Another day, another wedding. I recently took a weekend trip up to Gainesville to see one of my longest best friends get married! With weddings, I often find it difficult to figure out what to wear - don't want to be too fancy or casual or whatever else you think of when styling outfits - so I found major inspiration in The Black Tux wedding style guide. This guide has a bunch of wedding suit and tuxedo ideas with amazing style ideas and even exact outfits for the big day!

This particular wedding was casual and held outdoors in a park. Because of this, I opted for a pair of lace up flats - I almost always wear heels but thought flats would be more practical for a park. I wore a dark pink skirt, which I should've taken photos in before eating a big reception meal haha, and matched it with a flowy bell sleeved crop top that hit right at the top of the skirt for a classy yet casual look. Accessories were kept minimal, with a pale pink crossbody bag to match the color scheme and pink sunnies, along with natural hair and makeup. If you look at the style guide to the right you'll see pretty much these exact tips for dressing for a casual wedding!

And if you're invited to something a little more fancy, there are also tips for any kind of wedding, including semi-formal, black tie, or even white tie. In general, I would try to stick to a lighter color theme, unless it's a fall/winter very formal wedding in which burgundy is an amazing color to wear, and try to incorporate small amounts of color in a coordinated way with accessories too.



Lately I have been in a strange wedding mood, finding inspiration on Pinterest, awing at cute videos on YouTube, and binge watching Hallmark movies. I say strange, because I am about the most single person I know - like really, I can't even find dates to weddings, let alone someone to have a wedding with! Maybe it's just the season, but it feels as though as I get older, I am being prepared for the next steps of life even though they haven't come quite yet. Friends getting married makes me think it's only a matter of time before that's me up there too. More than likely I'll just be up there as a bridesmaid or something, but it's nice to think it could be mine one day.

For now, I'm focused on what I need to do to better myself and giving it all over to God to continually prepare me for when He brings that person into my life. I know in this generation it's difficult to think that a marriage will last, what with our parents and everyone around us splitting up right before our eyes. But I believe that when God is the center of it, the firm foundation of the relationship, then it does have the potential to last. I mean, if our grandparents lasted for 30+ years, then we could too.

In the meantime, as God prepares my heart, I keep these verses in mind. Love first comes from God, and if we look to that love as an example in our own lives, then we can use it to help guide our love for others in every kind of relationship.

And finally, the last day of the trip! By this day, I didn't want to leave. I had finally become accustomed to the way of New York, how to get around on the subway, the sights and sounds. Everything became beautiful instead of just dirty and loud. I could see why people fall in love with the city and never want to leave.
Already, I started planning a trip to go back.

This day we went to Soho. I've only ever heard good things about this part of the city. It's basically where most of the fashion is and just a nicer area in general. We went to Laduree to pick up a couple of pastries, then walked down the street to find chicken and rice, stopping to pick up some last minute souvenirs.

Almost anywhere we went, there was a park in walking distance. So once we picked up some chicken and rice on the side of the street, we made our way to a little park and enjoyed our last little bit of time in the city.

This is what I want to remember New York City as. Not for the hustle and bustle, but for the serene moments of pure beauty. A place where you can take a photo and it looks ten times better than it would have anywhere else. An area where you can wear anything and no one will even give you a second glance. Back home I have a hard time even wearing heels without people questioning me. But here, I could throw on whatever fancy clothes I wanted - although for days of walking I had no choice but to opt for flats - and no one would say a word.

The remainder of the day consisted of finding our way to the airport and terminal - a major fiasco that took time and a lot of transportation changes. Who knew that even LaGuardia airport is so huge?! You can't just walk to a different terminal; instead you have to take the shuttle everywhere. But we finally found our gate - it was such a blessing that our flight was delayed, haha! Then after a short flight, we were back home. Well, actually in Orlando with a two hour drive back in which I had to drive at least half of even though I was completely worn out. But, we arrived back home, and I have been sleeping since. Even weeks later and my sleep and day schedules have never been as good as they were in New York!

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I miss New York, but after visiting, I have found that it's not the place I want to be. I always thought I wanted to live there for at least a few months. It was where I would launch my career. It was where I thought my heart was. But being there, I found that it's not actually.

See, I don't know where life is taking me now. I don't know where God wants me to go or what exactly He wants me to do. All I know is that right now I have a home and a life here in Tampa. It may feel like a standstill at times, but it's where my family is and where I'm getting involved and trying to make friends. This is where God has planted me for the time being. And until He moves me and calls me elsewhere, I just have to stick with it and make the most of it - no matter how cheesy that may sound.

We often make our own plans without any insight into what's really best for us. But sometimes God shows us some of what life would be like if what we had planned worked out, and it makes us think twice. Our plans have no match to what God has in mind. I can always trust that He knows what's best for me, even when I am kicking and crying that I want out, that I need a way to make money, or that I'm tired of this place. Maybe I just haven't grown enough yet. Maybe I'm not ready to take on a new place or a new job. Maybe He wants me to work hard and focus on what I already have - the blog, family, personal styling, the internships, church, friends. Maybe I have everything I need right now, and He will give me more when the time comes that He knows I am ready.

But for now, all thanks and praise to the One who knows. ♡

Day 2! Well, technically this was day 3, but since the first day really didn't count other than as a travel day, let's just label this day 2. The second day of getting into the city was like a breath of fresh air after all of the craziness of the beginning of the trip. It was a day to take it easy and just get to whatever we could and not have set in stone plans. That was just what was needed to get the trip back on a good note!

Not only was this more of a laid back kind of day but it was also my 22nd birthday! I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate than being in the city. Up until now you may not have known, unless you know me well in person, but yes, I have an identical twin sister. Scroll up to see proof in the pictures. ↑

We celebrated our birthday by meeting up with a good friend who was already also in the city at the same time. Once we all got together we started out the day/afternoon with hot dogs - we were told it was a must in New York. Then we made our way to the New York Public Library and then on to Grand Central! This day we walked at a slower pace - which was good because I was in heeled ankle boots - and pretty much walked everywhere. I believe we only took the subway once, and that was just because my feet were killing me toward the end of the day.

After taking photographs at Grand Central we walked on down to the Flatiron building to take those blogger pictures - a must on my New York bucket list. After taking plenty of photos, we went on a quest to find birthday cupcakes. Who knew it would be so difficult to find in that area?! Finally we settled on some pastries and found a little spot to kick back in Madison Square Park. Our friend Jana was so sweet, surprising my sister Kelsey and I with candles, a happy birthday thing for the pastry, confetti, and a 22 number balloons.

We had our little picnic and went on to find a not so busy street to do a mini photo shoot with the balloons. The photo shoot was the best ending to the day with our friend Jana! We parted ways after that, and Kelsey and I walked a mile - did not think logically about how long that is uphill wearing heels - back to Grand Central. After that mile trot, we just wanted to sit still for a little to regain some energy. Instead of dressing up and going somewhere fancy like we had planned, we just took the subway back to Times Square to hang out a little before the bus came. We got cheap pizza, looked at souvenir shops, and browsed the three story Victoria's Secret. My feet were too tired and blistered up to do any more walking, so after that we just ended up sitting on the street waiting for the bus to come at the end of the  night.

Sometimes a slower paced day is just what you need, especially in a city like New York. I've never been somewhere quite like that, where everything moves so quickly before hardly having any time to really experience anything. Which is why this day meant so much and lifted my thoughts about the trip and the city greatly.

These posts are beginning to feel like diary entries, but I am perfectly okay with that. It gives me something to look back on, which is really what this blog is for. A collection of happy blur type of moments, caught and held in a time capsule to look through whenever I want to remember.