Quick Post!

So here I am again, not posting for days, and feeling absolutely awful about it! I've been working so much lately, I just have not had much time to work on my blog. I figured today would be a good day to write a quickie post due to the huge sale starting at Zara, as well as quite a few other stores today.

Zara happens to be one of my absolute favorite stores. Everything is fashion forward, yet classic. Popping down to the Galleria today, Nicky and I kinda went on a shopping extravaganza. We both went nuts in Zara, picking up dresses, tops, and so on. We then ventured to one of my newer favorites, L.K. Bennett, where I purchased a gorgeous silk shirt dress and a cute robin egg blue sleeveless top.

Most retailers are starting to discount a lot of their spring/summer clothes in favor of moving in fall apparel. Moral of this blog is: take advantage! It's still only the beginning of summer! :)

Happy shopping all!!!!

My Love Affair with French Sole...

Well, it's Wednesday and I have decided today's topic is about another new favorite find of mine...French Sole ballet flats!

Founded by ballet pump lover Jane Winkworth in London in 1989, French Sole has proven to be a very popular brand with celebrities along with the common public. I found it so interesting how this company broke into the fashion market. Ms. Winkworth's flats first hit the big time when another British designer, Catherine Walker, introduced them to Princess Diana in the early 90's - she bought 12 pairs right away! The rest is history. Celebrities such as Olivia Palermo, Scarlett Johannson, Sienna Miller, and Kate Moss are also huge fans.

French Sole ballet pumps are such a great alternative from heels - preserving comfort without sacrificing style. Perfect for pairing with a clutch and a cute little sundress, or even a slouchy bag and skinny jeans.

Here are a few of my favorites (including the pair I own, shown first):

The Henrietta style in light pink croc -

These were created in honor of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (the styles are Annie and Henrietta) -

Lastly, here is the style India in a cream nubuck -

This is just a taste of all the styles/textures/colors offered. FYI, if you are interested in purchasing from French Sole, use the websites www.londonsole.com or www.ASOS.com. These are the US vendors for the brand.

As with other posts, I offer a more budget friendly option of Target. Always up on trends of the moment, they offer lots of styles for less than $20.

Thanks for reading! :)

Happy Tuesday!

As promised, the fashion part of my post is clutch - focused.

For most of the time I have carried a purse, I've been a large bag girl. As much as I love the convenience of having everything I carry in my purse at my fingertips, it proves a challenge for dressing up or going to an event. 

I used to take whatever my regular day bag was out with me for the night, but decided I wanted to start streamlining my night time look. The best way to achieve this - changing out your day bag for a cute little clutch. I love how many different kinds of clutches there are - box, envelope...the list goes on. 

Here is a glimpse into my clutch collection - 

I really like the variety of shapes and sizes I have in my closet. Quite a few of them are able to be dressed up or down. Now, I don't like to play favorites with my accessories, but I just love the uniqueness of the fur clutch by BCBG (see top right). Sure, many people think I'm crazy for carrying such a clutch, but I feel so vampy with it! As for the other clutches, I like to list where I picked them up from so if someone is interested they can try to find one. The list goes as follows: stripe one with strap - Missoni for Target, nude satin clutch - good sale on the Carnival Triumph, purple leopard - Forever 21, black glitter - DSW, pink - ALDO Accessories, and gray - DSW.

As you can tell, most of my clutches are very much fall colors. That being said, I recently purchased one I've had my eye on now for about a year - from British retailer L.K. Bennett. It's a gorgeous woven leather with satin trim and silver metal snap clasp. 

To me, this clutch is such a breath of fresh air - light and breezy, perfect for summer. The neutral nude color opens the door to many outfit options. I would pair this with pretty much any color pump, or even a pair of dressier ballet flats. 

I'm also loving feminine pastels. Here are a few I have come across that have caught my eye:

From Prada - 

From Christian Louboutin - 

And for a more budget friendly option from Target - 

Well, this basically wraps up my post on clutches. I hope everyone can take inspiration from the options I've posted and add a little girlie glamour to your outfits! 

On another note - started back at work after being away for two weeks from nose surgery. It was good to get back into the swing of things. I was very happy to see everyone and hang with friends. I always say Texas is great with wonderful people, but Michigan will always be home, no matter where I end up. It's hard to believe I've lived down in Houston for nearly a year and a half. Such a change from hanging with my core group of girlfriends I have in Michigan. It's amazing how the girls and I could spend months apart, and we pick right back up like no time has passed. 

That being said, having a close family is awesome, and has helped me transition quite easily in such a different place. Another big helper is, of course, this gal:

Minnie! I really cannot stress enough what a rock a pet can be. And that doesn't just include cats - dogs, fish, hamsters, etc. are also good! :) Minnie is just like a child to me. Cannot imagine life without my furry companion!

Well, that wraps up my post for today! Hope everyone is having a good week and happy shopping!

First Fashion Post!

As I sit here sipping a Corona, pondering what I should write about, I got to thinking about summer fashion for super hot places, ala Texas. So here goes nothing on my first post dealing with fashion.

Now, living in Houston, I must admit it's a bit of a challenge to dress for Houston weather without just giving up and throwing on a wife beater, shorts, and flip flops. I admit it - I used to do just that all throughout college, even up until last summer (my first summer in this heat box). Growing more accustomed to the heat in my second summer, I've been trying to dress more classic with a touch of trendy. That being said, there are plenty of options for looking cute, but not over dressy. This is where the ever popular sundresses and wedges come in. It seems ever since February, I have LIVED in wedges. Coming in both short and tall, I have all ranges and types. To highlight a few of my favorites, I'm posting pictures as well as where I purchased them from.

First up are my newest acquisition, the Minx sandal from Stuart Weitzman.

 

I am absolutely smitten with both the cork material and lovely neutral camel color! These wedges are so versatile, really going with any outfit. They just scream warm weather and fun. Yes, they may be almost 5 inches tall, but are honestly so cushy and comfy. 

Next is the Imperia wedge from Pied a Terre, a British shoe brand.

These are my go to wedges for something a little more dressy, being a closed toe shoe. In matter of fact, I own these in black, navy, and cream. They are another very versatile wedge that shines in the comfort department. Favorite item to wear with these - any dress!

Another pretty recent purchase was from another British retailer, L.K. Bennett - called Rosie.

These are by far the best alternative to wearing a high heel out for a night on the town. They are patent leather, so they still give off a chic vibe - especially with any little black dress. I wanna say they came in either black, navy, or pink patent. These are from a season ago, so I don't know their current availability.

And finally, for a full on business casual wedge, I offer this chic faux patent leather shoe from Anne Klein.

Found these wedges at TJ Maxx for only $30! Offered in black, nude, and navy, these are perfect for the work place and add style to any boring office outfit, as well as comfort. I have these in black, and just love how they can be dressed down as well.

On another slightly different note, sundresses are an important staple in my summer wardrobe with their easy breezy style. I just love how they are able to be dressed up or down. I'm not gonna go into 4 different examples of sundresses I have found because I feel it's just not as exciting of a topic as shoes are. Maybe I'm just biased. Anywho, I recently discovered an Irish designer named Orla Kiely a few months ago. I fell immediately in love with her designs. They are so colorful and charming! The patterns look a bit crazy, but it really adds energy to her line. I have bought a few things from her line, both clothes and accessories, but I just fell in love with this dress! 

I actually wore it for the first time today with these cream Pied a Terre wedges.

They worked so harmoniously with the dress! I just loved this look today for Father's Day.

I guess I will wrap this post up for tonight. I've decided for tomorrow's post, I shall blog about clutches (another staple for my wardrobe!) and progress from my nose surgery.

Night y'all! :)

Nearly a year later...

So...it's been a while. Holy cow. It's 5:30 in the morning. Starting to become an insomniac again...oh boy. Well, here's an intro to my life. The love of my life is my 3 year old tabby mix, meet Minnie.

Minnie has many a nickname. I won't get into all of them, but some of the highlights include "floof floof tail", "Meemers", "Mimmy", and "Minerva". You get the point. Funny story about when I took Minnie in. It was summer of 2009, and I had just graduated from Michigan State University. I always wanted a pet to call my own, and had recently taken a liking to cats. My roommate Liz and I went (at the suggestion of our friend Katie) to see two little kittens on her friend's farm in St. John. Naturally, Liz and I could not resist them and knew they had to be ours. Knowing how strict my parents are about pets and surprise adoptions, I insisted I took Minnie in from the terrors of living as a helpless kitten on the dangerous roads of Cedar Village (yep, the place that appears on CNN during the riots whilst MSU is in the NCAA tourney). Believing this to be true, they RELUCTANTLY let me keep her. Today, I don't know what I would do without her. She made the 3 day trip during the middle of the winter with me to move to Houston. She was my rock, even when times got tough and I was so incredibly scared driving though Arkansas with creepy truckers and black ice.

Now that y'all have been introduced to my pride and joy, here's the rest of my family.

Meet Bob and Sue. They are, of course, my parents. Honestly could not have asked for better parents. They know how to lay down the law, but still have great fun. So many great family memories already, and I'm only 25.

Aren't they cute? I just adore them. I have to admit, it really was rough living away from them for the year they moved down to Texas before I did. But, we're all reunited now, and are enjoying eachothers' company.

Meet my sister, Nicky and her mini dachshund, Kailani.

My sister is without a doubt my best friend. With there being only 3.5 years difference between us, we had our share of scuffles when we were younger, but get along quite well now. Well, for the most part. We still brawl from time to time, but don't all siblings?

Next up are our family tabbies, Max and Jamba.

These two are brother and sister. Our family calls them the "skinny tails" because, well, they have skinny tails. Haha They are definitely quite a bit more stand off-ish than Minnie, but still very sweet. Quite loyal to my Dad.

Finally, meet Hershey.

She's our spunky old gal Cock-a-poo. "Hersh" was adopted after our old family dog had passed back in 2001. Her story was quite sad. Her original family went on vacation, took her to a kennel, and never came back for her. So disgusting. But, then again, we wouldn't have this little angel if it wasn't for that family. Things always have ways of working out mysteriously.

So, this wraps up the meet and greet of my family/pets. Oh, and I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Laura.

That's me on the left. Back when I was blonde, and pre - nose job, a year and a half ago. That's my good friend Margaret with me. Known her since forever and a day. But, that's for another post. My friends will definitely sneak in here and there in my posts from time to time.

Now I'm getting tired. I think that's enough for now. Will blog again tomorrow at a more proper hour, to cover what I did with my closet and progress on healing from nose surgery. Be prepared to be impressed!!!

Night all.