This is what dreams are made of

Hiya gal pals! How was everybody's weekends? Mine was perfection. That's right, perfection! I got to spend Friday with my two favorite guys and watch the Nats kick some serious Mets butt. And who doesn't like that?? And then I stayed up silly late (2 am) getting ready for my annual end of summer bash; which is why my weekend gets elevated to perfection status. Saturday night was the most wonderful evening with (almost) all my favorite people! I had Elon loves, my bros, and roommate and her hubby. Life really doesn't get much better than that.

So does anyone remember that time waaaaaay back when I said Pinterest had basically planned my wedding for me? Well, the little website that could seems to have done it again. This time I actually used it to plan a (gasp) real event, unlike my pretend wedding. And plan it well it did! I've never put to use quite so many of my "pins" in one occasion. From the menu to the decor, drinks and setting the mood, Pinterest was there to see me through the whole planning process. We even had fun jello shots (thanks Michelle!) and cute popsicles. I got so many compliments on the party, and it almost felt wrong to accept them. I felt like I was stealing all of my dear little Pinterest's glory. So, here's to you Pinterest. I tip my hat to you for making me look like a better hostess. You really know how to help me throw one kick butt party! Much love, doll.

Dress: Joseph Rikkoff, from mom, Clutch: LoveCortnie (check out her adorable etsy shop!), Heels: Not seen, Steve Madden, Earrings: Lia Sophia, Bracelet: Gifted, Watch: Michael Kors, Ring: Vintage grandmother's 

My mom found this beautiful and flattering body-con dress earlier this summer, and I had been itching for a chance to get all fancy dressed up.  I knew last week's CapFABB get together was just the moment. I paired it with my new favorite clutch from a local designer and oodles of gold accessories, including a gold sparkle mani. 

I was sure Neiman Marcus was going to kick me out for playing dress up in there $1800 Theory fur coat, but I couldn't help myself. 

I'm in a box, I think? I really don't know what to say about this one other than there was champagne. Enough said. P.S. This picture makes me want to head to a salon RIGHT NOW and get those horribly grown out roots fixed PRONTO! 

Oh you know, I'm a model. 

Showing you the fashions of fall. Take note of the leather accented pants and the smoking slippers. 

In case you wanted to know what I look like doubled over laughing. You're totally welcome. 

Bisous!

Chicks, Sips and Kicks

Bonjor kittens! Happy Friday! My favorite day of the week. Actually, that is a bold face lie, especially considering I told you just last post that Sundays were my favorites. Friday is definitely up there on the list of favorites, but Sunday is more favorite (name that line. go). Let's not mention this little white lie to Friday, though. He and I have hit a rough patch, and I just don't need any more Friday drama. I know I can count on yall!

This week was one of the most insanely busy weeks I've had in a long time, but it was filled with all fun post-work events so I really can't complain! Wednesday night, I dressed myself up in my newest fancy dress, favorite gold heels and lots of gold accessories, and marched my behind right on over to the Neiman Marcus CapFABB get together! Well, first I picked Rachel up at the metro, and then we marched on over. Tandem marching is really the only way to go. Per usual, the CapFABB girls put together a first-class all the way evening, complete with munchies, champagne, baubles to play with, a fashion contest and oodles of outfit inspiration from all the District fashionistas! This was one of my personal favorite looks, as it could so easily be transitioned straight into fall. We got to browse all the hottest trends for fall, including my new obsession: leather. Leather pants, leather skirts, leather accented jackets, leather everything is what fall will bring and I can't wait! Good thing I scored this awesome Alice+Olivia camel leather mini at Secondi, one of the best vintage stores in DC. Along with leather, I can't wait to see shades of green everywhere, structured oxblood handbags and funky brooches. That last one is something I've never given any thought to, but they are going to be huge this Fall and I can't wait to raid my mother's stunning vintage collection! I'm still up in the air on how I feel about smoking slippers, and the continuation of menswear inspired clothing. I guess we'll just have to see how it plays out!

I know deep reds and shades of green are in for the fall, but I'll never stop loving cobalts and jewel tones! Especially for bangles, my jewelry love. 

I am head over heels ga-ga for this leather combo Theory dress! I seriously wanted to whisk it away to NYFW. But, alas, the $355 price tag halted any and all dreams I was having. Click on it though if you are lucky enough to be able to afford it! And then send it straight to me, um k? 

Again with the leather details. As you can see, I am obsessd. This jacket makes me think Chanel meets Biker. Haha. 

Delicious food and champagne were on tap for the evening. 

I honestly am not sure how I feel about the smoking slipper. I think it can work, but I'm not sure its for me. If i do try it, I think it will be in leopard from, rather than this spiky slightly terrifying version.  

These were our models for the night. Two teams of girls dressed them in their take on fall fashion and competed to see who had the best look. I felt look 2 (left) was the most trendy, but look 1 would be some thing I'm more likely to wear. You can't see pants very well, but look 2 s wearing printed skinnies and look 1 is wearing leather pants. 

Cherry lips+brooches add drama to fall looks

All I kept thinking when I saw this bowl of baubles was, "ladies of NY, frost yourselves!" Name that line. Go. 

This is how Neiman Marcus was decorated when you came up the escalators- thousands of butterflies! It was like walking into a butterfly-infested heaven. 

My partner in crime for the night! Thanks Rach for joining me and partaking in the champagne game with me :)

I took way too many photos at this fantabulous event for one post, so full outfit photos/photos of our ridiculousness will come later! Have a fantastic weekend, dolls! 

Bisous!

Laisser les bons temps rouler

Ciao bellas! Hallo Schöne. Salut mes belles. Hello lovelies! I have missed you so much that I needed to greet you four times. You are four times worth it! I know this is like the bajillionth time I have said it, but I'm back baby! Back and more motivated than ever to dedicate myself to this blog! Things are going really well for me right now, and I want to share my excitement with you dolls.

I have been working for DC's regional city magazine, The Washingtonian, as an intern since November and I can honestly say I have never been happier with any employment!  I just feel like it fits me, and every day I wake up excited to go to work. Well, after I get my morning cup of coffee, of course. Not only do I work with incredibly talented writers and editors, but they are even letting me do a little writing myself. I feel like I am really developing my writing style, learning how to express creativity without being quite so wordy (ok, I'm still working on that) and discovering the difference between writing for print and online. I'm also making progress towards opening my photography business, and even booked my first paid gig for next month! I can't wait to work with this couple and hopefully create engagement photos that they will look back on fondly for years. I'll share more with you as the business unfolds. Wow, I used "I" like 10 times in that paragraph. Self-absorbed much? :)

To kick off my return to bloggy land, I headed over to Cities Lounge last night to celebrate the first blogiversary of Cap Fabb! Roommate met me after work and we sipped delicious libations, nibbled a few delectables, arranged flowers and mingled with great ladies! It was a first class evening all the way, and I can't wait to join many more group outings! 

Happy blogiversary Cap Fabb! You sure do throw great parties :)

The gorgeous floral bar thanks to H. Bloom! We got to make our own accessories and arrangements. Some of the amazing ladies made incredibly ornate fascinators and corsages. Being the uncrafty gal that I am, I glued a few feather on a headband, stuck a pin in and called it a day. 

You know there were good drinks! 

Yum, yum, yummy sangria!! I might have indulged in a glass... or two :)

My fist foray back into fashion blogging! 

The photos below are courtesy of Daniel Swartz/Revamp. Thanks for taking awesome photos while we were too busy running our mouths, Daniel!

The amazing BrandLinkDC team who create incredible events around DC! And so glad I finally got to meet Jayne! You were definitely as sweet as Sarah said :) Hope to see you at another wonderful party, soon. 

Our fearless leaders, Liz and Lacey. Happy 1 year ladies, and you should be so proud of how much you have accomplished in just a year. I can't wait to see what the next year brings for Cap Fabb! 

Roommate and I caught in action by the bud bar. 

Showing off our floral arrangements with new friend Madeline!

Just for the record, all parties should have photo booths that are this fun! 

So I totally understand if you want to hold off believing that I am back until I redeem myself by posting more than once a month :) But, believe it or not I really am back with a renewed motivation for blogging and I can't wait to catch up with all of you!! I'll be back on Friday with an amazing product review! 

Bisous!

Let the tweeting begin!

Hello beautifuls and happy Thursday! So many people choose to celebrate Hump day, or rejoice over Fridays, but I personally think Thursday is an under-appreciated day of the week. I mean everyone is so ready for the weekend that they are always ready to party. And everything always seems to be cheaper on Thursdays. Thus, henceforth I will most indubitably enjoy Thursdays. It is official because I used big words. 

By now you are probably all way over hearing about my New York trip. I'm tired of typing the word New York. Really tired of missing New York and wishing I was still in New York. So let's commence with finishing the New York posts, shall we? Only one more to go after tonight! I can feel your excitement radiating through the computer. On my second to last night in New York I got to experience the first annual Blogger's Night Out! I had no idea what to expect going into the evening, as very little information had been discussed. But I had an incredible evening socializing with some really amazing ladies, sipping custom cocktails and laughing our heads off at all our silly blogger antics. The BNO team hosted a truly first-class evening and took such good care of us! We left with quite a bit of swag and got to network with awesome brands, such as LuLu's where you could spin a wheel and win prizes! Ever since my early years of drooling over The Price is Right, it has been a life long dream of mine to step up in front of a cheering crowd, spin the golden wheel and watch the ticker land on that magical space! And guess what chicas? I did. Ok, so the crowd wasn't cheering, but the ticker did on the FREE ITEM spot! Which meant I got to go home with these babies. I can't wait to style them up right and show them a good time!! Oh and I learned a very important lesson about bloggers. When you throw us in a room together we will be incredibly social and giggly one minute, and then total tweet nerds another. I guess you just can never take the tweeter out of the girl. no matter how chic an event she is attending :) Needless to say I had a blast hanging out with my new blogger besties of the week, Alex, Nnenna and Katy! I hope next year there will be many more familiar faces there to share in the fun! Check back in at the end of the weekend to read about my first fashion show experience!

My first impressions of BNO! It was already a rocking party when I got there :)

The sweet menu for the evening. I had the sweet voga and it was deliciousness!

Alex with her LuLu's loot! And she styled it up wonderfully the next night!

I met Allie while standing in line waiting for our chance to spin the lulu's wheel and I told her I was crazy about her dress. Turned out she had been able to rent it from rent the runway for $1! Can you even believe that?? 

I was so in love with her in-your-face green sparkly shorts! Girl has got confidence to rock those bad boys!! 

Just part of out swag! And one of the sponsors for the event. If you are all very good girls, I might just have a giveaway coming soon for you!! 

Again, my blogger bffs! 

Pretty Alex and me in the background being a typical tweet nerd! (Photo credit to Nnenna!!)

What I wore for BNO: Entire outfit was gifted, mostly from mom :)

Oh and the crummy hairstyle was c/o me. I always think it looks better than it really does, but a low side bun is about all I can do on my own. Well, that and a high bun. I guess buns are my thing. 

Were any of you lovelies at BNO? I'd love to hear about your experience and if you enjoyed yourself as much as I did? And I hope I'm not the only one anxiously awaiting to hear from the BNO team about when the next event will be, so I can mark my calendar with a countdown. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller...Bueller...

Oh and just in case you didn't get a chance to see the new Wednesday feature, check out yesterday's 5 Ways Wednesday post and don't forget to send me suggestions of items to style for next week! 

Bisous! 

When bloggers mingle

Bonsoir mes belles! I hope you are in full on weekend planning mode! I have been since last night. What was going to be a low key weekend with no real plans has turned into girls golfing night out on Friday (yes, you heard that right) wedding dress shopping Saturday (not for moi, but roommate got engaged!! major excitement going on over here 24-7) baseball game outing Saturday night to see my favorite pitcher (ok, second favorite behind the brother) pitch, 10k run Saturday morning with Ms. Liz and friends and even more wedding dress shopping on Sunday. Can you say jammed packed?? Mais, c'est la bonne vie! I love weekends like this that are just filled to the brim with casual hangouts with friends and lots of roommate time!

So last we chatted I shared some of my favorite take-away tips from the IFB con. Post conference I learned another very important blogger tip: mingle whenever possible! Basically when you put a bunch of bloggers in a room together, throw a cocktail or two their way and say go for it, goodness ensues! I haven't been to too many blogger meet-ups, but I am quickly learning that they are fabulous! We all feel like we know each other already because we have been reading about one another's lives through our blogs, so there isn't any awkwardness when you meet. And even when you meet new bloggers, everyone is so friendly and welcoming that you are immediately set at ease. That is exactly how I felt last Wednesday when I mingled with so many lovely ladies post-conference during Katy's StrandedBlogger event! She was a perfect hostess and the venue she chose, the top of the strand rooftop bar, was gorgeous, complete with an empire state building view- my first of the trip! It was so nice to put a face to the blog when I finally met Katy of Modly Chic, and I assure you all, she is just as sweet and laid back in person as she seems on her blog! I also got to have a really awesome chat with a social media publicist named Andrea, who was helping to promote a very interesting sounding book that I am looking forward to reading. And I also met Alex and Nnenna, who I got to see a lot more of throughout the week. Alex was basically my new york city life saver, teaching me the ropes of everything from hailing a cab to braving the subway. Thanks girl for making my trip a lot less stressful! 

Bloggers mingling at top of the strand

Didn't even know we were this close to it until the end of the night. Met some really nice kansas city boys while bonding over being touristy and taking photos lol! 

The one and only Katy with two other lovely ladies who I didn't get to met. 

Andrea and me

Me, Alex and Nnenna. We were basically blogger bff's for the week!

What I wore to the blogger mingle. Dress/belt: Kohl's, Shoes: Target, Bag: Rebecca Minkoff, Pearls: China, Earrings: Forever 21, Watch: Michael Kors, Ring: Amrita Singh. Hairstyle c/o KMS California (thanks!!)

And a mirror shot. The classic sign of a blogger going solo for the week! 

Tune in later this weekend for my recap of Fashion's Night Out!

Bisous!

Nectar Skin Bar

Aloha lovahs! I'm feeling rather tropical right now as this blog post is coming to you from... ok well it is from the DC airport. I know, anti-climatic. But, I am heading to Florida so I think the tropical mood is still totally justified. For the next six days I will be doing nothing but spending time with my family, many of whom I haven't seen in YEARS, soaking up sun, relaxing and checking in with yall of course :). You know what I will NOT be doing? Worrying about my job hunt. I made a deal with my worry wart side. If she gives me the next six days, she can then go on worry over drive the minute we return. She reluctantly agreed. (Creepy that I just referred to myself as two people? Peut-etre....) I am actually going to get to see a cousin who I haven't seen in 10 years, and meet her two precious little babes! Plus, I will see my godson who I also have not seen in 4 years. I am beyond excited, people. 

But believe it or not, this post is not about me. Shocking, I know. Today it is all about an incredible new spa experience nestled right in my very own corner of the woods: Georgetown! When Catherine invited me to the press preview party for Nectar Skin Bar, I was thrilled and the evening definitely did not disappoint. It was honestly one of the most amazing events I have ever been to. The spa was immaculately decorated, the cocktails delicious and the products offered were top of the line. Everything was absolutely first class and the staff members felt more like friends than anything else. Friends who know about the best beauty products. Is there any better kind? When I am  back from my Florida jaunt I will be returning to try out one of their new services, the Chocolate Sun Organic Sunless Tanning! Some of the girls hosting the event last night were sporting the tan and it looked more natural than any tan I had ever seen. Plus, it is an organic treatment meant to hydrate your skin while adding a sun-kissed glow. I only wish I had known about it pre Florida, so I could have a little color on the beach this week. Roommate and I also decided we will be treating our moms to a mani/pedi spa day this Thanksgiving when they are both in town. We can't wait to take our moms out in style! If you are in the area, definitely check out Nectar Skin Bar for an unforgettable skincare experience!

The adorable 18th century row-house (1633 Wisconsin Ave.) where Nectar Skin Bar is located

I love their coloring and branding

The delicious cocktail served on the back patio

Is this not the cutest mani/pedi room you have ever seen? You are probably packing your bags and booking your appointment as we speak. If not, you should be :)

One of many shelves of top of the line beauty products

The inviting back patio for outdoor treatments

The beauty room where genius Adrian does his work

Thank you, Nectar Skin Bar for including me in this wonderful event! I will most certainly be back :)

A little preview....

Check back tomorrow for a full outfit post! Until then, lovahs. 

Bisous!