Just Like Dirty Dancing

Next weekend, O, myself, my best friend and her husband (plus our dog) are all going on a little mini getaway to the Poconos. 'Member the Poconos? Known in the '80's for swanky honeymoon suites with tubs shaped like wine glasses. It's where Baby met Johnny. And where they danced.

Well, lucky for me, a wonderful long-time friend of ours has a home in a residential community inside one of the resorts up in those beautiful mountains and we're using her place for our little retreat. There will be wine tours, brewery tours (gotta keep the boys happy) and a festival that celebrates the foliage in the area. Tiny towns, postcard scenery, wildlife, and some of my favorite things about fall: firepits, fireplaces, cozy meals and warm sweaters, and that satisfying crunch of leaves beneath really cute boots.

I know it's been a while since I've posted. Remember that burn I got about a month ago? It's finally healed and I'm wearing normal clothes again. Hopefully I'll get back on the bandwagon with outfits soon. For sure there will be posts from the mountains.

In other news, in just about a month we have yet another trip planned. We, plus our other very close couple friends, are going to Mexico for a week of relaxing and playing in the sand. I'm very excited! I've only been out of the States once, when I went to Italy with my brother last fall, so I'm hoping that this will be just as great, albeit totally different. PS. I've been mentally packing for that trip for about 2 months ... I've narrowed it down to about 15 outfits for the 7 nights we'll be there (when I know for a fact I'll be in a bathing suit about 90% of the time). Ah well.

Wedded Bliss

I realize that this is not a very good shot of my outfit, but I love this photo. One of my younger cousins got married yesterday and this is his little boy. He was seriously the best looking person in the whole joint. I adore tuxes on kids and he looked so grown up in this three-piece number.

I'm wearing a dress I bought at Goodwill. It's a really amazing royal blue and the straps are twisty which I love. I wore nude snakeskin heels - latticed booties, really - by Steve Madden, and carried my hot pink clutch, also thrifted at Goodwill.

I will admit to throwing on a pair of braided sandals from F21 after dinner. I wanted to dance comfortably!

Congrats to my cousin and his lovely new wife! It was an amazing night!

So What Season Is This Again?

I'm still recovering from The Burn Felt 'Round The World and have been living in my yoga pants for days now, so no cute pictures of clothes I could be wearing. However, I did want to post on the fact that this ridiculous East Coast weather is making my head spin. I'm pretty sure I've got a cold developing because it was in the 60's yesterday and it's in the 80's today. Also, it's been raining buckets because of these tropical storms to the south of us and the humidity and fog are outrageous.

All of that is to say, I have no idea what to wear anymore. Is it gonna be short-sleeves? Do I need long pants? Should I bring a jacket? I've given up and embraced my pjs. I'll get dressed again eventually, but hopefully by that time the weather will decide what it's doing and just pick a season already.

Oh! Remember that post from a while back- the one about my fall wish list? Well, I've been doing some thinking about it and I'm going to really just concentrate on red jeans, leopard and maybe a good coat. Plus colored tights, which I really want to be good at wearing but I fear will just look silly on me. But we'll see. I always need to stock up on sweaters and long-sleeves, but maybe this year I'll concentrate on accessories and the few big items I want. I'll be planning for a thrift trip by the end of the month too.

::sigh:: This weather makes me want to cook. On that note, I think I'll have a quick workout and then make something delicious! Happy Hump Day, y'all!

It Didn't Go Quite The Way I Planned It

I had every intention of looking cute day in and day out all weekend long at the beach. And Friday I actually did look cute. Saturday, however, I made a really horrible judgment and sat on the beach sans sunscreen - which turned me a fierce shade of purplish red. The humidity was down, the breeze was up and temps were much lower than they've been - I foolishly thought I'd be okay out in the sun and I've been paying for it for days now. I have ridiculous lines - bikini top and bottom CLEARLY visible around the burn. So I'll post some photos from the weekend but understand that most of what I packed didn't get worn in an effort to protect my skin even more after burning so badly. (I wore the same two pairs of jeans the whole weekend).One of my many sisters-in-law came home last week. She's been away for 11 months, doing mission work in 11 other countries. This photo was from the night she arrived in the US. Her dress was made for her in India, which was her last stop on the trip. I'm wearing a tunic I bought at Ross, my belt is thrifted, jewelry came from a previous beach trip and you can't see my NY&Co skinny jeans or wedges.

The trip down was overcast and cool. I wore a couple of layering tanks from F21, my NY&Co skinnies, a thrifted button down from Banana Republic, and my thrifted Jessica Simpson wedges. My bag is also thrifted, by Nine West.

In the evening I switched out from wedges to braided sandals from F21 and a cardi from Nordstrom.

After burning so badly the next day, I had serious chills so I wore my skinnies to the boardwalk with a black halter that I've had for years, and the Nordstrom cardi. The skinny belt came with a sweater I wore later on in the week. That's my beloved with me. Boy do I love that kid :o).

I opted out for sitting on the beach on Sunday so I met everyone down on the sand in the late afternoon. I was ready to go to dinner before they had even gotten out of the water, but after sharing a tiny condo with 7 people, I was glad to have the bathroom to myself for a little while. My jeggings are NY&Co, and so is the cross body bag. My shirt is old but I love it. And the hat is F21. My sunglasses are Coach and were a gift from one of the sisters.

It was super cool and windy so after dinner I changed into a sweater. It's Charlotte Russe but it came to me via Goodwill. I was nice and cozy during a game of mini-golf. I didn't get pics of my travel outfit on the ride home yesterday but I just had on a button down and jeans. Nothing fancy.

I know everyone knows this, but I really just want to reiterate how important it is to protect your skin from the sun. Sunscreen, makeup and lip balms with SPF and wearing hats and sunglasses are so important! I can't believe how poor my judgment was this weekend and I've been moisturizing my tender skin for days now with minor relief. My burn is getting better but I so wish I could take back sitting out there unprotected. Be proactive when spending time outside!!