Like most girls ready for a closet shift in clothing, I’m ready to welcome fall with open arms. However California is not so much, and we are still having the sunny 70-degree days of summer. I realize how ungrateful I sound complaining, but sometimes a gal just wants a change in season to wear all the scarves, boots, sweaters and hats I have hanging in my closet, left untouched!
Christian and I are hoping to get up to the mountains soon to enjoy some cool, fall weather and you know I’ll bring all my coziest pieces.Until then, I’m trying to get creative in incorporating fall trends while still staying cool. Sweaters with denim shorts, open knit sweaters with breezy dresses and sandals, cotton tees with midi skirts – you gotta do what you can!
How are you wearing your favorite fall pieces right now? Thanks so much for reading! XO –
Y’all might recognize this skirt here, but I can’t stop throwing it on and I can’t stop getting compliments on it. It is super soft, the perfect midi length and best of all – it has pockets! I knew I would be taking it in my suitcase to New York for fashion week and I was so glad I did.
The leather top however in the New York heat and humidity? Maybe not the best choice. It felt like the devil’s hot breath outside, and I was wishing I could trade leather for cotton. Live and learn!
Call me crazy, but having air conditioning this week has made me a new woman. There’s a legit heat wave in Southern California, and I’m not lovin’ it. Being able to come home and relax (I’m getting better at that thanks to your enormous support and inspiration yesterday – in case you guys need reminding, you rock) in a cool temperature after a long day is something I shall never take for granted again.
Christian has this weekend off so we plan to do some lounging and grilling (thanks to our new little grill – I have to show y’all a picture it’s the cutest thing) before heading to Los Angeles for the day for a small blogger brunch and some sweet time with my brother’s family before they welcome a healthy baby to their brood in October. She is to join her fabulous big sister Edie (another post on her here and here). With 5 nieces and nephews in Mississippi, Christian and I love that we’ll have two nieces/nephews (they don’t know the gender!) close-by. God is good and we are grateful.
Thank you again for all your words of encouragement yesterday. I love when I see women supporting women and that’s one of the many lovely things this blog has brought into my life. Thank you for sharing how you find balance and peace when you’re trying to juggle too many things. I truly learn so much from you!! Have a beautiful weekend and don’t forget to enter the BANDED giveaway if you haven’t already! XOXO –
Don’t we all feel like this sometimes? When I was in New York, I had to the opportunity to chat with some fabulous girls about balancing full-time jobs, marriages, blogs, children, pets, etc. It was beyond refreshing to talk to others who were trying to balance the same responsibilities as myself and realizing that while we as women can do anything we put our minds to, we can’t necessarily do everything and everything well. This has been a big struggle for me since we’ve moved across the country. I’ll never forget a short conversation Christian and I had while walking to dinner on our honeymoon. I asked him what he was most looking forward to about marriage and living together and he said “the meals.” When he asked me the same question I said “sharing responsibilities.” I know, I am beyond lame, but acts of service is my love language (the other four being physical touch, gift giving, words of affirmation and quality time) and when Christian takes out the trash and vacuums the house, it’s practically equivalent to a bouquet of roses to me!
With Christian’s schedule, he can’t be around very much and that’s why my girlfriends in California have been everything to me! Most of them haven’t even met Christian and I’m left defending myself that he’s real and not a fictional character. This being said, it’s been pretty difficult to try to keep my life not only balanced, but also fulfilled and grateful. It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to get everything done better and faster (this is where I sing Kanye West), but is that truly leaving me fulfilled? What will I be most pleased with in a year – the fact that I checked everything off my to-do list each night of the week or the memory of taking a late-night swim in the pool with Christian and drinking wine while watching The Normal Heart (and maybe crying my eyes out)? Or getting after-work drinks with my girlfriends on the beach while watching the sunset?
There will always be things to get done. I can always do more – clean the house better, make a more delicious dinner, be more driven and ambitious in my day job, spend more of my free time working on this blog – but most of all, I need to live in the moment and not just take photos of it.
Do any of you feel this way? How do you try to keep your life balanced and fulfilled? I would love to hear! Thanks so much for reading and sharing and don’t forget to enter the BANDED giveaway! XO –
I know I wear these DIY distressed boyfriend jeans all the time, but it’s because they are just so unbelievably comfortable! And they were exactly what I needed for a packed day in NY on my feet. I kept it neutral since it was in the high 80’s and ridiculously humid on this day in the city, before that cool breeze swept in when everyone was leaving after the weekend.
Luckily there was iced coffee and air conditioning (you heard my AC love story last week) nearby that I was almost always ducking into. No shame for this Ice Queen.
Y’all be sure to check out this vest – I bought it months ago and have been obsessed – it’s now on super sale!
PS – The title for this post came from Season 3 of Sex and the City, also titled “Hot Child in the City” and it played this song in the credits! The song now always makes me think of Carrie, which of course always makes me happy.
I was so excited to travel to New York last weekend for Fashion Week on behalf of my day job! Y’all may have seen it on instagram or seen the mention here (Tell me – is it super annoying the overflow of #nyfw posts that fills up your feed? Be honest – I can take it.) – but while I’ve been to the city more times that I can count on my fingers, I had no idea what to expect for Fashion Week. It was completely overwhelming, exhausting and fabulous.
I was so grateful to also squeeze in plenty of playtime with some other fabulous bloggers, and it was so great to connect with so many old friends and new friends. Above are some of the photos that were on my phone – more photos to come!
Did y’all watch any of the shows on the live feed like I told y’all on Friday’s Five? If so, what was your favorite show?
Have a happy Monday and thank you so much for reading! XO –
– these absolutely perfect roses that I can’t stop admiring –
– spending a day in LA and finally seeing this iconic landmark at the LACMA –
– the opportunity to pull out some serving pieces for guests –
I’m in New York for the weekend and love being back in this all-consuming city for the first time since Christmas (posts here and here). Combining the long Labor Day weekend with this weekend’s travel has me feeling a bit disheveled and while I’m loving my time here, I already know it will be sweet to return home to Christian, the pets and our calm little townhouse.
Did y’all know you can watch the live broadcast of Fashion Week here? I watched last year on my double monitor at work – literally I had the fashion shows on one monitor and I was working on the other. Priorities.
I hope y’all have a relaxing weekend and thank you so much for reading! XO –
I wanted to share my quick & easy five minutes or less beauty routine that is my go-to for weekdays. I focus on complexion with a bold eyeliner and colorful lip. I might work in cosmetics, but I’m on the corporate side so I honestly have very little artistry talent which is why I like to keep my beauty look fresh and simple.
Let me know what you think and what products are you go-to’s, I always love hearing your thoughts!
For my brows I use my Naked Basics palette. I use Faint on three quarters of my brow and come in with Naked2 in the front to create that natural fading-in look.
My favorite lip colors right now are absolutely from Urban Decay, with my first runner up being YSL’s lip stain. I love pairing the UD lip liners and lipsticks for a rich, pigmented color that lasts for hours. Today I’m wearing Turn On.
Has anyone else fallen head-over-heels for IT Cosmetics brushes? Hello amazing!
And that my friends, is my everyday beauty routine with some of my favorite products as of late. Tell me – what is your everyday beauty product you can’t live without?
I pulled out all my whites this weekend for Labor Day and this ruffled Kiki La’Rue number was most certainly in the mix! Personally, I continue to wear white after Labor Day as long as it’s still warm outside. I am a big fan of dressing for the weather, especially here out West where it’s truly an endless summer. And white and chambray are always going to look great together!
Plus, it’s so easy to transition summer pieces into fall with a chambray top, blazer, denim jacket or a layered sweater. It’s all about making the most of your wardrobe and seeing the versatility in your own closet before purchasing something new. Or at least, that’s what I say. Has chambray saved anyone else’s closet other than my own?
dress – c/o Kiki La’Rue | chambray – Forever21 | cow skull pendant – c/o Urban Peach Boutique | date plate necklace – c/o TAudrey | heels – Cynthia Rowley, love these bag – Louis Vuitton | sunnies – Ray Ban | bangle – David Yurman | gold bangle – c/o Gorjana
Who else is wearing white after Labor Day? Join the team! Thanks so much for reading – XO –
It’s always exciting to have something to look forward to all week and this week’s it’s been the long weekend that has kept me on my wishful toes. I have both Monday and Tuesday off (!!), so I’m hoping to visit a friend in LA and get caught up on my life. I’ve been having fun with after-work activities this week – cocktails with other blogger babes, shopping at Fashion Island, heading to The Wedge to watch surfers in 30-foot waves – but it’s left me feeling like I’m scrambling everyday because my type-A personality hasn’t had enough time to keep all the mundane things organized. I need to do some of those not-fun things like clean out my closet and go grocery shopping for this weekend.
Christian and I are having some people over Saturday to celebrate the International Street Fair that happens every year in our new neighborhood. Last year we were living about 15 minutes away and had to deal with traffic, parking and whatnot. This year I’m happy to just walk from our house – one of the things I love about living in a college town again!
And speaking about food, remember last week when I shared I was trying this green smoothie cleanse? Well I tried it for four days (and really did like it) and had to stop because I broke out into a head-to-toe rash, not kidding. It didn’t itch or bother me, I just looked like I had the chicken pox all over my body. I was texting all the doctors in my family and my brother’s friend who is a dermatology resident recommended I stop to see if the rash went away, and after a week it did. I’m slowly trying to introduce green smoothies back into my diet and am hopeful that they weren’t what caused the rash because I really want to try this cleanse! I don’t want it to deter any of you from trying it but wanted to ask – have any of you ever gotten a rash from a cleanse or from smoothies?
I hope all of you have a beautiful holiday weekend! What are your plans? Do share! Thanks so much for reading – XO –
This skirt. I am in love with this skirt! I think it belongs in my suitcase for NYFW – what do y’all think? I’ve shared with y’all before (like here) that my legs are my least favorite feature of mine, and this skirt makes me want to hop on the midi length skirt trend full force.
I paired it with one of my eBay Céline tees – one that I cut up myself. It was originally a fitted, cotton tshirt that I wasn’t really wearing because of the restricted fit. I had little to lose so I took my sewing scissors to it and cut off the sleeves and a made it into a fitted v-neck and voila! Now I like it so much better! I had to resist the urge to take scissors to more shirts to try to recreate them.
I feel confident in saying that there is nothing more comfortable than this Black Swan ruffled dress. I’ve always been a sucker for anything ruffled and this neutral color can be worn so many different ways. This kind of summer dress is my go-to for date nights with Christian – and yes, I rode a bike in this dress before taking these photos!
