I'm Still Back!

 From the blooming wineries of Sonoma, CA to the bustling city of San Fransisco, welcome to part deux of my Northern California Vacay.

 {Wearing the same skirt as at the wineries, darker tights & playing with clear plastic spectators}

 {A chocolate-lovers dream}

 And then I came home to this....

...at the end of March.  In the Kansas City area. Almost April.

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I'm Back!

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the guest posts/bloggers and a HUGE, mighty big, Thank You to Rosa, Nora, Rebeka, I Try Stuff On, and Gina!

I was in Northern California for 6 days visiting family.  The first 2.5 days, my mom and sister stayed in Sonoma, CA and hit up wineries with family.  Then we headed to San Fransisco for the remainder of the time for more family, shopping and food.  Here is my vacay recap in photos....

{Jacuzzi Winery}

 {Chocolate cups filled with shots of wine}

{Robledo Winery Vineyards}

{In Bloom}

{Wined}

Stay tuned for Part Two of CA Vacation...

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Upgraded

If you follow me on Twitter you might have caught a few tweets and twitpics of my recent stay at Hotel Monaco in Denver.  I went for only one night for work, and upon checking in, we told I got upgraded. Sweet.  Didn't really know what to expect, and then when I walked into my room - scratch that - suite, I understood.

This room was fully decorated with fun patterns, vibrant colors, 2 big flat screen TVs and a Jacuzzi.  The room is way more exciting than my outfit!  I love the top and skirt, but probably would have made it a little more fun with bright tights & shoes if I didn't have a client meeting (toning it down a bit).

{Stripe top - Anthro last year; Skirt - NY&Co this past summer}

Washington D.C. Color

This past weekend I was in Washington D.C. - visiting one of my best friend's & going to Lady Gaga concert!  Oh my gosh was it all so fun.  I saw Gaga in KC back in August and it was so fabulous, I had to see her again!  She did not disappoint, and this time having her new song, Born This Way as the finale.

I also spent a lot of time with friends, exploring the city, shopping, eating and taking pictures!  I found so much color in DC, even though the weekend was pretty overcast and windy!

My friend lived in a row of town homes (would you call these brown stones, or is that only a NYC term?), and these were part of her row.  I loved the colors and flaking in paint.

Does anyone recognize this butterfly wall?  It is at Bloomies.  I loved the neon butterflies against the white wall - almost as I love how my friend rocks a turban on her head!  Her bright silk scarf wrapped around her hair is a fun pop of color on any gray day.  I'll have more on this some other time...as I want to try this myself & also have a how-to!

We found a great home store near Logan Circle, call Reincarnations.  It was filled with vibrant home design & decor and I wanted to take it all home!  It was so well priced!  I left with a beautiful pillow that you'll see in my bedroom soon... But look at this teal room (love the double chandelier) and glass heads!

I entered DC in this outfit...and little did I know, that DC was not going to be as warm as I thought - so this stripe blazer (my only "jacket" I brought) was worn a lot, layered on top of the clothing I brought to try to keep me a little warm...

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Outfit of the Day: My Military Moment

Or rather, when Military met Michael Jackson.  If MJ was in the military, I bed he'd wear a similar top...

Using this in-between weather (it's October, but it's still sunny and 70-80s) and wearing some new Chicago goods, I dabbled in my first Military try:

I wore my new tunic/dress from H&M with beaded shoulders over a ruffle Target skirt.  I like the dress over the skirt, except that you can see the ruffles through the dress a bit... Next time I can wear a long tank top or something else to smooth that part down.

Shoulder detail:

And my new boots, thanks to Nordstrom Rack:

...and tall olive green socks, but bare legs until the temps drop a bit so I can wear all my fun tights!

I LOVE tights in bright colors, think fabric, opaque, etc! Any tight, I will ware it.

Getting Caught Up Post-Vacay

...Sorry, post the most amazing, beautiful vacation EVER!  Readers, let me just tell you a bit about St. Maarten/St. Marin.  One little island, the south side belonging to the Dutch and the North belonging to the French.  Each bearing their own beautiful beaches, great food and unique markets - you can easily drive around the coast of the entire island in about an hour and see it all.


3 of my best friends from college and I reunited in St. Maarten for a whole week of rest, relaxation, swimming, exploring, snorkeling, and best of all - catching up.  We stayed on the Dutch side, but explore many fabulous beaches.

The balcony off our condo with the view of Little Bay.  

We stayed at Belair Beach Hotel and it was GREAT!

Me at the edge of Little Bay.  Totally overwhelmed with the beauty.

We rented a car and drove to the north side (enter the French side) and ferried a couple hundred yards to Pinel Island and spent the day in the waist high, crystal clear blue water.

Oyster Pond - straddles the border of French and Dutch side.

Orient Bay Beach on the French side.  A portion of this beach is nude.  We kept our clothes on (here), but this beach is on the east side of the island and had a wonderful breeze (on a hot day) and fun waves!

So, after a week of fun in the sun - I'm tanner, blonder and playing a bit of catch up!  Bear with me if I'm a little off this week, especially in reading all your blogs (which I have a ton to catch up on)!

Vegas 101

Last weekend I went to Vegas with 8 other girls.  It is the ultimate girls trip.  We danced so much my feet are still swollen!  I sang in the clubs and strained to still speak to my friends during the loud music that my voice is still raspy.  I chugged so much water to flush out alcohol and keep hangovers afar that I am still peeing every 2 minutes!  And it was great!  Just a few remaining aliments that are a sign of an amazing weekend.

Vegas 101:

1. No matter where you go or what you do in Vegas - it is your chance to break out that flirty dress , or too-fancy for home dress, or maybe a bit too-sexy dress.  It's Vegas.  You can do where whatever you want.

Body-hugging sequin dress:

Even if not 100% comfy in a super tight or short dress - these little babies help keep your privates private and feeling a bit more secure!

Depending on the color of your dress...Spanx

2. Pack those high-heels.  Who cares if your feet will be swollen or hurt - it's Vegas and heels are everything.  They look amazing and will make you feel great! ;)

Platform bright embellished heels:

Our Vegas heels one night:

I wore these.

Worried about blisters?  These things saved my soles in Vegas:

 Blister bandages are crushing and smooth! Wore them all Saturday night after I ended up with a blister on the ball of my foot from Friday night... it worked!

3. Smoldering eyes.  Now's the time to wear the sexy smokey-eye:

Try Mac Cosmetic's Shadow in Typographic

4. Pick a great place to stay!  Recommendation? Middle of the strip (easier to get any direction, and/or cheaper taxis)!  This week we stayed at the Bellagio in a sweeeeeeet suite and connecting room - had 4 bathrooms!  Going in on it with enough people, it was really affordable.  Just make sure to only reveal a few people staying upon reservations (only say there are the # of people that are beds - Vegas likes to charge $30 extra per person).  See strip map here.

5. Make sure the people you go with that are ready for a good time - whatever it is you do; whatever reason you go.  For a girls trip?  Be ready to dance! :)

Any Vegas tips for a great weekend?

Get up and shake the glitter of your clothes now

...that's what you get for waking up in Vegas!

Don't mind me - but I'm in Vegas this weekend! Yay!!! :)

Boston, here I come!

I'm headed out of town this afternoon to BOSTON! I've only been once, for business - so didn't get to see much. I'm excited to visit one of my best friends and explore the city.


Any Boston readers? Got any suggestions on things to do/places to see/restaurants to eat at while I'm there? Comment here if you do! I'd appreciate it! :)

So, the bad news is...my regular posts for tomorrow might be interrupted. But I'll be back Monday for sure!

Shoe of the Day - Coach Wedges

I'm in Chicago - been in work meetings, but get to stay the weekend to have fun. I have already hit the shops though...!! My co-workers, Filene's Basement and I had a good time. I scored a beautiful pair of coach wedges for cheap. They are so pretty and comfy.

You can score these beauties yourself through Ebay, variety colors and sizes.

Oh how I love Chicago...I've gotten a few other things...Jeans (skinny jeans, which I NEVER thought I could wear - but the brand I got - post on that to follow soon - really changed my view), Jewelry, and Fun bedazzled Michael Jackson-esq short sleeve zipper card (hah, long discription, I'll post a pic soon, because I think it's so funny - in a good way).

Most excited to hit up J.Crew and Anthro!!! They have better and bigger stores here than in KC and I am READY!!!! So I'll follow up with my, hopefully, exciting purchases soon....!!!

Remember to vote for Charlie! You can vote once a day and EVERY vote counts!!! Vote HERE.

Hope you're have a great week!

Denver Review

So it took me all week for this post, but wanted to dedicate this to last weekend's travels to Denver. I've been to CO many, many times. And now I'm lucky to have a good friend that lives there that I can go visit whenever!

My weekend in pictures:

Beautiful Denver sunset - from downtown Denver

Hiking in Boulder, CO - Shanihan Trail

Shanihan Trail had wonderful scenery and flowers...

Best Ice Cream ever...Little Man Ice Cream (Gelato and Sorbet too)
LoDo (West of Downtown in Lower Highlands)

Downtown Denver bar: Front Door
On Saturdays, they pick 2 names and if your name is one of them, you get to drink for free. This night was Emily night! Emily, our Denver hostess.

Fishing down the Colorado River in the Rocky Mountains.
We started at Pumphouse, about 1.5 hours west of Denver in then Mountains.

Overall, an amazing, yet too-short, trip! Denver comes highly recommended on my list. Beautiful with SO much to do! Hiking, floating, kayaking, fishing, white water rafting, biking, great restaurants, fun atmosphere to go out in downtown Denver, Boulder unique shops and festivals, etc.

Have you been to Colorado, besides to ski? What did you do?