closet essentials / the lbd

emma (from inspire and instyle) and i are so excited to make our closet essentials series a regular column! in case you missed our first looks- we each styled a pencil skirt two ways- you can find the post here and here. this week we decided to show you how to style a little black dress. the lbd is a closet essential because it can come in so many different forms suited for every personality. i went with a dressier dress, while emma styled hers more casually.

for my look i drew inspiration from the lady who made the lbd an icon- audrey hepburn. in breakfast at tiffany's she showed how an awesome dress can be styled simply and still be a jaw-dropper. my dress is vintage- i went through a huge antique store phase in high school and collected tons of vintage dresses. this is the one that reminds me most of audrey- i wear it every year on her birthday. i am a person that tends to overdress and over-accessorize, so it was a little hard for me to not add too much to this statement piece. i kind of love that it doesn't need much though- the white detailing and black buttons give it the oomph it needs. i wore my new bcbg (via marshalls) pointy heels, and kate spade orange earrings. i stole my headband from my sister (pretty sure it was forever 21- my hair was disgusting and needed to be covered up). my purse is also vintage. this outfit is simple yet professional. i would wear it for a meeting, wedding, or church. 

I am a shameless Kim Kardashian fan. I can't explain it but every time I see her on tv or see her on the cover of a magazine at Target, it's like a force takes over my body and I am instantly absorbed. She is just fascinating to me...and I can't help it, people!! My outfit is inspired by the great Kim K. and a laid-back look she put together while taking baby North to the doctor with Kanye. She rocked some Minnetonkas, and if Kim K. says they're chic, I say they're chic. The simple black drop waist dress is from Forever21 and the chunky knit cardigan is from Lucky. The Minnetonkas have been stashed away in the closet for years, but were originally purchased from Nordstrom. I paired this casual look with some classic sunglasses (a golden find at Hobby Lobby) and my usual collection of arm candy.

photo shoot / boho glam family pictures

before syd left we really wanted to take family pictures. we hadn't gotten any done since jarman has been an official part of the family. we decided to just try to take them using a tripod and a clicker. it was actually a lot harder than i thought it would be- my clicker wouldn't work if we were too far from the camera, but my good lens makes it so we have to be kind of far. so the ones with the whole family were literally timer pictures where i was running in my six inch heels in the sand to get back to the camera. it was totally worth it though because i love how the pictures turned out.

we decided we wanted to do a boho shoot (which not only provided our stylistic choices but also lots of jokes from the boys). we all tried to wear longish or flowy dresses with big heels. we also brought down a bunch of furs to wear for some of the pictures. we like to choose outfits that loosely go together, rather than things that are obviously matching (like white shirts and jeans). i love the bright blues that pop out of some of the outfits, and we also had creams and browns and black and few others. 

we took the pictures in oceanside (this little outing was on sydney's last day so she got to see the beach and eat at phil's as well). some of them are just in front of people's houses, and the others were on some rocks and stairs that we found. we went down with some ideas of places, but nothing set. it was fun to drive around and find the cutest places we could (we ended up parking the car only once though- all of these locations are within walking distance of each other).

seriously though, how cute is my family? my sisters get prettier and prettier, my mom looks younger and younger, and jarman is handsomer and handsomer. you better believe we will have lots of these pictures all over our house!

closet essentials / the pencil skirt

for this week's fashion post i teamed up with emma burton from inspire and instyle to show you four easy ways to wear a pencil skirt. we each chose one skirt and created casual and dressy outfits. pretty much anyone will tell you that pencil skirts are a fashion staple, and it's pretty easy to see why. you can style them up, down, tuck your shirt in or out, wear a belt over the skirt or shirt. the options are limitless. for my two outfits i used my leather fronted emerald green pencil skirt that i got from anthro around christmas time (similar here), and i haven't stopped wearing it since. it can be styled literally a thousand ways. 

i wore my casual outfit while running errands around town- it was super comfortable and i felt glamorous all day. i paired the skirt with a lacey t-shirt, some brown pointed flats (purchased recently at tj maxx), and my new red purse from target. i had been dying for a red purse ever since i found an amazing rebecca minkoff bag that was quilted and studded and way out of my price range. this one was from target and was about 20 bucks- score! i am also wearing my warby parker (home-try-on) glasses (these ones were my favorite!).

to dress the skirt up a bit, i threw on some hot pink booties (steve madden from a couple of years ago), and a peplum shirt (that jarman picked out for me for christmas all on his own- so proud!). i added a hot pink belt, a nude clutch and so pretty pearly jewelry. i love that with pencil skirts you can wear your shirts tucked, or untucked.

here is what Emma has to say:

I was excited to style a pencil skirt two ways because you more than likely have one in your closet already; it is effortlessly chic and immensely versatile! For my casual look, I paired the Banana Republic cream lace skirt (purchased this last summer on sale for $30) with a casual, batwing shirt with a fun pastel/chevron print from Forever21 (I found this shirt in the guest bedroom closet at my mom’s house, so I can’t tell you when it was purchased, but apparently it belongs to my little sister and I believe in finders-keepers.) I tucked the front of the shirt in and put on a skinny, neutral leather belt from J.Crew that really tied everything together. I found this pair of gorgeous Tory Burch sandals at Nordstrom Rack a couple months ago (for $99 and worth every penny) and swoon over them every time I put them on. I piled my dirty/mom hair into a braided bun to dress down the skirt and kept my jewelry casual with a Michael Kors watch and a couple of gold Alex and Ani bangles I usually wear every time I leave the house. The tan leather bag is a couple years old from Nordstrom, and the whole casual combination really makes me excited for spring and summer and sunshine. Can February be over now please? This outfit is casual enough to rock anywhere yet put-together enough for any lunch date, Sunday brunch, or baby/bridal/wedding shower.

The sheer cream top from the dressed-up outfit is another gem found in the magic guest bedroom closet, also purchased at Forever21 (my family is really into bargain shopping.) It was a little bit long for my liking, so I tied it in a bow instead of the knot I’m sure it was designed for. I wanted to go for a white/black contrasting look, so I wore these Valentino Rockstud knockoff flats via Forever21 (I wasn’t lying about the bargain shopping!) that I got on sale for $8 a couple months ago. I borrowed some black bracelets my mom was gifted, put on a necklace of vintage pearls and wore my fancy-pants studded sunglasses (also from Forever21…no comment.) A pale pink lipstick (NYX Strawberry Milkshake) put the final touch on a dressed-up look perfect for a wedding reception, a business meeting, or church function.

be sure to check out emma's cute blog here!

currently obsessed / warby parker

have you guys ever tried ordering glasses online? i have looked in to a few companies, but i'm always nervous to buy glasses without trying them on. you never know what they really look like until you see them on your face. i have tried those sites where you upload your pictures and they put the glasses on you too, still doesn't give me the right idea. 

i recently discovered warby parker. they are an online glasses site too, but with them you can order 5 pairs to try on at home for 5 days. it's almost better than shopping for glasses in person, because you get to have them for so long and wear each set for a day. i got my home try-on warby parkers last week and have been playing with them ever since.

when you order the glasses, you get a fun box in the mail that looks like this:

the glasses are all packed neatly inside...

i ordered four pairs of regular eyeglasses and one pair of sunglasses just for kicks. the sunglasses and the reddish glasses are from the new spring collection which has tons of fun colors to choose from.

so which ones do you like best for me? (oh and having the glasses for a few days means you can take lots of shameless selfies with them).

{going clockwise: 1. finch 2. holcomb 3. walker 4. marcel}

i'm liking the top right best so far! i think the cat-eye style suits me.

their glasses are also relatively inexpensive! they are $95-$145, which includes the anti-reflective, prescriptive lenses. also, whenever you buy a pair of warby parker glasses they give a pair to someone in need. so even if you don't really need the glasses (other than to be really cute), you can justify buying them for the good that you are doing! 

be sure to look for the upcoming style posts featuring my favorite warby parker glasses!

fashion / party pants

this outfit is perfect for a shopping day or quick jaunt around town. i got the black and white printed pants from the rack a few months ago, and they literally are as comfortable as sweat pants. they have been dubbed my travel pants because they are so comfy. but- i can still dress them up- which is always a good sign that they aren't just a reincarnation of sweat pants (though if you ask my dad he'll tell you differently). we paired the pants with a ruffle-y tank (from banana republic) and chambray jacket (from soel boutique). really though, it's the heels that make this outfit awesome. i love those electric blue babies like they were my own. they are steve madden and i got them at tjmaxx over two years ago. it's another good sign when you still love something as much as the day you bought it.