Gingham
Boho
Gogger pants
Stripes
Kimono scarf
Flatforms
White
Yellow
Thicker heels & Snake skin
light blue
Floral print
Lace
Pastels
1970’s wide leg jeans
Ear cuff
photo credit: Pinterest
SPRING trends to wear
Category: high style
Steps to getting dressed for a special event
If you want to stand out at an event, you must prepare well in advance to look appropriate and as beautiful as you can be.
- 6-8 weeks before an event I start looking at dresses on line and I may even order one or two. I enjoy shopping at sites that offer free shipping and returns. Sometimes I’ll find a dress locally, but I give myself plenty of time for altering. I like seeing what is trending and find inspiration on various sites. It may be a dress length, color, cut or certain style that I decide to go with. Once I decide what I want my “wow” piece to be, then I get focused. For example, my last event I decided to wear fur and I wanted that to be my ‘wow’ piece so I decided to find a simple dress that wouldn’t take away for the fur. Then the shoes were just as interesting but the jewelry was simple. To see the fur, I needed my hair up, but wanted it to have an Old Hollywood feel. Other times I want to dress color to be the ‘wow’ factor. Then I keep the shoes neutral.
- 4-5 weeks I make sure I’ve thought about my ‘vision’ of what I want the rest of the outfit to consist of. I order shoes and jewelry with plenty of time for returns and reordering.
- 4 weeks make sure you have hair and nail appointments set up for a couple of days before and a hair appointment on the day of your event.
- 2 weeks before I nail down an inspirational hair photo. I make sure I have the right handbag and coat to wear.
- 1 week before I may attention to my body, face and teeth. I make sure that I watch my sugar intake and regularly hit the gym. I make sure that my face is kept clean and use my Clarisonic every other day. I use Super Smile, which is a teeth whitening system.
- 3-1 day before I make sure I get a fresh hair color, cut, eyebrow wax and toes and fingernails polished. Also, steam your dress and make sure you have everything you may need, like padding for your heels, appropriate undergarments, double stick tape, and your lipstick.
- Day of the event I I limit my water intake to avoid bloating. In place of water I drink cranberry and coconut water. I make sure I eat a big breakfast and protein filled lunch and plenty of snacking before I attend the event.
- I shower making sure I wash my face and shave my legs and around 5 hours before the event I get my hair done.
- 2 hours before we need to leave, I put my make up on. I often have thought about the style of my face…do I go for a colorful eye, smokey eye or bold lipstick. Decide what you want to enhance and make sure you’ve found colors that are trending and enhance your dress. For example, when I wore a bright yellow dress I decided to go with bright pink lips and simple eye make up. With the latest brown dress I went for a bronzed face.
- 1 hour before I get dressed, pack my purse, brush my teeth and give myself time to snap a few photo before leaving.
If you follow this timeline or make your own, you’ll be sure to have a cohesive and polished look for any special event.
Going for Old Hollywood
Old Hollywood reminds me of hair pinned up, bright lips, gold shoes and fur. When I dress for a special occasion, just putting on a pretty dress is not enough. I enjoy having a vision and this time my vision started with wearing a fur. I didn’t own a fur, or any of my look but I get jazzed by the challenge of finding my outfit. The fundraiser was held at the Ritz-Carlton in Boston for Jaden’s Ladder. When I’m at a classy hotel, I like to dress the part.
The skinny on my look~
I found this simple brown DVF dress at a friend’s shop for $50! The next thing I found were these gold and black sequence shoes from J. Crew. Over time I found the fur vest on Ebay but with the shipping time, it would arrive with only 10 days to spare. I really wasn’t sure if it would be perfect, but to my surprise it’s gorgeous.
I picked up the clutch on winter clearance at Lord & Taylor. I chose it to tie the black and gold together with a bit of hard to play off the soft fur. The last item I picked, which didn’t really end up showing is my gold and Swarovski crystal necklace. But, I love it and am glad I bought it. The symbol means, “double luck” in Chinese.’
Hair styled by Salon Sabeha, make up from Modern Priscilla, teeth whitening by Super Smile.
Dress $50, J.Crew Shoes $32 (clearance), Fur $75, Swarovski necklace $60 (outlet), clutch $28
Total cost $245
Desirable Dresses
I find being a woman is ‘everything’, but what I like the most about being a woman is wearing beautiful tailored gowns with confidence. A well fitted gown can take you a long way. . . even if it’s just for the night, live it up and like I always say, “if you’re going to do something, might as well go all the way”. This rule applies for wearing a dress. When attending an event, I’d much rather be a tad over dressed than under dressed any day. If it’s too dressy, then make sure you’ve got that shall handy to cover up a bit. I find most people admire and find well dressed people more interesting than someone who looks like their wearing that, ‘same old dress, again’. Here are my favorite dresses that I’ve pinned over the year, that if I were able to get my hands on one of these, who knows where I’d go in one of these gorgeous gowns!
The way we were
Mark and I met in 1994 and married in 97. I was so young, all of 25 years old when we married.
One of our first formal events together.
A couple years after we were married
Attending a wedding before we were married
Christmas 2011. After being a couple for 17 years!
Summer 2012
A N D. . . . here we are 18 years later!
We’ve come a long way. . . 2 son’s who are now 6 and 9, my stepson is 27 and this summer we welcomed a daughter-in-law into the family. Our family has grown and continues to change, but one thing remains the same…us!
Red the color of LOVE
Photo credits: Pinterest
Introducing my new Living Room
After 13 years, last March I decided it was time to revamp the living room! We were using our 13 year sofa that was all wrong. The rug is only 10 years old, but I was ready for a new style. Since my kids were babies I’ve used a round soft ottoman with tray on top, but now the kids are 6 and 9 time to have some sharp corners! Our tv was in a cabinet which was outdated as well.
The Process
Cover the sofa or buy a new one….we bought a new one!
Painted the wall a new lighter creamy color.
Cover the chair or buy a new one….new one of course!
Swapped out the rug for a new style. My old style was more traditional and now I like cozy mod.
Ditched the TV, stand and ottoman
Before After
I wanted a more neutral and cohesive look when you walked into my living room. The focal point is the fireplace and after I painted it, it felt so fresh and light and that’s when I made the decision to start “Project Living room”.
The old wall color was a brownish taupe that worked really well with gold tones. Painting the walls was my first change and I went for a creamy color. The color really lightened up the room and gave me room to play with the upholstery colors. Before I was really stuck with golden/taupe sofa.
Before After
Moving away from brown tones to cream tones gave me the freedom to switch to gray. I loved going for a deeper sofa color since all the walls went so much lighter.
You can also see my old oriental rug in photo above with my old chesterfield sofa. Below is my new chevron rug in gray and cream.
I ditched the soft round ottoman and added two square mirrored tables that I had from three years ago. I picked them up at Target for $35.00 each.
Before my sofa faced our fireplace but once I knew I was ready for a change, I wanted to have a chaise on my sofa and move it to the right of our fireplace. The antique brown cabinet stores my china, candles and various decor items.
I didn’t want to have the TV in a cabinet any longer, so I talked my husband into getting a flat screen and console.
I found this stunning mirror and silver Paltrow Console Table on Joss and Main for $450. This console not only matches my coffee tables, but my starburst mirror that is high above my fireplace.
Before After
Though the brown paisley chair was so cozy with the matching ottoman, it was worn out and ready for a new home. Our new chair is in a solid light gray. By keeping the sofa and chair print free, I had the freedom to go bold on the floor and will have fun with throw pillows and blankets.
My New Living Room!
I accessorize with antique, new and collectables. The mantel turned out far better than expected. Several items are one of a kind, from various trips my father in law took. The large jar is filled with beach finds than my boys search endlessly in the summer on several Maine beaches. The other two tables in the room are antique finds. The mirror and copper bowl of over sized grapes are also antiques from our family. I’m not afraid to repaint things as you can see from the items that are hung high over the mantel. I have several framed photographs and figurines that are put away or in other rooms, but if there’s anything I can’t say enough is ‘edit’ and ‘edit again’. Less is more and quality is always better.
