Chicago + Ludington Recap

I'm back in the DYT after my big Chicago/Michigan adventure! I thought I would do a quick recap post of what I've been up to for the last seven days.

CHICAGO

Two of my aunts and my cousins live in Chicago so our whole family made the trip out to chi-town to spend some time together and see the city. The first thing we did when we arrived on Friday evening was order some classic Chicago style pizza and hang out with our family in the hotel!

On Saturday morning, we grabbed some breakfast then went to Millennium Park. We saw the bean and played on the huge playground with our little cousins. Most of our day consisted of visiting the Shedd Aquarium, which I loved!

After a little bit of shopping, we had a big family dinner at Balena. The food was AMAZING. Get the lemon & kale pasta!

My last excursion in the city was to Stan's Donuts. Not only is the building adorable, I had the lemon pistachio donut and it was to-die-for.

After breakfast we headed out to the suburbs for a cookout and pool party at my cousins' house. Then, it was time for us to hit the road to Michigan.

MICHIGAN

My grandparents have had a cottage in Ludington, Michigan for the past ten years, so it's basically a second home to me.

It's such a peaceful place, I swear time slows down. I loved being able to lay out in my hammock in the backyard.

The weather was perfect so we were able to spend a ton of time on the water. I basically lived in this shirt from Miss Lucy's, and I didn't get burnt!

We also climbed sand dunes, went tubing, watched the sunset, and ate way too much ice cream! To me, it's the perfect vacation. The tiny town of Ludington has my heart <3

However...

I absolutely raced home from Michigan because my parents had a little puppy waiting for us at home. (I posted this on Instagram) I'm head-over-heels in love with him...

More to come!

Stay Sunny,

Meg

Dressing For You // OOTD

I used to dress to please others. I would put on outfits solely based off of what I thought other people would think was cute-- but not trying too hard. I would over analyze every outfit in the mirror until I didn't feel good about myself anymore. Especially with my fashion blog, I craved comments of approval on what I wore. Even so, I didn't want anyone from school looking at my blog.

Around this time last year, all of that changed. I started to break out of my shell and wear what I felt good in. It stopped mattering to me whether or not it looked like I was trying hard, because I was having too much fun to care. I still get comments from people like "Are you really going to wear THOSE shoes?" to "Those are some big earrings for such a little girl." But it turns out, the more you wear what makes you happy less you lose sleep over the opinions of others.

Iris Apfel said it best: "Dress to please yourself. Listen to your inner muse and take a chance. Wear something that says 'Here I am!' today."

I recently shot an outfit with McKenna that I think expresses my personal style. I hope you like it, but if you don't, that's okay too. :-)

I am absolutely obsessed with these earrings from Lisi Lerch. They also have tons of other styles/colors- check it out!

book a session with mckenna

earrings c/o | similar top 1 2 3 | shoes (70% off) | bag | jeans | bracelets

Stay sunny,
Meg

June Recap

Being the first full month of summer, June is a whirlwind of fun times, warm weather, and making memories. In this post, I wanted to give everyone a peek of how I spent my June.

1: driving and getting my license

On the last day of school, I left after taking my final exam of sophomore year to take none other than my driving exam. I was uncharacteristically nervous, but luckily I ended up passing! After having my license for a month, I'd say there's nothing quite like your sixteenth summer.

2: grad parties

Everyone knows that the last weeks of May/first weeks of June are prime grad party season. I went to more grad parties than I ever have, and I had a blast! I loved dancing with my friends, sharpening my corn hole skills, and of course the food....

3: selena gomez concert

The Selena concert is difficult for me to talk about because I might still be in shock.

4: the color run

Ever since I saw it on Pinterest a few years ago, I have always wanted to run in a color run. When they came to Dayton, I decided that I should go for it and sign up for the run. I left happy and covered head-to-toe in color powder (and as you can see I also got some in my mouth).

5: friends photoshoot

I already shared some photos in this post, but I was able to cross another thing off my summer bucket list by having a photoshoot downtown with my friends.

6: mission trip

My mission trip to Appalachia was a time for me to leave my comfort zone: both spiritually, emotionally, and physically. At first it was scary and nerve-wracking to go to such a poor place without my family or phone, but then it was oh so good. We are rewarded for leaving our comfort zones, let me tell ya. My group and I were able to fix the kindest family's home that was completely damaged by water. They didn't have a functional ceiling, gutters, door,  or porch- but we did what we could to fix it. I grew close to the two daughters who lived in the home and I wish that I could've stayed longer to do more for them. There's always next year!

Stay Sunny,

Meg

Here's a roundup of June's posts in case you missed any:

Tassel Talk

Summer Gym Routine

Vanilla & Agave Iced Coffee

Blue & White

Navy Maxi Dress

The Importance of Unplugging

Bloggers Who Brunch

Undeniable: First Ladies' Best Outfits

Bloggers Who Brunch

"Sorry, I can't...I have brunch plans..."

- every blogger ever. The trend of "brunching" has taken social media by storm... and with good reason. Everyone loves another excuse to wear a cute outfit and eat breakfast food without waking up early! I know I'm not alone in saying that I am always down for a good brunch. So, some blogging friends & I decided to share our top 3 breakfast spots as well as a brunch worthy outfit.

{ my outfit }

I decided to keep this outfit simple since my top is a bit of a statement piece!

top | earrings | jeans | similar wedges 1 2 3 4

{ fave brunch spots }

number one // Whole Foods

Those who know me best know that Whole Foods is my JAM. I mean seriously, my friends make fun of me for the obscene amount of times I go in that place a week. My favorite thing to do is grab a friend, order some coffee, pick out a pastry, and chat. They also have a really good hot breakfast bar!

number two // Taste of Belgium

If you're local to Cincinnati, you're bound to have heard of Taste of Belgium. Believe me, it's worth the hype. My favorite thing on the menu is the Waffogatto (which is really more of a dessert but I don't care). It's a waffle, scoop of vanilla bean gelato, and a shot of espresso to pour over the top. *mouth watering*

number three // The Cheesecake Factory

Some people don't know that The Cheesecake Factory serves brunch on Sunday mornings... and I feel so sorry for those people. They cook a mean crab hash over there, combined with a delicious cappuccino & I'm in heaven. Not to mention the avocado toast....

Check out the rest of the posts from the collab:

macy | renee | abby | fran | carin | pj | sammy | jessica

Stay Sunny,

Meg

Let's be friends! Find me on: instagram | bloglovin' | pinterest | poshmark

The Importance of Unplugging

background image via

A pink post-it note sticks to my wall bearing three little words: more real life. I wrote this phrase after I spent a lot of time on my phone one afternoon and was left feeling rather deflated--definitely not in a sunny state of mind. This note serves as a reminder to myself to get off screens, "unplug" and get out and do something meaningful.

The importance of unplugging is a subject that has been coming up a lot for me lately, especially after reading this post.

Let's be real, I'm a blogger. I love engaging an audience on social media, staying in touch with blogging friends , and posting all the content of my life. But at some point, this all gets to be too much. I'm not saying I don't scroll through Instagram every day or get inspiration from Pinterest, because I do. But for me, living online is just not part of living an abundant life. 

I found out that in addition to affecting my lifestyle, living online affects my health. When I read this New York Times article and found out that screen time was actually proven to damage health and mood, I decided to get more serious about unplugging. I deleted the Snapchat and Twitter apps on my phone (I still access them from time to time on my iPad), and I have been trying to stay off my phone before bed. The last thing I do at night isn't check my texts, it's writing about my day in a journal. This has made all the difference. 

Especially at the end of the day, an iPhone can seem like a beehive of sorts. It's always buzzing with activity and has a million things going on at once. Of course, this can draw us in and make us feel like we're multitasking, when really it just leads to more time wasting and more procrastination.

Not only can being constantly plugged in lead to less productivity, it can effect how you communicate with your friends and family. If everyone is on their phones, it obviously draws away from the time you have in the flesh with your friends. Something I like to do with my friends when we are together is make a "phone pile" where everyone stacks their phones face down and taking your phone off the stack leads to automatic shaming by your other  friends. :-)

On June 26th I will be leaving on a  mission trip, and I'm not bringing my phone. I did the same last year, and it had a huge effect on me. I found myself creating more relationships than ever before, and truly experiencing more real life. I invite you to do the same- whether for a week or an afternoon- turn off your phone and get out there. Create memories that won't ever see social media, memories that are just yours. Fill this summer with memories of abundant living and happy times.

Stay sunny, 

Meg