Style Me Pretty

Exciting news! As many of you know, in addition to fashion blogging and slaving my life away in the corporate world during the day, I have a little side venture where I make decorative soaps for various special events, like bridal showers, weddings, baby showers, and so forth. I recently gifted soap favors to one of my especially dear friends as a wedding gift, and her gorgeous wedding was featured yesterday on one of my favorite sites: Style Me Pretty. It was such an honor to be able to contribute to such an amazing and classic wedding, and I'm glad that this feature gave her the recognition she deserves for all the hard work and planning that went into putting together such a fabulous event. She also gave me and "the soapery" some love in the feature, so I'm hoping that the calls for wedding soap favors will start coming in and I can finally retire from the corporate grind. A girl can dream, right?

Also, kudos to you if you can find me in the feature. I was a bridesmaid, so you'll catch me in a couple of the photos wearing an elegant satin Banana Republic dress (picked by the bride and so reasonably priced!) and some killer heels reminiscent of Carrie Bradshaw's pink ruffled Christian Louboutin's with the chiffon cascade that I scored for a bargain at DSW two days before the wedding.

Touch of Glam

Top - Target, Vest - PiperLime, Bandage skirt - F21, Boots - ?, Sunglasses - Street vendor

Admittedly, when I first bought this fur vest, I wasn't very sure how versatile it was going to be. I just knew that I wanted it (which I know is a terrible way to shop). But since I've gotten it, I've found that it is a great piece with a lot of potential. It actually works with a lot of different looks, including jeans, skirts, dresses, and even shorts with tights and booties. Now that the weather is warming up, I have to scramble to rock all of my cold weather favorites before I need to put them away until next year or figure out a way to springicize them. (Yep, I'm making up words again). Still I think there are certain pieces that just can't be springicized. Among these are a gorgeous vintage fur wrap, a few vintage fur mufflers, and a vintage Burberry trenchcoat gifted to me by my aunt. It seems like I can never keep up with the seasons. So my goal is to wear each of these pieces in the next few weeks so they get their day in the sun, so to speak. Hopefully, I won't have to wear them all on the same day to reach my goal, but please promise to laugh and point at me if I do.

My Mobile Life

(from left to right) GREAT fortune from my fave Chinese restaurant * What my pup does all day long, stare out the window and people watch * YUMMY green onion, ham, and cheese "egglets" that I made after getting inspiration from my friend Annie at The Shiny Life * My pup, fresh from the groomer * Perfect rose that bloomed from my Vday bouquet * Flowers the Boyfriend had delivered to my office to brighten up my desk * Hand spun cotton candy served at a restaurant we went to for Chinese New Year dinner * The scoreboard at the AT&T Pro-Am golf tournament at Pebble Beach golf course in Monterey, CA * Windy but gorgeous day at Pebble Beach * Aside from staring at celebrities like Tiger Woods, Chris O'Donnell, Josh Duhamel, and Bill Murray, I spent my time being impressed with the gorgeous views of the course at Pebble Beach * Winning free burgers at an NBA game * The most delicious banana cream pie I've ever had * My empty apartment on my last day there * Nothing better after a day of strenuous moving than some hot pho * Patent leather nude flats, finally! * My fave sushi dish - pepperfin tuna carpaccio in jalapeno ponzu sauce * A cold and dreary winter morning that looked like something out of a horror flick * My pup and I sometimes spoon * Navy and orange - my fave color combo! * Rocking leopard heels to work * The most delicious reuben sandwich at Capriotti's in Beverly Hills * It's Its are the greatest invention * A new warm knit scarf muffler that I love * Boyfriend and I order hot chocolate and an Arnold Palmer at a comedy club with a two-drink minimum because we are weird like that.

I swear these days, I feel like my life is one big blur. Between the move, all of the various social events that seem to not stop, and the huge pile of work that I had to take on because my co-worker resigned suddenly, I feel like I blink and two weeks have gone by. And not in a good way! Thank goodness for my trusty iPhone, which gives me the chance to record some of my fave moments (yes, and most involve food!) and reminds me of the fun I've had, even if I can't remember it all with all the hectic jumble of thoughts that seem to have taken up permanent resident in my brain.

This weekend is going to be a busy one (again!), but I'm going to try really hard to carve out some "me" time. I've realized that the old adage of "take time to stop and smell the roses" is truly good advice that I plan to take this weekend. Although, in my case, it will probably stopping to smell the cupcakes ... or some gourmet cheese... or maybe a new pair of shoes. What, you don't smell your new shoes?

Have a great weekend!

Too Easy

Shirt - gifted, Jeans - F21, Shoes - ModCloth, Necklace - Banana Republic

So, I think I might have to retire as a fashion blogger because lately all I want to seem to do these days is to wear a bright color with black and then a leopard print to tie the whole thing together. You saw here how I incorporated a leopard print scarf with a deep red and here where I threw in a leopard belt to go with a deep teal shirt. It's just too easy to incorporate a little leopard to make an otherwise plain outfit just come together. Tomorrow you will see me throw on some leopard socks. And the day after that, it will be a leopard glove (just one). And maybe the day after that, I'll hit you with a leopard hat. Just kidding. I wouldn't wear just one glove in this cold.

Hope you all had a restful and lovely three-day weekend. I spent mine unpacking, catching up with some of my girls, unpacking, shopping, unpacking, dimsumming, and unpacking. Fingers crossed, I will be all unpacked by the end of tonight (so help me GOD), so I can get my life back!

A Little Romance

Cropped jacket - H&M, Dress - F21, Belt - ModCloth

First off, I have to apologize for the quality of these photos. I hate taking photos at night because they turn out like this. The shadow in the background is giving me this weird blurry, double-vision thing that is less than desirable, but I wanted to do a quick post of what I wore to Valentines' Day dinner.

I wanted to go girly (thus, the pink) but not over-the-top, since Valentines' Day is already such an over-the-top holiday. So, I opted to go simple, pairing black with this nonfussy dress and adding an adorable leather bow belt that I've been dying to wear. I also liked trying the opaque tights + hidden platform pumps look that I've seen other girls rocking. It truly elongates your legs, which is always a plus when you're a shorty like me. As you can see below, dinner was amazingly delicious, and it was just so nice to take a night off from unpacking and settling into the new place to relax and enjoy some romance. And by romance, I am referring to the love between me and my meal last night. Just kidding. (Not kidding).

Boyfriend ended the night by giving me my very own, monogrammed, Egyptian cotton hotel robe (because he knows how excited I get when hotels give you robes). Now I can pretend I'm vacationing even when I'm at home. I hope he's ready to provide room service and housekeeping. Hope you all had a great night too!

And as you probably expected...here comes the food porn. Our meal was DELICIOUS.

Jalapeno skillet cornbread, my fave!

Roasted organic chicken and Spanish rice.

I'm a sucker for grilled corn. This corn was grilled with chili butter. Swoon.

Bocce Ball cocktail - vodka, pineapple juice, orange juice, and yummy goodness

Fresh strawberry shortcake



Ree-dee-ku-lous Obsession with Love

Nothing says love like some red velvet cake! (Photo via Pinterest)

Happy Valentines' Day!

Whether you have a special someone or not, I'm hoping that your day is filled with sweets and kindess and love. I remember the many years that I was single, and I thought Valentines' Day was a holiday for letting people in relationships feel smug and people who were single feel tortured. But over the years, I've realized that today is a day to celebrate "love," and love is for everyone! Today I celebrate my love for my family, my friends, my puppy, my mans, my new leopard flats, my pumpkin ice cream stashed in the fridge...you get the idea. I'm very in love with love! And I don't mind having a day to indulge in that. Besides, today is a day when sweets and chocolate are plentiful, no matter where you go, so you'll get no complaints from me. Even my sterile corporate office has chocolate lingering about everywhere, and that is saying something.

So this post is dedicated to things that I love (all in VERY different ways). And here's a special heartfelt wish for all of you...hope you have a lot of love to celebrate today like I do...Happy Love Day!

I love me some shoes. (Photo via Song of Style)



I love girls' nights out/in. (Photo Credit)



LOVE those French Macaroons. (Photo via Pinterest)

Yes, I love my iPhone, I will admit it. You know you do too! (Photo via Apple)



I LOVE my sisters. Sisters are like built-in best friends. I don't know what I'd do without them! (Photo credit)

I LOVE polka dots!



I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my pup. She brings me more joy than I ever imagined.

And finally, I LOVE the mans. I'm not one to gush, but he really is one of the most understanding, forgiving, and sweet people I have ever met. He always makes me feel beautiful, even on my most ugliest and insecurest (is that a word?) of days, and he keeps me laughing, which is not always the easiest task with all the stressful things I have going on in my life. And although he also makes a LOT (I mean, a LOT. Did I mention, a LOT?) of mistakes, he also makes amazing recoveries, which keeps things interesting (to say the least) after all these years. Happy Valentines' Day, Boyfriend! 





Timeless

My mama at dinner with her friend, circa 1969

Happy Friday, everyone! I promised you way back when that I would try and post some old photos that I discovered when I was home for the holidays last month of my beautiful, extremely fashionable, and always inspiring mama. These pictures are all circa 1960 to 1977, and gosh, wasn't my mom just gorgeous? She was a fashion school student in NYC back then and so many of these amazing outfits were designed and made by her. I know I get my love of fashion from her, and over the years, I have learned so much from her about putting outfits and looks together. She is an amazing woman, and she continues to inspire me with her impeccable style today. She always looks like she stepped out of a fashion magazine, which is particularly inspiring to me on days when all I want to do is wear jeans and a sweatshirt and ratty tennies. (My mother would faint if I went out in public like that!)

It's hard to believe that she is my age in these photos, and with my obsession with vintage, I don't know why I never thought before to peruse through her old photos for some vintage inspiration. Let's just say that I am SERIOUSLY inspired by her amazing looks, and I hope you are too! So many of these looks, the cropped pants, the bright colored coats, the fur, the high-waisted jeans, can be found in my closet right now, which just makes me realize how timeless some of these pieces are. It made me wonder what my kids will say one day when they look at old photos of me. I hope they will be inspired and awed like I am with my mother, but I'm more afraid that they will ask me why I wore so much leopard and polka dots. Sigh. 

I highly encourage all you other vintage lovers out there to peruse your parents' or grandparents' old photographs for inspiration. It's like watching Mad Men but without the scotch, cigarettes, and infidelity.

Totally looks like something out of a catalog, doesn't it? I LOVE the cropped pants and cardigan draped over the shoulders!

I never thought of rocking chocolate brown and taupe, but this look is so sophisticated and sleek. 

Am totally stealing this look from her. I can't wait to find a colorful striped tee to rock with my high-waisted jeans!

This photo was taken as my mom touched down in Miami in 1971 for her honeymoon. She made this gorgeous cape herself, and is rocking a navy-blue mini dress under it, with knee-high boots and a silk scarf in her hair. Swoon.

I've been OBSESSED with finding a chocolate brown fur muffler ever since I saw this picture!

LOVE the two-toned, tee-strap pointy heels, as well as the divine little clutch, in this photo. 

My mom still loves red today. I tend to shy away from it, but I shouldn't because it looks great with our coloring!

Candy Coated

Coat - Lulu's, Scarf - F21, Top - Old, Flats - Local Boutique

So if you're not new to BSMMH, I think you know that I have a serious affinity for bright colored coats in the winter time. I am a bit coat-obsessed actually! Nothing cuts through the gloom of winter quicker than a spiffy, bright coat, whether it be yellow, lime green, or deep plum. And with my very public love of orange, you knew it was only a matter of time before I had a bright orange coat to round out my collection. Sorry the coat turned out a little more red than orange in the pictures. Sometimes my camera has a mind of its own.

I love how this coat just adds such pep to an otherwise simple outfit. The key with wearing bright colored coats is to keep the rest of the outfit simple, since you don't want to attack anyone's eyes. I usually wear complementary or color blocking colors underneath to keep the attention on the coat (as if you could look anywhere else with that bright orange, I know). I thought the polka dots added a little extra fun and allowed the white to break up all the blue. Because the coat is not too bulky, I plan on wearing this puppy well into spring, with skirts and dresses, as well as jeans.

Do you have a bright colored coat you like to wear to combat the gloomy days of winter? Here are some cute, versatile, and affordable options, if you're in the market for one!

ModCloth

ASOS

John Lewis

ModCloth

Bloomingdales

Closet Control

Jacket - Vertigo Paris, Top - F21, Jeans - Mavi

I'm so terribly sorry about the lack of posting this week, but I have been spending every living, waking moment outside of work packing and crying and cleaning and yelling and unpacking and whining. It's been a harrowing week, but I'm finally moved out of my old place and all moved into my new place. Now, if I could just find someone to come over and unpack for me, I'd be all set. Any takers? Seriously, anyone? I'll be your best friend!

You never realize how much stuff you own until you try to pack it up and move. I know that fashion is one of my great passions, but I could not believe how many boxes it took to pack up my passion. The Boyfriend just kept shaking his head in disgust wonderment as I packed boxes upon boxes of clothes, shoes, accessories, and purses. It just kept coming! It made me realize that I really need to take control over my closet before it takes control over me (too late?). I'm going to be better at taking and keeping inventory of my goodies, organizing and recycling them, and swapping out items that I just don't need or want anymore. I'll get to that as soon as I finish unpacking. So, yeah, probably in about six years.

Have a great weekend, loves!