Little Black Dress

Normally I would never buy a sleeveless dress. I hate my arms. But I am not willing to do anything about them, so I just stick to wearing sleeves. “The Lazy Girl’s Guidebook” told me this was okay. I should know. I wrote it. Well, not really. I was too lazy to jot it down, but if I had written it, this is what my advice would say:

“Cover it up.

This advice works for most things.

The End.”

See, book written. Productive day.

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I really do like this dress (now sold out. Similar dress here. Similar plus size here). It is so easy and the material is really cool. It is a basket-weave and I love the flirty little ruffle at the bottom. I will layer with this dress in the wintertime, too. This was the outfit I wore on a day I ran some errands. Shhhh. Don’t tell my lazy self.

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Maybe you have noticed my kind of rad backdrop?

That was a rug/tapestry purchased from the flea market a few weeks ago. Yes, that is a monkey sailing a sailboat. I have idea what this piece is. It is definitely handmade. We much prefer the backside in the previous picture to the bright front shown above. So, we plan on hanging it backwards.

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I do not like to stand too close to it for fear of cooties. Or other substances. Or the fact that it might be able to move on its own via the germs littering its surface.

I really need to disinfect it. Or somethin’.

But alas, lazy and all that.

My husband was thrilled when he saw that I had haggled this piece down and was walking towards him with it. Held out at arm’s length, of course. Neither one of us really wanted to touch it to carry it to the car.

Thankfully, only one of us didn’t write a guidebook on how to be lazy.

I will be posting more detailed shots of the tapestry soon. Including it hopefully actually hanging up… And none of us covered in yellow tape and bugs. But for now, let’s move on.

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Whew! Had to sit down. That standing was hard work.

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I had asked my husband to get a close-up of my new necklace from H&M. Murphy was thrilled to be in these shots.

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The necklace cost more than the dress (Anthropologie’s Melanie V-Neck). It was $19.99 and the dress was $19.95 (down from $138. Gosh, I love popbacks!)..

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The kids’ task on this day was to clean this room. From the debris on the floor you can probably tell that they have read their mother’s handbook.

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Don’t worry. As punishment, they had to hug that tapestry. And I think I saw it hug them back.

Gosh, I love a happy ending.

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And it could be worse. I could have made them pose with a necklace.

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Or myself.

P.S. * I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

Lavender Farm

If my husband’s favorite part of our Maui trip was The Crater, then mine would have to be Maui’s Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm. At only $3 a person and free parking, it is a bargain to get in and wander the beautiful property. They give you a map and a treasure hunt piece of paper that you stamp as you walk through the grounds (I recommend adults do this as the prize is age universal). My son LOVED this.

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This picture was taken on the drive up. The drive is just beautiful.

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There are many different paths. I like the name of this one.

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And, of course, lavender farms means pictures of lavender.

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We wandered through trees.

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And up high. The views on the farm are incredible.

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I even had a Buddha friend to keep me company.

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Beautiful flowers.

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And creepy girl flowers.

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My husband and I split a lavender scone. I wanted a picture, but he ate half of it before I could get the full thing.

It was really good.

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Now. My favorite part. I love chameleons. And we were lucky enough to spot three Jackson Chameleons while we were there.

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My husband said he’s never seen me so happy.

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But, how cute is this little guy?! Those horns! He is a baby. And I was madly in love. I could have spent the whole vacation up there playing with those lizards.

What are your thoughts on chameleons? Have you been to a lavender farm or eaten anything with lavender in it?

Outfit details: this dress is an older Anthropologie dress called Espejoa Mini-Dress. I am wearing the dress backwards. I would rather a keyhole be in the back. The closest dress I can find to it now is this dress. The shoes are Gentle Soul’s tall gladiator sandals and the necklace is Simply Livly’s Turquoise Necklace.

*These photos were edited using the app Afterlife’s Sailor or Bay filters (depending upon the darkness of the picture).

On Top Of The World

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We just got back from Maui, late Thursday night. I will be doing a little trip report next week (I still have yet to write it. I have to get my kids ready to leave today. They are embarking upon a week long camping trip with their grandparents. I am hoping this alone time will allow my brain the capability to fill pages with stories and get me caught up on comments and reading my favorite blogs!). I managed to do some outfit photos while I was there.

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My favorite thing to do on vacation is to just drive and see where the day takes us. This usually does not disappoint. We found ourselves in the vicinity of Maui’s Haleakala Crater and so we decided to make the drive up the mountain. Usually people make the trek up for sunrise or sunset, but we are not planners. I think both events would be worth it. Although, I cannot imagine making the drive in the dark, especially with the bicyclists on those tight turns.

This picture above was taken on the drive up. It starts off gorgeous and green and then turns red and barren as you drive higher up the volcanic rock.

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We got to the top and it was gorgeous. Truly breathtaking. You can see above the clouds. It feels wonderful and oddly like being a part of “The Never Ending Story.”

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Yes, I wore this dress to the top of a volcano where everyone else was dressed in hiking gear.

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And it was kind of awesome! Well, maybe I did regret not bringing a sweater. It was cold! But spontaneity sometimes calls for a little discomfort.

The dress was a clearance buy from Free People that I featured here a few months ago. It is sold out now, but they have a slightly similar one here that I very much want. And underneath it, I am wearing my favorite slip in the world. It is the Free People Trapeze Slip. It looks like they currently have a similar color to my seafoam colored slip. I wear mine at least once a week. While I was in Maui, I saw three different women wearing this slip (all three women had on different colors and all three women were at three different places) as a swimsuit cover-up.

The necklace is Simply Livly’s Turquoise Necklace.

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It was so high. It might have been the highest I have ever been except for traveling in an airplane.

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One of the most amazing sights is peering down into the crater. It feels so untouched and I told my husband that I could still believe there might be dinosaurs amongst us peering down into that valley. This was my husband’s favorite part of the trip. He could have stayed here all day.

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And honestly, I could have, too.

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It was peaceful and not as cold as it was at the very top of the mountain.

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I did a little twirl and I think it looks like I was flying.

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Speaking of flying, we spotted a ton of owls on Maui. For some reason it is not something that I had pictured when I thought of the island. This little guy was the third one I spotted on the drive back down the crater.

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Have you been to the top of a volcano? Was it windy and cold? Did you bring a gnome friend?

Degnome Dress

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I loved this denim dress when I saw it on H & M a few months ago. The best part about it was definitely the price. It was $39.95 but I think I paid $24 for it after a coupon. It is sadly now sold out online (I found this one that is similar, but I have never purchased from that store before). It is a blank slate. I could not wait to dress it up. I have a chambray maxi dress but it is strapless so it limits how and when I can wear it.

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This dress is short, so it limits how and when I can wear it. That seems to be a theme around here when it comes to chambray.

The sandals are Gentle Soul’s Tall Gladiator Sandals. I purchased mine through Anthropologie, but Piperlime has them on sale.

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The scenery was gorgeous. So peaceful. I felt lucky to capture it.

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It was a beautiful and windy day.

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Lots of fun jewelry! The large jersey necklace is Simply Livly’s Turquoise Necklace and the others are layering necklaces from Anthropologie last year. The bracelets are from H&M and the larger one is Free People’s Hammered Multi Cuff.

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Do you have a lot of chambray pieces? Do you still like denim and chambray? I thought I would be over the trend by now but it is still going strong!

P.S. I will not be posting on Thursday. Sorry. I had a post ready but we could not get the photos transferred here in Maui. Thankfully we will be home Thursday night, so I will be able to post on Friday. : )

* I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!