Currently, August 2020.

Happy August!! We arrived on the 8th month of the year. Summer is flying by which makes me sad. This month's highlight: my vacation. I will be vacationing to Florida after a decade and a half. I haven't been there in so long and last time I was, it was on the opposite side of the state. I wish it was under better circumstances and not during a world pandemic that has turned us upside down, but this is our reality this year. We would be able to see and do a lot more things had it been a normal year, but we will stick mostly to outdoor/uncrowded activities anyway. We thought long+hard about visiting Disney since we will be close and Vivian has never been there, but this year is not the right time for it. Hopefully next Fall. I believe Disney will still be pretty crowded. You have to keep masks on indoors which makes it tough with how hot Florida is, especially in August. And DISNEY doesn't have all the parks opened, or all its activities and they still charge you the same which honestly it is unfair.

choosing: What Clothes to pack for Florida (I am being more indecisive about myself than Vivian, if I am being honest). When you own a ton of clothes and you own a lot of dresses and rompers/jumpsuits it definitely makes it hard. Plus what swimsuits to choose! It will be a pretty long vacation too so I want to have plenty of choices (I am thinking a different swimsuit each day and 2 outfits each day).

consuming: Less and less bread, starches and carbs. So far so good this week. I did have a slice of pizza today but in 4 days I haven't had any bread or any other carbs. That's my goal for the rest of the time being till we leave for vacation in 2 weeks. Bread is my main guilty pleasure when it comes to consuming food so trust me when I tell you, this is a very hard one for me. Plus I am Albanian, bread is a big part of what we eat.

enjoying: My Dalgona Coffees almost every day. I know #dalgonacoffee has been a big hit this year, especially during the quarantine but I have been drinking it regularly for a decade, when I lived in Albania, too. If you want my exact recipe let me know in the comments and I will tell you. It is made using instant coffee and I have tried several instant coffees/brands. My favorite one, the best one hands-down is Folgers Noir, Golden Dusk. It is a dark but smooth coffee, very flavorful. And because of the strong taste, you can add less than most of the other instant coffees or Nescafe.

ordering: Birthday Presents for all the August Birthdays I have and also books for Vivian, for second grade. Also ordering and booking the hotel for our upcoming vacation. This has already been an expensive month lol. But we will definitely get to enjoy it, do some beaching and make many memories and that's the most important thing!

remembering: that this too shall pass. There has been so much sadness, sickness, madness and malice this year - not for me personally or for my family, thankfully, but in general I keep reminding myself that this year will pass, this virus at some point will go away. And I keep remembering what I tell myself  time and time again "What doesn't kiss us, makes us stronger!" We have to continue to have hope and faith in God, continue to live our lives as normally as possible, keep praying and staying strong. This is just a long phase and it will one day go away!

I haven't done an outfit recap on these currently posts in the last couple of months, but today I am recapping the first outfits I have blogged in the Augusts of the past 3 years. Walk with me down this style memory lane.

last year

Who is a fan of wrap dresses?! Especially if they have fluttery sleeves and ruffles (like this pretty floral maxi dress does)?! I raise both of my hands. This beauty was a very good price purchase from Nordstrom from a couple of years ago. I dressed it up a little bit with my laceup nude bootie sandals and added a shade of pink via those long dangly gold hoop earrings with pink pom-poms.

2 years ago.

Speaking of my upcoming vacation, this adorable mommy+me style post from two years ago was all about Jumpsuits and Vacation Style. This was back when I was doing my Sunday Showcase Linkup with my Floridian Friends KellyAnn and Chrissy which I hope I get to meet this August in Florida. Speaking of The Sunday Showcase, it is a week late this month but Mireille and I will be back with it this Sunday on August 9th, so welcome by and join it! And since I am talking about vacation, this was my favorite vacation look that I wore in 2018 when we went for vacation in Holland Michigan. Most likely I will be packing this gorgeous blue floral jumpsuit with me this year when we travel - it is after all my favorite jumpsuit that I own and it reads Florida! This real straw large tote (by Target for the win!) will also be coming with me, ditto on Vivian's fish-print dress with tassels (also by Target).

3 years ago.

I cannot believe it has been 3 years since this beautiful, super elegant, chic and colorful work outfit anchored by black, but it is not just any black. It is black eyelet! That peplum collared sleeveless blouse is so beautiful and sophisticated. I definitely need to find it and wear it before the Summer is over. I must say I love the combination of burgundy, black, ivory, coral, cognac and a pop of turquoise, here. I also mixed patterns and textures: floral and snakeskin; suede, tassels, leather and eyelet. It was a great collaboration about what to wear to the office in the summertime. I would wear this outfit head to toe today, too.