Moving on from Skinnies

Spring 2011 looks from ADAM, Derek Lam, & Cynthia Rowley

I think today I almost quit skinny pants....well not completely. I'm not 100% over skinnies (I never will be), although this trend HAS been going for a long time, but right now I'm finding flared or loose pants to be so totally refreshing.

My epiphany started when I tried to go buy new work slacks todays (I was looking for skinnies and unfortunately they were all out of my size at the store). I ALWAYS feel like I need new pants, so I headed home and scoured through my closet to see what I could possibly find to hold me over until I could manage to find some skinnies in my size. To my surprise (and I'm a little embarrassed to admit) I found 6 pairs of flared/loose slacks that I've purchased over the past few years sitting in my closet with tags still on them. I guess over the years I've bought them (knowing that I totally needed them) and forgot/never-had-the-time to take them to get tailored. I couldn't believe it! So I tried them on (and yes they all need hemming because I'm only 5'3") but I'm totally feeling this silhouette again.

So off to the tailor I'll be heading and anxiously awaiting the return of my pants. To hold me over while I wait, I pulled up a couple of pictures from Spring 2011 collections shown above. Aren't these images totally refreshing compared to the squeezed-in pants we're so used to seeing everywhere right now?

I think I'm in love.

xox,

Bre

Ear Muffs??! Yes Please!

When I think back to Winter time as a child I remember waiting for the school bus in the snow. My mom always made sure I was plenty bundled up, and in addition to the normal scarf, snow boots, and coat, she had me wear earmuffs too. I HATED those things!! I thought they were ridiculously nerdy and as soon as I got out of sight I would take them off and stuff them in my bookbag. But now, somehow (maybe since I'm not an awkward little girl with glasses anymore) I seem to kind of love them! I wouldn't wear them around So Cal, but I'm thinking of finding a pair to wear for skiing. My hats never really seem to keep my ears warm when I hit the slopes, but these adorable heart-shaped muffs would definitely do the trick!

Faux Fur Heart Shaped Earmuffs,£14.00Urban Outfitters (in Black)

Faux Fur Heart Shaped Earmuffs,£14.00Urban Outfitters (in Purple)

Heart Shaped Ear Muffs, $5.50 @ Forever 21

UGG Cardy Earmuffs, $86.20 @ ASOS (ok - now these ones are pretty pricey for earmuffs, but I like the cable-knit look and would just use this picture as inspiration to help me find something more affordable)

Hope you are bundling up this week! It's been raining constantly where I live!!

xox,

Bre

Belize in Black & White

A picture speaks a thousand words - unfortunately I forgot to take TONS and TONS of pictures on our last trip (I'm still working on remembering to break out the camera more often). So the only pictures I really have from Belize are from us fishing, eating (of course!), and a couple of us being cheesy too (you have to do that every once in awhile you know!). So here's some of my favs, enjoy!

xox,

Bre

And.....we're back!

*a pic of us from our recent travels*

The past month has been a whirlwind to say the least. I spent a week and a half in Chicago (one of my favorite cities) and then turned around and had a very very white Thanksgiving in Salt Lake City. Then I quit my job of 4.5 years and traveled with my husband to the Caribbean for some in-between-job adventure. We snorkeled the Caymans and enjoyed the beautiful white-sand beaches off the coast of Honduras (Honduras had some of the BEST snorkeling I've ever done). We tasted the local beers in Belize & Yucutan Peninsula (there's something about having the local beer & food that makes me feel connected to new cultures) and also went reef fishing with the locals and visited some gorgeous Mayan Ruins with an AWESOME AWESOME guide named Angel (I'll have to do a separate post for that one).

And now, we've FINALLY come back home to stay for a while. I'm totally exhausted, but incredibly satisfied and ready to start my new job and enjoy the holidays with good friends and family. Hopefully over the next few days I can post up some pics from my travels and get back to more regular postings.

For now the pic above is of my husband and me while in Belize. I'm so grateful to have added four more countries to our list of places that we have traveled together. It slightly satisfied my desire to travel, but of course, it also left me wanting more :)

Hope you all had a fabulous Turkey Day and that you're enjoying the holiday season.

xox,

Bre

The LONG Black Dress

Simple, elegant, and amazing. Olivia Wilde looks stunning in this floor-length (but not over the top) black gown. I'm totally in love with this look and would totally wear this...if I had some place to wear it to. :)

xox,

Bre

photos courtesy of J!-ENT

Vote: Crazy or Cool?

Spotted via Planet Blue's blog (click here). They are socks, but kind of like shoes on the bottom too? I have to say I kind of adore them for lounging at home. Maybe I will treat myself to some of these as stocking stuffers for Xmas. :)

What do you think?

xox,

Bre

photos via Planet Blue (as linked above)

Yosemite Fall v. Summer

*us with Half Dome in the back - Fall 2010*

I mentioned in a post last week that the colors in Yosemite this time of year were really beautiful. I was browsing through some of my pictures from our trip today and thought I'd share this one as a perfect example. It's a classic "us in front of Half Dome" picture, but the colors are far different from the photos I took of Half Dome three years ago in the Summer time (see below). Both equally beautiful, but I wouldn't have missed out on either experience (Fall vs Summer)!

*Half Dome - same meadow in Yosemite as shown above but from Summer 2007*

Hope you had a great weekend! I spent mine catching up with some great friends - it had just been far too long.

xox,

Bre

My Favs from Lanvins for H&M

*coat love - on a side note I have a serious obsession with coats and jackets that probably isn't healthy*

*j'adore these dresses and those red red shoes!*

These are some of my favorites from the Lanvin for H&M collection launching November 20th. The women's pieces range from $149 to $349 (dresses at the lower end, with coats at the higher end) and shoes all being $99. Very fun collection and the video is quirky too (google it, you won't be disappointed). A few of those coats I could wear repeatedly; however, I'm not sure I'll be spluring for any of those dresses. They are wonderful - but so unique that I wouldn't feel like I couldn't wear them very often. If I could score shoes or that tee paired with the fur (faux?) coat in the first picture, I'd consider myself one lucky girl (even luckier if I scored the coats but I don't see myself actually buying them - if I bought everything I drooled over I'd be living in a cardboard box. lol.).

Have any favorites of your own?

xox,

Bre

photos courtesy of H&M

Mirror Lake

This year for Halloween weekend we did something totally different; instead of heading to the usual costume party extravaganza, Danny surprised me by booking a camping trip to Yosemite National Park (one of our favorite places!). This time of year Yosemite was much much less crowded than usual and the oak leaves were starting to turn golden colors. All in all, it was pretty beautiful, but also pretty chilly! We were bundled up all weekend, but after biking up a really steep hill to Mirror Lake on Saturday we actually got hot enough to take off our heavy duty ski jackets for a few minutes and take some pictures.

We tent camped, which not many people were doing this time of year because of the cold (had it been 10 or 15 degrees colder we wouldn't have been tent camping either), but if you have ever thought about going to Yosemite during the off season I would highly reccomend it. If you're worried about being too cold, RV camping is always an option and there are plenty of cabins available too.

Here are the first couple of pictures from my trip. Hope you enjoy!

xox,

Bre

Jackets I'm Craving

*Levi's Ribbed Faux Leather Bomber Jacket, $138 via Urban Outfitters*

1) Dying for a motorcycle jacket. Every Fall for the past few years I've tried one on but it hasn't fit JUST right so I pass it up. I saw this one in the store at Urban while Xmas shopping the other day and was dying to try it on and see if I would fit better in the XS or S...but since I was shopping for others and I'm trying to save money I passed it on by.

*Golden Fleece Bolero, $158 via Anthropologie*

2) Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle. For quite some time, I've been on the hunt for a beautiful sequin jacket that doesn't look too over-the-top tacky - a hard balance to find. Instead of sequins, I also so this puppy while xmas shopping and just about fell over and died (looks much better in person, and the texture is soft and like a crushed velvet almost). So GORGEOUS SO GORGEOUS - and I'm not usually a HUGE Anthro kind of girl (I'm more of the Urban type). I would die for this and could see myself wearing it a million different ways, but I think you get the point...moving on.

3) Balmain Brocade. This one is still on my DIY list and I actually have the fabric for it. Just with my weekends being so overloaded and so many projects for my shop, I haven't had time to get to it. I won't forget about you Balmain, I'm still super obsessed (as blogged HERE).

I'll leave it at that for now...someday maybe one or two of these will sit in my closet?

xox,

Bre

One Word: AWESOME

I love everything about this photo: The bike, the outfit, and the fact that this woman fearlessly rides that little bike in extra high, baby blue, wedge booties. I don't know you, but something tells me we'd get along just fine. :)

xox,

Bre

p.s. - If you haven't noticed I have a MAJOR thing for bicycles as blogged HERE and HERE.

Image found via thevoguediaries.com

Slouchy Crop Tops

*As Is American Flag Crop Top, $48 from Planet Blue*

I often wish I could wear more casual clothes on a daily basis - especially when cold weather rolls around it just seems extra nice to be in comfy clothes. Lately on my weekends I've been living in slouchy tees like some of these featured from Planet Blue. Slouchy tees are just so comfortable and freeing compared to my everyday clothes; I just can't get enough of it right now so don't be surprised if you see me wearing a lot of slouchy tees and jeans this season as a stark contrast to all of the dresses I wore this past Summer. Toning it down and bundling up!

*Patterson J. Kincaid Barbara Top, $88 via Planet Blue*

*Stylestalker Jellyfish Top, $70 via Planet Blue*

xox,

Bre

p.s. This post reminds me it's been a LONG time since I've thrown in an outfit post - will have to post something soon.

images courtesy of Planet Blue

Bungalow Mondays: Tromp L'oeil Leather Tufted Walls

*Kapyton Pure White Leather Wallpaper, $59 per roll via Couture Decor*

I love tufted furniture and walls, so when my husband sent me a link to this tromp l'oeil wallpaper the other day I thought it was super cool. The wallpaper looks exactly like tufted leather, and apparently (per the website) itis made "with superior-quality paper, with a grain leather touch & feel." So it even FEELS like leather? How awesome is that? It comes in a few different colors (white, grey, chocolate, red, and pink), but I think I'm partial to the white (super modern but traditional at the same time). What do you think?

*Kapyton Grey Leather Wallpaper, $69 per roll viaCouture Decor*

*close-up of grey*

*Kapyton Chocolate Leather Wallpaper, $69 per roll via Couture Decor*

Hope you had a great weekend!

xox,

Bre

all images courtesy of Couture Decor

Three Generations in a Jacket

*Beth, Sandi, and Breanna (me) - all in our mid-to-late twenties*

Here's my grandma, mom, and me all around the same age. I don't know where Grams was going in that awesome coat, but I know the picture of my mom was taken while she was working at NBC studios. When I look at pictures of my mom or grandma when they were my age, I'm always so amazed at how much older they looked than I do now. Not in a "wow they are old" way, but in a "wow - they were just so much more sophisticated and refined" way. Sometimes I wonder if my generation has lost that touch. Casual is good, but sometimes I think our over-casualness has made us lose part of our voice as a generation (a lost source to express ourselves). Or maybe it's actually really just more proof of the general apathy we feel these days.

Either way though, I'm pretty sure even if I looked more put together like they did, it still somehow wouldn't be as wonderful. Big shoes to fill and little tiny feet, lol. Maybe someday, but for now I just take who I am in stride.

Thinking of you always Momma & Grams,

Bre

Team Mondo 100%

With the first part of the Project Runway finale coming up this week I have to confess that I'm 100% team Mondo this year. So far I've really enjoyed this season and it's been one of the best in a long while (maybe it's the new 1.5hr format or the fact that they are back in New York...who knows). Mondo is certainly a quirky one when it comes to his own style (who knows where he gets the ideas for some of his little outfits), but I love love how it translates on the runway.

I think Mondo is fun and colorful and has a young/fresh perspective. No boring GRAMPA sweaters here! And while he might not have the most refined and sophisticated style (a la Gretchen - I confess her velvet-feather haute couture dress was AMAZING! I just wish she would work on that attitude!), he is certainly fashion-forward all the way! And as if we didn't love him enough, I also found his HIV "positive" print and confession to be genuine and touching. Glad to see you feeling free Mondo! Can't wait to see what you've come up with for the big show (I've been avoiding all photos of the Project Runway finalists from Fashion Week).

Who are you cheering on for the finale?

xox,

Bre

photos courtesy of mylifetime.com

Lanvin for H&M: photo leaked

I know many fashionista around the world have been waiting to see a glimpse of the Lanvin for H&M collection (in stores next month). One of the photos for the ads was leaked by thefashionspot.com (see above) and it's just not enough for me to decide how I feel yet. I need to see more please!

I will just have to wait and see the lookbook when it is officially released, but this little teaser has me wanting to see the full line-up so I can decide if it will be a fabulous spin-off or not. Any thoughts on it yourself?

xox,

Bre

The poufs have arrived!

*redBaby pouf & redMomma pouf, $32 and $185, respectively*

I've been pretty excited about these sculptural poufs and couldn't help but share. Those of you who have followed my blog from the very beginning may remember THIS post where I talk about my inspiration for opening my own etsy shop. My first shop item was my square ottomans, but I finally FINALLY made my prototypes for my round POUF version! When I decided to make round poufs, I started with a small prototype (just to get my proportions) but I ended up falling in love with the mini version. It's just so darn cute! So I decided to include both the large (redMomma) version of the pouf and the small (redBaby pouf) version to my shop. The names for the poufs have sort of a double meaning. I wanted to call the larger one momma and the smaller one baby, but after I named them I realized that all of my friends growing up used to call my mom "Red Momma" and it just sort of fit perfectly. She was so proud of me for starting my little knit shop and I think she would have loved to have been around to see these too. This ones for you cute lil momma; you are the inspiration for all my creativeness.

I'm very excited and hope you enjoy them too. I'm offering them in all my standard colors (shown here). Happy Bungalow Monday!

xox,

Bre

denimocracy

I found a new love: denimocracy. Their clothes are hot rock n' roll meets totally comfy pants...seriously you may not believe me but it's true. While these aren't the "everyday" kind of jeans, they are fun for weekends and nights out. The price range is pretty decent too at approx. $80 a pop. So if you're looking for some fun rocker jeans and want to support what appears to be a small-up-and-coming business, check them out HERE!

xox,

Bre

pictures courtesy of denimocracyusa.com

Wedding Photo Booth

*us in the photo booth at Stephen & Lindsey's wedding. I'm in the center and Dan is next to me with the goggles*

Photo booths at weddings were definitely not a "thing" back when I got married 6 years ago. They are super popular right now and I can totally see why. The wedding I went to this weekend had one and it was so much fun. A lot of candid shots....of course a lot of them are courtesy of excess beer and champagne, but fun nonetheless. If anyone is planning a wedding in the near future (or maybe just dreaming about one far off) and you are considering a photo booth I would definitely say "DO IT!".

*he's crazy, but I love him. lol.*

xox,

Bre

Wedding Weekend

Happy Monday everyone! I had an unexpectedly awesome and fun weekend, and am still a little tired from it all. We went to a wedding in Redlands, CA this weekend and here's a quick picture of what I wore. Marc Jacobs dress, velvet platforms, amethyst earrings, and a vintage clock ring. The wedding was tons of fun...will post a few more pics later.

What did you to this weekend?

xox,

Bre