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Scarlet Threads is Back!!

June 24, 2015

I’m so excited to be a part of Scarlet Threads for the third year in a row!
This sale is a great opportunity for women to not only clear out their closet of items they don’t wear anymore, but also to find cute, new things at a great price. I usually contribute around 200 items to the cause, and walk away with everything from TOMS booties to vintage handbags to a hand-painted Parisian scene on canvas. This time, the sale is bigger than ever, because it’s encompassing summer AND fall items. I’ll be there volunteering and shopping several days throughout the sale, if you’re in the area, I hope to see you there!
😀

April Beauty Buys

May 11, 2015

This last month has definitely seen a wide variety of beauty buys.. I picked up some necessities like my all-time fave shaving cream and citrusy hand soap to some pick-me up items like cheery floral-print bobby pins and a roll-on perfume that makes me nostalgic for days spent beachside.
I’ll start with a new subscription box that I’ve started receiving, from the French-inspired brand, Jouer. It’s called Le Matchbox, and it’s full of skincare and cosmetics, delivered quarterly. It’s $45 for the ongoing membership, or $65 for a one-time box. I’ll be doing a full review once I’ve had a chance to use the products a bit more.
There was a note inside offering their apologies for being out of their trademark box, so they included this great makeup bag for the inconvenience! I love good customer service..

The details.. a gorgeous mini blush/bronzing brush, Daily Repair Treatment Oil (a $48 value!), Crème Eyeshadow Crayon in Abstract, a shimmery charcoal, Hydrating Lipstick in Whitney, travel eyelash curler, a sample of their gorrrgeous smelling Perfume Oil, Mineral Powder Blush. Overall, this box was a great value. I am already in love with the perfume oil and the lipstick. The blush is gorgeous, but is not glued to the pan, and the eyelash curler is VERY tricky to get undone, like I feel like I’m going to snap my fingers inside of it! I will be doing a full review soon 🙂

Next up, some summer essentials…
from Planet Beauty, Redken Extreme Anti-Snap.. This stuff was recommended to me by a friend, who shared that it was the best product on the market for repairing split ends.
From Amazon, Sun Bum’s SPF 30, Cool Down after sun lotion.. I love these products not only for their effectiveness, but for their incredible beachy yet luxe scent.
Lilly Pulitzer for Target bobby pins.. Literally the ONLY thing I got from this collaboration. I had my sights set on much more, but like so many others, got shafted with the online ordering at 1 am and didn’t want to ruin a Sunday morning with my honey by standing in line at 7 am. They’re super cute, so I’m not mad at it. From what I did see, the quality of the dresses was very subpar. I saw a caftan with the design completely off-center and some of the items with stitching coming undone. Meh.
EOS Shave Balm.. My absolute favorite shave cream. I will NEVER go back to foaming shave gel, this cream is the SH!T.
J.R. Watkins Grapefruit hand soap. Maybe it’s because I love sugary, citrusy scents in summer, maybe it’s because I enjoy saying Pamplemousse. Either way, I adore this stuff.

From Sephora –
Maison by Martin Margiela Replica Roll-on.. As soon as I smelled this beach-driven scent, I was taken back to some childhood memory I couldn’t quite place. It must be a good one, because I can’t stop sniffing my wrist whenever I wear this.
Anastasia Brow Wiz in Caramel.. An old standby and staple in my makeup bag.
Sephora Tinted Self-Tanning Body Mist.. I was going to try this today after my shower but noticed there were not instructions on the can! Not that spray tanning is rocket science, but it’s nice to see should I rub it in, how far away to spray from, how long before dressing, etc., so I’ll definitely have to look that up and report back.
I grabbed a couple skincare samples, along with a vial of Tory Burch’s fragrance, which I’d been waiting to try since it’s release.

Ok, so its not beauty-related, but I wanted to include these stationery items I’ve just gotten from Rifle Paper (Botanical Card Set/Hello Darling Stationery Set). They were purchased through one of the Lucky Breaks deal at 50% off, and I feel like this is just the start of my grown-up paper goods arsenal. The cards can be send to friends or colleagues for thank-yous, and the correspondence cards will come in use for a casual note that still makes a great impression.

Thanks for reading,
Kristin
😀

Artisanal LA with OOTD

May 4, 2015

I swear, I should live in LA for how many events I end up attending in the area! Last weekend, we went to the Artisanal LA expo, this weekend, the Gluten Free Expo, and day after tomorrow, Mark and I will be going to a concert at the Disney Concert Hall. Since I’m a smidgen behind in posting, ahem, I will first share photos from last weekend. Artisanal LA is a collection of vendors selling everything from pickled veggies to freshly charred s’mores to vintage dresses and potted succulents. We picked up several goodies, like spicy green beans, ancho chili and tamarind sauce, small-batch chocolates, and of course, I grabbed a couple of things from the vintage clothing pop-up shop. Below, some highlights from the show…

The handsome boyfriend and I. I wanted to wear something spring-y but super comfy knowing that we would be walking for a significant part of the day.

It was pretty awesome watching our s’mores being made. I seriously want to own a brulee torch now.

OMG. So good. The one on the right.. has bacon!

Gorgeous, simple bouquets.

A table full of bliss.

A little shoefie, stopping off at Anthropologie. No purchases were made here, but my eyes were darting everywhere at the thought of 20% off all dresses!

Next stop was the Farmer’s Market. Being faced with the difficult decision of where to eat, we finally decided on The Gumbo Pot, a creole spot serving up gumbo, jambalaya, and my pick, softshell crab po boys. For dessert, we had to try the beignets, which unfortunately, were not as fluffy as I prefer so we decided to give the other two to an adorable older couple who were sitting next to us. They seemed to enjoy them! 😀

Open-front cardigan – Vince Camuto
Tank – J. Crew
Blue jeans – Old Navy
Sneakers – Old Navy
Necklace – Penguin Holley Handmade

Thanks for reading!

Spring Wardrobe Additions

May 2, 2015

I know they call it spring cleaning because you’re supposed to purge your closet of all of the cast-offs and overly saturated items from last season/year… But my typical approach to the tradition is when I take things out of storage, to keep most of what I already have (unless it’s stained, scratched, tarnished, or holey), and work it back in to the rotation, along with adding in some new pieces to jazz things up a bit.
I think it helps that I try to stay away from overly trendy pieces… You will not see me rocking a pair of culottes or a choker anytime soon. Mostly the last one because I like to have free range of motion of my neck, but I digress.. Some pieces you can just tell are going to be so short-lived, not to mention unflattering (have you seen what a peplum does to a girl with wide hips?!) A maxi dress, midi skirt, striped t shirt, ankle-strap flats, etc. will always be on-trend because they’re pretty timeless and classic. Prints and fabrics sometimes will date an item, but that’s when adding a fresh new piece comes in to play…
Below are a few things I’ve picked up recently to integrate in to my wardrobe which you will definitely be seeing more of in future posts 😀

These bad boys from Dolce Vita (another NordRack find) were already featured on my Instagram page, but I thought they deserved a second look. They’re so versatile in that great neutral brown/grey/beige tone and could easily add polish to a monochrome ensemble (I’m thinking all black or all white would be amazing!)

I first came across the leopard calf hair version of these ankle-strap flats at Nordstrom Rack, and thought OMG, these are perfect for work or for brunch or pretty much anything. And they’re $30 (!!!!) And then, I came across the black ones and knew there wouldn’t be much point in sitting there deciding which to buy because I would wear both of them constantly.

These caught my eye for the obvious reasons, but the thing that drove it home for me was that they reminded me of some lovely sandals that Alyson Haley of Sequins & Things had posted recently here. I loved the opal and bright stones mixed together, but they were a bit more than I wanted to spend at $110. These beauts were on sale for $40 and are a pretty close match.

Ok, so maybe I went a little overboard with my summer sunglasses stash, but I couldn’t help it! I found some great pairs at a steal ($20 each!) from Free People and Nasty Gal, and I’m constantly losing, breaking, scratching and otherwise destroying glasses so I need a bunch to choose from that I won’t cry over their demise.
From the top:
Free People Bel Air
Free People Abbey Road
Free People Kensington
Nasty Gal Deviant
Free People Bel Air
I also picked up these from Nasty Gal but I’m not sure if I’ll be keeping them.

This lovely vintage dress and the midi skirt below were picked up last weekend at the Artisanal LA event last weekend. I thought we were all done, after a couple hours of perusing pickled vegetables, goat’s milk cheese, painted truffles, etc. until I walked out and spotted the most awesome airstream trailer bursting with racks of shift dresses, pleated skirts and straw totes. The shop is called Blossom Vintage, and I chatted with the proprietor, Jamie, for a while about her traveling business. Read her cute store here. She made me an awesome deal on this dress ($30!!) and while I may have to have it taken in, I will get so much use out of it this summer.

This pleated midi skirt is perfectly on trend right now! It fits very snugly around the hips (it’s a size smaller than I normally wear), but if I pull it up a bit, it is wearable and so cute!

Look at these little zebra fellas! They’re so adorable and quirky!

I’m still waiting to receive my order from LOFT, but as soon as I found out about it, I knew I had to partake in their 50% off sitewide sale! Unfortunately, the sale ended yesterday, but I’m sure they’re have another one along shortly 😉
Clockwise, from top left:
Floral Midi Dress
Embroidered Tassel Blouse
Tropical Midi Dress
Swallowtail V-Neck Shell
Blouson Tee
Love Triangles Tee & Skirt
Swallowtail Sweater
Update, I just checked their site and everything is 40% with no code needed! So there ya go haha!

And last but not least, some more shoesies I found on a recent trip to Nordstrom Rack. I’ve already broken in the Louise et Cie and Tory Burch Eddie flats at work, and the Calvin Klein nude pumps running around town. I’m in love with the other two pairs, the snakeskin, ankle-strap pumps from Joe’s and the Matisse wedge sandals, but have yet to find the occasion to wear them.. With summer fast approaching, I don’t think that will be the case for much longer! I also picked up a Vince Camuto open-front cardigan, a couple of tops for work and a fun tank for yoga.

What have you purchased recently for the upcoming warmer months?
😀