Currently, July 2018.

After a horrible May full of challenges and changes, June turned out much better - Thank God. And thank you to those of you who have prayed for me, too, I appreciate it so much! It was a pretty hot month for the most part, though we had about 10 cooler days and also a lot of rain, which is great for all those flowers we planted and for our grass. After a shopping freeze for two months I did a little (OK a lot lol) of shopping in June. Target and Loft always get me, guys. Plus I had to use their sale days. Needless to say I need nothing this Summer as I stocked up in dresses, skirts, swimsuits, tanks and tees for Summer for both Vivian and I. But what I need (still) is a pair of denim cutoff shorts. The search is on and I want to get a pair before our vacation on July 26th. I hear great things about American Eagle's and Abercrombie's Denim Shorts?! Thoughts, ladies?! Anyway, Anne is back with her monthly Currently Linkup. Here I am with yet another currently post for July 2018. 

celebrating: the 4th of July and Summer in general. We have done a lot of 4th of July celebrating (Vivian and I), mostly by laying low, relaxing, eating ice cream, enjoying our days off while we spend some quality mommy+daughter time, wearing a lot of patriotic, Americana looks - a lot of stripes too - and going to a couple of our local beaches, as we get our tan on. We have done a lot of celebrating of it on my Instagram and Insta stories too, so I am sorry I have been bombarding you with snaps, stories and photos but I have been off for a few days off and I won't go back to work till Thursday. I promise I have saved the best photos and stories for the 4th, though! 

And while you are here, take a peek at my most recent Insta post as it is my most favorite Instagram post/picture in over 800 photos. It describes my everyday life to a tee, my life as a mom and my love for my child. I talk about how blessed I am, in relation to Independence Day, too. And the best part, it is such a gorgeous picture without any filter. Go look at it guys and show it some 💕. Thank you!

visiting: Holland Michigan, for the first time. I know a lot of people who have gone and they have said great things so I am glad my family and I chose a new/different Michigan location for this year's Summer Vacation. I also mentioned it in my July, Vacation-themed post where I also talk about packing, favorite vacations and whatnot in regards to vacationing in the Summertime - go read it. 😊

baking: me - nothing. My mom - cornbread. I am not a baker guys, sorry, but my mom can bake and she is a mean cook too. Lately she has been baking some delish cornbread, but not the sweet kind which you could also have as dessert. Her cornbread is filled with delicious vegetables. As a matter of fact she made some today and the entire home smelled so yummy as it was baking. 

wearing: lots and lots of stripes and lots of American Flag Hair Accessories. I am wearing a lace-up front sleeveless striped white+black trapeze mini dress as I am typing this, actually. You will see it on my Instagram stories tomorrow and will be blogged over the weekend, too. Yesterday I wore my red+white striped short-sleeve, fitted mini cotton dress. The day before it was chambray shorts with a striped Summer tank and so on and so forth. Vivian too has been wearing lots of stripes, from swimsuits to tees and dresses, her wardrobe has a lot of stripes too. Ditto on those American Flag bows and hair pieces.

loving: the fact that it is Summer and that I have the luxury (and huge help from my mom) of spending some days off at home with my daughter as I make my own work schedule and she is only in Summer school part-time. I am also loving the warm weather and the fact that it is bikini season and also dresses+skirts season. And yes you will be seeing some bikinis - tomorrow's post, as scary and exciting as that is lol - and a lot of dresses and a ton more skirts (I have a skirt collaboration coming up in mid July, with my skirt-lover friend Elsie from Polished Whimsy which is currently enjoying her vacation). So lots of exciting things to come on the blog this Summer!

Now let's see what I wore from 5 years ago and forward around the 4th of July. Let's just say that I was recapping these past outfits, besides the 'theme' of red+white+blue I noticed that I wore and styled a lot of tees. I love a good striped tee and a good graphic tee. As I will be recapping these past outfits you will notice that I remember every brand of every piece I have worn. Heck I can even tell you the year they were purchased. I have such a photographic memory (knock on wood). I truly like all the different wedges in these outfits. Each pair is patterned too, fun! And also, when I do these throwback posts, I love seeing how Vivian has changed and has grown! Enjoy!!

5 years ago.

This twofer post was part of a series I did that week, 5 years ago. I was talking about a Mom's Must Have Summer Items and this particular post talked about a white tee. A white t-shirt is an essential Summer item. I loved that this super soft 100% cotton tee by Express had a flattering scoop-neck and is super long which meant it could be styled with super skinny pants, leggings and jeggings. I was a stay-at-home mom to a brand-new baby then, enjoying my long maternity leave so my style was super casual, both for day and night. But I still dressed up a little more in the evenings. Both outfits are great subtle options for 4th of July too. I ended up loving the daytime look though and how I faked a white maxi dress. It is a fresh and put-together casual Summer look. The little coral flower belt added some flair. Plus, this white tee fitted me to a tee (pun intended) and made my boobs look so good. I was a DD size then as a breast-feeding mama lol.

4 years ago.

Ok, so this was posted in July 31st 2014, but in real life I wore it in early July, showing my American pride though I was living in Albania then. This Striped Red+White Fit+Flare Ponte Dress from H+M is one of my favorite striped dresses I have ever owned. Same goes for the Multi-Colored Dotted Peep-Toe Low Wedges and love my Guess Genuine Leather Gold Bag, too. I also love the dark red big sunglasses I wore. Love their ombre glass effect. That last week of July was dedicated to Dresses and I blogged a new dress each day. I blogged a lot more then guys. Lastly, I always love wearing gold with red, blue and white, it feels so nautical and fresh. But seriously loving the two photos with an 18-month old Vivian. They were taken in the front yard of her daycare which had the pretty palm tree inside (yes Tirana - Albania has a warm climate guys) and how cute is that hand-painted duck wall?! But I also love that we are coordinated yet not matchy-matchy in our dresses. Vivian's dress is navy chambray, white and red with splashes of pink and she was rocking long hair and bangs then. Always such a beautiful girl, my Vivian. =)

3 years ago.

I had to choose two outfits from 2015 because I love them both. They feature stripes - shocking I know lol - and two of my most favorite striped tees I have ever owned and worn. The first outfit (above) I titled the post "An All American Girl" because American girls are patriotic, wear a lot of stripes and dress casually. They love moccasins and casual loafers, too. I was representing my second home - America. I got all the colors covered - red, navy and white. It is such a casual but put-together mom babe look but with a twist - that Fabulous Sun Hat with the Oversized Polka Dot Bow. The hat was purchased from a local boutique in Albania as was the Navy Nautical Ponte Mini Skirt while the Ruched-Sleeve Magenta Striped Tee is from White House Black Market. I wish I would have packed that hat when I moved back to USA. The second outfit belongs from the previous post that year, where I recapped Red, White and Blue (Looks) for Summer and my favorite casual outfit is this monochromatic blue look. Those silky navy shorts is actually my Slinky Silk Navy Romper by Armani Exchange which I still own and wear a ton and almost pack it on every vacation. Those Wooden-Looking Wedges with the Red+White Stripes and Laceup detail were short-lived unfortunately. I have had them from years, they are from Payless, but the star of the outfit which was the Sequined Anchor Tee was a current find (at the time) from a local Albanian boutique.

2 years ago.

This was our festive post from the 4th of July, two years ago. I loved Vivian's outfit that year and believe it or not it was all from Wal Mart. The frilly skirt with different patterns was so cute and the 'Miss Independent' Tee totally suited her. I wish she had worn this outfit a couple of times, no clue what happened to it but it would still probably fit my tiny little girl lol. Me - I dressed up some Lace Overlay Navy Satin Shorts by The Limited with that Red Flag Graphic Tee I had just purchased that year for the 4th (from JC Penney) and the best pair of Cognac Sandals I have ever owned (no joke), they are real leather, block heels, pretty, classic, comfortable and by Naturalizer. I also love that chunky Beaded Long Necklace by The Limited and my pop of white came from the "Danielle" Kendra Scott Pearl White Statement Earrings. But I love that I added a pop of Hot Pink to this look. I always love that Hot Pink Satchel from Target.

last year.

This was one of our festive Red+White+Blue Looks from last year. I went totally dressy. That is a fun Blue+White Lace Ombre Swing Dress. It would be perfect for a Summer Wedding too. The dress was purchased from Target.com. You know that there are many brands at Target that are only offered online?! A lot of them are pricier brands but with so many cute and well-made clothes, like for example Alison Andrews, Spenser Jeremy, XOXO and Eclair - I own pieces from these brands which I love. Love my 'old' Snakeskin Express Clutch too. And those Espadrille Wedges with the Rainbow Stripes are comfortable and beautiful and look super expensive but they are like 10 years old, from Payless Shoe. Vivian is a little more casual in her Light Chambray Tiered Carter's Skirt, her Stripes+Stars Flag Tank Top by Old Navy and her Hot Pink Disney Glasses. All of these pieces still fit her, as a matter of fact she wore that tank yesterday with shorts.

Happy 4th you all and don't forget to link up with both The July Sunday Showcase Linkup and a brand-new Thursday Moda, tomorrow!