Friday Favorites #49

Happy Friday, everyone!  Friday Favorites are back this week (in full force!).  Here are some of my favorite finds from the last fortnight (how's that for an alliteration?):

a // b // c

I've said before that I can be rather picky when it comes to florals, but oh my goodness.  These dresses are sooo beautiful.  I'm especially swooning over the first two!

Those floral dresses make me want to have a garden party, and this butterfly veil would be perfect for such an occasion!  Butterflies freak me out sometimes, but I think this is ethereal and pretty.

These new arrivals from BAIT would be lovely for a garden party, too:

1 // 2 

This summer salad (made with beets, carrots, fennel and blood orange -- four of my favorite things!) would be perfect for a summer garden party, don't you think?

I'm always thinking pink, and these peony-colored pieces caught my eye:

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

I was also excited to find that this dress comes in pink!  I'd featured it before in an apple green hue, but it's even more darling in blush!

These Jeffrey Campbell shoes are insane in the best way possible.  I have a feeling Helena was responsible for their arrival at ModCloth... hehe.

Love this sweet macaron-themed merch!

one // two

And these minty fresh dresses are so divine!

a // b // c

This Emily and Fin dress reminds me of delicious summer popsicles:

And speaking of popsicles... this necklace is SO adorable:

While we're on the subject, this recipe for brown butter popsicles sounds amazing:

(via A Beautiful Mess)

These Members Only jackets look as sweet as any summer treat.  I have one in lavender that I really like, and these two colors are great:

These two dresses are darling, and I love their back detailing:

(via Forever 21)

(via Ruche)

And of course, I'm a sucker for gingham, and this dress in particular:

I always love the combination of gingham with a boater hat, and if you're in the market for one, this one from Forever 21 looks like it'd be a perfect fit:

I don't own any Swedish Hasbeens, but goodness, I'd love to add these to my collection:

I hate that I don't have an iPhone 5 -- I want this battery pack!!

My heart belongs to my cat and my clothes, at this point, so cat hangers are a wonderful invention:

Looove this shot:

(via) 

These collar clips!  Ahh!!

These laundry line tights are hilarious and awesome:

I am such a literary nerd & I might need this t-shirt (and so might Sara and Amy and any other fellow bookworm ladies -- you know who you are):

Finally, this cardboard world is astounding!

(via)

Have a fantastic Friday!

xox Sammi

For the price of a cup of tea

Outfit Details:

Teacup dress: ModCloth (similar here) 

Teacup bag: WeShipWorldwide

Teacup necklace: ModCloth (similar here)

White flats: get them here

Pink hair bow: Forever 21

This is the outfit I wore for Mother's Day!  My mom and I have a love for anything tea-related (whenever I get married, my mom knows full well that I want my bridal shower to be a tea party!), and although we didn't go out for tea this year, I felt like this was perfectly suited for a day celebrating my mom.  My gifts to her ended up being tea-themed, too; I got her a sweet teapot (a good snag from Instagram shop, fabfindsanddesign) and a tea party cookbook, plus some Goetz's caramel cremes and another secret gift that STILL hasn't shipped!  Plus, I made her breakfast in bed (for the first time ever!).  She got to spend the day gardening, which is one of her favorite things, so I think she had a really nice day.  It helped that the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  It's amazing the effect sunshine has on my overall mood!

Can we talk about how amazing this teacup bag is?  I'd been searching for a teacup bag on a reputable website for a long time, so I was delighted to find this!  It's clearly a rip-off of this Moschino bag, but since that's no longer available -- and I don't have an extra $600+ lying around to spend on an impractical novelty purse -- this was an awesome find.  Storenvy is a really great resource for kawaii and novelty purses, though like any site that has Asian wholesale-type storefronts, it's good to be cautious when ordering.  Shipping tends to take way longer than you'd think, but I've never had a problem (and even if I did, PayPal is usually pretty good about refunding payment).

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

xox Sammi

My Favorite Outfit: Lauren from A Wild Tonic

Hi, everyone!  I'm continuing with this little series from my favorite blogger friends today.  I've asked each guest blogger to highlight her favorite outfit of choice.  Seeing my friends' different styles is always a huge source of inspiration for me.  Today's guest post is brought to you by my friend Lauren, who blogs over at A Wild Tonic and always impresses me with her thrift store finds!  Take a peek at her favorite ensemble below, and be sure to check out her Etsy shops!  :)

Hey there, folks! I'm Lauren, blogger at A Wild Tonic, vintage seller at A Wild Tonic, and upcycled print-maker at Wanderlust Print Co. Fun fact: Sammi and I actually went to the same college, and reconnected through blogging a few years later. She's pretty great, isn't she? Anyway, I'm not here to rave about Sammi, I'm here to talk about my favorite outfit, so let's get into it.

One of my ongoing goals in life is to live simply, minimally, and with intention. That's why I sell vintage clothing and prints on upcycled map paper. It's also why I shop at Goodwill almost exclusively. This dress was one of those perfect Goodwill finds. I'd been in the market for a grungy velvet dress for a while, and was this close to buying one online, and then I was thrifting for the shop and came across this baby. I can't even tell you how many times I've worn it so far. And it cost $3. You can find all the ways I've worn it (on my blog, at least) right here!

Outfit details:

dress: Goodwill

kimono top: Lulu's

earrings: vintage/were my mom's

sunglasses: c/o ZeroUV

bracelets: vintage and Forever 21

shoes: hand-me-down from a friend

Thanks for having me, Sammi! ♥

Flowers and frogs

Outfit Details:

Tilly Dress: Voodoo Vixen

Cardigan: Target (old)

White flats: get them here

Wicker purse: Chicwish

I really love the print on this dress.  I initially had some trouble with the fit (too tight in the bust but too loose in the waist -- which happens a lot with these types of dresses on me), but wearing a camisole underneath helped camouflage the gaping a lot.  Plus, double-sided tape could probably be considered my best friend at this point.  I use it for everything from gaping in tops to the inside of my belts, when the "tail" is too long and won't stay down.  You can use it for temporary hemming, as well.  It's easy to find, too -- they carry it at Jo Ann Fabrics, and there's a ton in each package.  Anyone else use this?

One thing I wish double-sided tape (or any other method of wardrobe magic) did would be to make the perfect cardigan length for any and all dresses.  My cropped ones work well for some dresses, but not for others.  This dusty rose cardigan is an oldie, and it matches the pink flowers in this dress perfectly, but the length never looks quite right.  If it's past a certain length, it makes the whole thing look dowdy; on the other hand, if the cardigan is too short, it can make me look rather round.  I decided to try tying this one for a different look, and though I wasn't 100% happy with it, I think it can be a good option.  I'll probably wear a white sweater with this next time.  This gorgeous cardigan (from the same site) looks like it's made to go with this dress, so I've been eyeing that, but it might actually be too matchy-matchy.

While taking these photos, I met a little friend!  I will admit that I'm pretty sure he was actually a toad, not a frog, but I decided to forgo accuracy for the sake of alliteration.  He was huge (but cute)!  I startled him a little, but he seemed pretty relaxed when I took photos of him.  There are so many creatures in our yard around this time of year!

Have a great Monday!

xox Sammi

Forever plaid

Outfit Details:

Vintage plaid dress: Cricket Capers

BAIT Footwear spectators: similar here & here

Microphone brooch: ModCloth

Petticoat: eBay

I've really lucked out with the vintage items I've purchased on Etsy.  I think the only items I've ever bought that weren't a slam dunk were from when I first started scouring the internet for vintage, and I wasn't nearly as familiar with my own measurements or what shapes looked best on me.  Shopping for vintage in a store actually makes me way more nervous than ordering online, which is strange -- I guess maybe it's because if the measurements are clearly marked in an Etsy or eBay listing, I have a pretty good idea of whether or not it'll fit, and the same cannot always be said when you shop in a brick and mortar store.  I think I'm also a little afraid that I would try something on and not have it fit, or accidentally damage something in the process -- or fall in love with something that would never fit me!  One of the vintage stores here celebrated its 1-year anniversary last weekend, and I planned on going (they were offering a discount if you wore vintage to the event!), but since it was on the same day as my cousin's Bat Mitzvah, I wasn't able to make it.  I'm hoping to venture out there sometime soon, though... maybe I should bring my tape measure, just in case!  For now though, it's lucky for me that Etsy is a virtual treasure trove for vintage-lovers.  Although prices range anywhere from dirt cheap to exorbitant, I've managed to acquire quite a number of pieces for very reasonable prices -- and this dress is one of them!

I can't resist a dress that comes with a matching belt!

This weekend isn't as jam-packed as last weekend, but I do have an audition tomorrow morning.  I haven't had to audition for anything in a while, which can be nice but it's also sort of unfortunate.  When I was in college, we'd have mock auditions and master classes pretty much every other day, and obviously had auditions each semester (and went into the city for some, too).  But now that I'm home and auditions don't come up all the time, it's easy to let anxiety get the best of me.  It's a whole separate skill set that you simply have to practice doing as much as possible; even though I generally audition well, I know that I get far more nervous now about them than I did a few years ago, simply because I was doing them more often.  I've let a lot of things fall by the wayside while living at home, and I need to refocus my priorities.  I don't want to get out of practice and let auditions (or people auditioning) intimidate me -- so I won't!  

Have a great Saturday!

xox Sammi

Spots and stripes (Flock Together)

Hi, guys!  I'm posting over at Flock Together today, remixing an awesome swapped dress from Elana of Room 334!  Check out my post (and see how Elana styled this herself) here!

Have a great Friday!

xox Sammi