When I think of the holidays coming up, I immediately think of lush velvet dresses or skirts. I scored this beauty at my local thrift store a couple of years ago. It's the most beautiful velvet, wintry green skirt I've ever laid eyes on. Oh, a most beloved treasure. And it was only about $6! It was in lovely condition - barely worn at all. Those front pockets are real and it's got two tiny slits at back of the skirt, which I thought were quite charming. I've worn it every holiday season since I've had it and I love it more and more each time. The blazer I wore with the outfit was also purchased at the same time for $4, which I thought was a rather amazing. I adore anything with elbow patches. It's supposed to be a little boy's tweed blazer but I think it fit me pretty well. You can be the judge of that...!

 We had a birthday celebration last Sunday for my mother, baby niece, and baby nephew. We managed to find time before the party to snap a few quick photos - we were supposed to be picking up the cakes and heading straight back to the house. I always thought the print of this dress reminded me of the prints on Japanese traditional kimonos. Something about all those multi-colored foliage printed repeatedly all over the dress, I suppose. I don't know if I'm right, but until someone tells me otherwise, I'm convinced I'm not entirely wrong either. Anyhow, one of the best things about it is that it's got pockets. You know how I feel about pockets!

 These mary janes from LaRedoute are the sweetest heels I ever laid eyes on. They're only about 2 inches high so they're super comfortable. I can run around all day in them. I love that they've got glitter all over the heel itself. And right now, they're on sale. There's also a promotion going on where you can get 10% off your entire order with promo code 1651. In case you're wondering, I'm not getting paid for this endorsement. Just thought I'd share from one fellow style blogger to another.

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What I wore:

Dress: Ross

Heels: LaRedoute

John and I celebrated our 8th year anniversary last Saturday. We didn't do anything spectacular. No bouquet of brilliant roses. No romantic movies or candle-lit dinner. No frills, no drama. It was a day like any other. Almost. We dined at our favorite AYCE sushi restaurant. We're huge fans of nigiri sushi (sashimi too) but don't always feel like shelling out big bucks for the really good stuff. This restaurant is better than all the AYCE sushi buffets we've ever been to. It's not high quality but it's better than decent. Anyway, we've kept it pretty simple over the years. We've had plenty of fanciful things in the first few years and that was plenty enough.

-Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (1813)

 How I wish to be roaming the fields of lavender bushes! Alas, I must settle for these and pretend that there are more than just four of them all lined up against the sidewalk. Houses of ordinary folk lay just beyond. Despite feeling like a treacherous inferno, the day was beautiful and clear with wisps of clouds stretched across the sky. A hummingbird on silent wings granted us a visit, imbibing in the nectar of the lavender blossoms. Butterflies flitted by in their soft, playful way, and a gasp escaped from our lips as our eyes alighted on their vibrant patterns.

 We stumbled upon this lovely fence of overreaching bougainvillea just a few feet away from a bike trail that runs along the canal. We could not have found a better place than this. The blossoms looked so charming, quietly basking in the soft glow of sunlight. They grew in abundance, spouting a torrent of bright fuchsia petals, just beyond on the other side. However, entrance to it was gated off as it was private property.

 I feel as though I'm being bombarded left and right with talk of the approaching fall season. I'm beginning to see pumpkins everywhere in all their bumpy imperfections and varying shades of orange. Is it any wonder that I jumped on the computer and googled pumpkin recipes? Instead of rejoicing, I raised my fist at the oven because it was much too hot to turn on. It already felt like an oven inside the house. And then, I stumbled upon this pumpkin pie yogurt parfait recipe and all was good again. I tweaked it to my liking by putting just one layer of yogurt and pumpkin in a one-cup mug. I sprinkled (a lot) of pumpkin spice and drizzled some honey all over it. Admittedly, pumpkin is one of my favorite things to eat so I've been eating this parfait for the past few days!

It was John's birthday this past Sunday. I thought I'd dress up a little to celebrate the occasion. I bought this Emily and Fin dress (on sale) last year from Modcloth. I had my eyes on this dress for the longest time. Even on sale, it still was more than I normally pay for an article of clothing. I don't often splurge, but when I do, it's only after I've pondered over it for several days. It's such a fun dress to wear. It's bright, colorful and so, so cheerful. It puts me in a good mood and makes me want to twirl all day long. And it's got pockets!

 I'm not big on birthdays, but even so, I'll admit that it's nice to celebrate with friends. I got John a record player so that he could play the vinyl version of Tool's Undertow, which he received as a birthday gift from our mutual friend. And by chance, John discovered the same day that his friends from high school lived a couple houses down from me. They had lost contact with one another after they graduated. He said it was a nice birthday surprise. I thought it was pretty sweet. We were invited inside to their party and we chatted a bit before heading off to eat Korean BBQ. Of course, I changed out into plainer clothes. I was not about to have the smell of it linger on my pretty dress!

 With the temperature reaching over 100 degrees this weekend, I thought cooling myself with a nice big cup of frozen yogurt at Yogurtland would be a fantastic idea. And silly me, of course I was not the only one. Little did I know that my favorite flavor, plain tart, would be greedily stolen by the lady in front of me. There would be none left by the time I got to it. Her giant mound of plain tart stared at me, tantalizing and tormenting me with what could have been. I felt myself melting with despair like the Wicked Witch of the West. Oh, but wait!

When I reached to the toppings, my beloved fresh blueberries were nowhere to be seen. Surely, they would bring out more! Sadly, it was not meant to be. I would have given up if I hadn't filled my cup some other second-rate flavor. Unfortunately, the family in front of me took so long that by the time I got to sit down and eat my frozen yogurt, it was half melted. But hey, I managed to stay as cool as possible in this outfit. I used to hate halter tops because I thought it made my shoulders look really broad, but they're not so bad. Also, if you haven't already noticed, I'll say it myself. I do, and will, wear these shorts very often. They are my favorite, after all.

Remember what I said about wearing white? Well, I was lured in by the lovely embroidery and the light, airy material. It was the perfect summer dress. The fact that it is such an immaculate white is reason enough for me to fear for its life. We often go out during the weekends and one of things we love to do is eat. And I am a rather messy eater (I believe I've mentioned this before). Wretchedly so. It's atrocious. John often wonders how I possess such an unsightly habit of eating when I am diligent in grooming myself. Certainly, I wonder, too. I might as well just use the dress as a napkin. It'll end up getting dirty somehow even if I'm being super careful. I was quite fortunate this weekend though. I can say, it's made a clean escape...!

What I wore:

Dress: Forever 21

Sandals: Vince Camuto via Burlington's

Hat: Forever 21

Backpack: Target