Friday flip flop PSA

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For those of you planning a wedding, here's your friendly Friday PSA that Old Navy is having its $1 flip flop sale on Saturday. There's also an additional 10% off coupon, so you can get each pair for only 90 cents! If you decide to have a basket of beachy footwear at your reception, your friends who wear uncomfortable shoes to your nuptials will thank you.

If you aren't planning a wedding, check out this flip flop DIY. What better to practice it on than a cheap pair of flippys?

Eames chair afternoon

Growing up, there was a chair in our house that was "Dad's chair". It wasn't until recently that I learned these chairs are kind of a big deal in the modern world. And now I kind of want an Eames style chair in my own house (loving this blue version available on One Kings Lane). If only I had these windows too...

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happy Friday: a Zara sale

Important PSA: Zara is having a sale, and it is fantastic. Of course, the one pair of studded heels I've had my eye on for months is sold out in my size, but I did snap up some other great deals.

The lace studded heels will look fab with any LBD, while the nude heels are just what I like- basic, but with a surprise element of a studded ankle strap. I've wanted a leather skirt for a while, so I'm excited to get this one for the fall. And I had a go-to military style jacket a while ago that I lost, so I'm hoping this one will be the perfect replacement.

Did you take advantage of Zara's sale today?

freckle confessions

Imagine that you spent three months working on something on a small scale just to see a national magazine come out with an article that wipes away all of your work.

Okay, so that's how it felt, anyway.

One summer in college I interned for a small publishing company that wrote a series of books for tween girls. My job was to write content for the site for each of the five characters, all different in her own way but all sending a positive message to readers (who, between the ages of 9 and 13 were extremely impressionable). One character in particular, a redhead with freckles, resonated with me. I remember slaving over one piece about why freckles are cool (because they are).

July's Cosmopolitan has a heavy message around skin care and sunscreen, which is great - except for the article titled "Confessions of a Freckle Face". In this piece the author describes having freckles:  how they aren't sexy, how much time she spent using different spot-fading creams and cover up to fix her "flaws", how embarrassing it was that her friends would tan and she would just have "spots". And it culminates in a line saying that the author would go through a lot of pain again "in a heartbeat" just to get rid of her freckles. (The author underwent laser treatment to reverse sun damage on her skin which costs upwards of $2,500 and results in weeks of a face full of scabs.)

I am all for skin care and sun safety, but I am fair skinned, have never been bronzed, and have had freckles my entire life. And this article is one of those that sends the wrong message to young, impressionable girls. I understand that the author's point is that she was able to erase years of sun damage with a quick treatment; however, rather than discussing how flawed it is for a girl to have freckles, can we talk about how flawed it is for a girl to bask in the sun without SPF?

Here's my PSA of the day, ladies:  Wear your sunscreen. And respect your freckles.

it's not a party until someone ends up in a cone

Is it just me or do the weekends go by faster when the weather is nice? 

What a whirlwind of a weekend! One of my closest friends asked me to be in her wedding next summer (I obviously said yes) and Sprout's birthday party/adoption party was so good that one of his friends ended up in a cone. The barnyard theme was complete with bales of hay in the backyard. I didn't get a good photo of the 4 little ones together, but here's Petunia the Pug, Rowdy (Sprout's bffl), and the birthday boy himself. Not pictured is little Morkie, who was off at the vet during this photo op.

I'm so looking forward to the rest of the summer weekends - hoping they don't go by as fast as this one did!

friday linkup

Some of my favorite links from the week:

A list of really happy facts. My favorite? "11. Penguins only have one mate their entire life and “propose” by giving their mate a pebble." (penguins image via National Geographic)

This easy day to night outfit that is perfect for office to bar

A really simple DIY for the built-ins I've been dreaming of

A reader-favorite post about how to clean your flat iron

sitting room re-do: inspiration board

When we moved into our four bedroom house, we designated the extra bedrooms as a guest room, an office for me, and T's office. The room formerly known as T's office (which I first talked about redoing here) already has a really pretty light teal color on the walls and a wall to wall ivory carpet, so we just need to outfit the room with furniture.

Here's where I'm thinking of going with the decor now - a little different than a few months ago.

Sources: Couch (Macy's), artwork (Animal Print Shop), rug (rugsusa.com), lamp (Overstock), side table (Target), x-benches as coffee table (Safavieh)

Here are some other fab details I'm debating:

Chloé Sofas · Ethan Allen Sofas · Bernhardt Sofas

Sex and the City fashion favorites

After watching Sex and the City for what has to be the millionth time, I was thinking about why I love it so much. I was a big fan of the show, so it was a natural extension for me to also love the movie. There are so many fashion moments that I can't get over. Here are 3 of my favorites.

The angel-sleeve dress, which was actually a vintage Emma Domb dress (from about the 1960s) that Patricia Field altered to be this gorgeous angel wing mini. There's a version available for $280 that doesn't do this justice.

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So Carrie went on her honeymoon with her lady friends after being jilted at the altar and somehow managed to look way better than I have ever looked on a vacation. Ever. Maybe I just need a fedora and some white linen pants and that will totally fix everything?

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Can't even handle these shoes. In the movie Carrie says they cost $525, but they're available for almost double that price at Bergdorf's. For $965 you can have your very own pair. (And if for some reason you're feeling generous, I'll take a pair too.)

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one wall wallpapers

Back a few years ago, I took on the task of ripping wallpaper off of the walls of my childhood bedroom to update the room. Even though the wallpaper had been up for 22 years, friends, it was terribly difficult to remove. Such a pain.

I recently saw Michelle's chevron stenciled wall and loved that it's a focal point in her craft room.

image via Decor and the Dog

I love the idea of having a focal wall, especially in a room that doesn't have much else going on. Because I don't have the attention span to do as much detail as the chevron wall (I think I need to eat more carrots or something), I tried to figure out an easier way of having one focal wall. I am totally in love with some of these wallpapers.

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Sidenote: That is the chaise of my dreams.

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I would love to do a pretty gold pattern in the bedroom behind the bed! Maybe in the near future?

new favorite: scalloped shift dress

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I recently purchased this Philosophy by Republic tiered shift dress in two colors, and I've been wearing it everywhere, from brunch (the gray version with a simple gold necklace and flats) to a graduation reception (the black version with a statement necklace and colorblock pumps).

Do you have a go-to that you've purchased in multiple colors?

life lately via instagram

Thursday night we attended the Boston Strong concert, which was an overwhelming night of feeling support and love from and for this city that is indescribable. I heard that there was a lot of annoyance from people watching the concert via live streaming at home, but you can't overlook the number of performers who came out and performed (for free), and said such kind words. One of my personal favorite moments was hearing the entire Garden sing "More Than Words" along with Extreme.

This weekend was my college reunion - cannot believe it's been 5 years! The ladies and I stayed in our old suite, and it was divine to be back. There was a very weird normalcy about being back at our college, hanging out in the dorm, walking around campus, and dancing in the campus bar. Cannot wait to do it again in another 5 years.

T surprised me with hydrangea and peony plants in our front yard, and yesterday we cut our first blooms off of them! I'm looking forward to a summer full of my favorite flowers.

Sprout Saturday: Sprout's hair diary

Having a dog with hair rather than fur makes for some interesting looks (and photos), especially when it's been too long between haircuts - see Exhibit A toward the bottom of this post. 

Sometimes they cut too much on top but leave a large beard... and then Sprout thinks he looks like a professor, so he wears a bow tie.

Other times there is the "Mr. Miyagi", with too much on the sides and not enough elsewhere.

Sprout's embarrassed by this next photo, taken when his hair was far too long (and he had just woken up). Friends, this is what will happen if you have a non-shedding dog and don't take him for a haircut every 8 weeks. It's not pretty (but it's kind of cute).

In the winter Sprout likes a little more fuzz to help keep out the cold. It helps him pose for photos in the snow. This is one of my favorites.

Sprout asks you to kindly not judge him (or me) for the ridiculous photos of him. It happens.