polka dots downtown

I loved this photoshoot day downtown on Sunday!

We drove home from DC after a leisurely brunch at The Cheesecake Factory... one of those restaurants I totally took for granted until we moved to lynchburg and couldn't go there anymore!

Anytime we have a chance to eat there, we do. Avocado eggrolls! Yum.

Anyway: we went downtown to take some fun pictures, and ended up getting some outfit photos in front of the tracks right as the train whooshed by!

The same thing happened on our wedding day, actually. We did a first look before the ceremony, then the wedding party headed over to the train tracks. I was standing in the tracks, and the speed of the train on the tracks behind us nearly knocked me over in all my poofy dressy-ness!

It's one of the funniest memories of our photoshoot.
One of those, is that train coming this way? Naw, it's not even moving. Oh, ok, it's coming this way. No, it's alright, it's not going that fast. 

Dress (shop!): Ruche

I bought this dress for birthday festivities (I kind of had to, it was called "Birthday Polka Dot Dress"!), but it ended up being too hot on my actual birthday in DC! So I opted to wear it on Sunday, when we'd be spending the hottest part of the day in the car on the way home.
The cut-out in the back is venturing a bit out of my comfort zone, but I love the dress and think it was worth the nerve it took to wear it.

One of the things on my Virginia bucket list before we move back to Arizona next year was to take pictures at this cute LOVE sign downtown, so that was number one on our to-do list yesterday afternoon!

It was so fun to check something off our list with my best friend in town, because she got to participate too!

The sun was pretty bright, but I love these shots.

This is officially the post of the many photoshoots, because after we finished at the LOVE sign we decided to head over a few blocks to an enormous mural on the side of a building that I've seen several times as we've driven around downtown.
I always thought it would be a cool place to take pictures, so we decided to go for it!

Needless to say, Frocktober day 6 was a day for road trips, pictures and lots of color!

cruisin' downtown

Yesterday, we headed downtown with my mom and some friends to check out the Saturday farmer's market and a few other shops before stopping for brunch at Market at Main. 

Downtown is one of my favorite places, and I love how bustling it is on the weekends! The market is packed with couples and young families strolling through to grab fresh produce and freshly baked bread. 

The market is extended indoors, where people can buy more produce as well as shop the various stands of handmade clothing, ceramics, art, and other goods. There's also the amazing bakery and crepe shop!

I love the unique shops downtown, and how there always seems to be something you've never seen before.
I'm constantly finding shops and restaurants I didn't know existed, and it feels like such a magical, mysterious place.
Old brick buildings waiting to be restored, ivy creeping up and around each window.
Vintage stores and antique shops filled to the brim with treasures, people window shopping and drinking coffee.
We found a new shop yesterday that I had never been in, and I really hope to go back soon! It was called Studio Eleven, and they have a bunch of unique and handmade furniture and decor.

The best part was the very back, where they had a warehouse-like assortment of furniture in need of repair and update. The store sells a special kind of chalk paint that doesn't require sanding or removing the previous paint. You just paint right on, and then seal with their special wax. It's easy to use, dries quickly, and is specifically designed for the perfect one-day paint project!
You can choose a piece of furniture from the back, and buy the paint you want - or they'll paint it for you!
Such a cool concept, especially for all those DIYers out there.

We had so much fun looking through the shop, and dreaming about what we would do with all the various furniture scattered around the back. I think my mom found a kindred spirit in the shop owner, too!

Dress (shop!)/Necklace (shop!) : Ruche, Cardigan: J. Crew, Purse (shop!): Target

In other news, this is the cutest dress ever. 

Covered in a funky vintage car print, with big black buttons, it's the perfect downtown-stroll attire. 

I snatched it up over at Ruche's Labor Day Sale!!

Don't miss out. This dress was $19.50, and they have $10, $20, and $30 bins full of goodies...PLUS 15% off all regularly priced items!

The sale ends tomorrow at midnight, so hurry over!

weekends away

Earlier this summer, my husband and I made a little getaway to Richmond.
We booked a hotel smack dab in the middle of downtown, with a great room and an incredible view.

It's amazing how rejuvenated we felt after such a small getaway. Richmond is only a little over two hours away from us, but we felt like we were far from home and ready for adventure.
Being in a city environment with new restaurants and new shopping areas (and a big theme park that we went to on Saturday!) was like being in a whole new world.
We walked around holding hands, went into a beautiful historic hotel, stopped for coffee, went shopping, and even went to one of those phenomenal theater experiences where they serve you food at your seats. We had delicious blue cheese nachos, pasta and coffee while we laughed out loud at The Heat (and the incredibly drunk girl sitting behind us that had to be escorted out.)

As I was thinking about summer coming to an end, I was looking back through this trip and remembered taking a few outfit photos on our last night. We got dressed up and went to a super cool restaurant called The Boathouse which sat right on the water and overlooked the Richmond skyline. It was a lovely weekend, one I hope we're able to repeat with similar mini getaways to nearby places. Sometimes you don't have to go that far to feel like you're whisked away to something exciting.

Dress: London (similar, similar), Shoes: Poetic License (shop, shop)