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!
– I don’t typically choose sunflowers for my weekly flower purchase but these were too cheerful to turn down –
– finding coconut La Croix after looking for it for a year –
– seeing okra for the first time since we’ve moved to California and fryin’ it up like a good Southern girl –
– this face – she owns me –
– this song (with an even cuter video) that has me dancin’ in the car every morning –
This week was been a nice change of pace than the past several weeks that were so jam-packed. To be honest, I’ve felt like I’ve had more time every night to relax after work and I think it’s because I’ve been skipping cooking every night to try out this green smoothie cleanse to recharge my batteries. I’ve noticed myself being so rushed I’m just eating whatever I can find or cook the fastest, which unfortunately often means I’m just making guacamole and eating chips straight out of the bag – no portion control over here! Because I’m on day three of green smoothies, I haven’t been cooking dinner like I normally do for Christian and MAN – it really shows me how much time cooking and cleaning up takes out of my nightly schedule.
Poor Christian – he’s on his own for 10 days and I’m loving all my free time over here! I’ll have to keep y’all posted at the end of this cleanse on how I felt and the results. So far it’s totally great until about 4pm, then I’m pretty hungry. I eat veggies and some fruit in addition to the smoothies, but I hear the first four days are the hardest. I’ve also read this cleanse is supposed to help train your body to crave more healthy foods (and don’t we all need that?). More to come!
Ever since I saw these sun-bleached turtle shells on Jayson Home, I knew I wanted something similar without paying hundreds for it. I found these two beauties while thrifting and knew it was meant to be at $30. I used leftover Benjamin Moore Cloud White paint from when we painted our new place, and quickly brushed a coat on the outer shell.
After the paint dried, I sanded away parts here and there and voila! I had my own set of distressed shells. #turtletime
Fun fact: Christian is completely grossed out with turtles. I’ve been with the guy for seven years, but this was something I did not know. SO, my plan to hang these babies by the front door was a bust when he was fake gagging while looking at them (similar to Vicki Gunvalson on RHOC being carsick on the bus in Bali…who else saw that and laughed like crazy!?). I was forced to find a new hanging spot – one that he wasn’t necessarily forced to look at all the time, so I thought this little nook above our den blankets would be just right.
What do you think? Are y’all into it or not so much?
I’ve shared this kimono briefly here, but I couldn’t wait to slip it on. I had intentionally purchased it to wear on my birthday dinner to bouchon in Santa Barbara with Christian, but we ended up visiting too many tasting rooms (and I felt the need to start my birthday with bottomless mimosas) and we may have napped through our dinner reservations. We ended up sharing bbq nachos and beers instead, which I’m totally down with, however it didn’t require a dress like this!
Since I missed wearing it then, what better time than the present to slip this number on for a proper date night with CHBoo. And this time, just one glass of wine would do.
I was in the kitchen at work one day and noticed a coworker putting together a delicious kale and quinoa salad. If I was a Californian, I would have observed from afar, trying to piece together the ingredients. However I am Southern, so I poked my head in her salad and immediately asked, “what all you got in there!?”
She sweetly shared the ingredients with me (and didn’t ask me to get my face out of her lunch), and I knew I would be recreating this salad at home. So fresh, healthy and delicious – it’s been one of my go-to packed lunches and I wanted to share.
You’ll Need:
kale
shredded brussels sprouts (optional – I just love some sprouts!)
1/3 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup red or green onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
a few slices of avocado
Dressing: 1 TB whole grain dijon mustard
Dressing: 2 parts balsamic vinegar to 1 part olive oil (to taste)
Dressing: salt & pepper to taste
Chop the veggies (excluding avocado) and toss in a bowl (or on a plate). Mix the dressing together in a sealed container (I use a mason jar) and shake well. Pour over salad and veggies, layer avocado over the top of the salad and bon appétit!
Do you have a favorite kale salad? Do share! Thanks so much for reading and don’t forget to enter the Kiki La’Rue giveaway! XO –
A lot of you have been asking about my new coffee table and I wanted to give you all the details! For a short period of time this tufted beauty was out of stock, but I’m pleased to see it back on the market.
Let’s talk coffee tables, shall we? For the past year, Christian and I have been using an old cedar chest of his grandfather’s as our coffee table, allowing us to store items inside and make the most use of our small space. It definitely worked well for us for a little while, but now that we have moved to a larger spot (!!!), we agreed we wanted something more comfortable.
As soon as I started to look online, I was like, whoa there Sally. I’m not paying $800 for a coffee table that I will inevitably spill sweet & sour sauce on at some point in the near future. Enter this guide – some of my favorite pics under $300. We ended up purchasing an ottoman-style coffee table because we both like to prop our feet up and it seemed to best serve what we were looking for, but it was so hard for me to take the plunge because I liked so many!
I hope you find this small guide helpful – let me know if you have questions and tell me – what’s your favorite pick? What led you to your coffee table and why do you love it (or not love it)? Thanks so much for reading and sharing! Don’t forget to enter the Kiki La’Rue givaway! XO –
