Textures of San Francisco

While visiting the SF Bay area for a work trip, I squeezed in a tour of the city and a 5k run with a coworker/friend of mine. On our tour I was so inspired by all of the texture and color that seemed to be around every corner. Here are some of the textures and colors that inspired me from the tour.

The Camera Debacle Continues...

I'm in San Francisco and I have taken so many great pictures and have a great post on the way. Me and Jennie went on a tour all day and I found so much inspiration. This city has such incredible texture and rich history and I have really enjoyed spending some time exploring.

So, I was so excited to get back to the room and post tonight BUT... at the very end of the tour me and Jennie decided to toss a penny into a wishing fountain and I totally knocked my camera INTO THE FOUNTAIN... MID WISH. That can't be a good sign! I nearly dove into the fountain to retrieve my poor camera. The jury is still out on if it is ruined or not. I'm scared to try and turn in on because I'm afraid that I will fry it...

Why can't I ever go out of town and have all the necessary camera accessories and have everything go right!? I actually have all the pieces this time including charger and cable... then I had to throw it in the water.

Well on the bright side... if it is ruined... I've been wanting a new (better) camera anyway.

Not Waiting for the Skinny

Has anyone out there ever caught themselves in this particular line of self-talk: "I will dress so cute when I lose 20 lbs" or "I wish I could pull off that______ *enter cute/trendy/stylish item here".

Until recent years I let myself off of the hook from developing my style by using this kind of thinking. I didn't want to "invest the money in the wardrobe I really want until it is in the size I want to be". A slippery slope this way of thinking is, at least in my own experience. What happened to me is that the more I punished myself (by not allowing myself to buy new jeans until they are in a particular size etc) the worse I felt about myself. Instead of motivating me to change my eating/exercise habits, I felt defeated and what was REALLY weird is that the only thing that could cheer me up was a freakin cookie!

These days I try to take a kinder view-point towards myself. I am NOT perfect- very very far from it. I have things I would like to improve about my physical appearance as well as internal improvements to be made. But I'm not waiting for those things to happen to live the life I want anymore. This change in my thinking was a really exciting a freeing moment in my life. I still hate buying jeans because I'm not that "certain size" but lets be frank... nothing is less stylish than stuffing ones self into a pair of jeans that are a size you WANT TO BE but are not (not being judgemental... I have so done this... but wont again!)

Now all of this being said, there is the point that it may not make sense to spend a bunch of time and money building a wardrobe in a size that you are determined to shrink but here is my philosophy and rules I live by on this topic:

1. When craving a style boost, nothing is more valuable than a great pair of shoes. They will probably fit even if you lose/gain weight. What an investment! Don't be afraid to be sassy too! Check out these I just bought on clearance at Nordy's. No one will be looking at the size of my thighs while I'm wearing these babies!

2. Figure out what is flattering to you. Decide what you like about yourself and highlight the hell out of it. If you can't think of one single thing you like and want to highlight about yourself just remember the things you get complimented on. Or you can also think about the clothes/outfits you wear that you feel the best in. Ask yourself why you like those items. I have always wanted to wear a skirt like the one in this photo ($30 at Last Call off of $175!). The best thing is that it puts emphasis on the smallest part of my waist (one of the things I like about myself). And doesn't Des look fab? You can't see it in this pic but the back of this dress has beautiful cut out detailing... and guess what Des likes about herself... yup... her back.

3. Quality over quantity is an idea I've been toying with for a while now. Lately I am all about the Last Calls, Off 5ths, Loehman's, and Nordy's Racks to find my more "quality" items. I have been majorly guilty of buying something ugly/wrong size/unwearable because it was $3. Three bucks wasted! Silly little me. I finally realized that it is great to get a good deal but that the most important thing is to make sure the quality is good. Now that being said... I wont spend more than about $20 on jeans (can you tell yet that I have issues with jeans??) until I'm a "certain size". ;) I have a rule for myself... if I am buying an "investment piece" it has to be something I can wear forever (like this Derek Lam coat I bought at Loehman's in San Francisco a couple of months ago). Handbags and shoes fall into this category too! They always fit! No matter how many gym sessions you skip.

4. If you can't make yourself exercise, by all means accessorize! Feeling frumpy, fat or fugly? Get your butt to Forever 21, H&M, etc etc and buy yourself a cute pair of earrings, necklace... hell go crazy and buy a lip gloss! A white tee shirt and pair of jeans ($2o pair mind you) are all of the sudden a cute and stylish outfit with a scarf and pair of hoop earrings. And how much time does that take? 30 seconds. No excuses. Here is a necklace I picked up last week at Forever 21 for $5.80!

image from forever21.com

Anybody have thoughts on this topic? Any tips of your own for developing your style when you aren't where you want to be size-wise?

The Home of My Dreams

Okay, so I'm completely obsessing over making this little house of ours a home ASAP! Here are some pictures that I feel like best express my taste in home decor. I hope someday soon my house looks like a version of these pictures! Of course I'm going to use what I have around here for the most part so it may be a bit of a stretch!

I have figured out that I love anything that looks natural, organic or earthy. I also am really drawn to rooms with clean color palettes. I like alot of neutrals with a few splashes of light blue and some plants and flowers thrown in for color. I love seeing lots of textures mixed together in a room. I don't like anything that looks too fussy or like you couldn't really live there. Also, I tend to prefer items with function... if something is just sitting there to be pretty, I just see it as one more item that will collect dust (I am not the best housekeeper FYI). But at the same time, I really like that eclectic look, just not too much junk!

I have decided to start with the living room because that is what you see first. I'm thinking of posting some before pictures when I get this place cleaned up a little more. But back to the dream. Let me know what you think of these pictures and what you would classify my style as. I can't seem to put it into words! Here goes....

All Images from Decorpad.com

Sisterly Inspiration

After spending the weekend at my sister's, I am so inspired to get settled at our new little haven in the central Texas hills! Sarah made so much progress on her house in such a short time and completely inspired me with her quick transformations of some older pieces of furniture.

She painted this faded wooden table shiny black and it looks so great.

She also painted this old magazine wrack blue and it is even cuter in person!

I was visiting Sarah to host a birthday party for her so here are a few of my favorite images that capture the feeling of the evening.

Sarah Mixing Cosmos

Samantha and Sarah M. enjoying their adult beverage!

Our good friend, Samantha, helped us with planning Sarah's birthday party and we got to talking about design as she was making mini flower arangements and I was chopping fruit for sangria. She has the best home design blog mytexasnest.blogspot.com so check it out! After checking out her blog and the blogs that she follows, I have started compiling some images that I think reflect my home design style. I can hardly wait to get started! I will post some up soon!

Meet Barbie

I was lucky enough to spend some time with my good friend Barbara this weekend when I was in the Valley for my sisters birthday and Desiree's reception. Barb was my date to Desiree's party and we had an absolute blast dancing and laughing and remembering good times. I have been planning on profiling Barbara and after spending some time with her I can't wait!

I met Barbara when I was 19 when we worked together in a wine bar. I learned from her how to walk around in high heels all night and learned so much about style from watching her put her own outfits together. The very first time we ever hung out outside of work was going shopping "downtown" McAllen getting our Halloween costumes together. Barbara has a way of putting together looks that are both flirtatious and creative. She always looks exciting and as if she is a step ahead of whatever it is you are seeing in the magazines and on TV. The truth is that she does her own thing and is continuing to be an inspiration to my own style! Look for her full profile sometime in the next month or so.