A Shearling Story

When I was asked to work with Methodist Richardson Medical Center Foundation and The Impeccable Pig in styling a look for their silent auction, of course I jumped at the chance!  I've been blessed to know the folks at The Foundation for a few years now and their annual Yellow and Black Tie Gala benefiting the medical and cancer centers is a wonderful event.  These men and women work tirelessly each year to put together a fabulous evening that raises money for cancer research and awareness.  The Impeccable Pig, a boutique with locations in Texas, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee graciously donated the fantastic bag in the pictures below as an auction item for this years event.  My job was to put together a look that showcased the bag, along with my favorite items from their store.  It's such an honor for me to participate in something that has a cause behind it.  A huge, giant, Texas-sized thank you to everyone involved and for the opportunity to participate.  

Now, let's talk about the clothes!! The second I walked in, I just knew that I had to style an entire outfit around this shearling vest.  I mean the bag.  Oops.  Anywho, I fell in love with the vest and lucky for me, it went flawlessly with the bag.  To be totally honest, the palazzo pants weren't my cup of tea, simply because this chick generally steers clear of prints on her booty.  The girls at The Impeccable Pig insisted that I try them, so I set my trunk junk aside and trusted them and guess what?  They were right!  These pants are not only comfortable, but they are slimming.  Yep, you heard me.  Once I threw on my big girl platforms, I had legs for days and the roll down waist band kept everything right where it needed to be.  Once we had those three pieces knocked out, I added the sweatshirt and y'all know I've never met a sweatshirt I didn't like.  I piled on some of my own accessories and voila!  A luxe boho look that is both comfy and chic.  By the way, this bag has a removable clutch inside, so it's super versatile and will go with just about any look and any color.  What do you guys think?

If you aren't familiar with The Impeccable Pig, get your can over there ASAP.  They have unique boutique clothes at great prices, not to mention some awesome jewelry and gifts!

Shearling Vest - c/o The Impeccable Pig (in store)

Sweatshirt - c/o The Impeccable Pig (in store)

Palazzo Pants - c/o The Impeccable Pig (in store & other colors here)

Bag - c/o The Impeccable Pig (in store)

Necklace - Tory Burch (old)

Hat - Forever 21(similar)

Shoes - Aldo Cybil (on sale for $12!!! no kidding!)

Bracelets - H&M (love this option, it goes with everything), J.Crew Pave' Link (option here for 1/2 price!), Stella & Dot

Rings - Francesca's, H&M

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!

xoxo,

sarah

Ducks in a Row

Hey y'all!  Boy, do I have some crazy fun stuff to share today! So, you all know that I have been writing and styling the fashion features in DeltaStyle Magazine and this past weekend, I hit the mother load.  If you follow me on Instagram, you probably got sick of my incessant posting, but if not, here's what went down. Not only did I get to do my own shoot with the fabulous Gary Guinigundo but I spent the entire day on Saturday styling a shoot for Jep and Jessica Robertson with photography by Brad Arender.  Not only was I surrounded by amazing creative talent all weekend, but I got to hang with Jessica who is one of the sweetest most down to earth and honest people I've ever met. 

I blew into town on Saturday morning and went to every boutique in Monroe to pull clothes for both shoots.  Monroe is such a great town, if you ever have the opportunity to go there, by all means, it's worth the stop.  The boutiques are all amazing and unique and have so much to offer.  I mean where do you get a leopard hair clutch, a tiger sweatshirt, and a pair of hooker heels all in the same place?  I was super impressed by the longevity that these boutiques have had.  One of them has been in the same location for 25 years with the original owners.  It's a testament to staying current and relevant in a small market, but still appealing to the masses.  Make sure you visit K-Sera, Cara's, Herringstone's, The Toggery, and Bayou Gypsy if you are ever rollin' through town.

Monroe is also a destination for antiques and gift shops, along with some pretty stinkin' fantastic restaurants.  We had a beautiful dinner at Cotton, which is run by Chef Cory Bahr who won the show Chopped on Food Network.  Now, I've been a very lucky girl and have been able to eat of some really amazing places across the country and I would rank this food in the top three.  Chef was so sweet and arranged for us a sampling of their most popular appetizers (the pimento cheese stuffed beignets with green tomatoes made me want to eat until I puked), and then we shared stuffed catfish and shrimp and grits for the main course.  Besides the food, the space itself is beautiful (think Restoration Hardware with a little southern charm mixed in). Freakin' amazeballs, seriously.

So Jessica and Jep's photo shoot was at the private plane hangar and runway, which turned out to be a fantastic setting.  We had to make do with the space we had, which was basically a small conference room.  The theme was jet-setters mixed in with a little holiday.  The planes and runway in the background added to the scene and Jessica is so stinkin' beautiful that it could have been in a landfill and still turned out perfectly.  Jep was very funny and laid back, as expected and it felt very much like hanging with my friends in North Carolina that I've known for years.

After that, we went to a jewelery store where Miss Kay was waiting with the grandchildren to do another promo shoot for that store. It was just a really great experience and I felt like Rachel Zoe all day long, plus I got to work with Brad Arender, who's work is phenomenal. You've gotta check out his stuff. Beautiful! You've gotta be super talented in order to make such a busy setting work and he did it flawlessly. I can't wait to see the final cut and work with him again.

Monday, I shot some fun stuff with Gary Guinigundo who is our super duper talented staff photographer with Delta Style. Sweet baby Jesus, what would we do without Gary?  I don't even want to know.  We have some upcoming features that we are working on (ways to wear the little black dress, gift ideas) and I was able to actually have someone else take my photos rather than standing out in front of my house while all my neighbors watch the weirdo next door taking pictures of herself.  It was a little weird for a few minutes, but then I remembered that I look at my own photos all.the.time and know how to pose in order to make my body look good.  Gary kind of let me be my bossy self and I just ran with it (sorry, Gary!!) 

 

I also styled some items for future articles that turned out really pretty. It was awesome, though and you can see a couple of the photos he took by visiting his site here. We had a ton of fun with it and I'm excited for those edits to come across as well. 

 

After that, we did some quick shopping while returning all the borrowed items to the boutiques and then hauled balls home to Dallas.  Southern hospitality at it's finest.  Get on out to Monroe, LA if you have the opportunity!

xoxo,

sarah

Straight Hair Don't Care

I've written, cried, complained, and whined about my straight hair on many, many occasions.  It's baby fine, stringy, and plastered to my head, but sometimes I just don't have the time or energy to spend on curling every.single.day.  I've tried dry shampoo, I've tried volumizing shampoo, I've had layers cut, I've tried not washing it for a week and nothing ever gets me the beautiful, long, thick tresses that Jennifer Anniston has. See the third picture?  My futile effort at back combing left a rat's nest on the back of my head.  Awesome. Nothing like the appearance of wallowing in the bed all day, right?  Bed head ain't for me, y'all. I long for thick hair that has oomph!  Do you any of you fine hair beauties have any suggestions, products, techniques that seem to work?  I'm probably well beyond repair since my hair feels like straw from heat and product exposure, but it couldn't hurt right?

Also, I wanted to give a little shout out to Benevolent Jewels, the company that I purchased this necklace from.  They have such a super cool concept and donate money back to a different cause every 3 months. What a wonderful way to pull in two passions: accessories and charity!  They have a fabulous selection of pretty things, all at an unbeatable price point,  so be sure to check them out :)

Dress: Banana Republic Tweed Fit and Flare Dress 

Jacket: F21 Street Chic Faux Leather Jacket $18.90 on sale!!

Boots: Zara, old

Bag: American Apparel Large Leather Carryall Pouch

Tights: Merona Opaque Tights

Necklace: Benevolent Jewels Frost Garden Collar Necklace use code JEWELS25 for 25% off!

** Style Note - I am very high waisted, so in BR I buy petites because the waist and hem are both way too long in a regular size**

xoxo,

sarah

This is my Edgy

I've been a blog stalker for several years now and it's always interesting to see how the style of some of my favorite fashionistas has evolved over the years.  Some go from preppy to edgy, some go from casual to dressy, and some go from obtainable to downright expensive as they become more and more popular.  The latter is super annoying in my opinion, simply because I feel like that person becomes less and less approachable and their choices can alienate parts of their audience.  Success comes with it's perks, especially in an industry that thrives on materialism.  I've caught myself (on several occasions) being addicted to "stuff" and having to really take a look at myself and scale back.  Whether it's quality over quantity, or it's simply revisiting why you decided to write your blog in the first place, it's always good to come back to earth periodically. 

I got an email from a reader and it basically said "Do you always look like this? Do you ever wear flats? Is your hair always curled?  What's your secret?" It got me thinking about who I am as a blogger and who I am as a person.  I've read a thousand posts from different gals about the "bubble effect" of a fashion blog.  It's a snapshot of how you want other people to see you from afar.  Is it biased?  Maybe a little.  Is it unrealistic?  In my case, no. My clothes, accessories, and "stuff" are a representation of who I am as a person.  I like some expensive things, but I absolutely destroy them and get the most wear for my buck.  No matter how successful or unsuccessful I am or am not, I will always shop at Target and Forever 21.  I thrive off seeing an expensive outfit in a magazine or on a website and recreating it from a lower price point so everyone can wear the look.  I'm preppy, quirky, classic, edgy about once a month, and live in my workout clothes, no makeup, and dirty hair on weekends.  Hell, I've had these boots for two years and I just started wearing them this season because I just couldn't see how they would look halfway decent on me.  There is absolutely no method to my madness and no formula to the way I dress.  I just get up in the morning and do it, solely based on how I feel that day.  And by the way, these are the most comfortable jeans I've ever worn.  For real.

One last note - I wear a ton of stuff over and over again, just in different ways, that's not necessarily a new item every single post.  These items are eventually no longer available, so I have added similar items at the price point that I purchased my item in the banner below my actual links.  If the item is still available, it will be in both places.

Tank: One Clothing via TJ Maxx

Denim: Rich & Skinny Relaxed Balboa Ankle Cropped Jeans

Boots: DV Dolce Vita Jamison Bootie via Ross

Bag: Alexander Wang Emile

Necklace: Factory Brass Plated Crystal Necklace 

Glasses: Ray Ban Aviators

Bracelets: Stella and Dot, F21

xoxo,

sarah

Back to Life

She's alive!  She's alive!!!!!  My MacBook, after two weeks in the Apple Hospital of Horrors has been resuscitated and is back beneath my fingers.  I took her with me on a business trip to Lake Tahoe in hopes of blogging and catching up on Downton Abbey and she wouldn't turn on.  At all.  No humming or lighting up.  No signs of life.  Panic at the disco, y'all!  Ends up that the whole motherboard had to be replaced!  As soon as the Apple guy said that, my mind went straight to the place it always goes - a SATC episode.  Remember when Carrie's Mac died?  Devastating. The great thing is that since these dang things are so expensive in the first place, no matter what the repair is, there is a flat rate fee of $280.  If my windows laptop or PC had this problem, I probably would be stuck buying a whole new device, so I guess it could be worse, right?

 

Enough about that drama, how was y'all's weekend?  My last two have been pretty decent because #1 - I did not travel, and #2 - there was no excessive football celebration causing a Sunday hangover.  Instead, we were extremely productive and had friends and family over for a barbeque.  I also got to catch up on season 2 of Scandal on Netflix.  Let me just say that this show is so freakin' good.  I love politics, so I love a good political drama, and on top of a great storyline, everyone is extremely well dressed.  Kerry Washington is one of the most beautiful women on the planet and they dress her impeccably from head to toe.  It's kind of the way I would want to dress if I were in a position that was super professional and high profile, but I'm not, so I get to have people stare at my mismatched patterns and bright colors every day instead.  Besides that, we are in the process of renovating two homes for sale and we ran all over kingdom come getting the finishing touches for the house.  I'll post some before and after pics as soon as it's 100% complete.

So, let's chat about this outfit right quick.  First off, if you don't have a jeweled sweatshirt, let's go ahead and knock that out right now.  I mean, a sweatshirt that you can wear to work or while you are sitting in bed during a Scandal marathon?  C'mon.  I may or may not have done both, but I wanted you to be aware of your options.  Next off, chunky heels.  I have really agonized over this one for a couple months now.  With my body shape, especially my lower body shape, I just didn't know if I could do a chunky heel.  I felt like it made my legs look even thicker and I ain't that proud of what I'm workin' to highlight it even more.  I was in J.Crew doing my usual price adjustments during the sale, and I saw these sweet heels that are basically the tall version of my patent bow flats.  They are super comfy and the best part is that they were $25.  Sold!  And these camo pants, well, I had a different pair last year and they are a little snug, so I bought a less expensive pair that I could stuff my arse in this fall instead.  Story of my life.

 

Enjoy your week!!

 

 

 

 

Sweatshirt: Factory Beaded Sweatshirt, love this and this, too!

Denim: J.Crew Faded Chambray Popover

Pants: F21 Camo Skinny Jeans, other options here and here

Heels: Factory Olive Pumps, similar with bows! 

Bag: Alexander Wang Emile Tote, budget friendly option, Celine-inspired

Bracelets: J.Crew Classic Pave' Link (this color is on sale, love it!), Stella and Dot Renegade Cluster, Humble Chic NY Spike Bracelet

 

xoxo,

sarah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initial Transitions

The weather in Texas is finally getting down to the low 90's, which is what we call "mild" or "fall" here in the Lone Star State.  I have been so jealous of all my fellow blogger friends in different parts of the country who've been sporting snuggly sweaters and boots, so I decided that I would jump on the bandwagon today.  Although I was kind of sweating by the end of the day when I got in the car, the office was fa-reezing all day, so it kind of worked out for me.  I love the transitional time of year, as I'm sure you can see by my first article for DeltaStyle, and this outfit is the perfect example.  I wore this J.Crew skirt all summer long and it goes right into fall by replacing my airy tanks with a flannel button down, and switching strappy sandals for booties.  Easy peasy!  

So, an update from my Atlanta shopping expedition last weekend - Swank was a total tank!  I hope y'all enjoyed that rhyme.  They did have some beautiful pieces, but it was pretty scarce and there was really not too much to see and try on.  They did offer some great Mara Hoffman dresses, which are hard to come by, but other than that I was pretty disappointed.  I did visit some other boutiques close by that were more in my price point wheel house, but the best part (and a total surprise) was my visit to C.Wonder.  In case you don't know, C.Wonder was founded in 2011 by J. Christopher Burch, Tory's ex, and both the line and the store are pretty similar in terms of decor and product.  C.Wonder is at a lower price point and offers a lot of customization with monogramming, initials, etc. which this southern gal lurves.  The store was like happiness exploded in 1000 square feet!  Everyone was in a great mood, the colors were beautiful, and everything just put me in a good freakin' mood.  I so wanted to blow my wad on the home decor stuff, but I had no way of packing it in my already packed to the gils wheelie bag.  I was super psyched to see the initial belt buckles in different colors and double sided belts to go along with them.  I got my new initial-to-be in navy enamel with gold accents.  I'm being proactive people!

Top: Theory (thrifted) but love this option and this colorful plaid

Skirt: J.Crew Double Crepe Skirt

Booties: DV Dolce Vita Juju 

Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target - search ebay!

Belt: C.Wonder Reversible Nappa Leather Belt

Buckle: C.Wonder Enamel Letter Belt Buckle

Necklace: J.Crew Twisted Hammock Necklace

Bracelets: J.Crew Classic Pave' Link, Stella & Dot Renegade Cluster

xoxo,

sarah

Published!! DeltaStyle Magazine

Hey chickens!  I've been waiting to tell y'all this until I saw it on paper, but I have been invited to be the fashion columnist for a fabulous magazine in Louisiana called DeltaStyle Magazine!  I am so honored and thrilled to be part of such a great team and excited about putting my ideas in print.  DeltaStyle Magazine is a "portrait of the arts, culture, and people of the Delta" and is published monthly.  For the September issue, I decided to write about transitioning summer pieces into fall with simple additions like jackets, booties, and accessories.  Next month, I am planning to focus on taking daywear to evening, which is basically the premise of WorkdayWeekend!

 

 I received my copy of DeltaStyle Magazine yesterday in the midst of completely insane work day and it just about made me fall out in the floor.  It's so surreal to see your work and your giant face staring back at you from the glossy pages of a magazine!  I can't even imagine how great this is going to be. As always, thank you all for supporting me as I weave my way through this crazy life.  Kisses!!

 

 

 

 

 

I threw in some of my new baubles that will be featured in upcoming blog posts for good measure.  Sorry for the bad iPhone pics !Hope y'all have a great weekend!

 

xoxo,

sarah