Independence Day prep

The last few years, I've enjoyed wearing patriotic outfits for all of July 4th week. Blue and white is my favorite color combination for spring/summer, so it's easy to put together outfits that fit the week's theme. 

This blue floral printed scarf is my favorite hand me down scarf from my mom. Her hydrangeas have been gorgeous the last couple of weeks, and I decided to snap photos with them while I tried out a few looks with the scarf. I had a great outfit and hairstyle in mind (those ideas don't always turn out how I picture them) with a head scarf and my long hair, but I forgot to do it before I cut my hair! Oh well. It looked a little silly, so I tried the scarf some other ways and liked the big bow ponytail. 

What do you like to wear for Independence Day? Do you dress for the holiday all week? 

summer cut

It's been a haircut week for my family. I cut my dad and brother's hair on Sunday, and yesterday I got mine cut. 

I'd been thinking about this for a while. I'm not sure why I grew it so long in the first place, but I loved it more and more until I didn't. I was ready for a change, and I felt like I should make the growth process worthwhile and donate my hair. I've been getting my mom to measure my ponytails and braids for a week, and I looked up information online. I decided to give to Pantene Beautiful Lengths and ended up losing about nine inches. 

Suddenly I understand why people who have long hair get attached. It is a bit of a security blanket and made me feel feminine. You can do anything with long hair, but I'd tried every braid in the book. 

I started getting nervous the night before and felt more and more worked up until I saw Holly, my stylist. Once I was with her, my feelings turned into excitement. She has done the hair of many of my friends, and several of them have short hair. As she reminded me today, my hair wasn't much longer than it is now when I started seeing her a couple of years ago. 

So there. It will grow back in a couple of years. 

Also, welcome back to summer on my blog. Shorts and t shirts and barely any make up. I am in talks with a new photographer, so maybe I will step it up for some outfit posts soon :)

P.S. If you don't like dogs, you may want to go ahead and quit reading my blog. 

Happy summer, y'all. 

FIVE on Friday

I've got a pretty simple Five on Friday this week--a few new-to-me places around town and favorite things. 

ONE | I've tried my fair share of dry shampoos. My current favorite is this psssst! brand that I picked up at Ulta recently. I hate smelling dry shampoo on myself, but this one's scent is light and pleasant. 

                                                 

TWO | Last weekend, my mom and I stopped by Yellow Dog Bread Company. The chocolate croissant took me back to Paris. My mom's hot chocolate was delicious, too. Plus, their address is perfect.

THREE | I've been following along with the She Reads Truth devotions throughout Advent, and they started a new series this week. Check it out here.

FOUR | I visited Sola Coffee last week and had coconut oolong tea--warm, tasty, and not as earthy as most teas.

FIVE | This week, I went to trivia at Raleigh Brewing Company. It was a great time, there were dogs everywhere, and we even won a little prize.

Have a great weekend!

You can link up for Five on Friday, too, at any of these blogs:

The Good Life Blog

Carolina Charm

A.Liz Adventures

Hello! Happiness

deck time and haircut

The weather on Saturday morning was just about perfect.  When I woke up, it was 72 degrees and cloudy.  I enjoyed sitting on the deck praying, reading my Bible, and looking at a devotion book.  

Why am I still reading the March issue of Journey?  Because even my devotions are hand me downs, ha!  My mom passed this one along to me when she was done with it.

I have some long to-do lists these days as I wrap up my first year of work and prepare for summer travels.  My dad patiently tagged along to get the passport sized photos I needed for a visa.

I figured it was about time for a haircut since it's been about five months.  My stylist was out on maternity leave and just came back a couple of weeks ago.  

This shirt is one of my most favorite hand me downs!  As much as I like clothes and looking nice when I go somewhere, I do not always give the same care to what I wear at home.  What is cooler than a well worn flying club t shirt to a hand me down pilot wannabe?!

It does not look all that much shorter in these pictures, but it certainly feels shorter!  I am wearing my new Everlane white t in these pictures, with J. Crew shorts and mom's scarf belt.  

I also watched my cousin's son on Saturday.  It was a whole lot of fun, and I missed him when he left, but I don't think I'm ready for a two year old quite yet.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather while it lasted!