not just a romper

Necklace: Ruche (shop!)

Yesterday, we decided to make the drive to the land of vineyards and orchards to go peach picking before the summer was officially over!

My mom is in town, and she is peach's biggest fan, for sure. She loves everything peach, and once we found out there was an orchard open on Sundays that still had trees whose branches were heavy-laden with the sweet fruit, we were out the door!

I decided to wear this soft floral romper, but threw on a belted pair of denim shorts because, well...
Rompers can be kind of janky.

I denied the fact that I wanted a romper for many a day. I secretly wanted to find a romper that fit me, and that was flattering and made sense (which I don't think exists, unless you're Jess from New Girl).
When I saw this pretty one over at Ruche last year, on super-sale for $10, I thought, this is it.
This is the moment a romper and I are going to fall in love and live happily ever after.
Wrong. 
This romper, if worn on its own, is the single most inappropriate article of clothing I own.
And yet I couldn't bring myself to get rid of it, because it's soft, pretty, floral, and has this great strappy back that I love.

So, why not?
I use this romper for a blouse, tucked secretly into shorts. Or possibly a skirt, or pants.
The back is adorable, the print is versatile.
And no one has to know that this could also double as super-sassy kitchen attire.

august stampede

Remember that time when summer never came?

Today is August 1st and I'm caught completely off guard. 

It's another cloudy day, and my mind is still in May. I feel as if we've skipped the summer months, arriving straight into Fall. 

I can count the number of times I've said "it's hot!" on one hand. And a few of them were just because I was checking on the biscuits in the oven. 

I don't know what to do with this kind of summer. It's been a great few months, don't get me wrong - but it feels like it all just went by in a blur! We didn't have any days at the beach, we didn't grill hardly at all because it rained so often, we never took a weekend for the lake, and we didn't have any grand summertime vacations with pina colada smoothies and sunburns.

Overall, it just feels like summer never came.

Top: Modcloth, Skirt: LOFT, Necklace: Francesca's (similar)

That being said, August has its own kind of magic spark.
With summer coming to an end, every single day is full of desperate possibility.

The countdown begins - 18 days until the beginning of school!
For us, that's 18 days until the last first day of school. The beginning of the end of our law school days.

I can't begin to express my feelings about this coming year, now that we've officially crossed over into less than a year until we wrap up our time in Lynchburg and prepare to move back to Arizona. Back to our blessed summer heat and our families.
Arizona, where the summers are real and gritty and bright and endless.

So cheers...to the first and very last of our summers that never came.

leaving on a jet plane

Four days from now, I will be on a plane for London, England.

Dustin and I are taking a grand adventure to London and Paris, for a romantic getaway that will include shopping, snacking on crepes and baguettes, sight-seeing, fine cuisine and lots and lots of pictures!
I honestly can't wait to do an outfit photo shoot in front of the Eiffel Tower.

In planning for this trip, I'm realizing how much there is to see around Europe. It's absolutely daunting.
I have four days to pull myself together, finish packing, and figure out all the must-sees of our adventure!

Dress: Gifted, Top: J. Crew, Jacket: Gifted, 
Necklace: Cookie Lee (teal), Lia Sophia (gold), 
Shoes: Bought in Ireland

Testing myself for the overcast days overseas, I tried out some layering with my amazing leather jacket last week.
Unfortunately, I almost froze to death on this photo shoot, and quickly realized that my Arizona blood is still very much attuned to warm weather. I'm going to need much warmer clothing for the 40 and 50 degree rainy weather we'll be having!

I've been closely following (and getting advice from!) Melina from The Caffeinated Closet.
She took some very similar trips (check out her travel section on her blog), and even has a "creative layering" section that I've been using to take some notes for my suitcase. :)

If any of you have any further tips or outfit ideas, please feel free to comment!

And in the mean time, keep up with my Instagram for photo updates on our trip.
We'll be posting at least one photo per day of our experience, and I look forward to posting some outfit photos when we return!

Wish me luck with my packing endeavors!!