Strappy Floral Cami

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Cami
Denim Shorts (similar)
Sandals
Hat (now on sale for only $9!! — similar styles here & here)
Sunglasses (under $15!!)
Earrings (similar)
Lipstick – Revlon: “Sassy Mauve”
Nail Polish – OPI: “Bubble Bath”

Hello lovelies! How was your weekend? Mine was really, really good!

The Look
This strappy floral cami is the perfect tank to use when transitioning from summer to fall. It’s light and flowy for hot summer days, but will be the perfect layering piece to wear when autumn comes around… so be prepared to see it again in a few months!

The Latest
In my previous post, I promised I would detail my thoughts about why America has a constant race issue. I am going to keep this as brief as possible and also straightforward…

One of the best ways to fix the issues in this country is to provide every child who attends public school with the same and equal education. I believe education should be handled not on a city level, but on a national level. The curriculum is already mandated at a national level, so why are tax dollars towards education still based on the city one lives in? I was lucky enough to be raised in an affluent suburb, St. Charles, but as with most wealthy communities, not too far away, there are school districts that are severely underfunded. You can’t look me in the eye and tell me it’s okay for “Wealthy William the 8 year old” to get a shiny new iPad and a computer lab with brand new iMacs when “Poor Patrick the 8 year old” attends a school with computers 10-15+ years old and no where near enough technology resources for every child in the school to regularly utilize. I understand the status levels associated with varying neighborhoods and cities… but that should have nothing to do with education. If every child attending public school was genuinely able to have an equal education, I think many of the stereotypes that stimulate and perpetuate racism would decrease and automatically minimize racism.

In addition, the American justice system needs a major reevaluation and many changes. The most important change is that punishment for crimes should be the same no matter the city, the county or the state. The whole “cruel and unusual punishment” concept, often considered during appeal sentencing, is not good enough. The only way everyone will be accountability for their wrongful actions is if similar crimes have similar, negative consequences. Just because someone is rich, they shouldn’t be able to buy their way out of jail time. Just because someone is a police officer, their murders shouldn’t be excused. Our court system is incredibly corrupt and flawed, and needs a major makeover!

The Life
Sooo… I had a really good weekend!

Friday- Spent the day hanging with my bestie Rachel. It’s so nice being surrounded by someone who encourages proactivity and has such a positive spirit. I enjoy friendships with like-minded people who build me up, and my bestie Rach is just that way! At night, David scooped me up for a date night. We saw a friend play Lysander in a community theatre production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After a dose of Shakespeare, we stopped at The Turf Room to enjoy an appetizer and some amazingly, fresh martinis. It was a great date night, and I’m really feeling some good feels towards Dave :)

Saturday- After hitting the gym doing some squats and a 2 mile run (Oh yeah, I’ve been running a lot lately. If you follow my Snapchat you know that I run just about every to every other day. I’d like to do the Hot Chocolate 5K this November, and I’ve met my running goal, so I’m ready!!) David and I took Alena to see Ghostbusters. Such a silly but funny movie! Definitely worth checking out for a laugh.

Sunday- David and I met up for a coffee. He was working on his engineer stuff (he is so intelligent! We’ve been dating for over 5 months and I hadn’t fully grasped what he does all the time… well, yesterday he went over the work he does, essentially it’s programming the functionality of machines, and I am so impressed with his knowledge and work!!) while I did some blogging. Dave also had some roommates move out recently and they pretty much took everything in the kitchen with them. He’s getting new roomies at the start of August, but being the bachelor that he is, David was left without meal prep and cooking essentials. So we journeyed through Home Goods and Target for everything from silverware to pots and pans. After the trips to those stores, we went grocery shopping and I helped him pick out some healthier meal options so he can prep food and cook more at home. Apparently, the bachelor fridge is pretty normal–? Ha! Before our trip to the grocery store, Dave’s fridge only contained condiments (ketchup and mustard) and beer. Check out the before and after of his fridge on my Snapchat, to add me search: PrettyPerfect89. So after so Sunday shopping, the BF was one happy and grateful guy… but it’s returned, because I’m grateful to have such a sweetheart in my life. — Finally!

How was your weekend?

With Style & Love,
♥
Amber

59 Comments

  1. Biana

    Aww sounds like you and David had a really great Sunday and you helped him fully stock his fridge so I bet his roommates are just as thankful!! Lately camis with shorts is all we can wear with this heat haha! Looking great! xo, Biana –BlovedBoston

  6. I love the pretty print on your top! It’s the perfect thing to wear in this crazy summer heat! Such a good deal on your hat too! $9?!

  7. Destinee

    Sounds like a fun weekend! I love this look, it is one of my favorite “go-to” looks during summer.

    XO, Destinee Nicole

    (P.S. well said on the issues we are facing in America, I 100% agree with you)

  8. I do love that floral cami. It is so cute, and I can see how you can get many uses out of it! So jealous you are running. I miss running and used to do it all the time and run marathons! The hot chocolate one is a good one and the weather is perfect for running!

    http://www.rdsobsessions.com

  12. Love your thoughts on education, I’m on the same page- it should be the same for everyone. Also love those sunglasses!

  13. Amy Arnold

    Love your outfit! As a former teacher, I believe so much in society can be helped by education. It’s powerful! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and glad you had a nice weekend.

    Amy Ann
    Straight A Style

  15. Very cute outfit – I love the back of the top!

    Your weekend sounds lovely and busy!! It’s so great you and Dave are spending good, quality time together and that you feel so happy afterwards – that’s such a great feeling!

    I got back from a week+ long vacation and am not feeling work today at all, unfortunately. Need to get back into the swing of things!

    Allison / Joy and Ivy
    http://www.joyandivy.com

  16. I’m so happy to hear that you and David are having such a wonderful time together ♡

    I love the cute floral top… it looks so sweet on you Amber xox

    I totally agree with you on the schools, all children deserve the Sam education whether they are rich or poor… that is the way to give them a chance to succeed in life ♡

    I also totally agree with you about the criminal system, I’m sick if hearing rich people buying themselves out of trouble and poor people spending way too much time in jail for the crime they committed xox

  21. Hello beautiful! First of all – you look gorgeous in this Summer look! Second of all – it was very intersting to read your toughts of the race issue. In Germany every school has the same amount of money and I think this is great. Still there are some issues in difficult neighboorhoods here and there. Its not the money that is missing but the spirit, since many children come to school being sure that they are not worth anything anyway, so they do not care about their future.
    And third of all- I can soooo relate to you saying how nice it is it be with like-minded people! I realized that without actually realizing it, I stopped seeing those “friends” which are too negative. It just does not make me feel good to be with them and it costs so much energy…
    Thank you so much for your last comment on my thoughts about plastic! It meant a lot to me to get to know your opinion on the topic!
    Xx
    Larissa
    conscious lifestyle of mine

  26. You always wear the cutest camis. Love this one on you! I agree with you, our world is very messed up. Education is so much better in private school in Baton Rouge and it’s really sad. It’s almost like they intentionally do that to keep certain people out. That’s just my thoughts. I won’t be raising any kids here, that’s for sure. I’m all about diversity and fairness!

    http://www.thebeautybeau.com/

  33. Very cute outfit! SO summery! And I’m psyched that your life seems to be in full swing and going great! Wow…really good thoughts on the education system!! I’ve never thought of that or heard of that idea, but it’s very hard to not agree with!!! Brave, lady ;) XO
    Lauren-Blair
    http://www.gracerock-kellyroll.com

  35. You look so beautiful, girlie! I love that cami, it’s indeed the perfect transitional piece and you look so chic and stylish wearing it here, topping it off with that fab hat!

    As a native New Yorker, I’ve been exposed to both sides of the coin in education and living conditions. I grew up an inner city kid in the Bronx borough, right outside of NYC. I attended school there very briefly because it wasn’t the best. My parents had to send me to a private school in the suburbs to receive a better education and frankly, to be safe, too (at the time, there was a huge increase in gang related violence). My cousins, on the other hand, attended public schools in the city straight through and they would tell me stories how you’d need to get to class at least 10 minutes early to get a seat and text book. They would have about 20 seats and about 30 something kids packed into the class. Not to mention they had to go through medal detectors to enter and leave the school. That said, I understand both perspectives very well. However, I do agree that quality of education for public schools shouldn’t vary, but unfortunately in NYC our teachers are paid close to nothing (constantly getting laid off because of budget cuts), as well as our NYPD. I don’t know how, especially since NYC is one of the largest and industrial cities in our state and country, it makes you wonder. I think the change in education would understandably be notably different between public and private, not public. I don’t know, I really don’t have much words other than I can understand both sides. I do have to say, it all begins at the home because a good friend of mine is a NYC teacher and tells me stories I just can believe on how many of the parents of the children act, as opposed to those in the suburbs (she teaches HS there, too). The mindset seems to be different and we need to get to the core of that issue.

    Thanks so much for sharing, gorgeous, and I hope you’re having the best week so far! I love these discussions you create :)

    XO,

    Jalisa
    http://www.thestylecontour.com

    • Thanks for getting so personal and sharing your experiences!! I agree that education must start at home, unfortunately, it doesn’t work when those in poverty or who are greatly undereducated create offspring… because they tend to pass along those less than desirable attributes to their children… every once in a while, a child breaks free, but the cycle is indeed that, it’s cyclical!

      Our chance for this nation won’t happen with the current young adult generation, or the teens, or schoolage kids… it could happen for the toddlers and babies, though. With equal education.

      The details you shared about your cousin’s education is the exact unfairness that needs to be corrected. It must be corrected!! #hopingforachange

  38. Love your tank top, super cute for summer. I agree that all children should have the same resources at school. It’s unfortunate that some schools don’t have enough computers or books for all the kids. I remember one of the elementary schools I went too didn’t have enough text books for everyone in the class. Instead we had to grab a buddy to share a textbook, which isn’t necessarily the best way to learn. Thanks for speaking out about the issue. Have a great day! :)

    Eden | Mint Notion

    • Oh wow! So you definitely understand the unfairness behind education inequalities! Thanks for getting personal and sharing your experience with me.

  41. Amber, I swear you make casual look freaking chic. On to the more serious side of things, I think education sector in most countries need a huge overhaul and they need to be fair. It’s the same in Malaysia where the Chinese, Indians and others races are only allocated a small percentage of seats for universities and the majority goes to the Malays. It’s unfair, unjust and for that reason so many are either racking tons of debts to attend private universities or…they stop studying. Governments also need to stop cutting education budget, it should be prioritized!

    Shireen | Reflection of Sanity

    • Wow, I had no idea about those unfair inequalities happening over in Asia. Those disadvantages are EXACTLY what I’m talking about. And they hinder societies. When nations aren’t educating their children fairly, they are not building a great society! It’s a problem for sure.

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