Love, love, love

Salut loves! How was your weekend? Fabulous, I hope! I was lucky enough to spend Saturday with my fantastic college babies who make me feel so old! But, I love them to death and feel like a kid on christmas morning every time I get to see them!! I still have yet to spend a full weekend at home since August (crazy, I know) but every trip has been totally worth it. Next up: visiting the best little brother for family weekend and watching him do his thang on the baseball diamond. Can't wait! What did you beauties have on your agenda this weekend?

Well, that stubborn summer I was pouting over last week seems to have exited over night. Today could have been perfect considering it was in the low 70's, but the torrential downpour made it hard to fully enjoy the cool, crisp autumnal weather. However, it made it fully acceptable to break out the leggings and boots! I do not believe in the leggings as pants trend, but I am a huge fan of leggings with dresses/tunics paired with boots. Love, love, love! They are more comfortable and less mom-ish than panty hose, in my opinion, but they have a similar effect of making an outfit a little more appropriate for the work place. The combination of today's outfit and the delicious nonfat chai latte that was my afternoon pick me up finally made me feel like like my favorite season, fall, is finally here!

When I first got this dress I wasn't so sure about it, because I have never been much of an orange fan. But the fun pattern  had won my heart so I gave into a new color and I have never regretted it. Like I said, I am all about branching out this fall, whether it be with a new color palette or trying new trends that I have previously stayed away from. Dress: Kohl's, Tank: White House Black Market, Leggings: H&M Paris, Boots: Kohl's, Purse: Vintage Louis Vuitton (more on that later), Jewelry: Borrowed from mom and cousin, Headband: Charlotte Russe

Always been a sucker for Blair Waldorf-esque headbands :)

Notice something new... :)

I never thought I would have gotten so much wear out of these boots, but they treated me very well last season, and I look forward to another wonderful fall with my original boots!

Lucky for me, my sweet cousin who moved in last January has great style and lets me borrow her jewelry. Thanks cuz :) Finally got the nails polished as well. Still obsessed with purple, but went for a glittery shade this time.

In order to combat the blues that could accompany this gray, rainy day I have been occupying myself with thoughts of things I am loving right now, which I am happy to say is a long list. I won't bore you with all of it, but thought I would share some of my favorite things right now, and yes, the sound of music lyrics are definitely running through my head.

Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens... Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes. Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes. Silver white winters that melt into springs. These are a few of my favorite things...

 

 1. Ok, how could my new vintage Louis not be on my LOVE list?? I am completely in love with this baby and how the vintage colors go with sooo many outfits! Thanks to the fabulous Gina of Gina Marie Vintage I am the proud owner of my first vintage piece! If you are in the market for anything vintage, from dresses to coats to accessories, Gina's boutique is a must-see. She lists the condition of her items with total honesty, ships purchases very quickly and emails you personally to ensure you are pleased with your vintage accoutrement. Though this is my first purchase from Gina, I would definitely recommend her and would do business again with her!

2. You have probably figured out by now that I adore Audrey Hepburn, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to come home and find this darling poster propped on my bed tonight! My sweet cousin came across this gem while she was at Michaels today and kindly bought it as a surprise for me :) Could she be any  more wonderful? Audrey Hepburn, surprise gifts and the best little cousin a girl could ask for are obviously on the love list!!

3. When I got home from my travels this weekend I was pleasantly surprised to see these two large pumpkins sitting on our porch. Only my fantastic mother could have known how badly I was ready for fall. Funny enough, I had picked up the baby pumpkin on the way home, so we now have a cute little pumpkin family to announce the arrival of fall to any of our neighbors who may be doubtful. Can't wait to decorate these guys with my cousin soon!!

4. As a self-diagnosed shoe-a-holic, shoes are a given in my list of loves and these pink Betsey Johnson cuties, on sale at Rue La La are testing every ounce of my willpower. But, I am determined to be good, thus I am sharing this deal with you ladies but not scooping them up myself.

5. Ok, is it just me or has Gossip Girl really stepped it up with the fashion this season?? Every episode is filled with beautiful ensembles for me to drool over!! I showed you two of my favorite outfits from tonight's show last week, but Blair's sparkly attire for Fashion's Night Out was divine as well! I adored Serena's flowy and sexy dress as well! Bravo Eric Daman, bravo.

6. Last, but not least, is you my darling blogging beauties!! So far my journey with this blog has been an absolute blast and hearing from you is such a joy! I look forward to reading your delightful posts every day, and learning more about you is great fun. Please let me continue to hear from you because it makes my day!! And don't forget to become a follower of my blog! I promise I will return the favor :) Sleep well dearies!!

Bisous!

(Images from ruelala.com and cwtv.com)

Hello Lovah!!

Hello lovelies! I hope that wherever you are, you had as beautiful a weekend as we had and that you took advantage of the perfect almost autumn weather! As I mentioned earlier, I went to visit my little brother, who also happens to be my best friend, this weekend with some friends and we had a fantastic time! I wish I could have stayed longer, but alas I have to be a grown up and can't live the college life anymore! My parents actually came down on Saturday as well to see him pitch (he is a division 1 baseball pitcher) so we had a nice little family day yesterday. The day was picture perfect for a baseball game and we all enjoyed watching him pitch the best game we have seen him throw in a long time. It was so nice for all of us to be together, too, since that doesn't happen very often anymore. Doesn't hurt that his team is very good looking as well :). Perfect weather, baseball AND cute boys= my heaven! It was a little too hot to wear the outfit I had planned, but I made due with capris, a tank and flats that I hadn't really thought I would need. For once my obsessive over-packing paid off! We capped off the lovely day with a healthy dosage of chick-flick by indulging in Letters to Juliet-- a movie I have been dying to see, especially since Sophie is a fact-checker aspiring to be a writer. Now if only I could have a romantic Italian adventure and fall in love with a gorgeous English boy! Hey, a girl has to dream, right?

Today my mom and I continued the weekend of driving and left bright and early this morning to head up to see our favorite pregnant lady for her baby shower! My cousin and his wife are expecting their first baby this fall and we are all SO excited. My cuz is 10 years older than me, so my brother and I always looked up to him as kids. He was "the coolest" in our minds and we loved every minute of the summers he spent with us. I can't believe he is about to become a father and we were thrilled to celebrate the beautiful mommy-to-be today. She happens to be one of my biggest style inspirations and took me on one of my most memorable shopping trips in Georgetown. She always manages to look classic and modern all at once. Even though she is almost 8 months pregnant she looked adorable today and definitely didn't skimp on fashion for comfort-- she wore heels for goodness sake!

Getting emotional as she realizes she is about to have something tiny enough to fit in that little onesie!

So what do you get for the fashionista mommy?

A coach diaper bag of course! :) This was our long standing joke since her answer to "when are you going to have kids??" was always "when I can afford a coach diaper bag!"

I am convinced that there is nothing more precious in the world than a sleeping child.

The ladies of our family with our favorite momma-to-be!! Dear baby, please come soon!! 

Now you are probably wondering what in the world the title of this post has to do with baseball games and baby showers. Well, maybe if I had written about what I originally intended to write about it would make sense :). So anyways, to get back to that...

Hello, my name is Laura and I am a shoe addict! (Now is the part when all you other shoe addicts say "Hi Laura!" Oh come on, I know you are out there!) As a recent college graduate I did one of the things college grads dread doing... yes you guessed it, I moved back home to live with mom. Yes, it is only temporary and I am hoping to have my own place to decorate very, very soon (with two fantastic roommates I might add!), but for now I am the college grad bum sponging off my mom. Is it a bummer at times, absolutely. But does it allow me to indulge in my shoe addiction for a bit longer (while still saving for my own adorable digs, of course), ABSOLUTELY!! Am I thoroughly enjoying this advantage?? I think you know that answer :). Lately whenever I am not on deadline for freelancing, I have found myself wondering over to the new Bloomingdale's Outlet after work, drooling in the shoe department and thinking in my head "hello lovah!" I used to be a very good window shopper, but now all those pent-up, unfulfilled longings seem to be coming back to bite me in the butt! I think I have been watching too much Sex and the City since I seem to be justifying my many purchases by saying, well it isn't like these are $400 Manolo Blahniks! I had been itching for a chance to wear my latest babies, and I decided that the baby shower of one of the most stylish ladies I know was the perfect debut!

As much as I love the layered outfits of fall, I had to take advantage of one of the last hot, sunny weekends of the season and get another wearing out of one of my favorite dresses. Glad I did, too, since almost every woman there was in a dress.

Thank you to mom for taking pics even when you just wanted to go to bed. You're the best!

The accessories.

My current loves :)

I am kind of a sucker for bows!! 

Dress: Kohls
Bag: Handbag Heaven
Ring/Bracelet: Charlotte Russe
Earrings: gift
Headband: H&M
Shoes: Badgley Mischka

Ok, now that you have seen my obsession from every angle, I want to hear all about YOUR weekends! I hope they were absolutely wonderful and that all of you beautiful ladies got to wear something this weekend that made you feel fabulous! What is the item in your wardrobe currently that you just love? Tell me about it!

Until tomorrow babes,
Bisous!