monday + taking a blog break this week.

 

my wonderful grandmother passed away early saturday morning, so i'm going to be taking the next several days off to prepare to head back up to my parents' house tomorrow and be with my family for the rest of the week. regular readers of my blog might recognize the picture above; it's from grandma's college yearbook and i love it more than almost anything (if you click to enlarge you may be able to read the text, which is fantastic). she was 95 years old -- she would have been 96 on nov. 1 -- and she had an amazing, full life, but i'm still going to miss her terribly and it's very hard to imagine her not being here.

talk to you all soon.

xoxo

what are you doing this weekend?

happy friday, friends! and happy first day of fall! (if you can't tell by number of times i've written "i'm excited for autumn" over the past couple of weeks, i'm thrilled that my favorite season is finally, officially here.)

what are your plans for this weekend? i'm actually heading north to give a certain someone a walking tour of my hometown tonight (complete with, i hope, ice cream) and then spending saturday locating the yum yum cupcake truck (and possibly seeing a movie and doing a little shopping) with my mom. it should be a good weekend, especially if i can get back to sarasota early enough on sunday to spend the day getting organized for next week.

so i'll see you back here on monday -- until then, tell me: what are your plans for the weekend?

this photo, by the snail and the cyclops, makes me feel something i can't quite explain. so lovely and moody, no?

how i'd wear it: gray silk dress.

when i first saw this gray dress on the j.crew factory site, i leaned back in my chair and thought, "well, that is a 'megan' dress if ever there was one." it basically incorporates all of my favorite things: the color gray, lovely material, pretty detailing and a flowy-but-still-somewhat-structured (thanks to the waistband) shape.and best of all? i could totally wear it to work. i've got awhile until it's boots-and-tights weather, but until then, i'd totally pair the dress with some nude loafer-heels and some delicate jewelry.

p.s. i can see the reason why putting together "imaginary outfits" (stephanie's are some of my favorite) is such a popular thing with bloggers -- this was so much fun, and i'm going to try to do a couple a month from now on.

the weekend + committing to...

it was one of those weekends that felt mercifully long, and one that was filled with time on the couch, time outside, time with people i care about, and a lot of time in my bed. there was pizza, root beer from a bottle(!), movies, snuggling, a walk, and some great thrift-store finds, including an in-perfect-condition classic trench coat, a great wrap sweater, a vintage coach satchel (also in perfect condition) and some seriously cute boots that are going to look perfect with a pair of skinny jeans tucked into them. i'm trying to evolve my look a bit this fall (a little more on this below; a lot more in upcoming posts) and i feel like i've taken a baby step in the right direction.

so with that being said, herewith the week's commitments (and be warned, they are heavy on the vanity):

+ let my hair down. literally. i am a lazy, lazy girl in the mornings, and all too often i resort to the "jump-out-of-the-shower-and-slick-back-my-wet-hair" look. it's not particularly attractive. so i'm learning to embrace my hair's natural wave, thanks to some help from paul mitchell's ginger-scented sea spray and am going to try to, you know, look more like a girl from now on.

+ wear colored lipstick or lipgloss or lipstain of some kind every day. i'm finding that a good lip can really work wonders in pulling together an outfit, so yes: i will be embracing that theory. (also: give myself a pedicure. i'm thinking essie's "lollipop" (a great red) will do the trick.)

+ work on the going-to-sleep-earlier/getting-up-earlier thing. this is a consistent problem for me, and i'm starting to think it's just lack of actual motivation on my part. here's to this being the week i change that. (p.s. this month's whole living has a great article on sleep if you have a chance to pick it up; it's actually what inspired this re-commitment.)

+ think about and write down my autumn goals (autumn commitments?!) for you all. they've been swirling in my head; it's time to put pen to paper (or, um, fingers to keyboard).

+ spend.time.outside. it's officially pretty evening weather again, and i think some salty gulf air after work will be delightful.

and you? what are your commitments for the next week?

photo by .natasha.

what are you doing this weekend?

happy friday, everyone!

i don't know if it's the transitioning of the season or the addition of work projects, but this week kind of flew by. not that i'm complaining; while i do feel like i could do another day's worth of work, i'm so looking forward to the weekend, which i'm hoping will include a sunset beach picnic, a trip to the ringling museum, a whole lot of sweet, sweet sleep and, at some point, some homemade pancakes.

and autumn is coming. i can feel it. it's coming slowly, but it's there. there's something different in the air this week; when i wake up in the mornings or go out at night, the temperature is cooler and summer's ever-present humidity wanes. fall -- especially those late-october and november mornings when i have to slip on a sweater and inhale the chilly air as i walk to my car -- never fails to make me feel alive, like i'm at my most fully developed as a person, and i can't wait to immerse myself in the season.

are you in full fall mode where you are? and what are your plans for the weekend? tell me, and i'll see you back here on monday!

photo by pink scarf