The first warm day in Ohio after months of depression freezing darkness is always the same. Every year.  People creep out of their houses like bears post-hibernation, or what I imagine cave men looked like emerging from their caves after experiencing their very first thunderstorm.  They all seem to come out at once, rubbing their eyes to the sunlight that they haven’t seen in months and looking around like they don’t recognize their own neighborhood.  Dogs literally pull their owners down the sidewalk because they’re SO happy not to be walking on ice.  NEXTDOOR neighbors greet each other like they haven’t spoken all winter, (which is probable – Ohio winters make us all anti-social hobbits).

And I use the word “warm” very subjectively.  This weekend it reached 68 degrees, and when these pictures were taken it was probably still 60.  But I was 5 minutes away from putting on a bathing suit and posting up in the park with a bottle of sun tan oil. I realize that for many of you around the world, 60 is still chilly and probably the temperature you associate with winter, but for us, it was gloriously warm.

But it was nice to see restaurants packed, people wearing shorts and short sleeves, (by the end of the day I was freezing), making plans to meet up with friends and overhearing people on the phone making dinner reservations and inquiring as to whether the patio would be open, (obviously no because it dips down to 40 in the evening).  It put me in the absolute BEST mood, whereas a few short weeks prior I had slipped into this awful sadness – not wanting to wake up early, not wanting to walk the dog farther than the driveway, not wanting to go to the gym.  Then the temperature rises 30 degrees and all of a sudden I’m Suzie Sunshine.  If every other person I know who lives here was not EXACTLY the same way, I would be worried I was manic depressive or something.

Funny what a little sunshine and heat will do to your psyche.

On an unrelated note, I am constantly wearing black or white in some way, but I rarely wear the two colors together as separate pieces.  When I found this skirt I was immediately smitten and I knew that I would get a lot of wear out of it this spring and summer.  The skirt and the heels seemed so dressy, so rather than pair a dressy top, I wore a loose fitting crop top to help balance it out.  Also, my sweet husband picked out the sweetest birthday gift for me this year that also made an appearance in the post.  Can you guess what it is?!

XOXO – Em

| skirt | heels | top (similar) | sunglasses (similar) | clutch | bracelet and similar |