Merry Christmas!

We spent my birthday two days ago in San Francisco. My husband had to work all day and I took the Caltrain into the city around noon, then spent most of the afternoon at the basement of Saks among the glorious shoes that I couldn't buy.  Then I headed Nordstrom for a bit and finally ended up watching some of the skaters at Union Square.  The tree was beautiful and I picked up a coffee from Emporio Rulli and sat down to enjoy my early evening.  My husband had made a reservation at one of my favorite restaurants, McCormick and Kuletos, but after the crowds of the day, I just wanted to spend some time with him and no one else.  We stopped for a drink at this cool bar in the Financial District called Per Diem and then took the train back to Mountain View.  We were then going to check out a place called Cascal that my friend recommended, but they were closed, so we ate at Shiva's instead.

I love the Hearts Project in San Francisco. My favorite is getting photos of the different works of art.

I did get a sweet surprise after dinner when my husband brought out the ubiquitous blue box and handed it to me for my birthday! It was a very pretty sterling silver bracelet that I love and I can see it fast becoming a staple in my closet.  Yesterday, I went and looked at a few houses I had liked while he worked and then we spent the afternoon wandering around Menlo Park and Palo Alto. We visited the Facebook headquarters and Stanford before heading to San Jose for our flight home.

This morning, we picked up the boys and started our Christmas with our new tradition of Peppermint Pancakes.  Now we are heading out to meet my in-laws for a movie and will end the day at their house.

I hope today is a wonderful day for each of you and that you are able to spend it with the people you love.

Merry Christmas!

California Dreamin'

I have some big news to share with you today and to talk a little bit about some of the changes that you will see in the next few weeks and months.  The first big news is that we are MOVING out to the San Francisco Bay Area.  Mr. Fantastic has been working very hard for the past year on a work project that resulted on a big opportunity for him.  It is really a project that he can't pass up at this time as it has been his goal for the last year or so.  To say I am extremely proud of him would be a massive understatement.

That said, he hit the ground running (or in our case, flying) and has been commuting between California and Texas for the last month or so. While we will be moving our family out there, we are working to have as little disruption to the boys and their schooling as possible.  Navigating the school system in California, particularly in San Francisco has been completely overwhelming. We can't even look for a house because San Francisco doesn't go based on a geographical location to assign schools.  They have a lottery system and your address doesn't factor into the school determination. Then we thought we could get the school assigned and find a place nearby, but you can't even be entered into the lottery until you physically move, so now we are looking to simplify and move out to the bay area where we can pick the school and choose an area to live in based on the schools we want the kids to attend.

In Santa Cruz for lunch.

We took these photos earlier this morning as we were driving down the Pacific Coast Highway after a very early morning flight. We have three days here in California to narrow down where we will live and hopefully we will have some places to look at for my next visit next month.

I will post some more of our plans after the holiday, but I will probably be moving my blog in a new direction as well.

Have a fantastic week!

Casual Cashmere and Pearls

Continuing the great weather theme, I wore this cashmere skirt and wool sweater to our oldest's winter band concert this past week. Since he was in a tux for his performance, I made our youngest and my father-in-law wear collared shirts and I wore my costume pearls to dress up an otherwise casual outfit.

Sweater: JCrew Factory; Skirt: T by Alexander Wang c/o Shopbop

Earrings: old (gift from my grandmother) (similar at Ann Taylor); Necklace: recent vintage find (similar by Givenchy)

Clutch: c/o Susu Handbags

Suede Booties: Stuart Weitzman (old) (similar current and not similar but love anyway!)

My husband is traveling for work again, but hopefully, we won't be separated for too much longer.

Happy Sunday!

The Painted Jeans

The weather has improved dramatically this week and the kids and I were out running errands earlier this week without the need for a coat.  It is still cool, I just didn't need warm layers or a jacket.  I pulled out these jeans that I've had for a couple of years. I love them once I get them on, but I really struggle with how to style them because they are just so busy. When I bought them, the DKNY website called them "Painted Oil Jeans" and I agree with the title.  The boys always say that I look like I grabbed some art and put it on.

Top: BCBGMazAzria; Camisole: Spanx; Jeans: DKNY(current print); Necklace: Swarovski; Earrings: c/o Tacori

Purse: Balenciaga (mine is old) (current in pink)

Wedge Heels: Christian Louboutin (great dupe by JCrew Factory on sale)

My husband is out of town working in San Francisco this week and I am definitely nervous about the weather situation they are experiencing over there. I've heard that this is the worst storm the Bay Area has had in over 5 years and I can't help but worry that he may not be able to get home to us tomorrow as planned.

Stay Safe, My Friends!

Leather and Faux Fur on Repeat

With the weather being so cold this week, I've been reaching for the same items over and over again.  While this would have been the perfect opportunity to do a 30x30 challenge, it never even occurred to me until I was editing these photos and I realized I've worn every piece, except my necklace and scarf, at least once in the last two weeks of posts! I once heard a blogger say that those 30x30 Remix challenges are what everyone else calls getting dressed in the morning and I think they may be on to something.  I've never succeeded at those remix challenges because I can't think under pressure, but when going about my daily activities I naturally gravitate to just a few core pieces in my closet.

Cashmere: Halogen; Faux Fur: BR (dupe); Scarf: Gift from a friend last year; Leather Leggings: c/o Paige

Earrings: Blue Nile (on sale under $65); Monogram Necklace: c/o Jane Basch Jewelry 

Tote: Calvin Klein (very old) (current); Boots: Ugg on sale

I wore this out to brunch with some friends yesterday.  We went to Max's Wine Dive and it was wonderful!  They sat us out on the patio, but it was great because it is enclosed and they have heaters.  In fact, once there, I took off my scarf and vest, but it was great to have warm leather pants.  Also, I bought my cashmere sweater on Facebook, but Kelly over at Alterations Needed recently posted one that I think is identical and said that Nordstrom now carries it in petites sizing as well.

Happy Monday!

Dressed Leather

With the return of the cold weather, I struggle to get dressed warmly while looking like I dressed intentionally.  Yesterday, we had a family dinner to celebrate Christmas early during a visit by my brother-in-law.  It was really cold, but I wanted to wear a dress so I put this one on first.  My legs were still cold so I tried my fleece lined leggings, but the black on black made it look like I was going to a funeral.  I started over and put on these leather leggings that I've had for a couple of season's now, but I couldn't think of what top to wear with it and nothing seemed to go. I finally decided to put them together and while I am still not sure if I like the pairing, I know I loved how comfortable I was.

Dress: Connected Apparel (similar); Leather Leggings: c/o Paige; 

Earrings: Old Navy (very old); Necklace: Swarovski; Make-Up: Urban Decay; Lips: Buxom

Clutch: YSL (mine is old, but I am loving this spendy option and this bargain one by Wallis)

Wedges: Christian Louboutin (old style, buy pre-owned here)

I added my trusty patent wedges and some festive jewelry before I grabbed a metallic clutch to complete my early Christmas with the family look.  We had a great time and I was very relieved to be able to get one set of Christmas gifts out of the way.

Have a wonderful weekend!

All Neutral

It took me a little longer to recover from Thanksgiving than I thought it would. We took my brother and his girlfriend to check out the downtown Dallas area and it was fun, but exhausting! I forgot that once we get into tourist mode there is always, "just one more thing you HAVE to see!"  Also, I gained about 7 pounds from all the yummy food at Thanksgiving and from being spoiled by my mom this weekend.  She does cooking marathons and leaves us with food for days, except we try to eat it all at once.  Anyhow, I tried taking outfit photos while we were downtown because the weather was perfect, but they all came out gross because I am huge from all the food!  I think I am finally heading back to normal now.  I wore this to visit one of the kid's schools yesterday before I met a friend of mine up for coffee.

Sweater: Halogen; Coat: BR; Scarf: Marc Jacobs for Target/NM; Earrings: Blue Nile; Necklace: c/o Dogeared Jewelry

Purse: Chloe Paddington (buy preowned)

Denim: Citizens of Humanity (current); Shoes: Renvy for Gilt

I probably should have carried a different bag, but I love this one and even if it took a little bit away from my all black, white and tan outfit, I still love it.  The cashmere sweater here is a recent find from a Facebook sale site. It is the Nordstrom brand, Halogen, and I scored it for $15!  It was my concession to Black Friday, which I completely skipped along with Cyber-Monday.  I think that I look for deals all year round, so I wasn't too motivated to stay up late or wake up early to fight the crowds for that one rock-bottom priced piece.

Happy December everyone!