The first week of school is arguably the most important of the year. It's when you establish routines and procedures as well as establish rapport with your students. When I was going through my certification program, I had to do an elaborate first five days plan, complete with a script to follow. This plan broke down everything from how I would greet students to when I would introduce routines and procedures and what back-to-school activity I would use that day.
While I don't get quite that technical with my first week these days, that structure definitely helped me in terms of rethinking what I do with those first critical days, and I still use some of what went into that plan (not all of it still applies all these years later). The biggest thing that I do differently now is that I do not plan a bunch of different activities for every day. That's exhausting and doesn't really do much in terms of establishing my classroom routines or expectations. So I designed an introductory activity that does -- the All About Me Hexagon.
I don't remember when I first learned about hexagonal thinking, but it's the foundation of this easy to use introductory activity. For those of you who are not familiar, in a nutshell, hexagons are the perfect shape for examining how things connect. You can apply the concept to almost anything, and it works well for any class, but for this activity specifically, it's all about finding connections among classmates.
All you need is a hexagon that has been divided into six sections (one section per side). You can see the one I made as an example to show students above. The hexagon itself takes up about half a piece of copy paper; I use the other half for the instructions. For mine, I have three requirements:
Name: I don't require last names, but when I have multiple students with the same first name, they have to put their full name on the back. I do allow nicknames but only after I approve them (full names must be on the back for these students).
Favorite Subject: I do not limit this to just academic subjects. Our students are exposed to quite a few specials including band and art. I do not allow them to use lunch as their favorite subject.
Hobby/Sport/Activity: Students must put at least one thing they enjoy doing in one of the sections.
That leaves three sections that students can fill with whatever they want to so long as it tells me something about them (and is school appropriate). This can be other hobbies, sports, or activities they participate in, favorite books or authors, music, quotes, etc. Students have free reign on what goes into each section. They can use words, illustrations, or a combination of the two, but everything is done by hand.
The only other requirements are that the hexagon must be filled and colored and that everything needs to be within the outer lines because they'll be cut out. I do require my students to cut these out before they turn them in.
We work on these in class anywhere from three to four days, depending on what day of the week our first day falls on, but I do not extend this activity into week two. I use this activity to introduce my Writing Center and establish the procedures for how students will use their writing folders throughout the year, then as the week progresses I use it to reinforce the writing center routine. This activity also activates our community supply center routines and shows me how students interact with each other in this environment.
On the final day, or the due date, I allow students to walk around with their hexagons to see how many sides they can connect with their classmates.
So what do I get out of this activity? The main thing this activity shows me is which of my students are more visual learners versus those who do better with words/writing. But also I get to see which students take their time, which ones rush, who would rather spend their class time chatting than working, which ones ask a billion questions, etc. This is truly a community-building activity.
This is one of the few activities that I put up every single student's work -- even the ugly ones. And yes, I tell my students that on day one. I also tell them that they should not finish this on the first day, although there will always be at least one in every class who does rush through it. I display every single student hexagon somewhere in or outside my classroom for a LONG time. One year they stayed up until after Christmas break.
When I was growing up, the Bermuda Triangle was one of those topics that was seemingly everywhere (along with quicksand and spontaneous combustion -- stop, drop, and roll, anyone?). So when I read the blurb for Beyond the Moonlit Sea and saw that it was about a pilot disappearing over the so-called Devil's Triangle, I had to add it to my TBR. That was three years ago, so it's high time I crossed it off the list.
For all the time it sat on my Kindle shelf, it took me very little time to read this 354-page long story. (The audiobook is just shy of 10 hours if you prefer to listen.) While I was captivated by the story as a whole, I felt like the blurb was misleading. As such, I was not prepared for what the novel was really about, which I think is worth mentioning this early in my review since it is a key factor in my final thoughts.
Here's what I thought the book was going to be about: a woman's husband goes missing while he's flying over the Bermuda Triangle, and in the aftermath she connects with a female scientist who is studying the area to investigate, and they potentially solve the mystery. I didn't know whether this would incorporate some type of parallel universe or whatever, but I was definitely expecting the two women to at least interact.
Spoiler alert -- they never even meet.
The book is actually about Olivia's husband, Dean, who really does disappear while flying over the Bermuda Triangle. Melanie is writing her physics dissertation on why planes disappear in the triangle, but she goes missing years before Dean's disappearance. Olivia doesn't know about Melanie until her body is discovered in the woods years after Dean's disappearance and detectives question her about Dean having been Melanie's therapist back before they got married.
So this book is really about Dean, but I didn't know that going into it, and I found myself pivoting and rearranging my expectations many times throughout my reading. I also think it's important to note before I get into the nitty gritty of the review that this story is not 100 percent linear. While this works for establishing the main overall conflict of the story, it was one of the bigger contributing factors for why my expectations kept shifting.
As always, skip to the end of the post to avoid spoilers.
***Spoilers**
The story begins in 1990 on the night that Dean disappears. He and his wife, Olivia, get into an argument when he accepts a last-minute pilot gig for a celebrity, and he misses dinner with Olivia's family. While he is flying back home over the Bermuda Triangle, Dean's plane vanishes from radar. Search and rescue efforts turn up nothing, and it's presumed the plane crashed and Dean perished.
Olivia, meanwhile, cannot accept that Dean is dead. She becomes obsessed with the Bermuda Triangle and learning everything she can about it. She finally gives up her obsession when she discovers that she is pregnant and moves back to New York City with her mother. This is all established within the first seven chapters.
For the first ten chapters, we jump back and forth between Olivia in 1990 and Melanie in 1986. In chapter 10, we land solidly in 1986 and stay there until chapter 23. Those 13 chapters are told mostly from Dean and Melanie's points of view until the final two chapters of this section where we move back to Olivia. From there, the remainder of the book is told from Olivia's point of view with the exception of the next to last chapter.
Before he was a pilot, Dean was a grief counselor. Melanie became his patient after the death of her mother kind of derailed her from the work she was doing on her dissertation about why planes go missing over the Bermuda Triangle. It becomes apparent early on in their 'relationship' that Melanie is obsessive, and Dean quickly becomes her new obsession. He resists her advances at first because having a relationship with a patient is illegal and would end his career. But then he suffers a great loss and gives in to the temptation.
Melanie stops her therapy, but there are still rules and regulations about dating a former patient, so their relationship must be conducted in secret. There's no actual love in this relationship; it's all a classic case of erotic transference and countertransference. But Dean is trapped in what has truly become a toxic relationship and sees no way out without ruining his career.
It's during these five or six months that Dean meets Olivia, also through his therapy practice, except she's not a patient. She is a film student working on a documentary about grief, and Dean's boss volunteers him to give an interview for the film. Dean and Olivia's attraction and connection is instant, and Olivia invites him to several different events.
So essentially, Dean is dating Olivia at the same time as he's stuck in this situation with Melanie. When he decides to man up and end things, Melanie goes off the deep end. She literally pushes him out of her second floor apartment and tries to push him down the stairs. Dean grabs her shoulders to try to stop himself from falling, but they both end up going down. Melanie dies in the accident, and instead of calling the police, Dean decides to cover it up and hides her body.
A few days after that, Olivia is confronted by her parents about her relationship with Dean. Her family is wealthy and well-known, and her father hired someone to look into Dean's background. It all boils down to her parents not believing he's good enough for Olivia, that he just wants her for her money. Here's where Olivia earned my respect. She basically tells her parents to shove it, even when her dad tells her he'll cut her off.
She and Dean get married pretty much immediately after that episode and move to Miami where she encourages him to pursue his childhood dream of being a pilot. Fast forward to 1990, and you know what happens. Dean takes the job flying a celebrity to an island in the Bermuda Triangle and never makes it back home.
Olivia ends up moving back to New York City where she's determined to raise her daughter alone. Eventually she reconnects with her ex-boyfriend, Gabriel, and they rekindle a deeper kind of relationship. They marry and have two more children.
In 1997, Melanie's body is discovered in a shallow grave in New Jersey. Police suspect foul play. Detectives come to question Olivia about Dean's connection to Melanie, of which she knows nothing about due to Dean never discussing his patients with her. Turns out, Melanie was pregnant at the time of her death, and in their course of their investigation, the detectives have reason to suspect Dean. Although she can't believe Dean capable of such a thing, Olivia agrees to give the detectives a pair of Dean's old gloves for DNA testing to determine if he was the father. The test comes back positive, which causes Olivia to completely change the way she thinks about her late husband.
Then in 2012, Olivia and Dean's daughter, Rose, does one of those ancestry DNA tests and discovers she has a younger half sister in Australia, which shouldn't be possible. Turns out Susie's mother had a one night stand with a tour boat captain and decided she wanted to raise Susie on her own. The description she gives of the man matches Dean. So Olivia and Rose travel to Australia to meet Susie and her mother to try to confirm if it is in fact Dean.
Here's the biggest spoiler of the entire book: Dean has been alive the entire time. Living in Australia operating a tour boat business. While he knew about Susie and that Olivia had remarried and had children, he did not know that Rose was his daughter.
Olivia understandably confronts him about everything -- Melanie and his fake disappearance. Dean admits that he had planned his disappearance in advance and had just been waiting for the right moment. He believed that he wasn't good enough for Olivia and didn't deserve to start a family with her. He also tells her the truth about what happened with Melanie, including that he did not know Melanie was pregnant and his belief that Melanie also didn't know. He agrees to go back to New York and turn himself in and finally assuage the guilt he's been living with for more than twenty years.
The book ends with an epilogue set five years in the future. Dean is serving time for what happened with Melanie; Rose goes to visit him occasionally. Rose and her half sister have become best friends and are working as nurses at the same hospital. And Olivia and Gabriel are still happily married.
***End Spoilers***
Final thoughts -- I would give Beyond the Moonlit Sea 3.5 stars, which is in line with its Amazon and Goodreads ratings. Again, I feel like if the blurb was a little bit clearer, then my expectations would have been different, and my rating probably would be higher.
I thought there was some nice symbolism in this book, although I'm not sure if it was intentional. I felt like the Bermuda Triangle was a nice representation of the toxic love triangle Dean was trapped in. There was also a good bit of foreshadowing, although I didn't recognize it at the time because I was expecting a much different story than the one I got.
There was a tiny bit of history in this book that was interesting surrounding the reason behind why Melanie was studying the Bermuda Triangle. She mentions that her grandfather was in the Flight 19 disappearance, which actually happened. On December 5, 1945, five U.S. Navy bombers disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle; thirteen crew members who were part of the search and rescue efforts were lost later in the same day. Oh, and in case you were wondering -- Melanie doesn't solve the mystery of why planes disappear there.
Overall I find myself disappointed in this book and ultimately would not recommend it.
I cannot believe it is the end of July already. As much as I hate it, it's time to say goodbye to summer, which means it's time for another roundup of monthly favorites. At the end of every month, I share 10 things that made my life better as well as the 10 most popular things I've shared as determined by you.
July was another mixed bag in terms of highs and lows. I went to the dermatologist and had two things removed, only one of which was cancerous. Then, just after getting it back from the shop, my car got a nail in the tire, so we had to deal with that. On the flip side, we did finally make it to the lake, which was fun even if I couldn't get in the water. We were also able to get in one more trip to the water park. I wish we'd been able to go more, but there's always next summer.
The biggest news that I have to share with y'all is that we're moving, and this time it's a BIG move. Not just across town to a different neighborhood. Nope. We're moving back to my hometown, which is where I teach and my daughter goes to school. We're buying the house I grew up in from my parents, who are moving into a home they inherited. Anyway, we're currently in the process of packing everything up and moving in stages. We're trying to get as much done before I go back to work as possible, but we'll more than likely still be working on it during preplanning, as well.
I think that's got you all caught up on life lately. Now let's take a look at my and your favorites from the month.
My Favorites
The Examiner -- I devoured this book. I love this author's style of presenting the reader with a collection of evidence to piece together what really happened. This one was full of twists and turns and nothing was what it seemed. I highly recommend this murder mystery!
How to Sell a Haunted House -- I was skeptical of the doll aspect of this Grady Hendrix book, but it's become my favorite story of his and quite possibly my favorite book of the year. I have not been able to stop thinking about this one since I finished it. The story is just so good with the perfect amount of creepy suspense. Expect to see this one at the top of my best books of 2026 final list for sure.
The Correspondent -- This was phenomenal. Told entirely through written correspondence, it tells the story of the final years of life of a truly remarkable woman. I want to be like Sybil when I grow up. This one is definitely going on my best books of the year list.
Straw Slide Sandals (pictured above) -- One of my coworkers gifted these slides to me at the end of the school year. She'd gotten them in her size, but they run really small, so they didn't fit. I tried them on and fell in love. I've been wearing them with almost every outfit here lately. My exact ones are no longer available, but these ones are close and by the same brand.
Navy Blue Striped Dress -- This dress is so soft and comfortable. It's flattering, the perfect length, and I've been wearing it pretty much as soon as it comes out of the dryer.
Snug Fit Striped Tanks from Old Navy -- These tanks have been on repeat here lately. They are cropped, but for me that means they're the perfect length to wear untucked without showing off my belly. I bought all of the striped ones they had in my size, but they also come in quite a few solid colors.
Tropical Skirt Outfit -- This is my favorite outfit of the month, hands down. This bright red tank is so good; these are my favorite basic tanks that I own in eight colors. The skirt is perfect for summer. All that's missing is a tropical island.
Denim Tank Outfit -- I love this outfit, even if I hate the reason I was wearing it. I've been shopping for a denim tank for a long time, and I'm so pleased with this one. Expect to see it all the time as I'll be wearing it with probably every skirt I own at some point. Speaking of skirts, this is one of those viral NASHALYLY ones. This exact pattern sold out not long after I bought it, but there are several other similar dark floral prints to choose from.
Snoopy Shorts -- I bought these on a whim at Walmart and have not looked back. I have been wearing these a lot, although I don't actually have much photographic proof (I mostly wear them to lounge around the house). They're sweatpant material, so they're incredibly soft. I sized way up in these so the legs would be nice and roomy; the drawstring waist keeps them from falling off.
Wavy Talk Wave Iron -- This thing is so easy to use! Even with my crazy short hair. It creates the tousled waves that I really love right now. I especially like the timer feature which lets me know when I've held it in one place for long enough without me doing a mental countdown.
Your Favorites
Straw Slide Sandals -- Great minds think alike it seems. These are not my exact slides, but they're pretty darn close. This brand runs really small. I usually wear size 7 but wear both pair I have in this brand in an 8.
Layered Initial Necklace -- This is such a good necklace. You can wear it so many different ways since the strands are not actually attached to each other.
Wide Woven Belts -- Third month in a row for these. Have I convinced you yet that you need these in your life?
White Platform Sandals -- These are still available in most sizes. Size up half; the straps are snug.
Boho Maxi Dress -- This is one of my favorite things that I bought this summer, especially in the pink, which is the one that y'all have been clicking on the most. I've been wearing the pink a lot lately. It always seems to be on top of the laundry pile, ha. Unfortunately, this is sold out in all but the purple and white floral.
Brown Sandals -- These basic sandals are what I link to for the pair I've had for years and years. I wear mine a lot, especially in the summer.
Kirundo Maxi Skirt -- This is one of my favorite skirts ever. I currently own it in three patterns.
Tanner Sandals -- Unfortunately, these sandals are completely sold out. I've rounded up some similar pairs for you, though: option 1, option 2, option 3, option 4.
Tiered Cotton Skirt -- This is a good, basic knee-length skirt. It's 100 percent cotton with an elastic waist and drawstring tie. I bought it in both colors.
White Slide Sandals -- The pair of white slides I have are really old, so these are the ones that I usually link to and will probably eventually buy for myself when my pair are worn slap out.
When it comes to getting dressed, especially for school, nine times out of ten, I'm going to choose a skirt. Even on the days when we're allowed to wear jeans. As a matter of fact, I rarely wear jeans to school...or at all really. Skirts are more comfortable than jeans and so much easier to move around in throughout the school day.
If you were to look in my closet right now, you would see that nearly half of the space is dominated by skirts. Over the years, my preferred style of skirts has evolved. These days, I prefer a midi length, though I have recently added a few knee-length options for warmer months.
Two years ago, I shared six of my favorite skirts to teach in with y'all. I still own four of those six skirts. Two I donated -- one because I no longer could wear it comfortably and the other because I no longer wanted a high-low hem. They're both still great options, though.
Today, I wanted to share with y'all the skirts that are currently in my closet that are great for teaching. As in, these are the skirts that stay in my teacher outfit rotation pretty much year round.
Floral Print
If you've been around the blog for awhile, then you'll already know that I love a floral print. So it should come as no surprise that a majority of the skirts in my closet fall into that category.
We're going to start with what is arguably my most-worn skirt over the last 4-5 years. This dark purple floral print skirt has been a part of my life since summer of 2023 and was part of that first post I shared two years ago. It has been a favorite ever since I first added it to my closet, and I'm still finding new ways to wear it. It's incredibly versatile and insanely comfortable. It's also fully lined, which is always a plus for a skirt, even one that's dark like this. I love this skirt so much that I have repaired several tears over the last couple of years just so I can keep wearing it.
I also have it in this daisy print (khaki) and this bright floral (white red). I've had the daisy print for awhile, although I don't wear it as much as the purple (it doesn't go with as much in my closet), and I just got the bright print this summer, so it hasn't actually seen the inside of a classroom yet. There are several more prints available, so it's definitely worth checking this one out.
These viral NASHALYLY skirts are relatively new additions to my closet -- within this current school year. I have this skirt in six patterns now: white floral (flower-203), dusky pink floral, pale green floral (sage), dark green floral patchwork (flower-231), black flower, and brown floral. These skirts were fast favorites for me, instantly melding with things I already own. I mean, there's a reason they went viral. They really are that good! And can be worn year round. I wear the white floral the most, I think, but I love them all equally.
This skirt, unfortunately, is no longer available from the retailer at which I bought it, which is a real shame since it's such a good skirt. I especially love it in the cooler months, since the darker pattern lends itself well to that time of year. However, I do wear it year round with a variety of tops.
These chiffon skirts are a more elevated style skirt. I have the black, which is still available, and a no-longer-available light yellow. The yellow one is my favorite. But I must admit that I don't wear them as much as I used to. They feel fancier than my other skirts for whatever reason, and the chiffon snags on literally everything. I've had to fix both of mine at least once. I usually keep these in reserve for honor days, graduation, or other ceremonies.
These are a more casual skirt, thanks to the shorter length as well as the more casual fabric. I actually wear these to work quite a bit all year round. They're easy to dress up or down, and the length is one that I enjoy. This one comes in several options. I have the white, which is still available, and the black, which is not.
These ruffled knee-length skirts have been a welcome addition into my closet. I haven't worn either much yet, but I'm looking forward to adding them into my school rotation. These come in four options; I have the two 'multicolor' ones. The darker floral print looks purple in the pictures, but in person I swear it has an almost green tint. The pink paisley-floral one is a lot of fun to wear. It's so bright and colorful. These have an elastic waist and a decorative tie, which I cut off of both.
Breezaya Skirts
I have three of these knee-length skirts, but one of them is through a different link, so bear with me. We'll start with the two smaller-print florals. I have two of these ditsy floral print skirts. The white is a bright floral print with pink, yellow, and teal green flowers. The black (second option) is also nice and bright with purple, blue, and yellow flowers. The tropical print skirt is labeled 'multicolor.' It has a warmer feel to it with deeper reds and oranges dominating the color scheme. These skirts are tiered with an elastic waist and decorative tie, which you should already know I've removed from all three.
Stripes, Plaids, & Polka Dots
I don't think you can go wrong with one of the classics, so while I may lean more to floral prints in my personal preferences, there's plenty of room for stripes, plaids, and polka dots in my life. In fact, the first skirt I'm sharing with y'all in this section has become a favorite of mine, and I wear it almost as much as I wear my floral print skirts.
I bought this as part of a matching set but ultimately didn't keep the blouse. It wasn't a great fit on me, and I've never been a fan of matching sets so knew I wouldn't ever wear them together. The skirt, though, has become one of the most versatile pieces in my closet.
This is a new addition to my closet, so I haven't had the opportunity to wear it much yet, but I'm excited for the possibilities. I got this one because I used to have a bright green checkered skirt; I gained a little weight, and it no longer fit comfortably, so I donated it. But I've been missing that bright green in my life. So here we are.
This is a brand new addition to my closet that I'm really excited to wear to teach in. It's such a fun color combo. It's lined and has pockets, which is always a plus. It also comes in several more colors, including a few polka dot options.
This was one of my best purchases of 2025. I wore this skirt so much during the fall and winter. The darker colors don't scream spring or summer to me, but who knows. With enough time, I might be able to make this one a year-round staple. It also comes in black and blue.
This skirt actually pre-dates my teaching days, but it transitioned quite nicely into the classroom. I will admit that I don't wear this one to teach in all that often. It's wool and lined, so it's very warm. And I often get hot while teaching since I rarely just stay in one place. It's a great skirt, though, and one that won't ever go out of style.
This skirt became a fast favorite, despite the fact that it's incredibly sheer. Like, if you don't wear something underneath it, you'll see straight through it. It's just too much fun to not wear, though, and I've had a blast creating outfits with it.
This skirt is one of my oldest; I got it my first year teaching. I like that it's like an edgier version of traditional polka dots in that you can style it the same way as you would polka dots but that it feels like it has a bit more personality.
This is an above-the-knee skirt that feels fancier than it is. It's pleated, which adds another layer of interest. It has an elastic waist, but it is not lined and does not have pockets.
Solid Colors
I might gravitate more toward prints, especially florals, but there is definitely a place in my closet for solid colors. Granted, these take up the least amount of room in my closet, but they are absolutely vital pieces of my wardrobe. I guess you could consider them as a basic.
Y'all should be familiar with these favorites. They're 100 percent cotton with a linen lining. I now own them in five solid colors: light blue, light pink, yellow, white, and black. I love these so much that I wrote an entire post about them.
These are new additions to my closet from this summer, but they'll work nicely for school as well. They're 100 percent cotton and lined, with pockets, an elastic waist, and drawstring tie. They are knee length on me (18.5 inches).
Denim skirts are tough for me. I've gone through so many different styles and ultimately just don't love them. Even when I find one that I do like, it's my least-worn skirt. What makes mine good for teaching is that it has the split in the front that allows for ease of movement. I wear this on Fridays mostly instead of jeans. That way I at least match my coworkers' vibes.
Whimsical
You can't be the quirky English teacher without a bit of whimsy, and I've found the easiest way to create a whimsical outfit is with a quirky skirt. So for the last section of this post, I'm sharing with you the skirts that don't fit into any other category.
Moth Print
To be fair, when I ordered these skirts, I didn't realize that they all had the same print just in different colors. But I don't really care because they are so much fun. The brown and blue are more of an a-line cut while the purple is more fitted. I've mostly played around with pattern mixing and fun layers with these skirts, but I'm excited to find new ways to style them this upcoming school year.
This has become one of my most favorite skirts to wear, and I'm not even particularly into dinosaurs! I'm not even sure that other people really notice this skirt, since it's one that I've truly never gotten any comments on, but I keep on wearing it because I just love it.
When I say this skirt has every color in it, I mean it has every color in it. That makes it infinitely mix and matchable. It's super soft, too, so it's comfortable for all day wear.
Tulle
Who said you can't wear tulle to school? I have four different tulle skirts that I wear to work, though I'll admit it's not regularly. I pull these out for special occasions. I think the butterfly is probably the most wearable year round, but I do enjoy the pink sparkle one as well. The other two I own are holiday specific: Halloween and Valentine's Day.
Welcome to another episode of real outfit roundup, a post in which I share the outfits I actually wore in real life from the past two weeks along with explanations, reviews, and links to exact or similar items.
I've got ten outfits to share with y'all today featuring lots of stripes and lots of outfit repetition. Most everything is still available, too, so that's a plus for y'all.
The last two weeks have been pretty standard in terms of this summer. It's been really hot and humid lately to the point that being outside is honestly miserable. So all of our activities have mostly centered on being indoors. We've gone to the bookstore and the library, spent a day at the water park, and went to the movies. However, I can't remember which outfit goes with which outing, and I'm 99 percent sure I didn't take a picture of what I wore to the movies.
Before we dive into the outfits, a note on sizing. I'm 5'2"and weigh about 140 lbs. I typically wear size 6 or s/m in clothes and size 7 in shoes. I'll note the things I sized up in.
I am in love with these snug-fit, cropped tank tops from Old Navy. It's 96 percent cotton, so it's super soft, and the 4 percent spandex gives it the perfect amount of stretch. I got this in a medium so it would be less cropped and to account for any shrinkage in the wash. For me, this top hits right at the top of my shorts, which is perfect. It comes in lots of options. I own three of the striped versions.
Speaking of my shorts, these pull-on shorts are really comfy. They're 85 percent cotton. I sized up to a large so the legs would not be super tight on my thighs, but in all transparency they're definitely not as loose as on the model. I probably could have gone up to the XL if we're being honest, but the large fits comfortably. The waist is elastic with a drawstring, and the legs are cuffed.
This boho dress might be my favorite throw-on-and-go dress of the summer. This bright print is really fun. I'm actually pretty positive I wore this dress twice in this rotation of outfits but only photographed it once. Anyway, this specific pattern is all but sold out, but it comes in a few other options. I also have the purple version of this floral print pattern, which is available in most sizes.
My shoes are part of the Beach line by Matisse. I'm linking to the exact style, but they're only available in silver now and only a few sizes at that. Mine are gold. I own two different shoe styles in this particular line and both run very small. I usually wear size 7 and both pairs that I own I wear in a size 8.
This is one of my favorite dresses. I've been wearing it for at least five years, maybe even longer. Sadly, this exact dress is no longer available in the yellow, but this same style does come in a coffee color that's pretty.
I wanted to cover my shoulders and upper back so I added my denim vest over the top, then buttoned it fully to create a shirt and skirt look. My vest is long sold out, but the one I'm linking to looks very similar.
My sandals are just barely peeking out the bottom of my dress. They're my platform white sandals that I've had for going on three years now. They're still available in most sizes. I recommend sizing up half a size; the straps are very snug and have not loosened up much at all over the years.
I told y'all in my last outfit post to expect to see this dress on the regular. I didn't change much about how I wore it this go 'round other than my shoes. Instead of slide sandals, I went with a more traditional pair, although in the same neutral color.
My sandals are starting to sell out in some sizes, so in addition to linking to the exact pair, I'm also linking to a really similar pair from another retailer. I've not regretted buying this pair of sandals at all. They go with almost everything, so long as you're going with a casual look.
More stripes! It's hard to tell from the picture, but this t-shirt has pink, brown, and chartreuse stripes. I got it in a medium. As you can see it's kind of snug, which is pretty typical with crew-necks for me, but I think the large would have been too loose and looked sloppy.
Anyway, I paired it with this 100 percent cotton, tiered skirt. It also comes in white, which you saw in my last outfit post and will see again later in this post. This brown is a nice addition to my closet that will work nicely pretty much all year but especially as we transition into cooler weather.
I love these ribbed tank dresses that I got last year at Old Navy. I was really hoping they would bring them back again this year, but they did not. I own these in four different colors -- that's how good they are. This red is probably my favorite, which is good since 'tomato' is apparently the color of the season. I'm pretty sure we went to the bookstore this day.
My shoes are another pair of slides in the Beach line by Matisse. The exact style is no longer available, but they've got some that are pretty close. Just like the previous pair I shared in this post, I'm wearing these in a full size higher than normal. They run super small.
Here's the white version of the brown skirt I shared earlier in this post. I decided to keep the stripes theme going in this outfit with this apron-neck tank. Unfortunately, this pretty earth brown stripe is sold out in most sizes, but it does come in several solid color options. This top is 96 percent cotton with 4 percent spandex. It's smooth, not ribbed, and very comfortable. I really like the apron-style neck; I find it to be very flattering.
This is the exact same snug-fit, cropped tank as in the first outfit I shared. I loved that one so much that I went back and bought every striped version they had in my size. This purple one is so pretty in person.
For this outfit, I decided I wanted to do small top + loose bottoms, so I pulled out my new fave baggy nine-inch shorts. These are the Vivien wash, which is a medium-ish color. They've got a raw hem and five-button-fly instead of a zipper. I also have the tinted stitch, which is a lighter wash with a braid-type detailing going down the side.
I'm kind of surprised that these blue espadrille mary janes are still available in as many sizes as they are. I ended up really liking the yellow pair I got, so when I saw the blue pair get marked way down, I grabbed them, too. These are not a sturdy pair of shoes, so I don't recommend them if you'll be doing a lot of walking, but they're cute and not uncomfortable for casual wear.
Here's that same tank again, this time in the navy stripe. You can't really tell from the picture, but this one has green worked into the stripe pattern, hence why I paired it with these green pull-on shorts.
Actually, this is exactly the same outfit as the very first one in this post, just in different colors. I wore this to work on getting my classroom organized. I wish I'd taken a picture of how the summer crew had stacked all my stuff in my room so you could understand the frustration. Literally all we did this day was unstack everything and get it mostly where it needed to go.
More stripes again! Y'all, I will wear these lime green striped linen shorts until they fall apart. They are my favorites, no contest.
I decided to do something a little unexpected and pair them with this strawberry graphic tee. It's really soft, but I have to admit that the strawberry not being in the center of the shirt drives me a little crazy. I wore this, by the way, to do a bit more work in my classroom. We were putting together a bookcase, since they took out all our built-in storage. Then we helped my mom get her room arranged.
