Lifestyle

Weekend Reading

November 3, 2017 by jessica Leave a Comment

Weekend Reading:

Ninja cats.
I just love the unique shape of this satin special occasion bag. It’s like a present for all of your essentials.
Ugh, this is not a good PR moment for Zara.
Have you ever wondered why you don’t purchase vanilla extract in the liquor store considering it’s alcohol?
Part of the reason I haven’t been shopping very much lately (or at least keeping what I’ve ordered) is because I’ve set the bar pretty high for things to purchase. If I’m on the fence about it, it goes back. If it needs more than just a simple alteration (or Spanx), it goes back. If I’m not having a “Holy sh*t! This is even better in person/on me!” moment, it goes back. I don’t want to have a wardrobe of things that I talked myself into. One of those “OMG, I love it!” moments happened when I tried on this coat. It doesn’t look like much online, but it’s so cute in person, and the fit is incredibly flattering especially if you have full hips. When you have the hood up, there’s a little tab to button to keep the chill out. Ah! I’m just over the moon with it! (I went with grey and my regular size 8 for J.Crew coats. I’m typically a small in their sweaters and a size 10 in pants, so the swing shape is appreciated.)
Within two seconds of meeting you, this is what people are judging you on. (It’s not your clothes.)
Target is getting a Sephora-esque makeover! (Let’s just hope no one sues for a herpes outbreak like this woman. Use those testers at your own risk!)
Lele Sadoughi’s newest earrings are gorgeous!
Thank you, Emily, for making me feel like our wood paneling is on point. (Learn how to paint wood paneling here!)
Raspberries are unexpected addition to your Thanksgiving meal.

Five Under $50:

A dark floral shirt dress.
If you’re not much of a dress girl, how about a velvet jumpsuit for the holidays?
Add some prep to your ponytail with these velvet bows. Go with the”golden brandy” color to keep it from looking juvenile.
“Fiction” is the perfect fall nail color.
A polka dot wrap dress in emerald green.

Earlier This Week:

The one thing I purchased last month.
Coveting pieces to kick off the holiday season.
What we were up to in October. (Plus, a snapshot of Dave’s Halloween costume. You can see mine on Instagram.)
I had the opportunity to stop by the Google Home Mini pop-up donut shop and take home one of the gadgets (c/o). It’s the size of a donut and basically takes care of many of the tasks Siri would. My favorite feature is having it read recipes. It’ll dictate each step and wait for you to finish working on that one before continuing. It’s easier than checking your phone with food-covered fingers throughout your meal prep!

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image via Collage Vintage

This is the busiest time for me at work, which I’m sure you’ve gathered given my radio silence so far this week. It’s hard to set aside time for a hobby when a couple of hours to get through a post means I’ll be burning the midnight oil later that night on the work that pays the bills. Instead of staying completely mum this week, I thought I’d share some of the photos on my phone from the last few weeks. Most of these aren’t edited (our living room walls are white and not that weird cream color), but, hey, I’m crunched for time. 😉 And with that, a little peek into the life of Dave and myself over the last few weeks:

Our bar cabinet finally arrived and we couldn’t be happier with it. We haven’t had a chance to style it, but that duck lamp is totally staying on top. (Sources: bar, lamp, pumpkin, planters)
Enjoying lazy weekend mornings at home. The blanket isn’t cheap, but it’s such great quality. And I’m loving my new robe.
Trying on Halloween masks at Target. I’m still tempted to go back and buy this one. We’ve been throwing around a few costume ideas, but we haven’t settled on one yet. This would make dressing up so much easier. (I can’t wait for our first Halloween with trick-or-treaters!)
I think we’ve picked out our wallpaper! We’re going to hire someone to hang it because we’d hate to screw up something so expensive, so I’m going to wait a couple of months until I feel like we won’t be straining our budget to make this happen. (During the flurry of buying things for the house, we also ordered this media console.)
We went out for afternoon drinks last Saturday at one of our favorite bars. While I was snapping that leafy photo, a tornado unexpectedly touched down roughly a mile from our house. I’m so thankful that our house is fine. (It was a weak tornado, as far as those things go, and most of the damage was done to trees, signs, and awnings. Phew.) The shoes are from Madewell and required no break-in time.
There’s a random tomato plant that sprouted up in the small grassy area between our house and driveway. It’s been producing quite a few cherry tomatoes. It’s a fun surprise, even if it’s not the best place for it!
I casually suggested we buy a record player some day so we could adorably play vinyl as we cook together. Apparently when you express an interest in electronics to someone who loves technology, “some day” came awfully soon. Dave bought this turntable, and we’ve now been scouring flea markets and record stores for albums.
That bottom middle photo is pretty much what I come home to every day now and I love it. I love when the cat runs to greet me. I love our bar. I love the floors. I love that piece of artwork … that we still need to hang.
And our couch arrived!

Weekend Reading

August 5, 2017 by jessica 5 Comments

We’ve been living with mountains of boxes, rifling through them each time we need something. To say it’s frustrating would be putting it mildly! So, this weekend is all about unpacking and finding homes for our belongings, even if that home is Goodwill. I’m totally going to Marie Kondo this place and get rid of everything that doesn’t “spark joy” or serve a purpose. We have more stuff than I realized and when I want to tuck half of it away in the basement indefinitely, that’s probably a sign that I don’t need it at all. Other than that, we have a few home improvement projects to tackle, a chic ceiling fan to buy (do those even exist?!), meals to cook on the grill, and bike trails to explore around our new neighborhood.

Weekend Reading:

One of the best olive oil brands you can get comes from Costco. (This is the one we use most often and I can vouch for its quality, too!)
Exploring architecture’s influence on fashion.
The unusually popular summer travel destinations for residents in each state.
This slinky wrap dress is the most perfect item for the hottest days of summer.
I’ve linked to this before, but here’s where you can snag the jewelry cabinet I featured in my Instagram story Thursday night.
A new book shares what legendary authors preferred to wear.
Are you watching Netflix’s Glow? After reading this article on how the show’s makeup team nailed the 1980’s looks, I’m intrigued!
I tried this dress on yesterday and it’s so cute! I’ll be adding it to my wardrobe soon!
Your best lipstick shade according to your astrological sign. (I know it’s bunk, but they nailed it with Gemini and my love of bright pink shades!)
Traveling without an itinerary sounds like hell to me, but I realize that a lot of the best things that happen on vacation are the things that aren’t planned. Here are tips on how to break the cycle of over-planning before your next escape.

Five Under $50:

Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale ends tomorrow, so now’s the time to snag any fall items you can imagine yourself reaching for throughout the season! I completely missed this top the first time around. Doesn’t it look great for pairing with jeans and ankle boots?
This satin pajama set is adorable, and I love that you can mix and match sizes for the top and bottom.
Tassel earrings are still going strong. Here’s the latest pair I’m crushing on. The cobalt blue is stunning!
A lightweight short-sleeve sweater with fringe trim.
These floral cropped pants look like they should be from Ted Baker!

Earlier This Week:

I only bought four things in July, but they really added up!
Coveting summer-to-fall neutrals.
A peek at our bedroom inspiration.
More weekend links over at Curated Couple! (This is where I’m going to put more of the home-related content as I figure out a good posting groove. I don’t want to inundate you with things here that aren’t style-related if you’re not interested!)

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image via

Win a Phone Case from Caseable!

June 7, 2017 by jessica 16 Comments

A vacation isn’t in the cards right now, so when Caseable reached out to see if I’d like to outfit my phone with a new accessory, I opted for the next best thing: an iPhone case bedecked in a tropical print to give me a bit of a mental escape from the home-buying process!

Caseable has roots in both Brooklyn and Berlin, and offers hand-crafted, custom covers for smartphones, laptops, e-readers, and tablets. You can either customize your case or browse hundreds of designs by various artists. While you can browse designs by category (i.e. animals or architecture), there isn’t a search option to find cases with a particular motif; you’ll need to set aside time to sift through the site. Once you spot your beloved design, you’ll click through to select what type of electronic you’re looking to dress up and you’ll be presented with shopping options. The smart phone hard cases are a great deal at just $24.90, especially when you’re looking at the $40 mark for just about any trendy phone case, with a $6.90 shipping fee within the United States. The case itself is sturdy and slim fitting. There’s a small lip over the edge of the phone to give your screen a much-needed buffer in case of a tumble, and the case is lightly textured for added grip.

I’m thrilled to share that one reader will receive a smartphone hard case in the print of his or her choice! Just head over to Caseable to peruse the designs (Cat Coquillette’s work is so fun!) and complete the giveaway prompts at the bottom of this post to enter. As always, there are extra entries for supporting this blog and our partner brand on social media. The giveaway is open to those with a mailing address in the US, CA, AU, and Europe. Good luck!