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

we are family

last weekend i was able to go home and spend the entire weekend with my family. since there's so many of us (6 siblings) and were all doing our own thing (college, work, etc.) it's hard to have times where everyone is all together. my mom and aunt decided to throw my grandma a surprise birthday party and everyone was able to make it home for the weekend! i couldn't have asked for anything better. even some family i haven't seen in a while were able to make it! 

the older i get, the more i cherish time spent with my family. being away at school in pittsburgh, over 5 hours away, really makes me appreciate the times when i'm able to just come home and relax and hang out with my mom and my aunt and my sisters. i have such a great relationship with all of them and i'm so lucky for that.

and the party turned out great! all my grandma's friends came into town and my stepdad made so much delicious food. plus, my sister madison (a pastry chef) whipped up a yummy cake and i got to see my precious little niece savannah. she is getting so big it's crazy! she's 6 months old and cuter than ever. it was the perfect day. so much laughing and just plain ol enjoying each other's company.

okay. can we talk about these boots and how amazing and wonderful and perfect they are. i got an email from charlotte russe one day and it said they were having a happy hour sale and all boots, i repeat all boots, were $20. i instantly got on their website and found these bad boys, originally $53 (!!!) and bought them. best. purchase. ever. i got so many compliments at the party! they were a hit. i also realized that 90% of all the shoes i own have studs on them. ha! oh well. #sorrynotsorry

me and my sisters all got dressed separately, and then when we walked in to the same room we realized we were all wearing maroon! my boots, jessica's dress, and samantha's skirt all matched. it was so cute. plus we all went with black/white neutral accents. great minds think alike, i suppose! ;)



how good do my sisters look?!?! samantha (on the left) just got her braces off and she looks more beautiful than ever. i love how we each have our own individual style, but have a lot in common too. samantha's skirt and jessica's dress are both from forever 21. i swear between the three of us, we could single-handedly keep that store in business. we love it.  

the boys, of course, wanted to get in on the photoshoot action and were poking fun of the idea of "outfit photos." notice my sister's boyfriend jhullian popping his foot and my brother park with his hands on his hips. this was how they wanted to look like "fashion bloggers." haha! my brother adam even asked if i would take a picture of just his shoes. it was hilarious. we just stood out in my aunt's backyard taking a million photos and goofing around. i love having so many siblings and hanging out with everyone and their boyfriends and girlfriends. there's never a dull moment, that's for sure!

how often do you get to see your family? isn't it just the best?! :)

xxoo,

n

outfit details

dress: cotton on

boots: charlotte russe 

necklace: charlotte russe 

rings: charlotte russe 

maryland seafood festival

howdy! this past weekend was amazing, but it feels good to be back in the daily grind. i visited anthony in baltimore and it was so good to see him. it'd only been a few weeks but i missed him like crazy. we planned a busy and eventful weekend, but made sure to leave time to relax and just hang out. on saturday we woke up and grabbed chick fil a breakfast (my absolute fave!!) and ran a few errands. then, that afternoon, we headed to sandy point state park for the 46th annual maryland seafood festival. i lived in maryland for 18 years of my life and this was my first time attending. it was amazing!

the weather was absolutely perfect on saturday in annapolis. the festival took place right on the water. there was a beautiful view of the chesapeake bay bridge, plus so many sail boats and cool ships out on the bay. the scenery really put you in the mood for some seafood! i am a huge seafood fanatic and crab has always been my favorite food. i guess that's what happens when you are born and raised in maryland, right?! well, this festival definitely appealed to the marylander in me.

the first thing we did when we got there was check out the craft beer/oyster tasting. anthony had already done his research online before we got there, and was super excited for this part of the festival! anthony is the planner in our relationship. he is the one that books our trips, finds fun activities to do around town, plans our vacations, etc. he is always super prepared with printed tickets and an itinerary and i just kind of get to show up. ha! it's pretty sweet for me. i'm too spontaneous/a procrastinator/crazy to be in charge of things. lol. so i guess we balance each other out :)



the beer was amazing and the oysters were even more amazing. you had to buy little tickets for a dollar each at the front of the tent and each ticket got you a little cup of craft beer and two oysters. talk about a good deal. we spent less than twenty bucks and basically drank and ate as much as we could. it was cool to get to try a bunch of different beers rather than just get one cup of miller lite. i even tried my first pumpkin beer! yum. it made me so excited for fall.



after we were done eating and drinking til we were about to explode, my mom, stepdad, and sister samantha (who you met in this post) came to join us! it was so nice of them to drive up to see me. i've missed being in the same state as them the past few weeks that i've been back at school. we walked around and visited the different shops and tents with fun little nik naks and cool art. it was a really awesome and well put together festival. there was tons to do, and the fact that i could step right over to the sand didn't hurt, either!

alright, how cute is samantha's outfit?! i was totally drooling over her fun tiger print muscle tee. she has such a cool, funky style. i love watching her grow up. she's the sweetest person i've ever met. and she's a free spirit, that's for sure! i'm a proud big sister. :) i wore these super comfy seersucker shorts i thrifted over the summer. it seemed more than appropriate to put these on for a day at the bay. paired with my favorite keds and a simple white blouse, i was prepared for a gorgeous day at the beach. 

spending time with my family and anthony made for the perfect day. but the cherry on top was definitely the delicious crabcake sandwich i had. hahah. have i mentioned i love food? it was so so so good. i couldn't have had a better saturday in maryland. it made me appreciate the beautiful state that i'm from! (plus, it doesn't hurt we have the best cuisine, if i do say so myself). the festival was a perfect farewell to summer.

enjoy the rest of your week! thanks for checking in.

xxoo,

n

outfit details

shirt: thrifted

shorts: thrifted

watch: antique 

shoes: keds

glasses: doubledutch boutique

sister, sister (sister)

well our week is coming to a close and i'm heading back to the real world today. it's been such an amazing trip and i'm so thankful for my family and for this time with them. next week is my last week in maryland, and then i head back to pittsburgh for my last semester of college. it's insane how fast this summer has gone by. but this trip has been the perfect close to the best summer of my life so far.

i have two gorgeous, stylish sisters and hanging out with them this vacation has been such a treat. samantha is 15 (a sophomore in high school) and jessica is 19 (a sophomore in college). we used to fight a lot when we were younger, but now that we are older we appreciate how fun it is being 3 sisters so close in age. we have things in common, but for the most part we are all very different and each have our own individual style.

jessica's style can most definitely be described as classic. most  of the items in her closet have a more dressy feel. her favorite place to shop is forever 21. she wears a lot of blouses and statement necklaces. her fun dress (that came with the adorable belt) is from target. one of her many talents is she's so good at crafting and DIY. her room is decorated gorgeously and has so many handmade touches. you can follow her on pinterest here and get some fun inspiration. 

samantha's style is more similar to mine. she has a more funky feel and loves muscle tees and colorful shorts. my proudest moment was when samantha asked me one day to take her thrifting!! i was so happy she was interested in shopping at thrift stores and has really surprised me from time to time when she picks out something awesome and puts her own unique twist on it. in this outfit, her shirt is from hollister and her skirt is from target.

although our styles can be different, we all have no problem sharing clothes. i'll come home from school to visit and see samantha in one of my shirts or jessica wearing an old sweater of mine and it makes me laugh. growing up me and jessica could always share, but samantha was a bit younger so she couldn't get in on the closet swapping action. now were all virtually the same size so we can share pretty much anything.

my outfit kinda combines all of us. i'm wearing samantha's shorts and jessica's tank/necklace. i'm crazy about these mint shorts, and it doesn't hurt that the white tank shows off my newly formed tan ;) sisters are such a great form of fashion inspiration and i love that both of mine have seriously enviable closets. we should organize a clothing swap when were older so we can rotate our wardrobes even when we all live in different places, ha!

since my sisters were there, i couldn't resist having a mini photoshoot with anthony. he usually has to be behind the camera, and it was nice to take photos of the two of us for once! what a cutie he is :)

i'm so lucky that i can count both of my sisters as great friends, and we had a great week hanging out and being silly together. do you have stylish siblings? i'd love to hear!

xxoo,
n

outfit details

shorts/watch: target

tank/necklace: forever 21