sway chic + simply chic

I don't shop at many boutiques, unless they are vintage/consignment. But of course there are exceptions to every rule, and the exception to this rule is SWAY. Since being back in the Bay Area it's the only boutique I've purchased from, so you can imagine how excited (and shocked) I was when I received an email asking me to partner with them! If you live in California definitely stop by one of their STORES,  but if you don't you can shop online at SWAY CHIC! 

As soon as this GYPSY COLORBLOCK SKIRT arrived in the mail, I was in love. It moves so freely and it really looks great from every, single angle. It's perfect for tall ladies because it's super long, but for us petite gals, grab your tallest heels and enjoy :)


wearing: GYPSY COLORBLOCK SKIRT c/o SWAY CHIC

fourth

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July. I certainly did. I went out Tuesday night, Wednesday day, Wednesday night and thought it was Monday for 1/2 the day on Thursday. I was pooped, but in the words of one of my favorite quotes via PINTEREST "no one looks back on their life and remembers the nights they had plenty of sleep". 

For the Fourth, I debated on being a walking cliche with a blatantly red, white & blue ensemble, but I took a more subtle approach and just added a red lip at the end. Definitely glad I went this route... 

wearing: gap tee, f21 skirt (SIMILAR STYLE), urban outfitters sandal (SIMILAR ON SALE $19), TOMS KATHMANDU SUNGLASSES c/o, michael kors bag (MICHAEL KORS JET PYTHON TOTE)

worn to: fourth of july festivities

instaberry: june

The month of June was full of festivals, food, parties and all around good old fashion FUN! Here's a recap via the lens of my Blackberry camera

Cutoffs and converse...lots of casual wear this month

Food truck festival with a sea salt caramel cupcake to die for

Pool party, or shall we say around the pool party, as there was no one in the pool and 500 people standing around looking cute :) 

Weekly Farmer's Market visits to get fresh fruit and fresh flowers

In honor of NATIONAL SOUL FOOD MONTH dinner and drinks in mason jars at PICAN, MISS PEARL'S, & FARMERBROWN

Backyard BBQ/game night/Sunday Funday and a mocha cookie crumble to get me through Monday

And last but not least a little retail therapy (GAP 1969 CROPPED LEGGING JEAN on sale), and celebrating the preschool graduation of mi amor


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tree of life

I love a good statement necklace, but lately I've been eyeing more subtle pieces, like this TREE OF LIFE NECKLACE  that I purchased on Etsy from ROBERTA VALLE. It was my first time purchasing from Etsy (crazy I know), and I have nothing but good things to say about the experience. I think next I will get a horizontal cross necklace. That's been on my wish list for a while. 

When I bought this skirt I thought it screamed beach vacation. However, I think pairing it with my new favorite JEAN JACKET that I warned you about, and my new favorite CHUNKY HEEL SANDALS makes it much more suitable for day to day to wear. What do you think? 


wearing: freestyle revolution denim jacket (LEVI'S DENIM JACKET, BDG DENIM JACKET), thrifted skirt (SIMILAR FROM TARGET), thrifted belt, SAM EDELMAN YELENA, TREE OF LIFE NECKLACE,MICHAEL KORS TORTOISE WATCH
worn to: boyz II men concert


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sugarlips: hanky panky

Meet the newest addition to my never ending skirt collection...the LEOPARD HANKY SKIRT courtesy of the lovely folks at SUGARLIPS. I love skirts because you can wear them so many different ways, and you might not think a LEOPARD HANKY SKIRT is versatile, but I came up with several different ways to wear this skirt. Ultimately I decided to keep it simple up top to let the bottom stand out, but it also looked really cute with my black and cream polka dot blouse...

A special thanks to KATRINA DAVIS for teaming up with me and shooting this look! You can see more of work HERE and I will post some of the out takes from the LEOPARD HANKY SKIRT and THIS SHOOT (which also features leopard) on my FACEBOOK page. 


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writings on the wall

Gosh I'm sleepy. The only thing I have energy to say is HAPPY SUMMER and good night :) 

wearing: j crew ruffle cardigan, necklace from nordstrom, joes boyfriend jeans (CURRENT/ELLIOTT BOYFRIEND JEAN), christian louboutin booties (CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN DUGUECLINA SIDE DIP BOOTIE), ENGLISH LAUNDRY HAVANA SUNGLASSES, MICHAEL KORS TORTOISE WATCH, nannini bag, target belt (SIMILAR)

worn to: happy hour at OZUMO, dinner at PICAN


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forgive me

It took me 3 years to find a denim jacket that I LOVE, so please forgive me, as this jacket will make many, many, MANY appearances on the blog. I love it so much that I honestly wish I would have bought two before they sold out. 

Happy Father's Day to my dad (without him there would be no blog b/c since being back in Cali, he PATIENTLY takes 90% of my photos), and all the other dads out there reading. 


Check out my guest post on CHUNKY HEEL SANDALS over at GLOW KOUTURE.

wearing: freestyle revolution denim jacket (LEVI'S DENIM JACKET, BDG DENIM JACKET), j crew bow top, thrifted skirt (LOVE THIS LACE ONE), zara heels (SIMILAR, ONLY $25 ), nannini bag (ON MY WISH LIST)

worn to: father's day dinner/graduation celebration at MISS PEARL'S


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obnoxious

Thanks to Ms. Jolie, side slits are all the rage, but I prefer mine across the back :)

This dress is so obnoxiously leopard, which is why I always were with a jacket. BUT I wanted to give you the full affect, and of course show off the back. 

For these photos I teamed up with the lady who taught me everything I know about photography, local photographer and teacher, KATRINA DAVIS. I had so much fun shooting with her, and I can't wait to do it again. Stay tuned, but in the meantime you can see more of her work HERE.

wearing: urban leopard dress (SIMILAR, MAXI VERSION), macy's denim jacket (VERY SIMILAR),MICHAEL KORS TORTOISE WATCH, zara heels (SIMILAR COLOR SCHEME), revlon fuchsia lipstick & mac oversexed gloss
worn to: dinner at MUA, drinks at SOMAR

By the way, have you connected with me on FACEBOOK? If not, you just might want to do so! I am hosting a GIVEAWAY for these SOULSTICE NAIL COLOURS.

as the sun sets

I'm not really a casual shorts kind of girl, but A) I love blue and pink together B) I'm all about prepping it and what better way to do that than with madras shorts and boat shoes, which apparently are in style now??  I got these shoes probably 3 or so years ago from a vendor back in my shoe buyer days, and in style or not, I never stopped wearing them.

wearing: gap denim button down (SUMMER FRIENDLY SLEEVELESS OPTION), old navy madras shorts (TOMMY HILFIGER VERSION), sperry boat shoes (I ALSO HAVE THIS COLOR), Michael Kors bag, (GORGEOUS SNAKESKIN VERSION), ENGLISH LAUNDRY HAVANA SUNGLASSES

worn to: POLYNESIAN CULTURE CENTER 

The sunset in Hawaii is spectacular!