Champagne Thursday & eShakti Review....

Dress-c/o EShakti

Bag- Steve Madden

Heels- Payless

Hair by- Dolce Vita Salon

Photos by Danielle Joy Photography

It's Champagne Thursday!!! aka.. finding even the most ridiculous reasons to celebrate...

~Daylight savings... giving me the illusion of sleeping in for a week...

~Totally pulled of the size sticker off my new jeans BEFORE walking into church... #winning  

~Totally resisted the urge for a doughnut when I really wanted one.... it's a big deal...

~ I found the best mascara in the whole wide world.... seriously...

~ Christmas music is now playing in stores....

~It's Thursday!!!

Eshakti Review..

Have you ever found an amazing item taken it into the fitting room to try it on and it fits great in the waist but too tight in the hips? No? Just me? Well for me, finding something that fits perfectly is well, always a challenge... So when Eshakti approached me about their custom size ordering system I was thrilled! Simply take your measurements, enter them when submitting your order and whamo! A gorgeous tailored look just for your size! I selected this dress submitted my measurements and I got the dress and to my disappointment it is too big.. not too bad but not a perfect fit as I hoped,(I still wear the dress, I wore this on our anniversary dinner)... here's what I think went wrong... we measured after dinner.. uh.. well, lets just say my stomach isn't the washboard abs it normally is after dinner...wink..

The other option is I lost 5lbs in about 2 weeks, which is the one I'm pulling for but...  

Or the last option is, something didn't happen correctly to my order... So in conclusion, would I buy from Eshakti?  Definitely, they have gorgeous styles and I love the concept! But I would choose a different fabric and not measure right after dinner... lesson learned Howland... lesson learned...

*this was a sponsored post, however the opinions are all my own.

Fall Fashion Wishlist..

Fall Fashion Wishlist.. by hchdesigns featuring a black trenchcoat

Ace Delivery top / H M cashmere top, $100 / Forever 21 top / James Lakeland black trenchcoat, $83 / BLANKNYC black vegan leather jacket / H M wool blend coat, $100 / Charles by Charles David high heel shoes / Steve Madden leopard pumps / Urban Decay beauty product

Well, I don't know about you but now that it's September I need more fall fashion.. who am I kidding, I was craving sweaters in August..But at least I don't feel so much like weirdo now that it's kind fall ish... I mean, if Starbucks can sell their Pumpkin Spice Latte then, I can seriously get my sweater wearing on.. who cares that it's 80 degrees, sweating is chic...

Leopard & Camel put them together or wear them on their own, it's a winner... They're just gorgeous and I need it in my life... I'm not kidding when I say, I seriously need that sweater... Beyond the fact that it's cashmere, can't you just picture it with leggings, stiletto booties & a gray scarf... naturally with a coffee in my hand... I can picture it.. It's where all my fashion dreams come true....

Plaid- Can I just say I'm thrilled when a trend doesn't change from year to year? Like leggings... those bad boys are here to stay and all the girls who would like to wear their pj's during the day say Hallelujah! But, I digress.. layering and print mixing.. these two tops are incredible... pair it with stripes, or under that leather jacket... glory... either way they are gonna be an extremely versatile piece in your closet.. swearsies...

Last, but certainly not least.. Urban Decay just came out with a gorgeous new matte eye shadow palette inspired off of their Naked2 line... Umm.. Santa, if you are reading this, I really really want it, like really really... So this is how I'm celebrating Tuesday, basically second Monday.. drooling, planning, hoping & wishing for more of these in my life... What are you loving this season?

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... 

Gifts for the man in your life..

Gifts for the man in your life.. by hopehowland featuring a black optical


I swear, I have the HARDEST time finding the "perfect" gift for my husband...  If he needs something he just goes out and buys it! Usually, I am getting an idea of what to buy him, and he'll have already bought it... sigh... 
For me Christmas & Birthdays are a HUGE deal, I love to give gifts and receive them! So part of the fun is the "hunt".. Figuring out a gift that will obviously change his life forever! "Oh, Hope since you gave me this scarf my life is now complete, no one gives gifts like you!" ... 

Maybe you might be in the same position I am... so here are some tips I've learned/learning...

• Be sure to listen.. when he says "I like Gift Cards"... (he means it)
• Guys like things that are useful along with fun... That Swiss Army knife/drive thing looks awesome! 
• Pay attention to his hobbies, how does he have fun? And go off of that... PS3? Movies? Golf? he needs more fun.. so NEVER go for the "he needs socks, so Merry Christmas" gift... not cool...
• Shop at sites that have great return policies because  if your like me... it takes practice to get it right... (poor guy)... my favorite, Zappos, free shipping and free return shipping! Holla! Great if your going to try for the shoes option! 
• Lastly... how does he show love to you? Possibly with helpful moments?... ie.. washing your car... always willing to carry the heavy groceries upstairs...doing the dishes when he's just as tired as you? ...then do the same for him!

 Many times our men will be showing love and how they like to receive it, by how they give love to us! So if you're stumped or the budget is micro-small this year (been there)..give him what he's been giving you...Even if it doesn't make sense, it's OK... it's not for you anyways... All that really matters is that he knows you love him!  

IFB Project #72 Creat Your Best Gift Guide Ever