Crop Tops and Neon and Rompers Oh My! Coachella is Here!

Though I'm not a huge music festival goer (extensive periods of sun exposure and general lack of funds tend to hold me back), I absolutely love stalking their street style pics to find summer fashion inspiration. Festivals like Coachella tend to bring out all the craziest out fit combinations that celebrities and fashion darlings can come up with making it an awesome place to find ideas for how to stand out once warmer weather finally hits.

This year I noticed lots of print mixing, 90's style sundresses, bright bright colors, rompers, and cut outs (plus the obligatory handful of overalls). While this stuff might not be too practical for your corporate summer job, it's definitely a great way to find something awesome to wear to have a little fun on your days off.

via Refinery 29

Spring Has Sprung (almost)

At long last we've finally seen the sun following what feels like an entire year of a Polar Vortex ridden winter. This week the temperature rose above 50 (so warm!) and my mind immediately flew to the spring trends I've been DYING to wear but have been unable to as a result of the parka permanently attached to my body. While I know this warm front probably won't last as long as I hope, these trends won't be leaving my mind any time soon.

Crop Tops

Though they require very very careful execution, crop tops are still everywhere right now. Paired with a high waisted skirt to show a little sliver of skin, crop tops are both cooling (super handy for those unexpectedly hot spring days) and fashionable.

via Pursuit of Shoes

Layers

When will layers ever not be in? For spring I love layering a light jacket or long sleeves on top of shorts or a skirt. It keeps you warm for the cool spring morning, it's easy to remove later on, and the balance between less skin showing on top and more on bottom always works out well.

via Sincerely Jules

Statement Pants

In the world of fashion everything can be a "statement" something. Right now, It's pants. And I don't hate it. I've got a pair of awesome silk pants from H&M that have been calling my name all week. Once the temperatures are officially on the rise, find yourself some crazy looking pants and rock them all the way through the summer.

Via Anthropologie

Mini-Dresses and Sky High Heels

Yet another trend that never goes out of style, mini-dresses, especially those with a higher neckline, are always awesome. Paired with some chunky, towering heels this look makes your legs go on forever and it's absolutely perfect for the warmer weather.

via PopSugar

Fighting the Photoshop Battle

I recently saw this post on Upworthy about a picture that Lorde found of one of her latest performances that was obviously edited to adjust the appearance of her skin. The singer then tweeted the photoshopped image alongside an un-edited picture from the same day to show what she really looked like on stage.

I'm a huge fan of photoshop as a creative medium; it's a fantastic way to put together digital designs or edit the lighting or focus of a photo. But so frequently the media abuses this awesome tool to alter the appearance of women to promote a physically unattainable standard. It's one thing to adjust the lighting or focus of a photograph, but quite another to completely change the appearance of the person in question. Though I love fashion magazines, they are often the culprit behind these nipped waists and smoothed skin-tones, and I find myself constantly upset by many of the images they publish. At what point did we begin to think it makes sense to make already beautiful people look more like this "beauty ideal"? Comedian and Girl Code contributor Jessimae Peluso put it well when she pointed out that these celebrities and models don't even look like the final image! Oftentimes, in the worst of photoshop errors, they fail to look even human in the final, edited photograph.

Lorde's tweet, though short and sweet, is something that I find to be really impressive, especially because so many obvious photoshop errors are made every day in magazines and across the web that go unmentioned (her small act of defiance even prompted the creation of an inspiring, accepting playlist). Body image among adolescent girls has become so insanely distorted in large part as a result of this false portrayal of the female body in the media. Even something as small as Lorde's recognition of editing done to her un-even skin tone can make the difference in how young women view their own bodies.

What we need now in order to counteract this effect of altering the portrayal of women's bodies in the media is this influence (no matter if it's through major statements or minor tweets) of people in this spotlight, the very women whose bodies are being changed before they are shown to the world. Women like Lorde and Adele, Lena Dunham and Zooey Deschanel are making such a difference by pointing out failures in the presentation of women in the media. With encouraging words and brave actions, women like these, the very victims of these crazy photoshop incidents, are helping to bring to light the effects of such digital alterations. We need to listen to these voices and encourage the contribution of others, because it's true, the girl in the magazine doesn't look like the girl in the magazine and what's more important is that you should look like you, not anyone else.

Favorite Recipes

I'm not really a recipe style chef. I prefer to walk into the grocery store with some flavors in mind that I've been craving and make up meals as I go. This way, I always come up with multiple ways to use up food so that I avoid the dreaded spoiled milk, rotten vegetables, and eye-sprouting potatoes. However, when I find a recipe I really love, I'll make it over and over and over again. Here are some of my current favorite recipes, all sourced from every college student's go-to, Pinterest:

Eggplant Parmesan:

As a vegetarian, eggplant parmesan is an absolute god-send. It's filling, tasty, and without all the white carbs that go along with most vegetarian Italian meals. This recipe is crazy easy (I've made it three times in the last month or so) and it reheats really well afterwards. I like to pair it with roasted veggies like broccoli, asparagus, or brussel sprouts.

Fried Egg & Avocado Toast:

This isn't necessarily something you need a recipe for, but I'm putting it on here because it's one of my favorite food combinations. I recently discovered the glorious convenience of fried eggs on salads, sandwiches, roasted veggies, and pretty much anything else edible. One of my favorite ways to eat fried eggs is on toast for breakfast or lunch, especially with smashed avocado, tomato, and feta (my own addition to this already tasty recipe).

Roasted Chickpeas:

I REALLY like snacking. Especially crunchy, salty snacking. And while that might lead me to overdose on things like chips and Cheezits, I'm actually also a big fan of healthy food (whoa, shocker). Meet roasted chickpeas, my new best friend. These bad boys are easy to make, delicious, and long lasting. I'll roast a can of chickpeas and snack on them for a week, occasionally adding them to other foods like tofu stir fry or a hearty salad, until I'm ready to roast up some more.

Sweet Potato Risotto:

This is the hardest recipe on this list, but definitely still worth it. Risotto is recognizably time consuming, requiring on average 30-40 minutes of stirring, but that doesn't mean multitasking is impossible. When I made this a few weeks ago I read a book for my English class between stirring breaks and still managed to succeed in the Risotto game. The result was a simultaneously sweet and hearty dish that I paired with roasted brussel sprouts and asparagus. If you have some extra time to make dinner, definitely use it to try this one out.

Mid-Century Bohemian

I've always had more of a classic inclination when it comes to interior decor. Lots of soft, cream couches, icy blues and chocolate browns, warm throws and pillows; your basic nice looking, simple, and perpetually classic room. While I still definitely hold on to this aesthetic, I've been leaning towards a new look lately and I'm pretty excited about it.

It's a little trendy and a little bit of a throwback, but mid-century modern is all over the web right now and I'm totally loving it. Now, this current trend isn't your typical mid-century look, though Eames chairs are definitely running rampant on Pinterest. This increasingly popular style of design is something between mid-century modern and bohemian, combining modern lined furniture in black leather and warm wood with layered rugs and colorful prints. I love this combination of minimalist form with free flowing color, especially when paired with sprawling gallery walls and indoor plants. If you can't tell from the photo sources, this look is definitely Californian and while it's a true west coast style, I'll definitely be bringing it in to my future tiny New York apartment.

 via SF Girl by Bay

 via Style Files

 via SF Girl by Bay

 via Eclectic Revisited

via Apartment Therapy

The Big Transition

Nothing is harder than sorting out what to wear during those in-between months. Y'know when you can feel the next season coming, and with it a whole slew of fashion trends, but it's not quite here yet? These are the months in which I manically search my wardrobe for something that both looks relatively normal, if not stylish, and manages to carry me through the ever-changing temperatures/precipitations of the day. For the most part, I rely on a carefully thought out layering system to get me through, but on the days when I find the motivation to really dress to impress, here's some of my go-to winter-spring transitional tips.

I'm a huge fan of stripes and florals both as an outfit combination and as transitional pieces in general (each in all shapes, sizes, and colors as well). It's important to keep in mind when mixing patterns, however, that the size of each needs to balance the other, like how the slimmer stripes on this Alice & Olivia tee blend seamlessly with the big, bold florals of the J.Crew skirt. Another awesome way to find the middle ground between overly spring-y florals and all-black winter darks, is to blend the two with a floral print on the cooler side of the color spectrum. I love a dark floral year round, but it works especially well as a transition piece through the months of March, April, and May. As far as shoes go, it's probably best to play it by ear, swapping booties for flats for heels depending on the weather, but who could resist these Zara pumps with this outfit? Not me, clearly. Throw on some geometric Madewell jewels and top it all off with the god of all transition seasons, a classic Gap denim jacket. Warm, durable, and easily removable, this jacket will get you through the morning rain and look just as cool tied around your waist (ooh so 90's) later in the day.

1. Gap denim jacket, 2. J.Crew floral skirt, 3. Alice and Olivia cropped striped shirt, 4. Zara heels, 5. Madewell studs, 6. Madewell necklace, 7. Madewell rings

Toppers

I've always had an on and off flirtation with hats. One year I love them the next my head is suddenly the wrong shape for them. Lately I just haven't had the confidence to seek out a stylish hat that actually fits, despite my current love for them. This new Janessa Leon Spring 2014 collection may be changing some of that. With it's mix of classic shapes and modern materials, this collection has absolutely everything a hat lover might need.

via Honestly WTF