Touring London

Two of the days in London we did the typical double decker sightseeing tour bus. I was a little skeptical because I didn't want to scream out to everyone, "Look at me, I'm a tourist!" But it was such a great idea. I got views of landmarks I wouldn't normally have been able to see and we were able to hit every major sightseeing location. We took mental note of places we wanted to stop off and see, like the Tower of London, and on our second day took the bus to these locations.

I think the Tower of London was up there on my list of amazing places to see, partly because the crown jewels are there. Unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures, but trust me when I say the whole exhibit was absolutely amazing. Seeing all the jewels, even ones that were from the 1800s, that were still intact was an incredible sight. I swear, the history from London is just mind blowing. It makes me realize how young of a country the US is.

Outfit
Top: J.Crew
Jeans: Rock & Republic (old)
Scarf: Burberry (thanks Uncle M!)
Jacket: Native Fox
Shoes: Vince Camuto
Jewelry: Tiffany Bead earrings, Marc Jacobs ring, vintage class ring
Purse: Louis Vuitton
 

London Day 1

Our first day in London was our travel day, using it to catch up on sleep and jet lag. Well I'm not one to waste a day sleeping so I powered through. I mean I can sleep in the states right? So I grabbed Baby E, who had the same idea as me. She was not ready for a nap either so I asked the hotel where the best place for a walk was. They suggested St. James park which was across the street from Buckingham Palace. Oh, did I forget to mention that I was a 5 minute walk from the Queen's house? Ya, no big.

Later that night my brother and I went out to a typical English pub. Oh did I also forget to mention that I'm the most amazing big sister who brought my brother along on our trip? Ya, I guess I'm pretty awesome. Here are some photos I made him suffer through taking. Thanks for putting up with me constantly asking you to take blog photos!

Outfit

Top: American Apparel

Jeans: Rock & Republic (old)

Jacket: bought from The Native Fox (thanks for the best winter jacket for my trip!)

Boots: Steve Madden (similar here)

Jewelry: Rose ring from Cuffs, Marc Jacobs ring, Tiffany bead earrings

Purse: Louis Vuitton Speedy

New In

I'm traveling to London, Paris, and Beijing soon and I needed a travel purse for these trips. As much as I would love to bring my trusted Louis on my travels I know it's not the best idea. I would prefer to keep my Louis rather than have it taken. However, I will not carry an ugly bag and I'm not going to spend money on a bag I'm never going to use again. Then, I discovered this beauty on eBay. It had everything I wanted out of a travel purse...It was black so it would match with anything. It was nylon so I didn't have to worry about getting it dirty and if it did, I could just wash it off. It was small but not too small to carry my essentials for the day, and it was across the body for easy all day walking trips. Most importantly, it was designer without the flashing lights and neon sign that screamed "I'm designer, steal me!" I carefully watched the bag and made my move with only 10 seconds to spare. A few days later it arrived and I'm so excited to start traveling with it!

Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs

Birthday Girl

It seems like this past month was filled with birthdays, but it's a great excuse to pull out an amazing dress from my closet. I was sent this gorgeous dress from Sugarlips and I thought my friend Caroline's birthday was the perfect place to wear it. What I love about Sugarlips is that their clothes are fun and stylish but they aren't going to break your bank.

I love how soft and light the dress is. With this crazy hot Houston summer (which I'm still not used to) it was the perfect choice. I pretty much love everything about this dress...the pop of color at the top the layers of fabric, and how it moved as I walked. I decided to style it with my Jeffrey Campbell Lita's because I knew I'd be doing a lot of standing at the party and they're just so darn comfortable. I even had someone asking me if my crazy shoes hurt my feet, heck no! They may look a little crazy to some, but they are honestly one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes I own.

The party was awesome, filled with some amazing jello shots and good music. A special birthday rap song our friend made the birthday girl was the hit of the night. Lindsey, I'm still waiting for my CD!

Birthday girl

Outfit

Dress: c/o  Sugarlips

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell Lita

Jewelry: Marc Jacobs watch, Cuffs leather cuff, Betsey Johnson heart earrings (similar here), BCBG ring, batman ring, vintage layered gold necklace, Madewell necklace, Duo circle necklace

Purse: Louis Vuitton

Happy 40th MBP

My uncle MBP recently celebrated his 40th birthday (although you'd never be able to tell). He is such an amazing loving hilarious human being. I feel so lucky to not only be apart of his modern family but also to be so close to him. We are able to share everything, which I love! We spent the day shopping as a family, because would you expect us to do anything else? We hit up a few vintage shops and a few modern shops. My favorite was our new discovery, Native Citizen. This store sells mid century modern furniture and art pieces that are used to decorate the owner's retail stores Langford Market and Duo. We happened to get our new dining room chairs from the same owner at a modern market art show a while back and this time we acquired a new computer desk. 

After a bit of shopping and a mid day Starbucks pick me up we drove around neighborhoods looking at homes, which is one of my favorite things to do around Houston. I love discovering new neighborhoods and looking at all the different homes. I'm glad my uncles love to do that as much as I do. We made our way back home where his husband surprised us both with a catered dinner in the comfort of our own home. Bravo Matt, bravo...This dinner was delicious! And what was even better was to have it in the comfort of our own home surrounded by family. Overall Michael had an amazing birthday and I'm so glad to be able to spend another year with him. Cheers Michael!

Matt and I

 Outfit

Dress: Off Fifth

Shoes (not shown): Bakers (old)

Jewelry: Christine Bowden necklace, Betsey Johnson ring (old), Marc Jacobs watch

Glasses: Penguin The Gondorff

Beach Baby

I can't believe I forgot to post these pictures! A few weekends back the family took an impromptu road trip to Corpus Christi. We had always talked about taking road trips or having weekend getaways but never really went on one. Finally everything aligned for us to follow Michael on a business trip. The only beach out here I've seen is Galveston and there's no comparison to the beaches in Orange County, but I was assured that this beach was going to be a lot better than "water licking up to dirt". I was skeptical to say the least. After about a 3 hour car ride and almost 2 movies later, we arrived in Corpus around 11pm. We woke up the next morning Starbucks in hand and set out to explore the town. When we got to the beach we were able to drive right up onto the sand and take Baby E for her first adventure in the ocean! She loved it just as much as the pool but she tried to eat the sand and sea shells. I must say that it didn't compare to the beaches in California, but it was much better than Galveston. I could definitely see us getting a beach vacation home here, hint hint!

Since the weather was hot in Corpus, but not as humid in Houston I opted for this cute cotton dress I bought at Target a while back. The secret to finding cute simple dresses like this is to shop outside the box...I found this gem in the little girls section! I hope you enjoy our photos from our beach adventure

Thank you Matt for taking these photos

Outfit

Dress: Target (old)

Jewelry: Tiffany bead earrings, Necklace and bracelet from Museum of Modern Art Houston, Marc Jacobs ring

Sunglasses: Chanel 

Pleasure Pier

No the name of this post isn't something sexual, but with a name like that I'm sure that's what you're thinking. The Pleasure Pier just opened in Galveston and I thought I would take my brother while he was visiting. It was like an updated Kemah boardwalk and was really fun! Although I didn't like the fact that you had to pay to just get on the boardwalk or even the ridiculously humid 100 degree weather. The day started out hot, but fun as my brother and I went on a few rides. However, on one of the roller coasters I sadly lost my phone. Silly me left it in my pocket. Oh well, looking at the cup half full I got an early birthday present from my amazing uncles which turned out to be an iphone! Yay for finally jumping on that bandwagon. It's away being unlocked at the moment, but hopefully I'll be able to get it back soon and post a whole lot more photos (because we all know I'm notorious for leaving the camera at home during prime photo opportunities)

Enough of my rant about the Pleasure Pier and the loss of my phone...I hope you enjoy these photos shot by my amazing uncle!

Outfit

Top: thrifted

Bottom: American Apparel

Shoes: ShoeMint

Purse: Cole Haan (old)

Jewelry: Forever 21 necklace, Cuffs rose ring

Sunglasses: Marc Jacobs