Freestyle

When I was asked to partner with Coca-Cola Freestyle I almost turned it down. Truth is, I'm not a soda drinker. I gave it up for Lent a few years back and never picked the habit back up. Great decision. I decided to check out the website nonetheless and see what it was all about. Couldn't hurt, right? To my surprise there wasn't just soda. There were Powerade, Dasani, Hi-C, and Minute Maid options. You can also just get plain water if that's what you're feeling. I decided to be adventurous and try the Dasani sensations, which I didn't even know existed. It's Dasani water, but sparkling, genius! I got the Dasani Sensations lemon flavor and it reminded me of when I used to mix Minute Maid lemonade with a splash of sprite to give it a little fizz. Brings me back to my childhood days...

The new Freestyle machine is more than I had expected it to be. Get ready to spend some time playing around with all of your options and mixing your own flavors. Check out the website here to see where the nearest location is. Special thanks to the people at Pei Wei Asian Diner for letting us take pictures in their restaurant.

 

Outfit: 

Top: Forever 21 spaghetti, Thrift store dog tee

Jeans: Rock & Republic (old)

Shoes: Aldo

Belt: J.Crew

Jewelry: J.Crew Elephant bracelet, J.Crew classic pave link bracelet, BCBG "my bad" bracelet, bracelet from Greece, vintage name necklace, BCBG ring

Note: This is a sponsored post. All reviews and opinions are my own

Joy

Recently, I had the pleasure to meet Joy Sewing, the Fashion and Beauty editor for the Houston Chronicle. She is one amazing woman and we spent the better part of two hours just discussing our views on fashion, style, and life. We discovered our mutual love of figure skating and my closet of shoes. We swapped fashion blogs that we follow and even discussed our own. Joy has a blog called Dress Like You Are in Love and I really love the message that she sends with it. As she states in her blog, "People dress better when they're in love". She asked me what this message meant to me and I had to think for a second...I don't necessarily think that I have to be in a relationship to be in love and to dress better, but I looked at it as being in love with yourself. Having the confidence to wear what you want and wearing that one piece of clothing, or that pair of shoes that makes you stand a little straighter and walk with a supermodel strut. How does this message resonate with you?

I had an amazing time getting to know Joy and learning about her journey from the midwest, to New York, then finally back to Houston to work at the Chronicle. I hope to have many more talks about our views on the fashion scene in Houston. Enjoy the pictures from our day!

Thanks MBP for the great pictures!

Outfit

Top: Tucker for Target

Skirt: Forever 21

Shoes: Aldo (old)

Jewelry: Target earrings, DIY chain bracelet, Carey Hill ring, Charlotte Russe gold ring

Bayou Bend Gardens

Tuesday Caroline and I decided to go to Bayou Bend Gardens. The weather in Houston has been so nice I want to do anything and everything that involves being outside. Usually I go to Starbucks with a good book to read and enjoy the sun, but lately I've been exploring more of what Houston has to offer. My Uncle and I went to the Bayou City Arts Festival this past week and over the weekend Caroline and I went to an outdoor Matisayhu concert. (I must remember to bring the camera when I do things like this!)

We spent a few hours in the gardens that were a little more difficult to navigate with a stroller than the guard led us to believe. But, none the less, we did a good job of wandering the gardens and even ran into the staff parking lot where we were kindly asked if we knew where we were going. At the back part of the house there was a small grassy area with a fountain that seemed perfect for a picnic (minus the fact that food isn't allowed). However we did stop to soak in the sun and snap a few pictures. I think Baby E enjoyed watching the fountain the best.

Outfit

Dress: Forever 21 (old)

Shirt: Forever 21 (old)

Sandals: Aldo (similar here)

Jewelry: Stella & Dot earrings, Stella & Dot bracelet, bracelet from Greece, vintage name necklace, gifted bangles from my mom

Sunglasses: Vintage Christian Dior

T'afia

My best friend Amanda was here for the weekend (which would explain the lack of posts, sorry!). She came once before so this trip was really relaxed. We went out to lunch the day after she arrived at T'afia. My uncle Matt suggested the restaurant since they use all local and fresh ingredients and the chef, Monica Pope, was on Top Chef Masters (he knows my weakness for Bravo TV). There was a set menu for Friday lunch for a prix fix of $22, pretty reasonable considering her celebrity chef status.

The meal did not disappoint. I started with a chickpea soup with harissa, which gave it a bit of a kick. Amanda got the lentil soup, which had quite a bit of bacon. There's no picture since this was my first stint at taking food pictures and I must say....I need a little bit of practice!

The next course I ordered tarro and roasted sweet potato salad, mustard greens and herbs, while Amanda got the 5 spice chicken, corn pasta, coconut milk, carrots, leeks, and red peppers. Hers was reminiscent of a Thai dish with the coconut milk and flavors.

(Note to self: pictures of Amanda's food taken from across the table don't make for good pictures)

For dessert Amanda ordered a lemon custard, which had a very strong lemon flavor so she was only able to eat part of it. I ordered carrot cake topped with chocolate, which was more of a spice cake in my opinion, but still delicious.

After lunch we were able to snap a few quick pictures of our outfits. I love Amanda's mint top! She's more of a neutral tone kind of girl, but this pop of color looks so good on her!

I love these pants but never seem to find a good place to wear them. A friend once described them as pajama pants, which they kind of are because they are so comfortable!

Outfit

Top: blue spaghetti strap from Forever 21, white top from H&M

Bottom: BCBG pants

Belt: Target

Shoes: Aldo (old)

Jewelry: Marc Jacobs watch, BCBG "My Bad" Bracelet, Stella&Dot bracelet, Braided bracelet bought in San Francisco, vintage gold name necklace

K.L.

Here's a quick outfit post of what I wore today.

I purchased these Karl Lagerfeld for Macy's gloves this past Christmas but haven't really found a great time to wear them until now. What do you think of how I styled his cut off gloves?

Outfit:

Top: Tucker for Target

Jeans: Hudson

Shoes: Aldo (old)

Gloves: Karl Lagerfeld for Macy's

Jewelry: Forever 21 pearls, Tiffany heart tag necklace and bracelet, Chanel costume earrings

Foxy Fur

After my last post about how I was never going to get a chance to wear any of my new warm clothes due to Texas not being very, cold we got a huge cold front. Maybe the weather is reading my blog?! If you've been following from the beginning you'll remember I received a fur coat from my Grandma for Christmas. I have been patiently waiting for it to get really cold and I got my wish with this 40 degree weather!

I styled it with a dress, heels, and tights because I wanted to highlight the fur itself. It is such a great vintage piece and even more so because it was passed to me from my Grandma. I inherited my chic fashion sense from her and my dad (but a post of his style influencing for a later date).

Thanks MBP for the pictures

Outfit

Dress: Lush Nordstrom (old)

Tights: Target

Belt: Wish 

Fur: Vintage

Shoes: Aldo (old)

Jewelry: vintage name necklace, Juicy Couture friendship necklace, Grandma's vintage engagement ring