Date Night Dilemma....

Tee- H&M

Jeans- American Eagle

Heels- H&M (similar)

Bag- MMS for TJ Max (similar)

Date night... ahh.. the magic...  sipping Sauvignon Blanc and laughing about about inside jokes... Last night Seth and I stepped out to a little date night to one of our favorite Thai restaurants... OMG... they had me at peanut curry sauce... I digress... 

Oh the dilemma... the epic crisis... I'm not sure what to wear... it's a moment of emptying the closet on to the bed... It's not that I don't have options, am I right ladies? It's the lack of inspiration! So when inspiration lacks... Style your look around the item your most excited about! Which for me was my new tee shirt & bag....  I wanted to wear a cute graphic tee and I wanted to have my new fall bag... what goes with both? easy... distressed jeans or pencil skirt...  I chose distressed jeans since it was a casual date.. however if you wanted to dress it up a little simply just add a pencil skirt instead of jeans, leather jacket and put your hair up in a sock bun sort of thang... and switch out the bag for a clutch..  go for a deeper color on the lips and add a statement necklace...Easy peasy.

For us curvy ladies... make sure you tuck that tee shirt in... must show that you have a waist...No one likes a moo moo... saves my bacon every day... then lastly... add a fun heel... it sophisticates your look and it creates a little balance between casual and chic... and who doesn't want that? Even if your tall.. if you are.. I'm already jealous.. don't be afraid to rock a good heel... you don't see Heidi Klum with legs that go on for days afraid to rock a stiletto.. and neither should you... and for us girls that can't reach the top shelf of anything.. well, most likely your best friend is a 5inch stiletto and a step stool... not to be used together...

In deciding what to wear here is my best advice.. be happy with who you are... yes there might be things you would like to change... Lord knows I do.. however until it happens or you wake up magically looking 30lbs lighter... if that happens let me know what you're drinking! Until that magic happens, don't waste life and happy moments wishing for things to be different.. because you're amazing right now.. and you deserve to believe it... and that awesome guy standing next you deserves to see you believe it too (it'll make his day)... woah.. deep...  Then really the clothes end up just being the frame on a really amazing piece of art!

Gold Stars & Pep Talks....

Top- Joppa

Jeans- AE

Shoes- Bass

Sunglasses-HM

Have you ever been so busy that you're not sure what to start first? It's like ADD on steroids sometimes... I read on Pinterest once "if a man wants to know what's going on in a woman's mind, just open up 250 tabs on your Internet browser and just bounce around all of them." Haha.. so true... Us ladies are are like the ultimate multi-taskers... Right now, my "real job" has entered it's busiest season... I'm also the wedding coordinator for a friend that is getting married on Saturday and 2 weekends ago my mom was in town... and it doesn't stop there! But I will... because any further it will sound a bit like whining... unless of course wine is involved, in which then I'm totally OK with that...

So now, here I am with this little conversation in my head... "I've got to get an outfit post up on the blog, it's been like ages and my readers are going to think I've disappeared .. How the heck can I squeeze in time for a little photo shoot?.. not to mention writing"... and then the little voice says, "other bloggers do this everyday... if you can't do this then I guess your not cut out to be a blogger..."  To which I say... total crap... I've got other words for that but my mom reads this and well.. ya know...

 Life happens, and I happen to be in one of the busiest times right now, so what? I'm a toughie... made out of more than just red hair and hazel eyes...  and I know that this is what I'm meant to do.. so little voice in my head.... you can go to hell... just sayin...that's my little pep talk...

I think it's really easy to look at others with the perception that they've somehow tapped into their superpowers and have endless amounts of energy and can always get everything done... Well, I'm not one of those people...  It's bare your soul Monday over here folks... To me, it creates all of these unrealistic expectations... Ahhh the pressure! 

It's a lot what we do, as bloggers, as women, as people... on a daily basis if we are not congratulating ourselves for the little accomplishments then I think we should all go back to 1st grade when everything is celebrated... Gold stars all around! .. Cue my Oprah impersonation... "you get a gold star and you get a gold star and you get a gold star!" As, for a style tip... take it easy on yourself... If your like me and fighting feeling overwhelmed don't add to it with unrealistic expectations... just be you... and slap on some lip gloss, curl your hair, pour yourself a drink... and breathe... then maybe watch a little YouTube... because nothing says "coping" like a cat falling into a bathtub...

What a Girl Will Do For Coat...

Coat- Forever 21 (old) similar

T Shirt- Old Navy

Jeans- American Eagle

Shoes- HM

Earrings- Aldo (sold out) similar

Aviators- HM

Took a  drive to the coast yesterday after work...  The fog was rolling in and it just creates a magical feeling... I fell in love with the Northern California coastline years ago and yet every time I'm out there I'm stopped by the beauty... not to mention fighting the urge to wave to China.. Only I would wear 4 inch heels on the edge of a cliff...

I'm wearing a coat that I scored from F21 while awkwardly stalking the clearance rack waiting for someone else to put the coat back on the rack...  I mean, what was I going to do... walk up to the girl and be like "uh, looks like you're undecided about this coat... so if your not going to buy it, can I ?" ... super awkward...what a girl will do for a coat... so I made it look like I was looking at something else one the rack but really I was waiting for her to make up her mind... and after a bit I realized that this is a little bit weird, so I moved on and hoped that if it was supposed to be mine it would still be there... no joke I came back and it was there! There is no messing around when you find something this awesome.. Especially at Forever 21... it's like a mad house in there or it looks my bed when I can't decide on what I am wearing... clothes everywhere...

When pairing something with a full skirt or a print.. it's best to keep everything else simple..  and with something slimming like skinny jeans to create balance...

 Full disclosure  I had on a fully styled outfit under this coat with the full intention of not including my coat in the outfit post... but.. it was cold.

Sometimes I find that an outfit can just a little blah or like something is missing... and then put on a jean jacked or Aztec print coat and Pow! sounding like a cartoon again.. It's complete! Outerwear to me is like the fairy dust to an ensemble... Some awesome outwear I feel should be treated as a classic staples and therefore must get in your closet pronto!

Here's a list of my favorites-

Black or Khaki Trench
Black or Brown leather jacket
Jean Jacket
Pea Coat
Puffer Vest or Coat

Parka (perfect for spring!)

These are in my opinion some absolute classics and can be a life saver!

What are some classics that you cannot do with out? I'd love to know!

Photo credit- Seth

Seasonal Awkward Phase...

Top- HM

Jeans- American Eagle (similar)

Shoes- HM

Sunglasses -HM

Gosh, the weather has been simply divine lately... I almost feel bad about talking about since you all East Coast dwellers are getting hammered... as in snowed in not drunk... or maybe both? It was 80 flipping degrees yesterday... Hello? This is March shouldn't it be pouring rain or something.. I know one thing I shouldn't be out in my bare arms or anything... but I was and the fact that I wasn't freezing was a completely win in my book..  We went to the Dry Creek region for the this shoot.. it was glorious... While finishing up the shoot a passerby in car stopped and asked "are those shoes your hiking boots?" which I promptly answered "of course!".... That's how I roll...  

These shoes are a new purchase for me which you might have seen if you follow me on Instagram... I picked them up from H&M a couple of weeks ago and haven't stopped wearing them since.. side zipper and platform, I am in love! They are the perfect balance of ankle booties while still showing a little ankle... somehow if I  don't show those bad boys, I end up with a cankel situation that no one wants to see! 

Yellow is such a fabulous spring color.. and seems to be popping up all over the place... I paired this top with my distressed AE jean "jeggings".. Which if your like me, most distressed jeans don't usually come in a flattering style... how I wish I could wear the Boyfriend jean but nope... not gonna happen... However I was so delighted to find that these jeans have stretch in them! And all the girls with hips cheer! 

 In looking to help make the transition from winter to spring...  my tip is to mix in spring colors with the rest of your wardrobe..  It's always that awkward phase of it's warm out but not enough to really bring out my summer clothes in full swing... so what's a girl gonna do? Sprinkle in a little bit of sunshine into your winter wardrobe, even if you are waist high deep in snow... I'm talking to you Syracuse, NY! Right now I've been dying for some sweet neon pumps or an emerald green clutch... Something like that, can really brighten up any winter blah days...  How are you getting through the seasonal awkward phase? I'd love to know!    

Took a little drive...

my good looking man...

"keep eating" he says... ok I will...

And now we know why there is no picture  of me eating this... you are welcome world!

Top-Old Navy (similar)

Jeans- American Eagle (similar)

Shoes- Bass (similar)

Jewelry-Gifts

Sunglasses- Cotton On

"Today I will be happier than a bird with a french fry...."

Today Seth and I took a little drive up to a couple little towns of Northern California... it was great little Saturday getaway.... We stopped in Cloverdale a little town in North Sonoma County.. walked around in the gorgeous 70 degree weather and found a little hamburger drive-in and indulged ourselves with some true fried goodness... Yum!... As you can tell with the pictures, it's hard to laugh and not show the world what your eating... somehow I figured that one out...sorta.

For our relaxed day I went with distressed jeans, black wedges and leopard print blouse... Rachel Zoe said once, the "rule to doing animal print is to do ONLY one item at a time"and I fully agree otherwise you can be channeling your inner "cat" lady...  and no one wants to see that...

I wore all gold jewelry...shocker... put my hair in a messy topknot... paired with my mock "Ray-Bans"....

It was such a nice day and just what we needed to getaway and feel like a tourist in our own backyard.... not to mention the french fries! 

Tissues, Netflix & OOTD...

Sweatshirt- Old Navy (in red or mint)

Jeans- American Eagle (similar)

Shoes- BCBGirls (gift)

Clutch-Thrifted

Watch- Relic at JCPenny

Nail Polish -NYC, Madison Avenue

Got sick again this last weekend... geez this is like the 2nd time in 2 months... lame sauce, time to start downing the echinacea ... Here I am glamorously blowing my nose, sitting on the couch watching back to back Burn Notice episodes with my hubs....  thank God for Netflix.... 

On Saturday Seth rescued me from never-ending boredom/cabin fever and took me shopping... nothing special but when you've been sick for a couple of days... getting out in the real world is a breath of fresh air... literally... Even if it is Whole Foods & Old Navy....

While out and getting an overpriced sandwich... I found this great sweatshirt....well actually Seth found it.... anyhoo... See I have this problem with normal sweatshirts... too bulky and the hoodie is not attractive.. kinda makes me look like a 12 year old.... but this boat neck works great to actually feel not so "wearing my pj's out in the real world"....  Awesome comfort but yet still collected enough to wear out of the house! Score...

I paired it with my distressed jeans and for fun I added my black patent leather BCBG heels and white clutch... but if you wanted a more of a relaxed look I wore my white Chuck Converse earlier and no clutch.... 

Now, it's back to the couch for me... my hubs is waiting patently so we can continue our Netflix marathon... got to find out who the real bad guy is!