Love You Brunches

A few weeks ago I needed a black dress for a funeral.  Thankfully I didn't need to go out and buy one because I had just that: one black dress.  I guess it doesn't come as too much a surprise but I do see that it's not the worst thing to have a few in my closet.  While this isn't a plain black dress, it's certainly a little bit different from what I gravitate towards.  The color (obviously) and the button down style can be tricky for me.  I hate having those gaping areas on the chest when the top is too tight but this dress fits like a dream.  Looks like another dress was destined for my closet...

An Absolute Sweetheart

I've been dying to announce this on the blog (I semi-announced it on Instagram) and today is the big day to do it: I've been chosen by Bernie Dexter to model some dresses for her website!  She so graciously sent me four gorgeous dresses and I've been around town taking pictures for her.  As I'm sure you already know, Bernie is such an inspiration for me.  She's beautiful on the inside and out and she designs my dream dresses.  I've had so much fun playing dress up and I get completely giddy when I see my images on her site.  I've already photographed two of her dresses which you can see on her website now.  I'll also be using them for outfit posts too.  This is the first of many Bernie themed posts :)

When the Sun Goes Down

So remember when I said I was going to share pictures from my first Mother's Day?  Well, I didn't take any!  I guess my day was just too fun.  Kevin scheduled a surprise massage appointment and greeted me with this dress.  I've been obsessing over it for months but always felt guilty about spending so much money on one dress.  I love it to pieces!  We also went to my mother in law's home for dinner and Bianca had her first solid meal: oatmeal.  She wasn't a big fan at first but she's enjoying it a little more everyday.

Feeling It Ride Now

It's crazy that the last time I wore this dress I was a week away from having Bianca.  I think it fit much better then, but it's still really functional while breastfeeding (sorry if you think that's TMI).  I love the print so I think this one will be hard to give up in the future.  Until then I'll enjoy it as much as I can!

Only the Lonely

This Dear Creatures dress was on my wishlist for so long I had almost forgotten about it.  Thanks to a very wonderful Facebook swap group this dress is now mine.  I find myself swapping a lot of my rarely worn dresses these days.  I know many people can part with items in their wardrobe like it's nothing but I've always had weird emotional attachments to my clothes.  I can't really pinpoint what changed, but I'm really starting to like getting new "free" dresses in the mail.  I have two more coming to me this week!  

Coming My Way

I don't know if you can tell but I'm still learning how to dress my much more curvier frame.  Unfortunately, until I get into a solid workout routine and stop breastfeeding I'm going to have to embrace what I have for now.  Finding time to unwind and get a yoga session in is nearly impossible in my day to day life.  Bianca is wonderful when it comes to sleeping through the night, but she keeps me busy all day.  I guess it's a fair trade off but that leaves only an hour or so in the evening to myself.  My husband and I decided that he would take Bianca for a walk when he gets home from work while I get some yoga done.  We started this just yesterday and I already feel better.  I never realized how much I needed yoga back in my life until I started up again.  I feel like it keeps me centered.... And little more sane!

Living the Dream

Yesterday was such a wonderful day.  I had the chance to celebrate the marriage between one of my closest friends and her new husband.  Well, not so new.  She was actually married almost two years ago in Australia and didn't tell anyone until a few months ago.  While some people may find that strange, it's definitely something my friend would do and I think their private ceremony was perfect for them.  Since they were already married, we got to skip the boring ceremony part of a normal wedding and went right to the reception.  It was a such a great time!

Sugar Girl

Sometimes I work these awful six day work weeks and I really hate life for those six days.  Then I get that Monday off and I remember why I subject myself to such torture.  On a regular week I work eight to twelve hours a day and I pretty much collapse on the couch at night.  Then weekends are spent with my husband running errands and conducting little home improvement projects.  So that rare and special Monday off, alone at home, is really worth it.

I decided to spend this past Monday getting out of my comfort zone and going on a mini road trip to take these pictures.  There are many reasons why I love Jessica's blog, Midwest Muse, but her photo locations always amaze me.  I wish I had the time/motivation to do this all the time because I really love all the potential photo locations just blocks away from my home.  I'm going to try to make this a more frequent thing but don't count on it.  These days I'm lazier than ever!

Fault lines should be worn with pride...

Well, I'm not going to fool you.  These pictures are a few weeks old.  But hey, I wanted to show off this ridiculously cute dress I got awhile ago.  So look past the old location and the old hair color to check out this new(ish) dress.  I love anything with a great back detail and you can actually wear a bra with it!  My body has been going through some weird changes, but the bigger "girls" has been one of the good ones.  But let me tell you, a bra must be worn at all times now!

Last Chance

 Well, this is the last weekend I'll be spending at my apartment.  Like I've mentioned before, it's kind of a bittersweet goodbye but I'm excited for the next step in my life.  Owning a home is something Kevin and I have been talking about for years and it's kind of crazy that it's actually happened!  So to honor the place I've called home for the last three years, I've made sure my last few outfit photos were taken in my favorite location: the alley on the side of my building :)

Summer Sea

So who's ready for summer?  While I may have said I was, I'm now regretting that decision.  I seem to forget how incredibly hot and uncomfortable our summers are.  My new home is also closer to the desert so it's easily ten degrees hotter over there.  Thankfully, my house never seems to get half as hot as my apartment did.  It makes absolutely no sense but I'm glad I'm getting a little relief from the triple digit weather.

A Happy Chance

This dress.  Can I just tell you how much I love it?  It's pink, has polka dots and ladybugs on it.  When I first got it from Bonne Chance Collections it was actually a wonderful surprise.  I love surprises, mostly because I'm a really hard person to catch off guard.  I feel like I should have been a detective or something because I notice everything.  It's a really annoying and at times an exhausting habit, but it's just one of those things I can't turn off.  So if I ever get the opportunity to divulge into the unknown (ummm Modcloth Stylish Surprises anyone?) I'm always one to participate.

Fancy Free

Summer is coming faster than I'd like to believe.  I'm used to always being cold (seriously, I wear a cardigan everywhere) so having bare arms out in the open makes me feel a little self conscious.  It's been months since I've indulged in my yoga workouts and the lack of sun salutations has gotten the best of me.  Although I did get back on the yoga train a few days ago and it was quite embarrassing.  Thankfully, I was doing yoga from home so the only ones snickering at my awful flexibility was my two dogs.

Minty Fresh

 I hate to complain on here, but exhaustion has completely taken over my life.  Any time spent away from work has been on the couch.  When you have two cuddly chihuahuas and a DVR full of shows that need catching up on, it's really hard to do anything else.  I wish I had some vacation on the horizon, but our new home will be our vacation for a long long time.  I've said this so many times but being an adult is pretty hard sometimes!   Okay, enough with the whining, I'm here to show you my new favorite outfit!

Love in the Air

This weekend has been so busy yet so fun.  I had my monthly meetup with my three best girlfriends (us older women can only plan for once a month!) and went to two birthday parties.  There are so many wonderful events in the near future that it's both exciting and exhausting.  Baby showers, bridal showers, weddings, and bachelorette parties.  I feel like it's all happening at once!  What I'm most excited about is my brother's wedding.  He won't be getting married until May of 2014 but we are already putting this wedding in order.  I have been selected as a bridesmaid and their photographer for the save the dates.  I had the chance to take those pictures yesterday and I'm excited to share those with you sometime soon.

Where the Heart is

This weekend has been nothing but exciting!  Kevin and I found a home that we could both really see ourselves growing into.  Although we live in a wonderful area of Los Angeles that has the perfect amount of city life, ultimately we are looking to move back to the suburbs.  If I haven't mentioned it already, we are ready to start a family and we want to make sure our one day baby grows up in a home.  Especially one with a white picket fence, a vintage street lamp, and a porch swing.  And this house has it all!

Wind it Down

 I can't help but post all my spring outfits.  While I wear color pretty much every season, spring is really the time to show it off.  I've had this dress for quite some time but waited until now to showcase it on the blog.  It's easily one of my favorites!  Who doesn't love chevron print and a deep V detail in the back?  It's also really light so it's a great dress for summer too.  Which, by the way, is going to come early this year.  It's already in the 80's here!

Plan it on Chiffon

  Layering is not really my forte, but when I received this skirt from Kristian I instantly felt challenged to do so.  I love the layered look of chiffon but hadn't found the right combination of pieces in my closet.  This tiered top has been hiding among other forgotten clothes because it never really looks right on me. It just so happens that this skirt was the missing piece for my perfect chiffon getup.  Thanks Kristian!

Endearingly Yours

Another day, another great swap from a Flock Together gal.  This time around I had the chance to style a deer printed dress from Erica of Sweets and Hearts.  If it's printed with some type of animal, I'm interested.  I seriously could not tell you where the attraction lies but I long for a closet full of cute creatures printed on even cuter dresses.  Thankfully, Erica is just a short drive away from me so borrowing this gem again is most likely in my future.

Spring for Spring

It's official!  Spring is here!  I couldn't be more excited about it.  Here in California spring is more like a midwest summer which is perfectly fine with me.  My coats can go back into storage (so happy about that) and my tights fade out for bare leg season (not so happy about that).  Deb Shops let me pick out a perfect spring outfit and this is what I came up with.