wait, what day is it?

awkward:

--  oh wonderfully, cherry red, lobster-esq sunburn, how i love thee.

--  my skin looking like a spider inhabited it considering all that glorious sunburn is now beginning to peel. yippee!

-- when the lady at homegoods remembers you. at least she doesn't know me by first name. yet.

--  when you are the loudest ones in the dairy queen. and your aunt is reciting every word she knows from the movie bridesmaids. actually, if you knew my aunt and her story telling abilities, this might lean more towards awesome.
-- three day weekends throw me off once the normal week resumes itself. throws me off so that i woke up wrestled around in bed at midnight contemplating why i didn't roll the garbage cans out for the nice garbage men to collect them in the morning. geeze three day weekends, now i'm losing sleep over you, and not in the giddy-kid-on-christmas-morning kind of way.

awesome:

--  as if i couldn't already be obsessed with carly rae jepsen's "call me maybe", i stumbled upon the link to this video via this blog. i just can't stop watching it.

--  that little blog up there, she is one of my new favorite reads!

-- that my very best friend in the whole entire world (no kidding!) is coming home in eight, count'um, EIGHT very short (which will more then likely drag on and on) days! i mean i can barely contain my excitement. excuse me while i burst out in song and dance (probably to call me maybe).

--  oh, and this little video. you bet i cried. 

-- and probably the most amazing news that i cannot wait to share, so awesome that it may borderline the sort of moments that can only be defined and proclaimed by bursting in to a room and screaming it from the top of my lungs. in a fashion similar to Buddy the Elf when he falls in love. (except i'm not in love) (cue video).

 

the curious case of eyelet short

tee j.crew factory (here); shorts f21; sandals bakers (similar) (similar); sunnies h&m; necklace old navy

since i recently decided to look like a lobster (it's the newest-hottest-trend, didn't ya know?) my clothing choice when i wake up in the morning is...well...complicated. i've easily narrowed down my closet to anything that provides my aloe the space to do its job of healing my sun-kissed skin and is loose enough that i do not have to wince with every step i take.

so for a day of errands and laundry and an early evening ice cream run planned, i reached in to my closet and pulled out the shorts that i once mistaken for a skirt, and then a skort, and then -for what they really were- just a very voluminous pair of shorts. and as much as i misunderstood these little guys, i instantly loved them due to the eyelet material and the feminine feel i had been looking for. being a piece i usually wouldn't tend to wear, i took a risk, and my sunburned legs thoroughly appreciated the $10 i risked spending on them as much as i did.

got the blue sky breeze

a little peek at my instagram beach remix. now, i may or may not have burnt myself to a crisp on our very first day on the beach...but a las, the beach i still enjoyed (with a trusty hand from my new best friend, aloe)!

 
 
 
 
 

i hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend as much as i did and were able to spend it with family, friends, and loved ones that you deeply cherish, keeping in mind why we are able to enjoy such days.

p.s. i've finally took the plunge, find me on bloglovin! Follow my blog (and check out the button on the side there!)

pinned it, did it: summer punch

as we all know, pinterest is the next big thing compared to chocolate cake. okay, well not everyone knows this, but hey, i rank it pretty high up there on my list of pretty spectacular things.

so this weekend, with the holiday amidst us and the rising temperatures, oh and that fact that i am currently sitting on the deck at the beach, i decided, what better time then to try out something new that i most recently pinned (really, it is the last thing pinned on to my "mmm mmm good" pinboard).

Sarasota Lemonade

original source here

you can find the recipe for this little party in a cup right up there on the original source to the pin. i decided to switch out a few things (sierra mist for sprite) (powdered pink lemonade mix for the concentrate) and i used only one bottle of moscato because there were less people. what a perfect, and pretty, little drink to end a wonderful day with family in the sun.

happy friday and happy memorial day weekend!

A&A (on a field trip day!)

awkward:

--  automated phone calls. i crack up every time, i just can't help myself.

--  showing up to sub yesterday and having the secretary ask me if i "didn't know". apparently that is what they ask you when you show up on "fun day" a.k.a "run around all day long outside day" in dress clothes and not the gym class attire that the rest of the faculty is decked out in. no i did not get the memo. but bless all of them for trying to find me clothing to wear. also, bless living close enough to go and get the appropriate attire once the memo was received.
--  remember this post? awkward written all over it.

--  the HUGE (i mean really, i thought it was a small dog) groundhog that has become a permanent resident at my house. on our front porch. scratching to get in the front door. oh, and hiding underneath my car as i am packing it to go leave to sub. i may never leave the house again.

-- fun fact: did you know that groundhogs can be extremely vicious towards children and dogs?

 

 

awesome:

-- being a teacher. yup. i thank God every day for the calling i have and the career that found me.

--  going on a field trip with six first grade classes, most importantly the one i student taught in, and getting to watch thee junie b. jones in all of her real-world-living glory (if you don't know who she is, she is kinda a huge deal in first grade). followed by a picnic lunch and a glorious afternoon in the park.

--  the comparison i use that my height is comparable to a "fun sized" candy bar. instant conversation changer? you bet. do i use it a lot? you sure bet i do.

--  old navy's accessories. nautical themed bow for my hair = check.
--  my obsession with country music as of late. honestly i cannot get enough. add the windows down and the sun only setting after 8:30, and you make for a happy girl. seriously, you should see my smile right about now.

 

and the ultimate awesome for this week: that tomorrow morning i am off to enjoy myself some sand, sea, and sun for the entire weekend. oooooooo yeah.

the little chambray post that couldn't

shirt ny&co.(similar); shorts h&m (old-from big sis)(similar); shoes lucky brand via tjmaxx (old)(similar); necklace american eagle; watch momma's; wallet vera bradley; sunnies h&m

i had this really great post planned. it was all floating around in my head. i would talk about how much i adore the chambray shirt and how i think it is such a vital piece year round. how this little guy has been paired with this, that, and everything - and was quite the perfect choice for a day of running errands and being comfy but pulled together. and how adorable the little broach was keeping it tucked together in the back. it was such a great little post idea. it made me smile all day. i even managed to snag my melon inspired nails, freshly painted last night, in the pics.

oh...those pics. that wonderful little post just danced out of my head when dad was riding around mowing the lawn as my photog (mom) was snapping those pictures of me for that blessed little post. she even got a picture of dad...

darn those blurry iphone pics. but i have photographic proof of what happened next. dad, being the sly guy he is, stopped that mower and said "are you taking those photos for your e-harmony account?"

and just like that the little idea for my chambray inspired post was gone. and it was much more important to state a very vital lesson learned:

do not take outfit photos while dad is home.

sorry little post, but this will have to be as important as you will get, an easy statement of how much you love chambray shirts and how everyone needs to go out and buy one right now. and for the record, i do not have an e-harmony account - although i do not think poorly of anyone who does. my dad is just a huge jokester like that, also because he asked if he was going to be put on my account as well. gosh dad, i sure do love you.

a hop, skip, and a jump

today you need to take a little hop, skip, and a jump on over to this little blog, Nugget on a Budget, to check out my post on all things essential to an impromptu trip to the beach! now if i had all of the pretty pennies in the world i would most definitely scoop up all of these items, but i pulled some inspiration from my closet to find some beauties out there on the world wide web for you to scoop up and add to your beach bag this summer. so go ahead, you know you wanna...

i-spy with my little eye

   
 

 

this post is sponsored by allergies and their inconvenient timing. inconvenient timing aka holding off so that my weekend reuniting with one of my very best friends from college was not ruined but showing up right when i wanted to spend my sunday afternoon soaking up the sun.
happily, the weekend was a wonderful one. we ate ice cream sandwiches and double chocolate chip cookies, watched a very shirtless ryan reynolds in the proposal, and got all dolled up and had ourselves a girls night out.

sadly, today no sun will be soaked.

but, some tea will be drunk, tissues will be used, and allegra will be taken. oh, and that leftover chicken pot-pie, totally being devoured. and the harry potter marathon on abcfamily..well, why go there. (aren't you happy i don't instagram the tv i'm watching? okay maybe just one).

psst...follow me on instagram @eilame, i'm just getting started :)

i deserve a medal

...or running in to traffic,

smashing my head through a wall,

running around like a chicken with my head cut off...

you get the picture.

this week was one of those weeks where i had to sit myself down and remind myself that it is friday and i made it and i have two glorious days of sleeping and laying around in my pajamas and watching movies on HBO and drinking coffee until noon if i please. honestly, because by about wednesday i probably could have wondered off into the sunset and never returned because i felt as if it was wednesday every day of this week....except the week was 700 days long and there was no end in sight.

but the week ended (almost) seeing as it is friday and i'm patting myself on the back for making it through with at least half of my wits and no serious harm done to anyone or anything. even though it was a close call...but we won't speak of that.

and it was not that it was a particularly bad week. it actually wasn't a bad week at all, it was kind of a really good week. i worked. mom and i went to the outlets. i got to eat ritas. it rained and i didn't actually mind it. i managed to watch the complete installment of harry potter and the deathly hallows all in one morning (special thanks to HBO for playing part 1&2 back to back). so really, week, you were good to me. but isn't it odd how the days seem to drag but the years seem to fly? come on now, it is may already. almost half way through.

geezums.

and then i think about what i've accomplished in the last five months of this year and i start to shake my head at myself and get real stern and point a finger or two at myself getting all wound up for a lecture about how i need to step up my game and be more productive. (because sometimes i like to tell myself these things even though i've been busting my butt doing this, that, and the other - but i often don't like to listen to myself).

then, i plop down in front of my blog and here you shall find me. fridays must be a good day to vent. and mondays. and then i make real big grown-up decisions about life and such and buckle down and decide that i am going to do that thing gosh-darn-it and no one is going to stop me. except maybe myself.

except i gave myself the weekend off so here goes nothing.

but i still deserve that medal, right?

A&A

awkward:

- after the dentist is finished and the novocaine feeling is still tingling through your mouth, lip, tongue..and you sound as if you are drunk when you are talking. oh, and what about attempting to eat with no control of the right side of your mouth. makes for great dinner entertainment.

- speaking of novocaine...dontcha just love the feeling you have when it all wears off? like that mouth is screwed shut and you can barely open it to eat a bowl of cereal the next day type feeling?

- bug bites. huge bug bites.

- i give an immense amount of brownie points to sales clerks who offer styling opinions and show you things you may be interested in - really i do, and i honestly love it, most of the time. but on a day like yesterday, when you approach me for the tenth time, i kind of just want to shop by myself. so please just let me slink away and try to figure out the discounts in my head without you mentioning for the third time how great one of your skinny belts would look with the dress i'm holding.
- this week. i think the days started going in reverse. hi thursday, what took you so long.
- allergies. eye watering, nose running, sneezing, barely breathing,
allergies.
welcome back.

 

 

 

awesome:

- my brand new curling iron. ya know the kind that you just wrap your hair around. totally worth the money i spent since my hair is as straight as a stick.

curling-iron-magic.

- the fact that this past weekend i spent TWO, count'um, TWO days out in my backyard in my bathing suit soaking up that beautiful sun. hello sun, it's so nice to be back.

- when one of your favorite movies is on tv right smack dab in the middle of the dreariest days and it is starring heath ledger. two thumbs up.
- remember this little baby that i mentioned in this post? well, i finally gave in. not only did i walk out of the j.crew factory store with an array of beautifully colored pieces (really how awesome are all the bright colors this season?) but that little beauty finally came home with me for a reasonably discounted price.
- teacher id = teacher discount. enough said.
- how many books i have read since i graduated. now, to kindle or not to kindle?

a la simple

there are plenty of trends that i am currently craving, which, seeing as i made wednesdays dedicated to all the things i'm craving out there in the fashion world, it makes each wednesday an exploration of what i cannot wait to get my hands on next.
seeing as complicated as life has been as of late, i'm craving simplicity. yes - even in my wardrobe. lately i have been craving some simple pieces that can stand alone or, on a much more enthusiastic day, paired with neon brights, pretty pastels, or an array of different accessories or other pieces. the simple piece of choice for today: a dress with just enough simplicity and just the right amount of statement that it can be thrown on and out the door i go.

i half way blame pinterest seeing as after i found these two little beauties i was hooked and have been searching ever since:

pinned on my fashionista board, source here

pinned on my fashionista board, found here

a few little beauties i want to call my own:

ruffles

mellow yellow

kimono

and my own take on it:

blazer LC lauren conrad for kohl's (similar); dress f21 (old); wedges simply vera vera wang for kohl's (seen here); sunnies h&m

something old, something blue

blouse ann taylor (old-from seester); skirt h&m (old); clutch banana republic; shoes payless (old); name tag bracelet (anciently old)

i have always adored the color combination of pale blue and browns and that is where the inspiration lies for this outfit i wore to church yesterday morning, and a little help from momma dearest, since it was her day i wanted her influence present.

i was overjoyed when i found this pencil skirt a year or two back at h&m for a steal of a price on the clearance rack.  needless to say, i only took the tags off today and that little beauty has been hiding away in my closet all of this time. i'm not too sure why because it isn't snug, but form fitting, in all of the right places and gives enough structure, even for an unusually warm morning like yesterday. it may or may not become a staple in my summer wardrobe but i'd keep my eyes pealed because i'm sure it will pop up again. have no fear, little blue beauty, no one will be hiding you in the corner any longer.

as for, well, everything else, it's old. items that i rediscovered as i did a massive purging and organizing of my closet when i graduated college and moved home. items that big seester graciously collected in bins for me to go through. i didn't even attempt to try and link up because i knew i'd be out of luck finding any of them. the clutch is the most recent, and it is about two years old so you get the picture, old. the heals were practically a robbery of payless and the blouse, a glorious hand-me-down from big sis in which i was drooling over all day long and day-dreaming of the ways i'll mix it in to other combinations (stay tuned for a revisit pretty soon). oh the days of having to steal things out of her closet...memories....