What a weekend...

Sorry for being gone so long...I ended up visiting my brother for the weekend at JMU (the school he attends) and it ended up being CRAZY. Like SWAT teams, fires, throwing of bottles and furniture, tear-gas, and 8000 people. Luckily I wasn't in the neighborhood that was experiencing all the riots...and thankfully my brother lives in a neighborhood that was far from the haze of tear-gas that was floating all through the town/campus. Needless to say, I didn't have the time or the energy to take outfit pictures. And honestly, I only brought 2 outfits with me for the weekend. Not including random t-shirts from the college I used to attend. I ended up getting sick last night...the night I was supposed to play keyboard with the band that was coming over to my brother's house. And no, I wasn't drunk. I get these horrible migraines where I get really nauseous and usually sleeping helps, but because there was a band playing upstairs and a party in the rest of the house, I couldn't manage to fall asleep. And yes, I am proud to say I was the girl wandering around the party in pajamas trying to find water. I know everyone was like, "Where the heck did this girl come from??" In other crazy school news, apparently today at the school I transferred out of, a deer crashed through a window at this off-campus place where you have to take all of your math quizzes and tests. Is weird stuff happening at all the universities in Virginia this weekend???

Whatever comes up comes out

So no outfit post today :( But hopefully there will be one tomorrow!! I've been listening to this song 'Forest Whitaker' by Brother Ali nonstop today. I used to listen to it all the time when I was a senior and it's one of the very few songs my brother has recommended to me that I've actually liked and continue to listen to. It's a hilarious song but today when I looked up the lyrics online, it really got me thinking.

I try to be a positive person and I am pretty confident with the way I look and my body and all that. But a few weeks into this semester, this guy friend of mine (who is known to be very blunt and at times, rude) said to me multiple times in front of a huge group of people that I wasn't pretty. Usually I don't care what people say, but for some reason, it really hurt me. And I feel like it's affected me so much since then. I know I'm not gorgeous or anything, but I am happy with the way I look. At least I was up until this guy said something. Another time after that, he made a negative comment about my weight. I really have no qualms about my weight at all--in fact, I am very proud of my body and the fact that I'm not a stick thin girl. I like that I have boobs and hips and I have never been on a diet, but I do try to stay healthy by trying to go to the gym as much as I can (trying is the key word here haha). I hadn't really told anyone about the comments he made (except for my parents, who actually took offense to it more than I did) because honestly, I was just so embarrassed by it! I tried to put it behind me but I realized today that ever since he criticized the way I look, I've been thinking it myself! Like when I went out to a party with one of my gorgeous friends, I didn't even try to get dressed up much because I figured everyone would be looking at her anyway and not me. It's crazy that a few mean comments can totally change the way I see myself. The whole point of this post is that now that I've realized how much I've let negative things affect me, I need to change my way of thinking and ignore the bad and focus on the good! That's why this weekend, my friend and I are making the trip to my brother's school and staying with him. He complimented my piano playing last week and invited me to come play with this little band he's been playing iwth, saying he had told all of his friends about me, so instead of surrounding myself with guys (and people in general) who have nothing nice to say to me, I will be surrounded by other creative, nice people, including my good friend and the best twin brother a girl could ask for. Hopefully all of you will be seeing a happier, more confident girl in the near future! I just figure if I put it in writing, then it'll be easier for me to stay positive. I hope everyone is having a fantastic week!!

Back in Richmond...

I'm writing this post as I take a break from studying for my exam tomorrow...thankfully, it's the only one I have this week! I get to spend the rest of my days eating Easter candy and watching online TV, my favorite pasttimes. I don't have much time, but here are my Easter outfit pictures, as promised:

Outfit details: Dress: Free People, Shoes: Seychelles via Nordstrom, Bracelet: Sundance Catalog, Necklace: Urban Outfitters

These are my new favorite shoes. I had been eyeing them everytime I went on the Modcloth website, and when my mom and I walked into Nordstrom over spring break, I gravitated toward them like a moth to a light! I totally didn't expect her to buy them for me, I wasn't even going to try them on but I'm sooo glad she did. I totally see them being a pair I wear constantly this spring/summer.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone! Today's been a pretty relaxing day...I woke up and watched a Shirley Temple movie on tv with my mom which was fun and then looked at all the cute little gifts in my basket. I got a necklace I saw at Urban Outfitters that I really wanted as well as some other knick knacks. We just ate an early dinner and I'm taking a break before I dig into dessert so I'll be posting my Easter outfit tomorrow. I thought I'd post some pictures of this year's Washington Post Peep Diorama Contest submissions. They're all so creative and adorable to look at!

Winner: based on the movie 'Up'

Finalist: "The Mad Hatter's Peep Party"

Semi-finalist: "Peepaline" based on the book "Madeline"

Semi-finalist (and my personal favorite): "The Mad Peeps of Sterling Coopeep" based on the episode "Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency"

Check out this Washington Post photo gallery to see other adorable contest submissions! All of these photos came from that site. I hope everyone is having a relaxing end to their weekend!

Look at the stars, look how they shine for you

This morning I woke up way earlier than I wanted to, but couldn't get back to sleep so I did a little bit of studying for an upcoming Abnormal Psych exam. My twin brother was supposed to come home last night but wanted to stay since he's been playing drums with this band on Friday nights. His friend gave him a ride to my dad's store (he owns several music stores up here in NoVa) so I decided to be nice and drive out to pick him up. He actually invited me down to visit him for a weekend because he wants me to play keyboard with the band.

I got this dress for my birthday last year and it's probably one of my favorites that I own. I had stalked Modcloth for weeks to see if it ever came back in stock so I was super excited when I received it just in time to wear for the summer months. Yellow is one of those colors that I don't wear often, but when I do, I instantly feel happy.

Outfit details: Dress: BB Dakota from Modcloth, Cropped cardigan: Abercrombie & Fitch, Shoes: BC Footwear from Nordstrom, Key necklace: Tiffany Co., Pearl bracelet: gift from my sister.

Hope everyone has been having a great weekend! Btw did anyone notice that the title of this post was lyrics from the Coldplay song 'Yellow'? I know, I'm so clever haha. :)

In the daylight anywhere feels like home

I absolutely adore being home. I got here at like 1 AM since my dad couldn't drive down to pick me up til after he got off work...and then we decided we were craving pancakes so we stopped at Denny's. It was delicious, especially since I haven't had legit breakfast foods in a looong time.

I was awakened this morning by my mom asking if I wanted to go out to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, of course I got up immediately to get ready. My sister met us there and we spent the entire time gossiping and eating yummy sandwiches. The weather was beautiful so we were able to sit out on the patio where we could people watch, which was always fun.

I love this outfit. I got this dress my junior year of high school to wear to my sister's grad school graduation and I've incorporated it into my wardrobe every season since. I especially love pairing it with tights and cardigans in the winter. It's really a tent dress, but I love that when I belt it, I get these adorable pleats down the skirt. I am a total sucker for pleats. The necklace is actually a birthday gift from one of my sisters--she makes jewelry in her free time and they are all absolutely beautiful. I'm trying to convince her to open an Etsy shop so more people can enjoy her pieces as much as I do.



Outfit details: Dress: Kimchi Blue from Urban Outfitters, Belt: Urban Outfitters, Sandals: Ruche, Necklace: made by my sister, Earrings: Gift from my other sister from Athena Jewelers in Athens, Georgia. I'm also wearing my favorite ring, a pearl one from Sundance Catalog, but I was unable to get a really good shot of it.

Hope everyone's having a good Friday!!

Just for the weekend let's jump off the deep end

Thank God this week is finally over! I had my last exam of the week today and I think it went pretty well! It's also beautifully warm outside today and is supposed to get even warmer with each day, which means the only articles of clothing that I've packed in my bag for this weekend are dresses and sandals. I can't wait! Last night, right after I put up my post for the day, my friend invited me to go to a bar with her to hear her brother sing/play guitar. It was a totally different crowd than I'm used to hanging out with and I know that my friend and I stood out like sore thumbs but it was actually a lot of fun! And his music was pretty good too! Everyone seemed to be really into it and it was really cool to see how supportive everyone was to all the acts that played. Actually, what a lot of my friends here at college don't know about me, is that in high school (and for years prior), I was really into my music. I play flute and piano (piano since I was 4, flute since I was 8), but I really only perform on flute. I was drum major of my high school marching band for two years (there's a little bit of my nerdy side for ya), and made top chairs both at All-District and All-Region competitions all through high school, as well as qualified to audition for All-State. I got to play with a ton of really great musicians and my entire high school life was based around auditions for various competitions and groups. I really think I was born to be on stage...even though I tend to be insanely shy, once I get on stage and start performing, all that shyness melts away. I really miss it and hope to join one of my university's music ensembles next semester.

Outfit details: Dress: Nordstrom, Sandals: American Eagle from forever ago, Necklace: Urban Outfitters, Headband: Urban Outfitters.

This is one of my go-to outfits for the spring/summer. I have this dress in pink also and it's soooo comfortable! Anyway, I hope everyone has a great end to their week!