Anyone who knows me understands black and white IS my color combo. Just take a glance at my closet and you'll wonder if I strictly shop with a magnet that attracts the most monochrome of colors. Okay, maybe I do like a little bit of grey here and there. Okay, to be fair, one of my favorite sweaters is burgundy. But you get the idea, right? Every season there is a selection of colors that you'll see everywhere. These are the peak color trends.

Right at the top, I have to admit, this is one of the most fun mixes I've made. Mainly because I got inspiration from it, randomly, from the radio and it led me down a rabbit hole. This playlist is a shout out to the summer I spent watching Gidget on TV Land as a teenager.

Every time I do a blog inventory, whether it's looking at categories or just posts in general, I always make a note to be a little more personal. I started blogging long ago when blogs were really online journals. When you're an angsty teen/young adult, you've got a lot to say. With modern blogging, it's more about high-quality photos and building a creative outlet (or business even). I love having a creative outlet for myself even if a huge part of my 9-5 is being mostly creative. It's fun to make things for myself rather than someone else. But, I really try to be personal because, after all, I am a person.

Let me preface this post by saying I've thought about personal style a lot lately. Whether it was because of a podcast or just trying to liven up my closet, it's just been renting space in my mind. As we grow we begin to take on inspiration from a lot of places, and one of the biggest bits of inspiration I had growing up was Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Of course, Jackie died in 1993 when I was still very young, but the Kennedy dynasty has been a huge part of my life. I'm sure that's the case with many people. I grew up doing tons of reports, watching tons of documentaries, and absorbing everything I could about each of them.

If you like piña coladas, then these ice pops might be for you.  I don't really know how the obsession my friends have with piña coladas began. But last summer it seemed to completely take over. It could have been a conversation about Yacht Rock or the day we spent poolside trying about 6 recipes until we got the right one. But I truly believe it was the chill weekend we stayed at the vintage hotel which, naturally, serves vintage cocktails.

I have to admit this might have been the most daunting and biggest task I've taken on since cannoli cheesecake. But I really wanted to give it a shot. I'm still really undecided about it but rather than overthink, here it is. At the beginning of the summer, I was inspired by seeing other people create an editorial or I guess magazine all about the season ahead. I instantly wanted to give it a try.

I'm revamping my usual month-end post. It's been called many things over the years but I'm thinking Monthly Edit covers it far more. It's still a curated collection of interesting things from around the internet mixed with fun things I'm loving right now. It still includes everything from style to design and definitely food. It's just getting a new name. A new identity. Well, well, well. Today is the last day of July and I really don't know what to think. 

Time is just flying by. I can't even believe it. I feel like I'm constantly saying that too. When I originally set out to start the What I'm Listening To series of playlists, it was really just to create a playlist that was true to my listening habits. A playlist that really spanned genres. A playlist where I wasn't adding unnecessary pressure on myself with regards to sound or a theme. Don't get me wrong, I love the Monthly Mixes and themes, but a lot of work has to go into those. With What I'm Listening To I can just create a massive collection of songs and narrow them down with which ones I'm not absolutely sick of by the end of the month.

I went back and forth about ever covering this on my blog, but ultimately I decided I'm incredibly proud of how it turned out so I really have no reason not to share. Why am I so proud you may ask? This is the very first cheesecake I have ever made on my own. That might be hard to believe for someone who bakes constantly, but it's true. It just always seemed like an overwhelming task to take on. But, this cheesecake was written in the stars. My dad loves cannolis. Every Christmas we nearly end up with the local Italian deli's whole inventory.