Tuesday, October 24, 2017

{pleated orange skirt with knee high boots}













Photography by Laura


I'm always looking for an outfit that I can wear to work and then wear out to drinks later. When I saw this skirt I was instantly hooked (mainly because it's orange and I rarely find orange that I love)! Paired with a thin white sweater that I can tuck in and my knee high boots, you've got a look that's professional for the office and stylish enough for happy hour. I love these boots to pieces! The chunky heel gives you height but not too much where your feet kill you after an hour of wearing it. I love that it hits me right below the knee - nice and tall to elongate your legs.





The necklace and bracelet I'm wearing are both by the Starfish Project. This company helps exploited women experience freedom, establish independence, and develop careers. The work they're doing is so incredible! You can read more about it here - and shop more of their jewelry here!


Love Always,

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

{wish list wednesday | fall weather}

Psst you can shop this board... just click the item you want to see!



Yesterday the weather got below 50 degrees! So naturally one of the first things I did was begin online shopping and dreaming of outfits ;) plus, my new earrings came in the mail and I just can't wait to wear them with everything! They're so light weight and I can't get enough of the colors. But, when I really need some retail therapy I always gravitate towards sweaters. I swear every store I look in there's another cute sweater that I must have - and they're all priced so well too! I love wearing a cute sweater to work, out with friends, or even on a date night! Dressing it up just takes a really awesome pair of earrings.

Then I went down the Target and Sephora black hole... once I found a pumpkin and eyeshadow palette I loved I knew I had to cut myself off haha. Does that happen to anyone else?






Love Always,

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

{twirling through the vines at wolffer estate}


Before I dive into my typical blog post I want to say thank you for all of y'all's kind words in regards to my last coffee date post. It's a scary thing to put out that personal side of me. Every word I wrote was a little piece of me that I've been attempting to hold together. To have so many words of kindness, thoughts, and prayers... I can't say thank you enough. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.










Photography by Allie Provost



Now since I never got around to it - I wanted to share a dress that I fell in love with this summer! I originally purchased it to wear to events/weddings this summer/fall. I felt the color was versatile enough to carry me through a couple of months. You can always get away with showing some shoulder at weddings even through the cooler months (in my opinion at least - I love to dance)! I paired it with wedges and yellow for a fun summer look but think it would be gorgeous with leopard heels, a pashmina scarf, and maroon earrings this October.




When I visited the Hamptons with Kristyn, Dana, and Allie we visited Wolffer Estate and took photos in the vines while sipping on rose and listening to live music. It was the perfect summer evening - y'all know how much I love to hang out at wineries ;)

I've linked a lot of dresses that would be perfect for fall weddings below! Happy shopping!




Love Always,

Thursday, October 12, 2017

{coffee date no. 7 | struggling to do it all}

Photo by Allie Provost

It's been awhile since I wrote a coffee date post. I used to share at least one a month updating y’all on all of the fun things I’ve been doing and just taking a moment to chat. It’s fun knowing there’s a real person behind the outfits and beauty. However, the last coffee post was something that had been weighing heavily on my mind and writing that became my therapy. It seems that turning to these more serious posts is not only an outlet for me but an outlet for y’all as well - because I know we can all relate. I seem to write these posts for weeks before I finally gather the nerve to hit ‘publish.’ So what’s jumbling up my brain and needing to be spilled into a blog post this time?  Struggling to do it all…

Over the past month I’ve had so much going on and I overwhelmed myself so much that I wasn’t sleeping and my lack of focus/attention became very apparent. I was physically drained of any energy my body and mind could produce. I always try to do it all – be the best designer, keep this blog running, be a supportive girlfriend, be the best friend every girl wants, make time for my friends, IG twice a day, study for my LEED exam, create innovative and fresh ideas at work, make time for my family, call my dad every day and physically be there for him, push myself to reach that new level at work, shoot new content for the blog, have the newest trends/clothes, attend work events, create new business relationships, go out on date nights, grab dinner with friends, etc. I’m exhausted simply reading that list.

These past two Mondays have been almost impossible – not just because of what was going on in the world with shootings/fires but also because of personal situations as well. I want to do so many things and be so many things that I’ve been pulling myself in multiple directions. I sincerely thought that I could balance everything with work, the blog, and my personal life because I had been for so long. I realized that I need to reorganize my priorities. Not because I was “balancing” incorrectly but because my family needed more of my time. (For those of you new around here, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer four years ago. The cancer has spread to his bones and lymph nodes and he isn’t able to walk unless he is using a cane.) My once a month visits home just aren’t cutting it and attending every event under the sun during the week took away time from my boyfriend and friends.

How did I let it get to this point? I’m what you would call a perfectionist. I know… most of y’all aren’t surprised. I try my hardest to be my best, look my best, and put my best out in to the world because I’m a strong believer of karma and I truly believe that I can trick myself into thinking I’m okay half the time. Spoiler: it works and then I come crashing down. Hard…

Last weekend I was supposed to go home to visit my dad on Friday with Kyle and then go back to DC for a friend’s wedding on Saturday. Sunday I was planning on blogging the whole day while doing my laundry and cleaning my apartment. I was thinking to myself “oh this is a perfect way to balance a weekend doing everything we want to! Checking off multiple categories of our lives!” 

We didn’t leave Baltimore until Sunday... I found myself sitting on my parent’s bed Saturday morning holding a water bottle with a straw for my Dad because he was in so much pain.

Yeah.

Do you know those personality tests you can take where it gives you your five strengths? My #1 characteristic is “futuristic”. I’m always looking forward to things, I love to plan, I try to focus on that next step I’m taking, and I’m constantly thinking “okay, what’s next.” That’s why I’ve been able to juggle multiple aspects of my life simultaneously! The thought of the future and what’s next has always excited and motivated me. But sitting there Saturday morning… I was so overcome with fear of the future and what I am going to lose. I realized that’s what I’ve been struggling with for the past month. My conscious was telling me to lighten my load so I could be in Baltimore more often but I was trying to live my life as I always had like nothing was changing. I am so scared for the future that this particular aspect of my life is all I can focus on. I haven’t been able to take my work or the blog forward because my “future” is so overwhelmed by one thing.

Maybe this all boils down to two things: one, I need to learn to say no, and two, I need to understand that change happens. When I try to do everything and reach for every futuristic want my reality struggles. I can’t be in multiple places at once and I’m never going to be the perfect version of myself that I try to be. I’ll never stop fighting for my goals but recognizing what’s in front of me and what’s happening right now is an important thing to fight for as well. So for the time being I’m going to focus on putting my family first.

Now I’m struggling to just hit publish… here goes nothing. Wearing my heart on my sleeve again. 


Love Always,

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

{the cardigan I'll be wearing all season}















Photography by Laura Lehman






I bought this cardigan during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and haven't taken it off since! I love the oversized fit and the way it pairs with a dress or, for a casual look, with blue jeans. I wore this out to dinner for our first night in Richmond a couple weekends ago. It may not have been right for the warmer weather but it's seasonally appropriate and that's all that matters ;) just kidding... this sweater is loose so that helps you dress for fall while not sweating in this warm October (I mean what's going on with this heat wave?!). I kept it casual with my favorite jeans and booties. Then I added on my favorite maroon purse from Dagne Dover!

Happy Wednesday - I'm excited to have some new content up for y'all in the coming weeks!


Love Always,
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