Nectar Clothing and BFFs

^^^Can't even tell you how long it took to get this shot :P

My outfit: Shirt: Nectar Clothing here; Flannel: Hurley, similar here; Shorts: Forever 21; similar here; Birks: Urban Og here; Sunnies: Silvano Apparel here  Gemma's Outfit: Flannel: Her Hubby's, similar here; Shorts: Forever 21,similar here Birks: Thrifted, similar cheap version here, other here; Sunnies: Urban Outfitters, similar here

So, obviously we had a ton of fun with this shoot. My bff and roomie of five years, Gemma, just recently started a blog Following Arrows, and we decided to do a shoot together! I went to a VIP launch party for Nectar Clothing (Seriously check out their cute stuff! I got the cutest jumpsuit and a dress so be on the lookout for some fun posts featuring their items!), and Gemma got to be my plus one. It was seriously the best party. Food. Drinks. Music. And some seriously good girl time with Gemma and a couple other girls. We also got these cute tees. I love that they say "Giving back is the new black". Because that's exactly what I want to be about in my life. Being selfless and giving back whenever I can. So we obviously decided that we should do a fun shoot in them. We used the self timer and took a million photos to try to get it just right because we couldn't see what we were doing. And then we snapped a few photos of each other too. We had so much fun we might do a shoot together maybe once a month! It's so fun to have a friend that lives nearby and blogs because we can do fun stuff like this together!

Also, quick recap on my Social Media Fast. OMG. I go on my Insta SO much. I can't even tell you. Fasting from it made me realize how much I go on. Like I was even out on a run and stopped at a light, and I went to pull out my phone to look. Or just anytime my phone was in my hand, I would just swipe over to Instagram. I definitely need to be more purposeful with my time. Luckily for me, I worked the whole day and then went straight to a birthday party so I didn't have a ton of time to just sit on it but I do know that I paid more attention to my clients, and I didn't have my phone to distract me at the party so I just hung out. Then my cousin came over for a sleepover because Ben was gone and we had to do hair for a wedding the next day, and I'm sure if I had been able to go on my Instagram, I would have been less present hanging out with her. And we had the best girly time just chatting and painting our nails. So all in all, it was a really good experience, and now I'm working on how much I go on and let it take up my time. I may even try it again soon on a day I'm home so I can learn how to avoid it even when I'm not busy. 

Hope you all are having the best week! 

xoxoxo,

Christine

Top Knots, Trees, and End of Summer Camping

This past weekend we went up to Lake Arrowhead with a few of our best friends and went camping! My hubby and I didn't start vacationing together until after we got married so we haven't done a ton of trips together yet besides our honeymoon. And we have been wanting to go camping with this group of friends for a long time, and it finally worked out! If you live in the area and want a good spot to go to camping, you definitely should check out North Shore Campground in Lake Arrowhead! We loved it and will definitely be back. (Warning: This is like for real camping, like no showers for real kind of camping :P But that's what going in the water is for. One of my friends even brought soap and bathed in the water. :P)

                    

We planned to leave to go camping on Friday but my hubby ended up getting called in to work so we couldn't go until early Saturday morning. So I took my time packing and took photos of my clothes while I packed. That's normal, right? The wood my clothes are on is actually pallet wood we are going to be using for framing a few things around our house. But I told my hubby I probably need to keep some of it for my flatlays. DUH.

                                   

I figured what better thing to wear camping than a big loose tee and some cut-offs. But I realized my tees just weren't quite BIG enough for my taste. (I used to think baggy tees were bad because well let's just say they don't really show off what you got. #realtalk But now I really really really love them.) Anyways, I decided to raid my hubby's closet and found this perfect tee from Asos that I paired with my cut-offs. Also, how cute is this Starbucks mug?! I'm gonna cry if it ever breaks. It was part of a series of ceramic cups they did that featured different artists! This one is by Charlotte Ronson.

Right when we got there, we headed out to go here to Aztec Falls. The hike was a little crazy getting down but it was so beautiful and so worth it! We just sat on the sand and had lunch and drinks and jumped off the rocks into the water!

                    

This is one of my BFFs Gemma. She actually just started a blog of her own, Following Arrows. She's so cute and just shares about her new life with her hubby and things she's passionate about along with some fashion stuff. And maybe one day, you'll get lucky and she'll do a YouTube tutorial or video, and you can hear her awesome accent. She's originally from the UK!

                   

This is my fave summer swim purchase. (I actually found the top HERE and it's only $6.99!!!) Anyone else LOVE watermelon on a hot summer day? You wanna know what else I used to use a watermelon for? If you throw a whole watermelon in the pool, it floats! So sometimes I would just jump off of the diving board with it. But my friends and I would also play a game with it where there would be two teams and you would have to see who could get the watermelon to the other side of the pool first! (oh annnnd it was coated in oil. :P)

                   

So I found my new hobby. Running on water! Hahaha. It was so fun jumping off the rocks! The spot we jumped from is where you see that guy standing (that's Ben! I went first like a good wifey!)

We went into Lake Arrowhead village and got ice cream! Who else loves Chocolate Malted Crunch? One of mah faves.

With my ride or die roomies (we lived together for 5 years!), Heather and Gemma. Doing one of two things we do best, eating ice cream. (The other is drinking coffee, of course!)

Tent cuddles with my bae. He loves selfies. 

                      

Matching in plaid calls for a lovey dovey photo.

                   

The first photo is posed. The second is what it's like in real life. #plaidbesties (Sidenote: seriously so happy that all of our men get along. Not sure what we would have done if they didn't!)

                  

Wore my hair in a top knot all weekend, of course. And I added some braids the second day to change it up. 

Showing his love for selfies again. 

                    

The second day, we came here to Deep Creek. It was a little less crowded and so peaceful to just sit and chat with two of my besties.

                 

The weekend was so perfect. It was peaceful and relaxing and so nice to spend some times with our friends. I also LOVE being out in nature. To me, nothing speaks louder to me that there is a God than nature. And I love to just sit and marvel at His creation. So go get out in nature. Whether that means camping for the weekend with your best friends or simply just taking a hike or going for a walk. I promise it will be good for your soul.