impulse purchase = outfit dreaming

I gave in on a whim an ordered the pair of white JBrand Lovestory Jeans that I have had my eye on for awhile (thanks to a well timed "Shop It To Me" email). I am dreaming of all of the outfits I could put together when these come in! Here is a peak into my style dreams!

White-on-white with a splash of color. Perfect for a summer weekend or night at the beach.

 Top: Anthropologie

Earnings: Padma @ Neiman Marcus

Bag: Kate Spade

Belt: Forever 21

Shoes: Coach @ Nordstrom

I love a mix of patterns and stripes. And a sweater or a cardigan is a must for an air conditioned office. Perfect for a casual summer day at work.

 Top: Urban Outfitters

Cardigan: LOFT

Shoes: Ann Taylor

Bracelet: Marc by Marc Jacobs

Night on the town.  This watch is awesome!

Top: Zara

Bag: Coach

Watch: Glam Rock @ Nordstrom

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Pen and Paper

I go through seasons of "journaling." You know, like on paper, with a pen, in a journal. There is something to freeing about writing-regardless of what makes it onto the paper.

I love to buy a new journal, write a few pages, but rarely am I consistent. Enter the One Line A Day journal I picked up at a little store on vacay.  Each day, for five years, you are given a few short lines to write a note, thought, memory.  I am so excited about it!  So far, I am two weeks in and have kept up. It does help that the journal is super cute and the perfect shade of blue to sit on my nightstand.

Here are some pics of my journal and a few others that will make you want to curl up in a chair and write your heart out.

My new journal...

Kate's Paperie

Kate's Paperie

iomoi

Target

Anthropologie

If you are interested, you can buy my journal here.

Ann Taylor

Back in college, I spent some time working at Ann Taylor.  I collected a ton office-appropriate staples that I am still wearing...many years later.  The last few seasons, I have been uninspired by their designs and drawn to "little sister" LOFT for my wardrobe staples.  I browsed over to their website a few days ago and was pleasantly surprised with what I found.  Hope this is a sign of things to come!

Simple. Casual.

Perfect summer date-night top.

Simple, season-less tunic in a beautiful silk.  I want this!

Easy dip-dyed cardigan.

Love the yellow in this summer scarf!

I don't think you can ever have enough well-fitted jackets in your wardrobe, and Ann Taylor's tend to be cut really well.

All photos: Ann Taylor 

 

who wears short shorts....

With the temps here in the South already in the triple digits, shorts have been calling my name.  After years of revolting to any short that did not have the word "athletic" in front of it, I have decided it is time to embrace shorts again.  Short, long, casual, dressy, simple, bold...there are so many options out there.  Paired with dressy flats or wedges, they are perfect for a casual summer date!

Both from J.Crew; I picked up this pink pair recently and L-O-V-E them!

Tory Burch

Seven for All Mankind @ Neiman Marcus

Urban Outfitters

Gap

Banana Republic

Tomato Red

I have been drawn to all things tomato red lately...the perfect mix of red and orange.  The color feels like summer...bright, not too heavy, but bold...and it looks good on almost everyone! This summer I have been paring this tomato red with some unexpected colors like yellow, navy, grey. Tell me...what is your favorite color this summer?

Loft (you may recognize this from my vacation pics)

Eighty Six @ Nordstrom

Kate Spade

Kate Spade

Anthropologie

J. Crew

Valentino @ Nordstrom

SusansJewleryDesign @ Etsy

Vacation...what I wore

Hang with me..this is a long one! Here is a breakdown of my vacation outfits, how they came together and how I felt about them. You may not care, if so I promise more shopping posts are coming soon and I will stop talking about my vacation!

1. This is what I wore for the flight and it was so comfortable I never changed that day.  Sweatshirt: Anthropologie, Tank: Only Hearts, Scarf: American Eagle, Jeans: James Perse

2. Our last min trip to the Giants' game made me do a little improvising.  Sweater: LOFT open cardigan wrapped and pinned with my Grandmother's broach, Jeans: J. Brand Lexington, Shoes: Nine West Wedges

3. This was one of the outfits I had planned out, but I did not take the chill into consideration, so I ended up wearing the jacket the whole day. Jacket: LOFT (score from Ebay for less than $15), Top: Anthropologie silk tunic, Jeans: J. Brand Lovestory Jeans, Scarf: American Eagle, Shoes: Nine West wedges

4. This ended up probably being my favorite "day" outfit of the trip and it was perfect for the chilly weather that day. Jacket: Ivory Tulle jacket picked up from a local boutique, Sweater: LOFT sweater my little brother gave me for Christmas last year, Jeans: J. Brand Lexington, Scarf: American Eagle, Shoes: Nine West wedges (surprise, surprise)

5. This was kind of a random one, still not sure if I loved it. Sweater: Black LOFT Ruffled open cardigan-wrapped and belted, Top: Chambray button-down from Banana Republic (super sale find the day before we left for our trip), Jeans: The old faithful J. Brand Lexington, Shoes: Guess peep-tow heals 

6. My favorite outfit, hands down! Top: Same Anthropologie tunic from outfit 3, Skirt: ZARA (I did not shop much on the trip, but I did pick this up one afternoon).

7. This outfit was kind of a funny story.  For brunch, I had this top on with a yellow & grey pencil skirt from J.Crew and some flat sandals, but when we arrived in Sausalito it was way too cold, so I did a "quick change" in the car with whatever I could find at the top of the suitcase.  I kind if love the tone-on-tone look, but it was totally accidental. Jacket: LOFT from 3, Shirt: Chambray button-down from Banana Republic from 5, Jeans: the "worn way too much" J. Brand Lexington Jeans.

8. Wine country at its best!  This was the only day that it was really warm the whole day. I loved the bright-on-bright with the red skirt and yellow sweater. Top: LOFT white ruffled button-down (I love this top but just realized that my mom has the exact shirt...same size and color, not so sure how I feel about that!), Skirt: LOFT, Cardigan: Old Navy (old, old, old, but I can not replace it!).

California Inspiration

My recent trip with Mr. Hill to California (San Francisco and Napa Valley specifically) taught me a few things.

1. Style is TOTALLY personal and everyone should own their style; be inspired by others, but don't copy them!! Make everything your own!

2. Fashion does not always mean "out there." Sometimes the simplest outfits are better than the, shall we say, original. (Seriously fishnets with cutoff shorts!)

3. Feeling confident about who you are is what matters most!

4. True beauty comes from the Creator of the Universe; He is the ultimate artist and has given us a whole world full of beautiful inspiration. 

On to a much different note, there are a few pieces that I brought with me on the trip, and while there they became my new favorites...for this week at least!

A glass shell necklace from my Grandmother's jewelry collection.

This 3/4 sleeve pique tunic sweatshirt picked up from the sale room at Anthro.  Be prepared to see this a TON this fall.

Summer-weight scarf from American Eagle. I love how it was so vivid and brightened up my outfits! I wore it almost every day...as you can see from the previous pictures (image: Polyvore)

Tan Nine West Wedges.  Ok, so i knew I liked these so much before I left that I actually bought another identical pair for when these get worn out.

New stripped skirt from Zara..is has pockets (enough said)!

Back Home

There will be more posts to come on my packing successes/failures and overall trip inspiration later this week, but I wanted to tease you with a quick snapshot of my vacay outfits! 

 

I am out for a few days spending time with Mr. Hill in California!  I hope to come back with a full report on how my outfit planning panned out and lots of new inspiration. 

Summer Trends on a Small Budget

Forever 21 has always been a go-to place for trendy pieces that you may wear a few times. Some of my F21 finds have lasted 1-2 wearings, but others are staples in my wardrobe.  They have some great  pieces for summer that are on trend: brights, stripes, florals.  

Forever 21

Forever 21

Forever 21

Wide-Legs for Summer

Slowly, but surely, I am seeing the return of the flare and wide-leg pant! FINALLY!!!!! With a few seasons of skinny legs behind us, I, for one, am ready for a change!  I have some friends whose unfairly long legs and thin thighs have relished the skinny for quite awhile....I have not been in that crowd.  While I have found a few pair that fit and flatter, the wide-leg has always been my friend – making my short legs appear longer and balancing out more "athletic" thighs.

I love the easy look of a wide leg pant for summer – nautical, bohemian, even 70's inspired!  I can't wait to pull out a few from my closet and add to the collection with some of these newer styles! Here are a few inspirations for every budget.

Max Studio

Anthropologie

Anthropologie

Gap

Gap

Theory @ Neiman Marcus

Inspiration

One of my initial style inspirations was my grandmother.  Standing just under 5', she loved big jewelry, bold colors, fur; she pulled it off with an heir of sophistication.  Her personality was even bigger than her style. She loved life and lived it fully! Some of my early memories of going to visit her were playing in her closet, walking around in her fabulous shoe collection, covering up in her fur coats!

This past weekend my family gathered for the first time since she passed away. It was bittersweet and just not the same without her.  One evening my aunts and female cousins gathered around her dining room table and went through her jewelry – each piece reminded us of her. We all took a few pieces to remember her, things I will cherish.  

The best part of the evening came when, in one of the many jewelry boxes, we found very small picture of she and my grandfather from their honeymoon.  It was right out of a James Bond movie. It was a candid shot from some where in Havana, he was in white coat and black bow-tie, she in a formal red dress with perfect hair. You can just imagine what that week must have been like. She was beautiful and will be remembered for her style among many, many other much more important things.

Who is your style-inspiration?