Simple life

Yeah, I know! My color scheme has become kind of limited: blue/navy and neutral. It is all part of the process of simplifying the life!

Ahoy Sailor!

I’m pretty busy which means less complicated outfits. I love the color navy but I’ve been neglecting buying items in this color for a couple of years. No worries, I get to it soon!

Shop love

One of those days that I keep saying “Thank you Shopping Gods! Thank you!”.

First I find the most perfect party dress and crochet top ever.

Then I finally finally meet the Denim dress of my dreams. Light, simple and uncomplicated. Oh love, I’ve been searching for you all over! (And it was so discounted that it was practically free!) World, meet my new Anthropologie's Rise and Shine dress:

The midsummer night’s dream

Trying to put together my most “Queen of fairies” outfit but still not satisfied. An emerald green silk maxi wasn’t very fairylike in retrospect. May be for next year I have to stack up on white and cream chiffon dresses!

Red Hot

Hooray! Our temp has gone over 75 degree. Bring on the dresses, miniskirts and shorts. Oh summer, I welcome you!

Weekend round up:

For a lunch with friends, nothing beats a girly-sweet mixture. Add in my neon orange nail polish, orange flower on my bag and bright pink bracelet, and I was feeling fierce!

Our Neighborhood coffee shop has remodeled recently, putting in lots of black leather couches and cushy armchairs with burgundy pillows and burgundy leather covered side tables. After a few hours of playing in the park, having a cup of hot chocolate and sinking into those cool comfortable chairs was the best thing ever:

Since I still haven’t found the striped maxi skirt of my dreams, I had to compromise. Using my striped maxi dress as my base, I layered a black top and black cardigan and pronto! It’s alive!

What I loved this week:

My new nail polish from Sinful Colors Professional Nail Enamel in “Big Daddy”. It is a bright orange and I feel so bold wearing it!

Shorts. Well in my opinion the best length is 3 inches inseam, not too short but not Bermuda-like either. My favorites are the utility styles in a soft chambray fabric. Now only if the weather would cooperate!

Blueberry tarts. Hmmm, so good! They don’t count as pastry since they are so full of berries. They go into the fruit and vegetable category in my book. So I can eat as much as I like without the guilt!

Crocheting

I used to know how to crochet a little, enough to make scarves and hats for my dolls, or a little uncomplicated pencil pouch. These days though, I just enjoy wearing someone else’s artwork. So much easier!

June gloom

To fight it: take one Ikat print maxi dress, add a thin crochet sweater, a hot pink bag and cork wedges and you are summer personified. At least until it becomes so gray and foggy that you can’t see 20 steps ahead of you!

Serving dinner

Hosting a party requires lots and lots of work especially if you have only three hours to prepare a four course meal. Then there is your outfit, something simple, elegant, easy to move in, not so revealing and comfortable that doesn’t show food stains… such a tall order!

Earn your stripes

I was taking inventory today. How many striped items do you think I own? Apparently, a lot! I was surprised. Now I have to stop buying any more and start putting some ingenious outfits together.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten to include a few in this list. But, you know what? My collection needs a red striped top and a striped skirt to be complete!

Weekend round up

I wish people would include the dress code on even the simplest invitations. It is so hard figuring out how formal a dinner party is going to be. My usual solution is to dress casual for small (under 10) gatherings and then dress up more as the number of guests goes up. But sometimes I end up in a little dinner for 5-6 people with everyone dressed to the nines, all shiny and made up. On the other hand, I’ve been to parties with 25-30 guests and almost everyone has been wearing jeans! So very frustrating!

A tried and true outfit for a day of walking and a leisurely brunch with friends. An outfit for being comfortable and having fun:

What I loved this week:

This gorgeous nautical flat. From Anthropologie and little expensive for ballerina flat, but “oh, so pretty” to look at. (I’m rhyming!)

Straw fedora hats which unfortunately don’t look good on me. However, I can still admire their cuteness and fantasize about them.

String and wrap bracelets. I’m collecting these cuties. I still have not managed to master the art of piling them on though! I feel self conscious when I have on more than one. Hey, summer just started and there is lots of time to practice!

Befuddled

I’ve had this little shrug/bolero for ages (five years or so) and worn it once or twice. Now that crochet is trendy again I dig it out from the depths of my dresser, trying to build a few outfit around it. So far this is the only one:

Not one of my best, I know! Any suggestions?

To the nines

Remember that dress I used as a tunic? Well I shortened it and it works rather well with skinny jeans and a short trench coat. Since the neckline is embellished minimum frippery is needed. I’m becoming dependent on this top.

Time for a confession: I bought another one of these dresses in a size Large to wear as a dress. The larger size makes the dress more modest and not so skin tight and skimpy! Now if only the weather would warm up enough for bare legs and short hemlines!

Grasping at straws

Based on my research*, this is the summer for straw bags and totes. I have a wooden handle one and a couple of clutches. What I really like is a leather strap tote one. Nice, simple and natural!

* Yeah! I’ve got nothing better to do than researching handbags. No papers to write, no presentation to prepare, no data to analyze! Not me, no sir-y, not me!

Make-under

Sometimes little extras are not so little! Take this stripe top for example. That little patch is extra, doing nothing for the top.

Three minutes with a seam ripper and we get ourselves a classic Breton tee. There! Much better!

p.s. I happen to perform this little surgery on a white (with navy stripes) version.

Pretty Exotic

Who says leafing through non-fashion rags while waiting for your appointment is a waste of time?!

The idea is Combining Trends and it came from “Redbook” magazine.

So here it goes: take one part Exotic prints, mix it with equal part preppy and voila! You got yourself a summer outfit!

My version is something similar to this one: