying forms of denim on saturday morning. whether it's chambry, skinny jeans, or a jacket-- we basically have all your denim bases covered here. and when we walked by this purple wall, i decided that it would pretty much be a sin if we didn't stop and take some outfit photos here. the blogger in me just couldn't resist this colorful backdrop and our coordinating looks. :)

the rest of the weekend was filled with duck pin bowling, yummy mexican food, and, of course, more shopping. i'm finding when it comes to hosting friends in town, its extremely difficult to find plans that don't include going to my favorite restaurants and clothing stores. i definitely need to be better about brainstorming things to do that are more creative (and better for the ol wallet). what's your favorite thing to do when a friend comes to town? i need some ideas!

i hope everyone had a great weekend. enjoy the rest of your monday!

xxoo,
n

outfit details
shirt: tj maxx
pants: buffalo exchange
jacket: avalon exchange
loafers: c/o duo
purse: h&m
jewelry: forever 21

for the record

so last year for christmas, i gave anthony a record player. i was super excited for us to start a record collection, hunt for our favorite albums, dance around our apartment, etc. but it hasn't exactly gone according to plan. yes, we've been buying records, but the record player i ordered from amazon didn't work! no matter what we tried or how nice of speakers we bought, it just wouldn't play. so we got lazy and kinda forgot about it (oops). but a couple weeks ago, we took it to a local record store in catonsville called trax on wax and the lovely man working told us our needle was out of place, and proceeded to snap it back in. voilà! it was fixed. yes, we should have done that months ago, but oh well! it works now. and i can finally listen to lana del rey on vinyl. all is well in the world.

so now that we have an up and running record player, we have been buying records up a storm. anthony ordered some of his faves online, and we also hit up a few local ones in baltimore while i was still there. when anthony drove me up to pittsburgh to move in, there was no doubt about it that we had to stop by jerry's records. the place is huge. they literally have over a million amazing records and the prices can't be beat. i'm talking most are under $5. it was actually voted one of the best record stores in the country by rolling stone magazine a few years ago.

it was a fun day out and about in pittsburgh. we saw some friends, ate vietnamese food (i tried pho soup for the first time!), and bought a bunch of good records. personally, i was stoked to find some michael jackson, tina turner, and bruce springsteen. and anthony found a johnny cash album and fleetwood mac live. talk about a successful day. we were two happy campers.



i thrifted this crop top while home in anthony's hometown and i'm crazy about it. the bright color and the fit are just perfect. and it was a dollar! i mean come on people, how can you not thrift?! it's the best (and cheapest) hobby ever. this darling skirt is forever 21 from about 5 years ago and it just never gets old to me. ha! the flowers are so pretty. looking back i'm wondering why i didn't wear this on the fourth of july! what the heck is my problem, it's literally red, white, and blue! well, we will just say happy belated labor day, and call it quits :)

i never miss an opportunity to pair turquoise accents with an outfit (in case you haven't noticed). it's my fave color and this purse from urban outfitters rocks. the color is gorgeous! one of the things i'm going to miss most about summer is all of the color. i'm going to try my best to incorporate fun and bright colors into my fall wardrobe. it's a little more tricky because when it gets cold and grey outside, i just want to throw on an oversized black sweater and run out the door. but the world needs color all year round! dream in neon, people! ;)

i hope everyone had a fabulous long weekend, and is enjoying the fact that today isn't monday.

xxoo,

n

outfit details

crop top: thrifted

skirt: forever 21

sandals: thrifted

purse: urban outfitters

bracelet: forever 21

having a field day

i love fields. big open spaces. being able to look out as far as the eye can see. flowers. grass. and in this case, some weird mysterious wheat looking plant. oh well, i'm not complaining. considering i've lived in the city for the past 3 years, i relish any opportunity to get away from honking horns and tall buildings. i mean, don't get me wrong, i'm totally a city girl, but i'm sure even serena van dor woodsen needs a break from the big apple from time to time. it's just so pretttty.

so it's quite possible that these turquoise pants might potentially be the best pants of all time. okay, so they definitely are. i was perusing tj maxx one day when i came across these bad boys. right next to a pair of pink ones. which were right next to a pair of teal ones. so i did what any sane person would do in this situation and i bought all of them.

when it comes to colored pants, it's all about mix and match. i love the contrast between these two pieces. this sleeveless blouse is from avalon exchange. one of my ultimate favorite places to shop in pittsburgh (they have other locations too, so check out their website). it's a vintage boutique that has great deals, plus a lot of designer brands. everything there is so cool and it's safe to say i never walk out empty handed. you can never go wrong with stores like this, or scout, or buffalo exchange (which is where i found this gorgeous necklace i'm wearing). great prices, sweet clothes, and cool people.

                                      

and in case you haven't noticed, i have a very hard time leaving the house without some form on studs on my clothing. today, i chose my new studded sandals i got from payless. plus, the day i went was BOGO. so you know what that means. i was basically forced to buy two pairs of shoes. i mean, c'mon, i barely even had a say in that one. who says no to BOGO?!

                                         

anthony is such a good sport when it comes to this new hobby of mine. he is so supportive and has gotten pretty good with the camera (he takes all of the photos for this blog). and if you can see, his socks match his shirt! maybe taking all of these outfit shots for me are rubbing off on him a bit! ;)

            

i love getting to dress colorful and playful, but this summer i've had to focus on buying some clothes i can wear to my internship too. it's not all fun and games, folks! i will be posting soon about some tips when it comes to dressing for the office. i mean lets face it, were not all pants suits and blazers kinda girls. stay tuned for some ways to stay trendy while being professional!

                   









are you a fan of the colored pants trend? what color would you love to showcase on your jeans?

thanks for reading!

xxoo,

n

outfit details

pants: tj maxx

blouse: avalon exchange

sandals: payless

bracelets: forever 21

earrings: gifted

necklace: buffalo exchange