I am facing shopping for a new swimming suit this spring/summer. It truly should be considered a form of torture. So, as the latest catalogs arrive in my mailbox I am in search of my next go-to-suit! The new J.Crew Style Guide arrived on Friday and I instantly fell in love. Not with a suit, but with a necklace! A gorgeous simple chain lariat worn with a bikini top. Be still my heart. It looks beautiful and not over styled. Plus this delicate necklace will look fantastic with flowy summer tanks or a simply v-neck t-shirt.
Surprising to me, I could not find that necklace anywhere on J.Crew’s website. {If you can find it-please let me know.} Instead I took it upon myself to do a bit of searching. I stumbled upon the E & E Project Etsy shop. They offer gold lariat necklaces at the perfect price point! Pop over and check it out! I am smitten with the simple chain lariat and the triangle gold bar lariat.
I think I’ll buy one this week! It is guaranteed to fit and it doesn’t involve a fitting room.
Years ago, long before I was married myself, my grandmother gave me her engagement ring. I had asked her for it when I was a young girl {please excuse my lack of tact} and she didn’t forget. It was wearing thin and she decided to stop wearing so it would be preserved for me. Crazy, right? She truly was a one-of-a-kind. I have kept it safe, but tucked away. Months ago I came it across it when I was moving accessories into my closet. I decided it shouldn’t be tucked away. I wanted to wear it. However, I have freakishly small hands and it was too large for my finger. After checking with my mom, I had the ring resized.
When we travel to Italy next month, I will be wearing my grandmother’s ring with two whisper thin gold bands from Catbird. {That makes my heart happy.} I have been stalking Catbird for quite sometime, so when I decided to resize the ring I was thrilled to be able to buy simple bands to wear with it. The bands I ordered are stacking rings, meant to be worn together in multiples. The Mignon Memory Ring and the Twisted Stacker Ring are perfect compliments to my grandmother’s delicate diamond and gold ring. When I slip this special stack on my finger, I smile. If she were still here, she would give me a big hug and tell me a story about her ring or my grandfather. I treasure my memories of her and I treasure her ring.
Do you have jewelry tucked away from someone dear to you? I urge you to take it out. Make it part of your life. Wear it and love it!
The latest collaboration makes my heart skip a beat! Nordstrom and BAUBLEBAR make a dream team. While some collaborations are outside my price point, this one is right on the money. Starting at $24-you can buy baubles to your heart’s content. I love the pieces that would be easy, everyday accessories. Notice anything? Yep, my affection for gold does not seem to be waning. {Wow! It’s becoming a problem.}
Oh, man. It’s time! Time to forget about all the black and grey, put away the boots, and shed our winter coat. Springing forward is always an awesome shock to the system. We instantly earn an extra hour of daylight at the end of our day and suddenly everyone feels lighter. It also helps that the buckets and buckets of rain seem to be on pause for a bit here in Seattle. We actually are catching glimpses of beautiful sunny, spring days. Doesn’t it make you want to add something “springy” to your arsenal? This girl is sprung for spring!
I was watching the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and instantly became obsessed with Team Slovakia’s mittens! As my husband and kids continued to watch the Parade of Nations- betting on who had the largest delegation- I jumped online to search for those mittens! It wasn’t easy, but I found a few shots of the white graphic mittens with the fantastic red heart! The scarves and hats were pretty great too! I vote Slovakia Best Dressed. The ladies’ mittens were equally as awesome in red with a white heart {Sorry. No picture.}
Gimme those mittens!
So far no one is selling Team Slovakia’s mittens, so I was driven to do a quick round-up of heart inspired mittens. I kind of love the options. Warm weather gear that also warms the heart. Awww.
Modern girls {or women, if you prefer} are busier than ever. Our days might include a day at the office, school runs, volunteer hours, an endless number of errands, driving kids to practice, and an evening meeting. Occasionally we may sneak in coffee with girlfriends or a date night with our favorite guy. Wow! We are amazing, aren’t we?
And hey, even us girls of a certain age want to look our very best while out and about. I talked my gorgeous sister-in-law, Piper, into helping me with a post that shows by simply changing up your hair and adding accessories -you can change your look entirely. Since she wears glasses, we also took advantage of the Warby Parker free Home Try-On program. Warby Parker is an on-line eyewear boutique. Their glasses start at just $95. At that price you can have more than one pair. Change your frames. Change your frame of mind.
Five different frames. Five different looks. Look what we put together:
1. A School Run
Let’s be honest. When you are running the kids to school, you don’t want to take more than a few minutes, if that, to get yourself ready. Low maintenance is key. Throw on a cozy zip-up and a cute striped beanie- you are out the door . {Love the beanie for hiding morning, bed head!} Piper is wearing BAXTER in Catalina Blue.
2. Coffee with Girlfriends
It is such a treat to have time with girlfriends. Nothing fancy, just relaxed fun. These tortoise frames are awesome all by themselves! Wow! Add a color block sweater and big gold hoops and it’s time to catch up with your best girls. Piper is wearing MALLORY in Gimlet Tortoise.
3. Charity Board Meeting
Sometimes we need to look sharp and on point. {Those of you who work outside the home do this everyday.} The color blocking on these frames is unique but the shape keeps the look professional. I love the crisp white shirt with a geometric print tank. Completely modern. Finish the look with smooth straight hair, simple studs, and a bold necklace. You are ready to kick butt and take names. Piper is wearing ZAGG in Tennessee Whiskey
4. Date Night
Yessss. A night out! Time to loosen things up a bit. Tousle your hair and think sexy. {Isn’t she a knock out?} Dress up a silk blouse with a large, statement necklace and go with a bolder lip. Baby, you are hot to trot. Piper is wearing LINWOOD in Revolver Black.
5. Farmers’ Market
Time to be the casual hipster! A colorful {edgy} scarf and loose curls under a fedora is nothing but happy and carefree. Don’t you wish everyday was market day? Piper is wearing MILES in Revolver Black.
Now, your turn. Time to go to your closet. Choose your go-to outfit of the moment. Pull out all of your accessories. {All of them.} I bet, if you are creative, you can change up that outfit at least three ways with accessories you already own. Let me know what you come up with!
Back in October, I decided to give my closet a major overhaul. It was in desperate need of some TLC. You need to know that my closet is a standard sized bedroom closet with dual sliding doors. A powdered-coated, metal shelving/hanging unit was installed by a previous owner of our home. Sadly, it also has florescent lighting. This was not going to be a remodel. I had to work within the space I was given. When I set out to create a closet to love, I set my priorities for the project.
In the end, I hoped for:
*bright, open and inspiring
*a place for my accessories
*space to hang a few pieces of art
While it is quite embarrassing to show the before pictures, it is important to show its original sad, drab state. Yep, it was that bad. Crowded, cluttered, and certainly uninspiring. The closet wasn’t getting any larger and it wasn’t going to magically become a walk-in overnight. To reach my goal of creating an open space, I was going to have to be fearless in making some tough decisions. I needed to edit my wardrobe! I spent a long afternoon, pulling things from my closet. The result was a very large bag which I took to my favorite consignment shop. The rest went to a charitable thrift shop. There was space to work with!!
The work began in four main areas:
Clothing Storage: I pulled my spring/summer wardrobe off hangars and put it in storage. I certainly don’t need shorts and breezy little tops in the dead of Seattle’s winter. I also put my flip flops, wedges, and sandals in individual plastic shoe boxes.
Painting: The walls need some major help. They were actually dirty {gross that I didn’t notice that when I moved in} and the paint was drab. I chose Benjamin Moore Ribbon Pink. It took over 3 weeks to finally decide on the shade of pink. My ideal color would be a bit paler than Ribbon Pink, but once the clothes were back it wasn’t a huge issue for me. The hardest part of the painting was the shelving/hanging unit. It is barely hanging on, so if I had taken it down there is a pretty good chance it wouldn’t have gone back up. Instead, I taped around it using painter’s tape and my level. It took forever. For a fun effect I taped color blocks! The finished product makes me smile because of the awesome white borders throughout the whole closet.
Accessory Storage: I had to use some creativity for hanging and storing my accessories. A shelf liner gave me a solid surface to build on. I had been dying for a reason to buy this gorgeous gold stag! I finally had it. Using the antlers and a handful of brass nails I had plenty of storage for my necklaces. Along with jewelry trays, vintage tea cups and collected glassware I had a place for almost all of my accessories. An acrylic shelf helped give one more surface for all the treasures. All of my hats, scarves, and belts are now housed in two colorful canvas baskets I found on clearance at Target.
Art: With a little help from all of you {here and here} I chose two pieces of art. The fashion illustration by Anum Tariq is so beautiful. I wish you could see it person. A LOVE print, one of my very favorite photos, and a few Instagram snapshots finished off the space perfectly.
I apologize for such a lengthy post, but I can’t help but be overly excited about this outcome! It makes me so, so HAPPY to open my closet each day. Many of my most treasured items {like my grandmother’s gloves I wore on my wedding day} now have a place in my everyday. While not large or ornate, I now have a closet to love.
{If you see a detail that I didn’t explain or discuss, please leave a comment below. I am happy to answer any questions!}
Last weekend my girlfriend invited me over for a glass of wine and a sneak peek at all of her newest Stella and Dot baubles. Comfy in my sweats and my hair pulled into a top knot, I played dress up- trying on samples from the Spring 2014 Collection. These new arrivals make me long for warmer weather and lighter clothing!
I quickly compiled a wish list in my head. Upon review they all had a common theme: yellow + gold. It is official. I am gold crazy {more gold postings here, here and here}! The yellow is what is surprising! I don’t own anything yellow. Come to think of it, I am not really sure if I look good in yellow. All rational thinking went out the window when I laid eyes on those gorgeous chandelier earrings. I mean really! Love at first glance.
Accessories are the easiest way to be creative when getting dressed. Since September I have been wearing my Mae, Somervell, Christina necklace trio constantly. All three equals a dramatic punch of glam. Wearing one or two gives some pop to a casual outfit. I can’t get enough of these gorgeous beauties. Since I know you will love them too, I have partnered with my favorite Stella & Dot stylist, Regan McCrary, to give away the Mae Necklace to one of my readers.
You can mix and match these pieces countless ways. Why not experiment a little? {Grown-ups can have fun too!} How about a casual flannel with a little bit of sparkle?
Or, add a hair tie to the double clasps of the Somerville and wear it in your hair. Yes, it’s that easy!
To enter this giveaway, visit Regan’s Stella & Dot page and leave a comment here telling me which item(s) you would put on your wish list. {There are so many to choose from.} Entries must be posted by Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 9am PST, and one winner will be chosen at random.
** The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations Randi S! I hope you love this necklace as much as I do.
{Limited to U.S. readers. $49 USD total value. The winner will be announced on the Where is June? Facebook page and by email.}
I am down to the finishing touches on my closet TLC project. I want to choose one of these prints to accompany the other items I have gathered to make my closet the girliest place in my home. Obviously, the message is the same, so it comes down to a matter of design. Help me decide. I am so close to finishing and I can’t wait to share the results with all of you.
