Striped Day

I adore this dress.  I picked it up  last month and have worn it quite a few times.  It is terribly comfy and so easy to wear.  I think the pattern of the stripes  makes the dress interesting and flattering.  I initially went into the store to get the white and black version, but when I saw that the navy version had mint stripes, I quickly changed my mind.

I hope you guys are having a great weekend!  Today was a little hectic, but I got a lot of things checked off the list.  I am planning a very quiet, relaxing day for tomorrow (starting with a massage:).  

Dress:  Anthropologie Striped Day Dress
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Tights:  Anthropologie
Belt:  Anthropologie
Bracelet:  Gift
Shoes:  Chie Mihara Loti

Since google reader it biting the dust, don't forget to follow me via feedly or bloglovin!

Candy Apple

Here is a quick OOTD from last week.  I am feeling a bit under the weather today, so I came home from work early.  I am in my PJ's and ready for dumb movies, ginger ale, and most likely a long nap!

This is my all-time favorite essie nail polish, mint candy apple.

Please ignore our "camouflaged" house!  It is in the process of being painted.

Top:  Anthropologie
Pants:  AG Stevie Cords via Anthropologie
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Shoes:  Chie Mihara Loti

Nutmeg

Happy Holidays!!!  I hope you are all enjoying the weekend.  I am so happy to have a few days of quite, coziness, and fun.  Last week was super chaotic.  We are in the middle of doing a lot of work to our house and we are also refinancing (yay for super low interest rates!).  We just recently found out that for our refinance to go through, we have to have our house painted.  This has to happen by the end of the year.  I felt really weird calling around to find a painter last week - "yes, I know it's the week before Christmas and I know it's pouring down rain, but can you pleeeeease paint our house ASAP?"  Ugh.  In the middle of all of that, our car broke down.  Ben was driving and it suddenly died in the middle of the street.  It's at the shop now, but of course it can't even be looked at until after Christmas.  Luckily, Portland has great public transportation!

On a brighter note, let's talk about my new AG Stevie cords in nutmeg:)  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these.  They are the softest, most comfortable pants ever.  I love all of my AG jeans and I had a feeling I would love the cords too.  They have been on my wishlist for a while.  Luckily, they went on sale and anthro unveiled  a new promotion right around the same time.  I snagged these right away!  I have been stalking Molly's blog for color inspiration (love this one and I fully intend to steal this color combo!).  

Pants:  AG Stevie Cords via Anthropologie
Tee:  J. Crew
Top:  J. Crew Perfect Shirt in Chambray Polka Dot
Shoes:  Chie Mihara Loti
Necklace:  Betsy and Iya via Adorn

Slimy Moss

Things are finally settling down a bit after a very hectic week.  I LOVE my new job!  It is going very well so far.  Some parts of it are definitely going to take some getting used to, but overall it is interesting, challenging, and enjoyable. 

We had company visiting from NC this past week/weekend.  Ben's best friend since childhood and his girlfriend came to hang out and check out Portland.  On Sunday, we spent the day at the coast.  We found a great little spot on the beach to hang out and watch the sunset.  While we were there, our friends got engaged!  It was a very beautiful and special day (and eventful - considering the engagement and the fact that Ben came very close to being swept away by a spout wave - he drives me insane by getting very close to the edge every time we are on a hike or near any sort of cliff.  I hope he learned his lesson).  We did a lot of laughing, eating, and shopping while they were here.  It was so much fun! 

Here are some pictures from the past few days:

Slimy moss at the coast

Moss

Ben pretends to be Peter Pan.  I love this photo!

Sunset at Neskowin

Breathtaking

Agreed.

Brunch

Ready for a day on the town!

I hope you all are having a beautiful week!

Favorite purchases of 2011

Happy New Year!!! I hope 2012 is an absolutely wonderful year for all of you.

I want to join in on the reminiscing and take a look back at 10 of my favorite clothing/style purchases of 2011. Here we go....

Chie Mihara Loti

Definitely my favorite shoe purchase of the year, actually of all time! I fell in love with the shoes when I laid eyes on them. I finally splurged when they were re-stocked at pedshoes. They have brought a lot of loveliness to quite a few of my outfits this year.

(These can also be found in two of the photos below, my engagement photo and the last photo)

Anthropologie Verdant Slip Dress

I love the colors, the print, the fit, everything! Definitely one of the prettiest dresses anthro sold this year, imo.

(and here too, with purple!)

J. Crew Tea Stained Dobby Dress

This pretty frock has great texture and red polka dots. What's not to love?!?!

(and here)

Vintage Black/White Polka Dot Dress

I picked this dress up at Billy Goat Vintage earlier this year. Although it has only made 1 appearance on the blog (here), it has been a workhorse for me this year. It is work-appropriate and also feels very "me", which is rare.

Gee Wawa Dream Oxfords

I'm so happy I jumped on the oxford bandwagon this year. I love the details on these and the color has proven to be quite versatile.

(here and here)

Anthropologie Spinning Lace Dress

I was so happy to score this dress from the EA trade market earlier this year for my engagement photos.

(also worn to a holiday party here)

Anthropologie Back Porch Blouse

This lacey beauty was a great addition to my closet!

(here, here, and here)

Urban Outfitters Pleated Skirt

I rarely shop at UO. In fact, I think I have only purchased two items there, including this skirt. Nonetheless, it made it onto my top 10 list. The pleats make this basic gray skirt a bit more interesting. This is another item that is great for the office and also feels very "me".

(here and here too)

Anthropologie Longing for Yellow Dress

Yet another older anthro piece purchased from the EA trade market. This was my wedding dress! The color was exactly what I was looking for and the pattern, texture, and cut make this dress feel very vintagey. It was absolutely perfect for my wedding:)

(see full post here)

Anthropologie Trace the Stars Blouse

This is a newer purchase, but I still feel inclined to include in my top 10 list. Just look at that print! How could it not be included? In addition to the amazing print, the silk is super soft and the cut is quite flattering. It's love:)

This blouse has only been featured on the blog once, but I wore it again last night, so you will be seeing it again soon:)

A few thoughts that came to mind as I was looking back through all of my posts:

- Photography makes me happy! It is painful to look at my earlier OOTD's. The photos are terrible. I still have a lot to learn, but I feel like my photos have come a looooong way this year. I am glad my blog photos are improving, but more than that, I am happy I found a hobby that I absolutely love.

- I am really liking my longer hair.

- I look and feel healthier than I did at the beginning of this year. I have lost 25lbs and I feel great! I feel more stable and more energetic.

- I like a lot more of my recent outfits, which tells me I must be headed in the right direction, style-wise. One of the main reasons for starting this blog was to help me find my style and develop it. Although I still have a long ways to go, and really one's style is always evolving/changing, I think this year was very successful. I have learned a lot about myself and my style. I am much happier with my closet. I feel a bit more free to be creative and try new things.

- You guys are the best! I appreciate all of the support and sweet comments so much. THANK YOU for reading!

Trace the Stars

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! I slept in this morning, laid around reading, wrapped the last of the gifts, and am now getting ready to head to a holiday party.

This was yesterdays outfit. I LOVE this top. I was a little bit unsure about ordering because the online reviews are mixed, but it is fabulous. It was definitely a wrinkled mess when it arrived, but after a good ironing and wearing it for a few minutes, it relaxed and sort of fell into place. Isn't the print just lovely? This could definitely make my 'favorite purchases of 2011' list!










Top: Anthropologie Trace the Stars blouse
Jeans: AG Stevie
Cardigan: Loft
Shoes: Chie Mihara Loti
Necklace: Vintage (Christmas gift from Ben 2010)

Optimistic

I wore this outfit last Sunday. Ben and I ran errands, went out to lunch, made a trip to the grocery store and then had friends over for dinner. Ben made a homemade pumpkin pie for dessert. It was delicious, from the homemade pie crust to the roasted pumpkin puree, although I think the freshly ground nutmeg was what really did the trick.

I have been really happy with my Sunday outfits recently. Sounds weird, I know. It just seems like on the past few Sundays I have had lots of time to get dressed and come up with new outfits. I also don't have a dress code to contend with (can you believe that "patterned tights" are prohibited at my office?). Do you tend to go more casual on the weekends, or do you take the opportunity to get a little more creative (and I'm jealous if you don't have a work week dress code to deal with:)?













Dress: Anthropologie Optimist Dress
Cardigan: J. Crew Jackie
Jacket: J. Crew
Belt: Anthropologie
Tights: Anthropologie
Shoes: Chie Mihara Loti

Perspective

What a day! With my wedding coming up next week, I am starting to feel the pressure. Today has been a stressful day because I discovered that a few things I thought were taken care of, are not, in fact, taken care of. It feels like everything is falling apart. That is not true, it just feels like it today. It's been everything from my hair dresser auditioning for American Idol and then very suddenly quitting his job (I guess that means his audition went well? - Still, not what I want to hear a couple of days before he is supposed to do my hair.), to the hair piece/veil I have been waiting weeks for not working out (so now I have very little time to come up with an alternative), to our free chair supply falling through, to a cheese bar disaster.

I got dramatic and had a little bit of a breakdown tonight, which is not how I wanted this to go. I purposefully planned a very laid back, relaxed, fun BBQ/Party because I do not want to be the super stressed out, crazy, intense bride. I want to truly enjoy the day and have fun! I am learning that planning an event from across the country, no matter how laid back it is meant to be, is hard.

I will take a deep breath, cuddle with my dogs, get a good nights sleep, and wake up refreshed with a little bit of a better perspective tomorrow!












I love this dress! The color, the texture, the details - love them all. There is nothing like a beautiful dress and an awesome pair of shoes to make a hard day a little better:)

Dress: Anthropologie Beda Dress
Cardigan: J. Crew Jackie
Belt: Anthropologie Snakebite Belt
Tights: J. Crew
Shoes: Chie Mihara Loti