Now that Memorial Day has passed, it officially feels like summer! And with it—the busy-ness of the season is really ramping up. As I’m writing this post I’m realizing that this coming weekend is the only free weekend I have in all of June (more on that below!) so I really need to be smart and make the most of my time, both prepping for the busy days ahead and trying to soak in the little moments and feelings of summer.

What’s New?

So funny story… Almost three weeks ago I was hanging out with a group of gals and one of them mentioned how she was going to New York City for 36 hours to see Mariska Hargitay make her Broadway debut. My mouth immediately dropped open, and she exclaimed, “Thank you! Nobody ever knows who she is!” (If you don’t know, Mariska Hargitay is the star of the show Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and has been since the series was created in 1999.) It has, for at least 15 years, been my favorite show (dark, I know).

Anyway, I spent the rest of that evening looking up plane tickets and considering how I could also make my way to NYC to see Mariska on Broadway, in a one-actor show called Every Brilliant Thing. The show has a “residency” of sorts so she will only be performing from the end of May to the end of June. At first I asked my boyfriend to go with me, and we hemmed and hawed before ultimately deciding it didn’t make sense (too quick of a turnaround, too difficult with work). But then I brought it up to my mom and… next thing I knew I was requesting a week off work to go to the East Coast… in just over a week! It all happened so fast but I am SO excited to see the play!! We’ll only be spending one night in NYC and the rest of our trip nearby in Connecticut, a state I’ve never been to (even though I’ve somehow been to every surrounding state). The Broadway show was the perfect excuse to extend the trip and knock off a new place. Yay!

Today’s Outfit

Honestly… I regret buying this dress. Don’t get me wrong, it’s super cute—I love the polka dots, the low back, the built-in shorts, and athletic fabric that makes it really versatile. But it’s SO short… and makes me feel self-conscious. I spent (for me) a lot of money on it though, so I’m determined to wear it anyway! I bought these really stylish knee boots during the same shopping trip, and the stylist recommended I pair the two pieces together—which at first I thought would be weird but I actually think is super cute. I do love this outfit, I just really wish the dress was 2 inches longer!

Top Performing Social Media Posts

• How I Approach Packing My Clothes for a Move
• Percent Worn: Week 19
• Random Number Generator Stylings: Green One-Shoulder Blouse

Favorite Outfits from May

I realized that I was really bad about taking OOTD photos this month, so I didn’t have a lot of looks to choose from. May was the first time I decided to put together an outfit inspired by the month’s book club book (which is such a fun challenge!) and my river-themed outfit turned out to be one of my favorites from the month. My other top look was a very different vibe but super cute—I took advantage of the last cold spell of the spring to break out one more warm hat and pair of knee socks!

Percent Worn Update

As of today I’ve hit 71% of my closet worn so far in 2026! My progress has definitely slowed as I’ve focused less on wearing “new” things when getting dressed in the morning (now I only wear one, or sometimes no, new things whereas at the beginning of the year I was wearing 3-5 per outfit). Of course, part of the reason is because I just have less new things to choose from, so it’s more difficult to find ways to style them together. I still have SO many dresses to wear (and no weddings this year, boo), lots of heels, and accessories like purses, belts, and frilly socks. I tried really hard to stack all of my winter clothing early in the year, but it was such a warm winter that I didn’t get the chance to wear four of my beanies… Fingers crossed that the random number generator doesn’t land on any of those between now and the fall.

What I Watched

• Send Help—This wasn’t a good movie (cheesy, silly—at times felt like a parody) but boy was it entertaining! I might actually recommend it if you’re just looking for something dumb and fun to watch.
• Apex—My brother and sister-in-law slept over, and both she and I were sooo sleepy that we picked a movie we were okay with falling asleep to. But then it turned out to be so suspenseful and instantly hooked us that we ended up watching the whole thing! I hadn’t heard of Apex before but it’s about a solo female in the Australian wilderness who starts getting hunted by a man. As two ladies who like to camp and spend time outside, it was way scarier to us than any monster/make-believe horror movie. Again, very realistic? No. But riveting to the point where you can’t look away? Yes!

What I Read

• Quicksilver by Callie Hart—This month’s book club pick was romantasy, which was a first for me. I typically don’t like fantasy (I hate the drawn-out world building and made-up names) and I really don’t like smut, so I wasn’t that excited about this read… But after getting through the painful first third, I actually really liked it and couldn’t put it down by the end. Was it good? When I really think about it, not really… There were a lot of things that didn’t make sense in the plot (maybe they’re explained in the second book) and there was not much in the romantic development to make it believable that the characters fell in love so quickly. But damn, did I eat it up anyways. There were parts of the story that reminded me a lot of Howl’s Moving Castle, which is one of my favorite movies, so clearly something about the “man fighting internal demons” trope really does it for me. The few romantic moments/lines were OH so good. The smut, I still could’ve done without (this book was particularly crass).

May Spotify Playlist

There are several songs on my May playlist from Noah Kahan’s new album. Otherwise, I guess the month was a blur because I have no recollection of where the rest of the songs came from. I have made a mental note that I need to listen to Kacey Musgraves’ albums though because I think her lyrics are so clever.

What I’m Looking Forward to in June

• June will be BUSY! First up is a jam-packed weekend camping for my sister-in-law’s birthday—only one night for me so I can make it back to Denver in time for my boyfriend’s 10 year high school reunion. I’m very interested to go to my first reunion, and to meet all the characters from his past, but I’m disappointed to say it’s hosted at an adult bouncy house… Um, I thought reunions were supposed to be dressy? I guess not?!
• And then the following Monday I’ll be heading to Connecticut with my mom! So far we have plans to do the Mystic Seaport Museum and Mystic Aquarium, a ghost tour (our favorite), and a sunset sail on an old schooner. Of course, we can’t forget seeing Mariska during our one night in NYC!
• As if all of that wasn’t enough, the very next weekend is when a group of family/friends and I will be going to Kansas City for a World Cup game. Attending the World Cup has been on my bucket list for years so I’m very excited that we were able to snag tickets!

This Month on Grace per Wear

• Favorite Outfits from April
• Book Club Inspired Outfit: Is a River Alive?
• Percent Worn: Week 19
• DIYing a Flying Dress Photoshoot
• What I Wore to My First Baby Shower
• Random Number Generator Stylings: Green One-Shoulder Blouse
• Percent Worn: Week 20
• How I Approach Packing My Clothes for a Move
• Survivor Season Finale Watch Party
• Organizing My New Closet: Part 1
• Organizing My New Closet: Part 2
• Percent Worn: Week 21
• So What’s Your Vision for this Room?
• GRWM for a Country Music Bar
• Walk of Shame Outfit
• Percent Worn: Week 22

I always used to think fall was my favorite season, but I might be converting to summer… I just love the afternoon thunderstorms that roll into Denver, and they seemed to have started early this year. In fact, it’s been unusually humid the last few days—I was sweating bullets taking these pics!

As always, thanks for stopping by the blog. I hope your June is off to a great start.

 

Miles of smiles,
Grace

 

Dress: Bobbles & Lace Boulder, $70 ($35 per wear) | Jean Jacket: JCPenney, $19 ($0.07 per wear), last worn here | Boots: Bobbles & Lace Boulder, $70 ($35 per wear) | Sunglasses: Sungait via Amazon, $15 ($0.39 per wear), last worn here | Purse: Kate Spade New York, $110 ($3.79 per wear), last worn here