I’m so excited to shop for summer clothes this year! In the past I’ve dreaded this season that most gals welcome with their bare, open arms. As sad as this is (and as much as I HATE to admit this), I didn’t like baring my body more than I had to. But this year, I’ve been committed to getting fit and have already lost 20 pounds. What?! My time in the weight room has given me an extra dose of confidence, too.

Because of the weight loss, shopping for new clothes is actually a necessity for me this summer, as most of what I own is becoming increasingly big. A problem I’m not really used to, but will gladly accept! It’s been pretty difficult narrowing down all of my favorites to an affordable list that will work for most occasions, and while I plan to buy some basic black and white tops and bottoms, I want to have a little fun too. Here are my favorite Summer finds that I think will be a lot of fun to wear once these Ohio days grow warmer.

1. Denim color block romper
2. Orange jumpsuit
3. Cateye sunglasses
4. Pink pleated dress
5. Stiff brimmed straw hat
6. Grey striped jumpsuit
7. Wide brimmed straw hat
8. Orange flower hair clips
9. Gingham strappy top
10. High waisted wide leg jeans
11. White body suit
12. High waisted mom jean shorts
13. Pierced leather sandals
14. White Birkenstocks
15. Round sunglasses

The best way to shop for holiday gifts is from the comfort of your own home, am I right? Bourbon spiked cider in hand, Christmas movies on the t.v., and then after a couple clickety clicks, you’re done! When the gifts show up at your door, they’re already in boxes, so you don’t even have to wrap them until you’re good and ready. Perfect way to holiday shop, I’m tellin’ ya!

The trickiest part of holiday shopping for me is always finding something special for my family. Every year I feel like I found the perfect gifts for everyone (like last year‘s perfect gift for my dad), but then the next year comes along, and I realize I’ve set the bar so high, I might not be able to keep it up! But UncommonGoods has such a cool collection of unique and dare I say quirky gifts, I can find something for everyone on my list with just one checkout. Check out my favorites for him and her from UncommonGoods below, and also take a look at even more great gift guides from other stylish and creative folks right here!

   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7     1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

this is a sponsored post.

I can’t believe Lucy is one year old today! It seems like just yesterday I was sitting in a cafe looking at a picture of a gummy bear sized baby, texting Phil to see what he thought of the name Lucille. Now that little gummy bear has developed a silly, rambunctious personality and a definite appreciation for banging on everything and eating bananas.

Putting together a wishlist for your own kiddo does sort of seem like cheating, but since Lucy can’t speak up for herself yet, we went by some cues she’s been giving us this past month. Lucy started crawling at around 10 months, and now she’s starting to pull herself up on furniture- and my legs- which is the cutest, by the way. I think she’s probably ready for this wooden walk behind toy right about now! In addition to exploring her environment, sipping on my straws is probably her favorite thing. She gets extremely anxious when she sees them, practically unable to contain her excitement. The hard plastic ones are her favorite, because they make the greeeeatest noises, apparently. I think now that she’s one, she’s probably earned a cute little straw sippy cup of her very own! And to keep her warm this Fall, the red striped infant cardigan was basically a no-brainer! Stripes are a classic favorite, also right on trend at the moment, and this bold red version will work if Lucy has a little brother in the future. Lastly, a beautiful, educational little book will hopefully instill a love for the classics in our baby girl. A Pride & Prejudice counting primer and board book!

Phil and I agreed to stick to the basic 4-gift-rule for our children (and plus, it rhymes, so that’s fun!), and we’re also conscious of buying things that we can mostly reuse with future kiddos. I hope Lucy likes her birthday gifts as much as I do! Or at least I hope she enjoys pulling the wrapping paper off the boxes tomorrow at her birthday party. That will be the best.

want | need | wear | read

this post contains affiliate links