Peplum and Leopard

Happy Saturday folks!  We all made it through another week...another week closer to summer!  This outfit was my first try wearing my burgundy peplum Topshop shirt.  They now sell Topshop at Nordstrom too. The only problem...camera battery was dying so I only have one good shot to share.  I really wanted to get this top because I thought it would be great alone, or layered with a long sleeve underneath.  My bad because I ordered it too small and nothing really fits underneath without showing thru.  Thus, it has become warm weather only, for now.  I'm still working on layering it.

Top - Topshop, Similar top in coral at Piperlime, Leather look on Bluefly

Jeans - Paige Premium Denim at Nordstrom, Less $$ option at Old Navy

Shoes - Jessica Simpson, Similar pair on Zappos

P.S. GO RED WINGS!!!

Summer Temps and a Purple Tank

Thank the good Lord its finally spring/summer weather in the great state of Michigan!  I have been so anxious to wear some of my new summer gear (and old stuff too for that matter).  I found this great purple tank on the clearance rack at Kohls a couple weeks ago.  Its from the Jennifer Lopez collection...and I scored it for only $10!  I love the beading on it.  Side note...not great for holding babies because the beads are kind of scratchy on them.  My niece totally loved my metal cuff bracelet tho...makes a great baby toy!

Tank - On sale at Kohls, Other really cool options like this one on Piperlime

Jeans - Paige Denim from Nordstrom, More affordable option at Gap

Wedges - Guess from Macy's, Not many like mine but these by Lucky Brand are close

This season's Guess wedges are really cool too!

Happy Spring Shopping!!!

Early Birthday Dinner

Well as you know, it was my birthday on Sunday.  But never one to settle for one celebration, we went out to a sushi dinner on Saturday to pre-celebrate!  Much thanks to Gil and Sue for driving out...and for putting up with the worst service of all time.  Good thing we all like each others company cause dinner was about 2 hours long.  Sushi was delicious tho.  I was excited for another opportunity to wear my printed trousers too!

Top - Victoria Secret, very similar top at New York & Company for $47

Pants - Guess, Tons of options like this at Macy's for $55 and under

Shoes - Carlos Santana, Similar pair by BCBGeneration on Zappos for $63

Cuff - Target, Similar one at Macy's by Fossil

My Birthday Outfit!!!

In case you hadn't heard...yesterday was my BIRTHDAY!  My 29th birthday to be exact.  I'm a pretty big fan of my birthday.  Not in a conceited kind of way...more of a celebrate that you are alive kind of way.  I love this quote from P.S. I Love You and I use it all the time. "We're so arrogant, aren't we? So afraid of age, we do everything we can to prevent it. We don't realize what a privilege it is to grow old with someone."  I think that's the most accurate quote I have heard when it comes to talk about age.  My grandma died at 88, and she was proud of her age every single year.  She told anyone and everyone that it was her birthday each year and I loved that about her. So I am following her lead!

I thought the outfit I wore for my birthday party at my parents house was perfect for the blog.  It was actually a gift from my wonderful bosses.  And its all recent so they should be available still in stores.  It was the perfect spring party outfit because it was comfortable, but a little fancy too!  I piled on all the necklaces because well, it was my birthday! (Note the balloons from the twins, so cute!)

Top - Bobeau at Nordstrom (on sale so not many left), Similar style by Free People

Jeans - J Brand at Nordstrom, Less expensive option by Levi's on Piperlime

Shoes - Joe's at Nordstrom, Less expensive option at DSW by Fergie

Longest necklace - Similar one at Kohls by Lauren Conrad

Middle Necklace - Similar one here on Etsy 

Work Dinner...(Jon's work that is.)

A work dinner for me would mean about the same thing as regular dinner...or lunch and breakfast for that matter :-)  It would just include two more tiny mouths to feed...and a lot more noise!  But for Jon's work, it meant a nice night out at a fancy steak house downtown.  We went to this great Detroit steak house called Roast.  Its in the lobby of the Westin downtown.  Now, me being me, I love an excuse to get all dressed up!  I had a dress and shoes picked out for weeks...then Jon told me last minute that all the guys were wearing jeans.  TOTALLY threw off my outfit plans.  Apparently it wasn't as fancy an occasion as I thought.  But, I persevered and was so excited with the results.  I like how the plain, casual white top offsets the dressiness of the lace skirt.  Side note - I was definitely the most dressed up at the table, but I always say its better to be overdressed than under dressed. I hope you like the outfit as much as I did!

Shirt - BCBG Max Azria, Similar style at Gap $50

Skirt - Victoria Secret, Similar skirt at Macy's by Vince Camuto $74

Heels - Michael Kors heel and painted toe, Similar pair at Nordstrom $90

New Pants and My Nephew

Happy Birthday week to myself!  And my sister-in-law too, who is turning the big 3-0 this week! We are gearing up for some great family time this weekend to celebrate the birthdays and babies.  It will be the first time both my niece and nephew are together!!!  Being the birthday girl, I decided I get dibs on holding the babies!  :-)

But before all that begins this weekend, we had a smaller Sunday dinner (well brunch and dinner) at my parents on Sunday.  I hadn't seen baby Jaxon since he was born and it was so awesome to get some quality snuggles in before the crowd gets bigger.  He is just the sweetest thing ever!  I could literally hold him all day.  He was just sleeping away in my arms while mom and dad took a much needed nap.  All was smooth sailing til diaper change time and Aunt Tina forgot what happens with baby boys and my new pants got a little peed on!  Lesson learned...cover that thing quickly!  P.S. Instead of helping, they all laughed and took pictures of the disaster!  Payback is a you know what!

Anyways, I got these new printed pants from Kohls last week and I was dying to test drive them.  (That's what I do with new outfits that I am not sure about.)  They were so comfortable...literally felt like I was wearing  my pajamas all day.  Perfect brunch outfit and even better baby snuggling outfit!  I love them...these will definitely be in more frequent rotation.

Top - Trouve from Nordstrom, similar style for $48

Pants - Jennifer Lopez for Kohls $35

Shoes - BCBGirls, similar pair at Macy's for $79

Mens Style for Spring

Well, technically its spring.  Mother Nature is being a real biatch and refuses to do anything but rain and snow here in Michigan.  It still feels like winter.  And to go along with the crap weather, I have also been battling a sinus cold and its been a real drag too.  So...I have spent my last two weekends on the couch in pajamas.  Ergo...no new pictures of fun outfits to share :-(  BUT, a few friends have asked me about mens fashion and whats in style for Spring 2013.  Jon is busy watching the Masters/being mad at me so I can't ask him to model like I was planning.  We will broach that idea later this week and I will do a post on mens style with my handsome husband as the model.  Until then, I have searched the blogs and websites to find some great suggestions for you.

One really big trend right now is grey...pale grey.  Many of the new suits that are out right now are grey.  I love this look by Dolce & Gabbana.  The suit is grey, but the shirt underneath is really popping!  For those of us who can't afford D&G, I found this suit option from Macy's by Bar III.  I love the green top too so I found the one pictured below also from Macy's by DKNY.

Another big trend right now for spring is pastels.  This can be dress shirts, ties, or even shorts.  I love this look from Nordstrom, especially the pink shorts.  I couldn't find these exact shorts at Nordstrom, but these shorts from JC Penny are really cool too (and only $12!).

Can't do a menswear blog without talking about ties.  I LOVE mens ties.  I wonder if this stems from being a big fan of Pretty Woman...we all what I am talking about ;-)  Anywho...One big style point for spring is 'less is more' so instead of a printed shirt and tie, try a plain shirt with a tie that pops.  How about a really cool flower print?  I love this look. The tie is from Express for $50.

The last trend that I think is worth mentioning is the denim jacket.  Denim jacket you say???  I know...its very circa 1990s but they are back.  You have to be careful with this trend so you don't end up looking very uncool.  I like the moto style best, like this one by John Varvatos. I found an exact replica at Macy's for only $45, below.

Here's to spring actually showing up!!!