Seeing Spots

With fall right around the corner, I'm always looking for fun pieces that have an autumnal aesthetic yet are still lightweight and perfect for summer. These spot pants from Madewell definitely fit the bill! It was probably about 100 degrees outside on the day I wore them and, to be quite honest, I'm surprised that I don't look more sweaty in the pictures! Well, since these pants are loose fitting and lightweight, they were perfect for hot weather but I can easily see pairing them with a chunky sweater when things cool off a bit!

The other thing that I like about these pants is that the spotted print is definitely reminiscent of an animal print, be it cheetah or leopard, however, it's not too literal. They are, in my opinion, an abstract interpretation of the animal print trend, which I think makes them fun and fresh! To add to this vibe, I found some fun accessories, namely my tassel sandals and earrings, to pair with the pants for a pop of color. To be honest, this outfit doesn't really need too much color because that's been supplied by the wall in the background, which just happens to be one of my favorites! (It appears in a lot of my posts!) Like the wall, I am confident that these pants will soon become a favorite that I can return to time and time again!

Pants: Madewell here
Shirt: Target similar chambray shirt here
Shoes: Kate Spade
Bag: Clare V. here
Earrings: Walmart similar tassel earrings here

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Summer Friday Feels

One of the things that was nice about summer vacation was not knowing what day it was! I think that's a luxury that only teachers, retirees, and those who are independently wealthy and don't work have! Well, now that I am back to work, I'm only too conscious of what day it is and it's no surprise that there is much anticipation with the arrival of Fridays! I guess that's why I love this tee so much and also why I now own it in two colors! Luckily, the rust color was a perfect complement for this new striped skirt that I recently purchased from Madewell. It was as if the tee and skirt were made for each other, much like how I think I was made for Fridays!

My husband was concerned when I decided to wear this tee on a Saturday and not a Friday. He commented, "You're wearing it on the wrong day!" My rationale for doing so was that I wanted to feature this outfit for one of my blogs and I haven't quite mustered up the energy to do any photos after school when I am dead tired, so I'm trying to get all my blog photos done on the weekends now, so Saturday it was! These photos were taken on the weekend after my first week back to school and also after getting my first good night's sleep in a few days. Just looking at them now makes me dream about the weekend!

So, while I wish I could echo the attitude of the Dowager Countess on Downton Abbey and confusdedly ask, "what is a 'week end'?", I, sadly, no longer have that luxury anymore! On the positive side, it does make one appreciate certain things in life more and certainly it makes the weekends and Fridays, which symbolize the start of the weekend, all the more special!

Tee: J. Crew similar here
Skirt: Madewell here
Shoes: Old Navy similar here
Bag: J. Crew similar here

Transitional Stripes

In my last post, I wrote about transitioning my wardrobe from winter to spring and, as you can see by this post, I am still in the mindset to find ways to incorporate some spring pieces into my winter wardrobe while simultaneously keeping warm! I found this striped skirt for a great deal last weekend at Nordstrom Rack, which is fast becoming one of my favorite stores for some killer bargains. As a case in point, this skirt was under $30! Even my husband liked it and stated that I didn't have anything quite exactly like it already in my wardrobe. (To be honest, however, I think I do, but I never look a gift horse in the mouth!)

I paired the skirt with some white tennis sneakers because I wore this for a very casual lunch out. I am still in love with the idea that you can pair dresses and skirts with sneakers because they are so much more comfortable than heels! My final touch to the look is this fuzzy, polka dot sweater that I bought a few years ago at Madewell. It picks up some of the brown toned stripes in the skirt so it's a perfect pairing. In the future, I might go with a pale yellow sequin sweater but I have yet to purchase it! It's on my wish list for what I want to add next to my wardrobe, although I do already own a couple embroidered/sequin yellow sweaters!

Skirt: Nordstrom Rack here
Sweater: Madewell similar here
Bag: Mansur Gavriel here
Shoes: Old Navy here
Sunglasses: Alice and Olivia similar pink sunglasses here

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Sit Back and Relax!

There are a couple things I've been enjoying lately. The first would be Dine L.A. week, which is a great event we have here in Los Angeles twice a year where you can try prix fixe tasting menus from a variety of restaurants throughout the region for, usually, a reduced price. I've definitely been enjoying trying new restaurants, in addition to revisiting old favorites, and basically eating my way through L.A.! One restaurant we visited was The Royce at the Langham in Pasadena. It's always a treat to try the chef's tasting menu at this particular spot. Plus, my husband and I were married here, so the hotel itself always brings back nice memories.

The second thing I've been enjoying lately is shopping some of the fantastic end of the season sales that retailers have been having lately. Mostly, I have been sitting back and enjoying shopping these sales from the comfort of home by doing online shopping.  In fact, a couple of the items that I am wearing in this post, such as these adorable velvet boots and my trench coat, are the result of these online sales.

I have been on the look out for the perfect trench coat for quite a long time. This one turned out to be not only on sale at a great price but also is the perfect length and has a detachable hood for when it's raining. I also like that it looks very classic, although I dressed it up with an unexpected sequin skirt just to be a little different.  While I felt that I, more or less, needed the trench coat (my husband would disagree!), I probably didn't need these velvet bow boots but they were just too cute to pass up! (One of the downfalls of sales and shopping online is finding things you really don't need!) On the bright side, if I gain too much weight from eating out thanks to Dine L.A., at least the boots will always fit!

Coat: Nordstrom here
Shirt: Old Navy here
Skirt: J. Crew similar sequin skirt here
Boots: Madewell here
Bag: Clare V. here

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L.A. Leopard

I love getting out and doing fun things, seeing interesting places, and eating great food. Also, if there happens to by a fun mural nearby, that's just the icing on the cake! Over my winter break, we went to the Century City Mall near Beverly Hills to visit the Italian food emporium known as Eataly. It is truly a feast for the senses with an array of cheeses, fresh pastas, pizzas, pastries, and an amazing assortment of gourmet meat and seafood that would make anyone's mouth water. Since Eataly is located within a mall, there are also some amazing shops to browse after or before you eat. Last, but not least, there's this fun colorful L.A. mural that was right up my alley!

I decided to go casual to wander around this lovely mall with my new velvet leopard print top from Madewell. I first saw this top on Oh Joy's blog and it was so cute I knew I had to track it down and make it mine. I guess I wasn't the only one enthralled with the top because I received a ton of compliments on it while at the mall. Everyone from shoppers passing by as we took these photos to the woman who rang up my two cannolis at Eataly seemed to be enamored with my spotted look!

I would highly recommend going to the Century City Mall and Eataly if you are in the L.A. area. You can grab a bite to eat and, of course, stop to take a picture by this fun mural! (They also have a heart mural, which would be perfect for Valentine's Day!) One of my New Year's resolutions is to get out and see and do more in L.A. so, hopefully, this is the start of more adventures to come in 2019!

Shirt: Madewell here
Jeans: Old Navy
Shoes: Banana Republic similar purple flats here
Bag: Clare V. here
Sunglasses: Prada

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