summerwind

Last night we went to the beach for the first time this summer. I don't know how I made it all the way to August without seeing the ocean! It was strangely chilly for this time of year... almost fall-like. You could hear the leaves rustling when we were strolling through town and the air had that dry, brisk feeling that doesn't usually show up until late September. As a big fan of autumn I was pretty darn thrilled to say the least. The beach always seems to be practically abandoned when the weather calls for sweaters instead of swimsuits, but I actually prefer it that way :)

It was such an incredibly lovely evening. I was working my behind off for the last week and needed a break SO badly. After several nights staying up past 5am I managed to finish tweaking all of my etsy listings to better suit the new listing page design (I think that's going live today) and I finished designing my dad's website. It doesn't seem like that much now that I typed it out but boy did it seem like a ton of work while I was doing it.

I still have lots to do, but the things on my plate now are much more exciting than monotonous etsy editing. I'm going to start working on my 2014 flapper doodle calendar today (yay!) and my dad finally titled the novel that he wrote 2 years ago, so I get to design the cover. I'm really excited about it! It's a murder mystery set in 1930's Princeton, with his parents as the book's crime-solving duo. It's SUCH a good story on it's own, but it's even more special to me since my grandfather passed away before I was born and my grandmom passed away when I was 3.... I feel like I really got to know them by reading the book. I can't wait to share more about it when it's all finished! :)

dress and cardigan - forever 21 | purse - asos | shoes - ebay | sunglasses - uo

happy (super belated) valentine's day

I'm a week overdue, but here is what I wore for Valentine's Day last week! My family and I went to see Aunt Annie (my 101 year old aunt!!) and brought her lots of chocolates and donuts. I swear her whole life she has lived off of junk food (and she actually used to drink vinegar, if you can believe it!) It makes me think twice about my own diet that consists mostly of fruits and veggies...

After seeing Aunt Annie, we went out for dinner near the beach. Earlier this month we went down the shore for the first time since Hurricane Sandy and it's just so incredibly sad to see all of our favorite places so ravaged. Ocean Grove (my favorite beach town in NJ) seems to have weathered the storm better than most places, but it's still heartbreaking to see the boardwalk ripped up and the setting of so many fond family memories completely destroyed.

dress - h&m | sweater - c/o romwe | shoes - asos | brooch - vintage

faded pastel memories

Me and my brother went to Point Pleasant beach in NJ last week... neither of us have been there since we were kids and we have really fond memories, so we thought it would be a fun trip down memory lane. Unfortunately it just wasn't as awesome as we remembered it to be*. I hate it when that happens. Compared to our current favorite beach (Ocean Grove) it seemed kind of untidy and sooo incredibly crowded. And for some reason I had visions in my head of a pastel paradise, but in reality I was the most pastel thing at the beach that day.

We walked the boardwalk for a little while, got some cotton candy (can you believe there isn't a single place there that makes it from scratch? It's all prepackaged in plastic bags. ergh!) and went to the arcade. That was actually really fun, but in the end we decided to high-tail it for Ocean Grove for dinner ;)



*ps. please don't hate me if this is your favorite beach.. it just wasn't my own cup of tea, and it didn't live up to the super expectations I created in my head when I was little :)

Dress - c/o Modcloth | shoes - asos | Mint petticoat - vintage (JessJamesJake)

snapshots from a lovely day

Saturday was so lovely, I thought it deserved another post. These are just some of the photos we snapped during our evening by the ocean. I especially love the one with my mom, brother and Grandmom walking Abbey Road style along the shore... they had no idea I was taking pictures but sometimes that makes for the best ones, don't you think? :)







ps. Aren't trees with twinkle lights are one of the best things ever? They make my heart go all a-flutter!

perfection

dress - modcloth
sunglasses - fred flare

Saturday night I surprised my family with a mini trip to the beach. We've had a stressful year so far, and I think some time near the ocean was definitely what we needed! It was SO relaxing, and the weather was perfect. When I was younger I never really cared for the shore, but I think it's because we always went in the afternoon when the sun was scorching and the air was really thick. On Saturday we didn't even leave the house until around 5pm, and by the time we arrived it had cooled down and the sun was starting to say goodbye for the day. The sky was a mix of pastel blues and pinks, and the ocean was calm and quiet. It was perfection.

I'm thinking of making it a weekend tradition. It's only Tuesday and I'm already aching to go back at the end of the week...