Ruching Is a Girl's Best Friend (Forget the Diamonds!)

I'm still squeezing into my Frock! by Tracy Reese non-maternity dress, though this may have been the last time until munchkin arrives. All I have to say is, thank the heavens for some serious ruching! 

Last night we celebrated the civil wedding of our dear friends Sara and Remy (yet another wedding between a player & coach from my old soccer team, Trouble United). We're sadly missing their "real" wedding in Mexico, so at least we were able to toast them last night!

With my baby daddy

The wedding cake, and its fabulous customized cake topper, handmade by the lovely and talented Linda Huang

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend!

Dress: Frock! by Tracey Reese
Green Studded Bag: Kenneth Cole
Booties: Chelsea Crew
Earrings & Necklace: H&M 

Blair in Kate Spade (LOVE)

I met Blair while on my recent business trip to Charlotte, NC. It turns out that she and I went to neighboring high schools in Chesapeake, VA, and we graduated the same year. Small, small world.

I had to put her on the blog...she looks SO CUTE, and are you ready for this?!?!? She just had a baby less than 6 months ago. She's going to be my inspiration post baby! I love how she paired the chunky necklace with her girly ruffled Kate Spade dress. Adorable.

 

 

Lepoard Spots & A Bit of a Bump

You know what makes Mondays more bearable? Leopard print + new shoes. Quite simple really.

My mom and I recently went shopping (a rare treat, since we live, oh, about 1331 miles apart) in an effort to find some non-nightmarish maternity clothes. Despite my major panic attack in the maternity section, brought on by all the horrific styles one is subjected to during pregnancy, I was able to find a few non-maternity pieces that will hopefully get me through at least a couple of months.

I'm thrilled to have a dress that's not stripes...don't get me wrong, I love stripes, but the market is saturated with stripes and it's hard to get your hands on anything else these days (at least at my size. If you can fit into the fabulous geometric print pants out there, count your blessings!).

I did a shoe change halfway through to show a day-to-night look, although truth be told, I'm not sure how much wear I'll actually be getting out of these boots in the near future!

Have a great week!

Dress: Jennifer Lopez for Kohl's (seriously, who knew?!?!)
Flats: Jennifer Lopez for Kohl's
Blazer: Max Studio
Booties: Rosegold

The Dachshund's in the Details

I'm really disappointed--I loved this outfit, but forgot to take my camera to work. So we ended up using an awful camera, which neither shows the details of my dress, nor does it do any sort of justice to anything I'm wearing. The dress is covered in dogs, so I thought I'd bring along a book of one of my favorite dogs on the planet, Boo. Have you heard of Boo? Oh man, google him. You won't regret it!

Dress: Romeo & Juliet Couture

Fedora: Magid Hats

Bow Belt: Vince Camuto

Boots: Rosegold (purchased off Gilt Group)

Green Bag: Kenneth Cole

Jailbird

Why is it that black and white stripes always conjure up an association with prison? 

As most of you know, I used to teach in a prison. Truth be told, I saw a lot of green and the occasional orange (for those special inmates on "RP"--revoked privileges, or something to that effect), but never any stripes. One of my favorite stories from "the joint" goes a little something like this: one of my "students" conveyed to me a conversation he had had with his mother, trying to convince her to nominate me for one of the fashion makeover shows. I'm not making this up. He thought I dressed so poorly that I desperately needed professional help. What he didn't know was that I was trying to look as unattractive as possible, as a twenty-something female employee at an all-male correctional facility. Looking fabulous and finding myself an incarcerated boyfriend wasn't exactly high on my list of priorities. 

Alas, here is an homage of sorts to my days in prison, and to not being nominated for "What Not to Wear." Let the record stand that if anyone wants to put me on that show so I get a $5K shopping spree, I would not hold it against you!

Don't mind my crazy hair

Dress: Josh Brody * Shoes: Ash Italia * Nails: Essie - turquiose & caicos

Modern Vintage

Let me first apologize for the quality of these pictures. My brand new camera is on it's way (thank you Amazon)! I should have it in hand tomorrow. This was three rounds of shots with three different photographers and one very bad camera. I can't wait to get my new one, so I can start taking more shots of strangers on the street!


I bought this vintage dress in Milwaukee a few years ago at a little shop called Lola's Affordable Fashions. I'm heading back to Milwaukee in a few weeks, and intend to see what other treasures I can find. I love how this dress keeps cycling into style. I couldn't wait to wear it with my brand new Ash Italia shoes (once again, a great deal on Shopbop.com). I now own three pairs of Ash Italia shoes that I have purchased from Shopbop over the years when they're on sale. Love!


How is everyone doing this week? Surviving after the three-day weekend? We're almost through the week!

 

Goin' to the Chapel...

As I look at these pictures and think of my brother and his beautiful wife's lovely nuptials this past weekend, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of happiness. I had such a special weekend at home in Colorado celebrating their wedding and seeing family.


My brother and his wife held their ceremony in the same chapel where my parents were married 38 years ago. It was so sentimental and there really is nothing like summer in Colorado! Cheers to the happy couple!

Last-minute nail polish (Sally Hansen Commander in Chic)

The groom & I (yes, he's my brother!)

Dress: Ali Ro * Shoes: Seychelles * Bracelets: Amrita Singh * Clutch: Urban Expressions

Ring: Vintage * Necklace & Belt: My mother's

Brian & Maike, I love you both so much!!!

The Print Dress

I'm completely inspired after a day of closet organizing and shopping for my dear friend Sara. So for the weekend post, I'm going to share some of my favorite printed dresses. First up, here I am in a Dolce Vita dress.



Here are a few out in the market that I'm coveting:

I'm completely in love with this ECI dress ($150). It would be gorgeous with a metallic gold or turquoise skinny belt (or both!). A bright cardigan and a neutral shoe, or a neutral cardigan and a bright shoe (maybe my favorite Sam Edelman) would complete the outfit.

Trina Turk Lilet 2 $320

Pure Sugar Ruffle Dress $80

Kensie Blotch Print $90

DVF Agantha Print $525

Madewell Dress $135

ECI Surplice Zebra Print Wrap $60

Top off these looks with some chunky jewelry and a blazer for a polished look.

Tommy Hilfiger $70

Rag & Bone Dinner Blazer $395