Say Hi

Hi. Just in case you forgot, this is what I look like. I'm so excited it's that time of year again when all my blogger friends flock to NYC for fashion week. First up, is the IFB conference tomorrow. If you see me there, make sure you Say Hi! There are great speakers, and plenty of lovely ladies who will be in attendance. If you can't make it, you can check out the live stream of the conference. Who knows, maybe you'll even see me unknowingly walk past the camera.

Live streaming video from ifbconference at livestream.com

Mostly, I miss you. There's a lot to share. Nothing too exciting, but I almost forgot what it was like to "see" and "talk" to you all almost everyday. Let's be friends on Twitter for the time being. I'll be bouncing around NYC this week and am SO happy to finally meet some of the ladies I've been following even before I started my own blog! I remember how nervous I was last year. This year it's a completely different feeling. I can't wait to see these girls again, and meet everyone who I didn't get to last time around. See some of you tomorrow! 

Not So Far Away

June 18th

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away (Brooklyn), there was a picnic. Since then I've been doing exactly what I said I would. I've been getting out and away from my computer whenever I can, taking in this summer for whatever it needs to be, restoring old friendships, and securing new ones. 

It's strange looking through these pictures and suddenly realizing how much has happened since they were taken. The summer was practically just getting started. I was beginning to like my city again, which meant spending a lot of time exploring and ending up at places I hadn't been before. Which of course led to meeting new people and plenty of new experiences.

Before the summer started I made a point to try and get myself all sorts of put together, in a cute little package with a big ribbon on top. Over the last couple of months it would seem that I've lost interest in that. I've been acting in the moment so often that it became easy to stop worrying about the future. I wanted to be more hands on and in control of my life. I now find myself doing almost the exact opposite of that.

In the past few months I had some unforgettable first time New York City moments. I got swept up and did things I never thought I would do. I don't regret any of it, I can't. I was there and I made those decisions too, and for a lot of reasons I'm glad things happened the way they did. I'm learning from them. One choice, one moment, can't possibly define everything about me. I happen to be a nice little collection of things. 

 

It's interesting to realize how different I thought of things just a few months ago. I certainly never would have predicted or planned everything thats happened. Being able to accept things as they are is clearly something I have to learn to be better at.

Selima Optique Sunglasses, Tank from H&M, Shorts from Madewell, Dolce Vita Sandals from Piperlime

Wooden Bangles & Necklace borrowed from Melissa, Taurus Pendant Necklace from Julie Nolan Jewelry

For now I'm content with living in these moments, however right or wrong they end up being. It's easy, it's dramatic, and you learn quickly. Summer doesn't really lend itself to deep, life shattering thinking anyway. That's what the fall is for.

Photos by Veronika

By the way, I love Veronika's camera, or lens, or whatever it is that's doing amazing things here. Many thanks to Veronika for snapping a few for me after the blogger picnic. Oh, and HELLO AGAIN. 

At Home

Vacation was great. Its been more than a week since I've been back. It seems like it was so long ago now. If you've been hanging out here for a while, it's fairly obvious I tend to over think, over analyze, and obsess about certain things in my life. Being away for those two weeks gave me a great opportunity to slow my mind down.

Before I went, I thought that while I was out there I was going to sit down and try to figure out a lot about my life. What ended up happening was much different than that. I almost entirely shut off. I coasted. Everything was alright, and each day just floated by. Wake up, make breakfast, relax outside with the pup, walks and naps at the beach, afternoon drives, easy dinners, and winding down at home. With the exception of the weekends when friends came to visit, that's pretty much how my entire time away went.

Apparently that was what I needed more than anything else. When I'm in the city I can feel my mind racing. What's next, what am I doing, why am I doing this, and on and on. But going away gave me the opportunity to be my best self. To go back to being the girl I truly enjoy being. Taking things as they come, not over thinking, being happy where I am, and enjoying my life in the small moments. 

Hat from JCrew, Selima Optique Sunglasses, Madewell Dress
Victoria's Secret Bikini, Wooden Bangle borrowed

I felt relaxed, at ease, and like there was nowhere else I possibly wanted to be. I grew up with lazy summer days spent at the beach. It's such a huge part of who I am, and has remained a way to remind myself of the girl I always want to be. If you put me at the beach I'll feel more at home than anywhere else and you'll get to see the most genuine me that I've experienced yet. No makeup, no outfits, no fuss, a lot of smiles, time spent with people I care about, and easy living. I absolutely love being there.

Photos by Melissa

Thanks for being so understanding of my more laid back summer schedule. I contributed a Guest Post for the lovely Jessie of The Concrete Catwalk last week while she was away enjoying her own beach vacation. I hope you all are making the most of your summer. It's going far too fast for me!

It's Summer

Oh hi there. Remember me? I'm back after a glorious two week vacation at the beach. I spent my time away from the city, away from work, and away from almost all thinking. I absolutely couldn't have had such a stress free vacation without the help of my Guest Bloggers. A HUGE thank you to the girls for filling in for me while I was away. It gave me the chance to push everything aside and enjoy my quiet time off. I know I've mentioned how hard as it is to keep a blog going, but whenever I think of all the wonderful people I've gotten to know it really makes it all worthwhile. Thank you so much girls!

It's summer. And the list of things I want to do in the summer is very short. 1, go to the beach. 2, be with friends. The end. If I can't pull myself away from these for long enough to sit at the computer and plug out a post, you'll have to excuse me for a bit. It feels like it's already going too fast! I have a few posts from June that I want to share as well as plenty of pictures that I took while I was away. I'm sorry if posts aren't going to be as regular as they used to be. I'm trying to be as present in my real life as I can right now. If there's ever a shortage of posts on here you can find me sharing away on twitter.

How has everyone been? I need to play major catch up with my emails and blog reading in the next few weeks, but I hope everyone's summer is going just as great as mine. Don't forget to check out the girls who were so kind to take time out of their busy schedules to help me be away from mine!

Andrea from Blonde Bedhead

Meg from Design Diary

Julie of Orchid Grey

Annie of The Friendly Fox

Jessie of The Concrete Catwalk

Veronika of Tick Tock Vintage

summer-summer-summertime.

hi, morgan and lua readers! veronika from tick tock vintage here. miss morgan asked us to write posts centered around summertime, and i thought i'd share some of my favorite things to do in my favorite city. i'm a proud philadelphian and i love sharing tidbits about this great town!

1: race street pier
the race street pier just opened a little over a month ago. situated on the river, there's a ton of benches and seating to watch boats go by. you get a great view of the city, especially when the sun starts to set. we've gone here for a picnic dinner before and it was such a blast. the breeze off of the water is an added bonus, too - especially when it's so hot out!

2: roof-dwelling
philadelphia is mostly comprised of rowhomes, which offer ridiculously easy access to their roofs. the picture above is of my friend jon's roof; climbing up is quite daunting and i do fear for my life each and every time i go up there, but the view of the city from above is worth it. bring a couple beers, something to snack on, and a radio and you're good to go.

3: kickball (and other assorted sports)

we have some amazing parks in philadelphia, and you can bet that we take advantage of them when the weather is nice. through my activity club, we play some sort of organized game every tuesday during the summer. we've played kickball (my favorite), capture the flag, yoga-ball soccer, and wiffleball. it's a blast!

#4: fireworks

fireworks aren't just for the fourth of july - we'll find any excuse to set them off. find someone with an out-of-state license and drive to a fireworks store and you'll have at least a solid hour of entertainment. in our neighborhood, our neighbors set off some really crazy fireworks (bordering on the edge of scary and "oh my god my roof is going to catch on fire").

#5: lounging on kelly drive
on the other side of the city, you'll find the schuylkill river. the banks of the river have trails for cycling, running, kayaking, rollerblading, picnicking, and hiking. while it's nice to enjoy the river during the day, i love to visit at night. the lights from the buildings and highways reflecting on the river are so beautiful.

a big thanks to morgan for asking me to guest post - hope you're having a great time on vacation, lady!

Guest Post: Jessie of The Concrete Catwalk

Hi there, I'm Sadie!

... and this is my mama, Jessie!

We're so happy to be here blog sitting today for Morgan & Lua!

My mama is a fashion blogger just like Morgan, and she says we're partners in crime. I spend most days working very hard keeping her company in the studio while she plugs away on her business, but she always makes sure to pay me in lots of hugs and kisses.

We've been having a great summer together including lots of trips to the museum lawn near our house, late nights on the balcony, and early morning jogs.  (Sometimes, when he's not at work, my Dad comes too!)

I love other pups, and I can't wait until my mom and dad get me a baby brother or sister, so I have someone to play with everyday. Until then, I can pretty much entertain myself by watching the family of birds that lives on our balcony, playing with my favorite toys & helping my mom pick out with shoes to wear for her daily outfit posts.

Sometimes my mom goes barefoot like me, and sometimes I pretend like I'm wearing little white shoes so I can be just like her. Do you like our fancy feet in the picture below?

I hope you enjoyed seeing some snapshots of us having a little summer fun, and be sure to check out our blog, The Concrete Catwalk. You can also follow along on more of our adventures through TCC's Twitter and Facebook page... but I'll be honest, my mom's the one doing most of the blogging & updating (with me pawing my approval first, of course).

Thanks again for having us, Morgan & Lua!  My mom and I love your blog, and can't wait to have you over on ours later this summer.  We hope you're having a great vacation, and look forward to hearing all about it when you get back!

Hugs & Puppy Kisses,

Jessie & Sadie

Summertime in Portland

Hi all, this is Annie from The Friendly Fox! I hope miss Morgan is having an awesome vacation (from the looks of her instagram posts, she's having a blast!). Here in Portland, the warm sunshine is something to treasure. As soon as it warms up to 60 degrees, you can find people outside at the park in shorts and tanks! My favorite way to enjoy summertime is to be outside as much as possible.
One of our favorite places to grab a quick bite and sit outside is the Waffle Window. It's exactly what it sounds and it's awesome- a window you walk up to and get waffles from! The food is all locally sourced, delicious, and good enough for our little Jacob to drool over.





We also try to take advantage of the many many parks Portland has and go outside to enjoy them. There's nothing like soaking up the sunshine on a blanket with your loves!



I hope you're all enjoying your summer and making the most of it. As I type this, it's cold and pouring down rain...but that's what is to be expected in Portland!

xo,
Annie

Guest post: Julie of Orchid Grey

(All photos property of Orchid Grey)

Hi there everyone! This is Julie of Orchid Grey, stepping in while miss Morgan is on a well deserved vacation. Summer is my absolute favorite season, as a New Englander I have learned to relish it, to truly appreciate these couple of months of sheer heat and humidity. July and August slip away so fast, these are the ten things I hope to do before summer's end:

1. Take the Casco Bay Ferry to Peaks Island, ME and have a picnic/ beach day with my sweetheart.

2. Rid my apartment of all extraneous stuff and finally reach organization nirvana (I must be dreaming).

3. Spend a full day at the beach like we used to when I was a kid.

4. Finally learn how to surf (I've wanted to since I was in 7th grade).

5. Learn how to change the tube on my bike and ride to work.

6. Go to a drive-in movie.

7. Make popsicles.

8. Swim in the river in my hometown.

9. Create more.

10. Get married! Of course this will happen, but I'm just really excited.

What are your summer resolutions?

Guest Post: Meg of Design Diary

Hi everyone!! It's Meg here from Design Diary, filling in for the lovely Morgan while she's on a much deserved vacay. I have to admit, I'm really thrilled that she asked me to talk about summer... because well, that's probably one of my favourite topics. As an Aussie, I adore summer. I live for summer. Actually to me all the other seasons are just filler until summer comes back to me.

Since Australia is sunny most of the year we're outdoors a lot - I think it's kind of built into our psyche. And now that we live in the U.S. I think we bring that same attitude with us. When the warm weather comes our way, me and my partners in crime head out as much as we can. Whether it's hiking, picnicking, strolling, swimming or going out for icecream - we try to enjoy as much of summer as we can! We don't want to waste a second of this beautiful time of year.

To me it's just the happiest season. I love using the heat as an excuse to give my kids icecream for dinner (yeah i admit it). I love being able to leave the front door open and feel the breeze. I love hearing birds tweet by my window when I wake up. I love sitting on my deck after the kids have gone to sleep and drinking a glass of wine with my husband while we watch the sun go down. I love that it doesn't take tonnes of gear before I can leave the house (i'm lookin at you winter), and that I can slip on a tank top and a cotton skirt (like this one I designed a few years ago) and run out the door. I love walking everywhere. I love laying on grass and barbecuing dinner. It's all good, it's all so perfect.

Thankfully the other seasons come and go... because summer will always have my heart. (And my wardrobe... I'm kind of ill prepared for the cold months )