What’s that? It’s already time for another Things I’m Loving? Yes indeed! I always wait to write these until I have enough things to talk about that are truly worth mentioning, but lately there have been a lot of good finds that I just couldn’t wait to share with you. Without further ado…
1. I fell hard for this J.crew linen lace trim tank the moment I saw it and waited anxiously for a good sale to come along. I’m a sucker for lace detailing and my love of grey is nothing new, so this is right up my alley. It looks wonderful paired with a sweet pair of shorts (see no. 5) or skinnies but can also be dressed up for work or a night out. Lucky for you all, it seems the sale situation is now even better than when I purchased – sweet summer tank for a decent price.
2. Other than my wedding rings, I don’t have a single piece of jewelry that I wear daily. I have many different necklaces and pairs of earrings that I love, and I tend to jump from piece to piece every day depending on my mood, daily style, etc. However, I think that is about to change. My friend from afar Erin McDermott recently debuted this beautiful gold rectangle necklace and I knew it would become an absolute staple for me. She personalizes each one with whatever word you like. The hardest part for me was choosing a single word to have engraved on it, but as you can see I went with “Namaste”. I love it even more in person – it’s delicate, beautiful and adds just the right amount of sparkle, not to mention the understated engraving that makes it personally meaningful.
Erin is incredibly kind and as she has done in the past, she graciously offered a coupon code for my readers. Use code annieseats at checkout and receive 40% off your purchase of the gold rectangle necklace!
3. As a blond with pale/invisible eyelashes, eyeliner and mascara are on my desert island list of makeup musts. I normally stick with a dark brown or dark grey liner and don’t deviate much. A couple of months ago I was in Sephora and swatched this Urban Decay Waterproof 24/7 liquid eyeliner in smog on the back of my hand. I didn’t buy it that day but I thought about it for a while and the subtle sparkle of it was so pretty, I ended up adding it to my next Sephora purchase. I’ve really enjoyed it (and have since added the dark brown shade as well.) It’s become my go-to liner and as the name implies, it has excellent staying power.
4. In my opinion, one of the best bang-for-your-buck items in a summer wardrobe is a white sundress. It works for practically any situation – casual get together, date night out, whatever – it works. (Except a wedding! Unless of course it’s your own.) Anyway, this embroidered bodice dress from Loft has been my perfect summer sundress. I’m telling you, this picture doesn’t even begin to do it justice. Just trust me when I tell you, I wear it every chance I get. The embroidery detailing is really beautiful. It does run a bit large so I would consider sizing down at least 1 or possibly even 2 sizes. And don’t buy full price – Loft has mega coupon codes practically every day so just keep an eye out.
5. For as long as I can remember, J.crew chino shorts have been my favorite shorts. They are well cut and very well made. I have several pairs that are many years old and still in great shape. Though I normally tend towards more neutral colors for shorts, this dusty quartz (aka pink) shade caught my eye and I bought them on a whim. I love them and have found lots more ways to wear them than expected. So pretty!
6. I don’t know how it is that a simple striped tank can have such impact, but this J.crew factory racerback cami has been a wonderful addition to my closet. I just feel good in it, and the neutral colors and simple print allow make it easy to work into a huge variety of outfits. Also, I think it helped make the fudgesicle photo so…that makes me love it even more.
7. I’ve seen Julep polishes around for a while but only recently decided to give them a try. I must say, I’m super impressed. I definitely would not consider myself any sort of nail polish expert, but these polishes seem a bit higher quality than the other brands I typically wear. Plus, they last longer – a minimum of 7 days compared to maybe 4-5 with other brands. I received the Tamara polish in a Maven box and it is a perfect summer shade. It’s bright red but has a bit of a coral/hot pink tone. I love it! Some of their polishes are available at Sephora, but some limited edition colors like this one are only available through Julep. (About the Maven box – I never sign up for these kind of subscription things but this one intrigued me and I buy nail polish every month anyway so I decided to try it out. I really like it so far! Every item in the boxes has been my style and I’ve used every single product a lot. I’ll definitely renew when this round of my subscription runs out. Here’s an invite if you are interested.)
In the knitting department lately, I’ve been having so much fun making baby gifts for friends. The sweater on the left is a vintage Bernat pattern that I scoured the internet to find. But find it I did and I’m so glad because it really did make a beautiful cardigan! This is for my sweet friend Lydia’s baby girl who should be here any day now. Her due date was a couple of days ago. Let’s all send her tons of good vibes for a smooth, happy and healthy delivery!
The sweater on the right is for my friend Kelli’s third baby. She had shown me something she liked with a sheep motif, so I went off in search of a pattern that could work for her baby. I ended up finding this cute little flock of sheep cardigan and thought it might work. I had never done color work before so I was a bit nervous, but it was easier than I thought and the end result was pretty cute. I did modify it slightly to have the two rows of sheep facing opposite directions and I liked the way that turned out. Her baby is due in a few weeks and I can’t wait to meet the new addition. Yay!
I have been reading a ton this summer and loving every minute of it. Pat Conroy happens to be one of my all time favorite authors. In part, I’m sure this is because he lives in South Carolina (one of my favorite places in the entire world) and most of his books (all?) are based there. It’s mainly because he is just an incredible writer. He can construct a sentence like no one else and routinely makes me laugh out loud, but simultaneously moves me deeply. His books are the kind that I enjoy so thoroughly, I never ever want them to end. I read a book of his about this time every summer. This year I read The Water is Wide, which is somewhat different from his other books because it is non-fiction. It is his account of a year he spent teaching on a coastal island in an all black school, during a time when prejudice still reigned in much of the south. The inequalities and injustices he witnessed and sought to change in the school system are sadly not surprising. Even today, I think this book is important and I think everyone should read it. I don’t know how a book can be heartbreaking and uplifting all at once, but Conroy does it here.
Fellow TAL listeners, did you see this? The creators of TAL now have a new podcast Serial, set to debut this fall. Instead of telling two or three stories in a single episode, they will instead tell stories over the course of several episodes, week by week. It hasn’t even started yet but I seriously cannot wait. I know this is going to be amazing. I love Sarah Koenig and she is the host. (Side note – for those of you who have asked what episodes of This American Life I’ve been loving lately, I promise I’ll include some next time! I have listened to so many lately that I’m having a hard time remembering specifically which I liked best. I need to sift through and pick some out to highlight.)
And lastly for your ROFL, I give you this brilliant TL;DR wikipedia tumblr – a condensed version of Wikipedia. These had me in stitches a few days ago. For some reason I find the one about the Windows 95 Clip Art on the flag of Argentina hysterically funny. Gets me every time.
Disclaimer: These posts are a way for me to share the things I love with you, simply because I love them! Some of the links in this post are affiliate links meaning that if you make a purchase through these links, I will receive a small commission. This helps to offset the costs of running this site and allows me to continue providing you the content you enjoy.
