Pop of Color!

A little pop of color goes a long way…

I can’t tell you how many outfits I dress up with a splash of color. It doesn’t take much to add some spice to a classic (if boring) outfit. I love going all black or black and white with a pop of accent color. Red is an obvious choice or my beloved cobalt. For Spring, I suggest mint and orange. If you are feeling like you are ready for advanced pop of color go neon or yellow. Who isn’t all about easy when it comes to adding pizazz to our daily looks? See what I mean:

You can add pop with cardigans, shoes, bags, and big necklaces. Here’s my friend Megan with a pop of green with her cardigan — it doesn’t hurt that she is also rocking the polka dots!

PS: She is also killing it with the Stella and Dot rhinestone set!

Here’s some more examples of people adding that pop to their looks!

 

   

Wine-Themed Bridal Shower

As the year anniversary of this shower approaches, it seems it’s the perfect time to post about the shower. This one of the classic team efforts that makes shower hosting such a treat. We picked a theme that is a real people pleaser – wine! My allstar friends were a pleasure to work with as usual. We got tons wine and the party was ready to get going!

Here’s the hostesses with the bride to be…

We made wine glasses with chalkboard bases so that we could write our names on them with chalk. Double win, because we used the wine glasses as favors! We even had leftovers that we were able to give to the bride. She was able to get a set of wine glasses as a bonus!

For our game, we did a wine tasting:

And the prize was pretty obvious — wine equipment and wine accessories!

The food couldn’t have been easier too. We did classic wine and cheese fare.

It’s easy to decorate too. Just save up wine corks and BAM! you’ve got the decorations and they are on theme! We also saved wine bottles and spray painted them purple and silver. Then using the leftover chalkboard paint in circles on each of the bottles which we were able to use to label the food. It was a fun, creative, and cost effective way to decorate.

 

We had a great time. Here’s some candids.

 

 

It was a beautiful shower and a good time. (The wine didn’t hurt.) It fit the bride and the planning team and didn’t break the bank… I had wine at the bride’s house a couple days ago and she served me the wine in the very glasses we made for her shower.

A Change Will Do You Good…

A Change Will Do You Good… At least in your hair!

Sometimes we need a change. And sometimes, our change can benefit others. Here’s the story of two of my friends who recently chopped off a whole mess of hair and then turned around and donated it.
My friend Michelle just chopped off her long, super straight hair and it looks fabulous. How many inches? She donated 10 inches and her stylist cut even MORE off. She got married in November and looked so beautiful with her long hair.

It’s funny, I feel like as long as I have known Michelle, I have associated her with have glorious long hair. When she decided it was time for a change and decided to donate her hair, it was exciting! She said she was pretty nervous but I think the results are stunning!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 

And then about a week ago, my darling cousin, Erica did the same thing! She also had crazy long hair. I have long been jealous of it. See what I mean?

But she, too, recently decided to cut it off and donate it. Her beautiful hair will now be a gift to someone else. And her new look? I love it!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 

These two lovely ladies make change look good! Bravo to them for their bravery and yeah for the new looks! I am laughing to myself as I write this because I am so desperately trying to grow my hair out. But I do see the benefit in the change and I do think these two make it look good. (Also my hair is STILL shorter than both of these people.) 🙂 Happy Monday!

Rely on Neutrals

I love color. My blog could just as easily be Adventures in Colorful Living (although I think I actually follow a blog with a similar title) but sometimes, a solid outfit is an outfit that relies on pairing neutrals. I got compliments on this outfit (below).

It couldn’t have been easier to put together: Lace T-shirt (from Forever 21), white cardi (also from 21), sick white earrings (from Stella and Dot http://www.stelladot.com/shop/en_us/p/jewelry/earrings/earrings-all/mallorca-chandeliers), and a khaki skirt (INC carried by Macy’s that I’ve had since law school), with my favorite neutral heeled sandals (from Franco Sarto courtesy of Marshall’s). An easy outfit that was springy, comfortable, and high impact — who could ask for anything more?

If you are ready to try neutrals on for size at your convenience, check out these other inspiring neutral looks! Go forth and go crazy — with neutrals!

 

      

Project Journal: Upgrade Your Invitations

We all have tons of projects that we are working on… I love throwing parties and so usually that’s what’s in my project “on deck” circle. I helped throw a shower in March for a dear friend and here’s the secret to easy but wow-inducing invitations: one of the ways to both save money and to personalize invitations is to order the design off Etsy, print them yourself, and embellish. Let’s face it, my motto ought to be a little glitter goes a long way. I found a great print off of Etsy and printed them at Kinkos — I used their industrial paper cutter; it was a bit stressful! Thankfully, I managed to only cut the paper and not my fingers. To finish them up, I hand addressed the envelopes with a coordinating color marker. Don’t hand addressed envelopes add a certain amount of pizzazz? Easy, effective and beautiful! I couldn’t ask for more!

  

Arm Candy!

My friend Meg loves candy and jewelry. So arm candy is probably her dreams come to life. My mom is probably sitting readying this post and thinking: “arm candy? what is she talking about?”

Arm Candy is what is referred to when stylists stack bracelets with or without a watch. It can add dimension, color, or interest to an outfit. Today, I am using my arm candy to help hold together my kelly green and turqouise look.

Here’s my arm candy:

Here’s some examples:

 

It couldn’t be easier to put together arm candy. The best rule of thumb is to stick with one type of metal — gold, silver, and rose gold. Then just have fun with it!!! I love to mix Target pieces with Stella and Dot with cool with vintage touches and whimsy. You really can’t go wrong. I love arm candy because it’s bling-tastic with attitude. How can you incorporate arm candy into your look?

 

 

A case of the Mondays…

Are you dragging today like me?

I have the worst case of the Mondays. It started last night. I had a lovely weekend (even though I had to work all day on Saturday!) but facing coming back to work this morning — even though I love my job — was a hard pill to swallow. Since I am in need of inspiration, you might be as well. So here’s some inspiring things:

To make you smile:

.      

 

And to inspire you to bring your A game this week (we will do a roll call on Friday!):

 

PS: Trying out some new looks for the blog, thoughts?

Adventures in Neon in the Workplace

OK, I might be obsessed with neon.

The closer we get to warm weather, the more you will see neon. I wasn’t sure if neon works for work. But not one to shy away from a challenge, I have been incorporating neon in my work wardrobe. Today, I rocked my latest piece — a neon magenta sweater from Forever 21 — and I got so much positive feedback on it that I decided it was time to spread the word: Neon WORKS! (My big boss told me if there was a power outage, he was following me. I took it as a compliment!)

If you are worried about how to make it “work” for you (see what I did there?), have no fear I have your back! I think the best and easiest way is to introduce signature pieces — like a blazer, pumps, or skirt. Simply pair it with the classics like black and white or stripes and it will work for you and I bet you will get lots of positive feedback. If you are feeling brave add neon accessories!

Try neon and tell me what you think! *Don’t forget to send pics! 🙂

What to Wear — Easter Edition!

Is there a more wonderful time than Spring? It culminates for me on Easter Sunday. My mom and I love to put together our Easter finest. We’ve even been sporting fascinators and small vintage hats in an attempt to bring back traditions of old.

Here’s last year:

Now here’s some inspiring dresses for you:

       Here’s what I am contemplating for myself this year… (I just need to find some sassy accessories to rock it with as well as a hat!)

Maximum Maxi Dress

Maxi dresses are everywhere right now. 

I feel like spring and summer always bring the maxi dress. It is really such a joy to see them back. They are a great way to dress chic AND comfortably. I am always looking for polished looks for my downtime. The best thing about a maxi dress at the end of the day it is just one piece you put on and are done. You don’t have to worry about matching the top or making sure the colors work together. Simply put the dress on, add your favorite sandals, and you are good to go. They come in every color and level of dressiness and they are perfect for EVERY occasion.  I would check out Target. Old Navy, or Marshall’s/TJ Maxx. I wouldn’t consider a maxi dress as a closet staple but a fun indulgence when the weather changes so you don’t need to blow your money on a fancy one — unless you are planning on wearing it to an event. My pregnant girls (there are tons these days) and my moms on the go, these maxis should be calling your name! They work with the accessories you have — denim jackets, cardis, big jewelry, Toms, gladiators, ballet flats, and flips flops. They are great jumping off points to try new accessories or to dust off the old.

Here is a sampling of some of the best and most interesting I’ve seen.As well as two examples of how you might style a maxi dress — for a dinner out (thanks to my fabulous model/mom) or errands on the weekend.

 

 

Ready to try a maxi at home? Here’s two looks: for a night out and errands around town…