I'm a Leap Year Sale Sucker!

I love a good sale and retailers know this, so they invent random sales to entice me to buy things... And it works because I was checking my email over breakfast and got completely distracted by a sale email from Urban Outfitters. In honor of the 29 days of the leap year, they have a few hundred goodies marked 29% off for today only. Now my breakfast is cold and my browser has 10 tabs of Urban merchandise open....

Here are my favorites:

1. COPE Striped Slit Back Top. This top would be great to wear layered now and on its own when (if) spring rolls around. And there are three different color combos to choose from-- all of them are good!
2. Herringbone Duvet Cover. This also comes in a variety of colors and I love that it is a simple, repeating pattern but very graphic and bold. Your bed is usually your largest piece of furniture to decorate with, so it's fun to make a statement with it (and textiles are easy to switch out, so it's low risk, too!)
3. Marquee Alphabet Light. Art piece + ambient lighting is a win-win! I have featured Z because of my last name, but they have every alphabet letter and E,F,M and N are my favorites in this typeface.
4. Boo: The Life of the World's Cutest Dog By J.H. Lee. Please don't question my sanity or intelligence but I am a sucker for this dog! He looks like some sort of mutated walking teddy bear and I love it. I think I even follow Boo on facebook...!
5. Pantone 100 Postcards. My sister got me this set (she is awesome, I know) and rather than use them as postcards I have been using them to create mock-ups of decor vignettes and envision wedding colors. Pantone colors are standardized so it is easier to find the color I am looking for than if I use paint swatches from home improvement stores (can't have my greens too yellow, etc)


Any other leap year sales I should(n't) know about? And am I alone in thinking Boo is hilariously cute?

Weekend Inspiration

I am on an inspiration-high these days, mostly because of NYFW and the resulting streetstyle photography extravaganza. While watching the collections is interesting and exciting, seeing the show-goers mingle in their crazy, opulent and sometimes puzzling outfits is an entertainment all its own. I have spent way too much time on Refinery29 lately looking at:

slideshows of streetstyle snaps,

 Mary Alice Stephenson has the best pieces and knows how to use them!

 

awesome hairstyles, 
 

  and accessory close-ups.

All photos via Refinery29

I love other online resources like the Jak & Jil site, Tommy Ton's candid snaps for Style.com and Vogue.com's streetstyle albums. I also recommend getting the March print edition of Harper's Bazaar and/or Vogue if you need a little change-of-wardrobe-perspective. Lots of great looks in each one and they are like the junior version of the Sept issues! Where are your favorite places to find inspiration?

I am super excited that my friend is coming into town today for a quick visit! Hopefully we'll get to rock some fabulous looks this weekend despite the cold! Have a great weekend everyone!

"Two Tubes of Lipstick"

This post is actually not cosmetic product-related;  my sister's bf says my legs look like "two tubes of lipstick" when I wear these pink skinny jeans, but my inner Man Repeller has decided to run with it. Literally. I was practically running away from him and my sis for part of this impromptu photo session (and being a goof the rest of the time bc I can't stand having my photo taken. There would be many more outfit posts on this blog if I could!!) I forgot I had these photos, they were taken at Christmas time in AZ, but the outfit definitely supports my newly stated dedication to wearing color (as I posted here):

You can tell I am less-than-enthused about having my picture taken, but then the caffeine I am holding kicks in!

Don't make fun of my pants! I will run away from you and not share my delicious beverage! 

I have lots of photos of making this exact face as a kid, btw, I might be crazy from birth.

 Playing nice. Enjoy the sun glinting off my disheveled bun and massive fly-aways.

 The jeans are so soft and stretchy I bet wearing them is like what wearing Pajama Jeans and keeping 

your dignity would feel like if those two things could ever coexist in this universe.

Shopping for magazines for the flight home. To make the cut, it must be large enough issue to distract me for 

4+ hours and small enough that I don't get scoliosis from carrying it in my purse!

 JCrew shirt, thrifted belt (kids section, I believe), Urban Outfitters high-rise skinny jean (purchased my pink pair in Oct so that color is long gone, but the new mint color is awesome), GAP flats, Francesco Biasia bag (few years old, but a great plane carry-on)

 Embracing the bright pants yourself? Or do you try to avoid the "tubes-of-lipstick" effect? hehe

A Morning of Coco and Cocoa

I returned to MI last night and already miss the sunshine and warm breezes for AZ, but I am happy to be home with my big, quirky Valentine :) I caught up on my blog roll over breakfast and especially enjoyed Coco Rocha's NYFW coverage while I was sipping my cocoa. My favorite post was not one of her interviews or instagram snaps of gifts, but this photo:

The overcoat is vintage 1920's and the cropped jacket is self-designed. Great mix of old and new and who wouldn't want to design her own jacket?! Love!

I came home to a gift in the mail (yea!) and have successfully created bright and colorful outfits lately, so I hope to have some photos to share soon...as soon as I find my camera in the tornado-aftermath I call my suitcase. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day...

Today is a little gloomy and the sky is intermittently spitting bits of snow on my doorstep.... good thing I am flying home to AZ today! I am going home to look at wedding venues and although I will be logging a ton of miles traveling all around the Valley of the Sun, I am SO looking forward to the sunshine!!! Oh, and seeing my family. Love you guys, hehe. Hoping from 30+ temperatures to 70+ temperatures has me obsessed with bright colors even more than before (that post here) and the new Toms collection seems to be reading my color-crazed mind!

I love the new "Eliana" ballet flats! At first the pictures didn't look so great, but they actually look adorable on the foot and this blue suede color is amazing:
 

I also love the classic style in this multicolor floral print. Check out the adorable lining:

How do you feel about Toms? Enthused about them or over them? And what do you think of the new ballet flats? Have a great week, everyone!

The Perfect Dress: Wear It Now and Later!

...and yes, there is some color involved! I have not backed down from my pro-color commitment, and this dress is the perfect bright (but not too bright) green color. It is also perfect because I could wear it now in the cold weather (it has been disarmingly mild this week, but I know it will get colder, Sigh!) and I could easily change accessories to make it a perfect summer dress! Here the dress both ways:

Brrr! It's cold outside! Top the dress with a playful scarf and add tights and booties:

Madewell Cabana dress, Sophia Costas Sheep scarf, Donna Karan Luxe Layer tights, Elizabeth and James Chaps booties


Fun in the summer sun! Shed the layers for fun wedges and a statement necklace:

Madewell Cabana Dress, Tony Duquette x Coach Spike necklace, Stuart Weitzman Encore Espadrille Wedge


What pieces do you love to wear year-round with a little accessory tweak?