Sometimes I find an accessory or piece of clothing that induces instant swooning, instant vows to include it in my daily wardrobe. My most recent swoon-worthy purchase? This Panama hat. I stumbled upon it about a week and a half ago in the men's department at Nordstrom and was certain it was the perfect addition to my summer wardrobe. But just to be sure, I plopped it on my head and wore it around the store for a good 15 minutes. After that time, I was certain it would be on my head for the rest of the summer. So it came home with me. I have a feeling it'll see its fair share of blog photos, but until then, I wanted to introduce you. Readers, meet my new summer hat...summer hat meet my fabulous readers!
Hat: Nordstrom
Jacket: Gap
Belt: super old...Gap? Banana?
Necklace: Ann Taylor
Bracelet: Ann Taylor
First stop on Davis family trips...brunch at The Good Egg. Always followed by shopping. The first time I met Matt's family, I knew I liked them. Our priorities are the same...eat, shop, take pictures.
Sibling love.
Another group shot, after a full day of cardio, err, I mean shopping. After a quick rest we headed out to dinner to celebrate Matt's belated birthday.
To celebrate, Matt's dad picked a spot called The Mining Camp, a barbeque joint that has been in Mesa for over 4o years. The food is served family style on giant platters and tin plates. It sounded a little sketchy, but in the end, we all agreed it was the perfect choice. Even the New Yorkers above liked it :)
Any reason to celebrate Matt is fine by me :)
Hahhhaa, I love this picture of Josh, his biscuit, and his baked beans. We were all a combination of horribly disgusted and totally delighted with the amount of food that was on the table. But in the end, we had no trouble packing away all that goodness.
The waitress was thrilled to hear it was Matt's birthday. She brought out a homemade oatmeal cookie, ice cream, and a train whistle to accompany our table's rendition of happy birthday.
Bowling with Matt and I's niece, Alex. She is turning into quite the little fashionista!
At lunch, I couldn't help but order the fruitiest, girliest cocktail on the menu. Back in Chicago it was cold and rainy, so I soaked up the Arizona heat and the opportunity to cool down with a fruity frozen beverage.
Anthony's first Pizookie experience. I'm not sure how someone goes their whole life without that deep dish cookie/ice cream goodness, but Anthony had. Clearly, we had to change that, but he didn't seem to mind :)
Our last night there, we headed out to Tucson for Matt's cousin's wedding. The wedding was outside at the Westin La Paloma and it was beyond beautiful!
Matt's cousin, Ian and his gorgeous wife Sarah. (Remember when 
That background makes it almost impossible to take a bad picture!
And because, I love this dress so much, I had to show yall a better picture. I spotted this Tracy Reese dress at Anthropologie back in December and instantly fell in love with it. Its the perfect combination of garden gnome and fairy princess!
We met for dinner and drinks at 
And you know what they say...the early bird gets the wine! So wine we did :) Scoozi's wine list was posted on the wall, and I was grateful for the variety in both type and price. (Sometimes wining and dining in Chicago can get a bit insane pricewise. so its always refreshing when restaurants here have options.)
Emily (on the right) and her good friend Holly (who after 5 minutes I felt like I'd known for years.) I love that they have been friends forever and though they live in different cities, they make it a point to travel together every so often.
Matt's birthday didn't technically start for a few more hours, but I couldn't resist the chance to surprise him with a birthday dessert. Unfortunately our server didn't catch my stealth signals, so I pretty much spelled it out in front of Matt (and half the restaurant) that I wanted a candle in our dessert lol.
What could be better than happy-almost-birthday profiteroles?
After finishing up at Scoozi, we headed to 
Excuse me for being a sorority cheeseball here, but there really is something special about the bond you share with your sorority sisters. Time goes by, people change, but there's something comforting about coming back together long after rush skits, Kappa tshirts, and 700 College Bachelor/Bachelorette watch parties :)
Top: Ann Taylor
Open cardigan: Ann Taylor (sold out in orange, but 
The orange looks a little different in real life than it does in these pictures, but I guess that's what you get with not-so-awesome bathroom lighting :)
I got this chunky beaded necklace when I went to Cabo one spring break in college, and even though I love it, I always have a hard time pairing with actual outfits. So when I couldn't decide between the beaded or the gold necklace, I just decided to wear both!
PS: Notice a different background from my usual bathroom OOTD pics? When Matt and I moved a few weekends ago, we had to start sharing a bathroom. Which sadly meant 
My mom is amazing for so many reasons and so many things. But what I find more incredible than her unwavering love, her ability to win the laughing game, or her determination to make any small step into a major celebration is the fact that 27 Aprils ago, when the doctor handed her that tiny, red, smooshed, alien looking baby, she didn't give it back and say, "Nevermind." :)
After a year of me living in Chicago, I think Christie has finally gotten used to my train photo opps :)
After hearing about 
Hahaha, I love this picture. Jess and Christie were deep into burger building at this point. Though all the ingredients were amazing, fresh, and some pretty unique, it was totally overwhelming to narrow down your choices!
Me and my burger builder :) I decided to go with a beef burger with brie cheese, bacon, dried cranberries, lettuce, cucumbers, and apricot sauce on a pretzel bun. I know it sounds a little crazy, but...
...it was SO GOOD!
And to finish off the meal...adult milkshakes! We chose the Banana Split which was a banana milkshake with cherry vodka and whip cream. And not only was it delicious, but the Skyy cherry made it taste just like a one-sip banana split!
The fabulous guest of honor! I can't wait to see all that God has in store for her in ITALY, eeek!