A Few of My Favorite Things for Fall

Have I mentioned that I love fall clothes?
No?
Well, trust me, I do.  I think they are my favorite styles, season-wise.
I've really, really been trying to behave and buy much less this year because:
1. I have more clothes than will fit in my closet
2. I desperately want to get out of debt this year and shopping doesn't help that cause
3. Truly, it becomes gluttonous to own so many items, no?

As fall styles are rolling in, these are some of the things I am currently craving:

J Crew Vintage Tweed Jacket

LOVE this jacket in absolutely every color.  Despise the price point. :(  Perhaps if it goes on sale.  Or if I get a coupon from J Crew for my birthday.

Bowed Lacerta Mary-Janes From Anthropologie

These shoes have been on Anthro's website for less than a week and are already sold out in my size thanks to the fabulous Roxy over at Effortless Anthropologie.  She was able to preview them at an Anthro event and raved about their fabulousness!  I love the color combination and style.  Sigh.  A girl can dream, right?

The Mad Men Collection Lace Dress from Banana Republic

This beautiful lace dress has been selling like hot cakes and is nearly sold out in most sizes online.  Confession time: I already snagged this dress when I saw it in Banana Republic petites a few weeks ago.  I am glad I purchased it after how quickly I saw it selling.  I am really enjoying Banana's Mad Men collection and hope they continue to add to it.  Not sure if I will purchase any more from it, but we shall see!

Mona pump in Pale Peacock by J. Crew

I adore this shoe, so naturally, it is already sold out in this precious peacock color in my size.  Sigh.  I also enjoy the nude color (dusty clay, as it's called) but thought this color was interesting yet not too bold so I could wear it with a lot of things.  Perhaps they will get more in a similar color? Time will tell.

Twisted Ascot Tee from Anthropologie

Cute, very reasonable price point all leads to one conclusion= this top will be mine! I love the fall colors this top comes in and I believe I could pair it with a variety of skirts.

Nyathi Necklace from Anthropologie

So, this necklace looks a little bit like egg noodles but I love it! The muted colors and interesting shape will make for a show-stopping piece (something I always look for in a necklace). Not sure if I will ever end up owning it, but it certainly is pretty.

Do you currently have your eye on any fall clothes or accessories?

This is the Story About a Girl Named Lucky

Last Tuesday (yes, the same day that the earth quaked) we had a leadership conference for work. I was on the planning committee as well as presenting at the conference.  Needless to say, it was a long, long day!  The conference was held at the Westin at Tyson's Corner.  That's roughly a half hour from where I live and I had to be there at 6:30 am to help with the set up so it was a very early morning!  The conference went on smoother than expected with the exception of an earthquake rocking the building at 1:51pm!  After the quake, we couldn't re-enter the hotel, so we had to end our conference an hour and half early. 

In keeping with my dress-for-the-job-you-want-not-the-one-you-have philosophy (read about it here), I decided to wear bold colors for my presentation. I was hoping to get a picture of the conference for my blog, but unfortunately, mother nature prevented that from happening.

For the event, I wore my Tracy Reese dress from Anthropologie's spring 2010 line.  I paired it with bright yellow- Nine West heels (spring 2011) and the Whirl and Wind Cardigan from Anthropologie (summer 2010).  The necklace was handmade by me using Stampin' Up!'s Simply Adorned charms, chain and stamps.  I know you can't see it clearly here, I will have to blog about it another day when I have a better picture to share. The bold colors definitely made a splash!

It's All But Over Here

If you've been following along, then you are well aware that the DC metro area was under a hurricane warning this past weekend.  Too, you'll recall that I had tickets with 10 other friends to see Uncle Vanya at the Kennedy Center.  All day on Saturday as the wind picked up and the rain bore down, we waited for the Kennedy Center to postpone the show.  They didn't.

We knew the worst of the storm was supposed to hit around the time we would be leaving DC. We weren't sure if we wanted to chance the metro shutting down and ending up trapped in the city during the storm. We decided to take our chances, though, and metro downtown.

I couldn't decide what to wear to the play in the midst of a hurricane.  I decided to break out a new long-sleeved J. Crew dress.  While it was a warm day, I am always cold when I am wet and that makes me crabby. I decided to aim for warm, dryish, and happy. This outfit did the job.

I initially wore these Nine West heels that you know I adore, thinking that the heel height would keep my feet out of the puddles.  After reflecting on it, I decided to change into flats in case I needed to dart quickly- it's hard to run in 4 inch heels!  Yes, I do realize I am wearing tights in the middle of the summer.  Again, I wanted to stay warm in the wind and rain.
These are the flats I ended up wearing:

Dress: Maritime J. Crew, summer 2011
Belt and Necklace: Anthropologie, 2009
Shoes: Banana Republic, fall 2010

This dress was extremely comfortable and generally flattering.  I may considering purchasing it in the light blue style as well when it goes on sale.  Even though this dress is not petite, it was a nice length on me.

The hurricane ended up being much weaker than anticipated.  After the show (which was excellent but slightly depressing) the wind was really whipping so I decided to stay with some friends in Falls Church rather than drive home. When we got up Sunday morning, the sun was shining and a cool breeze was blowing.  You never would have guessed the day before was so stormy!  To celebrate our hurricane survival, we made a huge breakfast of french toast, bacon, and eggs.  Of course we ate by lantern light... not because we lost electricity but more for the principle of wanting to use the lanterns we dug out of storage for the storm!

Breakfast was delicious, but most importantly I am glad the storm wasn't too strong and that my family and friends were safe from its destruction!  How did you spend the hurricane weekend?

Catching Up at Kellari

Last weekend, for DC Restaurant Week, we had a girls night out dinner that was extra fun; our friend, Jeannette, was visiting from Seattle and was able to join us for dinner!  We went to Kellari Taverna for a delicious Greek meal.  The food was heavenly and the conversation hilarious.  We had an excellent time catching up, overeating, and enjoying some tasty (and perhaps too strong) cocktails.  We began our adventure with a drink at the bar where the restaurant had a HUGE cheese plate (seriously, the thing weighed more than me) and dish of olives to munch on with our beverages.  When we sat down, our friendly waiter brought over some fish for our viewing pleasure.  After dinner, we received a huge cutting board with a sampling of every Greek dessert imaginable.  I would highly recommend Kellari if you've never been!

I told you the cheese plate was huge!  Look at its size compared to Jill and me!

All the girls, before dinner

Dress: Anthropologie, Summer 2009
Purse: Whirly Twirly Clutch, Winter 2010
Shoes: Nine West, Spring 2011
Necklace: Premier Designs, 2010

The girls!  Back row: Jeannette, Courtney, Amy, Jill
Seated: Hyun June, Joanna

Courtney moved the day before our dinner.  She asked her husband to unpack a pair of flats for her to wear, and these are the shoes he gave her

Fresh catch of the day!

Hello dessert plate!

Did you go anywhere for Restaurant Week this summer?

Hunker Down for a Hurricane

As many of you know, we've been experiencing some extreme natural disasters in the metro DC area this week. It began last weekend with thunderstorms and flooding, a 5.8 earthquake on Tuesday (the previously recorded strongest quake in DC was 4.8 in 1875...), tornado warnings Thursday morning, and now hurricane Irene is headed our way!  Over the week, as meteorologists tried to project Irene's path, we heard anything from heavy rain to category 3 effects for our local weather.  Yesterday, the day before Irene was projected to hit, I had some last minute hurricane errands to run after work.  This was the outfit of the day:

Secret Treasure Dress, Anthropologie, Spring 2010
Belt: Anthropologie, Winter 2010
Shoes: Nine West circa 2008
Necklace: The Limited, circa 2008

With the weather conditions unknown, many people were scurrying to prepare. I didn't want to over-prepare but also didn't want to be caught wishing I was ready for the storm!  Yesterday, as Irene was still a level 3 hurricane, I took some precautionary measures.  When I woke up this morning, Irene was weakened to a level 1, which basically means we will be slammed with more rain and probably power outages than damaging winds.  Here are some of the precautions I took:

Brought in the chairs from the deck so they wouldn't blow away

Dinner is simmering in the crockpot so if the power goes, I will still have a warm dinner waiting

Bag packed in case of evacuation or, more likely, a sleepover with my friends on Maynard Drive

Tub filled with tubs of water in case clean water is scarce

All in all, it looks like we won't be terribly effected by the storm.  If we are though, I am ready!  Tonight I have tickets to see Uncle Vanya at the Kennedy Center so I am hopeful that the storm won't prevent me from getting to the show!  Although, my bag is packed for an overnight stay with friends if the weather is too messy for me to travel home afterwards.

What steps did you take to prepare for the damaging rains and winds this weekend?

Very Vintage

I love all things vintage at the moment and am particularly fond of creating vintage inspired cards.   Here are a few of the latest!

Paper: Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Ink: Whisper White Craft ink, Baja Breeze
Stamp Set: Elements of Style
Tools: Tulip border embossing folder, Big Shot, White embossing powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, sponge dauber

Paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Newsprint DSP
Stamp Set: Artistic Etchings
Ink: Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black
Tools: Paper snips, scallop punch
Accessories: Black grosgrain ribbon, hemp twine

I am currently crushing the Forever Young Stamp Set. I can imagine using it to create many more vintage cards!  What stamp set is your favorite for designing vintage cards or scrapbook pages?  Looking to order any of the Stampin' Up! products featured on this page?  Click here to order now!

Nautical Stripes

The outfit of the day is another oldie but good.  Not sure how long ago I bought this ensemble, but it's probably been 7ish years. Again, this is an outfit I wanted to squeeze in before fall clothes take over.  Both the skirt and top are from Ann Taylor loft.  The shoes are Steve Madden, also years old.  Not sure where I picked up the bracelet, but the sapphire ring was purchased in Jamaica on a cruise 5 years ago. 

Strong Words, Softly Spoken

On Friday, I had a long, early morning work meeting followed by having a few people over for dinner and games. Unfortunately, I woke up late and then realized my meeting began at 8, not 8:30 as I originally thought.  GAH!  This meant I had to rush to get ready, which equals no time for a dress or skirt (too much prep in shaving and lotioning legs).  I am still obsessed with my Jenna Round Toe Pumps from Banana Republic (remember when I debuted them here?) so I decided to bust them out again.  While they are neutral in color I am having trouble finding something to wear with them aside from straight black.  Since I was in a rush, it was a straight black and white outfit for the day.  Suggestions for other colors to wear with these shoes?

Shirt: Ann Taylor Loft, circa 2009
Pants: Ann Taylor Loft, circa 2009
Shoes: Jenna Round Toe Pumps, Banana Republic, Summer 2011
Necklace: unknown
Belt: J. Crew, summer 2009

When my friends arrived in the evening, we had a low-key dinner then we played 10 Days in Africa, Bananagrams, and Apples to Apples.  As we were collecting adjectives in Apples to Apples, we became sillier and sillier (I think the sangria helped add to the silliness). We began joking that the adjectives described us, rather than just the nouns we threw down.  At the end of the game, these were the green adjective cards I had collected.

Glorious, refreshing, fabulous, puffy, natural, crazy, revolutionary, principled, cruel, painful, sexy, bogus, radical, goody-goody, sweet, intense, silly, playful, chunky, smart, cranky, easy, spooky, sultry, annoying, hilarious, patriotic

Do you feel these strong words describe me? :)  If you don't recognize the title of this post, it is the name of one of Tony Lucca's albums from back in the good ol' days.