Spring White Out

Like I mentioned in the last post, Spring has arrived in Texas! Our boys had a community service project they were working on and my husband invited me to wander around in the nearby downtown area and hangout while we waited for the kids to finish.  It was a gorgeous day and we found the park nearly deserted.

Dress: Max Studio (old); Earrings: c/o Tacori (2013); Sunglasses: c/o zeroUV (They're only $9.99!)

Tortoise Bracelet: Lauren Ralph Lauren; Clutch: c/o Susu Handbags; Watch: c/o LaMer Collections

Wedges: Jimmy Choo Pela (old) (current)

I try not to wear all c/o items in one post, but I've been wearing these sunglasses non-stop since the beginning of the month and I really did forget that I received the Tacori earrings last year until I was sourcing what I am wearing. I will try to be more cognizant of that going forward because I know I get annoyed when someone's entire outfit is courtesy of their awesome sponsors. :)

 

We are heading back out to the West Coast for a wedding celebration this weekend.  I am convinced that we belong in California and I am NOT complaining about our THIRD trip in 10 weeks!

Happy Tuesday!

Shouting at the Four Winds

It appears that Spring is finally here! We've had typical Texas crazy weather - torrential rain, hot blazing sun and heavy winds in the span of 48 hours last week!  Taking advantage of the last cool days, I wore this simple outfit to run errands and take the boys to dinner while my husband was out of town for work last week.

Chambray Shirt: Gap; Denim: JBrand Jeans; Scarf: Zara (2012) (infinity option)

Earrings: c/o Baublebar (2012); Necklace: Fossil; Bangles: Kendra Scott & Banana Republic

Tote: Chloe; Boots: Frye Jane Stitch 14L

I bought this leopard scarf at Zara in New York two years ago and it is still a favorite and always in heavy rotation, as are these red jeans that I found late last year.  Overall, I'm surprised that this is the first time I've worn this outfit on the blog because it is made of all the things I consider staples in my closet from my chambray shirt to my Frye boots!

Has Spring shown up at your door yet?

NOH8 Campaign

Back in January, I learned that there was an open photo shoot scheduled in Dallas for the NOH8 Campaign.  I asked my husband if he would pose with me and was pleasantly surprised when he said yes as long as I didn't buy him a new shirt or make him wear any make-up or anything other than the NOH8 tattoo.

My sister's white tee: Hanes; My white tee: James Perse

Originally, my husband's sister and my sister were going to pose with me and we were going to do a Charlie's Angel pose. Considering my sister-in-law is 5'9" and has red hair and blue eyes, my sister is 5'2" is pale complected and was sporting purple hair and I am 5' have a dark complexion and black hair, we thought it would be the ultimate diversity family photo. Unfortunately, the day of the shoot, my sister-in-law was unable to make it, so my sister and I made do without her. :(

Make-Up by Sephora's Express Services; Hair by Alaska

We had a wonderful experience and Adam Bouska was so nice and gave everyone a big hug as we wrapped.  The final photos are gorgeous and we have received so many compliments on them.  Of course, everyone has mentioned that Mr. Fantastic looks like a "vegetarian Twilight vampire" and I've had to assure multiple people that he does in fact sparkle in the sunlight. :)

Only love can drive out hate. Only Love. NOH8.

No Tie Dinner

After the wine trail last Saturday, we moved right into the annual No Tie Dinner & Dessert event.  Each year hosts hold dinner parties in their home for their friends. After dinner, everyone makes their way to the Frontiers of Flight Museum for dessert with the hosts and guest of all the dinner parties in town. The event raises funds for AIDS Services of Dallas and it is an event we support each year.  It is close to our heart because a dear friend of ours worked for ASD for many years prior to her untimely demise of cancer a few years back.  She was an amazing friend and even helped Mr. Fantastic choose my engagement ring.  We miss her so much, but we try to keep an eye on her husband and her beautiful daughter who co-hosts the dinner with her dad. My husband, of course, loves that he doesn't have to wear a tie.

Dress: LA Made (identical to my navy one seen here)

Earrings: c/o Shop Jami Ezra; Necklace: Gorjana

Bracelet: Fossil (old); Handbag: Sam Edelman (old)

Shoes: DV by Dolce Vita (current); Polish: It's All Greek To Me c/o OPI

Each year, we buy tickets and make a donation to the No Tie Dinner event, but for one reason or another, we'd only been able to make the dinner in previous years.  This year we were determined to make the dessert event as well and we were so glad we did! The desserts were delicious and the venue was transformed from any other event we had ever attended at the Frontiers of Flight Museum.  I didn't ask our friends for permission to show their photos, so I am only adding one of my husband and me at the museum and some dessert, of course!

Our oldest had dental surgery yesterday so we are taking it easy tomorrow for Easter.  I hope each of you has a wonderful holiday!
Happy Easter!!

On The (Wine) Trail

We had a very packed weekend! It started with a long meeting at our kid's school on Friday, after which we were both in need of a drink.  Fortunately, we had already bought tickets to the annual Blessing of the Vines in Grapevine.  It is one of my favorite events and the weather cooperated beautifully and then promptly tried to freeze us out Tuesday. Humph.

Dress: BCBGMaxAzria; Sunglasses: Balenciaga

Bracelets: Blue Nile (old); c/o Ariel Gordon Jewelry (2013)

Crossbody: Rebecca Minkoff MAC (current)

Shoes: Manolo Blahnik Pruneta (old)

Since we have to carry our wine glasses and drink cards from one winery to the other, I prefer a crossbody bag to keep my hands free for the important things - wine.  They have a shuttle for the two outlying wineries, but the rest are within walking distance of each other, so flats are a must.

Halfway thru the tasting, happy but not quite giddy.

If the photo quality is sub-par it is because we forgot our camera at home and had to make do with my iPhone. :)

Do you know of other wine events? Share them!

Lunar Eclipse and Spring Freeze

A friend and I were recently commenting that every time we push our winter clothes to the back of our closet, we just have to reach back in again a few days later because we can't seem to shake winter's grip! After a fabulous weekend with awesome-if a tad windy-weather, we plunged back into the 30's early this morning.  One of the boys had a dental appointment to prep him for his upcoming oral surgery later this week, so I had an early morning call.

Jacket: Nils; Sweater: J Crew Factory; Paloma Leather Leggings: c/o Paige (faux version)

Boots: Stuart Weitzman (old)

In order to face the 37 degree temperatures, I pulled my favorite leather leggings and my new down filled ski jacket from our recent ski trip.  It really did the trick and I was able to shed the coat by the afternoon when temperatures went up into the high 50's, low 60's again.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that temperatures stay over 60 degrees from here on out and I would prefer over 75, but below 90. :)

Lunar Eclipse Image by Mike Mez Photography

I was surprised to see this photo circling the internet about last night's Lunar Eclipse.  The photographer is the son of a former co-worker and it is a gorgeous, gorgeous time-lapse of the eclipse over a bluebonnet field not far from Dallas.

I am also linking up with Marissa and Heidi again for today's Pantone Challenge since I am appropriately, if accidentally, wearing my Paloma leggings in the right color: Paloma Grey.  I wore dazzling blue in my last LuckyFABB post, so I won't be joining up tomorrow, but I will see if I can join later in the week.

Were any of you able to get photos of the eclipse?

A FABB Sendoff

Day two of Lucky FABB consisted only of a networking brunch on the terrace of the SLS on Saturday morning.  We got to eat a delicious spread put on by the hotel (I am obsessed with their yogurt) and gab with our new and old friends and then they gave us the ridiculous and now infamous, LuckyFABB gift bag.  I also got a chance to spend some time chatting with Lucky's new editor-in-chief and LuckyFABB hostess, Eva Chen.  She was warm, friendly, and so engaged in the conference.  It was lots of fun!

After the brunch, my husband and I went up to the pool because I had checked it out earlier and he wanted to see it, too.  We had a quick drink, and ran into Coco Rocha again, but didn't ask her for photos again because I already had one and I'm sure that she was dreading it. It must be hard to never be able to enjoy the environment because everyone wants your attention. We just said hello and moved on to our own chairs and had our drink.

Top: Ellen Tracy; Pants: Market Find in Mazatlan; Sweater: H Trend; Necklace: Swarovski

 Hermes H Bangle; Bracelets: Blue Nile, c/o Ariel Gordon Jewelry (2013), Fossil

Clutch: c/o BCBGMaxAzria (2012); Shoes: BCBGMaxAzria

Afterwards, I dumped out all the goodies from the Kate Spade Saturday gift bag and used it as a tote to head to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the La Brea Tar Pits, and the surrounding area. One thing I didn't count on was that because my pants were basically rayon, the canvas bag kept rubbing against one area on my leg and ruined them.  While I hadn't featured them in my blog before, this was a pair of pants that I bought in a Mazatlan market for $10 over the New Year break and I'd worn them for New Year's Eve in Mazatlan, for Mr. Fantastic's birthday and to a happy hour already.  While I was sad to toss them, I have to admit that I've gotten my money's worth from them.

Sunglasses: Balenciaga; Tote: c/o Kate Spade Saturday

Ring: c/o Ariel Gordon Jewelry (2012); iPhone Cover: c/o Miss Me Jeans

I was really happy to see that the Diane Von Furstenberg exhibit, Journey of a Dress, was still open at LACMA. A DvF wrap dress is definitely an item that I want hanging in my closet and just because I haven't found the perfect one, doesn't mean that I can't dream.  I loved the way the exhibit was set up and it made me realize just how timeless her wrap dresses really are.  My favorite one was a black sequined, full length, wrap gown pictured below.

Diane von Furstenberg: Journey of A Dress exhibit at Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Any other cool designer exhibits to check out?

FABB Dinner Out in The Grove

Although we heard rumors of the "big bloggers" being invited to dinner and after parties by various affiliate marketers and blog agencies, I was not invited to any of those.  It isn't much of a surprise considering I don't really promote this blog, but it was a bit of a dis', ya know?  In any case, my husband came in on Friday and hung out with some mutual friends during the conference.  Then we met up with some bloggers and their friends and significant others for drinks at The Bazaar by Jose Andres there at the SLS.  You can see the Magic Mojito I drank here.  We had a great time discovering all the connections to Kansas (Brenda and I both married KU guys, Jennifer is from Kansas, etc.) and how Christina's fiancee and my husband are both engineers. It was a great time.

Christina, Me, Brenda, Veronica, & Jennifer having fun after a couple of drinks at the SLS.

Dress: Miss Me Couture; Cardigan: Trina Turk; Necklace: Gorjana; Earrings: BaubleBar

Bracelet: Ralph Lauren; Clutch: c/o BCBGMaxAzria (2012); Polish: Not So Bora-Boraing c/o OPI

Flats: Renvy via Gilt (similar option by Jessica Simpson)

After drinks, Mr. Fantastic and I headed to the Grove to search for dinner.  We ended up at the Original Farmers Market and had the best meal of our trip there.  We picked up some curry at Singapore Banana Leaf and grabbed a pitcher of Sangria from Little Spain and sat down at a table to enjoy our night out in Beverly Hills.

How gorgeous is Coco Rocha?!?!? Simply beautiful!!

The highlight of the evening was when we ran into Coco Rocha at the SLS when we came back from dinner.  She was in the company of her husband and her make-up artist and she was just so sweet and down to earth. From her panel earlier during LuckyFABB, I knew that she isn't a fan of selfies, so my husband had to take one for the team and take our pic! Isn't she stunning?

What are your fave dinner places in LA?

Pre-FABB Festivities

I arrived in California early Thursday, the day before LuckyFABB was to start. During the registration process, we were asked if we would be in town the day before and since Mr. Fantastic and I have friends and family in the Los Angeles area, I always try to come in early and stay through the weekend.  As a result, I was available for the pre-conference events that were planned.  The first was a blow-out at Blow Me Away Bar that was sponsored by Wendy's and their new salad collection.  I have to say that I loved the new Asian Cashew Salad and have had it twice since I've been home.

I met up with Veronica of The Cid Style File at the Blow Me Away Dry Bar during our blow-outs and we decided to walk around the corner to find some fonuts which are baked donuts instead of fried. On the way back to her car, we found the holy grail of fashion blogger photos: the brick wall. I decided to take advantage and take my outfit photos here. LOL.

Top: H Trend; Denim: J Brand Jeans; Scarf: Converse (old)

Earrings and Necklace: Baublebar (old)

Clutch: Reed Krakoff; Sunglasses: Marc by Marc Jacobs; Bracelet & Ring: BaubleBar (old)

Rose Gold Sandals: Prada (current by Givenchy or See by Chloe)

After getting our fonut fix and taking outfit photos we headed to Duplex on Third where Lucky was hosting another pre-FABB event with Sexy Hair.  Since we arrived early, we sat at the bar and had some drinks to chat. It wasn't until everyone arrived that we realized that all events had been overbooked and Veronica hadn't been placed on the RSVP list.  I went upstairs to the event and discovered it was another styling event and while we found it odd that they had two hair events back to back, we were happy that we had already had our hair done and stayed below in the bar eating appetizers and giggling over drinks.

Thank you, Lucky for an awesome start to FABB!
**Photos by Veronica of Cid Style File, except for last one, which was a selfie**