Oh, hey! Remember me? I’ve come out of my cave for this wonderful thing called summer, and I thought I’d come back to my blog and start showing you my favorite things I’m wearing this season. I’m noticing already that I am attracted to clothing that shows off my shoulders: strapless dresses, maxis with racer backs, and lots and lots of Bardot/off the shoulder tops. This can only lead to one thing: freckled shoulders.

Today’s look is very relaxed. Something casual that works for going shopping, meeting with friends, or possibly even work, depending on the dress expectations. I wore this out to go to Target and to do some work at Starbucks. I started with just the top, jeans, and sandals, but I ran across this necklace at Target and added it to the outfit.

I’ve noticed that since I’ve slowed down on blogging, my style has gotten even simpler, especially when it is hot, so a 4-piece outfit is perfect for me. Instead of accessorizing my outfit a lot, I’ve been messing around with make-up more, not that you can tell much in these pictures(!). The next thing I want to tackle is learning some more hairstyles that I can easily do, especially casual up-dos.

PinkClove Top, Torrid Jeans, Target Sandals (similar), Target Necklace

A little update on life: I’m still enjoying apartment life. I’ve just begun really enjoying living alone, but I think it’s because I’m on break and social life is easy again. No worries, though, because my cousin is moving in with me on July 1st, so there will be a whole new adventure for both of us (and a cat companion for Lola!). Teaching at the university has been great, and I was given a longer contract to continue teaching there. I also took a class this past semester to get back into research and figure out if I want to keep furthering my education (maybe in a few years?), and I’m doing a 3-week institute with the National Writing Project this summer. I’ve started a blog that will be all about writing stuff for NWP, so you can check that out here. Next year my teaching load decreases (only 2 classes), and I’ll step into a leadership role that helps run our university’s writing center (tutoring center). I’m excited, but I also think I like to punish myself a bit — I seem to never let myself get comfortable before I take on something new, but I guess that’s half the fun :). I’m going to try to keep updating my blog, but I am best at keeping Instagram up, so check it out if you also have an account.

What are you loving to wear this summer?