Santorini, Greece: In Oia

The Trip 

Two years ago, one of my closet friends, Kristen said, "I'm going to graduate with a master's in the summer of 2015. Let's meet in Europe for a celebratory trip." 

Of course, I quickly agreed. Europe? A best friend vacation? Travel? It was a no-brainer. But you know how life gets in the way sometimes. Jobs, money, time, surprises… they can be a real kill-joy. But with planning, saving, effort and the stars aligning - it actually happened!! 

Kristen flew from our home town of Atlanta to Athens (with a week "layover" in Rome, the lucky duck) and I flew from Singapore to Athens to meet her at the airport. (If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen I also had an extended layover in Istanbul). 

We were only in Athens a day before we hopped on a short flight to Santorini to see the most beautiful summer sights. 

Santorini, Day One

We actually stayed at Kamari Beach (more on that later) on the other side of the island because we couldn't afford to stay in Oia. Oia is famous for it's iconic views and blue and white adobe buildings tucked up high in the mountains. I can really appreciate a country who strives to match their endless blue sky and dark navy waters with their buildings. 

The real story behind the white buildings is that it's rrrreeeeal hot y'all and ya know, white reflects the sun. If you look closely, you can see my shimmery sheen of sweat glow in the photos. Take into consideration, it's ME saying "hot" - while living on the equator in the jungle (aka Singapore) and having grown up with the Southern humidity of Georgia. 

We took a local bus (less than 2 euros) to main town of Fira and then took another bus up the windy mountain roads through the countryside to the main center of Oia. We spent the day oooo-ing and ahhh-ing, poking into all the clothing and jewelry boutiques and exploring all the little side streets. I don't think there was a bad view in Oia or an ugly alleyway. 

The Outfit 

Clearly heat was a huge factor when deciding what to wear. Nothing is more perfect than a light cotton sundress. This one from Cotton On did just the trick and obviously it was even more perfect that it matched the town! 

My hair is pretty thin and sweat makes it gross really fast (it's one of my sexiest talents, I can assure you) so I wasn't going to even BOTHER styling my hair. A ponytail and a vintage scarf is my favorite summer way to accessorize and deal with the heat. 

Another trick of mine for accessorizing and is to not even bother with necklaces. When I'm outside all day, the last thing I want is a slow, suffocating death from something around my neck. Makes me claustrophobic just thinking about it. So nope. Instead, I go for an bracelet party! This one I wore the whole time I was in Greece and loved the mix of bangles and tassels. Finished the outfit off with some vintage-inspired shades, my trusty comfy walking sandals. 

What are your favorite ways to accessorize during summer?

Stay tuned for more Greece posts coming up and thanks for dropping by! :)  

 

from Kristen's Instagram

Dress: Cotton On ( sold out, similar design) | Sunglasses & Bracelets: Cotton On | Shoes: Rack Room (similar) | Scarf: Vintage

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Basic Boho

When Carly from A Walk in the Park posted a photo-inspiration of the little black dressed styled bohemianly (yes, I just made "boho" into an adverb!) I instantly thought, Hey! I can do that too! It was such an exciting realization because I already had the essentials in my closet! I love to always be assessing, judging and figuring out how I can emulate another blogger's outfit or a perfect a pinterest style. But sometimes I have to shut it down. The thoughts in my head start saying, "You have to buy that. You need that. That will be perfect and give you everything you need." 

Like I said. Shut. It. Down. 

I don't want my life to be about always buying things. I don't want my blog to be either. I mean, I love a good shopping spree same as the next girl. But I constantly try to minimize my purchases. At the end of the day, I would rather spend my money on plane tickets and make memories. 

So anyways, back to this outfit. I didn't need to buy anything! Yay! It was the perfect casual and easy outfit to meet Sara for coffee.  

 

Source: A Walk in the Park 

Dress: TJ Maxx | Vest: New 2 U Thrift store | Shoes: Rack Room | Bag: Thrift store (Korea) | Necklaces: Lovisa  

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Photos by Sara Moulton

Mona Lisa Smile

I mentioned in another blog post that I went to see the younger Mona Lisa painting at a fantastic exhibit at The Arts House in Singapore. The entire exhibit goes into meticulous detail on how the Younger Mona Lisa is a Da Vinci original. It completely convinced me and I enjoyed seeing Da Vinci's tedious process in creating a painting. The most interesting things I learned were actually about math (a subject I usually stay very very far away) One point was how Da Vinci used the Golden Ratio to create composition in his paintings. I could try to explain the other points but I think I would just end up confusing you more! Either way, it was exciting to learn the behind-the-scene of Da Vinci's mind as well as all the scientific research to further prove who created the first beautiful Mona Lisa. And then of course, it was incredible getting to see her so up close and personal! 

I just had to get a t-shirt with her iconic face on it. Every time I wear this shirt, I see strangers pointing at me and whispering "Mona Lisa" as I walk past. Even my little five-year-students get excited to see this shirt. 

I'm half way tempted to write something funny or iconic on this shirt (perhaps "I woke up like this"?) like in Fly Art . 

Skirt: Modcloth | Shirt: Mona Lisa exhibit
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Summer Chambray

Every girl should own a chambray dress - it's the little black dress of denim which means it goes with everything. And who doesn't want a no-brainer dress to wear? I love this one particularly because of the sweet, classic silhouette. The best way to spice up a simple dress is obviously with lots of accessories and I decided on a color-scheme to help me narrow down options: orange, blue and yellow.  A scarf in my hair, beaded necklace, a funky geometric belt and my adorbs polka dot loafers - ready to brave the weather of the tropics! 

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