Year: 2017

29 Dec 2017

Free People January Preview

Abbie Cotton Mini Dress – $98

I got an email that said “January preview,” but in my head I saw “Spring preview.” I’ve always loved Free People – maybe even aspired to be a “Free People” type of girl, but who are we kidding – sometimes, we’re just made for Aritzia. What I love about Free People clothing though is that consistently in all of their pieces, I have never ever felt constrained. Each piece hung onto me – oversized or not – and felt like it was draped over me both delicately and beautifully. The attention to detail in the lace, the stitching, every sequin was impeccable. I may not feel like I can pull off every piece from their collection, but they are the cool pieces that I want to have in my closet for those special whimsey moments. Here is just a little sneak peak of what’s to come next month:

Traveling Lace Sweater – $128

Vegan Tie Flats – $70

Do the Twist Sandal – $90

28 Dec 2017

Little Jumper

Top – Forever21 / Romper – Oak + Fort / Shoes – Vince Camuto / Sunglasses – Marc Jacobs

Quick! Put on display your least attractive body part. I don’t know what compelled me to throw this pose up highlighting my elbows, but that’s what we got. If I had to look back on 2017, this outfit is definitely what I would call “a risk.” As some of you may know, rompers haven’t always been a hit with me. I was very skeptical for a couple of years and especially when they were a “peak” trend, but I gave it a shot. In fact, I gave it two shots because I own a couple of them now. For some reason, I woke up this morning and though “hmm, maybe I’ll layer it over a tee.” This actually didn’t turn out that bad, but when photographed incorrectly or at the wrong angle, it can become the least flattering outfit that I own. It’s a fun outfit to run around in the city in, but maybe not the best choice for work or on a scorching hot day like this day happened to be.

28 Dec 2017

Parley x adidas Originals UltraBOOST

Kevin and I are an adidas fam now because we both gifted each other with a pair of adidas for Christmas. It’s true, I’m finally an UltraBOOST owner and I couldn’t be more excited. The only thing about them is that they’re so pretty I don’t even want to wear them. I love this new collab with Parley because of how winter themed it appears. The light blue mixed in with the black and white gives it this total icy look. Is it too soon to ask for another pair? Probably, yes, but the good news for me is that this probably won’t even be released until August 18th – just in time for me to snag my second pair.

[Source]

27 Dec 2017

A Collection Part 49

We don’t always time these posts with the end of the year, but it feels good, doesn’t it? Even as I search for photos it’s nice to be able to put something together that wraps up the end of the year and my feelings towards a new year. The start of this post doesn’t look anything like the end of this post, which I think is pretty different for a change. You can definitely tell that I’m feeling some sort of way by the end of this. What is it exactly? That I’m holding on to millennial pink? That I’ve got a love inanimate objects? Those things, but maybe a couple of other things that aren’t so obvious.

Read more “A Collection Part 49”

26 Dec 2017

Favorites of 2017

For once, I’m feeling very on top of my end-of-the-year round up posts. Normally, you would see some of these after the new year, but I guess you can thank the Seattle snow for keeping us indoors these last few days and unlimited downtime. Of course, I’m not mad at it because during the rest of the year, we never get this time to sit down and just write.

Favorite Style Icon: Margot Robbie

Is anyone as excited as I am to see I, Tonya?! I still remember watching the teaser trailer like it was yesterday and while I don’t see movies in theaters often, I’m willing to break my rule for this one. Margot Robbie has been on my list of style icons to watch for some time, but it was this year that I started to notice that outfit after outfit, she was consistently nailing it. Whether it’s getting glammed up for the red carpet or dressing down, Margot’s accessories and beauty look are always a perfect match. With the upcoming award season, we can’t wait to see what she does next.

Runner Up: Gal Gadot

Favorite Getaway: Pescadero / Half Moon Bay

It may have only been a day trip for me, but it was definitely one of my most unforgettable memories from the year. After leaving my job and not having too much time in between to start my new one, it didn’t make sense to come back home or plan an extravagant getaway. The good thing about California though is that there are no shortage of destinations to venture out to even in one day. I picked what I thought to be very quaint and cute, but maybe not a huge tourist attraction, found a friend that was in the same boat as I was and we took off! It was a random weekday and so quiet out on the road, but exactly what we needed. It was so fun to just go to the beach and explore this land that no one was at. It was the most calm and serene that I had felt in the last few months and I knew after that day that we had made a good decision about the trip.

Runner Up: Disneyland

Favorite artist of the year: SZA

Wow, was this a tough decision to make. If I could have had two tied for first place, it would have been SZA and Khalid! But I had to make a choice and the reason why I picked SZA was because I felt her music was so much more relatable to what I was going through this year. 2017 was entirely a year for me and focused on me and listening to her in a weird way made me feel like I could do anything. I owned my mistakes, my flaws, made decisions on a whim, drove away from my comfort zone and never looked back. She’s amazing.

Runner Up: Khalid

Favorite Guilty Pleasure: Siesta Key

You know a show is special when you and your coworker make a whole Instagram Live dedicated to it. Siesta Key was the standout reality series of the year for me. The commercials and trailers penned it as your next generation Laguna Beach, but it is so much more than that. I could talk about this show for hours, but instead of doing that I will just say that the show returns to MTV on January 15th so you should use your time now to get caught up on season 1.

Runner Up: Riverdale

Favorite item purchased this year:

If I could have a wardrobe that only came from Aritzia, I would never be unhappy. I wasn’t expecting to find this dress when I stepped into the store that day. In fact, I was on the hunt for a Teddy Jacket over at Uniqlo and when I didn’t find it, I stopped into Aritzia for lightening round shopping fest. This dress was one of the first pieces that caught my eye and right away I knew I had to try it on. I didn’t even have an event to wear it to if I had bought it (luckily that came later!) but I knew I had to have it. It fit me in all of the right places and was so elegant and beautiful. The great thing about a classic LBD is that there is always going to be an occasion to wear it to. I look forward to keeping this in my closet forever ever.

Runner Up: Gap Denim Jacket

Favorite albums (in no particular order):

  1. Kehlani – SweetSexySavage
  2. Khalid – American Teen
  3. Dua Lipa – Self Titled
  4. SZA – Ctrl
  5. Calvin Harris – Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1
  6. Demi Lovato – Tell Me You Love Me
  7. ODESZA – A Moment Apart
  8. Kelela – Take Me Apart
  9. Shawn Mendes – Illuminate
  10. H.E.R. – Self Titled

Favorite Online Past Time: Twitter

When I hate you, but I actually love you. I hate that it was the political turmoil that brought me even closer to Twitter in the last year, but it’s completely true. It’s a large source for my news, but it’s also one of the platforms that can make me laugh consistently. Who knew 180 characters could do that for you… or … however, many characters they allow now? I wish I could say that I was refined and listened to podcasts on my commute, but no, I’m the girl in the backseat of my Uber and Lyft furiously scrolling through my feed to see how much I can get through before I’m dropped off at my local Starbucks.

Runner Up: HQ, Instagram, what else?

26 Dec 2017

MBK Alliance

Barack Obama has teamed up with Chance the Rapper and Steph Curry in a new PSA supporting the MBK Alliance. My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) was created back in 2014 to address opportunity gaps that many young men of color face. In the commercial, you’ll hear a snippet from a previous speech that Barack Obama gave, “I want you to know, you matter. There is nothing, not a single thing, that’s more important to the future of America than whether or not young people all across this country can achieve their dreams.”

Chance and Barack have collaborated together previously, but given Steph’s recent controversy in turning down the invite to visit The White House, many see this as a dig to President Trump. Whatever. 🙂

[Source]

26 Dec 2017

Our Favorite Looks of 2017

Duster – Azalea / Tee – Abercrombie & Fitch / Pants – Uniqlo / Boots – J. Crew

Sure, these are my 12 favorites look of the year, but they also overlap with 12 of my favorite backdrops from the year! If you’re someone who documents your OOTD’s, then you know that these two things kind of go hand in hand. This year, I experienced a major shift in my outfits and that is mostly due to a location change. Living in South Bay was a dream, but it meant that I was living in this sort of alternate reality where it was summertime every single day. The last four years of that are something that I would never give back, but now that I’m living in San Francisco, I’m glad that I get to dress for true weather. It reminds me of my days in Seattle.

In 2017, I embraced a very casual look and I pushed the boundaries of day to night wear. I showed love to some of my favorite accessories (bandana, baseball cap, choker) and revived some old favorites (Keds!) We didn’t find ourselves immersed in any crazy trends… but I did find some pieces worn by other people on Instagram that I went out and bought myself! It’s not really the same thing, you guys. It’s almost… worse.

Read more “Our Favorite Looks of 2017”

25 Dec 2017

Disneyland Bachelorette

Earlier this summer, we celebrated our favorite girl – Jennie – getting married! However, before we watched her walk down the aisle, we threw her her last single girl’s party at Disneyland! Wow – I hadn’t been there in years, but it really still is as magical as everyone says it is. It’s kind of of those places too where you don’t realize how into it you’re going to be until you actually get there. Even being at Downtown Disney the night before and getting excited for the next day alone prompted me to buy these Minnie Mouse ears and even though they cost $$$ I know I’ll have them forever and that I bought them for Little J.

Our entire day at the park lasted from the time that it opened and stretched until it closed. We may have had a drinking/bachelorette party game break in between, but you could pretty much say that we were all Disney all the time. I’m glad that I was in a group with such pros because with them, waiting in line was minimal and they had all of the tips and tricks up their sleeve. I don’t ever want to have a Disney experience that doesn’t involve them because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t survive on my own.

And what would a trip be without some true learning moments? How do parents do it? I barely survived the day as a mid 20’s person, but I can’t imagine what I put my parents through between feeling motion sickness, being hungry, and tired amongst all the complaints I probably had as a kid. And all they wanted to do was to show me the best experience of my life! Thank you parents for all that you do. I’m terrified to take my future kids to Disneyland before they’re like 8. If I ever have children of my own, I’ll have to make sure I look at the Disneyland crowd calendar before I begin planning to bring them there!

I love bachelorette parties, but more importantly, I just love my girlfriends. I can barely remember a time this year where I laughed as much as I did on this trip.