This is what happens...

           

This is what happens when your laptop craps out on you. You disappear for what feels like an eternity. And are forced to take pictures with your phone instead.

The Little Black Dress

I love little black dresses. There's just something so elegant and sexy about them.

Holding onto summer

Fall is approaching and I'm a little saddened that summer is almost over. I'm a bit of a cold weather wimp; which is why summer is my favorite season (aside from the fond memories of summer vacation). I'm going to wear shorts and tanks until the chilly breeze prevents me from doing so.

The improved selfie

What does one do with time off of work? Take blog photos of course! 

Light and Breezy in Napa

A few weeks ago the hubs and I went to Napa to celebrate our anniversary.  As we were walking around I spotted this cool brick wall and thought it was the perfect backdrop. If backdrops had a personality, this would be me.  A little bit urban-esque and and little bit vintage countryside-esque. (Don't mind the furrowed brow... it was a REALLY sunny day. unfortunately. and my eyes are super sensitive to bright lights. boo)

Summer Lovin'

What's more wonderful than a wedding? A summer wedding of course! This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending my beautiful cousin's wedding in Pasadena. Here's a preview of my outfit:

San Diego in Pictures

This past weekend was THE weekend of the San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon.  I thought the best way to recap the entire weekend would be thru pictures. Instagram style.

The night before the flight: packing last minute like a true procrastinator #procrastinationFTW

Try day Friday: Nordstrom and Forever 21

This past weekend I met up with a girl friend for a quick shopping session since Forever21 had a 21% off sale. 

Before meeting up, I had to stop by Nordstrom to make a return.  And on my way out I spotted a table full of sunglasses so of course I had to look. When it comes to sunglasses, it's very difficult to find a pair that frame my face in a flattering way, let alone stay on my face.  You see I have a low bridge which makes it frustrating to shop for glasses.  Not having anyone around to ask, I decided to text my sister and get her opinion (does anyone else do that too?).  The following convo ensued:

Try Day Friday: Forever21 and Target (and H&M)

It's finally Friday again! Hooray!

For this Try Day Friday, I have a mini haul from H&M, Forever21, and Target.  Let me preface all the photos by apologizing for the clutter in the photos (a very unfortunate byproduct of home remodeling). 

I'll start with my one shirt from H&M.  I already have plenty of chambray shirts but I really liked this one.  I talked myself into getting it since this one has a different pattern and wash than my other ones.  Does anyone enable themselves like that too? Or maybe I'm weird. Anyway... this shirt has a very subtle yet pretty pattern (not quite floral but not dots either).  Kinda hard to explain exactly what it but hopefully you can see it in the photo.  This top was a little under $30 if I remember correctly.  I find the fit to be very flattering and the material to be a good weight.  I would recommend this if you're looking for a non-plain/solid chambray shirt.

The Weekend

Why do the weekends always seem too short? I guess in this case it was shorter... damn time change. Anyway, I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

I started my Saturday with a 12mile training run (btw, if anyone is interested I found these magical supplements that help with your recovery) and ended the day at the lake for dinner with a view of the sunset. Oh yes, just about as romantic as you can get... sitting on the bench with a burrito in hand. And a Coke Zero on the bench next to me. But really though, it was a very enjoyable meal.

Try day Friday

Happy Friday everyone! I thought I'd try to be more consistent with my posts.  I'm going to institute try day Friday where I'll post pics of all the things I try on (or what I remember to take pictures of anyway).  Let's kick this off with goodies from my favorite store, Forever21.

Now this first dress, I just about died when i saw it.  It's very retro-vintage to me.  I picked the navy one over the white one (because you know how things can tend to look a little see-through; especially from F21).  It has little white hearts all over it and ties across the waist.  I think I'm going to replace that belt with a red one for an extra pop.  And when I saw the price, I died again. $13.50! how can you not love that.

Heart dress

This second dress looked waaay cuter in person.  It also comes in coral! Actually, when I first looked back at the photo I took it almost made me not buy it.  I thought it cut me off and made me look short(er) in the photo.  But it was so cute in person that I couldn't resist! Excuse the clutter and my barefootedness in these photos. I'll try to do a better job of keeping it presentable next time. Although one could argue that you can't make Toms work with this dress anyway. ;)

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find it online anymore, but here is a similar one. And this tie-dye one is super cute. I wanted to buy this one when I first saw it online. But I don't wanna go hi-low crazy here.

And just because it's Friday, here a picture of things that make me happy. I like how 3 out of the 4 are food items. Gosh I'm a fatty. Have a happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!

Going clockwise: Chanel Fracas nailpolish, Grilled cheese tomato bacon sandwich with tomato soup from The Melt, Sprinkles Raspberry Chocolate Chip cupcake, and Philz Iced Mint Mojito

Final Europe Recap: Paris

I can't believe I'm on the very last recap of the trip!  I hope you've found them somewhat amusing and not a snooze fest.  In the last photo from the previous post, I was on the train bound for Paris.  Now, I was a little worried about traveling to Paris seeing as how neither the hubs nor I ever took french.  And what little french we learned on the crash-course audio guide was very very basic. Both of us took spanish in high school so when we were in Spain it was pretty easy to get around. But France is a whole new ball game. You can't even try to make it out cuz it's nothing like spanish! Luckily the Parisians speak a fair amount of english so we were never had any problems.

Here's the apartment where we stayed.  It was really lovely (minus the four flights of narrow wooden steps that we had to carry our suitcases up and down).  The landlady was super nice and even printed out maps with restaurant recommendations!   

Try and Try Again Pt. 2: Online

In part 1 I showed you all the stuff that I tried on and/or purchased in-store.  For part 2, I'm going to show you pictures of all the stuff I recently ordered online.  I think the success rate of my online shopping was much much lower (which I guess is kind of a good thing since I get my money back).

First up is Gap.  They had a 30% off sale so I ordered these polka dot jeans in 2 different sizes.  I ordered the petite 0 and 2.  I didn't even try the 2 because size 0 was already too loose in some places.  I think the 00s would have been a better fit. The size 0s bunch up in funny places and I also think that they are a bizarre length on me.  Anyway, I didn't love them enough to re-order them in the 00.

Try and Try Again Pt. 1

This year I didn't do any Black Friday (or Cyber Monday for that matter) shopping.  I wasn't in the mood to fight the crowds in-store and I didn't see any great deals online.  However, since I had the week off of work I decided to head to the local mall and do a little shopping while everyone else was work (in hopes of being able to browse in peace and quiet).  I didn't walk away with much, but here's all the stuff I tried on.

The first stop was Banana Republic.  I really liked their dresses, but sadly they just don't fit my body type.  These were in size 00 petite and it zipped up just fine, but they weren't flattering.  The hemline was too long (not a big deal if I tailor it) and my ribs just stuck out like crazy (so NOT flattering or fixable with tailoring).  I tried on 3 total.  Here's one of them.

 

Notice the bulging rib cage and the paunch around the belly. yuck.

Leavin' on a jet plane...

Apologies for the lack of updates. It's been a hectic couple of weeks and tomorrow I'll be leaving for a 2 week vacation to Spain and France... definitely a long overdue vacation! I will say that this trip as has been the least planned out of all past vacations (VERY surprising.. *OCD girl over here*).  And yet at the same time it's kind of refreshing to not have anything planned.  Spontaneity is the spice of life... supposedly. I'll have internet access every hotel I go to, so if anyone has suggestions for Barcelona and Paris (food, activities, or whatever else) I'd love to hear them!

Before I head off, here's a quick photo of a Sunday OTD.

Top: JCrew Vintage Tee, Shorts: Forever21 Faux Leather Trim (found here)

Lazy Weekends

I can't believe the weekends just fly by so quickly! And now Monday's almost over. Let's hope the rest of the week flies by so we can get to the weekend again!

This past weekend was just a nice lazy weekend.  The hubs and I spent a lot of time just hangin out and bummin around since the weather was so nice.  I found some suspcious looking berries. I was told they were strawberries but I don't know...

Do I dare try it?

Nah! Although I did bust one open just to see what the heck it was. It smells like a mix between a peach and a pumpkin. Anyone know what the heck this thing is??

I hope you all had as much fun this past weekend as I did!

Mint Green Top- from Nordstrom

Coral Shorts- Target

Gold Flip Flops- Havianas

@Home Fitting Room

This is series I like to call the At-home fitting room.  The mr. hates shopping so I do most of mine online to spare him the agony.  I usually only like to shop from stores that offer free shipping unless I come across something that I really really like.  Usually, I purchase online and then return in-store.  It's just a system that works for me.  This first blush colored skirt is from Forever21.  I believe it was from their Love21 line. This skirt is like a combination of boho and girly.  It's a little on the thin side so I'd suggest a slip underneath.  Unfortunately, it's currently sold out online but maybe you can find it in-store!  Here's something similar  

This one is from ASOS (from the River Island brand).  I have been looking for a circle skirt.  The first one I purchased as a polka dotted one from Forever21.  It was beautiful and the quality was great! It's too bad it ran a little large.  This one is a good fit.  Unfortunately, I think it's out of stock atm.  I apologize.  I purchased this skirt 2 weeks ago but didn't get around to posting.  In case they restock it, you can find it here

Now this last dress is still available! I had also been looking for a fitted lace dress.  I really wanted a different color (I think it was mint green) but they were all out of my size.  The one in dusty pink was also out of my size. darn.  However, I'm kinda glad I went with the navy.  I think I'll get more use out of this color.  I could probably wear it in other seasons as well (ahh the perks of living in California).  It's not quite as fitted as some other lace dresses perhaps because they run a little large for us petite gals.  I'd still recommend it.  It looks 10x better in person.  You can find it here

I hope you found this post helpful!  I'd love to see your latest finds as well!  Maybe I'll see something that I MUST have. We can enable each other ;)

Maxed Out



I've been training for my second half marathon (The Disneyland Half Marathon! whee!) so I follow a pretty strict training regimen.  This Saturday I was slotted to run a 10K simulating race pace.  Needless to say, I was exhausted and sore afterwards.  The last thing I wanted to do was throw on some tight skinny jeans or heels.  I opted for a nice comfy maxi dress instead.



For all those petite gals out there, I highly recommend this dress from Forever21!  It's SO hard to find a maxi dress that doesn't drag.  While this isn't a total maxi dress that covers your entire feet, it certainly is as comfy as one.  I think I'm going to order these in the other colors as well.  At only $10.80 it's a steal! I will mention though that this dress is rather see-through.  I suggest throwing on a slip to hide the goods.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

What I'm wearing:

Maxi Dress (size S)- Forever 21; found here

Gold Sandals- Forever 21 (last season);  also cute

Minted

This past weekend I went to see Brave! I'm such a sucker for Disney and Pixar.  Total kid at heart here!  I totally loved it (although the first time I saw her I thought she looked like a Cabbage Patch Doll). I highly recommend it as it has a good mix of cuteness and adult humor.

This is my movie-going outfit. Mint green has been my obession for the Spring and Summer.  I've tried on more pairs of mint green pants than I can count and have finally found one that fits me! I found this one at H&M.  I decided to go for a more casual look and threw on my new denim jacket (I couldn't find my old denim jacket from high school and finally gave up and bought a new one at Zara).  I wore my gray Toms with this outfit. Pardon the lack of outfit detail.  We were rushing out the door so we wouldn't miss the movie! I promise I'll do better next time.

Here's a closer look at the jacket. I really like this wash. It's not too light and not too blue.  They have a TON of different washes at Zara if you're interested.

I hope you all had a great weekend! Monday's down...only 4 more days to go!

Style Glimpse

I am loving this coral crop top that I recently bought.  I found this top at Pac Sun.   I wouldn't say that Pac Sun is one of my top 5 all time favorite stores BUT I do pop in every now and then.   They do have some very petite-friendly items. I think sometimes Pac Sun gets overlooked as an option for us petite gals because it's seen as a "younger" store.  If you have the time, I'd say pop in because you never know what you may find.  Sometimes the best finds are the most obscure ones.

I named the title of this post "Style Glimpse" because it's just that.  I'm leaving it up to your imagination and creativity to see what YOU would wear with this top.  I think at times when we see outfits on others we tend to mimic their style because we love what we see; but then we start to lose sense of our own unique personal style.  I  guess this post is meant to be more of a style challenge than an OOTD.  Tell me how you would style an outfit with this crop top.