weekend lens | Open your heart

The weekend started off with more wine than usual, but we needed it. Too bad the Wine by Joe was only ok.

On Saturday we met S,P&T for dinner at Indika, a nearby Indian fusion restaurant. The food was better than I remember,which is always a good thing.

Later that evening we found ourselves at our yearly visit to SoBe, for Madonnarama. All Madonna, all night. Yes, please. And no, we did not stay until 5AM (those days are LONG over!).

I am not sure why S&I haven't been friends from before. I've known who she was for a long time but we have only started hanging out this last year. Besides the fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous, she's smart, funny and loves to dance. What's not to love!

Today I spent some time with some other girlfriends at the Earth Day festival by my place.


top&pants: Gap / shoes: Urban Outfitters / earrings: Francesca's / bangles: Loft / bag: MarcJacobs
I actually danced in these platforms all evening on Saturday night and my feet weren't completely shot afterwards. That's a plus!

weekend casual | that pink sweater again

The hubs and I had a pseudo movie and dinner date yesterday. (Well, I suppose we can call it a real date night, although I guess technically everything we do together could be called a date).


Daniel Day-Lewis was amazing as Lincoln and, to attest to Spielberg's directing talents, I was on the edge of my seat when the House was counting the votes for the 13th amendment, even though I know how it turns out :)


Afterwards we went to our favorite vegetarian restaurant in town, Radical Eats. I ordered the special: vegan pho, what was absolutely delicious. Anyone who thinks vegetarian food doesn't have any taste obviously hasn't tried hard enough to look for it.


sweater: Uniqlo / jeans: Old Navy / shoes: Converse / sunnies: Dsquared / scarf: India / bag: MarcJacobs
You can't really tell from this photos, but these jeans, a Christmas gift from Joe's sister, has tiny little polka dots on them. I've been addicted to brightly colored and fun jeans this season. I think a slightly oversized sweater or sweatshirt with a big heart would be perfect with this. But I will make do with pink.

weekend casual | that time of year again

The hubs braved the cold, windy and wet conditions to run a 7:30 half-marathon pace. We made it out just in time to see him past by and this, unfortunately, was the best shot I took.


jacket: Gap / jeans: AG / boots: Nordstrom Rack / scarf: India / bag: MarcJacobs
Only in Houston will you find muggy 70+ degree weather one day and cold 40s the next. Finally had a reason to bust out my bright cords today!

working wardrobe | easy come, easy go

top&skirt: Anthro / cardi: Target / shoes: MarcJacobs / earrings: gift'd
We were having such perfect fall weather last week but now back into the 80s for Thanksgiving. Oh well, I would rather be a bit on the balmy side than shoveling snow.


If you had told me a few years ago I would be wearing a ruffled skirt to work on a regular basis, I would have thought you were crazy, but apparently this works for me :)


And I have finished my Project Life spread for the week but unfortunately haven't been able to photograph it properly. When the sun goes down around 5 pm, many photo opportunities are lost!

Fall Colors | teal(ish)

top&shoes: Old Navy / jeans: Gap / scarf: Orla Kiely for Uniqlo / necklace: gift'd / bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Happy Monday! I actually have the day off today so am going to try to be more productive than I was yesterday.  The weekend was a pretty lazy one for me - the hubs went to Austin for a boys trip and I stayed home the majority of the time. Sometimes I like not having anything on the agenda.

Some weekend gratitude:

I am thankful that Luis had a cancellation and I was able to get my color touched up sooner than December. Those white hairs keep popping up more and more!


I am thankful for hanging out with the hubs and watching some chick flicks - Sex in the City (never get tired of the 1st one) and He's Just Not that Into You (a bit silly, but something touching about it too).

Here's to a great week :)

working wardrobe | on the mend

dress: Banana / cardi: Loft / shoes: Tory Burch
I think I am almost over this thing that has been kicking my a$$ for the past 2 weeks. Actually slept without being woken up by hacking coughs for the last 2 nights, although I am basically almost sleeping sitting up since lying flat seems to make it worse still.


dress: ABS / cardi: Gap / shoes: MarcJacobs / sunnies: Dsquared / jewelry: Collingnon Designs
I don't normally wear a huge amount of makeup on a good day, but I definitely couldn't be bothered this week. It would all wipe off with the amount I am blowing my nose!


dress: Loft / cardi: Target / shoes: Geox
And the trend for the week so far - dresses with cardis. Easy, comfy and don't have to think about it.


We went to a movie last night. It had so much potential, but wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. Did bring back high school flashbacks and how I am so happy I survived that part of my life!

travel style | keep it simple

top: Kirna Zabete for Target / jeans: Uniqlo / boots: Anthro / scarf: Lululemon / bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Visiting New York in the fall is a great way to wear all the cooler weather clothes that I have accumulated in my wardrobe, but rarely use in the heat of the Texas weather. Our trip this time around was much warmer than we anticipated, but still nice fall temperatures.


top: Old Navy / jeans: Gap
I basically wore the same thing the whole time we were there, just changed the colors. While I love having cool outfit photos to post on the blog, sometimes enjoying the vacation is simply more important.


top: Uniqlo / scarf: Orla Keily for Uniqlo
We did do a bit of damage at Uniqlo this time around. I love that store. But I am actually glad it wasn't too cold because they always have the coolest cashmere sweaters with fabulous colors, but I need a wool sweater as much as I need a puffer vest. So I was good this time around and only bought things that I hope to actually wear. Coming to a post near you :)

weekend casual | stripes, please (and some accountability)

dress: Gap / shoes: Sam Edelman / sunnies: Dsquared / bag: Marc by MarcJacobs
Shopping seems to occur the most for me during the changing of the seasons. Down here in Texas, when stores are bringing out fall sweaters and boots, the temperatures are still in the 90s so I am not so inclined to by a sweater. Conversely, summer items end up going on sale and I love a good deal, like this dress, which was on sale with an additional 40% off.


Insanely out-of-control closet
That said, even though I think of myself as a good bargain hunter, my closet is so full I really don't need another dress. And since moving into our new place, I have been really bad about sticking to my 1-in-2-out rule. I am writing this now so I can keep myself accountable to you, dear reader. Please keep me to it!

new schedule

tunic: Missoni for Target / pants: J.Crew / shoes: Marc Jacobs / bangles: Calypso for Target
We started new hours at work this month - only one late day and only one working Saturday a month. While I will miss our every other 3-day weekend, I am looking forward to having a more "normal" schedule and more free Saturdays.


POTD: where I stand
I love these brown flats, but can only wear them during cooler temps as they are made of velvet. And this month, to mix things up, I will be taking my photo-of-the-day with the Hisptamatic app on my phone. I would love to get the new iPhone 5 just for the better camera, but I still have 1 year on my current contract and would also like them to fix the map app on the new iOS. Maybe Santa will be good to me this year ;)


And these pants haven't been outside my closet since last year. I wore them to death before and still love them, but have too many choices now. Yes, the closet is getting out-of-control again; more on that later.

Happy Hump Day!

Mondays are hard

top: F21 / shorts: JCrew / shoes: B. Makowsky / necklace&cuff: gift'd / bracelet: Chan Luu / bag: Marc by MJ

Getting up before the sun comes up always seems to be harder on Mondays. Maybe our bodies are missing the relaxation of the weekend? At any rate, here's to hoping for a gentle day back to work for you as well as for me :)

iSmile

This post is directly inspired by this cute lady. I found her through one of kendi's 30-for-30 challenges and have been following her ever since. She has been doing these smiles posts for a while and now that I have an easier way of posting random pictures, I thought I would finally join in.

Little things that made me smile this week:

Free cupcakes from Sprinkles! (Gluten Free Red Velvet, no less)


The early morning light outside my house. One good thing about the time change is that the sun comes out when it should, even though it leaves us way too soon.


I missed this face last week (they went out of town to visit the other side of their family). Baby Buddha is just getting cuter and cuter!


This fun top has served me well over the years.


all items remix'd
top: Old Navy
skirt: Uniqlo
shoes: Marc Jacobs
earrings: Collingnon Designs
necklaces: Calypso for Target

I'm glad I've learned to dress it up for work.

What do you have to smile about today?

Just one of those days

all items remix'd
dress: Loft
shoes: Marc Jacobs
earrings: Collingnon Designs, gift'd
belt: Anthro

Have you ever had a day where you were just in a blah mood for no specific reason at all? That's how I felt yesterday. Maybe it was because I ended up going into work when I had taken the day off. Oh well. The best part about each morning is that it's a fresh new start.

A creative lull

On days when I feel less than inspired by my wardrobe, I pick a fun top and comfy bottoms.


all items remix'd
top: Anthro
skirt: Old Navy
shoes: J. Crew
earrings, bangles: various, gift'd
necklace: Collingnon Designs


all item remix'd
top: Anthro
skirt: Old Navy
shoes: Marc Jacobs
sunnies: Dsquared
earrings: Collingnon Designs, gift'd
cuff: gift'd
bag: LV

The first look is from yesterday and the second from about two weeks ago. I count on Anthro to find unusual tops that are easy to wear. Lately I've been all about comfort. It's weird; I don't feel like shopping but I'm not feeling inspired either. I guess getting dressed has a creative flow too; sometimes you feel it and sometimes you don't. The only difference is that for most of us, getting dressed for public is a necessity while other creative endeavors can be put on the back burner.


While I enjoy having a versatile basick pencil skirt at my disposal, I think I need to shake things up a bit. I know I said I don't feel like shopping but we are going to the shopping mecca of the world (well, for me at least) - NYC - this week! My (shopping) goal is to find some fun pieces at stores not in Houston.


The hubs and I are definitely looking forward to our annual visit to the city. I will make every effort to post something the rest of the week but can make no promises.

P.S. Unfortunately my Chinese cooking skills are really limited to stir fry so those dumplings from last week are not homemade by me. We went to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Bellaire called Yummy Kitchen and they were definitely yummy!

Running out of adjectives

We are having some windy yet warm weather. Too bad the wind doesn't cool the 90-degree temperatures at all!

all items remix'd
top: J. Crew
skirt: Ann Taylor
shoes: Marc Jacobs
earrings: gift'd

One of the best things that has come out of blogging is "meeting" different people from all over. I draw more inspiration from real life stylish chicks than anywhere else. My quandary now is that I feel like I am running out of compliments. Telling someone they look great every time I leave a comment can seem somewhat disingenuous, even though that's what I may feel. After all, I wouldn't be following their blog if I didn't like their style. Any suggetsions?

Feeling cheated

top: Old Navy
pants: J. Crew, remix'd
shoes: Marc Jacobs, remix'd
earrings: gift'd
necklace: Collingnon Designs

We are starting to get temperatures in the 90s this week. I am so not ready for it (again!). I feel a bit cheated because I didn't have a real winter this year.


And the real reason I feel cheated? I didn't get to wear my tall boots as much as I would have liked!

I guess on the flip side, the weekend I am going to search for some more flats to wear to work. As much as I love them, heels definitely make practicing yoga more difficult so I am limiting their wear.

Twice as nice

top: Anthro
cardi: M+O, remix'd
pants: J. Crew, remix'd
shoes: Marc Jacobs, remix'd
earrings: Tiffany's, gift'd&remix'd
necklace: M+O, remix'd

This outfit is basically a different version of yesterday's. And with the same sweater. I am guilty of buying multiples of the same item in different colors, especially when I like them, or when they are really cheap. That was the case of this cardi. I am still a bit sad that Martin+Osa closed - they carried some fun clothes and jewelery, like this necklace I am wearing!

This blouse was yet another extra-25% purchase from Anthro last month. I think I have had my fill of shopping...for now.

Keeping it simple

top: Anthro
jacket: Armani Exchange, remix'd
pants: J. Crew, remix'd
socks: J. Crew, remix'd
shoes: Marc Jacobs, remix'd
necklace: Me&Ro, gift'd&remix'd

I have been drinking a bit too much wine and not working out enough this week. I attribute this to the hubs getting a new job. And the cooler weather: snuggling is much better than running in cold weather :)

Again, today I was not much in the mood for getting dressed for work. Hopefully this will be my last Saturday to work for at least a little bit. I bought this top back in May with my birthday discount, but haven't worn it until today. I think it's time to bring out the rest of my fall clothes!

I hope your Saturday is more fun than mine!


P.S. I decided to end the month on a pink note.

A late start

top: NY+Co, remix'd
skirt: Anthro
shoes: Marc Jacobs, remix'd
necklace: Me&Ro, gift'd&remix'd
belt: Anthro, remix'd

This Anthro skirt is another silhouette that I don't typically wear, but for the price I wanted to try it out. My only complaint is that by the end of the day, wrinkles are everywhere!

Don't you hate when you feel like people are only telling you half-truths, especially at work? I have a sneaking suspicion...


P.S. I am actually wearing a tiny bit of pink today: the piping on my shoes :)

A better week

I was a bit stressed out over work last week...here's to hoping this week will be better. At least it's going to be a short one - off this Saturday as well as next!In celebration of another beautiful day, I am wearing a Libery top from Target. They have everything on sale right now...I am still debating on buying some dresses. And as far as I can tell, none of the Targets around me got the Cynthia Vincent wedges...or they sold out superfast. And I was not enamoured with the Zac Posen line. Maybe if I were 20 years younger...

I'm not sure if you notice, but we painted our front porch yesterday. It took about 3 hours but it looks 100% better now. I think we may work on the front door as well as some trim outside next!