Summer Dressing & Life Lately
The days go by so quickly and I’m trying to stay present and mindful and all the things, but honestly, right now things at the Smith home are pretty chaotic! I’ve been spending a good portion of each day recently, cleaning out my closet and bathroom and emptying out dressers because our renovation starts on Monday. We are leaving for the beach for two weeks and while we’re gone, everything will be torn out.
I went yesterday (finally) and chose the bathtub, sink and fixtures for the bathroom. I still have to choose marble and tile and design the cabinetry for the closet, but I’ll work on all of that while we’re at the beach. I’m just so excited it’s finally happening after living with a partially torn out bathroom for almost 2 years!
I’m going to document the whole renovation on YouTube if you’re interested in the process. I always love to watch how a project comes together and goes from bare studs to a beautiful living space! I hope you’ll follow along…look for the first video in the next week or so. I’ll have clips of the space as it is now and a sneak peak of my vision in the first video!
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www.crazyblondelife.com/
Between being at the beach, going to Rhode Island and visiting my daughters, this summer has gone by in a blink and as crazy as it sounds…I haven’t had time to shop very much (which is probably a good thing).
For years, I’ve shopped at a small boutique that carries my favorite brands and they will bring me things to try on and that’s how I found this gorgeous Ulla Johnson dress! Ulla has long been one of my favorite brands because of the beautiful fabrics and the design of the clothing. The dress I’m wearing here might just be my all-time favorite. I absolutely love how it’s cut…a little more fitted through the body with a flowy skirt. The v-neck is so flattering and it’s just a beautiful classic dress. I’ve worn it so many times already because even though it makes me feel dressed up, it’s a great casual summer look. I wore it with flats in Rhode Island when we went over to Block Island for a day of shopping and lunch and felt so pretty the whole time. I have so many things in my closet that I’m “saving”, but I’m not sure what I’m saving them for! Life is passing by each day and I might as well wear my clothes!
One of the reasons I love to wear dresses is that they’re one-and-done easy! Since the print on the fabric is somewhat dainty, I didn’t feel the need for much jewelry…I just kept it simple. As I said, I’ve worn the dress with flats, but these raffia sandals from Marc Fisher are also perfect (these sandals go with everything and I have then in two colors). I’m also trying to think of ways to wear it into fall…maybe a denim jacket and some cowboy boots…we’ll see!
My real vision for wearing this dress is strolling around Provence going to markets and being a tourist! I’ll hold on to that one!
The dress above is the short version and I’m absolutely in love with it as well!
And a little inspiration…Most mornings I read something inspirational and on the days when I don’t have a lot of time, I usually read a page from Brianna Wiest’s book, The Pivot Year. This morning, I needed to hit the ground running and as is usually the case, what I read was just what I needed for my day.
“Like most of us, what you are really working toward is being able to have peace in the quietest, simplest moments of the day. You can only get there by practicing again and again, disengaging with the tempting thoughts that lead you nowhere but self-destruction. You can only get there by reacclimating to an entirely new way of walking through your hours, becoming comfortable in the new life you’ve carved out of the unknown. The ending is not a place you arrive, it is a way you become” ~ Brianna Wiest
For the longest time, I could never understand what it meant to “surrender” and then one day it hit me. Surrender is to become present…to be in the moment and see the beauty that is right before your eyes. We get in our heads and miss so much of our day or as the quote says…we engage with tempting thoughts that lead to self destruction. Change happens when we are able to let go and just be where we are!
Blog Hop
Today, I’m teaming up with three of my favorite Instagram/Blogger friends for a blog hop! Be sure to check out their blogs and see what they’re up to and follow them on Instagram if you’re not already!
Below, I’m linking everything in this post to make shopping easier if you so desire!
And…thinking ahead to fall because it’ll be here before we know it!
Thanks so much for reading!