miami

Last month Rich and I went to Florida to visit some of his family and attend a friends wedding in the Florida Keys. While we were there we spent a few days basking in the heat of Miami Beach. Here were some of my favorite things.
Yardbird BBQ. We sat outside on the big patio after the sun went down in just tee shirts, drinking cocktails with big fat berries in them watching the nightlife.

Flowers, flowers everywhere.

The buildings were all so beautifully geometric.

The Cadet Hotel where we stayed. It was old and charming, it even had a "Clark Gable" suite.

Enjoying the beach before the Spring Break crowds arrived.

Abbey Brewing where we spent an entire evening drinking beer and making friends.

Bodega for Tacos...

...and Bodega for after dinner cocktails.

nine to five

Getting dressed for work everyday used to be SO. MUCH. FUN. Experimenting with colors, silhouettes and styles every day was totally my jam. When I moved to the city it was even more fun and I feel like I really hit my stride and found a style that consistently worked for me. Sixties vibes, miniskirts, shift dresses, skinny ankle pants and high waists paired with fun tees and tough tall shoes.

Over the past year or so I wouldn't say my style has drastically changed, but taken a more practical turn. From phasing out heels in favor of boots and sneakers for my walk to the office to streamlining my wardrobe down to just things I wear all the time to make getting ready in the morning a breeze. My commute is well over an hour and a half in both directions so any way I can save time and stay comfortable take priority.

There are no clear cut dress rules at my new job which is pretty awesome, so now I don't even have to toss heels in my bag or let them pile up under my desk anymore. This makes picking outfits out easier and harder at the same time. Most of my "work" clothes are too dressy and everything else is too casual (ie: my skirts are too short and I like crop tops). Luckily, it gives me inspiration for writing blog posts while I try to figure this out again.

I'll never be disciplined enough to have a true work uniform but this article really resonated with me. I've had so many moments over the past few years where my outfit left me running late and frazzled, feeling uncomfortable and worrying that I looked sloppy or too dressy or a million adjectives in between. I've thought about establishing a uniform much like Matilda Kahl, but my uniform in high school wasn't even that regimented. Although, it was a uniform and I remember how freeing that was on days when there were more important things to worry about than what I was wearing. I'd say what I'm going for now is more a personal "dress code" rather than a strict uniform.

Here's what I've been gathering up as inspiration for my dress code...

Adenorah, The Imaginist

 Pinterest, Sandra Beijer

Chloe, AC for AG

the boring stuff

After three years at CNN I and moved on to something new at A+E Networks. I don't talk much about my job on the blog because its very important to me and I wouldn't want to jeopardize it in any way. I work in media after all! Also, I keep my mouth shut because most people think its dead boring. Seriously, when I try to explain what I do to people I can see their eyes glaze over.

If you're interested: I'm a media researcher and my job is a blend of communications and social science and I analyze media usage trends (for TV in particular). What are our viewers watching? Why? When? What else do they watch? What else do they like? How can we use this information to create better TV and bring relevant advertising to the network?

Oh, did you stop reading? That's OK. I know most people find it monumentally boring, hence, keeping it off-blog.

So now I'm in this new and exciting role in a new office in a different part of Manhattan and its all just taking some time to get used to. I had a very good routine at CNN for a long time, until I didn't anymore, and that's why I haven't been writing here as much.

Life around here is boring in the best possible ways. Wedding planning, hanging out with my cat, deciding I like food shopping better than shoe shopping. I got food poisoning on my birthday and then thought I was going to die from an ulcer. We went to Miami and got drunk and ate tacos. I started getting manicures and stopped getting haircuts. Boring but good.

Since this is a fashion blog, I guess we can talk about clothes and stuff too. Last year I got hit by a car and I was really uncomfortable in my body for a pretty long stretch of time. It didn't move right and it didn't feel right. Then of course I gained weight from not moving around and the last thing I wanted was to take pictures. What would I even take pictures of? I was wearing the same thing every day.
For awhile before the accident I felt completely disconnected to fashion blogging. So many inspirational bloggers have stopped blogging. Then there's a handful that wear mostly gifted clothes or have made blogging a full time gig. I felt like I just couldn't compete with that. The point of my blog all those years ago was to find my style, and I did that. Now I rarely shop for new things and I've sort of settled in to what works for me. But I still have the urge to share, because while I know what works for me I'm still really interested in fashion and I miss the sense of community I felt when I was heavy into blogging and sharing.

So...what?

I found a whole bunch of blogs that inspired me to start blogging again. My job makes me happy and I have a better work-life balance. I'm freaking getting married to the coolest dude imaginable!! More to come. Sooner rather than later.