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Saturday Blogger Brunch & Viewing at La Jolla’s The Lot

October 6, 2018

This post is sponsored by The Lot and Pink Blush. It contains affiliate links. Purchasing items through them may provide me with a small commission. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Dressed for Time.

Hi, loves!
I hope everyone is having an amazing start to their October. The weather in Chicago has just now started to turn to rain and gloom, but that month of relative calm after we arrived was much appreciated to kind of ease us in! A little life update – We just heard back last night that they’re agreeing to our terms and we should have keys to our new house by the middle of this month! So exciting!!!!
Full disclosure, this brunch took place a couple of months ago, but we had an issue uploading the pictures and then moving, so it regrettably has taken me longer to get up than I anticipated. Apologies for the delay! Thankfully, the weather in the San Diego area is still about the same, so unlike where I am now, the patio at The Lot is still an amazing place to spend your Saturday morning and afternoon, followed up by watching a movie in one of their luxe theaters.
ICYMI, I also hosted a brunch in LA a couple months prior, that you can read all about here. I just enjoy so much being in the company of amazing creatives, sharing ideas and struggles, and kind of strengthening the bond in our community. Not to mention, gorgeous views, and tasty food and drinks! Those never hurt ? I chose Saturday because I think it’s the best day for brunch.. I’m not sure why people haven’t caught on yet, but when you brunch on Sunday, all of that champagne makes Monday all the more rough to handle. I like to brunch on Saturday to allow my body and mind a day of rest and to recharge before the new week begins.
I’ll get right in to it now with some fun shots of our meetup for Saturday blogger brunch & viewing at La Jolla’s The Lot!

The crew! From L to R : @lilbitsofpau; @collectivelychristine; @matalasi; @thehackerette; @lifeandstylebyap; me!; @modernn.milliee; @kelsslayt

Outfit deets – Dress c/o Pink Blush (similar) // Sandals / JustFab // Glasses (“Warren” use code IF7ZQCUZNP at checkout for $10 off!) / EyeBuyDirect // Bag / vintage // Necklace / Kyle Chan Love Initials & Rocksbox

Let me first talk about the vibe at The Lot in La Jolla. Think of the chicest outdoor patio, surrounded by planter boxes full of lush greens, immaculately clean tables and grounds, tons of nature-inspired elements, and just a sense of luxe calm, if that makes sense. It never got too noisy, but people were still having a great time and enjoying themselves. My kind of place, for sure!
90% of us ordered this fun cocktail which turned out to be the most vibrant shade of pink from the muddled blueberries. Our food arrived and out came the phones so we could be *basic* bloggers and take shots before digging in. I ordered the eggs Benedict, as I frequently do, and it was quite delicious. Just the right amount of cooked for my eggs (yolks still runny but no runny white), and the arugula gave a nice little peppery bite.
After we wrapped on our meal, we headed inside to watch Mamma Mia. Not only did I enjoy the movie immensely, (which was a surprise, because I generally despise musicals), but the leather reclining seats were SO luxurious and comfortable. I’m pretty sure Mark almost fell asleep a couple of times. Another perk of this theatre is that you can order drinks right from your seat! The servers are very inconspicuous so you don’t feel like you’re bothering your neighbor, and I was amazed at how quickly my drink was delivered after ordering.

All in all, another successful outing!
A HUGE thank you to the sponsors of our gift bags:
GoSili Silicone Coffee Cup
Pic’s Peanut Butter
Sarabecca Hand Cream
Eliza J halter tank
Ettika Jewelry Collection

Now for a fun little outtake that I can’t stop laughing at!

Shot by MDMS Photography.

Hope you enjoyed this post! I’d love to hear in the comments.. Where is your favorite place to brunch?
xoxo

NYFW Spring/Summer ’19 Final Days Recap

September 30, 2018

This post was created in partnership with Pink Blush, Kestan, The Haute Society & 50 Bowery, Bond 45, Aldo, Blank Slate Tea, Eliza J, Rent the Runway, and Gorjana. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. It also contains affiliate links. Purchasing items through them may provide me with a small commission. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Dressed for Time.

Throwing you right back in to the action! Check out my earlier coverage of NYFW Spring/Summer ’19 here and here.

The morning following our GNO, I had my appointment with Glamsquad for a blowout that I had tried to push back later but 8:30. I ended up getting roughly 4 hours of sleep so that morning was less than fun for me waking up, but the blowout was SO worth it, because even in the rain, my curls lasted until that night! Side note, (and full disclosure as always, I will get a $25 credit as well), if you use my code ktaylor6816 when booking, then you get $25 off your service! My blowout with tip was $40 and for not leaving the house, that ain’t bad. Will definitely be considering them next Fashion Week as well.

@gracefullyglamblog and I, waiting in line to shop! On me – Top c/o Pink Blush // Jeans / Black Orchid Denim // Boots / Jeffrey Campbell // Bag / Cambridge Satchel Co. // Necklace c/o Kestan // Earrings / Zara

After getting glam, most of my group headed to the She In pop-up sale. I didn’t have any experience with the brand, so I was pretty shocked to learn that they we’re offering 20% off the already pretty freaking low prices. I picked up a cape, bag, t-shirt, sunnies, and dress. We grabbed a quick cup of coffee (decaf mocha for me!), and headed down to the Haute Society influencer party, held at Hotel 50 Bowery. It was so lovely to meet some of my fave girls that I’ve been following for YEARS on Instagram, as well as be introduced to some amazing creatives that are definitely on my radar now.

Cheers-ing some Sauvignon Blanc with @innabose. Shot by Courtney Pecorino Photography.

OK, with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background?! Such a quaint little spot to dine or just sit and chat.
We actually had two shows confirmed to attend this day, but ended up un-comfirming because we just didn’t have it in us. I think I may have mentioned this in an earlier post, but DON’T overbook yourself! We certainly did and it took a toll mentally and physically. I never thought I’d be saying this, but there comes a time when you’re just like yeahhh.. I don’t really even want to deal with going to a fashion show right now. It’s just a LOT to attend, so make sure you’re pacing yourself throughout your trip.

After the event, we ubered back to the apartment and took a 30 minute cat nap before getting ready to dine at one of my fave NY spots, Bond 45. We visited them last season, and I’m always blown away by the level of service, not to mention the fantastic and authentic Italian food they delighted our tastebuds with.

So, now that everyone is in a visually-induced food coma… You can imagine we poured ourselves in to an uber and headed back home. But not before I tried to get a shot of myself in my lovely $14 H&M satin gown.. In the rain.. In the middle of traffic.

Dress / H&M // Bag c/o Aldo // Necklace / Rocksbox

What you don’t see are the Fast Flats I was forced to wear because my blister-ridden feet were having none of the heels I tried to force them in to. Little did I know, the flats had multiple holes in them from previous wearings and they flooded with water as soon as we stepped out of the uber. I was literally drying them off under the table and trying to get my feet warm throughout dinner. Super classy, I know. Oh, and side note, and this is important to mention because it happened multiple times. We had to walk about 2 blocks because the uber driver convinced us that the restaurant was just up the street… No. He was lazy and didn’t want to drive through Times Square traffic so he let us off prematurely so we would have to walk two blocks in the rain. What a jerk!!!

On Monday, while everyone else went out to shoot or attend events, I actually managed to sleep in until about 9 o’clock. It was blissful being in a quiet apartment, just resting. It didn’t last though, because we had a very full afternoon to look forward to! Our first stop, Blank Slate Tea. So, I had been following their social account for a while and always wanted to visit the super girly (not to mention Insta-worthy) space to see it for myself. I definitely was not let down. The owner treated us, and everyone else in the restaurant, like royalty, walking around to check in on the patrons throughout the various stages of their meal. We were craving some veggies after all the heaviness, so we opted for salads and sandwiches, along with their dreamy lattes.

Dress c/o Eliza J // Necklace / gift show find // bag / vintage

Next up, we all headed over to the Foley & Corinna open house collection preview. Can I just say that I wanted every single bag! Many of them were floral print or mustard, which are current obsessions, and a lot of them were in really interesting shapes.

Myself and @lauryncakes posing with a few of our favorites.

A couple of the girls wanted to try to get that infamous shot at the Flatiron building, and I was totally game, so off we went in the pouring rain to try our luck!

Dress / Forever 21 // Sneakers / Superga // Bag / vintage // Necklace / Gorjana

The shopping bug was creeping up again, so several of us headed to the Rent the Runway sample sale. I’d previously visited their warehouse in Seacacus, New Jersey when it was still open to the public, and this was very similar. Well, except for the public dressing room, and the bags and jewelry being in less-than-stellar condition. I did find this cute Kate Spade fan style, along with 4 gowns that I probably didn’t need but felt I had to have. Following the hour+ of shopping, we headed to a little Mexican restaurant around the corner called Habenero Blues. Their queso and chips were TDF, but my enchiladas were very underwhelming, borderline gross, and really expensive for what they were.

Back to the apartment to knock out. Some of the girls had already left or were getting ready to leave, so there was kind of a sad vibe in the air. I started packing to be proactive, and actually had to buy a new rolling bag when we were out to fit all of my New York finds and gifts. Some of us said our goodbyes that night, due to some particularly gnarly early morning flight times.

As promised, I wanted to share some shots of our gorgeous apartment that we booked through Domio. They’re a new way to book luxury apartments and have some gorgeous listings that I keep browsing in New Orleans, San Diego, Austin, Nashville, Boston, and Honolulu. We stayed at one of their first New York properties, and even though I got my workout walking up and down three flights of stairs throughout the day, I definitely would return.

Well, my dears, that is a wrap!
I’d love to hear about your experience at NYFW, or why you’d like to attend next season!
xoxo

NYFW Spring/Summer ’19 Day 3 Recap

September 24, 2018

This post is sponsored in part by Pink Blush, Kestan and Cleo Restaurant NY. It also contains affiliate links. Clicking on them or purchasing items through them may provide me with a small commission.

Whew! Days 1 & 2 were so jam-packed, I honestly could have called it there and been completely satisfied with the trip. That was so not the case, as we were just getting started with our New York adventures! Keep reading to see what I got up to on day 3…

Our first show of the day was at Pier 39 Studios for the Custo Barcelona runway. Legit, you guys, this was my favorite show of the season. So many mixed metallics, pastel rainbows, swingy dresses, bomber jackets.. Enough trying to explain in, check out these images of some of my favorite pieces from the collection!

Pictures courtesy of Custo Barcelona

After Custo, even though the next show was in the same building, we had to go back outside to check in for it. Kind of annoying, and I wish they could figure out a way to check you in for both at the same time, but I digress. Next up was the Oxford Fashion collection of designers, which admittedly included a whole bunch of designers I’d never heard of before, but I didn’t find too many pieces that I was like “oh, yes, I would totally wear that!” Nothing against the designers, some of the looks were just a bit high-concept for my taste. I was SO excited to run in to Rachel from @racheloffduty and Summer from @summerlebuchanan before the show started! We met through a blogging community back in Southern California and I was missing my girls so much! We had planned on all going to lunch together, but got pulled in different directions in the end. Thankfully, I believe they’re both attending next season!

A couple of the girls and I wanted to play proper tourists and check out The High Line, and let’s be honest, take some cool pictures. We tried to make it there last season but OMG was that the coldest, windiest day in existence and we just couldn’t handle our lives. So thankful that the sun came out, if only briefly, for us to grab all of these amazing shots!

Dress c/o Pink Blush // Booties / Target // Bag (on sale) / Shop Daily Belle // Bracelets / Rocksbox & Trending Above // Necklaces / Forever 21 (sold out but linking similar)

@racheloffduty; @blondeblissblog; @dear.kindred; muah!
Shot by @courtneypecorinophoto

The rain started coming back so we left the High Line in search of our first meal of the day. After mobbing through the cluster that is Chelsea Market, Rachel and I decided on bagel sandwiches, and then I met up with the rest of the ladies and we headed back to the apartment for a well-deserved rest. I say rest, but it was really about 30 minutes of laying in bed on our phones and then starting to get ready for dinner!

Dress c/o PinkBlush // Necklace c/o Kestan // Bag / Shop Daily Belle // Earrings (under $12!) / Amazon // Sandals / Who What Wear Collection for Target

Shot by Courtney Pecorino Photo

Our amazing photographer, Courtney, was so excited when she heard we were dining at Cleo because she’d dined previously at their Las Vegas location and LOVED it. I absolutely understood why because literally everything I ate or drank while dining with them was delicious. Standouts were the Passionfruit Margarita, Roasted Cauliflower, Lamb Shwarma, and the Brussels Sprouts. OMG the Brussels Sprouts… I’ve never tasted anything like them and am currently sitting here craving them. If you go to Cleo, GET THE BRUSSELS SPROUTS, OK?

After dinner, a few of us headed to a local rooftop bar for a bit of drinking and a whole lot of dancing. I’ll admit, I probably overdid it this night. A couple cocktails and glasses of wine at dinner, and a couple of cocktails at the bar/club had me feeling pretty toasty. We cabbed it back to the apartment and crashed hard.

Alright, so I was initially going to make this post include days 3&4 but they were both pretty full so the rest of my trip will be coming in the next post!
Hope you enjoyed following along, babes!

NYFW Spring/Summer ’19 Days 1 & 2 Recap

September 20, 2018

This post is created in partnership with Delsey, Aldo, Eliza J, Kestan, and TheeGirl. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links and clicking on them/buying items through them may provide me with a small commission.

Sweater (regular/plus) / Maurices // Jeans / Mavi // Sneakers c/o Aldo (so obsessed with these, they are like metallic mermaid print and magically go with everything!) // Luggage c/o Delsey (currently over $200 off!) // Necklace / Kyle Chan Love Initials

Oh my goodness, dolls.. It has been an adventure to get to where I am now (mostly literally ?). Not only did we pack up a admittedly overstuffed 3 bedroom house and move cross-country via road trip with 2 dogs, but 5 days after, I packed up again and flew by myself to New York for Fashion Week! I have SO much content to share with y’all so I’m going to break the posts up into NYFW Days 1 & 2, 3 & 4 and 5 & 6, so I don’t overwhelm everyone, including myself. I’ll also be sharing a few tips on attending and some observations I’ve made over this season and the last, (I attended in February as well, check out those posts here for Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3/4).

This time, a group of us (9 influencers and one photographer), for our lodging accomodations worked with a company called Domio, which is similar to AirBnB but soooo much improved, in my opinion. Domio is just moving in to the New York area and we had the opportunity to stay at one of their properties that is not even on their website yet. We were ALL trepidatious about 10 ladies staying under the same roof during the flurry of Fashion Week, but I’ve got to say, we all had enough room to spread out, and boy, did we! I’ll be sharing some shots of our apartment on my last post, but for now, I’ve got to share with you some of the fashion!

After landing, I took the Newark Airport Express shuttle bus to the city, which is a great option when flying in to EWR. It’s only $31 for a round-trip ticket, versus around $70 for an uber. I met up with Lauryn from @lauryncakes outside of our apartment, but unfortunately it wasn’t ready for us to explode upon just yet.. Not Domio’s fault, we both just arrived HOURS before check-in. We hauled all of our stuff to the nearest Starbucks, put on full faces of makeup at the table, and changed into our first look. We were joined by Caitlin of @caitpatton, and Cait and I headed off to Spring Studios for our very first show!

Now, I will say that I didn’t get too many still pics of the fashion shows this season… It’s just too rough, unless there is a presentation. However, I have saved all show coverage on my Instagram Stories, if you wanna go check those out. So here is where the tips and what have you come in to play. I was told to get to the show 30-60 mins before start time. I actually arrived about an hour and 20 minutes prior, and stood in line for ONE HOUR AND 45 MINUTES. Now… I’m not saying that I am not incredibly grateful for the opportunity to go to a major runway show, and have a seat on top of that, but girrrrrl, my feet were killing me! So first tip… Yes, arrive early, (but not too early), stand in line and be respectable. But for the love of everything, wear shoes that you know won’t wreck your feet after standing in place for an extreme period of time. My blisters had names by the end of the day.

The first show we went to was Tadashi Shoji, and WOW, so many gorgeous designs, I was clapping in my head during the entire runway. I also couldn’t help but notice Heather Graham, Dascha Polanco, and Tess Holliday sitting front row, hello! Cait and I met up with her friend Austen of @austentosone, and we did a quickie photo shoot across the street from the event space, which I shared on Instagram and Eliza J was so amazing to share on their feed as well, so thank you, Eliza J!

Dress c/o Eliza J // Bag / Target (old Phillip Lim collab) // Heels / vintage // Necklace c/o Kestan

Side note, can you tell the difference in the color of my legs? I was still having to wear a compression sock on my right leg because of my sclerotherapy battle wound, but thankfully, I think the nude shade wasn’t TOO different from my own skin. It probably would have been an exact match, except I was a little red from all of the running around and sweating in the low 90’s heat.

After this, we headed back to the apartment to check in, unload all of our stuff, meet up with the roomies who had arrived while we were gone, and then get ready for the next event!

Jozy (@blondeblissblog), Leslie (@dear.kindred), Courtney (@courteypecorinophoto), and I all headed to the Banana Republic store for the Bumble event. The real treat was to hear the Foster sisters, Erin & Sara, speak on gender equality, creating content, female empowerment and so much more. What I didn’t know is that they are both hysterical and I could pretty much listen to them feed off of each other all day long. On that note, going to check to see if they have a podcast… OK, so it doesn’t look like they have one, but they did inspire me to download the Bumble app to see if it could lead to me meeting new people, now that we’re settling into the Chicago area. More on that later!

After the event, the four of us went to a fantastic little tapas restaurant that I now for the life of me can’t remember the name of. But it was good. We were all so wiped after the long day of traveling and whatnot that we headed back to the apartment and knocked out. Good thing too, because Leslie and I had the most jam-packed ever schedule for Day #2.

OK, so I wasn’t expecting to write this much in each post, but I feel like each day was so full, it kind of just gets long, you know? So Day 2 included Leslie and myself waking up at 5:45 AM, (I was supposed to wake at 5:15 but like a ding-dong set my alarm for PM instead of AM, insert face palm), to take a $45 uber to Brooklyn to get all kinds of dolled up for a photo shoot for SoCal dress brand, Thee Girl. It’s been a long time coming, me working with this brand. They didn’t offer any size above a Large, but I was asked to help with the launch of their new extended size range, woohoo!! I’ll try not to overload y’all, but we took some reallllly good shots!

Dress c/o Thee Girl // Heels (on sale under $15!!) / Maurices // Earrings & Necklace c/o @collette_marie_jewelry

How stunning does Leslie look in that sheer overlay gown???
TBH, the first thing I saw when I looked at these shots is wow, I’ve gained some weight. My hips look ginormous, my thighs are all dimpled, I’m so damn pale… And then all of a sudden, I was like, why am I talking down on them? Yes, those are all traits that I have, but that doesn’t mean the pics aren’t still gorgeous and that I look really good in that dress?! I know it’s not just me, but sometimes it is SO easy to play the comparison game and get down on yourself for supposed imperfections. I’m trying to learn to appreciate the “flaws” as just part of what makes me, me.

OK, guys, and this is where I take a moment to get a bit serious and tell you the whole story. Shortly after Leslie and I got back from our shoot, my phone rang and it was my mom. I instantly got a bad feeling and my throat was tight when I answered. She said “Hi”, and then told me she was calling to let me know that my grandfather had passed away in his sleep that morning. I’m now crying as I type this because I didn’t really have a chance to process it then. He was 96 years old and lived a long and full and beautiful life, and can now be at peace with my grandmother, who passed a year and a half ago. I wouldn’t say that the news was completely unexpected, but I definitely thought I’d have another chance to go back home to see him again, and I deeply regret not doing that sooner. My mom asked what I was up to, and I told her I was in New York, (she had forgotten I was going to Fashion Week), and she told me to put the news out of my mind as best I could so I would be able to enjoy every moment. She told me that Papa was proud of me for working so hard to get where I am and he wouldn’t want to put a damper on my plans. And you know, she was right. Papa was one of those selfless people who always wanted to make others happy and put their needs before his own, especially with regards to my grandmother. I could only hope to be so devoted to someone after 60 years of marriage. We just booked our flights to fly back to San Diego next weekend for the services, and are still trying to figure out what to do with the dogs. I might do a post on loss later, because I have so much to say on that topic, but for now, back to the reason you came here!

@dear.kindred; me; @blondeblissblog; @raelynsroulette
Shot by Courtney Pecorino Photo
Immediately following the shoot, we raced back to our Murray Hill apartment to decompress, change, and then race to our next event, the Fashion Palette show featuring a plethora of awesome Australian designers, such as Elliatt and Harvey the Label. Unfortunately, even though we were technically 10 minutes early (and thats after someone else’s ticket issue held us at the door for 5 minutes), they had already given away our seats! So my coverage of that show was not as good as it could have been, I’m just sayin’. Something to be wary of as well.. Your seating situation can change at a moment’s notice. You can go from standing to seated or seated to being shoved in the back in the far corner jusssst like that. But it’s all part of the ride!

After that, we jetted over to the Eliza J showroom to check out their newest collection (OMG, swoon!!) I was beyond excited to run in to Kim from @liveloveblank in the their lobby! We’ve been following each other for years, and it was so nice to finally connect in person. She is one of those people who is EXACTLY like she is in her stories… another running conversation in my apartment was how each of us kept meeting people at random events and them being so completely opposite of their persona on Insta. I’m talking specifically about girls who are cheery, bubbly, tote being highly religious and/or inclusive in their bios and then treating some of my roomies and me like absolute dog shit. I’m not going to name names, but some of these chicks were so aggressively rude for NO reason, I just don’t get it.
Note to everyone, having 500K followers on Insta (or whatever platform or whatever number), does NOT EVER make you more important, more entitled, or just plain better than anyone else in this world. Get your shit together, ladies!!

Time for a little photo shoot in front of the apartment!

Trench & Necklace c/o Kestan // Tank / Nordstrom Rack find // Jeans / Black Orchid Denim // Bag / Loeffler Randall // Sneakers / Superga // Earrings / Banana Republic
Shot by Courtney Pecorino Photo

I honestly don’t even remember what we had for dinner because it was such an exhausting day. Another little honesty bit is that we actually had THREE more fashion shows to attend this day and missed them all. The first, because our shoot ran crazy long, and the other two we were too overwhelmed and already beat to be able to enjoy. So note for next time, schedule no more than 2 shows and 2 events per day, and budget TONS of time for anything that’s beyond your control.
Hope you enjoyed to post, loves, and stay tuned for the next two chapters in my recap!