Animal Attraction

Outfit Details:
dress: White House Black Market
skirt: Piperlime Collection via Piperlime
shoes: Dolce Vita
belt: vintage
clutch: hand-painted by me 

I got this dress so long ago because when I tried it on, I was so freakin' excited that I fit into a size 4!!! It was a tiny bit of a squeeze getting into it for this shoot but I did it!! The bottom portion of the dress is just a black fitted pencil skirt attached to the leopard printed bodice. To change it up I chose to pair it with this gold skirt I got from Piperlime. Funky combination, right?!

To take the funk to the next level I added these striped platform sandals! This was definitely out of the norm for me and I loved every minute of it!

Since I have seriously been trying to limit my clothing shopping, I have started to get a bit tired of some of my clothing. To get out of this rut, I have been doing things like this, which has helped tremendously!

What do you do to add spice to your wardrobe? 

photos by Margaret Thombs

Sweetheart Neckline and Soft Pleats

Outfit Details:

bodysuit: Oh My Love via Asos

skirt: via Nordstrom

shoes: Dolce Vita via Daily Look

bracelet: Emitations (c/o) on sale too!!!

earrings: The Alchemy Shop (similar)

I got this skirt during the Nordstom anniversary sale when they previewed their fall collections and I instantly fell in love! I love how the soft pleats combined with drastic black and white create this beautiful ethereal look. I combined it with this body suit I got from Asos (my main destination for getting my crop tops and bodysuits-- the easiest way to layer pieces without bulk), which is now on sale!

A few months later i saw these shoes and just had to get them and then when I was styling this outfit I decided to keep with the black and white theme. I think it worked out quite well. Now that it is colder I can't really get away with wearing these lovely honeys, so I will have to wait till the spring.

I definitely plan on styling this skirt in other ways because I love it so much! So stay tuned to see what else I pair it with! Another Repeat Offender added to my wardrobe! Maybe it has something to do with stripes....

photography by Travis Curry Photography 

Lace, Polka Dots and Tiger Stripes

Outfit Details:

top: I <3 a="" aardvarks="">

sweater: Loft

skirt: Rhyme Los Angeles via Piperlime

shoes: Dolce Vita via Nordstrom Rack

bag: Danielle Nicole via Hautelook

belt:  Prairie Charms

This outfit was a leap out of the norm for me, which is something I strive to do more and more. I met my sister for lunch and decided why not step out of the box a bit, so I began to just layer pieces. This is what the result was! 

I have a few different textures and patterns going on here. I think they work because the colors for the different patterns are pretty much monochromatic with only a few changes in color. I was a little nervous about this outfit, but as I wore it during the day I became more and more comfortable in the different layers and opposing patterns. 

What do you do to step out of your daily norm?

Needed: Drinks with Lunch

top: (similar); skirt: Forever 21; necklace: Macy's; watch: Fossil; rings: Francesca's and Pandora; shoes: DV by Dolce Vita (similar)

Yesterday I went out to a lovely lunch with my sister and amazing friend, Jenna at Bread & Chocolate in Old Town Alexandria. It was so delicious!

The afternoon out and about did not start as lovely as I would have liked though, hence the need for drinks with lunch. 

A bit of advice: when driving into a parking garage make sure you don't get too close to the booth to push the button for the ticket when the button sticks out like a doorknob. Yes, this knowledge would have been much needed before I had gotten my side-view mirror stuck on the button and then tried to get out of the crushing position only by making things worse and crushing the mirror into smithereens. 

Yes, what a wonderful start to a day out. I was speechless and felt that it wasn't even a real event until I looked at the cracked and mirror-less piece of plastic sticking out of the drivers' side of the car. After this my sister looked at me and said 'we need to lunch somewhere with alcohol'. Yes we did. 

So after some delicious food, a little wine, a yummy cupcake and some retail therapy I was able to collect myself and see that it wasn't the end of the world. After all, my car has been through so much worse.