My Kind of Red, White, and Blue

Happy 4th!

Dress in cerise and royal blue scarf - J. Crew; shoes - Franco Sarto

Summertime and the Livin' Is Easy

I found these killer child-size sunglasses at Target and they are the perfect accessory to go with Ava's summer style.

We had a pretty low-key Father's Day around here. (Well, low-key by our standards I guess.) I barely finished cleaning up from my birthday party (my Father's Day gift to the hubs) but we had both my husband's family and my enormous family all over for some pool party action. We BBQd steaks and some of the chicken we had leftover and drank a yummy rosé. And I am so ready for some downtime.

Workout Wardrobe Makeover

Last week I was reviewing the expiration dates in my Groupon account and noticed that I had only five weeks to use the remaining 19 classes of a 20-class pass at a local gym. (Would you believe me if I told you I had gone to only one class the week I bought the Groupon and never returned? Sadly, this is true.) So I mapped out the four classes I would attend each week for the next five weeks. This is week two, and I have to report that my body was in dire need of this wake-up call. The Fitness Challenge had kept me in pretty decent shape before I went and birthed a child. And while the Groupon was meant to add some spice to the workouts I should have otherwise been doing, I had yet to really shock my bod back into high gear. So the Groupon is going to do it for me. Since last week, thanks to one particular Cardio Sculpt class (TRX bands, kettleballs, and handweights plus aerobic activity, squats, lunges, you get the picture), I have been sore like never before.

All this working out in public, however, has inspired me to look for a new workout wardrobe. I think a trip to Lululemon is in order...

If I wear these, will my legs look like this?!

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Festival de Cannes Pool Party Style

I had a little fun with Beso putting together this wardrobe for the party this weekend... What do you think? Would you wear any of these looks to a yacht party in the French Riviera?

View Entire Collection >>

Dress to Impress

In case you've been wondering what's been consuming the majority of my focus for the last few weeks, it looks like this...



Since you never get a second chance to make a first impression, one of the tasks on my interview prep to-do list was to shop for a new suit. I hadn't had the need to wear a formal suit over the past four and a half years (since I interviewed for my current job).

I was a little surprised at the lack of options out there for something formal. Several sales clerks suggested I wear a white summer pantsuit or a bright colored dress because "that's what they're wearing to job interviews these days." Maybe I'm just ultra-traditional or conservative, but is the formal interview suit becoming passé?

Despite the well-intended suggestions, I finally found this Calvin Klein number at Macy's. I love the A-line skirt option, which really is much more flattering to a pear shape like my own than a pencil skirt.

I paired the ensemble with some fun Calvin Klein patent-leather pumps in light gray stripes. (I couldn't find them online but the color is the White option here.)

Of course, also high on the to-do list was lots of cuddles with my good luck charm.

Proud to be an Online Bargain Shopper

So... a couple weeks ago, I found the dress I saw in Portland and ended up paying even less for it! I couldn't stop thinking about that dress, and regretted not swooping it up since I desperately need dresses for all the events we have coming up, and I don't find things I love enough to own every day. So I actually called the Portland store to see if they could maybe ship it to me, and they gave me the style number and checked some of the stores closer to me, and they actually had it less than two miles away from my house!

I will refrain from showing the dress as it will make its debut soon enough... but let's retrospect on what brought me to make this purchase, shall we?

I do almost all of my shopping online these days (even, and especially, my groceries, an expectant friend was horrified to learn recently... she'll soon understand).

Caution: Online shopping often creates the tendency to overspend. Seriously. It's common enough that the April 2011 issue of Glamour, p.145 (yes, I finally just got around to reading this during some me time on the elliptical a few weeks ago; don't judge) talks about how to overcome this trap. It's so easy to get click-happy and end up with stuff you don't really want or need. Then, even if you actually ever get around to returning it, you're still out shipping costs, both ways.

Being cautious of this trap, I am careful to factor shipping here and back into my cost-benefit analysis. With so many free shipping promotions out there, it's rare that I pay shipping at all, and I always make sure I can get free return shipping as well or am able to return in-store so I'm never out anything if a product doesn't work out.

This online shopping methodology means you have to be prepared for constant returns.

So here is my formula for successful online shopping:

1. Price-shop online to find the best deal. It is so much easier to bargain hunt when you literally have every store in the world at your fingertips. Be sure to pin your top choices for easy comparison.
2. Go in to check the item out in person. Besides not paying for shipping, I admit, there is something nice about actually going to a store and seeing the quality and even trying something on before calling it your own. 

Disclaimer: I rarely have the luxury to actually go into a store to see something in person (which is why Portland was such a treat for me), so sometimes I take chances and make a purchase without seeing it in person first, but only if I'm able to return it at no financial loss.

3. Buy it on the spot if you can get the same deal or better without shipping charges (since you already know you've found the best price). If not, place the order online when you return home. (This is where the pinboards will come in handy.)

I'm sure this process has saved me hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. It's rare that I will still want something after putting it under this microscope (or keep it after seeing the dent it's put in my checking account).

Side note: It's not that I'm such a penny-pincher. I'm totally willing to spend money, sometimes even on things that others would consider frivolous, but preferably under the following circumstances:

• It's on sale at a huge discount. Almost everything goes on sale eventually and I don't usually mind waiting until it's out of season. I'm in this for the long run.
• I'm not able to get the same thing for less somewhere else. It's worth it to me to shop around.
• I'm not able to make it myself for less. Whether or not I think I'll actually have the time or patience to do it; I just can't justify it.

Example: Here are a few items from the J. Crew spring sale that passed my criteria and found themselves on my doorstep last week:

Stripe twisted stitch henley in champagne/black.

No longer available!

Linen cable-knit sweater in flax.

Whisper linen dolman-sleeve tee in concord grape.

Now, I don't know what the deal is with J. Crew's sizing because I ordered all smalls and I'm swimming in all of them.

Portland Shopping Spree

I figured you might be curious about what I actually purchased in Portland since I was going on and on about the shopping there.

So here you go...

First up is the jacket featured in a horrendous 3-way dressing room mirror iPhone shot:

Houndstooth Jacket from Cache

And then a close-up of the necklace and the rest of the outfit I wore that day (including my attempt at "the half-tuck") in the full-length mirror back in my hotel room:

Golden Bead and Chain Necklace from Cache

I honestly don't think I'd been into this store since shopping for prom dresses in high school, but am so happy something in the window caught my eye (probably the sale sign since I'm such a cheapskate fantastic bargain shopper).

There were a couple other items very close to coming home with me, and I'm having serious non-buyer's remorse for not pulling the trigger on a coral square-neck dress from BCBG and a royal blue striped scarf from Ann Taylor, both on the final sale rack that I can't find online or at the stores at home. :(

Anyway, here are both items worn together:

I think it's hilarious that this picture reveals the camera remote in my hand!

And since I was obviously in the mood for a fashion show, here's the necklace above with the "mom uniform" I've been wearing lately:

Love, Audrey top; Candy Rain tank; Arden B. leggings; Bandolino wedge sandals; Movado watch

To the Nines

Portland has to be the most underrated city! I've been here a couple times before but I have been loving this little mini-retreat more than I expected. (Of course I'm still homesick but making the best of it as I promised myself I would.)

The sites around Portland:

One of the many warehouse lofts/storefronts I admired on my walk to the office in the awesome Pearl district.

An adorable Asian-inspired storefront with really cool wooden fencing. 

The Pioneer Courthouse facing Pioneer Square, with this really cool chaotic street sign.

The square across the street.

A food truck foodie's haven with blocks full of all different types of food stands.

Window shopping: Did you know that Portland is the greatest place to shop? I didn't, but now I do. Here's why:

• No sales tax.
• Crazy sales going on right now (and I was just in the same shops at home where half the store was not marked 60% off already reduced prices).
• Amazing cute boutiques and vintage/thrift shops where you can find stuff you can't at home.

I just have one little piece of advice if you would like to take advantage of these attributes of Portland on your next visit and you have only one evening to fit in all of your tax-free purchases: Go to the small boutique shops first (they close at 6pm), then the larger chain stores at the Pioneer Place mall (which close at 8). Do not make the same fatal mistake I did and go to what's closest first. (Then, like me, you may be reduced to peering longingly through the windows of the smaller boutique shops and make the homeless man, who is so clean cut and high class for a homeless man he looks like a regular guy eating a sandwich on the sidewalk, move out of the way so you can take a picture of all the treasures that will not be yours.) Portland is wonderfully condensed and walkable as it is so if you have to make a few loops and then circle back to get to the shops you like best in the order they close, so be it.

Checking into the Nines... I had the choice between two hotels the company I'm traveling for has a corporate rate with, and I am SO happy this one was listed first even though the other is closer to the office because it is fantastic! I am loving every single detail of the decor; it is so my style, and perfect for my self-indulgent little overnight away from home. (Oh yeah, did I mention I'm actually here for work? So I guess it's not that self-indulgent, but again, making the most of it after hours.)

The hotel is in an old department store building so it's right downtown, close to everything.

Outside the elevators on the 12th floor.

The Club Lounge with a balcony overlooking the center of the building with skylight.

Pretty chandelier and rounded corner just outside the suites.

The hallway just outside my room. Beautiful shimmery "dressing room" wallpaper and coordinating carpet.

Full-length mirror in the hallway in my room.

My mini bar.

My beautiful bathroom and vanity.

My upgraded king size bed!

My view to the left.

My view to the right.

Of course I had to finish off the evening with room service... Who wants to eat out alone?

Artichokes in Home Decor

My current obsession...

I saw this dried artichoke vase filler at Pottery Barn last summer and I'm still kicking myself for not pulling the trigger when I saw it because now it's discontinued.

I'm dying to put a bunch of these in apothecary jars on the mantle above the fireplace.

This one here just might do the trick:

Throw in a couple of these, and I think my artichoke fix may just be satisfied.

Hers and Mine: Wedding Party Dresses

I already shared what I will be wearing to accompany Ava down the aisle before Kristen in June, so I thought I would also give you a little preview of the adorable little ballerina dress Kristen chose for her flower girl, Ava (who is not only walking, by the way, Kristen, but running around the house getting lots and lots of practice).

Us Angels Tulle Ballerina Dress in Pewter

Leopard Love

I've been seeing these leopard pants all over the place lately (compared to the more pricey option here) so when I saw them on the rack at Target while picking up a couple last-minute necessities for my weekend getaway, I impulsively swooped them up.

{with top from F21; shoes from Zara}

So the baby on my hip doesn't look quite as stylish as this gorgeous orange clutch (below) but I wouldn't trade my little fashion accessory in for anything.

{via Kendi Everyday}