Can I get a little color please?

Good afternoon dolls! Hope you're all having a wonderful Wednesday so far. Mine is pretty good- I've gotten to learn a lot of twitter tricks at work today, which is always cool. I love when I can apply things from my day job to my outside interests (aka blogging)! So I mentioned this already, but I am living alone for the week as my brother is now back at college and my mom is traveling on business. I can't decide if I like it or not. Pro: It feels great to be in my own space (I am staying in my grandmother's old condo) and to truly feel like a responsible adult. Con: It is lonely. To be honest, I think the con wins in this case. Luckily, it is only for a week and in just 10 days I will officially be living with my roommate so I can have the best of both worlds! 

I am sure many of you have heard that Kendi from Kendi Everyday is hosting a winter edition of her very popular 30 for 30 closet remix project. I have admired (from afar) the brave bloggers that partake in this challenge and thought about joining the fun myself. But it wasn't until a lovely twitter convo with Katie and Collette I finally decided to make the leap! So come on girls, just go for it and head over to Kendi's blog to sign up. I need more of you with me :)

So I definitely meant to sure this with you lovelies yesterday, but having forgotten that my grandmother's condo does not have internet access, I was left stranded. Two weeks ago the fabulous Kileen from cute and little (don't worry she lives up to the name) launched an awesome blogger project called Color Brigade where she encourages bloggers to put their creativity to the test and style bright outfits using at least 3 colors. I absolutely love this idea and have been itching to put together colorful outfits to combat the dreary winter weather we are experiencing. I mean who doesn't feel a little better when they throw on some pink and colored tights, even if the weather outside is frightful? And sleeting rain definitely counts as frightful in my book!

Blouse: H&M, Skirt/tights: Kohl's, Pumps: Steve Madden, Watch: Michael Kors, Rings/bracelet: vintage grandmother's. Highly annoying sleeting rain and ice covering everything that causes Virginia drivers to act like they just got behind the wheel of a car yesterday: c/o Mother Nature.

I have been wanting to add a fun pair of colored tights to my arsenal to utilize on days like yesterday when everything around you is just screaming drab. And these babies worked. Not only did I feel lighter and sunnier, but my coworkers commented on how my outfit made them smile. I couldn't have been happier!

My only complaint about this blouse is that it is SO staticky and it clings to everything, making it look wrinkled when it isn't. But I just haaaad to have this color combo so I wound up doing that awkward "tug and smooth" game all day. No bueno chicas.

And the Pièce de résistance of the outfit: the coveted gold glitter Steve Madden pumps! Yes, you have patiently let me editorialize my love for these beauties time and time again and they finally nestled up in my closet right before Thanksgiving. It was a touching moment. I cried. Just kidding. No really. It was the happiest ending to a love story that this little romantic could have imagined. 

To see all the fierce day-brightening-with-color members of Kileen's fearless brigade, head over to her blog! I mean it. Go now. Or else :)

Bisous! 

The case of the missing date night

Bonjour babes! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend, and for those lucky ducks whose weekend will be extended, I am jealous! So what was on your agendas? Fabulous soirees, wonderfully comfortable movie nights, shopping extravaganzas? Pray tell chicas! You know I love to be in the know. Ok, enough of sounding like gossip girl... I headed up to Philadelphia this weekend for my cousin's baby's baptism!! I was so stinking excited to see the most precious baby girl ever and her fashionista mommy! And it was really nice to spend some quality time in the car with my lovely mumsicle and brother as all three of us made the drive together. Matt goes back to school Monday so this was my last chance to spend time with him for awhile, as baseball will consume his life from the moment he goes back through August! Isn't that a crazy schedule?? He is going to make it big one day though and it will all be worth it. And you can all say you "knew" about him before he made it dears! This is basically my long way of apologizing for not posting on time this weekend and combining Fashion Challenge Friday and Resolution Sunday in this ginormous post. Forgive me you gorgeous little divas you? Oh thank you, thank you- I knew you would :)

So loverlies, I have a confession to make (and yes, I know I make a lot of confessions- don't judge me). I am 100% a total sucker for what I like to call "the date dress". Exhibit A: one of my very first posts. Others may call it a cocktail dress, but when I see a fabulous mini frock it just screams to me "parade me in front of a cute boy pretty, pretty please!!" Nine times out of 10 I answer the call of that most perfect date dress and welcome the newbie into my closet. But that is where the warm reception ends, darlings, because I have not actually partaken in the dating ritual in two years and counting. Alas, these poor, sad little beauties that thought they were going to be taken out for many nights on the town hang limply in a dark closet growing increasingly less optimistic of their chances of seeing daylight by the hour. I know, it truly is an unfortunate plight and I would love to be able to help them out. Trust me, I would. So seeing as the whole dating prospects still appear to be slim to none, I have decided to conquer the forgotten "date dresses" and ensure that if they can't be seen by the suit of their dreams (and the boy of mine) that at the very least they become my latest Fashion Challenge!

Dress: Betsey Johnson, Cardigan/Belt/Tights/Shoes: Kohl's, Necklace: Pearl shop in China, Earrings: Gifted from mom, Ring: Gifted from Aunt

When I saw this dress on Rue la la this summer marked down 75% off retail, everything about it was just screaming my name! The pink, the ruffles, the tulle- I just couldn't resist.

I make every effort not to buy items that I don't have any place to wear, but as I mentioned I have a major weakness for "date dresses" and passing on this one was just not an option. When it arrived I think I literally danced around the house for several minutes, and sadly, that was the last time it was worn- until this weekend.

But as soon as I decided that my latest project was to start incorporating date dresses into my daily wardrobe, I knew this was the place to start. And what better color to wear to a baptism than the color of new beginnings? I had to throw in the shoes to add a little edge to a very girly ensemble.

I am kind of a (total) wimp when it comes to the cold and Philly is even 10 degrees colder than what we have here in DC, so as much as I would have loved to have taken all my photos out here I was too much of a weenie. I love the street my cousin's live on- all cobblestone and you can't even drive on it because it is too narrow.

I have to say that I am kind of obsessed with Kohl's right now, which you probably figured out by the fact that half my outfit is from there! They truly have adorable clothes (and shoes) for unbeatable prices. I love the Simply Vera Vera Wang line (the shoes) and I am seriously considering going back and buying this cardigan in every color they offer it in since it is possibly the best cardigan I have ever owned. I know I was going a little overboard on the ruffles this day, but I was just feeling particularly into ruffles.

Well, since today is really Sunday and not Friday (like I just pretended it is) I think I should start talking about resolutions and willpower and such :) Last Sunday I kicked off my first resolution Sunday by vowing to start the year off on an organized path by engaging in a closet cleanse. I have to say, it feels great! I can see my options so much better now that the closet is divided by categories and I can actually see the floor! It is amazing how much better you can feel when you start off organized. I plan on having a lovely before/after post this week. But enough about last week, let's get on to this week! I am on my own for this week as my mom is traveling on a business trip and I plan to make the best of it by focusing on another area I wanted to work on this year. My weekly resolution will be to cook at least three times this week and they will be new meals that I have never made before! I have been ordering food way too often lately, and that does nothing to help get me prepared to live on my own, nor is it wallet friendly. So this is an all-around good idea and I am very excited to get back in the kitchen, considering I have hardly cooked since graduation. I will let you ladies know how it goes :)

Bisous! 

Passing on the blog love

Hi loves! Happy almost weekend! I apologize for the lack of posting this week; it has just been one of those crazy weeks that you don't seem to have even a moment for yourself. But I am happy to say that things seem to be calming down, and that regular posting of Fashion Challenge Friday and Resolution Sunday will occur!

In this crazy, busy and slightly stressful week one of the absolute highlights came when I signed on here yesterday morning to see that the lovely K of Roam Where You Want To had given me a "Stylish Blogger" award! Thank you doll for giving me this award and totally making my day/week! Her blog has been one of my favorite recent finds as she combines a love of traveling, fashion and cooking. Who could want anything more?? I adore her Fashion Friendly Monday posts and am always amazed at her out of this world DIY abilities (just wait until you see her adorable wristlets)! Suffice it to say, this chick is fantastic and I am so humbled that she passed this award on to me.

As part of the award I am supposed to share 7 things about myself with you girls. I promise to try not to bore you :)
1. I truly think everything looks better in pink. I once put a red sock in my whites load on purpose so I could have all new pink clothes without having to buy anything. A bit extreme, bien sur; creative solution to a pressing addiction, mais oui!
2. I absolutely adore Audrey Hepburn because I think she embodies the great qualities all women should have: grace, glamour and class!
3. I am the happiest when it is snowing but I despise the cold. Yes, darlings, I am the queen of contradictions.

4. The smell of chlorine is comforting to me because swimming pools were such an integral part of my childhood, and typically the setting of many of my favorite memories. 
5. I can relate almost any situation to an episode of the tv show Friends. A true classic if you ask me (or my bestie!) and I will never get tired of watching episodes over and over and over again.
6. As a little girl, my favorite thing to do was lay perfectly still in the oceans and just float wherever the waves took me. Now I sometimes wonder when I lost that ability to just float with the current and see where life takes me.
7. My brother is my hero and best friend. I don't know what I would do without him.

The brother and I on Thanksgiving

To keep the fun going I get to pass the award on to some stylish ladies whose blogs always provide me with great amusement, inspiration and sheer enjoyment. I definitely recommend these blogs if you are looking for a few new ones to check out and haven't already seen these! Check them out and I know you will enjoy.

Kileen of cute and little
Vicky of bikinis and passports
Hannah of Mademoiselle Hannah
Sydney of The Daybook (p.s if there was an award for cutest couple of all time if would so be THEM!)
Ivonne of Ivonne Stacy Style
Kim of eat.sleep.wear
Carrie of this free bird
Mara of M Loves M
Jessica of Style Obsession
Gabby of Gypsy*Diaries

Bisous!

Resolution Sunday

'Ello poppets! Yep, tonight you are getting a pretty cray-cray version of me! Too much fun+lack of sleep= une femme de folle! I hope you all had amazing weekends! I certainly enjoyed my reunion with school friends. I admit, it is always so hard to leave them behind each time though. 

First things first, I want to congratulate Erika of Cafe Fashionista on winning my Elle for a Year giveaway! I hope you will enjoy every page turn. I'll send you an email very soon girl with details :) Thanks to all who joined in the fun and stay on the lookout for more fun giveaways to come! 

To continue with the theme of ringing in the new year and introducing changes to the blog, I wanted to kick off my first Resolution Sunday! Mara introduced the idea of setting smaller, more attainable weekly goals rather than year long goals that are often forgotten about within a few weeks. I loved the idea and decided to jump on board, but slightly late seeing as I missed the first Resolution Sunday. I decided to start off on a very practical foot, so this week's resolution is to complete a major closet cleanse! It has become so time consuming to sift through the multiple items that I never wear every morning to try and find the wearable clothes. Some are outdated, some just don't fit and others were merely bad purchasing decisions. Any way you look at it, these sad neglected items just don't have a place in my closet anymore. It is time to sort, organize and cleanse. Not only will I be able to create a much more workable closet, I will also help myself to become a much more practical shopper as I will now be able to clearly see what purchases are necessary, and which would be just impulse buys with no real justification. All in all, I think this is the perfect jumping off point for my weekly resolutions and year of change. And seeing how it goes, maybe you will get a peek into said closet to see the finished result!

So ladies, anyone else participating in Mara's little challenge? Making any smaller resolutions on your own? Any advice on a closet cleanse??

I'd love to have a pretty little closet haven like this! Something to hope for :) 

Bisous! 

Introducing Fashion Challenge Friday!

Bonjour lovers! Happy Friday! It has been such a busy week so I am very excited to welcome the weekend. I hope you all have a scrumptious weekend planned. I will actually be heading down to the wonderful state of North Carolina and hitting up my alma mater! It has been a whole 2.5 months since I have seen my college friends and I am going nuts! Yes, I know it isn't all that long but when you go from seeing people everyday to every few months, the transition isn't always easy!

Ladies, the last time we talked I told you about some new features I wanted to try out on the blog. If you remember, I mentioned that Friday posts will now be featuring a personal fashion challenge that I am working on overcoming. I honestly don't have this all worked out, but usually I will be featuring a trend/style/idea that I have been wanting to try and didn't have the courage before now, or have been struggling to make work. My thoughts right now are that these posts will be less text heavy than my usual posts (what can I say I just love to write) and mainly focused on the clothes themselves. I truly welcome your feedback on this new feature (well I'd love your feedback on anything on the blog!) as this will be a new experiment for me. Feel free to tell me if you don't think I have really overcome the challenge and you'd like to see me try again. I am a fan of honesty :)

If you look at all the NY resolution lists that have been made in the last week, I would venture to say that a large majority of them have several commonalities: exercise, lose weight, eat healthier, get organized etc. Well, if you tackle the last one from the perspective of a fashionista, the object of affection is likely the closet! There have been all kinds of stats tossed around about how most of us only wear 20% of our wardrobes 80% of the time, and while I don't think my situation is quite at those numbers, I definitely have perfectly good items hanging in my closet that have hardly seen the light of day. And that is just not fair to the clothes! Though one of my resolutions for 2011 may be to majorly cleanse my closet of items that don't fit right and likely never will again (anyone else still holding hope that those jeans will one day miraculously fit again??), or items that I will never wear again, my first Fashion Challenge is to find ways to revive the hardly-worn-but-still-amazing items! Let's see how it goes...

Cardigan: American Eagle, Bandage skirt: H&M, Tank: White house Black Market,  Skinny belt: Kohl's, Tights: Forever 21, Heels: Simply Vera Vera Wang via Kohl's, Earrings: Forever 21, Necklace: Gifted, Watch: Michael Kors, Bracelet: Christmas gift from cousin via Juicy Couture, Ring: Grandmother's vintage

So I think I have had this cardi hanging in my closet for almost 2 years now, and can count on one hand the number of times I have worn it. 

But, I can't even tell you how many times I have pulled it out and tried to put an outfit together with it, pouted unsatisfied in front of the mirror and promptly discarded it back into the closet abyss.  

There is no real explanation for this: it is my favorite color, it has stripes (obsession!) and has a longer very comfortable boyfriend fit. Nothing about this cardigan screams fashion challenge! 

But it just never seemed to work. It gaped in all the wrong ways if it was buttoned up and if I left it unbbuttoned it ended up slipping uncomfortably off my shoulders.    

I even tried just buttoning the middle button and leaving the rest hanging, but something was still missing. Oh wait, what if i grabbed my skinny belt, buttoned just one button and then placed the belt strategically over that button? Voila! 

You are probably thinking, girl you are not all the creative- all you did was belt a cardigan like the rest of us have been doing for years! But what you have to know, is I had never embraced the power of the belt (skinny, wide or regular) before a few months ago. I thought they were merely an accessory only needed for pants that didn't stay up. 

So, while this is definitely a very tiny victory, it is still a check mark nonetheless in my personal fashion challenge quest. Hey, baby steps are always good, right? 

Don't forget to enter for a chance to win Elle for a Year before Sunday!

Bisous!

Ringing in a new year

Hi darlings! I hope everyone is having an amazing start to 2011! I know I am very excited about what this year will bring. The first few days of a new year are always wonderful, because everything is new and fresh and you know the year ahead is a blank slate for you to decorate. Ok, wow I so did not mean to make that corny rhyme. I guess you just never know what will come out of these fingers!

In honor of the new year I have been thinking a lot about this little blog of mine and where I want to take it this year. It means so much to me and I definitely want to continue building on it and improving it with each post. One of the things I have observed from other bloggers that I really like is the concept of feature posts such as Cafe Fashionista's Tightwad Tuesday or Closet Fashionista's This Week in Fashion. I've decided to give feature posts a whirl starting with Fashion Challenge Friday and Resolution Sunday. Friday posts will now consist of a specific challenge I have been wanting to test out, but just hadn't quite worked up the nerve to try. I think this will really help me diversify my style and expand my fashion horizons. On Sundays I will be joining Mara in posting about my resolution of the week. She has vowed to set a manageable goal each week and blog about it each Sunday and she has invited other bloggers to join. I love this idea of setting smaller, more attainable goals to keep me on track all year, so I am accepting the invitation! I think these feature posts will really help me streamline my goals for this blog and help me to develop my blog voice further. So tune in Friday for the first fashion challenge and I can't wait to see how it goes!

New Years Eve is honestly one of my favorite nights to get dressed! That sounds so silly, but I truly do look forward to it as a kind of last crazy hurrah before the end of the holiday season. Plus, it is a night where everybody gets all glammed up, so it really challenges me to step up my fashion game in order to still stand out in the crowd. I guess I just always like ah challenge :) This year I decided to ring in the new year with one of the greatest guys I know and some of his friends. This guy has been my rock for 19 years and has put up with me even through my pain-in-the-butt teenage years. He loves me unconditionally, makes me laugh harder than anyone I know and most importantly he has always been, and will forever be, my best friend. Who is this fantastic, wonderful man you ask? Well, for those of you who read my blog regularly you might have guessed already that I am speaking about my one and only little brother (not so little anymore)! Yes, I had an amazingly fun evening hanging out with the brother and some of his friends, who over time have become some of my closest friends as well. And they even nicely indulged me in my idea of turning the party into more of a soiree if you will, which included dressing the part of the fancy sounding name! How I convinced the boys that they really did want to don a dress shirt and tie for NYE I will never know! But we all showed up looking quite classy if I do say so and we finished out the year with a bang! I was so glad that we did decide to dress up so that I could debut the gorgeous sapphire cocktail dress and silver sparkle shoes that my amazing mother had given to me for Christmas! My mom said when she was younger, her mother would buy her a NYE dress as a Christmas present every year and she wanted to carry on that tradition now with me. I told her I was a huge fan of that tradition, especially since my mom knows my taste in style perfectly! I loved wearing a brightly colored dress on NYE and I was still able to incorporate my love of sparkle with the shoes! I also got to debut my new haircut that I mentioned last week and I had been a little unsure about it, but everyone was so sweet and complimentary that I felt much better!

The bro and I keeping it classy on NYE!

My brother's best friend since they were 4 (aka my other brother)

The boys looking fly!

These were my favorite outfits of the night! I apologize for cutting off their shoes, but they looked so amazing! I mean who doesn't love some fierce stripes and a total sequin dress for NYE?!

Ok so confession time: I was having such a good time on NYE that I didn't take proper outfit photos, so I had to recreate the look. Except... I don't currently have the shoes because I am staying at my dad's house this week! So if you wouldn't mind ignoring that I am barefoot and instead imagining that these babies are bedazzling my feet, I'd be so grateful! Thanks :) Oh and as I promised, a big THANKS to my sweet dad for playing photographer tonight. You're the best!!

Both the dress and shoes were Christmas gifts from my mom. The shoes literally arrived the morning of NYE and I was SO excited to wear them! For the party, I donned my favorite bow ring, a cocktail flower ring with a fake pearl as the center and a pair of dangly silver earrings. I didn't add a necklace, as the neckline was statement enough. My fingernails were painted a shimmery Orly silver polish and my toes were a perfect OPI blue to match the dress (can't remember either polish name).

This photo kind of makes me look like I have a huge badonk-a-donk, but in real life it was one of the more form flattering dresses I have ever worn!

I was so shocked to see Dad had hung lights on the porch of his apartment, since he never put them on the outside of our house. But they gave it a nice homey feel, which I like. We had to take these photos quickly before I froze my tooshie off!

I love all the folds and ruffles of this dress. Gives it character!

I am still getting used to styling these bangs, so bear with me :)

Dad started getting into the whole photography game and suggested a second location. Secretly, I think he just wanted to show off his newly decorated pad! But it is so nice, that I don't blame him!

I never did a great photo of the round embellished neckline, but I adore the extra oomph the adornments gave to the dress!

Loves, I am so sorry for being quite this late with a NYE post. I hope you subscribe to the better late than never mentality! Don't forget to enter my Elle for a Year Giveaway before midnight on Saturday and tune in Friday for the first installment of Fashion Challenge Friday. 

Bisous!

Read all about it!

Happy belated New Years loves! I hope you all had fantastic evenings filled with sparkles, shine, bubbly and midnight kisses! Mine included 3 of the 4, but I'll just let you wonder which three :) I have been meaning to show you photos from my night, but I was having camera trouble all weekend. We should be back in business tomorrow, though!

On December 23rd I achieved one of the first goals I had set for this blog: to have 100 followers before Christmas. I could not have been more excited! It means so much to me that you wonderful ladies take time to stop by and read my random musings. I learn from each and every one of you and I always look forward to checking out your lovely posts. I have been promising a giveaway to thank all of my followers for awhile now and I always deliver on my promises! When trying to decide what would be good enough for you fabulous fashionistas, I took some of my own advice and turned to one of my Fashionable Giving posts and immediately spotted the perfect giveaway item! To thank all of my current (and any possible future) followers I will be giving one lucky lady a year subscription to Elle Magazine! I am always so inspired by the beautiful spreads that the magazine produces month in and month out, not to mention the top quality writing content that the incredible editors churn out. I would love to bestow this gift upon one of you dears.

The rules to enter are pretty simple, but please feel free to ask a question if you need any help entering!! You can leave a comment, or you can always email me at lwainman321@gmail.com. I hope you will all join in the fun before midnight (ET) January 8th! I will use random.org to pick a winner and announce the winner Sunday.

To enter:

1. You must be a follower of A La Mode et Plus either through Google Friend Connect or bloglovin' and don't forget to tell me how you are following.

2. Leave a comment on this post about whatever your heart desires!

3. Please leave your contact info (either blog address or email address) so I will know how to reach you if you win. 

4. Note: Unfortunately, this giveaway will only be open to my U.S followers. Sorry international readers, but I will make it up to you soon!!

For extra entries (separate comment for each please): 

1. Follow this blog on Google Friend Connect AND bloglovin'

2. Follow me on twitter (laurachanning)

3. Tweet about this giveaway, and please leave the url to your tweet

4. Post about this giveaway on your own blog

5. Share your best blogging tip!

Good luck chicas!! I can't wait to see who will win and stay tuned for several more giveaways to come!

Bisous!