Dinner and Dancing

Just learned some exciting news – My hubby and I will be attending a black tie event in a couple of weeks! The event is essentially a “prom” for adults, and includes dinner and dancing. The husband will wear a tux, of course; and while I won’t be wearing a long poofy number, I do plan to wear a black cocktail dress. I’ll finally have a chance to wear the Banana Republic dress that I bought on super sale back in December (with black tights and heels).

In other news… I recently got bangs. And I am loooving the new look. I was so bored with my hair (growing hair out takes forever), so bangs are a nice switch-up. What do you think?

 

 

And to make my day even better, shortly after taking this picture, I bought the coat I’m wearing. Thank you Forever 21!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

-KRG

P.S. Sending well wishes to Sio, who isn’t feeling very well right now!

 

 

Clearing Out the Clearance

I’ve been looking for a coat that is as classy as a pea coat…but has a zipper. I WANT to wear a pea coat, but I have the worst luck with the buttons staying sewn on! Does anyone else have that problem? After wearing a coat three or four times, the buttons start to come loose and then I end up losing them. Because of this, I have been looking for a wool coat that has a zipper. I’ve been eyeing the J.Crew Factory collarless dress coat with leather panel for a while, and since it was on major clearance, I decided to go ahead and purchase it.

 

And while perusing the J.Crew Factory site, I found the Factory pencil skirt in double-serge wool in heather pine in my size, also on sale. I have the skirt in black and LOVE it, so I decided to give green a try!

 

What items are you finding on holiday clearance? I love this time of year, because the holidays are over and stores are practically giving their clothes away! (i.e., I can stock up on great items for cheap)!

Off to yoga class! Hope everyone has a great day!

-KRG

Always a Bridesmaid

Well this title is a little misleading as I have been a bride before but as more and more of my friends are starting to get engaged and married, I am getting to partake more in all of the fun of being a bridesmaid. I cannot even begin to describe how much fun I had celebrating Kara’s wedding this weekend. Part of what made it so fun, I think, was due to the immense amount of planning that the couple and their families put in to it. Nearly every person in attendance was traveling from outside of Pittsburgh so they wanted to make sure we were able to see the sights and always had something to do. Most people flew in Friday and by 5 pm that evening we were all at PNC Park, getting ready to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates play the Cincinnati Reds. This was no small feat, nearly 50 wedding guests were a part of this event. We all got to sit in the same section and it was such a fun way to start to get to know everyone we were going to get to spend the next 4 days with.

The rest of the weekend included some mani/pedis (courtesy of our beautiful bride, as a thank you gift). An amazing rehearsal dinner at Del’s Restaurant and a beautiful Catholic nuptials ceremony.

My dress was a gift from a friend who it didn’t fit when it arrived so she generously let me have it 🙂 It’s Everly and Kara’s is ML Monique Lhuillier.

As you can see from the pics that Kara already posted, the wedding was absolutely flawless. Below is my absolute favorite picture of Kara and I from the weekend as well as the gifts she gave us for being her bridesmaids. Both she and her hubs nailed the gifts – they were all so thoughtful!

Bridesmaid gifts:

Kara’s new sister-in-law has this amazing embroidery business, Sew Stinkin’ Cute, and together they created the most amazing bridesmaid gifts. She had these tote bags embroidered with our initials in our favorite colors and then we all got matching gray button ups with our initials embroidered on the pocket. We all wore the button ups while getting our hair and make up done the day of the wedding. She also included these adorable pendant necklaces from Francesca’s. In addition to our shirts, she also made Kara a white one with her initials and the date of her wedding on one cuff and “I do” on the other. I didn’t grab a picture of it so I stole this one from her Facebook page. Seriously the cutest thing ever!

Now Kara is off enjoying her honeymoon in Greece! I cannot wait to hear about all of their adventures on their much deserved getaway. Hope you are all having a great week thus far!

-XO, Sio

Wardrobe Staples on Sale

Happy Friday everyone! Is anyone else in denial that we are already through our first full week of August? I know I am. The only positive side to this is that there are a lot of “end of summer” sales starting to pop up here and there and I always think this is a good time to pick up some of those wardrobe staples that you can either transition in to other seasons or know will not go out of style by next season. Try to stick to basics that you know you will always wear, the key being simplicity. I have found some great pieces (many SUPER on sale) that I just wanted to share with you in case you were needing a little Friday afternoon pick me up!

-XO, Sio

Casual: Right now Loft is having a sale of 60% sale items. That makes the sweater below only $12.00! I love short sleeve sweaters, they are so versatile and can be worn in every season. Everything else below is under $20.00 except the shoes. (Youth Toms so they are cheaper, though) I also love this and this.

 

T shirt / Scarve / Gap double buckle belt / Lipstick / Navy Canvas Youth Paseo-Mids | TOMS / Broken-in straight khakis

 

A little dressier casual: Most of these items are on sale and every single one of them cost under $20.00. I feel like they are all neutral enough to work for more than one season and would be perfect for either a date night with my hubby or a evening out with my girl friends.

 

Dress / Gap sleeveless dress / Flat / Sole Society brown handbag / Bracelet / NYX eyeshadow

 

Work basics: It is easy to stick to black when shopping for work clothes but it’s fun to throw in a little pop of color with your accessories to give your outfit a little life.  Every item you see below is VERY on sale right now so check them out!

V neck cardigan / T shirt / Loft skirt / Gap skinny pants / Necklace / Sole Society

 

One Year Pictures

Hello everyone! Robbie had an amazing first birthday! Part of our celebration was getting family pictures taken and I wanted to share with you a couple of sneak peeks we were given. I absolutely LOVE them and I cannot wait to see the proofs when they are ready!

I would also like to note that photo shop does wonders! About an hour before we were supposed to leave for the pictures, Robbie took a spill off of our back step on to the cement patio. His nose was completely scratched and still even bleeding a little bit when we arrived for our pictures. He was such a trooper and Amelia, our photographer, said she would be able to touch it up and, as you can see, she did! 🙂

Happy Friday everyone

-XO, Sio

 

Family Photos

For Robbie’s first birthday, on Monday, we are doing family photos! I seriously cannot believe that it has already been one year since he came in to our lives. As fast as time has gone by, sometimes it is hard to even remember life before him. As our photo shoot is quickly approaching, I have been trying to come up with the perfect outfit combos for Trav, Robbie, and I. I don’t want to be too matchy, matchy but I do want us to all sort of coordinate. Below are sort of the two options I am going over right now. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!

TGIF – Sio

Gap denim jeans / Converse shoes / Muk Luks infinity scarf / AEO Legend Crew T-Shirt / AEO 11.5″ Longboard Short / Sperry Top-Sider Bahama 2-Eye / Gap Stripe Crew Tee – dark pearl / Gap Pull On Denim Shorts – light denim / Gap Sunwashed Slip On Sneakers – blue galaxy / Junior’s Boyfriend V Tee

Ponte dress / Converse white slip on shoes / AEO 11.5″ Longboard Short / AEO Legend Crew T-Shirt / Sperry Top-Sider Bahama 2-Eye / Gap Pocket T – white / Gap Pull On Denim Shorts – radiant blue / Gap Sunwashed Slip On Sneakers – blue galaxy

Juice Cleanse

Today is the day! I started my Jus by Julie 3 day juice cleanse! I was so excited to start the cleanse that I kept waking up in the middle of the night, hoping it was morning so I could start the cleanse. However, I don’t know if I’ll be this giddy about the cleanse tomorrow or Thursday… (But one can hope)!

 

I started my morning off with Morning Glory. It contains romaine, celery, spinach, apple, kale, banana, strawberry, and H2O. And despite the green color, it tastes surprisingly sweet and delicious! I can’t wait to try my next one in a few hours!

 

In the meantime, I’m anxiously awaiting Sio to start her own cleanse tomorrow so that I don’t feel so alone in this health endeavor. Strength in numbers, right?

Have a great day!

-KRD

The Book With No Pictures (plus a couple of celeb sightings)

Until today, I did not know that B.J. Novak (Ryan from The Office) was an author. And as of recent, a children’s author. This morning I happen to catch in our local paper that Mr. Novak, himself, was doing a reading of his new children’s book The Book With No Pictures.

The reading was a last minute decision made when the director of the Bozeman Library Foundation was at the at the American Library Association Conference last week and asked if B.J. would ever consider coming to Bozeman, MT to do a reading. It just so happened that he was coming to Montana for vacation the next day and agreed to take time out of his vacation and come read his new book to a room full of children and parents who were eager to listen.

The book is absolutely adorable. The concept is that whomever is reading the book to you has to read whatever the book says so your parents or caretakers have to say whatever silly words find themselves on the page.

The book doesn’t come out until September but I will definitely be buying it when it does. All of the children loved the book so I would recommend it for all of you who have little ones out there or are shopping for the perfect gift for someone with little ones.

Another bonus to this little outing was that John Mayer happened to be in attendance. I knew he has a place in the Paradise Valley and is often seen around Livingston, MT (about 30 miles east of Bozeman) but apparently he and B.J. are also friends.

We were those people and asked for a picture. Of course Trav’s memory was full on his iphone so he patiently waited as he frantically deleted pictures to make room for this little snapshot.  Great start to our Sunday!

Hope you are all have a great last day of your weekend!

-XO, Sio

Wedding Beauty

As my wedding date quickly approaches, I am starting to focus on finding effective teeth whiteners and skin care products that will help my teeth look white and my skin look flawless on the big day.

Because I follow Lauren Conrad on all forms of social media, I was tipped off by her about Luster Premium White Pro Light Teeth Whitening System. It is $38 at Walmart right now, and the 3 consumers who reviewed the whitening system gave it a 5-star rating. From what I’ve read on other sites, this product is great for people with sensitive teeth. What’s even better, reviewers indicate they see positive results FAST. I think I’ll be purchasing this whitening system at the end of July so I can do the full 20 treatments before the wedding.

 

There are also some beauty/skin products I’m interested in purchasing, thanks to a great article posted on Huffington Post the other day.

1. Own Radiance Brightening Daily Cleanser/$13

2. La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo Dual Action Acne Treatment/$27

3. MD Complete Skin Clearing Non-Irritating Pro Peel 5-Day Treatment/$20

 

While I truly want all 7 products listed in the article, I’ve decided I most want to try the above 3 products, starting with the MD Complete peel. Thanks to my Target Red card, I get free shipping and 5% back, so…I think I’ll be purchasing this peel later today. You know how much I love my peels! 🙂 And I’ll be sure to issue my review of the product(s) on here.

I’ve started to realize that it’s actually cost-effective to spend a little more money on better beauty products. The more expensive items are usually more expensive for a reason-they work! (Not a hard and fast rule).

Readers: Do you have any beauty products you recommend to help me prepare for my big day?

-KRD

World Market

I’ve recently become acquainted with World Market, and I am obsessed. It’s across the street from my apartment, and I just want to buy everything! From the salsas to the jerky to the chocolates, every product is better than the next! Also, who knew that World Market not only sold international foods and goods, but amazing furniture?!! And it’s not too expensive!

Isn’t this overhead lamp fun and unique? (It’s on sale for $99.99).

 

I am loving this lamp too! (On sale for $24.99).

 

This jewelry holder for the wall is so perfect! (Sale price of $18.39).

 

But what we are currently most in need of right now is bedroom storage. So, last night, the fiancé and I stopped into World Market and ordered a dresser! We chose the Tall Whitley Chest. It should arrive soon, and once the fiancé puts it together, we’ll go back and order the matching Wide Whitley Chest.

“Tall Whitley Chest“

 “Wide Whitley Chest“

 

When all is said and done, I think our new home will be a nice mix of vintage/chic furniture and art. I’m definitely looking forward to the day our home is fully put together and the boxes are gone, but for now, I’m enjoying the process of finding pieces that we will have for the next 10+ years. 🙂

-KRD