A quick hello from The Sunshine State!

I kind of had to bring this citrus print dress to Florida... oh, and I got Bettie bangs!!

Hi, all!  I have a regular outfit post planned for tomorrow (with some photos I took a few weeks ago), but I wanted to stop by for a very quick hello!  My mom and I have been super busy with my grandma these past couple of days, so I haven't had much time to sit down and write posts (though I have been taking pictures with my DSLR... or trying to, anyway!), but here's a fast update...

This photo did not do this Florida sunset justice!

My grandma is really not doing very well, unfortunately, and I wasn't totally prepared for that.  My heart aches for my mom, too.  I'm really glad I could be here with her this time, since she normally has to come down to visit on her own.  Although she's been having a very tough time, my grandma is still incredibly sharp and witty.  This year is going to be hard, but I'm determined to cherish her for as long as we possibly can.  Thank you to everyone who has reached out with well wishes; they mean more to me than you could ever know!  <3 

My beautiful grandma.  My mom looks so much like her.

I'm giving semi-regular vacation updates on my Instagram, by the way!  So follow along if you want to see what I'm up to (and we'll be in Disney World starting tomorrow, so if you want to be flooded with Disney Magic, here's your chance to live vicariously)!  :)

During our 4 our layover in JFK...

Amazing lunch of pineapple fried rice with chicken and cashews!

Been watching lots of this great period whodunit series with my mom.

Yesterday's outfit -- which weirdly reminds me of Blanche Deveraux from The Golden Girls

That's all for now!  Have a great Monday!

xox Sammi

Creeping myrtle

Outfit Details:

Luck Be a Lady Dress in Beach: ModCloth (other styles here)

Periwinkle cardigan (tied in back): old (similar here)

White heels: jcpenney (similar here)

White belt: ASOS (similar here)

Today's post will be very short, since I'm currently writing this from the JetBlue terminal at JFK, during our veryyy long layover on our way to Florida!  Also, these will be the last of the indoor photos for a while (I hope).  I'm bringing my new DSLR on vacation, so cross your fingers I'll be able to take some passable photos in nice, warm weather.  I took these photos the other day before my callback for Young Frankenstein.  I was called back for Elizabeth and Inga (the Madeline Kahn and Teri Garr roles, for those who know the movie), but I ended up being cast in the ensemble, which will still be fun.  The other show I'm doing overlaps quite a bit with this, so it's probably for the best.  However, I know that I sang the hell out of the Elizabeth songs, so I hope I'll get another chance to audition for a different production of it in my future (maybe when I'm actually the right age to play it).

Can one ever have enough Luck Be A Lady dresses?  I think not.  This one is actually shorter and tighter than the other ones I have (even though they're all the same size), but I'm sure it's because this brand (Closet) makes a lot of dresses in this same silhouette and they aren't actually all the same dress, regardless of how ModCloth categorizes them.  At least they're all incredibly flattering!

We'll be in Florida by the time this is posted, and I'm hoping to sneak away for a little while to take photos where my grandma lives.  The grounds are so pretty and there are gardens everywhere.  Cross your fingers for good weather (and magically-acquired camera skills)!

xox Sammi

Friday Favorites #36: Disney Magic

Hello!  By the time this post is published, I will be on my way to Florida for vacation!  We're visiting my grandma down there for a few days before heading to the Happiest Place on Earth... Disney World!  Since I'll be too busy to post a Friday Favorites next week when we're actually at Disney, I decided to do a Friday Favorites post that's inspired by a few of my favorite Disney characters.  :)

  Enjoy and have a magical weekend!

Minnie Mouse

a // b // c // d // e // f // g // h // i // j

Cinderella

a // b // c // d // e // f // g // h // i // j // k

Ariel

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9

10 // 11 // 12 // 13 // 14

Snow White

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

Bambi

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

Belle

a // b // c // d // e // f (out of stock) // g // h

Jasmine

a // b // c // d // e // f // g // h // i // j

Pocahontas

a // b // c // d // e // f // g // h // i // j // k // l

Sleeping Beauty

a // b // c // d // e // f // g // h // i // j 

xox Sammi

Lemon pies and peach preserves

Outfit Details:

Harley Dress in Peach Sateen: Pinup Girl Clothing

Cardigan: ModCloth (green version here; similar style here)

White heels: jcpenney (similar here)

Yellow vintage hat: A Wild Tonic

Lemon pie ring: similar here

Petticoat: eBay

Today's post is another short one (and another one with less-than-desirable indoor lighting!  Apologies!).  My mom and I are in the midst of getting everything ready for our trip to Florida, so I scheduled posts quite a bit in advance in attempt to alleviate some stress.  I thought this outfit was rather Florida-esque, so I thought it would be good to post it in anticipation of our vacation!  I've had this dress for a while, but never quite liked how it looked on me.  There's some extra material in the bust (which is kind of rare, for me!), but I really like it with the cardigan over it.  The color of this dress is WAY more peach in real life than orange, but bad lighting strikes again.  I'm excited to wear this again when the weather's warmer.  It's such a springtime dress!  And any dress that comes with a matching belt is pretty ace.

I can't say enough how much I love this little veiled hat!  My friend Lauren runs A Wild Tonic, where I got this hat, and I'd been eyeing it for so long before buying it.  It's just so darling!  Lauren's shop is actually going to be closing for a while, so she's having a HUGE sale.  Everything in her shop is under $30 (with a ton of stuff for only $5 or $10!), and she has so many great vintage items for sale.  Head on over there and snap up an awesome deal before her shop closes!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

xox Sammi

Mint marshmallows

Outfit Details:

Eva Franco Dinner Mint Dress: ModCloth (some available on eBay!)

Mint belt: ASOS (similar here)

White floral tights: Forever 21

White boots: eBay

Bracelet: old

I kind of hemmed and hawed (what a weird expression) about whether I wanted to post these photos.  On the one hand, I really like this dress a lot.  I got it on sale last year, after having eyed it for a long time, and really, it's the perfect shade of mint.  It's also definitely a fancier occasion dress, I think; you can even tell from the weight of the dress that it's high quality, and I think it's meant to be worn with heels.  It kind of loses something with these kooky boots.  I just kind of felt like these photos were missing something, and that I didn't really like any of them.  But then I revisited them, and I still wanted to post them... plus, I am out of photos and need to figure out when I'm going to take more!  So here they are.  I guess there's no way I could be absolutely in love with every post, ya know?

I'm still recovering from my surgery, and I just want to be better!  I'm also sick of talking about it, haha.  But mostly, I just want this pain to go away and I want to be able to eat normal things.  What I wouldn't give to eat some carrots and hummus.  It's funny that I so often crave junk food, and then when I can only eat things like pudding and ice cream, I have a desperate desire for healthy stuff.  I just hope that I'll be okay to eat most things on our trip, because the eating aspect is like, one of my favorite parts about Disney (or vacations in general, I guess).  And we're going to some great places, so I'll be damned if I can't enjoy them!  Gah, I have so much to do before we leave!

I had an audition last night and have a subsequent callback tonight. I'm not gonna say any more than that for now, but keep your fingers crossed for me!  :)  Have a great Monday!

xox Sammi  

Coffee and tea and the java and me

Outfit Details:

Ice Coffee Circle Dress: Bettie Page Clothing (on sale!)

Telephone brooch: Kitty Cat Shop

Ampersand ring: ModCloth (part of a set)

Lady in Rad Boots in Ink: ModCloth

Coat: Bettie Page Clothing (gift)

Belt: from another dress

Tights: ModCloth

Crinoline: eBay

These photos were taken a few weeks ago, so no, we do not have this much snow on the ground right now!  I must have been crazy to go traipsing around in this!  Although I don't exactly love these boots with this outfit, there was kind of no way around it (that is, if I didn't want to wear the ugliest snow boots in all of creation).  Plus, you can barely see them, since it looks like I'm being eaten alive by these snow drifts.  I'm already kind of sick of snow, truth be told.

I'd been eyeing this dress forever (as well as the pencil dress version, which is adorable but would not be flattering on me), and I finally took the plunge during Bettie Page's sale on Black Friday (with some encouragement from the ever-lovely Amanda).  Bettie Page's sizing chart seems to slant on the big size to me (which is often true of a lot of pin-up-esque lines, I've found -- anyone else?), and I probably could have stood to order down in this dress, at least in the waist.  Luckily, I was able to swap out the belt this dress came with for another from my closet, and that pretty much solved the issue.  I was actually really afraid this color wouldn't work on me; neutrals are often tricky on me, especially ones that have yellow or brown undertones.  But I was so pleased that this wasn't the case!!  I also love that it's a long-sleeved dress made out of fabric that's quite heavy -- that certainly comes in handy for this polar vortex we're currently experiencing.  Can you tell I'm tired of the cold?  My mom and I are leaving in 6 days(!!!!!) for our Florida vacation, and even if it's not going to be super hot, I'm so excited to be getting away from the cold and dreariness. 

I don't think I ever went into detail here on our vacation plans, come to think of it!  My mom and I are heading down to Naples to visit my grandma for a few days, and then we're driving up to Orlando and going to Disney World!!!  This is precisely the kind of thing that we both need right now, and I'm really looking forward to spending time with my mom and doing stuff we both love (i.e., experiencing Disney magic and eating everything in sight).  I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this, but my ex and I had talked about marriage on a pretty regular basis, and we had always planned on going to Disney World for our honeymoon.  Like, this was a topic of conversation VERY often.  And I decided that I really did not want my idea of Disney World -- a place I truly love -- to always be intertwined with this painful breakup and a relationship that went down in flames.  I've given him too much power over my emotions as it is, and I decided that I'd be damned if I was going to let him take away the Happiest Place on Earth from me, too.  So I'm not!  We are going to have an amazing time and I really can't wait.  I'll be posting a lot more about Disney, and I'm sure you'll probably get sick of it, so suffice it to say that I'm ecstatic and I have so much to do before we leave!!

Have a happy Saturday!

xox Sammi