I feel like a private investigator in this outfit! Ha! I'm not usually this structured, though, and I think that has a lot to do with it. I scored this trench on sale earlier this month, and have been itching to wear it! Ericawears hers effortlessly and it's hard to follow in her footsteps. I decided to grab this lace dress because I loved the idea of having the lace peeking out from under this trench. The color is very appropriate for fall and one of my favorites, in general, to wear.
This bag! I'm pretty excited about this bag. I've been wanting a structured black tote. But let's be honest. I *need* another bag like I need a hole in my head. But when my cousin told me I could get this for 60% off during the flash sale - well, ok then. I can't really say no to that, and the husband didn't even argue about it. It's so roomy and I love that the sides unzip for even more storage if needed! Win/win.
You guys!! All that pestering you to vote for me paid off! More Pieces of Me won the People's Choice Award for "Best Use of Social Media" at the St. Louis Fashion Week Blogger Awards Friday night!!! I can't take credit for this because this award is representative of all of your support and voting! And putting up with me! Especially the husband who not only photographs me, but reads this blog every day and was happier for me to win than I was myself! I'm so grateful, and it's silly, but this award validates my hobby, makes me feel more connected to the city of St. Louis, and basically just makes me feel like I've got my big girl pants on.
I've never been surrounded by so many trendy, well dressed people before! Luckily, I was very comfortable with my outfit choice. Definitely took some polling of my inner circle Thursday night, but ultimately, I ended up with this Bailey 44 dress - my go to brand for fun and unique dresses! Accessories were minimal - just chose my Stella and Dot basics. And I opted for a satchel verses more of a evening bag because I didn't want to have to lug around my camera on my neck or shoulder.
This is my "Hmm, I'm surrounded by fashion bloggers and don't have to feel awkward about taking photos" realization face.
The night itself was pretty amazing! This was my first ever fashion event, so it was all so fascinating to me. The venue just opened to the public a couple of weeks ago - it's an open air pavilion called the Public Media Commons. Such a great space - it was awesome to see a sexier side of St. Louis, in more ways than one!
The night wasn't just about the blogger awards, it served as the official kickoff party to St. Louis Fashion Week. There were a handful of popup shops - Shirt Kong, August Abroad, The Clover. And you know shopping is better when accompanied by some adult beverages, so I was sipping on some Pinnacle Cranapple Vodka while the husband enjoyed some Peroni Italian Lager. I also probably ate my weight in hummus but it was just so good! (Yes, there were other small bites, but I'm just a big hummus fan!) Before the awards, there was a still-fashion show of Grace Kubilius' collection --- loved this! And then after the awards, we were really able to appreciate the venue's technology with a couple of video presentations.
Clockwise from top left: 1- Tess Boyer (from The Voice!) stopping me to ask where I got my dress! How freaking cool is that?! | 2- Post award (and meeting Tess) pic | 3- Posing with a couple of the event workers with one of the many St. Louis birthday cakes sprinkled around the City | 4- Grace KubiliusStill-model fashion presentation (1 of 2)
As they kicked off the awards presentation, the folks at Alive Magazine talked about how important bloggers are to #STLFW because we act as the voice for all of the designers, and they recognized how much time and effort goes into blogging. I love that they view blogging through a different lens -- as something that is invaluable verses superficial and a waste of time-- and the awards are meant to celebrate this. When I heard my blog name called, my first two thoughts were - don't drop your drink, and don't trip on the step in front of you. True story.
I keep getting asked, "What do/did you win?" We ended up getting a printed award along with an August Abroad necklace with a Missouri charm that is hand-stamped with the hashtag #stlfwba. I really wasn't expecting anything other than the confidence boost, so this was an adorable surprise. I honestly had no gauge for how I was doing in terms of votes, and seeing my competition made me feel even more grateful for just being nominated. But I WON, and it was truly hard not to ugly cry. I was *that* happy. Later this week I am going to hit my 500th post! 500! I'd say this award makes the milestone that much more sweeter.
Last week was a crazy week! Basically had to prepare for meetings all week, and while I wasn't preparing for these meetings, I was physically in them! Friday was spent trying to get ahead as much as I could knowing I would be away from the office for a few days. We had a baseball game to go to that evening - our last regular season game!! - and that was also the iPhone 6 release date, so I was trying to get my phone all set up after work but before the game because I knew I would spend the night after the game still trying to pack!
I had everything backed up and restored onto my new phone, but it was still saying I didn't have service. We went through the same steps we did for the last 7 phones or so, so we were really confused about what was going on. The husband called AT&T on his cell (his new phone hasn't shipped yet, so nothing was changed with his phone at this time). He was on the phone with the rep for about 15 minutes - she had asked for my SIM card number, he gave it to her, then silence. He lost service on his phone. By this time, we were already en route and late to the game, so both of us had no cell service for about 4 hours.
Oh the horror. We actually had to talk! To each other!
I kid.
Sort of.
Not because we had to talk - but man, there are so many things I do with my phone - check the weather, check my calendar, watch baseball replays! - things I do without really thinking, but I realize I do once I don't have a phone on me.
We get home around 11 after the game, where I had left my old phone, and found that it still had service. So I called AT&T again, explained the situation. After about a half hour with that rep, we found out that the first rep assigned the wrong SIM number to the wrong phone (we have a shared account.) So after all was said and done - I had to put my NEW SIM in his old phone. He had to put his SIM in my OLD phone and I had to put my OLD SIM in my NEW phone. Yeah, that hurts my head, too.
All the first AT&T rep had to tell us was that I just had to switch SIM cards with my two phones. Done. Easy as that. Not sure why we didn't have to do this the other times, but whatever. Why am I telling you all this? Well, the point is - a 2 second task turned into a 6 hour debacle on top of an already crazy week, so by the time I was able to sit down and pack, I was spent.
I trusted my remixing skills, started grabbing stuff and laying it out on the floor to make sure that the pieces I was picking could create multiple outfits. Somehow, in the midst of this chaos, I only managed to bring one pair of shoes, but in hindsight, it worked out because the booties ended up pairing well with everything anyway! Gone are the days when I'm trying to wear something different everyday when I travel, and when I pack so much I have to check a bag! I took proper photos of some of the outfits I actually wore from the group above (here and here), but for those of you that prefer the good old selfie - here you go!
Other than my jeans, I never ended up having to re-wear any clothes. Oh, well, except for my booties. Perhaps I should have named this post "What to wear with black booties" instead! I never ended up needing the denim jacket, as it was definitely too warm, but it's always nice to have something like that just in case. I always enjoy reading packing posts like this, so I hope you enjoyed it as well!
Sunnies: Vince Camuto (option) | Necklace: Express (option) | Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs (other colors here, option) | Top: Express (option, option) | Bracelet: Express | Skirt:Express (in black here) | Booties:Report (option, option)
So, I recapped my meeting with Ginayesterday, if you missed it! I figured I would split the day up into two posts - what I bought and what I wore. What does one wear to meet someone for the first time that you already know? Someone that you don't have to worry about impressing, but couldn't impress even if you *did* want to because they know your wardrobe more than you know it yourself?
Well, you wear pieces from the store that brought you two together in the first place, of course - Express.
I already have this skirt in black thanks to Rachelle (seen here), and decided I also needed it in grey stat. Lucky for me, this arrived the day I was packing for the trip, so I threw it in the suitcase and crossed by fingers that this Barcelona cami would pair well with it. Lo and behold, it did. Add some of my favorite bling and I was good to go!
I was really hoping this skirt would be in store because I've been trying to convince Gina that she needs it also, but alas, it was nowhere to be found. Guess that means we just need to go shopping together again to try and find it! :) Yes, I'm still a bit on cloud 9 from our meeting. Sigh.
So, not only did I get to meet my nephew for the first time this week, but I also got to meet this pretty lady! We have never met before ever, and although she has seen me in my blog videos, I didn't even know what she sounded like! The drive to see her was like mentally preparing for a blind date!
I've mentioned a few times having family in SoCal. I'm awful with geography though and never realized until I was in SoCal for my sister's shower in July that Gina was less than 2 hours from my dad's house. SAY WHAT?! So, we made a point to plan a meet up the next time I was in town, which was this week. Of course the plans were already mapped out in the stars for us - lunch and shopping, and most definitely including a trip to Express!
We didn't just run to Express though, we saved that for last. We were planning on getting sushi, but the restaurant ended up being closed until 4:30 despite the hours of operation listed on their doors. We opted for the Nordstrom bistro and chatted it up - which is way easier to do in person than text or email, FO SHO. After lunch, we made a quick stop down in accessories to see if they had any Kate Spade cases for the iPhone 6 yet (they didn't) and then we headed for Zara, which is a place we don't have at home - the closest one is 4 hours away! Yay - excited!
Unfortunately, we both left Zara empty handed. Everything was a bit wintery, which was hard to get in the mood for when it was pretty heated that day. Popped into Kate Spade also, but again left empty handed. Ok then, Express it is!
I will say that it's hard to shop in person in Express when you frequent the website so often. I was specifically on a mission to find the navy stripe portofino (seen here and here) and this floral skirt (seen here and here.) Unfortunately, the navy stripe wasn't there, only the black and white stripe that I already own. BOOO. I did end up ordering that when I got home when I saw it was not only marked down to $30, but an additional 10% off. Done and done. I was able to finally try on the floral skirt though.
I shall spare you the horror that is me trying it on. I figured it wouldn't work on me because I am already naturally high waisted and carry my weight in my midsection, so I always have to size up in high waisted fitting bottoms, and the result is just not flattering. I had already went up two sizes in this skirt because that's all they had, and it was still all the way up to my boobs! I would have had to go up a third size for it to fit comfy, but it would have been huge in the hips, and guys, sometimes it's ok to just say no. So, this was a fail for me, and I shall admire it from afar on the other fabulous bloggers.
Ah. This outfit was more up my alley. I hadn't actually noticed this top on line, and you can never have too much red in your life, in my opinion. I love wearing red, but I have so very little of it in my wardrobe. This felt true to size - I liked that it was fitted but not tight.
The skort. The infamous skort. Whenever I see this, I think of the Zara version that was all the rage a few seasons ago. Express seems to be good at remaking successful pieces from other brands. I've always liked this but have never been able to take the plunge. I decided to try it on for grins. Nothing to lose, right? This black one is actually minus-the-leather, and while I love faux leather, I like that you can't really tell by looking at it that it's faux leather. I did size up in this knowing that faux leather doesn't have as much give as some other fabrics.
When I saw Gina grab the wine colored one for herself, I decided to try it, too. I did not size up in this one though - it's satin and a little more forgiving. I liked it a lot, too, but didn't think I could justify having TWO skorts in my collection, so I opted to just get the black pair - I want to wear it with black tights and black booties!
I was on the fence about the moss green top. You're probably thinking - um, isn't it just another portofino? Yes and no. The difference is that it doesn't have a collar, and it has a bit of a ruched detail at the shoulder seams. I wasn't sure if the no-collar look would be as versatile as the traditional portofino (it could look awkward layered under blazers and other jackets), but Gina pointed out that my hair covers the collar anyway. True that. Plus, I'm a sucker for all things olive right now - I have my utility vest, anorak jacket, and olive skinnies on constant repeat - so I figured this top will definitely get a lot of mileage.
Sadly/ironically, that's all I bought! But even though it wasn't a super productive shopping trip, the fact that I could share it with Gina *finally* in real life instead of texting was just perfection. When we were driving back to my dad's house after dropping her off, the husband said, "I wish you had girlfriends like that at home." ME TOO!!!
I brought this outfit to wear to church on Sunday. The last time you saw this was here, and it definitely wasn't quite cool enough this second time around for any kind of jacket over it. I was worried that the black booties would be too harsh with it, but lucky for me, my hair is black so it really didn't bother me. And I'm sure SoCal has seen a lot worse combos!
It's honestly still surreal to me that my sister has a baby. My sister has a baby. Meeting him in person was just the best - of course he's adorable and perfect. We got a little lucky apparently because supposedly he can get pretty cranky, as babies can get, but the times we were with him, he basically just slept and ate and slept and ate. Pretty easy if you ask me! But that's also because he's hers and not mine- ha!
I could not resist getting him little Cardinals onesies!! I don't think my brother-in-law (an Angels fan) was too happy about it, but they appeased me and let him wear it all day on Sunday. Although he's looking at me like - uh, daddy's gonna be mad!
He's only two weeks old so I'm excited to see him grow!! When he's old enough, you better believe he'll be FaceTiming with his crazy aunt! I still can't decide who he looks like yet - my sister or my brother-in-law, though my brother-in-law said he was holding him one day and freaked out because he made a face that looked just like me! Aww, I'll take him as a lookalike any day!
