Twin Style : Philadelphia

My twin sister Kylie has been in town for the past week. It's been an amazing time of hanging out, getting coffee, thrifting, and laughing so much! She's been living in Tampa for the past year, so our time together has been extra precious lately. We snapped some style photos outside my apartment last night. I feel like the East Coast has a way of making us dress super comfy and casual. We've been doing a lot of walking and exploring, so being comfortable is obviously important on those long days of adventures ;) She's leaving today, so we're up early to go out to breakfast and spend as much time together as possible. Happy weekend!

New Seasons

Romper: Nasty Gal | Jacket & Headband: Thrifted

Life has been moving along at a speedy rate these days. Tim and I have finalized an apartment in Philadelphia for the summer! It's a beautiful 1 bedroom with hardwood floors and lots of sunlight on a lovely tree-lined street (Gosh, I sound like a Craigslist ad!) We're both getting really excited for the summer, but also getting a little nostalgic and sappy about leaving our current apartment. We've lived here ever since we first got married 4 years ago. It's become such a special little first home that we'll never forget. We knew we wouldn't live here forever, so we will embrace this change and new season.

And since we're moving to Philly and really have no idea where the cool spots are, let me know of your favorite coffee shops, restaurants, clothing shops, etc! That would be amazing ;)

Always On The Run

Blouse & boots: Thrifted | Dress: Free People | Hat: Urban Outfitters | Satchel: Old Faithful Vintage | Jewelry: Rings and Tings

The past few days have given us a taste of spring. The green grass is beginning to make its appearance, the days are getting longer and warmer, the sun is shining bright throughout the day, and soon flowers will start to bloom all around us. I can finally wearing dresses with tights and not worry about the snow freezing my feet. It's quite a nice change from jeans, snow boots, and oversized sweaters (which I also love, just not for 4 months straight!). Tim and I are continuing to make plans for our summer in Philadelphia. If any of you are local to the area, any advice on good neighborhoods or resources for places to stay would be welcome ;) I know we'll find the perfect little summer home, but for now we are scouring the internet to find a nice place. But I'm not complaining - I love this stage of excitement…of looking forward to things and organizing trips and researching new places to see. It's all so familiar to us by now, with us having to split our time between the States and New Zealand. We are used to packing up our home and living somewhere new for months at a time. It's part of the beautiful life we get to live together. I think it will always be this way for us; a life of adventure and seeing the world as new and beautiful and exciting, together. 

Home Sweet Midwest

Pants: H&M | Tank + Hat: Thrifted | Shirt: Glassons | Boots: Macy's | Bag: Marshalls | Jewelry: c/o Rings & Tings

The other night we took an evening stroll to get some fresh air. Tim works from home most days, so having an evening walk together is a nice excuse to get out of the house, catch up, and spend some quality time together. We took photos on this little road that reminded me of the English countryside, probably because I've been reading a novel based in England, Never Let Me Go. Not that I've ever been, but I imagine most of the roads and driveways there are long, narrow gravel roads leading to lovely cottages in the countryside. One day we'll get to travel there and see it for ourselves. For now, I'll settle for these fake-English-countryside driveways that really lead to homes filled with barking dogs and families watching American Idol. Even though sometimes this Indiana town doesn't feel like a spectacular place to live, I am so grateful for the life we have in our little American Midwest town.

Wildflower

Top and shorts: Thrifted | Shoes: c/o Loly in the Sky | Necklace: Rings and Tings  (Use code ILOVERT for 10% off your purchase)

I don't think I'll ever get sick of wearing polka dots. Or stripes. I think those are my top two kinds of prints. And floral. Polka dots, stripes, and florals. Yep, I could wear a variation of those all day everyday forever. I found this particular top at the thrift store the other day and loved it. I paired it with the best high-waisted denim shorts that my sister gave me a few months back. She has discovered a gold mine of high-waisted shorts and silk shirts at her local thrift store; the perfect combination with her absolutely perfect Florida weather! So she's been sending me care packages with the best shorts and the dreamiest silk shirts. They're making me even more excited for spring and summer. 

Well life has been nice and busy lately. I've been working hard during this semester and looking forward to my spring break in a few weeks. Tim and I aren't planning a trip, but I'm looking forward to some quiet mornings of sleeping in and making breakfast together and going out  for coffee and dinner and movie dates. And we're getting things together for our summer in Philadelphia, too! We've been searching for a place to stay during the summer. I'm still in a state of shock that this whole Free People internship is happening. I can't wait for June so the fun and excitement can begin! It'll shake me out of this whole, "this is just a dream" state-of-mind. I can't wait for days in the studio and nights of exploring a new city. 

A Dream Come True

Kimono + boots + bracelets: Thrifted | Necklace: Swaychic

I received some pretty incredible news yesterday: I got an internship at Free People this summer!! Tim and I will be moving to Philly for the summer and I'll be working in the photography studio at their home office. This is truly a dream come true. I'm still kind of in shock at the news! I'm so excited to work at the home office - I mean, just look at this place!




And after Tim and I drove to Philadelphia through a blizzard for my interview last week, I am pretty thrilled that our crazy adventure paid off! That blizzard road trip will be a story for the grandkids someday, I'm sure of it. So we will be enjoying a few more months in Indiana before heading to Pennsylvania in June! I can't wait for a new city and a new adventure.

Oh, It's The Holiday Season

Woah, December! Why don't you just slow down a bit?! I'm out of breath just trying to keep up with ya. But seriously, this fantastic month has been flying by. I wish I could just hit the pause button and keep this pre-Christmas feeling forever. It's a beautiful time of year when nearly everyone you encounter is cheery and generous and happy. Of course there's some craziness at the shops, but I feel like small doses of Christmas shopping madness is kinda fun. I'm nearly done with all of my holiday shopping! What about you guys? I actually did most of my shopping on Cyber Monday, which made things easier. Now I can relax and enjoy family time! Which is about to get even more exciting because I'm picking up my sister and her family in a couple hours!! I can't wait. There are lots of coffee/catch-up dates in our near future.

Coat (old): Free People | Blouse, hat, necklaces: Thrifted | Boots | Rings: Rings & Tings

I'm off to decorate our tree (finally!!) and do some last-minute cleaning before my darling family arrives! Happy Holidays!

Polka Dots

Oh, hey guys! It's been a chilly ol' month here in Indiana. My sister was in town this past weekend and we ran outside and snapped some photos before hibernating inside all evening and dying my hair back to brown (YES! It's back to it's natural color now!). So next time I post, I'll be back to my brown roots. Since Kylie moved to Tampa, it was just too darn difficult to keep up with the red. She was the only one who had the patience to dye my ridiculously long hair! But I'm excited to be a brunette again. No more weird old dudes yelling "Hey Red!" or "It's the Wendy's girl!" when I'm walking around Chicago alone. Oh, how I'll miss that...

Blouse: Gift from my sweet friend Alayna | Necklace: Rings & Tings | Sunnies: Modcloth

I'm looking forward to a relaxing Thanksgiving week! My family technically already had Thanksgiving on Saturday while my sister was here, but I'll be attending a "Friendsgiving" on Thursday night and I'll of course be enjoying some extra time off this week! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday week with your loved ones. Oh, and just remember....ONE MONTH until Christmas! Can't. Even. Wait.