welp, it’s already the last friday of august! fall is officially in sight and i could not be more excited. another reason to be excited? the fact that S and i have zero plans this weekend. seriously, zilch. so i’m anticipating a lot of relaxing, perhaps a daily outfit photo shoot or two, and definitely a lot of delicious food (because i’d rather eat than be out in the heat). however you choose to spend these last few days of august, i hope they’re magical!

here are the top six things that made me smile this week:

one || holy mole-y. one of the things i decided upon turning thirty was that i’d make preventative health care a bigger priority. that meant being religious about daily sunscreen usage, drinking more water, staying up on doctor’s visits (yes, even the not so fun ones), flossing, and getting annual mole scans. you may not be able to tell from photos i post here, but i’m one moley lady. seriously, it’s like playing connect the dots on my limbs and torso. so since moles are no laughing matter, i made an appointment with my dermatologist on monday to do a comprehensive scan. in less than twenty minutes she had identified three fishy-looking spots, taken biopsies, covered me in band aids, and sent me on my way. now four days later, after the results came back from the lab, i can thankfully say that the moles in question ended up just funky looking benign growths! praise the Lord. but let this be my PSA to you, skincare on all fronts is so important. better to be safe with regular visits to your dermo than to risk having a mole grow into something more serious!

 

 

(i figured this kind of mole was cuter than posting a mole on your skin)

two || appe-thai-zing. last saturday night, S and i finally tried a restaurant i’ve been hearing about for years: bangkok bay, a hole-in-the-wall thai place on the border of solana beach and del mar. we opted to take our pad thai and drunken noodles to go and ate them overlooking the pacific a few miles north at swami’s beach in cardiff. not only did the food live up to the hype, it was a delightful way to celebrate date night.

 

 

three || holla for high colla(r). last week on a whim, i decided to peruse the old navy website. because sometimes you just need to treat yoself with a $5 t-shirt. anyway, i don’t know when the last time was you shopped at old navy, but y’all, they have some cute, fashionable, and obviously very affordable stuff these days! case in point this sleeveless mock neck striped dress i snagged for $21! i love the sophistication of the neckline and let’s be honest, you can never go wrong with classic black and white or stripes for that matter. i ordered a tall size since i’m a tad on the taller side so as to avoid an inappropriate-for-the-office length. the fabric is pretty thick, too making it a great piece to transition into fall.

 

 

four || you oughta know.  this week, the 5th grade version of me got a real treat when alanis morisette joined taylor swift on stage for a performance of “you oughta know” during the l.a. leg of her 1989 tour.  i don’t know about you, but back in 1995, jagged little pill was the only thing you’d find in my discman. i actually really miss that cd.

 

 

p.s. remember when alanis morisette almost married ryan reynolds?

five || (u.s.) open for business. this monday kicks off the last of the four major tournaments in the sport of tennis -the u.s. open played on home soil in flushing meadows, new york.  while all eyes will be on serena to see if she can clinch all four grand slams in a calendar year (the last one to do it was steffi graf in 1988), personally, i’m rooting for a rafa comeback, oh, and maybe some new tennis fashion.

 

 

six || going to the castle. this week S and i officially booked our flights, hotel, and car for nashville, tennessee. B is getting hitched (in a castle no less!) in october and S and i can’t wait to be there. aside from the wedding shenanigans, i’m also very much looking forward to introducing S to the city i’ve come to cherish so much. so here’s to one last jaunt across the country to round our an amazing year of travel.

doesn’t vancouver/seattle seem so long ago?!

p.s. to give us a little extra spending money while in nashville, we’ve decided to cancel our trip to la quinta for now. truth is, la quinta will always be there for us to enjoy but weddings come but once in a lifetime, so goodbye bathing suit, hello cowboy boots!

 

 

have the best weekend ever. see you (more regularly) next week!

all my love,

xo

image credits: one // two // three // five

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