Seeing Red: Valentine’s Day Inspired Mashup

Seeing Red: Valentine’s Day Inspired by pumps-and-lipstick showing how to wear perforated boots

Tabitha Simmons perforated boots
boutique1.com



I love Love. Yeah, I said it! And I’m not talking only about mushy-mushy, romantic, The Notebook type of love. I mean all of it. The love between you and your parents, your gal-pals, your furry friends, and your lover. I’m talking about the love you have for your passions in life. Whatever makes you happy: food, fun, anything and everything that makes us smile and enjoy life to the max.

I roll my eyes when Valentine’s Day is propped up as ‘Singles Awareness Day‘ because it points out the lack of love in your life, when it’s only a portion. It’s discounting the fact that love exists in so many other areas and makes people feel bad about what’s missing. I say F that. Take this day (and everyday, really) to be grateful and show the people you love how much you love them. Whether it’s a batch of group texts to your nearest to dearest to sending your mama her favorite flowers– we’ve all got love in our lives. Just show it and embrace it.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Overcoat Overload

Winter is certainly chilling my bones some days. As a Bay Area commuter, part of my journey to work every day consists of walking a couple miles in bustling downtown SF and along tranquil Lake Merritt in Oakland. The early morning breeze and evening chill makes me shiver with goosebumps.

To keep me warm and brave the icy wind, my coats have gotten longer and longer. Peep a couple of my favorite overcoats below:

Overcoat Overload by pumps-and-lipstick featured in lauren conrad style

Haider Ackermann white wool coat
farfetch.com

Purple wool coat
$155 – modekungen.se

Pink coat
euro.dorothyperkins.com

Betsey Johnson lip earrings
amazon.com

Green gemstone ring
$8.71 – target.com.au

Look of the Day: Tribal Inspired

What a beautiful winter, isn’t it? Well, not everyone lives in (the best state ever) California. Here in the Golden State, we’re experiencing a rather warm winter. The sun shines so bright and I can feel the envy from my friends shivering on the East Coast. #sorrynotsorry 

I will say though, the weather has been creating difficult winter wardrobe choices. Numerous questions like, “Is it going to be warm or chilly today? Should I wear a longer jacket? Will I be too hot in boots?” and the like, run through my mind during my daily morning ‘get ready’ routine. On this day, it started out gloomy with overcast and then leaded to lots of sun with a cool breeze. I screamed, “Make up your mind, weather!” 

So finally, I put together a Native American inspired tribal dress that’s thick like a sweater plus tall black boots with exposed zippers paired with patterned black tights. This way I could stay mostly warm with thick pieces and exposed arms and neck to keep me cool and balanced. With this casual look, I played down the number of jewelry pieces and narrowed down to my favorite, Bobbi J earrings. Hair and makeup are simple and sweet with half up and super straight a neutral brown eyeshadow by MAC named Corduroy. 

Get your scroll on…

All images are original. All rights reserved.

Monday Motivation: Attack Your 2014 Goals With a Plan

Happy 2014! I hope everyone’s holiday season was amazing and filled with lots of love, joy, and laughter. Didn’t it seem to pass by really fast? Like, there was so much commotion before the holidays with all the crazy sales, white elephant and ugly sweater parties, and Christmas dinners? And then boom, it’s the December 26th and everything is done? Yeah, that’s how I felt.

Anyway, now with the new year in full speed, it’s new years resolution time, right? Really, we can make resolutions any time we please, but the new year makes it much more exciting and motivating. So, I’ve started drafting my ‘official’ list of goals I will accomplish (notice my word choice there), and I noticed one major thing: I needed a plan. This is why most new years resolutions, or goals for that matter, don’t get accomplished– because there’s no plan of attack! How are we going to set a goal, but not have a way to get there? We must make a plan.

For instance, one of my goals is to read one book per month. My main excuse is that I ‘didn’t have enough time’, which is complete BS because I definitely had enough time to watch Scandal, Real Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Boardwalk Empire, Homeland, etc. Ultimately, I found productive free time while I’m commuting to SF every day– duh! I found while I’m on BART or casual carpool, I have 15 minutes each way to dedicate to reading. That’s at least 30 minutes of reading each day for 5 days a week. Surely I can finish one book per month.

So when you look at your list of things you will do this year, ask yourself how you’re going to get there because that is your ticket for accomplishing your goals. For a plan of attack for goal setting and accomplishing, I really enjoyed Refinery29’s post by Gretchen Rubin. Click here to kick 2014’s ass.

Look of the Day: Miss Mix-a-lot

Before today, I couldn’t tell you the last time I wore a leotard. The only time that comes to mind is during my short-lived ballet days when I was 5 years old. This time around, I ditched the pink tutu. 

I’m a big fan of mixing textiles and in this look, I did exactly that. Leather, canvas, cotton, wool, denim— the works! I kept it casual with a hint of edge pairing RACHEL Rachel Roy denim, Nasty Gal jacket, Forever 21 lion leotard, H&M infinity scarf, and Franco Sarto motorcycle boots.

All images are original. All rights reserved.

Monday Motivation: Get Excited!

I used to dread Mondays. I would even get sad on Sundays because Monday was right around the corner. What a terrible way to start the week, right? Right. So how did I turn this around? I started to get excited about what was approaching in my near future: girls night out, my favorite gym class, date night, Scandal, etc. The more I focused on what got me excited and happy, the less I thought about the long commute to work and the job in general. It even taught me how to get excited about the things I really liked about my job so I wouldn’t even focus or dread about the tiny things that really urked me at work. Heck, the more excited I got about my favorite things and upcoming events, the week flew by even faster. By the time I actually looked up at the calendar, it was already Friday!

Adjust your focus. Stay excited!

Happy Monday!

Mixing Prints: Leopard + Pinstripes

I’m trying to branch out and step out of my comfort zone. Of course, this takes baby steps. Mixing prints is my newest endeavor. It’s easy for me to mix textures and all, but prints is a newer arena for me. To start, I figured it’d be easiest to start with less extreme prints and then graduate into larger, bolder, louder colors and styles.

For this look, I was going for a casual-Saturday feel that didn’t require much work: chambray pinstripe collared shirt and tan/brown leopard print infinity scarf. The thin pinstripes add a little more dimension without causing too much distraction. Tall leather boots and distressed denim added more lax into this relaxed look. A fuss-free high bun keeps the crazy curls tamed and dainty gold jewelry adds light gleam and shimmer.

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Look of the Day: Leopard and Lime

Once again, I took a nice little stroll to my neighborhood botanical garden near Lake Merritt. All year long, beautiful blooms and bushes sprout about and fill the air with refreshing fragrances. With winding trails and secret mini gardens, it’s pretty easy to get lost…in a good way!

Obviously, I wasn’t ready to get down and dirty to start digging and planting in this getup: black Else denim, Gap lime green infinity scarf, Old Navy tank, Style&co booties, and t/o black and silver leopard cardigan.

All photos are original. All rights reserved.

Flop Top Galore

Who said you can’t wear a floppy hat in fall? Reminiscent of their summer, straw cousin, these wool floppy babies add the perfect mix of drama and sophistication. I still cain’t wait for it to be cold enough to pair with a long coat, tall boots with a chunky heel and dainty hoop earrings. Bad hair day or not, 

Check out some looks below…

Flop Top Galore by pumps-and-lipstick 

Wet Seal hat
wetseal.com

Gucci woolen hat
net-a-porter.com

Floppy hat
amazon.com

Brixton floppy hat
swell.com

Element Eden floppy hat
lulus.com

Images via polyvore.com, isfashiondish.com, chicismo.com

Mid-week Motivation: Stop Comparing Yourself

Yes, I hate it when I do it that to myself. It’s so annoying, utterly counter productive and just really makes me feel poorly about myself. As I change gears and position my focus elsewhere from my sad and pitiful feelings, I came across an awesome blog post on one of my favorite sites, Pick The Brain. I’m really digging this particular point it makes:

“1) Your own situation at hand

Are you constantly wondering, “Dang, I wish I was at the bar now” or “I sure wish I was watching the game now”?

Wish all you like, but what you’re actually doing is comparing your situation at hand with an unreachable state.

Continue with this comparison, and you’re just going to increase your boredom or even make you dread what you’re doing.

It simply cannot be helped if you stuck at work or well, just doing something else!

Think about it: If you’re washing the dishes, you’d definitely, without a doubt want to be somewhere else (unless you really love washing dishes).

Is there a point thinking about it? Not really.

Be present at your moment instead. Quiet your mind. Eliminate distractions. Get the work done and be on your way!”

For the full read, click here. Enjoy!