Inexpensive Ways to Enjoy the Weekend

Saturdays are the best for grabbing brunch, doing a little shopping, and hitting up local outdoor events! The temperatures are cooling down slightly so I’m embracing the boyfriend jean and gladiator sandals for the time being. I’m also loving this coral top! Isn’t it cute?

I absolutely love summer days spent outside enjoying the sunshine with my family. Sometimes we’ll be doing yard work and our cats will come outside and run up and down trees “showing off” their mighty strength to us. We pretend to be impressed.

Today, I’m going to enjoy the farmer’s market in my town that’s held during the summer at an old plantation home. It’s a quaint little event that brings the community together to appreciate a beautiful property and locally grown fruits and veggies.

I was thinking about fun things you can do this time of year that are low cost but still provide some source of entertainment. Contrary to what you see on Instagram, most fashion/lifestyle bloggers aren’t jet setting to a new destination every weekend because we’re normal people and can’t afford that lavish lifestyle. I’ve rounded up 5 things to do during the summer that are inexpensive.

1. Go to yard sales– Yard sales can be so much fun if you hit the good ones! My mom and I went thrift store hunting and then to a yard sale looking for little goodies. We found some really neat stuff and even found out that there was an estate sale going on down the road. The estate ended up being huge and well worth our time just to look at the beautiful furniture and antiques being sold.
2. Have a potluck– I hate using the word “potluck” because sometimes whatever is in the pot isn’t going to make me feel so lucky. I’ve been to enough church luncheons to know this is the truth. Nonetheless, invite friends over for an afternoon of eating and socializing.
3. Enjoy the farmer’s market– Similar to what I’m doing today, find out where your local market is and spend a Saturday morning browsing. Hint to my other bloggers: these events make great backdrops for taking pictures of your outfit!
4. Local concerts– Some towns have invested in the arts more than others, but in my town they have an annual concert series throughout the summer that’s free to attend. Find out if your town does something like this!
5. Tour the historical sites– Believe it or not you can actually learn a thing or two about the place you call home if you’re willing to. Living on the east coast, we have many places locally to discover. Depending on the location you choose and season you do it in, it can be free or very inexpensive.

What do you do for entertainment during the warm summer months? Leave me a comment!

Long Weekend Style

I hope you all enjoyed your extra day off yesterday (for those of you who are in the States!) I certainly took advantage of the three-day weekend and all the sales that were going on. I ended up scoring a Lauren Conrad dress from her fall collection for $12, Lauren Conrad jeans for $20, and a Cynthia Rowley maxi skirt for $16. The sales are the best part of the festivities that typically go on during Memorial Day weekend. Here’s a little look into my weekend!

I spent Memorial Day on the beach with my parents and got a lovely sunburn on my left shoulder. Bring on the Aloe!

For our little local beach, there was quite the turnout of beach goers. It was hilarious to watch the kids get in the water, which was freezing, and splash each other, freak out of something touched their foot, or get sand in their pants.

Flip flops in the sand are the best thing in the world to me. I usually buy white or gray sandals because they go with everything. I think these ones are from Payless.

For the beach I sported this shorts and tank top combo from Old Navy. I got the shorts last October for $1.47! Shop summer clothes for the next year starting in mid-August when retailers are really trying to get rid of warm-weather clothes so they have room for the back-to-school stuff.

My jeans are from Lucky Brand and my top is Old Navy, both of which I shopped for in the off season and got amazing deals on.

My dear friend, Abbey, gave these gorgeous earrings to me and I have no idea where they’re from. I love wearing them with other bold colors like the yellow top I’m wearing.

This long weekend was so desperately needed. I’m thrilled that I got to spend so much time just relaxing and doing nothing. I hope we get through this week without too much pain. No guarantees though. Enjoy you’re Tuesday!

Making a Uniform Cute

Classing up a uniform is so hard to do. I took a part-time job a few months ago that requires we wear black pants and a white button down oxford with a black apron. Thankfully, I will only have to work retail until I graduate in December (as long as I can find a job where I can actually USE my degree). However, upon first putting on this uniform I was slightly appalled at its blandness. Really, white shirt and black pants? How original. Naturally, I had to class it up a bit and make it a little more fashion forward.

In keeping with the black pants I bought black skinny jeans at Lucky Brand for $30 on sale at their outlet store! My top is a light weight cotton blend from Banana Republic I found on clearance a few years ago. Since I wear a little apron, no one knows it isn’t a button down. My boots are from Etienne Aigner and I found them at Marshall’s for $45 and I’ve had them since 2012. Finally, my scarf I found at Ross for $6. The thing I love about scarves like these is that they’re similar to ones made by Heremes and Ralph Lauren without the price tag. Believe me, I’ve fooled many people with that scarf!

 

I’ve also learned to incorporate pretty earrings into the uniform as well as fabulous nail colors. I’ve also rocked a black pencil skirt on occasion. However you can accessorize, do it and own it!

On another note, when I got home from work today my sister, Becca, was carving a pumpkin in the shape of Jack Skellington from the Nightmare Before Christmas. She used a stencil for a little while until she got tired of it and then went on by herself! I’m debating what I should carve into my pumpkin. It will either be Tinker Bell or my own monogram just because it would be really cute! What will your jack-o-lantern look like?