A Walk to the Pier

My vacation is coming to a close, but I’m not ready to accept it yet. So instead let’s admire these photos from earlier in the week when we took a walk down the beach to the pier. Naturally, once we got there, we sang the Dawson’s Creek theme song. Not exactly the same pier, but close enough.

A couple days before we left for vacation, I realized I didn’t really have a cute coverup, so I went to Target to grab one. There aren’t a lot of options left at the end of August, but I found this maxi dress on the clearance rack. I didn’t even try it on. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that it fit like a glove. I wore it for several hours on the beach, went inside to shower, and put it back on for dinner. Don’t be surprised if you see me wearing it again before summer is out!

Dress // similar Hat // Sunglasses (under $15)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Pineapple

On most days during the past 3 weeks, “getting ready for the day” has consisted of a face wipe, a new layer of deodorant, and the same sweats I’d been in for the past 24 hours. This might negatively affect your opinion of me, but I’m just keepin’ it real.

Last weekend I decided to actually get ready for the day, and Kristin and I had a picnic lunch on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. I brought along my flash cards and book of practice questions and actually got some decent work done! It was a much needed break, even if it wasn’t really a break.

And in case you hadn’t heard, pineapples are the new lemons.

Tee // similar Skirt* // Hat // Shoes* // similar Sunglasses (under $20) // similar Clutch (on sale) // Lips “Whimsical”

*Skirt purchased with gift card provided courtesy of Asos; shoes purchased with gift card provided courtesy of H&M.

Same Old Thing

On May 29, 2012, I posted my very first outfit here on Sarah’s Real Life, not knowing anything about blogging or if this endeavor would even last more than a month. Now here we are, 2 years and 600+ posts later, and looking back, I think it’s clear…that I have gotten marginally better at blogging. Go me!

Last year for my first blogiversary post, I did a retrospective of 12 outfits (1 from each month). Well, last year I wasn’t studying for the Bar, so this year is a little more simple. I’m just doing more of what I’ve been doing nearly every day for the past 2 years: a real-life outfit post.

No hidden brand sponsorship, no fancy camera tricks, no picking out something I didn’t really wear, no going out of my way for a cool background. Just me standing in my friend’s backyard while having some fashionable but practical fun in a polka dot romper at a Memorial Day cookout.

I didn’t even realize it at the time we took these photos, but this outfit was the perfect one to share on this special occasion. My very first post featured what I wore to a Memorial Day cookout in this same neighborhood with many of the same friends. A lot has changed in our group over the past 2 years, but some things stay the same: we still love to share a vat of homemade guacamole, and I’m still that weirdo that puts pictures of herself on the internet.

Thanks to all my friends (new and old, real and virtual) who have followed along and supported this silly hobby of mine. If you’d like to give me a blog birthday present, please send a donation directly to my student loan account at Sallie Mae. (Or you can just share your favorite outfit of mine on Pinterest or Facebook so I can earn some new readers. That works too.)

similar Romper // Hat // Necklace // Sunglasses // Bag (on sale) // Lips “Plushest Punch”

Art Fair

OK, here’s what happened while I was getting this post ready: I was resizing these photos and saving them under new file names. I wore this to the Broad Ripple Art Fair over the weekend, so I was naming the files “artfair1,” “artfair2,” etc. Meanwhile, in my head I was thinking of genius things to write (per usual).

Then apparently my fingers got ahead of my brain because I typed “fartfair” for one of the file names, and I laughed so hard that all my genius ideas disappeared. I think you’ll agree that’s a totally normal adult response, so you’ll forgive me for my lack of relevant commentary today.

similar Dress // similar Jacket (on sale) // Hat // Ring: purchased at the fair from artist Sally J. Phillips! // Sunglasses // Necklace* // Bag (on sale) // Shoes (on sale in lots of colors)

*Necklace provided courtesy of oNecklace.

Fin

You all know how to make a girl feel special – thanks for all the congratulations on yesterday’s post, and on Instagram and Twitter. It’s a crazy feeling being done with school! I’m not totally sure what to do with myself. Well, that’s not really true. I do know what to do: celebrate!

The first step of celebration was dinner at Olive Garden (gift card – woot!) yesterday after my last exam. We had grand plans to sit on the patio and enjoy the warmth, which is why I wore my Panama hat. But – get this – Olive Garden’s patio wasn’t even open yet! Way to ruin my special day, OG. They quickly made up for it with mini bottles of prosecco, though. 😉 By the way, I actually wore pretty much this same thing for my exam, and just added the shoes and accessories for dinner.

The celebrating continues, as this afternoon I’ll pick my parents up from the airport, and tomorrow is graduation, followed by a trip to Chicago. The blog will be quiet for a couple days while I enjoy some time off, but if you want to follow my Chi-town adventures, you can do so on Instagram. Because can you ever get tired of seeing pictures of the Bean? No, you cannot.

Shirt* // Jeans (slightly different wash) // Shoes (on sale) // Bag (on sale!) // similar Bracelet* (on sale) // similar Belt // Hat // similar Sunglasses (on sale) // Lips “Plushest Punch”

*Shirt provided courtesy of Red Bubble; bracelet provided courtesy of House of Gemmes.

Pin to Real Life Guest Blogging

Today I’m taking a day trip to Nashville, Tennessee!

OK, not exactly. But I am doing a guest post for Nashville blogger Jessica at My Here & Now Life! Jessica is that classy broad on the left, and I used her outfit as inspiration for another Pin to Real Life outfit post. Head on over to Nashville (via the interwebs) to see more!