Sea of Sunflowers

A familiar sight this time of year, it's hard not to be drawn to the sunflowers. A local farm plants these every year. To the best of my knowledge, they do not cut them and sell them, they don't charge for entry, they don't advertise, and there is no where to park other than the side of the road; but those who know it's there show up year after year to take photos.

After snapping away in the field, beads of sweat dripping off my face, bees buzzing may be a bit too close for comfort, it was off to a local vineyard, where the remainder of the afternoon could be spent with a bottle of wine and a cheese plate. While I'm sad to have missed so many social events this summer, at least sitting outside with a companion or two was still possible. While I may never miss the feeling of my makeup sliding off my face in the heat, I suppose it's a fair exchange for the luxury of getting to spend the day out of doors.

         
The Rundown
Gingham Maxi Dress Old Navy similar
Caned Leather Tote Anthropologie
Espadrilles Soludos
Straw Fringed Hat Romwe

Monica Hoop Earrings S.V. Decker

Charm Necklace c/o Grand Avenue Jewelry

Thin Gold Ring Etsy via Ellyn Blue Jewelry

Cat Eye Sunglasses H&M similar

Nail Color "Pre-Show Jitters" Essie

 

Knits and Denim

While I am in no way ready for summer to be over, this week has cooled down significantly. Rather than fear for the worst (I'm sure there will still be quite a few hot days before fall officially arrives) I'm embracing the cooler temps with a new knit dress, in the perfect summer into fall shade.

Curve hugging is not my usual silhouette, but I've been embracing it with these knit dresses, as they are so comfortable and easy to wear, and make me feel put together with the least amount of effort.

Today I have a special guest in my photos, Ollie, a mini Australian Shepard I was sitting over the weekend. He is a wonderful dog, definitely a handful though! Being with such a high energy dog for 48 hours made me realize just how easy and laid-back Chloe was.

I'm also collaborating with several other bloggers to show seven ways of styling a denim jacket. You can see everyone's looks on Instagram!

       

The Rundown
Rust Knit Dress H&M
Denim Jacket Gap similar
Wedge Sandals Loft similar
Round Rattan Bag Etsy similar
Palma Wide Fedora Lack of Color
Gold Ball Earrings Kohl's
Gold Rectangle Chain Necklace Etsy
 Gold Bracelet The Cavernous Jewelry Box
Thin Gold Ring Etsy via Ellyn Blue Jewelry
Dog Ollie (borrowed)

Last Light

You know those evenings when you glance out the window and see the sun starting to set and think you need to drop what you are doing and go take outfit photos? This was one of those nights. So I dragged my mom to play photographer and drove to the sunflower field we'd shot in a couple weeks earlier.

With the fading light, most of the flowers were bowing their heads, but the bees had yet to call it a night, and it was much to my mother's chagrin when I told her I was pushing my way through to a small clearing in the center of the field and she was to follow me. But we made it out without being stung, and for the second time this year I had some challenging lighting conditions to contend with in this sunflower field, though it was completely worth it.

          

The Rundown
Bamboo Print Wrap Dress New York & Co. similar
Woven Mule Sandals Ann Taylor
Round Rattan Bag Etsy
Circle Earrings c/o AUrate New York
Thin Gold Ring Etsy via Ellyn Blue Jewelry
Sunglasses "Meteor" Ray-Ban c/o TJMaxx
Nail Color "Sunday Funday" Essie

Linking up with Pink Sole's How I Spring
and
By Lauren M's Mix it Monday

Sunny Days

I could not have chosen a worse time of day to be in the middle of a field, but that is just how things worked out. I know the saying "there is no bad lighting, only bad photographers" and I feel like I fall somewhere in the middle of that. Perhaps there was a better way to deal with the light during the shoot, however I used my new favorite trick in Lightroom to correct things - radial filters. This allowed me to control the exposure and white balance on me separately from the exposure and white balance on the background, and I must say, it worked like a charm.

      

The Rundown
White Eyelet Midi Dress Madewell similar 
White Slides Ferragamo via Coco's similar
Vintage Japanese Bamboo Bag via eBay similar vintage
Square Scarf Loft
Versailles Earrings  Julie Vos similar
Thin Gold Ring Etsy via Ellyn Blue Jewelry
Sunglasses "Meteor" Ray-Ban c/o TJMaxx

Nail Color "Couture Curator" Essie

Linking up with Shopping My Closet Style Me Wednesday
and
Style on the Daily

Sunflower Field

Connecticut is home to several farms with sunflower fields. I know the ones which get the biggest draw are Buttonwood in Griswold, and Lymann Orchards in Middlefield (they do have a maze which would probably be really fun), however why drive an hour for sunflowers when there is a huge field just a few towns away in North Branford? This field might not have a website or even an active Facebook page, but it's there all the same. Stopping for a visit was on my list of things I wanted to do last summer, however, here we are, last week of August this summer, and I finally made it!

Sunflowers might not top my list of favorite flowers, but to see the field, bright, seemingly endless yellow stretched out - I certainly have an appreciation for their beauty.

           

The Rundown

Maxi Dress ASOS similar
Mules Madewell
Round Rattan Bag Etsy
Straw Boater Hat Hinge similar
Necklace "Greer V" Gorjana similar
Fatima Bracelet c/o Gorjana similar
Bee Ring Kohl's similar
Gold Wrap Ring Gift from Meg
Sunglasses "Meteor" Ray-Ban c/o TJMaxx

Linking up with I Do deClaire's Confident Twosday

and

Sandy a la Mode's On Trend Tuesday