OOTD | Happy Colors!

It had already been a long Friday but I had the chance to actually have dinner with my husband and go to an event that I have been meaning to get to for months now. I dashed home from the gym, jumped into the shower and then my closet and came out with this...I kind of really like it! 

I cannot live without this Oatmeal cashmere wrap, it goes with everything, keeps me warm, folds easily into my purse and I can style it a countless number of ways. Tonight I made it into an infinity loop by tucking and hiding the tasseled ends into the wrapped layers. I picked up this adorable cream quilted jacket with gold accents today while at Target. Not the best quality piece but cute and I am sure I can get a season or two out of it.  

One of my favorite colored tops. I've had this forever, it is such a versatile, happy piece. 

 I just love pairing complimentary colors, blue and orange are my favorite!

Accessories...my staple Stuart Weitzman nude pumps, Hermès belt with hammered gold buckle, and my Louis Vuitton makeup case that has never held makeup but is the heart of any handbag I carry and my go to clutch when I'm lazy and need to crab something small on the go.

I just love the COLORS of this outfit. The belt feeds off the reds and oranges of the top while complimenting the rich blue of the jeans.

 This was a great outfit because while I felt cute in it, and I was comfortable it didn't feel at all fussy. I didn't have a stitch of makeup on, and I there my wet hair into a ballet bun and ran out the door. Another post on the go!  

I hope you all had a good Friday night.  

xo, 

OOTD | BLD

Lord I know it has been forever since I have done a fashion focused post! I have no excuse. I have been busy and capturing my outfits in detail has just not happened. If I had a dime for every time I've run, not walked, but run out the door and thought I should snap a few quick pictures for my blog I would have gotten myself a really great handbag or pair of shoes by now! This outfit is the one and only exception when I actually stopped for 3 seconds and took a few pictures. 

:: BLD | Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner ::

My days and activities vary greatly and so often times whatever I throw on in the morning is going to have to get me not only through the day but sometimes through the evening as well. I call these days BLD's because they have to take me from breakfast to lunch and straight on through to dinner! This was one of those days...

:: An effortless pop of color ::

Comfort is paramount on busy days! 

I remember throwing this outfit on in about 3 minutes. The key to this outfit is accessorizing. I tossed on a pair of plain skinny jeans(J.Crew) and paired them with a simple black top(?). The belt is an easy and effortless bright pop of color, comfy classic flats enabled me to stylishly scurry about for the entire day, while my go to-never let me down Céline sunnies hid the fact that I am not wearing an ounce of makeup and my well tailored favorite leather jacket kept me warm and added a little texture.

:: Delicate bows, comfortable and adorable::

The great thing about an outfit like this one is that I will wear it  or a version thereof hundreds of times in my life!

 A flip of the belt, a change of the top, swap the flats for heels, toss in some colored jeans...While how I wore this particular outfit was rather basic it can easily be transformed into something sassy and far more fun. Experimentation is my fashion muse, you never know how incredible something may be until you try it! 

xo, 

My Life in Music

Many people document their lives in journals or diaries. I've never been any good at that, I've started a few over the years but I've never kept one up. The one thing that I have done consistently over the years is to create playlists of music. One of my favorite movies is Almost Famous directed by the very talented Cameron Crowe. In the  behind the scenes interviews he discusses how he has kept tapes of music throughout his life and how he has been able to go back to those tapes and quite literally replay his life. 

My playlists are titled simply with the month and the year and I too am able to replay various moments of my life with the simple click of my mouse or tap on my iPod. From songs of my childhood to when I first left home to go to college, trips with friends, breakups, parties, when I met my husband, even when loved ones have passed away these playlists and their songs transport me back to moments and memories of my life. 

Most of them make me laugh, some make me cry but all make me smile. 

November 2013

Young & Beautiful Lana Del Rey

Stand Up Five for Fighting

What If Five for Fighting

At This Point In My Life Tracy Chapman

Bruises Train

Love Somebody Maroon 5

Let Her Go Passenger (still on repeat)

Wait for Me Kings of Leon

Wake Me Up Avicil

Oklahoma Sky Miranda Lambert

We All Need Saving Jon McLaughlin

Hero Family of the Year

God Gave Me You Blake Shelton

Demons Imagine Dragons

Bleeding Out Imagine Dragons

Nothing More The Alternate Routes (also on repeat!)

This playlist has been on repeat since I created it. In fact I'm still playing it and last night my husband came home to tell me about this great song I just had to listen to! Funny thing, it's on this playlist and I've been listening to it nearly non-stop, good news he was happy to listen to it more with me. 

These playlists are one of my most treasured possessions because they are quite literally my life in music.  

xo, 

Falling in love...

This Fall has been absolutely breathtaking, one of the most stunning that I can remember. The trees have changed colors and the leaves have begun to fall but in California most of our days have remained in at least the 70's. Because of the warm weather I have just not felt like wearing the darker typical shades of Fall. That was until I discovered Zoya's Pixie Dust Collection.  

:: Dahlia :: London :: Godiva :: Electra ::

This special edition textured nail polish is simply divine! My three favorite colors London, Godiva and Dahlia, are each as rich and decadent as they sound and they look incredible.*Electra is a discontinued color but I've been combining it with these and it sort of fits right in. I've been wearing them or a combination thereof for about two months straight now and I have never gotten so many compliments on nail colors. 

:: London & of course my trademark pink toes ::

This past week I created a color I've named Paved in Gold. It's a combination of layering London and Godiva. The Godiva brightens the already stunning London and adds just a touch of warmth. 

 :: Paved in Gold ::

One of my favorite things about this collection is that it is like super glue and lasts for a good two weeks! I wore Godiva for our entire trip to Hawaii and it stayed looking incredible even when being slathered in sunscreen, and going between the beach and the pool! 

xo, 

In the Box!

Some things are more difficult than others to organize.

:: One Hot Mess ::

For me I've always struggled to keep my bras, socks and hanky panky's well organized in a way that they can easily stay like that. When I designed my closet I didn't want to have drawers because I wanted to see my clothes! But, I did want to have daily items easily accessible and organized of course. I found these great crates at The Container Store and I have to say I am in love with how they keep me organized while also allowing me to easily access everything.

:: All Together Now ::

:: The Light & Bright Ones ::

:: On the Shelves ::

:: All Tucked Away ::

Whatever the project may it's always important to keep an open mind about the organization process and how things ultimately come together. It took me a while to figure out what would work best for me. A lot of times it comes down to just trying something, rearranging it, moving it or thinking a little outside of the box :) Or in this case thinking and keeping it in the box!

xo, 

To Love, Laughter and Friends...

Today I was surrounded by love. 

It was a quiet love, the type that is unspoken but simply present. There have been a few great men in my life and today it was an incredible gift to be surrounded by those who have always been there for me. After an early afternoon with family my GH (gay husband) and his BF joined me at our house for an evening of love, laughter and friendship. 

My GH, the third generation of some truly incredible gentlemen and gentle men...

A simple but sweet afternoon...

...

I have many loves in my life, these however are some of my greatest...

Nap time...

The greatest compliment a guest can pay me is to demonstrate that they feel at home in our home. I just love when people can relax enough to really enjoy themselves and I truly mean it when I say, "Please make yourself at home!"

I feel so privileged to have such incredible men in my life. My sweet, amazing actual husband joined our posse after work and my day became complete. I hope your day was also filled with love laughter and friends. 

xo, 

I ❤ You a Latte!

When I was very young, probably around six, my Grandma introduced me to café lattes. They were her morning drink of choice and so naturally I had to drink them too. Not only did I drink them but I really enjoyed them and we could frequently be found sipping our morning lattes and watching Captain Kangaroo. A few years later my Grandma's latte habit and mine as well gave way to tea and I really did not begin drinking lattes again until I was in college. 

:: Captain Kangaroo & Mr. Green Jeans ::

For the last five years or so I would have a latte a few times a week but I was never one of those people who ran to Starbucks or Peete's every morning. My mom on the other hand is another story. She had actually never had a latte or any form of coffee up until a few months ago, but one day I made her take a sip of my venti, half soy, half non-fat latte and low and behold she liked it. What I never anticipated however was that I had just created a monster. My momma literally in a matter of weeks went from never having touched coffee or espresso to easily drinking a latte and sometimes two daily! Needless to say as her Starbucks consumption increased so did mine as she would often grab one for me while ordering hers :) 

:: nom nom nom nom nom ::

Up until a bit ago our little Starbucks habit was a bit pricey but I figured what the hell. I've always had the Gold card from Starbucks and so we never paid for the additional soy. When Starbucks revamped their rewards program they got rid of free soy and so instead of  $7.70 a day for lattes, my mom and I now found ourselves paying $8.90 and that's if we only had one latte per day. Needless to say this price hike didn't keep us from our coffee but it did make us think long and hard about other viable options.

:: meet Miele - our new best friend ::

After some preliminary research we decided on this puppy and we've already fallen in love. I purchased espresso and soy milk from Starbucks as I needed to ensure that I would be able to replicate our drinks or really what's the point? One of the main reasons we selected this machine is because it allows you to customize everything from the temperature of your coffee or espresso, to the brew strength as well as the portion size of the shots and coffee. Not only is it a breeze to use, but it makes exceptional espresso, coffee, fluffy steamed milk and it cleans itself! We've only had our Miele for a little over a day but I'm not going to lie, I think it's going to be really hard to go back to Starbucks when I'm now able to enjoy my lattes in my PJ's before I even shower! I've also found that since it's so convenient I don't think twice about making myself an afternoon latte! 

:: you know I love to accessorize and our new coffee bar is no exception ::

:: I came across these adorable containers and knew they would be perfect ::

I'm also really excited to be able to make coffee for people when we entertain as I've never owned a coffee maker or known how to make coffee :) 

Do you have a guilty pleasure? What's your favorite drink? I'm always intrigued by what other's drink, half the time I have no clue what they're ordering! 

xo, 

Color Me Skinny!

I love color!

Bold, bright, vibrant, subtle or soft - color is one of my favorite and essential elements of style.

 Last Summer I found a pair of fabulous skinny jeans at J.Crew and I bit the bullet and bought them, even though they were over $100 dollars. I wear them all of the time - all year long - and they are by far the comfiest jeans I own.  I've never second guessed my purchase and had in fact just the other day made a mental note to scoop up a few more pairs. I happened to be in J.Crew yesterday to pick up something for my sister when I stumbled upon my favorite jeans on sale! Not just any sale - a ridiculous sale. My jeans that had been $125 were now $20!!!

 :: J.Crew - Toothpick Jeans | Vivid Fuchsia & Light Citron & I ordered Neon Violet ::

*The green shorts pictured above are for my sweet boy and they were $13 - I couldn't resist

:: Color Story #1 Out & About ::

:: Light Citron Toothpick Jeans | J.Crew ::

:: leopard flats | Tory Burch ::

:: denim button down & white tank - Target |  necklace - Juicy Couture | sunnies - Jimmy Choo ::

:: Excuse the mess - a peek inside my handbag - Burberry ::

:: Color Story #2 Hello 2013! ::

:: Vivid Fuchsia Toothpick Jeans - J.Crew | shoes - Enzo Angiolini (old) ::

 :: white button down blouse - Façonable | grey cashmere sweater (old) | necklace - Juicy Couture ::

  :: all together now :) bracelet - Juicy Couture ::

out why I'm obsessed these skinnies! 

:: comfy - cute - instant & effortless pop of color - casual or dressy - great for travel - fabulous fit ::

I hope your New Year is off to a great start! 

xo, 

Looking Back..

1. What do you miss most about being a kid?

Ignorance, that whole saying ignorance is bliss, well I think it's true. I miss the time when I was unaware of all of the challenges of life and my biggest decision was what to play for the afternoon. 

2. Did you have a nickname growing up? What was it?

Not so much a nickname but my family has always called me a variety of names, Pumpkin Pie, Toots, Sweet Pea...

3. What was your favorite thing to do at recess?

Play four square

4. What did you want to be when you grew up?
I've always loved medicine and from very early on I thought I wanted to be a doctor. Once I got older I realized I didn't have the acumen to be a physician. I still love medicine and health but I'm confident that medicine, at least becoming an MD was not the path for me. 

5. What was your favorite toy?
My power wheels Jeep, boy did I love that!

6. What is the funniest thing you did as a kid that your parents still remind you about?
One time when I was very little and just learning to speak my Dad was driving and he told us he was going to went the  wrong way with my entire family in the car. From the back of the car in my car seat.

*FOR SOME REASON BLOGGER WILL NOT LET ME CENTER MY POST!?!?!?!

xo, 

Another great Sunday Social Linkup thanks to our gracious hosts, check them out below :)