Pieces of Glitter

{ferris wheels and perfect evening light during beach camp}

{sunset on the water while we danced our hearts out at the 80s party on the boat}

{breakfast at Beachcomber with my friend Lauren on a beautiful morning}

{pink and sandy toes}

{sparkle and fade nails}

{watching thousands of kids sing and dance during VBS at our church this week}

{a fun mid-week lunch date with my parents in LA on their layover!}

{the most beautiful ombre rose}

{neon and bright colors from head to toe}

{a creative - and surprisingly comfortable - new seating area my roommate 

created for our front yard}

Happy Friday my dears! Wishing you a weekend filled with sunsets, popsicles, and maybe even some early fireworks ;)

xoxo

Sara B

Old Navy Summer Wishlist

Click image to shop the items

I think I'm due for a trip to Old Navy. Between the neon shorts, printed suits, comfy dresses and amazing dip dye shirt, all at great prices, this store makes me so happy. What are some of your favorite items? And what's at the top of your summer wishlist??

Happy Thursday friends!

xoxo

Sara B

Twisted and Tied

Top: Forever 21, Skirt: Forever 21 (similar), Necklace: The Mamba Braid c/o 31 Bits, Shoes: H&M (similar)

I wear variations of outfits like this pretty much all the time. Especially lately now that it is so warm every day. Tied-up t-shirts and easy, comfy skirts are one of my favorite looks. And I'm pretty sure the total cost of my shirt and skirt from this look was less than $15. Thank you Forever. Throw on a fun accessory and you've got yourself an outfit! 

Which leads me to this necklace. The lovely ladies at 31 Bits sent this over to me and I am crazy about it! Not only is it adorable, but they are one of my favorite jewelry companies out there. If you don't know about them, their mission and purpose is what makes them so incredible: using fashion and design to empower women to rise above poverty. Women in Uganda create these fabulous pieces (out of 100% recycled paper) and 31 Bits sells them to help generate an income and sustainable business models for the women in Africa. Their pieces are amazing too! Definitely go check them out and take a look at their new Color Out Loud line which has some of my absolute favorites.

Photos by Bettina

Fashion and accessories that make a difference. What could be better?

xoxo

Sara B

Pirate Coast

Since moving back to California, I've decided that stand up paddle boarding is one of my all time favorite hobbies (and workouts). If I could paddle every day, I would be one happy girl. Lucky for me, I happen to know some people in the biz ;) And I wanted to share them with you guys because they are awesome and offer so many fun things to do with paddling! 

Pirate Coast Paddle Company is located in the Newport Dunes and offers everything from lessons to rentals to SUP yoga to full moon paddling! (Which sounds so rad and I will most likely be attending that this weekend). Here are some of the fun things they have going on this summer:

Full Moon SUP Paddle Party - Paddle under the moon and stars while wearing glow sticks (!!) and then follow up the night with a special Pirate Coast happy hour at the Back Bay Bistro. There's one happening this Saturday the 30th.

Sunset Paddles - Every Wednesday night this summer, paddle with a group during sunset (so pretty - that's where these pics are from), then get to enjoy a free drink and a special Pirate Coast happy hour afterwards at Back Bay Bistro.

Paddle and Popcorn - You get to paddle at dusk and then watch a movie on the beach after dark, how awesome is that?? The next movie is UP! on July 21st.

They also offer kid's parties and scavenger hunts (not just for kids) and pretty much anything else you want to do on a paddle board! If you live in southern CA or are coming for a visit, definitely check them out! And if you tell them Glitter and Grace sent you, you'll get $5 off your paddle or lesson.

I can never get enough sun and beach and ocean these days so I wanted to pass a little bit of my summer happiness on to you :) 

Happy summer days and nights you guys!

xoxo

Sara B

Black Tie

Blouse: Zara (similar), Jeans: Forever 21 (old, these are similar), Shoes: REPORT, Necklace: DIY

So one day I decided to clean out the center console in my car (after around 4 years of putting that off) and I happened upon a tuxedo bow tie. I have absolutely no recollection of how that got there, or even of the last time someone in a tuxedo was in my car, so I figured it was fair game. Before throwing it away, I remembered something my super crafty and talented friend Jessie had done with a bow tie and decided to follow suit and make a necklace out of it!

I would love to have a great DIY tutorial post for you, but really your guess is as good as mine as to how to create this thing. I just bought a long enough chain, and a friend of mine suggested I sew it to the back of the bow tie, which I also looped back and forth a couple of times to get it to the desired length. If you saw the back of the necklace, you would be sad. So I guarantee you too can make this necklace, and probably better than me! (How cute would it be with a sweet patterned bow that's either vintage or Anthro or something??) I'm excited to try it over a bright, casual tank or t-shirt for another fun look!

Photos by Bettina

Hope your weekends were fancy and fabulous! Mine was full of sand and sunshine and sleeping in tents. It was pretty awesome :) I know I sound like a broken record, but dang it I love where I live. So, so thankful. Happy Monday my friends!

xoxo

Sara B

Pieces of Glitter

{some of my favorite heels left out on display rather than being stashed in my closet}

{ice cream from Dad's on Balboa on a warm day}

{more ice cream, same day. new self serve Golden Spoon in town!}

{yummy breakfast at the adorable Cottage restaurant in Laguna Beach with my sweet blogger buddy Kristina}

{yummy belated birthday lunch with my besties at the adorable Cucina Enoteca}

{the look of longing and desire as I covet sweet baby kittens at the pet store}

{iced lavender tea latte and a pb, banana, berry and honey sandwich from Milk + Honey. pretty much the best ever}

{love this neon + gold glitter delight Miss Allison made me!}

{a beach that looks like hawaii}

{celebrating the first day of summer with this...}

{...and this}

{first macaroons, better than I would have expected. and such lovely colors}

happy weekend my dears! i will be beach camping with college group from church and am pretty dang excited about it. have a wonderful day!

xoxo

Sara B

Circus Manicure

This idea came straight from a picture I saw in my InStyle magazine today. I had minty fingers and wanted to give this look a try. I wish I had better step by steps to show you, but honestly it was pretty easy! You just need a steady hand ;) Here's what I did:

My nails were already painted this mint color and were completely dry when I decided to add on new colors

I chose a lavender color for the top half and my thin-brushed silver glitter for the zig-zags

Instead of taping off my nails for a precise line, I just free-handed the top purple halves. The left hand looked a little better, but honestly, it doesn't really matter if the line is straight or not

I then just carefully drew zig-zag lines across the middle of each nail. I would definitely recommend the polish I use (Art Deco - see above) because it's not too runny and makes the job pretty easy. Even my right hand (that I used my left hand to paint) turned out good! *Patting myself on the back*

Voila! Kinda fun right? The color combo they had in InStyle was light pink and lavender with the silver zig-zags and I loved that look.

Just another idea to add to my book! If I know you, I'd be happy to paint these on your fingers if you so desire ;)

Happy Thursday! 

xoxo

Sara B

Fiery

Blouse: Old Navy (old but this is similar), Necklace: H&M (old, J. Crew has one here and this etsy site has super cute ones), Gray Pants: Forever 21 (these are pretty sassy), Heels: BCBG (similar)

I'll be honest, this necklace was one of the better accessory purchases of my life. When everyone thinks it's from J. Crew and you spent $150 on it, but you actually only spent $12, that's what we call a WIN. One of my biggest highs in life: finding affordable items that look identical to super expensive items. Hey, whatever does it for you, right?

Happy Wednesday friends.

xoxo

Sara B