Champagne Thursday...

Yes... completely sums up my week... where days felt like repeated themselves... and yet there is always reason for Champagne....

• Visited Ikea... enough excitement to put Disneyland to shame....   seriously reason to celebrate....
• I managed to do push-ups, bench presses & wall squats without puking... it was touch and go there  for a minute but I managed...
• I put away the laundry... c'mon folks that's a real win!
• I got a new plant and I've made some very serious promises to not kill it... #houseplantkiller 
• Tried on "leather" pants at H&M and didn't burst out into laughter.. even thought there was plenty of reason for it...
• Hit a punching bag like a boss.... Eat your heart out Sylvester Stallone...
• Snuggled up on the couch with my man watching TV... nothing says romance like Wipeout...

So when the days get a little cray cray and your like will this week ever end? Pop open some champagne because there is always something to celebrate.... even if it is only because it's Thursday....

Closet Crisis: What to wear to a concert....

What to wear to a concert.... by hchdesigns featuring a studded crossbody purse

This last weekend Seth and I had the pleasure of going to an outdoor concert... We sat on a blanket, sipped a little Sauvignon Blanc and enjoyed music from The Goat Rodeo Sessions featuring Yo-Yo Ma. It was completely unexpected beautiful music and an overall lovely evening. Rewind about 4 hours... Seth comes home from work and I'm taking my time getting ready for the day since it's my day off.. picture this.. glasses, leggings, sports bra, tank top & Seth's zip up sweatshirt, sans makeup and I cleverly decided to break in my new leopard print flats by wearing socks with them around the house.. see here...
There was literally no glamour what so ever.. and if you looked at me I would look more like candidate for What Not To Wear than a fashion blogger...  Seth comes in the door and says "babe we got to leave in soon... " OMG.. seriously? What am I going to wear... and the social anxiety of being overdressed or under dressed hits... Not to mention I had 30 min to fix the hot mess of me...

Business causal at a folk concert that's featuring Yo-Yo Ma?? Oh the closet crisis... It causes all sorts of social anxiety for me, to show up and look like I don't realize that I at a concert for world famous cellist! But be so overdressed that it's ridiculous since we have lawn tickets...  So, I decided to go with ultra classic white denim flairs, black tank and gray blazer...When in doubt stay classic, I had been dying to wear my new bead necklace from Forever 21 and I decided to wear wedges since they are easier to walk on grass than stilettos, added my yellow clutch and I was good to go! It does occur to me that this outfit is very similar to my last post.. I swear I wear other clothes..  I curled my hair to soft waves and with the help of dry shampoo had a pretty good hair day, makeup was soft and sun-kissed with semi bold eye since it's night and I need to not look 12 ... I'm not sure how it happened but I managed to get ready in like 45 min with help from my superman husband ..it takes a village... then only to walk out the door forgetting to put on deodorant...score... 

The concert ended up being wonderful! It was a memory that will last forever and as it ended up we sat next to a guy that was wearing sweatpants and an Indiana Jones hat... so there was that.. but either way I felt great about how I looked and in then end that's all that really matters... 

Accessories: Accidental Awesomeness...

Blazer-HM similar

Tank- Old Navy

Jeans-F21

Stilettos- BCBGirls via Marshall's

Necklace- F21 similar

Sunnies- Cotton On

Clutch- Plato's Closet

When doing our little photo shoot last night we pulled off the side of a road to take pictures next to the vines... I live in the Sonoma wine country area... A random farmer across the street had it's music blaring and I while was not so discreetly running around the vines with my stilettos sinking into the dirt... the soundtrack of Taylor Swift and Celine Dion was playing in the distance... thank you random farmer for your Mix radio station preferences... all that was missing was Rod Stewart and Cosmos...

I found these jeans from F21..fake cough Forever In Denial and shocker they are too long.. story of my life.. How I get around that is to show some ankle with stilettos or wear a riding boot... this lengthens my legs... Can I get an amen?!  Now if I could just reach the top shelf in my kitchen tha'd be great... cue the boss from Office Space..

Throw on a gray blazer and add the pop of color this outfit needed with that adorable clutch I scored from Plato's Closet.. I probably broke some 12 year old's heart by taking off the display and snatching it up for myself but what can I say? I'm ruthless when it comes to great accessories...  If you ever have the chance to score a brightly colored clutch, DO IT! Buy that bad boy and never look back... and here's why.. all of a sudden with a lovely bright thing that can hold nothing more than keys and lip balm... you look like it was on purpose.. you planned for your outfit to be toned down just so you can rock that new bag... and while it might be the exact opposite.. where everything you put on is monochromatic "bla mcboring" (and not in a good way)... all of a sudden a bright little clutch, just made it interesting.. and frankly I'm all about taking my bla-ness and  making it look like I did it on purpose...my accidental awesomeness it out of control.... All the while knowing that my accessories totally saved my bacon... figures... 

Personal Moments and Mini Meltdowns...

Yesterday was, well... not an amazing day... it was just like a culmination of not feeling good, hoping for something to happen and then being disappointed when it didn't...I really didn't stand a chance.. I sat in my office and had an ugly cry right there in front of my computer.. Oh if computer monitors could talk...  , where tears are falling and there is no saving my look... Good bye makeup and hello red nose and face... Super glamorous no?

All I could think was that life was passing me by.. that and I'm getting older and I'm not where I thought I should be... See somehow I got it in my head that things would be sorted by 31 and at the very least by 32! Blah blah blah... Boring myself already... Where do we get these crazy expectations? Who knows... but here's the thing...  Life can't pass you by if your living for right now... So even if the career thing isn't sorted, or who knows when the house and babies will happen... life is good... and it's ok to have an ugly cry and then hold your head up high and keep going.. Anything worth doing is going to take time...  So if you like me, and it feels like the world just hates you on a Tuesday afternoon.. just get yourself an ugly cry, invest in a waterproof mascara and remember great things take time... and time is on your side.

Personal moments... brought to you by a mini meltdown in Hope's office...

HM Stands for Holy Moly....

H&M Stands for Holy Moly.... by hchdesigns featuring faux leather handbags

I honestly cannot be the only one who is freaking out about the fact that H&M is now offering online shopping in the USA market!!! I mean what's next World Peace or French Fries that make you skinny?? I mean clearly this is cause for celebration...  Since their online shopping has opened up I've spent a fair amount of time browsing and adding to my shopping bag... I do this sometimes it just makes me feel like I can get whatever I want even when the checking account is saying "sure you can spend money or you can pay rent..." Ahh.. decisions, decisions...the adult life is so overrated...
Not only that but can you stand it? It's almost time for fall fashion! This year it's gonna be a lot of earth tones and I'm totally loving all the olive and burgundy showing up! Almost every season I have something that I promise myself I'll purchase.."this is the year I'm going to get faux leather pants or riding boots or both..." I'm a little nervous about the whole leather pants options since I tend to be a little on the curvy side and those tend to be cut for those who are a little on the straight side... but who knows? I'm willing to give it a shot.. Besides who wouldn't want to channel their inner Sandy from Grease or make noise while walking? I know I do.. Between all the amazing options H&M has to offer, not to mention their fabulous taste in bags.. hello! that taupe faux leather bag? Heavenly... My shopping cart is a little bit overflowing...
Now all I gotta do is figure out if I feel like eating for a month or buying a whole new fall wardrobe...  such a tough decision!