tory burch brody satchel

Falling for Floral

August 8, 2016 by jessica 10 Comments

I spotted this shirt dress Thursday morning and hesitated to purchase the online-only item. I wasn’t sure what size I’d need and I didn’t have enough “ride-along items” to qualify for free shipping. As luck would have it, my final meeting of the day on Thursday was next to the local LOFT store where I spotted this piece hanging by its lonesome. It was a size small, which I would never had started with in the fitting room had a full size run been available, but it miraculously fit. It was obviously meant to be. 😉 I love the three-quarter length sleeves and the muted color palette, which make the dress a perfect summer-to-fall transitional piece.

And then, since I was on a sartorial lucky streak, I noticed that this Cynthia Rowley dress that I purchased last week is now available at an even steeper discount and headed to the store for a price adjustment. I haven’t featured the Cynthia Rowley dress on the blog yet. If you decide to order it, choose a size to fit your bust. The body of the dress is a wide, swing shape, so that’s not much of a concern for fit. (I ended up choosing a size 6.) The dress is absolutely gorgeous and well made.

Dress: LOFT (go down a size)
Bag: Tory Burch (similar here and here)
Sandals: Ann Taylor (true to size)
Necklace: c/o Julie Vos
Rings: c/o Julie Vos (exact and love this one), Lulu Frost
Sunglasses: Karen Walker c/o Shopbop

Spring is in the Air

May 9, 2016 by jessica 10 Comments

I bought this cute skirt from CeCe by Cynthia Steffe right before our trip and it was a last-minute addition to my suitcase. I just love the blue floral pattern that reminds me of both Delft pottery and Royal Copenhagen porcelain, which I definitely brought back as a souvenir. (See one of the pieces here. Between our trip to Copenhagen and previous jaunts to The Netherlands, I’ve amassed quite a collection of blue and white housewares. I also snagged a Greek vase at a Brussels flea market, in blue and white, of course.) I adore the pattern so much that I’m contemplating the matching blouse or the dress because there’s no such thing as too many blue and white florals! On a practical note, this a-line skirt fits comfortably on full hips and runs true to size.

Sweater: J.Crew
Skirt: CeCe by Cynthia Steffe (also here)
Sunglasses: Karen Walker c/o Shopbop
Bag: Tory Burch (similar; also in love with this in yellow)
Shoes: Louise et Cie (also love these metallic flats)
Rings: c/o Julie Vos; Monica Vinader; Lulu Frost
Bracelet: Hermes
Lips: Stila “Bella”

Dressing Like a Danish Girl

May 2, 2016 by jessica 13 Comments

When I was doing our trip research, I read that Danish girls wore a lot of neutral colors and paired their ensembles with sneakers almost exclusively. It only took one day out in the city to realize how true that was. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a higher concentration of sneakers in one location before! Just about everyone wore them, including women who paired athletic footwear with skirts and dresses. Naturalizer had sent over a pair of their new “Kail” croc-embossed sneakers ($69) before our trip, giving me the perfect option to blend in with the locals for a day of sightseeing. The shoe offers a flexible sole with extra cushioning, and a breathable lining — features I was grateful for given that we walked an average of 10 miles per day! We haven’t done much in the way of exercise since we’ve been back, but I’m planning to change that in time for Naturalizer’s Walk Together Day on May 7. In honor of Mother’s Day Weekend, Naturalizer is urging you to take a moment to thank the inspirational women in your life and share those moments with #SHAREtheWALK. You can also save 20% and receive free shipping during the promotion this weekend with code TOGETHER. It’s valid from May 5 to 8.

Sweater: J.Crew (similar)
Skirt: LOFT (similar)
Scarf: Old Navy (similar)
Bag: Tory Burch (similar)
Shoes: c/o Naturalizer
Sunglasses: Karen Walker c/o Shopbop
Rings: c/o Julie Vos; Monica Vinader; Lulu Frost
Bracelet: Hermes
Lips: Stila “Bella”

Thanks to Naturalizer for partnering on this post!

And We’re Back!

April 25, 2016 by jessica 8 Comments

Two weeks later, we’re finally back from our trip abroad! We spent our first week in Denmark before heading to Belgium for week two, and if you were following along on Instagram, you already know we had an incredible time. I’m anxious to share stories and create travel guides for each of the places we visited … after weeding through the 3,000 photos on my camera card!

These photos were taken on one of our first days in Copenhagen, which was one of the only days warm enough to wear a dress to grab coffee in the morning. I snuck in a few more bare-legged outfit photos that you’ll see later, but in true blog fashion, I ducked back inside to throw on tights or change into jeans. I packed terribly. With temperatures in the upper 50s, I thought I’d be fine with dresses since that’s what I wear in Wisconsin at that temperature. Trust me when I say that 50 degrees in Scandinavia feels much colder with the breeze and overcast sky. I ended up rotating between three sweaters and one long-sleeve top with jeans and sneakers almost exclusively. (This was kind of my personal hell. I don’t like denim.) Aside from that — and it’s such a minor thing to complain about — the trip was amazing. Now let’s just hope I can make it through my first day back at work without nodding off thanks to jet lag!

In unrelated news, I came across my beloved Karen Walker Number One sunglasses for 25% off! In fact, all of the designer’s shades are available at a discount on Nordstrom for a limited time.

Dress: Ryder
Necklace: Lele Sadoughi (use code BEDKNOBSANDBAUBLES for 20% off anything on her site)
Bracelet: c/o Julie Vos (similar)
Ring: Lulu Frost
Sunglasses: Karen Walker c/o Shopbop (Nordstrom has them for 25% off right now!)
Bag: Tory Burch (similar; also in love with this in yellow)
Shoes: Louise et Cie (also love these metallic flats)

The Dress that Broke the Closet’s Rack

March 2, 2016 by jessica 13 Comments

Sometimes coming up with copy for an outfit post is painful. While I wanted to write, “I bought a dress and I’m wearing it,” that’s glossing over what’s really noteworthy about this little frock.

It broke our closet.

I came home with the dress, eager to pack it in my suitcase for our trip. However, packing over 30 days early seemed a little premature, so I stuck it on a hanger and pushed it into my overstuffed side of the closet. I heard a rumble when I shut the door, but I figured it was just the closet settling at night. (That’s reasonable, right? I mean, a house settles…) Shortly after, I heard a loud crash and threw open the closet door to discover an avalanche of dresses carpeting the floor. Apparently my dress collection had reached critical mass and this eight-ounce piece of polyester (I weighed it) put the closet over its weight limit. I looked at Dave and whimpered, “I think I have a problem…”

The problem, of course, is a shoddy closet in our rental unit that we now have to fix. Because there’s no way I’m going to give up on dresses.