"It was the oldest sound in the world. Souls flying away." The Secret Life of Bees

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Homegrown

Thank you all so much for all of the sweet and supportive comments on my last post regarding my brother. He is doing great! He is healing well and is in good spirits. His skin graft surgery is scheduled for Tuesday. The next couple of weeks will be rough for him, but his doctor feels like he will be 100% healed in another 5 weeks or so, if everything goes well. I am so happy, relieved, and thankful that he is doing so well!

I wore this outfit last weekend to a baby shower. I was excited to pull this dress out for the first time this year!













Dress: Anthropologie Homegrown Dress
Cardigan: Anthropologie Abuzz Cardigan
Shoes: Anthropologie
Bobby Pins: Honey Bee Bobby Pins

You can't see them in the photos, but I have these cute little pins in my hair. As most of you know, I LOVE bees and when I saw these bobby pins I knew I had to have them:) Aren't they perfect with the Abuzz cardigan?


Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Thankful

It's been a rough weekend. My little brother (he's 19) fell into a fire on Friday night and was burned very badly. He he had to be air lifted to a burn center in Georgia (he lives in NC). Thankfully, as the weekend progressed, we learned that his burns are not nearly as bad as we originally thought. He is awake and doing well. He had his first surgery today, to debride the area. He will have to have skin grafts on his back and the backs of his arms. Those were really the only areas that were significantly affected (thank goodness). The surgeon said today that if all goes well, he will be fully healed in 6 weeks! He is in a lot of pain right now, especially after his surgery, but otherwise he is doing well. I was worried sick all morning yesterday, but then I got to speak with him in the afternoon and I felt much better. I know that he is going to be okay. It will be a rough 6 weeks, but in the end, all will be well. He is the best brother ever and I love him dearly. I'm so thankful that he is going to be okay and that the situation is not as bad as we originally thought.


This is an outfit I wore to work last week (this dress also worn here). The Buds and Bunches tee is one of my favorite purchases and one of my most worn items. I also have it in orange, which I love, but this color gets a lot more wear.











Top: Anthropologie Buds and Bunches tee
Dress: Anthropologie
Cardigan: J. Crew Jacke
Belt: Anthropologie Snakebite
Tights: J. Crew
Shoes: Seychelles

Thursday, May 19, 2011

(Sugar) Work it

After reading JG's posts about the 30 day shred over at Stuff Jewish Girls Like, I was inspired to give it a try myself. I'm 4 days into level 2 and man oh man, it's tough. Level 1 was definitely challenging, but do-able. The first couple of days were hard (holy soreness!), but I made it through the rest of it fairly easily. I started level 2 on Sunday and it is so much harder than level 1 (I'm kind of scared to see what level 3 is all about). Ben is doing it with me and after the workout on Sunday, we contemplated going back to level 1 for a few more days. We ended up deciding to stick with level 2, and I'm glad we did. It is so hard, but it feels great! I love that the workout is only 20-25 minutes, but is seriously intense (as in lots of sweat and sore muscles), and effective. I am starting to feel stronger and I can see a little bit of definition in my arms!

In other news, I was a bit let down by the "huge" anthro tag sale. Nothing on my wishlist even made it to sale. When I woke up on Tuesday, the first thing I did was check my wishlist. Nothing was different. I thought maybe I had made a mistake (wrong day?). I did end up going by my local store to see if the in-store sale was any better. I tried on the Sugar Work skirt, even though I had never paid much attention to it previously. I'm so glad I did because I love it! It is a beautiful skirt, it fits nicely and is very flattering, and it has pockets!

I love the skirt so much, I just had to wear it yesterday! I rode my bike to the park to meet up with Ben after work yesterday. It was a gorgeous day.



















Top: Anthropologie
Cardigan: J. Crew Jackie
Skirt: Anthropologie Sugar Work Skirt
Belt: Anthropologie Snakebite
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Anthropologie

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Review of BHLDN Tracy Reese Limoncello Lace Dress

I fell in love with the Tracy Reese Limoncello Lace dress when I first saw it on the BHLDN website. I am getting married later this year and I thought this dress could be "the one". I shopped around a bit, but I kept going back to this one again and again, so I decided to order it.


The dress arrived a few days ago, and unfortunately, it is not "the one". I was immediately disappointed by the color of the dress. Based on the product shots, I was expecting a very pale yellow. IRL, the dress is a very bright greenish-yellow. The pictures below are not edited at all, but I don't think they accurately depict just how green the color is. I was shocked when I opened the package. These pictures were taken in natural light, but in indoor lighting, the color is even more harsh/bright/green.

Otherwise, the dress is very nice. The lace is beautiful and I love the back of the dress. It feels quite a bit lighter than the Spinning Lace dress - the material is thin (not in a bad way - it is lined very well) and doesn't have that super soft feel like the Spinning Lace dress does.

The fit is very similar to the Tracy Reese Spinning Lace dress, although this dress is a little bit tighter in the bust/shoulders.

Overall, I love the lace, the back of the dress, and the waist. I hate the color, and feel like the top is not flattering on me. I really wish the product shots were more accurate (color).






I believe this color is exclusive to BHLDN, but I did find this dress in pink on the Tracy Reese website (here).

Feel free to let me know if you have any specific questions about the dress.

If you know of any or see any beautiful, pale yellow, lace dresses, let me know!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Lazy Day

I hope you all are having a wonderful Sunday, full of good food and peaceful naps!


Sweet potato pancakes made from scratch (recipe from the Tupelo Honey cookbook).




Kya and Talus




Zander

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Sneak Peak

Luckily, the weather cooperated yesterday evening and we were able to have our engagement/family (Ben and I and our 3 crazy, wild, bad-behaving dogs) photo shoot. Kjrsten (fashion blog here, photography website here) is an amazing photographer and I'm so happy she took our photos! She is sweet, creative, and so much fun:) Since she uses film only, no digital, it will take some time to have the photos developed. Once I get them, I will definitely share! In the meantime, here is a tiny little sneak peak (Ben snapped this one). I can hardly wait to get the pictures!!!



Sunday, May 8, 2011

La Citron

Hello lovely ladies! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Even though our photo shoot had to be rescheduled because of the weather, I still had a great weekend! The photo shoot will take place very soon - fingers crossed for some gorgeous weather in the next few days.

Today, Ben and I went to Chez Machin for brunch. This is one of my favorite spots. They have the best crepes in town! We also ran a few errands and went grocery shopping. I ended my Sunday with a wonderful restorative yoga class.

Yes, I'm wearing the J. Crew Tea-Stained dobby dress again! I can't get enough of this dress:) It's a bit too short on me for the office, so it is getting a lot of weekend wear. This time, I paired it with lots of navy.








The "La Citron" - Mmmmmmmmmm







Dress: J. Crew Tea-Stained dobby dress
Cardigan: J. Crew Jackie
Belt: Anthropologie
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Dansko
Bag: Anthropologie


On Saturday, we walked to our friends' house for dinner. We had a great time and ended up staying up way too late enjoying great company, conversation, and wine.









Top: Anthropologie Back Porch Blouse
Cami: J. Crew
Jeans: Joe's via Anthropologie
Shoes: All Black via Anthropologie
Necklace: J. Crew

These All Black shoes were the very first pair of shoes I ever bought from Anthropologie. The color is gorgeous and I love the cut-outs. I kind of regret not getting the Skylight Mary-Janes from last year (which are a brown version of these shoes).

Is there something that you are wearing over and over again right now? Something you love too much to keep hanging in your closet for more than a week or so?

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Tea-Stained

On Saturday, I went to Doug Fir with my bff, Alicia. We saw a local band, Blue Skies for Black Hearts and The Pipettes. The Pipettes were very animated and they danced pretty much the whole time. They were adorable and so fun to watch! The girls had on the cutest little dresses with mixed prints - floral and polka dots. Both groups were great and we had a wonderful night!

I wore the J. Crew Tea -stained dobby dress. Alicia told me that I would love this dress, and she was right! The color is wonderful, the material is very soft yet textured, and hello red polka dots! See the dress on Alicia here (I love the cardigan she paired with it).



















Dress: J. Crew Tea -stained dobby dress
Cardigan: Anthropologie
Tights: Hue (navy)
Shoes: All Black via Anthropologie

I unfortunately had to leave these lovely red shoes at home and wear my ever practical danskos for the show. Since I didn't know if I would be standing for long periods of time, I figured it would be best to play it safe. I do not want to irritate my almost-completely-healed foot injury.

I hope you all are having a great week! Any plans for the upcoming weekend? I am so excited because we are having our engagement/family (Ben and I and our 3 dogs) photos taken on Saturday! We were able to squeeze in a photo session with Kjrsten Madsen before her upcoming move to London.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Bloom Over Bud

On Friday night, Ben and I went to Miho for dinner. We both love trying new restaurants and this was the perfect place for a date night. While we were waiting for a table, I enjoyed a "Little Debbie" cocktail (Shochu, grapefruit juice, and ginger ale). Ben had Shochu on the rocks. If you have never had shochu before, you should give it a try! It has a really nice, mild, interesting taste. For dinner, we shared a seaweed salad, beef teriyaki, ramen noodles, and pork belly with sweet eggs. Every bit of it was delicious.











Top: Anthropologie
Jeans: Joe's via Anthropologie
Coat: Banana Republic
Shoes: Dansko
Bag: Anthropologie Bloom Over Bud Bag

Have a wonderful Sunday!