Guest Bedroom Phase 1

I thought I would share some photos of my guest room. It is coming along! At this point I am deciding on a second nightstand and waiting on lamps that are backordered. I will also be moving the desk into my bedroom and adding a media stand from Ikea (the besta TV bench with doors) for a tv (sitting in its box still) and then all of the tech things that are just sitting out right now (DVD player, wireless router, my printer, etc). Lastly, I am going to put some art/photos on the walls. Unfortunately due to earthquake risks, I can't have anything framed right above the bed but I think above the nightstands will look nice!
All sources are listed at the end of this post.

I am so in love with these folding stools from Target. They have been perfect as luggage stands for overnight guests

I still have a couple of boxes to go through as you can see!

The desk and dresser were in my bedroom in my last apartment. I am going to keep the dresser in the guest room for now and move the desk back to my bedroom 

I will be moving that lamp out when my new ones arrive

Bed frame and headboard: Joe's Bed and Furniture (Southern California only I believe)
Rope comforter: Ikea
Anchor blanket: Target
Striped folding stools: Target
Polka dot throw pillows: Target
Whale pillow cases and sheets: Garnet Hill
Nightstand, lamp, dresser, and desk: antiques from family
Yellow striped blanket on desk chair (I've been alternating between the anchor blanket and the striped blanket on the bed): Target

Palm Springs bachelorette weekend

This past weekend was my friend A's bachelorette weekend in Palm Springs. We rented a house for the 12 of us and I don't think it could have gone better! We spent our days in the pool, laughing, dancing, eating, and drinking. I think the highlight was all of the pool floats we had. We also had a GoPro and that provided a lot of entertainment (especially with people trying to get on/off of floats-the unicorn was tricky!).

Delicious drinks by the pool when we arrived Friday 

Pretty pink drinks + friends = the best 

FLOATS! 

Definitely my favorite float

My friend Brooke ordered these for our drinks to float in in the pool-I highly recommend them! I think we only had one tip over (oops)

The whole group out to dinner Saturday night. We went to Matchbox (one of my favorite DC restaurants that has just one location on the west coast)

Photobooth fun

With the bride to be!

Bride tribe flash tattoos 

(x-rated) Piñata time! This was after I showered/before we were going out for dinner, hence the pjs  

Shopping my closet for work clothes

Once I moved back to LA and became a nanny, I donated and sold most of my work/professional/office clothes from my DC internships. But I have had a few interviews and meetings in grad school and I have a bunch coming up as part of my thesis and a research project I'm working on in my department. I decided to shop my own closet (HA!) to see what was working with. I actually came up with a few different outfits. I cropped my head out because I was making silly faces in some of these. I feel way more comfortable behind the camera!

This top has bows all over and a big bow in front 

I have one black cardigan from Zara that I wish I had bought multiple of. I love it!

This skirt still had the tags on it. But I've already worn it to one meeting and am planning on wearing it a lot this fall

I ended up finding nude ballet flats to wear with the skirt when I have to be more dressed up than sandals

My go to for more formal meetings

I will pair this with my black cardigan or possibly another color-haven't decided or maybe a blazer

Sun Valley trip recap

Long over due post alert! I went to Sun Valley, Idaho for the first time in four years for the 4th of July. I hadn't realized just how much I missed it! My family goes every year but I couldn't always get the days off to join them when I was working full time. It was relaxing and so nice to get fresh mountain air! The only bad part was when my flight home was canceled. Thankfully a nanny friend was able to cover for me at work since I couldn't get home until Friday (instead of Wednesday). But there are certainly worse places to get stuck! ;)

You just can't beat the view!

Spotted lots of bunnies

My nephews enjoying the same activity I loved as a kid-exploring the streams and making sticks, boats, etc. float through 

Everywhere you look there's a beautiful view

4th of July dinner

Exploring after dinner

After dinner walk on my last night

Pretty flowers

Mountains!

More climbing and exploring

4th of July attempt at photoshoot with my sister (a bit bright out! HA!)

My outfit for our 4th of July BBQ

Horses! I love to stop and pet them when I'm walking to/from town

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Garnet Hill Summer Gems

Back in May I heard from Garnet Hill about doing a product review focusing on summer inspiration. I would say this has been a summer of travel (and family). I told Garnet Hill about all of my upcoming trips (Las Vegas, Charleston, Idaho, and the trip I am heading on this week). I was excited to see what product I would get to review. I have put the pure cashmere wrap to good use with all of my trips!

Mine is navy and I LOVE it! Usually when I travel I bring a hoodie. But I don't put it on over my head since (1) it's tricky getting it back off without elbowing the person next to you and (2) the temperature can change quickly on the plane. HA! So it doesn't work very well to keep me warm.

Well no more traveling in hoodies for me! I wore the wrap around my upper half/over my shoulders on my way to Sun Valley and then just over my lap like a blanket on my way home. The cashmere is not itchy (I am picky about my cashmere sweaters). Garnet Hill uses only the best cashmere and Oeko-Tex-certified eco-friendly dyes with fewer chemicals.

The best photo I got from my phone on my flight. This was when I was using it as a lap blanket. 

I just feel 10x chicer (is that a word?) using my wrap instead of a sweatshirt. Almost as chic as this model showing off hers ;)

Unfortunately I am having issues uploading photos from my real camera (looks like the cord may have been misplaced in my move) but I've ordered a new cord so hopefully I can upload the real photos soon!

I love the color that is currently available. It's perfect for transitioning into fall (don't worry-summer is not over yet!!!). Use it at the beach on those cool nights, take it to outdoor movies at the park, wear it to a wedding whatever you have planned for summer!

** Please note: I was provided this product for free to review. All opinions are my own **

4th of July Outfit Inspiration

I am SOOOO excited that this year I get to celebrate 4th of July in one of my favorite places! I have spent the 4th in LA the last four years due to my work schedule and although I have loved celebrating with friends, this year I get to be with my family.

What I wore the first week of July last year:

Here are some looks for inspiration:

J.Crew

J.Crew

Boden

What I'll be packing for my trip:

Whale shorts, Vineyard Vines, $70 (mine are navy with pink whales but I love the white with blue whales) | Red, white, and blue sweater that I got in Portland a few years ago | Tala romper, Lilly Pulitzer, $138

Sunfaded stripe long sleeve top, Splendid, $78 (I bought this in Las Vegas when there was a 30% off sale. It's so comfortable and soft!) | Lobster sweatshirt from Uniqlo | Waterfall print romper, Splendid, $158 (10% off sitewide with code: TRUE10)

OCRF Super Saturday recap

The weekend before I went to Charleston, my friend Jessica and I went to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Super Saturday event in Santa Monica. The New York Super Saturday will be Saturday July 30 and you can find information and tickets here. You can read about my experience at the event last year (2015) and the year before (2014).

The Santa Monica event was hosted by Rachel Zoe and Molly Sims! OCRF’s Super Saturday was created in 1998 by Donna Karan and the late Liz Tilberis. In 2015, Super Saturday raised over $4 million for Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Super Saturday, is a fun-filled, family-oriented fundraiser that offers premier fashion for women, men and kids plus beauty, jewelry, accessories and home items for up to half off the manufacturer's suggested retail price. Proceeds support OCRF's research grants. Kind of like a fancy garage sale or sample sale. In addition to shopping, Super Saturday LA offered a full day of fun including Chrysler Pacifica test drives, a fun zone for kids, Mary Kay lip gloss and cotton candy bar, Conair Curl Secrets and braid bar, and gourmet food for all to enjoy.

Unfortunately the weather this year was not ideal (drizzling off and on and a bit cold) but we still had fun and shopped for a great cause. We tried multiple flavors of cotton candy, had our tarot cards read, got our hair done, and ate and ate (cupcakes, cookies, pizza, YUM!).

I kind of look like a wet dog here but I had a beautiful braid done in the Conair tent 

I took this photo to show H the LA Rams cheerleaders but then realized I also have one of the girls from Coupled in there too. HA! That show is so entertaining! 

View of the shopping in the hangar