Weekly Recap #34, 2023

It was not the best week, if I’m being honest… I’ve just been SO frustrated with blogging lately. Specifically, taking photos. I wouldn’t say that photoshoots for my blog have ever been an easy task, but lately it’s been even more difficult to find pretty backdrops and the perfect lighting. In college, I lived on a beautiful campus with countless locations for photo-ops. There were so many spots where I knew what the lighting would be like throughout the day and could rely on those locations in a pinch.

Now, in post-grad life, I live in an apartment community in a mostly residential area. I’ve found it really difficult to find photo-worthy locations in a reasonable distance, and for the few spots I have found, the lighting has been so tricky and unreliable. Not to mention, it’s been raining so much in Denver this summer that I swear every time I step outside to take pics, storm clouds roll in!

I miss living in a photogenic spot, which in turn makes me miss college a little—especially during this back-to-school season. My big goal for August was to get back on track with my three-posts-a-week schedule, but that obviously hasn’t happened… I feel like I’m letting other people and myself down.

I’m not sure how to solve this issue yet, but instead I have been spending the past few days investing my energy into filming Reels/TikToks because those usually require a little less staging. All this to say, thank you for sticking with me the past several months. I know I haven’t been consistent at all and I appreciate your unwavering support!

Now that the ramble is over with, onto this week’s outfits…

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Monday, August 21

I worked from home and tried taking blog photos in the evening, which didn’t turn out—I have a bad habit of not getting dressed in real clothes when I plan on taking pics, so no OOTD today. Trying to avoid too many outfit changes I guess.

Tuesday, August 22

I had to be in the office a little early today to interview a client on Zoom, but they stood me up! Grrr. I tried taking blog pics again that didn’t turn out so decided to focus my energy in my Wisconsin Reel, which I was really happy with.

I wore this tie-front blouse and pinstripe skirt last summer too and love how chic the outfit is. Makes me feel like one of the hot paralegals on a lawyer show. You can’t really see them in this pic, but I’m also wearing dangly green earrings—I loved the color combo of olive green with the maroon blouse and shoes.

Maroon Tie-Neck Blouse: Banana Republic, $30 ($4.29 per wear), last worn here | Pinstripe Skirt: Hand-me-down, last worn here | Mary Jane Heels: Thrifted, $10 ($2.00 per wear), last worn here

Wednesday, August 23

I’ve had this boho blouse since grade school, if you can believe it—I remember wearing it to a children’s craft show where I sold some of my art. I don’t love the top with these jeans (the dark wash seems too chic to be paired with a flowy boho shirt), but it was a good comfy outfit for a busy day of meetings. After work, we had an all-company happy hour at a nearby brewpub that was actually a surprise graduation party for one of my coworkers. So much fun! I wish we hung out outside of work hours more often.

Green Blouse: JCPenney, $16 ($1.78 per wear), last worn here | Cropped Flared Jeans: Express, $25 ($0.78 per wear), last worn here | Brown Sandals: DSW, $19 ($0.22 per wear), last worn here

Thursday, August 24

This is definitely more of a casual outfit for work, but I didn’t have any meetings today and knew not many people would be in the office. My friend brought me these navy pants back from her trip to India and I absolutely love them! So comfy and perfect for summer, especially now that I’ve been trying to limit sun exposure on my legs since I’ve been getting laser hair removal.

White Blouse: Thrifted, $12 ($1.71 per wear), last worn here | Navy Pants: Gift, handmade in India, last worn here | White Espadrilles: DSW, $45 ($0.52 per wear), last worn here

Friday, August 25

It was so gloomy and rainy today—really felt like fall for the first time. I just threw on this sweatshirt and jeans for a cozy night in.

Tie-Dye Sweatshirt: American Eagle, $18 ($1.06 per wear) | Ripped Straight Leg Jeans: Express, $15 ($0.79 per wear), last worn here | Blush Sneakers: Steve Madden via DSW, $60 ($0.46 per wear), last worn here

Saturday, August 26

My boyfriend and I had such a fun (but full) day today! With it being back-to-school season, I wanted to show him around the University of Denver (DU) and all my old haunts. Even though this is the second fall I’m not heading back to campus, all the school supplies and back-to-school commercials have been making me nostalgic for my college days. Today was a really fun date idea that also scratched that college itch!

We got brunch at Jelly Cafe, toured campus, grabbed drinks at Adrift Tiki Bar, ate dinner at my favorite restaurant Wash Park Grille, walked around Wash Park, and got ice cream at Bonnie Brae. (So yes, we basically just ate and drank all day—I was very full by the end of it.) We finished the night at DU’s Chamberlin Observatory. It was an open house so we got a tour of the observatory and got to look through the massive telescope at the star Arcturus! So beautiful.

White Crop Top: American Eagle, $8 ($1.14 per wear), last worn here | Ripped Straight Leg Jeans: Express, $15 ($0.75 per wear), last worn here | White Sneakers: Primark, $10 ($0.63 per wear), last worn here

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Sunday, August 27

I tried taking pics of the same outfit for the third time, and the moment I stepped outside the clouds darkened. Ugh! Since I couldn’t be productive taking blog photos, I decided to focus my energy being productive in other ways, mainly, deep cleaning the whole apartment. Will the fourth time be the charm tomorrow? Or should I just give up on taking pics of this particular outfit? We shall see…

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As always, thanks for stopping by the blog today, and have a great rest of your day. Let me know which of this week’s outfits is your favorite—mine is Tuesday’s pinstripe skirt work outfit.

 

Miles of smiles,
Grace