date night in baltimore

a few nights ago, anthony and i got all dolled up for a night out on the town. we decided that since our time in baltimore is coming to an end, we should have one last shabang. while baltimore isn't my favorite city in the world (pittsburgh very clearly has my heart), it's been a fun place to live the past year. even though our apartment is a few miles outside of the city, we visited every so often. there are so many great restaurants at the inner harbor and never a shortage of yummy seafood. but it's safe to say i am more than ecstatic to be moving to dc. i'm such a city girl and can't wait to be living back downtown again. 

we decided to go to ale mary's for dinner because we just wanted some drinks and appetizers. they had a great draft menu (big plus for us) and a huge menu. they seemed to be all about the tator tots. like they had a whole section of the menu dedicated to just tots (!!) so we figured that we pretty much had to order some. we got the sweet potato ones and omg they were so amazing! we also ordered the crab dip and yes, i was in heaven. crab in any and all forms is my jam. 

i wore this new lacey coral dress i recently purchased from target. and i felt awesome. you know how there are just certain items in your closet that make you feel like your best self? well that's how i felt the minute i put on this dress. i love the bright orange color and fit is just right. it has a cute little belt that cinches at the waist and it paired great with my favorite nude heels and a pink necklace. i knew that simple accessories were the best way to go because i wanted the dress to be the main focal point of this look.

random and spontaneous date nights are the best. and i'm sure they are going to happen a lot more often this summer. living downtown combined with the fact that neither anthony and i will be in school for the first time since we started dated (hello, free time!) i know that we are going to have so much fun getting out and exploring dc. i can't believe that tomorrow is finally move in day!! wish us luck. i'm thankful to have my whole family coming to help out. hopefully we can make it at least a little bit fun ;)

happy friday, all! enjoy your weekend.

xxoo,

n

outfit details

dress: target (it comes it so many colors!)

heels: famous footwear

necklace: forever 21

clutch: vintage

memorial day

 i hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend! gotta love when it feels like monday, but it's actually tuesday! (it's the little things that make me happy). the weekend was great--equal parts fun and productive. we were very successful on the packing front. i'm talking all my clothes are packed, people! this is a huge deal considering most of my apartment consists of clothes (oops). 

 in order to make said packing easier, on sunday, anthony and i headed to buffalo exchange in dc to sell some of our clothes. i had a huge bin full of all of the items i cleaned out of my closet. some of it was older stuff, but i managed to sell over $100 worth of clothing! in exchange for what they buy from you, you can get either 50% of it in store credit or 30% of it in cash. i took the store credit (duh) cause i do so much shopping there anyway. it was a very successful reverse shopping trip. on the way home, we donated all of the leftover clothing to goodwill. feels great to have a downsized closet and a giftcard to do some more shopping! :)

yesterday, we spent the day relaxing and eating a lot of good food. we had chick fil a for lunch, my favorite. and then we headed over to the movie theater to see neighbors. i was so surprised by how funny it was! we were cracking up almost the entire time. plus, zac efron is just so darn cute. celebrity crush all the way! after that, we did some packing. i hope you're noticing a trend here. there was a lot of packing happening. packing sucks. and it takes forever. the end. 

 we made a small feast for dinner that could have easily fed a family of 5 but nope, it was just for us! safe to say we will be eating bbq food leftovers all week. i made some pasta salad and egg salad, while anthony cooked up some chili dogs and baked beans. there's just something about cook out food that gets me! i love it. we cracked a few beers and enjoyed our day off. i have no complaints! well except for the whole packing thing. did i mention i hate packing?

i wore my new shoes all day and i can already tell these bad boys are going to be my new summer obsession. i ordered them on sale (only 30 bucks) at modcloth and was so happy when they arrived! i feel slightly like a 5 year when i wear them but that's okay. why should 5 year olds be the only ones allowed to wear bright + comfy flower print sandals?! i also threw on a green tee that i easily made into a DIY crop top by tying the front in a little knot and paired it with a cool skirt. it was the perfect outfit for a very summer-like weekend.

thanks for checking in! happy tuesday, folks.
xxoo,
n

outfit details
tee: target
skirt: tj maxx
sandals: saltwater via modcloth
purse: h&m

white hot

i honestly don't think this weekend could have been any more eventful. thursday night, anthony had his last final for grad school!! so he's officially done with his master's degree. i couldn't be more proud. i threw him a little mini grad party with dollar store decorations and a crumbs cupcake. it was fun and i am so happy for him! now we have the whole summer to enjoy not being students before i start grad school in the fall, ha!

the weather here has been magical lately. sunny, warm, and perfect. i love bringing out all of my summer skirts and dresses. this skirt is one of my favorites because the fit and length are just right. it's thrifted (as is this shirt) and i thought it made a great outfit for work. so this look is half totally thrifted and half 9-5. i couldn't decide which to pick, so we will say it's both. :)

with this simple look, i continued the trend with some simple accessories. i usually prefer gold over silver, but this vintage silver bracelet is too pretty not to wear. and my two biggest spring staples so far this season have been my nude old navy sandals and my trusty h&m bag. you can catch me wearing at least one of these two items 99% of the time. you can never go wrong with the basics. what is your spring staple right now? 

in other news, anthony and i officially signed the lease for our new apartment (!!!!!!) and i couldn't be more excited. we are moving in on may 31st and i can't even put it into words how wonderful our little apartment community is. great location, nice neighborhood, and a pool! i can't wait to do some swimmin' and sunnin' this summer. it's going to be amaazinnggg. we've already started furniture shopping and scored an awesome couch at an antique store on saturday. things are really falling into place! 

i hope every had a fabulous monday. thanks for stopping by!
xxoo,
n

outfit details
shirt + skirt: thrifted
bag: h&m
shoes: old navy
bracelet: vintage

sweetlife festival

over the weekend anthony and i went to the sweetlife music festival in columbia, md. sweetlife festival is sponsored by sweetgreen, a restaurant chain that features healthy and local options.  i heard about this festival because it's at one of our local venues (only about 10 minutes from our apartment) and lana del rey was one of the headliners. she is one of my absolute favorites of all time and i couldn't resist seeing her so close to home. as much as we'd like to-- we can't all go to coachella, now can we? 

we didn't get there until later in the afternoon, and almost immediately after our arrival it started pouring. we prayed that it would blow over, and eventually it did, but i was most definitely soaking wet for a large majority of the day, haha. i decided to keep it comfy in high waisted shorts and a simple top, but piled on the accessories. there was so much great fashion inspiration it was hard to not just go up to every girl in a flower crown and ask to take her picture (i resisted because, hello, creeeepy).

festival fashion is definitely one of my favorite types of outfit inspiration. i love the bohemian vibe that everyone gives off and the fact that most people aren't afraid to go a little bit out of their comfort zone. if there is ever a time to rock something a tad bit more on the dramatic side, it's at a summer music festival, and sweetlife definitely didn't disappoint. it's like a flashback to the seventies and allows us all to pretend that we're hippies for a day. and who could argue with that?

photo c/o sweetlife festival

we ate yummy food and drank lots of budweiser. we're not even going to talk about how much one can costs. okay, we are. $9! WHAT. it's like they knew how desperate i was to sing along to lana del rey with a red, white, and blue beer can in my hand that they knew i would pay the price no matter what it was. the sun eventually came out and dried us all off just in time for lana to come on stage. i had so much fun dancing and singing along to some of my most favorite songs. it was the perfect (almost) summer night. i've had this song stuck in my head ever since:

red, white, blue is in the sky 

summer's in the air and 

baby, heaven's in your eyes 

i'm your national anthem

have you been to any music festivals so far this year? i'd love to hear your go-to festival style tips!
xxoo,
n

outfit details
shorts + shirt: thrifted
bag: vintage
boots: target
jewelry: forever 21

totally thrifted

it's time for another totally thrifted post! my favorite outfits tend to consist of a majority of thrift store items and this one isn't any different. i didn't even plan it-- i just looked down before leaving the house and realized this entire look probably cost me less than $30, and that's including these amazing chunky sandals. you just can't beat stores like buffalo exchange (where i got the skirt + shoes). the variety of amazing and unique pieces that are under one roof just seems too good to be true. see if there's one near you here!it's tuesday and this week couldn't be off to a better start. after work yesterday, a bunch of girls and i headed over to guapos for mexican foodand margaritas to celebrate (a belated) cinco de mayo. who can resist a holiday that encourages chips + salsa and tequila? not i! we had so much fun just talking and hanging out. it's so nice to have a great group of ladies at my office. everyone needs a girls night every once in a while! 

this look can easily be recreated at target! i'm all about the long + flowy skirts right now and this one from target is super cute (and comes in a bunch of different colors). plus, you can't beat a cute floral tee for under 10 bucks. i have a feeling my love affair with target won't be ending any time in the near future. :)

skirts//tee//sandals

hit up your fave thrift store this week and revamp your spring wardrobe without breaking the bank. and let me know what you find! thanks for checking in.

xxoo,

n

florals forever

happy weekend! i couldn't be more excited to be in pittsburgh this weekend. it had been months since i'd seen anthony's family and we decided it was a perfect weekend for a road trip. i left work a bit early yesterday afternoon so we could get on the road (and not hit any treacherous dc traffic) and we were able to make it into town just in time to order some pizza, drink a few beers, and relax + catch up. i love me some good ol PA :)

our plans for this weekend include lots and lots of thrifting. for some unknown reason, anthony's hometown has the best thrift stores, like, ever. i always plan to spend allll of my shopping funds when we come here to visit. his mom and i do can do some serious damage when you put us in a goodwill together. she's even picked me out some good pieces before! i love that she has instilled in anthony the beauty of thrifting-- he's one of my fave shopping buddies as well. wish us luck as we hit up some awesome shops today!

sometimes, all you need in life is a good floral dress. when spring time rolls around, it's very difficult for me not to buy every single flowery dress that i come in contact with. while reorganizing my closet the past week, (attempting to put away winter clothes, bring out spring clothes, get rid of thing i don't wear anymore, etc) i've realized that the total number of dresses i have is insane!! and compared to the amount of pants i own, it's just laughable. i definitely am in need of some downsizing. i would seriously pay someone to come and secretly take a bunch of items to goodwill for me haha! any takers? ;)

i hope you all are having a lovely weekend. thanks for stopping by. <3

xxoo,

n

outfit details

dress: forever 21

moccasins: target

bag: vintage

9-5

this week is officially the three month mark at my new job! it's so exciting to think that i've been working full-time for three whole months. it's honestly gone by so fast and i've enjoyed this "adult" life more than i ever thought i would. yes, i loved college and roommates and eating pizza all the time and going to bars on weeknights, but i've found there's something so awesome about getting into a routine and focusing on myself. 

now that the temps are warming up, i've (hopefully) put the tights away for good. and i feel like a whole new world has opened up! don't get me wrong, i sometimes do like wearing tights, but nothing is better than a dress with bare legs. and it feels as though it's been forever since i was able to do this! i can wear bright colors and focus on simple layering, rather than bundling up and stomping through a foot of snow. 

one of my fave work combos is layering a dress and a cardigan with a belt cinching the waist. i'll take any excuse to wear more accessories and sometimes just a dress seems a little plain to me. nothing spices up a gray dress like a highlighter orange (neon, if you will) sweater. it's light and breezy and added just the right amount of oomph to this office outfit. plus, it's thrifted! woot woot.

thanks for stopping by! happy almost weekend!

xxoo,
n

outfit details
dress + belt + mocassins: target
sweater: thrifted
bag: h&m (only $35)
necklace: forever 21

walking on sunshine

this weekend was positively perfect. the weather was in the 70s everyday which automatically makes me a happy camper. plus, anthony couldn't have made my birthday any more special if he tried. when i walked into our apartment friday after work, he had all my favorite things sitting out on the table. i'm talking mint chocolate chip ice cream, a bottle of merlot, some gorgeous flowers, AND he vacuumed the apartment. i think i just about died and went to heaven. he is the best. we spent the rest of the night eating some delicious seafood in downtown baltimore and coming back and popping some champagne! ha. there's never a celebration too small for champagne ;)

saturday morning i met up with my lovely friend katie for brunch in dc. i wanted to check out an apartment complex in the area, and it was a good excuse to eat waffles and catch up. it was the cutest little neighborhood right downtown and i fell in love. the apartment was great and we're all crossing our fingers over here everything falls into place. living in the heart of dc would be amazing! a summer in the city sounds like just what i need. being in the middle of downtown pittsburgh for four years in college were some of the best times in my life. nothing beats walking to your favorite restaurants and bars, being close to work, and having easy access to fun things to do all the time.

i couldn't help but bust out my new favorite shoes for some brunching. i got this sandals at buffalo exchange in georgetown last weekend and i think i'm in love. i would first like to point out the fact that they were only $24 (!!!) because OMG what an amazing deal. i'm also wondering who in their right mind would ever give these shoes away. i'm trying not to dwell on that too much because i don't like the thought of wearing the shoes of a crazy person, but that's the point of thrifting. someone's trash is someone else's treasure. ps. just look at them again because they're so pretty.

well now the weekend's gone, but thankfully the sunshine is still here. wishing you all a happy monday!

xxoo,

n

outfit details

tee: target

jeans: american eagle

scarf + shoes: buffalo exchange

purse: studio c

sunnies: doubledutch boutique