Sweetly Striped

I know we're in the midst of NYFW, but I'm taking it back a few weeks with this look. One of my guilty pleasures when home includes shopping at Von Maur, but every now and then my mom will surprise me with a package-or in the case of this dress, bring it along for my birthday when she visited this past May! It's been perfect for summer, with just the right amount of playfulness and a breezy texture for hot days. The muted coloring will help it transition perfectly to fall with a pair of tights & a blazer.

P.S.-can we take a minute to admire the gorgeous Coach wedges I scored at 80% off last month? Definitely one of my better sale finds, and they were practically made for this dress.

Dress, Von Maur || Shoes, Coach || Necklace, Sequin Jewelry

Lipstick, Revlon Strawberry Suede (discontinued, similar) || Nails, Butter London/All Hail the Queen

Photos: Jessica Sturdy

Polka Dots & Studs

I'm pretty lucky to work in a fairly casual office environment-unless it's market/we have appointments (or, you know, some days you have Vogue editors coming by) we can rock jeans, tees and various forms of flat shoes. Other days, though, I feel like stepping it up, like I did with this dotted dress & my new favorite blazer (translation: I wear it several times a week). I love the versatility of this dress, but polka dots can feel a little girly to me sometimes-enter spiked loafers & a serious statement necklace!

Dress, Von Maur (old, similar) | Blazer, Zara | Necklace, Sequin Jewelry

Bag, Steve Madden | Shoes, Jeffrey Campbell

Party Animal

OK, so I'm not really a party animal, but I picked up this shirt several years ago & have to bust it out from time to time! 

Three reasons it is awesome: A) it is a balloon animal B) it is super cute (& comfy) C) it is a bright neon pink. And we all know how much I love bright colors.

Blazer, Charlotte Russe | T-Shirt, old/Von Maur | Jeans, Hudson | Boots, Fossil

Necklace, Forever 21 | Cuff, Sequin

And, of course, wearing Nars matte lipstick in Carthage. Nails are OPI Lincoln Park At Midnight (my favorite F/W hue). Happy Friday!

Thanks for taking my pictures, Jessica :)

P.S. If I disappear off and on for the next few weeks, fear not. I will be back-my work is going into our  "busy time" with market & NYFW! (This also means I am essentially spending all my waking hours at work except for hours like now when I'm watch Ghost Hunters on TiVo.)

xx

Doughnuts in Bryant Park

Okay, this post isn't really about doughnuts. BUT, I did actually have doughnuts in Bryant Park, from Dough. They're based out of Brooklyn and can usually be found at Smorgasburg, where I first discovered them, as well as at their shop in Bed Stuy. I highly recommend the blood orange or the café au lait if you have the chance to try one.

The day before the hurricane (I know, this post is incredibly delayed-but I should be back on schedule after this!) I met up with Jessica at Bryant Park because we both needed a break from work-it turns out, it was one of our last chances to be outside before the storm hit (you can read about our experiences from the hurricane here, here and here). The photos aren't the best quality because by the time we stopped to take photos, the sun was nearly set. Daylight Saving's Time screws everything up.

Sweater, Target | Scarf, Von Maur | Jeans, Joe's | Earrings, Sequin

I was playing with these metal rings at work & tied them onto the ends of my scarf to weight it down. Everyone complimented them, so I left them on!

Necklace, Sequin | Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple

Bracelets, Sequin | Skeleton Key Ring, Ashley Nizolek Jewelry | All other rings, family gifts

Nail Polish, Julep for Trina Turk in Delaunay

xx

Mustard & Mint

Hmm, now that would make for an interesting food combination! In this case, though, I'm talking about clothing colors, which are really more of a mustard & sea foam but that just didn't sound as awesome.

On Monday, Tracy of The Right Shoes & I grabbed lunch, since we work in the same building (at least part of the week). It's the first time in nine months that I officially ate lunch outside of the office, and then we stopped by Bryant Park to snap some quick photos.

Jacket, Zara (similar) | Scarf, Target (similar) | Dress & Hue tights, Von Maur

Sweater, Forever 21 (last year, similar) | Boots, Chinese Laundry (old, similar)

Earrings, Brooklyn Flea Find (they're real leaves, dipped in metal!)

Rings, all gifts from family | Nails, OPI Manicurist of Seville | Bracelets, all Sequin

The Best Accessory

I am a firm believer in accessorizing with a scarf year-round, be it a thick, cashmere pashmina in the winter or a lightweight cotton or silk scarf in the summer. During the fall, you'll find me in a different scarf every day of the week! I put together some of my favorites for this season (I'm really feeling this celestial blue, and a printed word scarf?? I sense some purchases in my near future).

1 ASOS Chain Print Snood (on sale!!) | 2 Echo Hazy Stripe Infinity Scarf at Von Maur 

3 Done and Done Storyteller scarf at Madewell | 4 Weston Pyrite on Azurite silk scarf at Net-A-Porter

5 Alexander McQueen Skull Chiffon Scarf at Nordstrom 

6 Athena Procopiou Protostars scarf at Net-A-Porter | Maison Scotch Stars scarf at Shopbop

The best thing about scarves is how easily they can make your outfit! I'm a huge fan of my white v-neck T's (seen here) and tossing a great printed scarf on top makes me feel ready to step out the door.