Summer List

So, I'll start off with a confession.  I totally stole this post idea from Laura.  She posted her Summer Bucket List and I thought...hey, I love writing lists, and I love summer, and this is a good idea.  So here I am, doing it.

Last week, upon finishing classes, I handed AJ a little notebook titled "Summer Passport".  It was totally something I had seen on pinterest, and it was totally something meant for little kids, but I thought it was cute and I wanted to make one for us.  I filled it with a bunch of activities that we want to do together this summer (particularly since he's moving to Boston in September!) and left a lot of pages blank for us to add to it with other adventures.

Here's just some of that list:

go to NYC

drive to the beach in the middle of the night and watch the sunrise

mini golfing

classic date night of dinner and a movie

stargazing

go to Baltimore

go to Boston

attend a Philadelphia Phillies game

go out for sushi

hang out in Lancaster

antiquing

volunteer at something new together

bowling

host a themed dinner party

hiking

go to Philly

We like little day trips and adventures, and we have so many great cities within driving distance, so naturally, those types of trips take up a good chunk of our list. I'm excited for this summer.  I think it's going to be a great one!

Mark & Natalie's Woodland Shoot

Yesterday, I got to do a photo session with my brother, Mark, and his girlfriend, Natalie.  These two were so fun to shoot with.  They're so playful and so in love.  Despite the sogginess after a day of rain, we had a great shoot and a lot of fun doing it!  I especially appreciated their willingness to let me use them as models because I got to be creative.  I had never done an intentionally stylized shoot before with a scene and props, and so it was nice to experiment!

Here are a just a few shots from their session, but you can check out more here or like Betsy Gettis Photography on Facebook!

Summer Neutrals

Hold onto your hats everyone...I'm posting an outfit post.  Woah, I know, this is new!  Well, not entirely...in the four years I've been writing on this blog, I have done one other outfit post.  You can see that here.  I've just been reading a lot of fashion blogs lately and have been inspired.  Plus, as a photographer, it's inevitable that you will NEVER have good photos of yourself, so I made my bother take some of me yesterday.

And here's the run down:

Shirt:  Old Navy

Shorts: Gap

Necklace: Target

Jacket:  Gap

Sunglasses:  Old Navy

It's been hanging around in the 80's the past few days, which means breaking out summer clothing!  And as I said the other day, I love the beginning of every season.  So bring it on, summer!  And excuse my awkward faces...ironically, I just feel so awkward in front of the camera!

Hair Inspiration

I feel like I've had the same hair for a long time now.  I mean, I shake it up by wearing my bangs straight or by leaving it wavy, but overall, same.  See, my hair doesn't like to grow.  At all.  It seems like it hit a certain length (about 4 or 5 inches from where I'd actually like it to be), and just stopped.  I get regular trims.  I condition every day.  I use moroccan oil and don't put it up all that often.  I don't over brush and I try to take it easy on the hot tools by leaving it wavy a few days a week.  But it's still brittle, still coarse, and still not growing.

Anyway, in an effort to embrace my medium-long hair (with emphasis on the MEDIUM there), here's some hair that I'm coveting and feeling inspired by!

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Summer Style Inspiration

When it comes to my closet, I fall a little bit in love with every season right at the beginning.  My favorite season is truly fall, but at the start of every change of weather, I get a little excited about the fashion of the season.

Currently, spring and summer are doing that dance where they keep switching who is leading.  One day, it's 80, the next, 60 and rainy.  Let's be real, it's kind of annoying.  Especially when there's so many cute summer outfits to be had!  So c'mon weather, cooperate.

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Ok, so summer style.  Breezy, casual, effortless.  Goodness I love this season.

This year, I'm really excited about the bright shorts and skirts, the touches of lace, the bright sandals, the pattern and color mixing, and, as with any season, the layering.  Layering is literally one of my favorite style moves.  Honestly, I usually feel sort of naked if I don't have more than one layer on.  Layers can take your wardrobe from season to season and can dress up or dress down an outfit. 

I'm working on being a little bit more adventurous with my wardrobe choices.  And I think summer is the perfect season in which to do that.

What are you loving for summer?

Remember that Time...

That I was a terrible blogger and I didn't post for like 3 weeks?  Yeah, sorry about that.

Life has just been crazy.  Like really, really crazy.  Family stuff and finishing student teaching and graduation and applying for jobs and certification.  Did you know it's practically harder to get certified as a teacher than it is to buy a house?  Seriously...it's nuts.

Anyway, I'm DONE!  Woohoo!  I officially have my Masters degree in Multicultural Education and my application has been submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Education for elementary teaching certification!  Man...that feels good.  Now to find a job.  (ugh.)

I got to wear a fancy Masters hood.

Craziest graduation ever.  Let me tell you...started outside, then 3 minutes into conferring the degrees it started to thunder so they decided to move it inside.  SO unorganized and just a mess.  I kept thinking "I could make 8 year olds do this better than graduate students are right now!!"  At least it will be a graduation to remember!

And then we celebrated Mother's Day!  These were from our little photo booth at church.  Love my mama!