Friday, July 31, 2015

Anniversary Sale Wrap Up

I have mentioned a few of the things I bought at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale but I thought I would give a wrap up of everything I bought.  The sale ends Sunday so there are still a few more days to shop if you see something you just have to have!


You have already heard about these comfy pajama pants but I am currently wearing them so I figured that justified showing them again.  Even though it was about 90 today my mother-in-law keeps her place very cold so they are perfect for sitting on her couch relaxing.  Shhhh I got the same pants as my polka dot ones for someone I love.  I can't tell you who, but look how cute these pink striped ones are.  I know she will get lots of use out of them.



I have lost about 15 pounds so far (I still have a bit more to lose) so I decided this justified some new purple workout clothes.  Pictures of me actually in the clothes to come for but now the models will have to do.  I have already been able to wear this shirt but I am going to have to wait a few months before it is cool enough not to roast in the jacket.
















Obviously I couldn't let an Anniversary Sale pass without stocking up on some Hanky Panky. World's most comfortable thong!  I am super picky about my bras (years working in lingerie will do that to a girl) and I wasn't crazy about any of the bras that were on sale in my size this year.  I needed a new bra so I ended up buying the Chantelle one that I wanted and not worrying about it.  I own many Natori Feathers in many colors and even though it was on sale I decided I didn't need another one.  If they had it in purple than it might have been a different story.  I ended up getting a black one as a birthday present for one of my sisters.


The last thing I ended up buying for myself and keeping (there were many things I tried on that I didn't keep) was this polka dot cardigan.  Yes, I have a thing for polka dots!  Ignore that the model makes this sweater look kind of frumpy.  I swear it looks better in real life on a real me!


I am sure I have forgotten a few things that came home with me from the woman's department but I did venture to the men's department this year to get my dad a birthday present.  He said he wanted a sweater and a navy blue v-neck sweater is what he got.  Anyone who knows my dad has no trouble picturing him wearing this.


I think that is enough shopping talk for one (very long post) so Happy Friday!



Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Another What's Up Wednesday

I had fun doing this last few months so I am linking up with What's Up Wednesday again.


What we're eating this week:  My fiancee and I have had a fairly busy couple of weeks so when I was actually home Sunday afternoon I took advantage of it and made food for the whole week.  I made a zucchini meatball with marinara sauce to go over some pasta and I also made a bean and veggie mixture as a burrito filling.

What I'm reminiscing about: It has been hot this week so I am reminiscing about being in Hawaii.  At least in Hawaii when I got hot I could just hop in the pool or the ocean and who is going to complain about this view!


What I'm loving: I am loving that in less than a year I get to marry the love of my life.  We started our pre-marital prep classes yesterday and we are acing them if I do say so myself.

What we've been up to: I feel like we have be doing a million things this month.  Birthdays, going away parties, weddings, shopping we have done it all! We went to my cousin's wedding last week and all the festivities that go with that.  It made me even more excited for my own wedding!



What I'm dreading: As usual I am still dreading that we have more hot weather ahead of us before we get to fall (or winter) and cooler weather.  I keep hearing we are going to have a crazy wet winter but I will believe that when I see it!

What I'm working on: Last weekend my fiancee and I went wine tasting in Livermore with my family for my youngest sisters birthday.  While we were there my cousin took some photos of my fiancee and I among the grapes in hopes of using one of them (or one from the wedding last week) on our Save-the-Dates.  My goal is to get my Save-the-Dates ordered in the next week or so and then get them all mailed out in August.


What I'm excited about: It may sound silly but I have been so busy that I am actually just looking forward to staying home this weekend and getting things done around the house.  My family has lots of birthdays and such in July and my fiancee's family has lots of birthdays and such in August so this weekend is kind of the rest between the two.

What I'm watching/reading: Still working my way through all the seasons of Survivor on Hulu.  I have a few more seasons to go and I am open to suggestions as to what show I should watch next.  I am also still reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  I didn't get as far into the book this month as I had hopped so I am still reserving judgement.



What I'm listening to: Mostly whatever comes on my Pandora which is usually a mix of country and a random mix of 90s-00s pop music.  Everyone needs some Britney in their life every once in a while.

What I'm wearing: I did plenty of damage at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale though in my defense I did manage to buy presents for my entire family and some of my fiancee's too as part of that damage.  Of course I stocked up on my Hanky Panky but I won't be showing you me modeling them!  I am a big fan of polka dots so I was imediately drawn to this pair of pajama pants.  It made it even better than they are less than $25.


If it ever cools down I am looking forward to wearing my new super cute workout jacket that I also picked up at the Anniversary Sale.  That back is just too cute.  No picture of me actually wearing it yet because it is just took darn hot still! 



What I'm doing this weekend: A whole lot of nothing!  Ok not nothing, but I have no plans to go anywhere besides general household errands.  I have grand plans to clean out my kitchen cabinets.  I know that sounds like a really exciting weekends but sometimes quiet productive weekends are necessary.

What Will You Miss Most About Summer: I will miss the fresh berries that are so plentiful during summer.  I don't love the heat (especially without air conditioning) but I do enjoy sitting on a balcony or patio of a restaurant and having a cocktail on a warm evening.


Monday, July 27, 2015

Favorite Red White & Blue

I am linking up to today!


Even though the 4th of July is at the beginning of the month the topic for July is Red, White & Blue.

For the first time this year I actually decorated specifically for the 4th of July.  I pulled out all of my red, white and blue decorations and bought a few new things to add to what I already had.






Blue and I are good friends when it comes to clothes.  I wear a lot of blue (and white) and I don't shy away from bright lipsticks.  Needless to say, this leads to many days where I am wearing clothing that are blue and white along with some red lipsticks. Patriotic without even trying! I have more striped maxi dresses than I care to admit and the majority of them are shades of blue.



You can't see it super well in the photo above but my current favorite thing to wear with my white pants is this Eyelet Hem Sweater. It is a lightweight sweater but what I really like it that it is long enough to cover my rear.  Always an added bonus when I don't have to worry about my underwear showing in white pants.




Wednesday, July 22, 2015

A Wedding Weekend (No, not my wedding)

On of my cousins got married on Monday so I went down to Salinas Saturday morning to participate in all the festivities. My fiancee joined me down there on Sunday afternoon to join in the fun.

My sister and I had originally planned to have a little bachelorette party for the bride on Saturday night.  This plan didn't come to fruition so we decided to take the bride and groom wine tasting instead.


My uncle (the groom's dad) agreed drive us around wine tasting so we set off on our adventure.  It is kind of hard to tell from this picture but the bride and the groom both have fabulous sashes that my sister made for them.


The third (and final) winery we went to had these really fun red frames and we couldn't resist taking a few fun pictures before we headed home.  


I was doing a reading at the wedding so Sunday I headed to church for the rehearsal.  The weather this weekend was bizarre.  So hot and humid!  I know this is normal for the rest of the country, but there is no such thing as rain or humidity in a Monterey County summer so we are vastly unprepared in the air conditioning department.  We sweated our way through the rehearsal and then headed to dinner where we all drank our weight in ice water.  Ok, there were other things that we drank in addition to water too.


I don't have any photos of the ceremony (I was busy) but it can't be a wedding post without a few pictures of the bride and her dress!  She is beautiful and she looked beautiful in her dress.


The reception was at my aunt and uncle's house.  They set up these really cute hearts that hung from their pergola. I made the bride and groom pose it the heart because who doesn't need cheesy heart pictures? Congratulations to the bride and groom!


After the bride and groom were done taking pictures I couldn't resist taking a few heart pictures with my handsome fiancee.


I never got around to taking engagement photos so I am contemplating using one of these heart pictures on our save the dates.  Any thoughts?


Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Summer Decorations

As I have said before summer isn't really that conducive to fun holiday themed decorations. I took my patriotic decorations and put up a few summery feeling decorations.


I found this twine and twig wreath at Target in the dollar section a few months ago.  I didn't have a plan for it at the time but I figured I could decorate it at some point.  Some of the flowers I used in my spring decorations had twist ties on the back of them so I added them to the wreath.  


I like that since the flowers are just twist tied onto the wreath I can take them off and use them again for other things.  I am not sure what the final version of my wreath will be but this works for now.


I again decided to leave the grass in my wooden bowl again.  I added a few flowers and some really cute baby flip flops to make my centerpiece feel a bit summery.

This chipper sign is another dollar spot find from Target that I just bought because I like it.  I didn't have any specific plans for it at the time but it looks great next to my jar of corks.  


Happy Summer!

Sunday, July 12, 2015

My Second Stitch Fix

I got my second Stitch Fix on Thursday.  I knew it as being delivered so I made my fiancee stop at the mailbox on our way to his mom's house, because I didn't want to wait another day for it!  He didn't share my enthusiasm but he indulged me anyway.

My box had 2 dresses, a pair of pants, a shirt and a necklace.


This is the shirt and the pants that came in my box.  I took the pants out of the box and just about started laughing.  They looked so tiny that I knew there was no way I was going to even get them on over my hips.  The pants were really stretchy and proved me wrong but I am still not keeping them.


I don't wear pants very often, but when I do I wear them to work.  I have never been able to make fitted pants work appropriate and as you can see from the above picture these pants are no exception. Showing off my rear end is not the goal for work clothes.


The shirt that came in my box was really cute.  It had an interesting neckline and will look great with a pencil skirt.  I am definitely keeping this shirt.


This blue polka dot dress and long necklace were the next things I tried on.  I have not made my final decision on whether to keep either of these pieces.


I love the color of this dress and the polka dots but I am not completely sold on the high neckline.  I feel like high necklines sometimes make my chest look kind of funny.  I can't decide on this one.  Opinions are welcome!


This necklace has a black design on one side and diamonds on the other.  I like that it is long and delicate but I can't decide if I will wear it enough to justify keeping it.  Again, opinions are welcome!


The final thing in my box was this pink dress.  I like this dress and its interesting neckline, but I am not sold on the color.  If this dress was cheaper I might think about keeping but I can't justify spending over $100 on a dress that I don't have an occasion to wear it for. 


 I actually found this same dress in really pretty blue on the Nordstrom website so if I ever do have an occasion I might think about ordering the blue one.  It makes my butt look good so that is always a good thing.


I am keeping the shirt and still making up my mind on the necklace and blue dress.

If you are thinking about trying Stitch Fix and want to use my referral link that would be great. https://www.stitchfix.com/referral/3489719 If you just want to enjoy looking at my pictures of my fixes that is great too!

Friday, July 10, 2015

The Legion of Honor-High Style

Last weekend I went to San Francisco and met a friend at the Legion of Honor to see a fashion exhibit.


It was a holiday weekend and I didn't want to take my car to the city so I hopped on the Caltrain.  I live a few blocks from a Caltrain station but my station is a commuter station which only runs on weekdays. My fiancee dropped me off at the closest station and I headed to San Francisco.  I took the baby bullet up and it only takes about an hour.  The way back on a non-bullet train took about an hour and forty five minutes, sadly.


My friend picked me up and we headed to the museum. I have a membership to the De Young museum and as part of my membership I also have a membership to the Legion of Honor.  I have been to the De Young lots of times but hadn't been to the Legion of Honor in years.


When we headed into the museum we headed straight for the fashion exhibit.  There were quite a few people there but not nearly as many was I was expecting for a holiday weekend. The exhibit is a collection of clothes and shoes from the Brooklyn Museum's Costume Collection. We quite enjoyed looking at the clothes in the exhibit even though we had actually seen some of the clothes before.  We had gone to New York about 5 years ago and actually seen a fashion exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art that contained some of the same pieces.  There were some really pretty pieces but as expected no flash photography was allowed.

After looking at the fashion exhibit we took a break and split a carafe of wine in the cafe and enjoyed the view.  Fashion, a girl friend and some wine sounds like a good time to me!


We went and looked a few more rooms in the museum and then headed out.  The view of the ocean from the parking lot was so pretty I had to stop and take a picture.



The exhibit runs for another two weeks so if you are local I recommend checking out.  The exhibit is not huge and actually the museum as a whole is not huge.  You could spend about half a day there and see the whole thing without too much trouble.