Whale you be my friend?

I think it's so phenomenal what a camera can capture. It can take a nuclear polluted pond (Pictured behind me) and make it appear like we are in Bora Bora. (OH HOW I WISH WE ARE IN BORA BORA!!)

My husband is now head over heels, or shall I say head over loafers obsessed with photography. He is watching youtube videos non-stop, studying the manual and upgrading lenses on a camera that's not even ours. He's taking pictures of the keyboard as we speak. 

Whale shirt and shorts: Jcrew

Belt: Shopruche

Thank you so much to everyone for leaving such encouraging and loving comments on my last post about Grace's special gift. Thanks also for the emails. There are a few of you who I don't know how to properly thank and respond to, since I wasn't able to find a blog to comment back on or an email address that I can write to, so I just wanted to say thank you again on this post.

I have met so many great friends through Sunny with a side of. This has been such a wonderful community, I appreciate all of you for following/reading and being a part of our lives. It has also been exciting getting to know all of you as well. 

So this is just a super brief post to express my gratitude to you, I've really enjoyed all your friendship. Lets stay in touch:

Facebook |  Bloglovin |  Instagram | GFC

Whale you be my friend? ;)

Linking up this week with Style Elixir, Fashion and Beauty Finds, and Real girl glam

Independence Day with a side of vintage LV

Happy early Independence Day!

I apologize if you've been seeing an over-abundance of red, white and blue outfits.

 Lets throw this one into the mix too :)  I don't usually wear red much, so it was fun to utilize my one and only red clothing item

This is a totally recycled outfit. Is that allowed in the fashion blogging world? Ah, whatever...

I wore this dress already here. And the red top here

This purse carries an interesting back story
When Aaron and I first started dating (6 years ago), I had no interest in designer items. I was as happy as a clam wearing random clothes from anywhere. I didn't understand the concept of designer wear. Why are they such sought after gems? Why do women go nuts over Louis Vuitton? I don't get it, it's just a bunch of letters on rock hard, inflexible leather.

Not long afterwards, Aaron's incredibly fashionable mom generously gave me this purse where she got in Paris, France over 25 years ago. It was my first designer bag, and I didn't know what to say or what to do with it. I just sat there and studied it for a long time, and it stared back at me. I didn't know how to love it because it was so foreign to me. Plus, I tried really hard to get over the fact that it looked kind of... "grandma".  So it sat around for awhile, forgotten and lonely in a dark hidden place. I was such an ungrateful, selfish fool.

I really hope Aaron's mom doesn't see this.

Fast forward 6 years later, it resurfaced again... and this time I was so happy to see it. What was "Grandma" looked more like a classy vintage style. What was "rock hard leather with random letters" transformed into a durable, italian saffiano leather with intricate hand stitched details. I hugged it like a long lost friend, and welcomed it back... this time grateful and appreciative. It's funny how tastes and perspectives change with time.
By the way, I'm still as happy as a clam wearing non-designer items... just with a new found appreciation for the differences between quality/comfort.

Grace and I had fun dressing up in July 4th colors :)

Dress: J.Crew ($15!)    Jacket: Plato's closet      Polkadot dress: Charter club      Shoes: Ferragamo     Purse: Vintage LV

Grace's Dress: Babygap

We ended the day with a family barbecue dinner.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!