I posted this outfit on Instagram this weekend and mentioned that I wore it for brunch but then changed right before I walked out the door! Some days you just crave certain things, and while there is nothing wrong with this outfit at all, I wanted something off the shoulder instead!
I had no idea what to title this post. "How to wear pink pants?" "Another off the shoulder top?" "I bought these pants in a 4th color?" The earrings and the clutch and the embroidered sleeve felt very fiesta to me, so I just went with springy fiesta. Probably not good for my Search Engine Optimization, but whatever. That's all I got!
Back in April was the rewardStyle conference. I got to hang out with Jo-Lynne for a few days and she had this clutch with her! I wanted it. It's perfect. It's oversized and obnoxious, which are two things that make my heart sing. Unfortunately, it was on backorder, but I figured it was worth the wait, so I went ahead and ordered it. Fast forward to last week and I got the email that it shipped! I told Jo-Lynne it was like my past self bought my current self a gift! Yeehaw!
The title of this post certainly is not code for anything! This outfit is what I wore to do exactly that - have brunch and see a movie. Though, admittedly, we didn't see the movie until that evening when my feet are naturally feeling swollen, so I wore these flat leopard sandals instead. But, I kept the integrity of the outfit the same: gingham and leopard with a pop of color!
Outfit details--- Sunnies: TOMS| Earrings:Kendra Scott | Necklace: Stella and Dot (bib necklace options here and here) | Bag: Lo&Sons | Top: Express (similar here) | Bottoms: Express (option) | Shoes:Saint Laurent---
On Saturday, I got to meet up with Jenna for a late lunch! It was nice because I feel like we haven't gotten to see each other in forever! She found this adorable place called Revel on Yelp, and it definitely did not disappoint! Oddly enough, it was in the 90's but it still felt comfortable in the shade, so we got to enjoy lunch on the patio!
Happy Friday and happy first day of April!! 2016 is officially one third over and I can't hardly believe it. That's just crazy talk to me! BUT! With April comes baseball, so starting on Sunday, I have something to watch on TV again until October! Ha! No but seriously, I cannot wait! Anyhoo! For today's post, I pulled together some of my most recent selfies as well as some previous blog photos so you can see how I styled the same piece a slightly different way. Let's get started!
I figured I would finish out the week with outfits I wore during Thanksgiving/Black Fridayweek since a lot of the focus with this week's posts centered around the sales and it's helpful in my head to chronologically keep all this information together! First up is what I wore for Thanksgiving! I went with the comfiest of leggings and a very forgiving tunic. Nothing fancy - we end up just going to a restaurant for our Thanksgiving feast at lunch, and then spent the rest of the day grazing on snacks and cocktails while we played games with the family. It was fun and I was stuffed!
Sunnies: Ray Ban (other colors here) | Earrings: Old Navy | Necklace:Purple Peridot | Trench: Ann Taylor (option here, here, and here) | Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs (option here and here) | Top:Express (try purple or berry) | Bracelet: Stella and Dot | Ring: Kendra Scott | Bottoms: American Eagle (option) | Shoes:BCBG (option)
This weekend, I finally felt that cool chill to the bone at night. It's about that time to start transitioning! And that means getting excited to wear some of your favorite pieces that you haven't touched in months. Like this sleeveless trench, which for whatever reason, I keep seeing referred to as a sleeveless vest. Except vests are already sleeveless. Just pay attention, you shall see this error incessantly now also. Perhaps they mean sleeveless trench? Or trench vest? Or trench dress is another thing I've seen them called.
Regardless! It's a fun piece to have and I wish that Ann Taylor's version still existed because it's the perfect amount of structure. I realized I hadn't worn it with jeans yet, so I had to change that immediately. I'm kind of excited to wear all of my vests in general again!! Is that bad?
All week I have been slowly but surely recapping my long weekend in NYC with Jenna. In case you missed any of the posts - this post shares photos from the rewardStyle party, this post shares a super fun brunch outfit, and this post tells you everything you need to know about Kendra Scott. So what does that leave for today's post? Basically all of the other random goodness! Since a picture paints a thousand words, I figured it would be best to use these snapshots as a table of contents so to speak.
Starting clockwise from top left:
1. Shake Shack! Yum! I told Jenna before we left that we were for sure for sure eating at Shake Shack - more than once if at all possible. We were having so much fun that I almost forgot about it! We ended up changing into comfy clothes after the rewardStyle party to eat there and it never disappoints!
2. Macys! We spent a couple couple hours or so Saturday evening at the biggest Macy's ever. I can't even explain how ginormous this place was - I felt like it was a never ending maze of escalators! I ended up buying my skirt I wore to the party on Sunday here at Macy's along with these Joe's jeans you're seeing in today's outfit. I wish I took a still photo of the wooden escalators. They basically looked like they came original with the building and were crazy old. They felt a bit sketchy to ride on, but we still survived, and it was just so much fun to be there wandering aimlessly around. The photo above is of their rainbow display of Kitchen Aid Mixers. Insert heart eyed emoji here!
3. This was my travel outfit on Saturday that ended up being my shopping outfit that evening. I'm wearing the softest boyfriend shirt from American Eagle that I now need every color of!
4. The ball! I hadn't been to Time's Square before and this was the first time I actually saw the NYE ball. I was pretty excited! I can't imagine how packed this place gets!
5. The Express in Times Square. It was epic! Naturally, Jenna needed to take a photo of me in my mother ship! I ended up buying two tops - one shown here, and the other I will need to share with you soon!
6. More of Times Square just because there is so much to digest!
7. The red stairs. I'm not quite sure how, but I never knew these were a thing. We spent a few minutes here taking selfies and admiring the view.
8. Told you we were taking selfies! This was in Times Square Sunday evening.
9. Huevos Rancheros! This was from Sunday Brunch at Cookhouse! Seriously recommend.
10. And last but not least - this was taken from the rooftop bar at the hotel. I'm still quite surprised and excited that we ended up right across the street from a fashion show venue. This is looking down at the entrances into NYFW. Surreal!
And that's basically a super stripped down version! We were snapping like crazy all weekend, and I've downloaded all those stories so I can at least rematch them and relive the details! The outfit I'm sharing with you today was taken minutes before we were on our way to the airport on Monday. So bitter sweet! Nice to be in my own bed, but it was seriously such a fun girls' weekend!!
I know that technically it's not the end of summer, but it's September 1st. Kids are back in school and the start of school will always denote the "end" of summer for me! I don't do these recap posts enough, so I figured with the new month, and the implied new season, I would look back at some of my favorite warm weather looks. I definitely see a more casual trend in my favorites. I embraced the basic tee this season, and I loved anything and everything that looked hand crafted or embroidered.
I seriously feel like summer has just started. Though a teeny part of me is excited for fall. I was looking through old posts from last year, and I'm definitely missing some of my transitional pieces! Next week, I'll pull those archives and share some of my favorite fall looks from last year that are still relevant to this upcoming season! Stay tuned!
Sunnies: Ray Ban (other colors here) | Earrings: Express | Necklace: Kate Spade (couldn't really find anything similar, but found some pretty pink options here and here) | Bag: Tory Burch (option here) | Top: Express (option, option, option) | Bracelets: Nadri (option), Kendra Scott, Stella and Dot | Bottoms: Express (similar) | Shoes:Louise et Cie (option)
It's hard to believe I'm celebrating my third birthday on the blog! That's a lot of outfit photos, folks! Since my birthday falls on a random Tuesday, we had some pre-celebrations over the weekend as a warm up! And if the pre-celebrations are any indication of how today will be, I have absolutely nothing to complain about and only more wonderful things to look forward to!
If you follow me on Snapchat (carylee07), you've already seen bits and pieces of the weekend events! It started on Saturday. We had tickets to the Cardinals game as part of our quarter season passes, but the husband had to let me in on part of my gift before this game because he was supposed to pick up the tickets that night! He got me Commissioner's Box tickets to the game tonight against the Giants! For those not familiar - this puts me in seats right next to the Cardinals dugout AND they're all inclusive seats, which means all the food and drinks I can manage as well. Perhaps it's because of my lady time right now, but I happy cried when he told me about the tickets. I'M SO EXCITED.
Saturday night at the game, the husband left in the 7th inning to get us some cocktails. The lady on the other side of me left as well, so picture me sitting in between two empty seats. Well, Peralta, our shortstop, was up at bat and hit a foul ball. I've been to plenty of games to know that people will climb over you for these balls, and they typically end up bouncing anyway - so even if you think they're coming at you, the chances of you actually getting one are pretty slim. Well, this night, I look up and see this ball directly over my head. I usually duck, even if the ball is two sections over, but I was unusually calm. A second later, I feel the ball hit me pretty hard in my hip. I expected it to bounce, but when it didn't, I reached down in my seat and sure enough, there was the ball.
I was ridiculously excited, and random strangers were asking to take pictures of me. Haha! Naturally, since the husband was gone, I had to put it on Snapchat first and foremost, and then Facebook. It was pretty amazing and I didn't let go of the ball for the rest of the night. The husband had to grab it from me before I went to the bathroom. Ha! (Yes, I'm a crazy fan, I can't help it!)
Sunday we met Beth and her hubby and kids for brunch at Chophouse. The chicken and biscuits changed my life. Just saying. Afterwards, the husband agreed to take me shopping wherever I wanted. He ordered me a little something that's supposed to arrive today, but apparently there was room leftover in his birthday budget for me to pick something out myself. I mean. I can't say no to that! I always feel so pressured to pick ANYTHING I want. Those are the times when I have no idea what I'll end up with! I decided to go with the Rag and Bone Sullivan booties.
I'm a sucker for a good suede bootie, and my Sam Edelman Petty booties could use a backup since I wear them to death! And the caption is totally true - they really do feel like butter. Two wildly enthusiastic thumbs up from me!
Since we weren't doing anything super fancy on Sunday, I wanted to be comfortable, so I didn't go as dressy as I've done for past birthdays. Just some grey skinnies and this lace top that's been calling my name to wear all summer! I did end up changing into flat sandals for shopping because I wanted to shop without having to worry about how long my feet would last! I'll have to fill you in on how tonight's game went later!
It's always fun to look back at old posts, so I dug up the last two birthday posts for you to read with me! I just LOL'd putting these photos into the post because in 2014 I'm wearing the same tunic from this year's birthday post, just in black. Some things never change, eh? I always used to dread my birthday every year because I end up disappointed, but the last few years have been pretty amazing. I am nothing but thankful!
I'm keeping this short and sweet today! No commentary between photos, only because I've been traveling the last couple of days for work, and I'm a bit behind on life and sleep! But I wanted to leave these outfit selfies with you to formally kick off the weekend. Plus, if I don't share these with you, it's like I never wore them!
…from some other beginning's end. - "Closing Time" by Semisonic
If you read Gina's post today, you'll see that she is retiring from Manic Monday. When she asked if we could phone talk last week, I had a feeling she was going to be cutting back on blogging and letting go of Manic Monday. While naturally I am sad about losing the collaboration with her, I wholeheartedly understand. I can't imagine what she's been through, what she is still healing from, and how much different of a lens through which she is now seeing life. I one thousand percent respect her decision. It's certainly not good-bye - I'm sure there will be many collaborations between the two of us in the future, and this is definitely nothing personal nor any indication of a flawed friendship.
I am so thankful that we decided to start Manic Monday as we've made so many friends along the way; I've learned so much and have been inspired by so many. I've decided to continue on with a Monday linkup, but under a different name. Manic Monday was Gina's and my thing, and I want to keep it that way! So, I hope you'll be back with me next week as I kick off something new, and since it's easier to not go it alone, Jenna has graciously agreed to co-host with me next week, so you will see the linkup on her page as well. Thank you for everyone's support!!
I love my heels, don't get me wrong, but the anniversary sale has put me in a little love affair with flat shoes. I'm pretty sure I will need more pairs of these Nike Internationalist sneakers. They're comfy, nice to look at, and sporty chic.
Sunnies: Ray Ban | Necklace:Stella and Dot | Bag: Kate Spade (option) | Top: Express (option, option) | Bracelet: Nadri (similar) | Bottoms: Express (option) | Shoes:NikeSale: $62.90After sale: $85
This weekend was pretty family filled! We had a cousin's wedding to go to on Saturday night and then a 2-year old birthday party for a nephew yesterday! I wore this to the birthday party and really just wanted something super easy and comfortable. The heat has been ridiculous, but so has the rain, hence the long pants and closed toe shoes - I absolutely hate wet feet and wet legs in the rain.
Hope everyone has a great week! Please be sure to continue to follow along on Tuesdays and Fridays with Gina and check back with me and Jenna on Monday for something new to link to!
