I have always loved her, and stived to emulate her natural beauty and grace. She is the girl next door coupled with a bit of mystery, which makes her so interesting to watch in film, and in life. As a fellow blue eyed blonde, I’ve been working with the golds, rusts, and shimmery neutrals and aside from being easy, it really works. Stunning!
It’s been sunny and gorgeous in San Francisco, but I’ve heard the rain is coming in next week. LOT’S of rain! I plan to take advantage of the crisp sunny weather with a hike in Marin, and a breakfast alfresco. We also have Monday off for Martin Luther King day, so I will use that to be productive – getting my wardrobe ready for Sundance next weekend (yippie) and finally sanding down the bedroom furniture.
Have a happy weekend to all!!
Painting courtesy of www.kathryntrotterart.com
A new year, a new look – things at work have been a bit slow today, so I have been spending a bit of time contemplating my new must haves for this year. My look is classic contemporary – a mix of classic pieces, spiced up with some fun new ideas. For inspiration, I am always drawn to the ’50s and ’60s – the hip retro clothes are so amazing – full skirts that accentuate the waist, a great trench, bright colors, shift dresses, flowy fabrics, soft feminine silks, and of course a good blazer or trench NEVER goes out of style.
Most recently I have been experimenting with more flashy touches – red lipstick, big buns on top of your head, over-sized scarves, and statement necklaces. I am really into gold jewelry right now, but still go back to my basics – striped shirts, skinny jeans and cigarette pants, and any leopard accessories I can get my hands on.
Here are the things I am most in love with for the remainder of winter and early spring:
How chic does she look?! Effortless but pulled together – the red lips, oversize glasses, and big bun scream classic retro, but the scarf is very on trend. Also – leopard can easily go from trendy to trashy, so look for a print with depth to the color, rich golds and browns, and variation to the size of the prints – monotone colors and prints end up looking cheap.
FULL SKIRTS:
So flattering it will blow you away – full skirts nip in at the waist – at the NATURAL waist I might add – and flow out over the tummy and hips. They can be ladylike like image #3, or hip like image #2 or flirty like image #1 (love her shoes too!). Pair with tights when it’s still cold out, and let your legs bring on the stares when it warms up! So amazing – loving the ultra full skirts recently – a good pleat keeps them from getting bulky around your middle.
DRESSED UP SHORTS:
Clearly I have summer on the mind, because this outfit is not going to fly in San Francisco in January. I am loving the combo of casual and flowy, with the sky high heels and clutch. My new thing is bright colors – even in the winter, and the periwinkle with coral is so fresh and lovely. I makes me want to sit out on a patio on a warm day with a cold glass of sauvignon blanc.
BIG BUNS:
MILITARY INSPIRED:
Military inspired styles always have clean lines, big brass buttons, and mix chic and pulled together simultaneously. A good pea coat never goes out of style, and the cropped version or the skirted version are a little more unique and lady-like. LOVE.
SPARKLES:
Sparkles draw attention, so be sure that whatever it is, fits impecabbly and is really flattering. If your problem area is your mid-section, do not do form-fitting sparkles – not only is it an attention grabber, but sparkles can also make things appear larger than they are. A safe bet for sparkles is footwear – everyone’s feet are petite, so if a lot of sparkle scares you, start there. This look is definitely a date night / night out with the girls type look – NOT work appropriate, so sparkle with caution!
HIGH WAISTED PANTS:
This is upscale, and utterly retro – be sure pants fit around the natural waist (at the tiniest part) to ensure no extra bulk. Avoid pleats of any kind – flat front works on most body types. This is very Jackie O, so pair it with a fitted sweater, or tucked in blouse. Add some pearls if you are going for a more classic / timeless vibe, or funk it up with some modern statement jewelry.
So that’s it – these are my most recent obsessions. As the spring collections go mainstream, I’m sure there will be more to add, but this should keep my credit card occupied in the meantime!
xoxo
Okay – it’s official, Pinterest has changed my life, and is on the border of taking over altogether. Simply put, it’s a visual bookmarking site where you can categorically save pictures, ideas, recipes, etc. Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pin-boards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes
You can invite friends to join and follow friends on Facebook – this allows you see see all your friends interests and inspirations, re-pin their posts to your profile, and share ideas. So Amazing… and Addicting! No joke, I spent about 2 hours today at work (shh don’t tell) pinning away! Someone, please revoke my access as I am clearly not responsible to handle it’s amazingness!
BEFORE:
AFTER
The curtains in the living room are up, and what a difference they make!!
For a twenty-something, who works in advertising, and makes a modest salary… this is an incredible way to finish a room. Yeah, yeah, yeah… I really need a new camera other than my iPhone, so these pictures aren’t great, but it paints the picture. You can see how bare and empty the living room felt sans curtains, and how alive it feels with them.
Honestly, I feel like curtains are like eyebrows – they frame the most important stuff, so if they aren’t there, your face (or the room in this case) just feels weird and empty! Good analogy right?
Also, I firmly believe that there is nothing more elegant than a good pair of silk curtains, and you really don’t have to shell out a fortune for them. I got these from Bed Bath & Beyond – not so glamorous, but no one else has to know! They were $50 per panel for $200 total – pretty good for fully lined, silk curtains. The rods and hardware is from Ikea of all places – super inexpensive ($10 for the rod, and $5 for the glass finial). Let’s compare prices:
That is over 3x less money that I can go spend on something else that is more important – like a new sofa, or an amazing tufted headboard for our bedroom – it takes a little more time and hunting to find the deal, but it’s so worth it!
Last night, I toiled with my toolbox for about an hour to mount a curtain rod in our living room. I don’t have an electric drill, so I manually screwed in the mounts which was a huge undertaking, but SO worth it! The walls in the old San Francisco apartments are made of lath and plaster, so getting the screw secure in there feels like drilling through concrete!
In the end, my gorgeous creme colored silk curtains are hanging – this is a terrible picture – the lights are washing everything out, but they have made a HUGE difference. I’ve found that paying the extra dollars for the longest curtains (95″ as opposed to the standard 84″) makes the room look taller and feel bigger. The floor to ceiling drapes give the room a more “grand” feeling – I love it!
Tonight, I am tackling the full wall of windows – I am trying to decide if I should do two curtains, each framing the entire window, or if I should do four curtains – one on each side of each window. I am going to have to try a few different things here – I don’t want to make it look like too much, but also want to be sure it looks complete. The apartment is slowly coming together to feel like a home – this weekend, I plan to paint the crown molding a sharp, bright white to contrast with the off white walls and make the detail really pop. I also want to get the art up on the wall, and possibly take off the kitchen door so we can get more counter space in there!
Soo excited for all my mini home-improvement projects!
Gosh, this week is flying by! Monday was observed as the holiday for New Years Day, so with the four day week, the weekend is almost here!
Not shockingly, my resolution for the new year was to shed the holiday weight that appeared halfway through December, and really work hard to tone up. We are on day four, and going strong, although I did succumb to a piece of dark chocolate yesterday! Eeeps!
My “last supper” so-to-say, was a crab feast with Kris on New Years Day. It was amazing – we devoured two whole crabs, a stick and a half of butter, a whole loaf of fluffy french bread from the bakery (still hot I might add), and a whole bottle of wine. Needless to say, it was a fabulous last meal to kick off the new diet, and the first night we ate dinner in our newly re-styled dining room! With the lights down, and the candles going, it was tre-romantic!
Step two of my detox – sweat it out. Tonight I am going for a run, no matter if its dark and cold. It’s on!
Why I have been obsessed with Paris lately is sort of beyond me – I think it’s a sign since I keep running into it everywhere!
Today I found this fabulous photographer on Etsy who has taken some absolutely stunning shots of the city in all it’s magnificence. I especially love her heart series, where her lens captures light in the form of tiny hearts – so adorable.
I am ordering these for my office ASAP, and perhaps a second set for our bedroom! How sweet it is…
Check out the rest of her fabulous gallery here! I swear, you will get lost in these dreamy photos!!
What a fabulous new year it has been – I have spent the last two weeks relaxing with my honey-bear, and now, it’s back to work and back to reality. Its a foggy gloomy cold January day, and I am LOVING it! I’ve holed up in my office with my heater blasting, and for once am very happy to be here instead of outside.
Cheers to a happy new year – full of fresh experiences, new memories, and lots of love.
xo
Winter is officially here – today marks the shortest day of the year, which in my mind is an exiciting thing. That means that from here on out, the days will be getting longer again. The seasonal beginnings have always been a cool thing for celebration in my family as we have always made a point to celebrate non-holidays. When my sister and I were growing up, my mom would plan something special and fun to mark the change of the seasons.
For the spring equinox, we’d have our own version of a may day, and my mom would make us flower crowns for our hair – we got to wear them to school – which was quite a big deal in elementary school. For the summer solstice, we’d always bbq – in my mind, the universal sign for summertime is a bbq – even just the smell still triggers that feeling of warm weather and playing outside until late (even if its foggy and we are shivering on a friend’s SF porch).
The fall equinox always happens right after my mom’s birthday at the end of September. My parents live on a really pretty tree lined street, and the sycamores start to drop their leaves right as the weather starts to cool at night. To welcome Autumn, we’d go and rake up all the leaves we could find, make a pile as big as we could, and jump in it. Oh the simple pleasures of childhood…
Winter comes to the bay area before the winter solstice – the month of December is by far the coldest of all the months in the year, and at night, it frequently gets down to the 30’s. To welcome winter, we stay inside, wear our pajamas all day, and bake trays upon trays of Christmas cookies. I REALLY wish I were there right now, holed up in my mom’s warm kitchen, baking cookies, and laughing over a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, I am at work, so in the spirit of the winter solstice, I will eat cookies for breakfast, and let out a quiet cheer to myself that after today, the days will get longer, and another spring is just around the corner!
Simply Styled 