Straight [Road] Trippin!

Two weeks ago I completed a 6,000 mile road trip with my brother. It was for the fun of it but also because our other brother was getting married in North Carolina. We mapped it out to be completed in 11 days and included 3 days in NC for the wedding and family time The trip allowed us to stop into some places we never would have seen otherwise, meet really neat people, eat some amazing food, listen to excellent music and appreciate the beautiful sunsets and landscapes God has given us! The states we drove thru were in this order:

Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma,

Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina,

South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi,

Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California

Being the parsimonious person that I am, I was able to get us great rates at hotels along the way. We got 4 free nights and an amazing rate of $39 for 2 nights at our overnight stops. While in NC, we stayed at Brennan & Arin's beautiful and brand new, four bedroom home! The only thing that really took a toll on our pocketbooks was gas. Once we got to NC though, we took the roof rack off my car which really helped us get better gas mileage. It was such a great trip and I am so glad we did it instead of flying. I took a ton of photos along the way to chronicle the madness. Here are a few of them:

The start of our adventure-Ozzie the dog did not join us.

Vintage shirt, Merrell long sleeve, Active pants, Asics running shoes, Raen sunglasses

We met up with our cousin in Arizona

Forever 21 beanie, blouse and leggings, vintage flannel, H&M flats 

Ummmm, there was nothing to do while driving through Texas so I entertained myself.

Vintage flannel, Raen sunglasses

My "happy to find an antique store" face.

!!!!!!!!!

Forever 21 jacket and shoes, vintage blouse, American Apparel pants

The married couple

Vintage dress, Jessica Simpson heels

Wrightsville Beach, literally coast to coast for us!

Forever 21 sweater and cropped pants

I was able to stop in and visit Buster Brown's family in Mississippi

Forever 21 dress, Toms flats

Met up with my old friends Keith in Austin, I loved this town!

Forever 21 jacket, pashmina from Paris street vendor, vintage flannel, Matix jeans, Asics shoes

Pizzeria Bianco - a must in Phoenix 

Some of my treasures I picked up along the way.

Tailor Me!

I am headed back to North Carolina for my brother and Arin's wedding next month. I knew I wanted to get a new dress for the occasion but didn't have a vision of what that dress would be. Normally I have an idea of what I think would work best, a color, something! But I couldn't decide if I wanted new or used, black or something appropriate for spring, etc.

Of course I went to my regular Forever 21 to see what they had to offer. They can always offer something cheap enough to wear once and feel it's gotten it's use and I always find something. I tried on a super cute, summery, pastel dress and fell in love with the color. I never wear sea foam green but it caught my eye and so glad it did. It also had black details and adorable daisies sewn all over. As much as I loved the dress it didn't fit right, was too short and wasn't flattering for me BUT I did come away deciding on the color I wanted to wear.

Looking rough - Forever 21 dress, sexy Active socks

I later went to an amazing thrift store down the street from my place. I found this dress in the same color, longer length and lace sleeves! It was perfect, except about 4 sizes too big!!! I got it for a steal and decided I would try to get it tailored. I fashon showed it on again at my parents' house and think it will be exactly what I wanted once it is altered. The best part is the price of the dress and the alterations comes out to less than most dresses I get for special occasions! Can't wait to see how it turns out. :)

Vintage dress, Sam Edelman heels

Wedding Darlings

I had the pleasure of attending the beautiful, love-filled wedding of Jack & Dawn Rodriguez. Their partnership and joy for one another is inspiring! The ceremony and reception took place at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles last weekend. The weather was comfortable, the location was fresh and the decor was over the top! Of course, I only have my iPhone 3GS (ancient along with the taxidermy in the museum) so my pictures are horrible but you get the idea.

They had shaved ice. It's SO good with our without the condensed milk.

 Vintage (family) rings, Deborah Lippmann nail lacquer, Forever 21 clutch

Since everyone loves to dress up for weddings, I wanted to find something new for the occasion. I found the most amazing dress at an antique mall and it could not have worked out more perfectly! I go to Grandma Darling's looking for milk glass mugs and other household trinkets on a pretty regular basis. Antique malls are typically owned by one person but hold a number of vendors' items. This mall is mostly collectibles, household goods and jewelry but there is one vendor that has a room full of old dresses, shoes, hats and gloves from the 40's to 80's. I thought I would try on a couple dresses that caught my eye to see if they worked. When I came out of the dressing room, looking for someone to zip me up, the owner of the room was standing there. I didn't know who she was but she started squealing about how perfectly the dress fit me. She was so excited to see someone else wear her old dress. Right away, she said she would give it to me for half off because it fit so well!!!!! (Oh, ok sure. I'll take that.) So the dress was originally $90 but I got it for $45 as well as another sleeveless dress that will be great for summer. Below is what I whipped together for the night, including hair, make up and shoes which I already owned.

Vintage dress, Jessica Simpson heels, vintage (family) brooch, Makeup Forever eyeliner

It was a beautiful night with wonderful friends and I am so happy for the lovebirds who are currently celebrating with a month long honeymoon in Europe! Congrats you two. :)