cult gaia ark bag

Tropical Vibes

August 22, 2016 by jessica 13 Comments

I can’t believe it’s Monday already! We had an extended weekend that began on Thursday with a trip to visit my parents in northern Wisconsin. We didn’t do much other than swing by the Tall Ships Festival in Duluth, Minn., which was awful. As an event manager, I can be unfairly critical of other events, but this so poorly run that it made for a sour experience. Oh well. Not all weekend outings can be stellar, right? At least it was a beautiful day!

In other news, I finally ponied up the cash to purchase Adobe Lightroom. Game. Changer. Photo editing is a breeze and images look so much better edited in Lightroom versus Photoshop where I’m far too likely to screw up the color. (I’m really tan this year compared to my normal ultra-pale skin tone. It throws me off and I find myself removing orange hues from photos!) I also scooped up this summer dress from Target (available online in black). I’m not ready to start dressing for fall just yet, especially when tropical prints look so good with this necklace from Lisi Lerch. Lisi is basically the queen of tassel jewelry and I’m thrilled to share a “Behind the Baubles” interview with her later this week! (One quick note about the necklace: the tassel was askew after its trip through the mail, but a quick clamp in a hair straightener fixed it.)

Dress: Target (in black; love this version for pre-fall)
Necklace: c/o Lisi Lerch
Ring: c/o Julie Vos
Bracelet: House of Harlow (similar)
Sandals: Steve Madden (old, love these)
Bag: Cult Gaia
Sunglasses: Karen Walker c/o Shopbop

Sixties Swing

July 25, 2016 by jessica 9 Comments

This weekend was so humid that I figured this flimsy silk dress would be comfortable a the hot, sticky day. It didn’t really help much and we ducked back into the air conditioning shortly after snapping these photos, but at least I had the chance to break out my new shoes for a little bit! I’m such a fan of flats that a pair of heels has to be really good for me to stray from my sartorial comfort zone (quite literally in this case). These are fabulous. I had to go up a half size in them as I do with any Rebecca Minkoff shoe, despite the fact that I’m a solid size 7 in everything else, and the three-inch block heel is incredibly comfortable.

Oh! And completely unrelated, I learned to kayak this weekend at Dave’s parents’ cabin in central Wisconsin. I took to it quickly, which is a surprise given that I’m not athletic in the least!

Dress: Lilly Pulitzer (old “Maisy” style if you want to try your luck on eBay; similar; love this)
Bag: Cult Gaia (often sold out; try here, here, and here)
Shoes: Rebecca Minkoff (also on sale here, here, and here)
Bracelet: c/o Julie Vos (similar)
Necklace: Lele Sadoughi (also in love with this ring)
Rings: Monica Vinader, c/o Julie Vos, Lulu Frost
Sunglasses: Karen Walker c/o Shopbop

Cult Gaia Ark Bag

June 27, 2016 by jessica 12 Comments

Happy Monday! We had a fun-filled weekend, which is making it especially hard to get back into the swing of things this week. We watched pro golfers at the American Family Championship (a PGA seniors event), went on a 20-mile bike ride (which may have been too much for my second time out this year!), spent a few hours in the pool, enjoyed a doner kebab sausage (a convincing substitute for the real thing, which is impossible to find here) at Madison’s O.S.S., and finally brought this bag on its maiden voyage.

I bought the tote a few months ago, before its popularity led to a sharp price increase. (The large size was $48 last year, I bought it at $58, and now it rings in at $98!). The rising price doesn’t seem to deter fashionistas, given that there’s a wait list to purchase the piece. The bag is a replica of a vintage Japanese picnic basket and I’ve actually come across a few on Etsy. They’re now sold out, but it’s worth keeping an eye on if $98 seems like too much to spend on a wooden, slightly impractical bag. The slats are close enough together where most things won’t fall out, but I still corralled my necessities in a cosmetic case.

Dress: Kohl’s (old; this one is remarkably similar)
Belt: Target
Bag: Cult Gaia
Shoes: Soludos
Sunglasses: Karen Walker c/o Shopbop
Bracelet: c/o Julie Vos
Rings: Monica Vinader (shop her sale), c/o Julie Vos, Lulu Frost
Lips: Stila “Bella”
Nails: YSL “Day Bloomer”

The Coveted

May 10, 2016 by jessica 5 Comments

*I actually just placed an order for this bag. I wanted it last summer, but wasn’t sure if I’d actually use it often enough to make it worthwhile. I decided to pull the trigger given that I’m still daydreaming about it a year later! It’s also available here in small and large. (There’s a stronger likelihood that the AHA website will offer a discount code first, but keep an eye on both sites to see if you can snag it at a discount.)

**I’m thinking about snagging this pair of perforated loafers for the office this summer.

***You may know that I’m a huge craft beer fan, which makes this clutch all the more tempting. It’s Spanish for “cold beer.”