You Com-pleat Me

Top - F21, Skirt - H&M, Heels - Zara

One of my wardrobe essentials is a black pleated mini skirt. It's just so classic, and you can remix it a ton of different ways. I love that I can dress it up a bit like I did here, or dress it down with a bright scarf or jean jacket, funky tights, and booties. It's a little more exciting than a plain black flouncy skirt, and pleats always create such great movement, which is such a bonus, I think.

I love black pleats so much that I have another one that's a bit longer and sheer. Yes, they are totally different, and yes, I absolutely need both of them. Oh, sorry, I'm so used to answering these types of questions from Boyfriend that I now just automatically offer justifications for my purchases. I should stop though, since the girls working the register are starting to look at me weird. Seriously though, both skirts are great takes on a closet basic (a black skirt), and if you're a curvy girl, look for tighter pleats for a more flattering look.

The Last of Summer

Top - F21, Tank - Gifted, Shorts - H&M, Watch - Michael Kors

I've decided that I'm not going to say what I want to say, which is "I'm baaaaack" because I've said that far too much over the past few months already. So I'm just going to say, "Hello! I've missed you!"
I can't believe how long I've been gone, but I swear I have a good reason. I've had the worst several weeks of possibly my life. It started out with a horrible second degree burn about three weeks ago. While I was healing from the burns, I was preparing for a huge project at work that required me to work about 60 hours a week. Then I ended up in the ER with some horrible food poisoning that was somehow causing some internal bleeding (yikes!). When I was on the mend from that, my puppy ended up in puppy ER because of a bladder infection. Yikes! It's been a hellish few weeks, so I've been absolutely and horribly behind on the blog. Please forgive me! I'm slowly recuperating from the burns, and I'm almost up to enjoying normal food again, and this week will mark the end of my giant work project. HURRAH.

With the weather starting to finally look like fall around here, I wanted to squeeze out my last few warm weather outfits (taken pre-burn, pre-food poisoning, back when I had a life outside of hospital waiting rooms and my office) this week. Hope you all have been having a better month than me. So excited to catch up with the blogger world out there!

What A Burn

Photo Credit

So I know I've been a totally horrible blogger, but please forgive me. Last weekend, I was boiling a pot of pasta for Boyfriend's birthday party and I somehow slipped and spilled a pot of boiling hot water on myself. I'm now suffering with deep second degree burns on my torso and leg, and it's been a trial of pain and tolerance over the last 10 days. Well, more like a trial of my whining and crying about the pain and then my justifying eating an entire batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies alone. Potato, Potahto.

Anyhow, I've been a little bit out of commission from posting outfit photos (the bandages make me look bulky under my clothes and that's about the last thing I need), but I am on the mend and will be back soon! I have a few outfits (pre-burn) that I will try to post in the meantime.

Thanks for understanding! Oh...and stay away from boiling water. Seriously.

Fashion Quest

Photo Credit

Ever since Isabel Marant introduced these amazeballs strappy sandals, I have been obsessed. Unfortunately, I really have no good place to wear these bad boys, unless one of you readers out there wants to invite me to a swankified, couture-worthy soiree. Any takers? Any? Any at all? Sigh. Where's a good red carpet when you need one?

Anyway, when I was in D.C. last month, I saw tons...and I mean TONS...of young fashionable girls rocking gladiator sandals with similar ankle chain straps, and I fell in LOVE.  I saw them in black, in blush, in white, in denim. They were perfect! I mean, gladiator sandals, I can do even in my non-exciting, non-glamorous life. Unless you consider munching on homemade fruit ice pops while sitting on my couch, eyes glued to the Once Upon A Time season premier glamorous. But I digress.

GlamBoutique

GlamBoutique

When I returned to California, I set out on a quest to find these gladiator sandals, and I have been searching high and low ever since. Alas, my quest has been unfruitful and nary a boutique in the land had a pair for me (I NEED to stop watching Once Upon A Time). Ahem. It seems that these shoes are all over Europe, but the US has yet to catch up. Darn that Katie Middleton-Land and its fashion forward princess! Anyway, I'm asking all you fashionistas out there if you know where I can pick up a pair of these gorgeous shoes. I figure I can still rock them for at least another month here in California (where we've got a high of about 98 degrees today), so I'm trying to find them as quickly as I can.

What do you guys think? Am I crazy to love these?

Belting It Out

Dress - Boutique in San Luis Obispo, Belt - ModCloth, Bracelet - Vintage

I'm baaaaaack! I accidentally took a two week break from this blog, and I couldn't be sorrier. Things at work have been ridiculously busy, and I've been busy with my side business, the soapery. I made soap favors for a dear friend's wedding, as well as soap favors for two baby showers. I literally haven't had a chance to do anything for myself besides eat and sleep, so I'm so sorry to have neglected this blog for so long! I hope you will forgive me. I'm back to blogging again, and I have some fun posts in store for you, so please stay tuned.

This is one of my favorite dresses. There's something about the draping and the assymetrical shoulders that keeps this monochromatic dress from being anything from boring. Plus, it gives me an excuse to rock this awesome leaf belt that I love. I'm obsessed with these retro stretch belts with a decorative buckles. I'm serious. I have like five of them and I can't stop buying them. They're just so cute and flattering and they're great for breaking up a solid colored dress or romper, or for adding a little oomph to a skirt and a top. ModCloth has some great options, see here and here.

I promise not to disappear like I did for the past two weeks...unless I win the lottery and whisk myself away to some paradise island where I'm surrounded by gorgeous clothes and designer shoes. So....yeah, I won't disappear. Have a great week!