come along with me for...

a few weeks ago my mom and i headed to the carnival to take some pictures.

key phrase being "a few weeks ago", when the weather was much cooler, which is why i am in a sweater and long capris. 

just had to inform you on that one- i am not crazy.

it's nearly in the 100's this week and just the thought of wearing a sweater and long capris outside makes me feel nauseous.

so.

while in hollywood earlier this summer, i found the cutest boutique called varga.

it's not very often when you find a boutique that sells things that are affordable.

but this one was.

i'm always so excited when i find these places because then i know that i can buy things that not everyone else has.

you know, that awkward moment when you walk into a class, the store, or a get together and you're wearing the same shirt as someone else.

or even worse- while at a pool in st. george a few months ago, i was so excited to wear my new bikini from victoria's secret, until another girl walked in wearing the same one.

and it was even more awkward since there were only about five of us there.

so sometimes it's much better to play it safe by shopping at not-so-popular stores.

 so if you find yourself in southern california anytime soon, look up the nearest varga, you won't be sorry!

 

cardigan: abound via nordstrom rack

top: h.i.p. via norstrom rack

lace cami: american eagle outfitters

capris: l.a. idol via bohme

shoes: cole haan via nordstrom rack

belt and hat: varga

earrings: cost plus world market 

necklace and bracelets: forever21

sunglasses: kate spade via nordstrom rack

  

cali trip via instagram+pixlromatic

southern california has always been somewhat like heaven to me.

ever since I was little we have spent weeks during our summers and christmases there, visiting our family.

it’s always been a happy place for me to be.

but now that I’m older, it’s different.

now it’s a place that helps me to escape from reality.

all of the stress and worries of my everyday life just seem to fade away while I’m there.

to me it’s a reminder of how big this world really is, and how many opportunities really are out there.

and the feeling of being surrounded by my family- there’s nothing quite like it.

i’d never trade it for anything…

usually we go in july, when the weather is hot.

but this year we had to go a month early for my cousin’s wedding.

sadly, it wasn’t warm enough to spend the majority of our days lying on the beach like we usually do.

I usually come home looking like a lobster from my stubbornness to put on any sunscreen while lying out for hours.

this time though, I came home niiice and white.

we still had an incredible time though.

we got to hit up disneyland, hollywood, beverly hills, san diego, and my favorite…laguna beach.

the wedding was on a boat in newport harbor.

it was beautimous!

i tend to leave california with my head up in the clouds and it is very hard to adjust back to good ole idaho living.  

it’s been a few weeks and i still have not adjusted…

i hadn’t planned on making a video from the pictures of this trip.

so during our last two days, we were so exhausted and tired of pulling out our phones to take pictures that our picture taking basically came to a stop.

but here’s just a little peak into some of the fun that was had!

(sorry in advance for the not-so-great quality. it’s youtube’s fault.)

and this next one is just for funsies.

this is how to do the robot on a very empty dance floor...

 

 

this could be trouble...

 

nordstrom rack has come to boise.

it happened in april.

i stayed very strong and walked into the store only once after it opened to buy my mom a gift card for her birthday.

i desperately wanted to save my money to spend while in california (a trip that i just got back from three days ago).

i tend to always spend all of my money buying clothes right before my vacations and then i always regret it because shopping happens to be my favorite thing to do while on vacation.

 so.

i didn't let myself shop.

but.

the weekend before our trip, i went to the rack with my mom so that she could spend her money.

four hours later, i walked out of this dangerous store with a maxed out credit card.

oh, but i didn't just stop there.

i found another nordstrom rack in california and i continued to rack up my bill.

so, lesson learned:

me+nordstrom rack+credit card=baddd news 

or, maybe not...

 

entire outfit: nordstrom rack

top: collective concepts

cardi: abound

bottoms: paige

shoes: steve madden

purse: marc by marc jacobs

 and this post is especially special to me because my pictures were taken by this boy...

a must-have for spring/summer

  

top: iris basic (ross)

sweater: down east basics outlet (favorite store in st. george!)

shorts: klique b (bohme)

shoes: bcbgeneration (marshalls)

sunglasses: steve madden (dillards)

watch: michael kors (recent b-day gift from my boyfriend)

some days, i wish i was a little taller.

barely reaching 5'2" is an outward quality that i seem to have a love/hate relationship with.

i love being little, and i love being able to wear heels and still be smaller than my boyfriend.

but sometimes, i just wish these legs were a little longer. 

especially when shorts weather comes along.

cause let's face it, it's hard to pull off heels with a pair of shorts.

there's a dangerous line there that we don't want to cross.

i wanted to find a way to wear shorts and heels at the same time without crossing into risque territory.

(a more harmless option would probably be to buy a pair of longer shorts, but hey, i'm a short-shorts type of girl.)

so as soon as the warm weather started appearing, i was on a mission to find a pair of classy wedges that would keep me on the safe side of the line. 

wedges are perfect, because for one- they are much more comfortable than a pair of stilettos, and two- they have a much more subtle look.

i also had my eye out for a pair in nude; cause it really is nice to have a pair of shoes that matches with nearly every outfit in your closet.

i searched high and low in nearly every shoe section of every store.

it wasn't until i stopped into marshalls that i found this beautiful little pair.

and of course, on a great sale!

 they are the perfect girly addition to a warm weather outfit.

my new love...

i am finally back to the blogging world after three weeks!

what's crazy is that it feels like it hasn't even been a whole week since i was last on here.

i hate that time goes by so fast.

during times like these when things are so chaotic, you look back and it seems like you missed the whole thing.

and people tell me that it's only going to get worse as i get older.

and i hate that...

definitely cause i'm a year older now.

yep, i turned 22 on the twelfth and it still just shocks me to say the number "twenty" in my age. 

there's just a part of me that wants to stay a little girl forever.

it's probably because i'm so spoiled by the people that love me and i just don't ever want that to go away!

(so if you're one of those people that love me and you're reading this, don't ever let that go away...you know who you are.)

hopefully within the next week or so i can get on here and share some special things from my birthday.

but for now, i have another outfit post- featuring my birthday present...to myself.

ahh these vince camuto boots.

i don't think i've ever loved a pair of shoes so much.

i was so excited when i found them on clearance at dillards.

one pair left, just my size.

it's one of the most exciting feelings in the world.

but that feeling was soon ripped from me when they couldn't find the matching boot in the back.

i was left standing there with one left boot, trying to decide if i should just buy it anyways.

but i decided to track them down online instead of awkwardly walking out of the store with one boot and not much of a plan of what i would do with the boot after that. 

so i found them on the designer's website.

not as much of a markdown but i didn't even care.

i was desperate at this point.

so now i have them and i'm never, ever going to let them go.

 

 top: downeast basics

shrug and bracelet: maurices

skirt: rue21

belt: calvin klein (marshalls)

boots: vince camuto

a piece of my past...

 

if you knew me, you would know that i hate change.

i become attached so easily and there are just some things that i wish so badly could last forever.

growing up, my grandparents owned a farm.

it was such a magical and happy place.

it was such a huge part of my family, and it was hard on each and every one of us when they sold it five years ago.

it was one of the things in my life that i thought i would have forever...

we drove out to the farm this weekend to take some pictures. 

several times throughout the years i've driven by, but i've never stopped to get out.

the current owners weren't home, so we took the opportunity to snoop around and look through windows of the house.

creepy?

nah.

as far as i'm concerned, it was mine first! 

the inside had been completely redone and it was hard to believe that it was the same place that i spent so much of my childhood.

however, as we walked around the farm, there were such familiar places; ones that made me feel as if time hadn't even even passed. 

it was very bittersweet.

probably more bitter than sweet though...

ok, definitely more bitter.

but even though it doesn't belong to us anymore, it will always be a part of me.

nothing can ever take away my memories that i have of this place... 

i felt that this song was appropriate.

and onto the fun stuff...

long sleeve top: rubbish (bought at norstrom rack)

(so excited that we are getting one in boise!!!!)

short sleeve top: downeast basics

jeans: l.a. idol (bought at bohme)

boots: ellie (bought online (for a rascal flatts concert!))

scarves: american eagle outfitters and unknown

 

and my favorite girl and greatest photographer...

what do you wish could last forever?