Making A Statement

You can never go wrong with a great pair of statement earrings.

earrings: express

sweater: jcrew

sunglasses: banana republic

Wishful Sprinking

After transitioning my closet to accomodate the upcoming season, there is no sign of temperatures rising above 55 degrees here anytime in the very near future.

Sigh.

To send Mother Nature a hint, I have been plumping up my spring wardrobe with some of my current must~haves!

this men's hat is adorably feminine with pulled back hair

this skirt in alabaster white

this sailor stripe top begs to be paired with red on the bottom ~ in the form of a paisley pencil skirt

this herringbone blazer in aged driftwood

this all over lace tee with navy ribbon striping...so sweet!

And on the bottom?

These pants in both purple and banana chip (yellow!) and this skirt! and the perfect trench coat.

Mother Nature?

I'm waiting.....



All The Reasons Why...

When stress strikes, I try really hard to focus on all the positive things in my life.
Easier said than done.
Today I am taking a mental health day and reflecting on some things that happened this week that make my crazy life well worth living.

look at this face! one of the cutest ones i have ever seen!

Spending a few hours playing with my niece Vera.

She makes my heart sing.

A few quiet moments snuggling with my hubby.

No kids or dogs invited!

My daughter's hysterrical Jersey Shore impersonation.

"It's a Jersey thing!"

Finding a real Fendi bag while thrifting!

For only $7!!!

And finally, tweeting with this lovely lady and dreaming about the day when I will fly to Sydney or her to the US so we can drink loads of wine, indulge in tons of "girl talk" and listen to some mighty fine music together.

She makes me smile every.single.day.

When The Thrifting Gods Smile

I'm not lying when I tell you I drove to the thrift store today to drop off two bags of clothing.
Once there, I decided to have a poke around, even though I skipped thrifting last week and had initially intended to do the same.
I had promised myself that the only things I would purchase were ones I knew I could never live without and not be seduced by thrift store prices.
The first treasure I found was this vintage linen jacket in the most gorgeous blue.
The lining has an amazing pattern, almost ikat~ish!
Only $6.00!

I then headed over to handbags and lost my breath when I saw the magical "F" of Fendi dangling behind some cheap, faux leather bags.

I snatched it up immediately after a quick inspection to see if it seemed authentic.

Upon first glances it looked promising, but a find like this, you NEVER LET OUT OF YOUR CLUTCHES!

And I'm not referring to those adorable flat, handheld bags that I happen to be loving right now.

I mean your grubby paws.

You must hang on to it til the moment of truth at the register when you decided to buy it or not.

The bag was priced at $7.00!

Moving on, a gorgeous yellow and navy striping caught my eye.

A JCrew tote bag!

New with tags!

Only $4.00!

mineminemineminemineminemineminemine....

I checked out the skirts next... 

and scored this perfect fitting mid length skirt in a gorgeous shade of red.

Oh, the blue stripes I can wear with you....

Only $2.50!

Dresses come next, and I always take a peek at the "fancy" dress section.

Those of you that have been around here for a while know how much I love finding myself a Dynasty~ish or Dallas~y style 80's dress!

Mid length with such a relaxed, slouchy 70's vibe to it.

I would have worn  this to Studio 54 back in the day had I not been born too late...

I made my way to the fitting room with the sole intent of turning the Fendi bag inside out to see if I can authenticate it.

Serial number?

Found it!

Logo embossed?

Yes!

I found enough positive things to make the purchase and further investigate once home.

I love a day like this!

Bits & Pieces

skirt & tights: express

denim shirt: jcrew

heels: enzo angiolini

ring & bracelets: express

Embracing the Crazy

After all of your positive affirmations, I decided on Saturday to just embrace the craziness that is my natural hair and go with it.

No product, no styling, just air dried madness.

And you know what?

I kind of loved it.

silk blazer: ny & co

silk cargo vest: h&m

jeans: express

heels: michael kors

March 17th

I hope you all enjoyed St. Patty's Day.

Since being raised in a huge (my nanny was the baby of 14!) Irish family, we don't make a big deal out of the day.

We celebrate our roots all year long, whether be in the laughter and drink we share, the storytelling, or simply the warmth and love that comes from being a tightknit, big (I am the oldest of 4 ~ big by today's standards!),  and boisterous family (we can talk your ears off!).

Of course that didn't stop me from wearing a bit o' green in some form or another.

p.s. even our dog is irish ~ bailey is a soft coated wheaten terrier, a breed originated in ireland!

jewelry and clothing and clutch all express

shoes: nine west

sunglasses: banana republic

Au Natural

Surprised, are you?

This is my hair in it's natural state.

If you follow me on Twitter, you got a sneak peek yesterday at this madness.

And if you don't follow me on Twitter, then you now see why it takes me almost an hour to blow out my hair.

The hubs sometimes refers to it as my "lion's mane", but I prefer to think of it as my ode to the metal bands of a bygone era.

I'm not sure if it I'm more suited to be the silent member of either Whitesnake or Poison.

 Regardless, my penchant for the 80's is also probably what made me grab these big black and gold directly from the 80's earrings while thrifting last week.

Although I don't have a penchant for 80's hair bands.

Never did.

Unless you count that "Final Countdown" song.

But that's just because they used to play it at the roller rink.

hair: my own, crazy isn't it?

sweater: rafaella

blazer: ny&co

wide leg trousers: limited

lace up booties: nine west

80's earrings: vintage, thrifted

Change of Plans

Friday night I decided to start phasing my closet.

As I begin to acquire new items for an upcoming season, I find myself packing away items that seem "too heavy" or "too light" before official season's end.

With temperatures in the 50's and 60's pretty consistently the past few weeks, all of my wool jackets and blazers and pants seem like just way too much.

And anything with ruffles was packed away as well.

After season after season of ruffle after ruffle I am looking forward to moving on this spring.

I guess you could say I am ruffled out.

That's why this wool ruffle jacket from JCrew was a prime candidate for the pack up, but something held me back and I left it hanging on the closet doorknob.

I think it was the color that made me pause.

Or perhaps the fact that while it is too warm for a heavy winter coat, it is still too cool to not wear some kind of outer layer.

One last wear of ruffle and wool because this girl's movin' on!

jacket: jcrew

button up: jcrew

elongated tank: ny&co (i have seriously been buying these in every color...love them!)

jeans: modern boyfriend new! express

ballet flats: baker's

sunglasses: banana republic

You Make Me Wu...

Oh Jason Wu, this is utter perfection in every way!

And while I can never envision wearing a turban myself, I will kindly take everything else!

love love love love love....

Tribal And Black

As awkward as I feel in a maxi skirt due to my small stature, give me a pair of wide leg pants any day of the week.

pants: ny&co (old!)

sweater: vintage oleg cassini ~ thrifted

scarf: express

belt: jcrew

necklace: thrifted

bracelets: jcrew and express

sunglasses: banana republic