Fall (ish) Florals

Hii you! Happy mid-week! We are here already! How happy does that make you??Ok, so I was meh on floral pants for work. Dresses, skirts, shirts? Sure thing. Pants?? I don't know... I bought a pair of cute floral heels that I've worn once (maybe) and I felt like it was one of those things where I want to like it and I think I should like it and then it just sits in my closet- you know that feeling, right? Not these fine floral friends, friends! These pants are so cute! I've already worn them 3 different ways- versatile, easy to dress up or down- love them! And it's nice to mix up my conservative wardrobe a bit with this.! Best thing ever? A Forever 21 find! You can't pass up something this inexpensive (says me to myself no matter what the price is!)😀  You can find them here. I paired them with a long one button jacket from Banana Republic (here and it's on sale now! Yay!) This the most versatile piece. I wear blazers all the time- with jeans and heels on casual Friday's at the office, with rolled up sleeves, white tennis shoes and cut off denim shorts and with boots and leggings.  I popped on a pair of heels and grabbed one of my vintage Gucci bags and away I went!  Hope this day is going to be a wonderful one for you and as always, I am so grateful that you stopped by! Xxoo Michelle

Remember Me?

Happy Friday eve everyone! This week seriously flew by for me-- did it for you? How come some weeks are so much faster than others I wonder? And wasn't yesterday the hardest day to wake up to? Those poor reporters in Virginia-- I was just sick about it all day.   This world sometimes. It weighs so heavy on me, the senselessness and the lack of regard for life.  Those poor people got up and went to work like we all do and are gone for absolutely no reason. So tragic. We just need to say a little prayer for them and for the rest of us who live in this mind-boggling, sometimes terrifying world.

I bought this dress over the weekend and how cute is it? I love the cut- it's sort of a-line and bell-sleeved and I feel great in it. I like things that move when you walk and for some reason, this dress makes me feel so elegant. I paired it with these blush Gucci heels. I bought these in the Spring  (they are a soft pink....come on!! Of course I bought them) and I bought the same pair in black too. They are the perfect heel--soft supple leather, good height. Funny story about these shoes: There is a girl that works at the Gucci store at South Coast that has been there forever. Before I was married and had my daughter, I was at that store  all the time. Why not?  Save, shhmmave. I had only me to worry about, I had no real expenses and my office is super close to South Coast Plaza- -ahhhh, nostalgia! The good old days.  She would call me and tell me when new stuff came in, and she would put things aside for me in my size-- I'm telling you, this was a LOVELY, fulfilling relationship.  Then, life changed for me-- marriage, babies, buying and furnishing homes, saving money and other such shopping replacers took over and decreased my visits. Drastically reduced my visits, to be honest. 😢😢 Anyhoo, she recognized my PARENTS for crying out loud who were in the store around Christmas and wrote a note to give me, saying "Michelle, where are you? Remember me?" I actually felt guilty-- isn't that weird? So weird. And so I went in there and bought these heels and while I was as dazzled and excited as always when surrounded by beautiful handbags and shoes -- I realized something--it's just stuff. Right? Stuff that doesn't matter much at all.  Visits to my favorite stores may not be as frequent, my facials and mani/pedis have all but disappeared but my life is infinitely better. Being a mommy, spending time with my family and creating memories together has fulfilled me in ways I never imagined.  I am like a broken record but there is just one secret to life, I'm convinced: Get your family (and friends count as family) around you, hold them tight, and spend as many moments with them as you can, laughing and soaking each other in.  Life is about love, my beauties. That's all. (well, and a great pair of heels!) Thank you for stopping by, dear hearts xx Michelle

Dress: (not online apparently but similar here

Shoes: (old but similar in suede here)

Clutch (Etsy. Have we discussed my obsession with Etsy? And monograms? I LOVE it)

Pendant (CAbi --I linked the Fall line because there are new designs each season--and mine was from Summer.  This pendant can be twisted and linked and worn all sorts of different ways!)

Seeing Red? ❤️🇺🇸















Lets just pretend that I have on a beautiful shade of red lipstick, or a red bag or maybe even nice shiny red patent heels and if you can do that, then isnt this just a perfect outfit for the holiday week? Yes, yes it is!! (Whoops. I will get it together next year.)

This blazer is from my recent Zara spree and it is right at home in my closet. I am a very simple, classic dresser. I typically wear black, more black, and then something black. :) Navy blue is a color I also gravitate to and when I saw this blazer I just fell in love! I think I will get so much use out of it. And can you see the gold buttons? I just love it. I took this dress from banana republic out of the closet (it's from last summer) and they just look so cute together. The structured blazer makes the summery type dress a little more appropriate for the office. And like everyone's office, mine is fa fa freezing and there is just no way I would ever wear sleeveless.  And do I ever love nude shoes. The ones I am wearing (Gucci) have the slightest hint of blush to them. If I could find a pair of not ridiculous looking navy blue high heeled loafers, that would be perfect (do these even exist?) but in the meantime, these heels are just fine. (I think you could also pair dark leather heels with this outfit and it would be cute too.) Hope everyone is having an amazing week and as always, I sure appreciate you stopping by! Xx Michelle

Said Yes To The Dress







I have a weird relationship with dresses. I love wearing sheath dresses under a blazer or a cardigan to the office.  I love the little black dress for any sort of evening function. I literally must have 30 of them hanging in my closet. But just a regular standalone dress for daytime in the office? Sometimes I struggle with deciding if I like it.  It has to be just right, right?

I also have been making an effort to put more color into my wardrobe. For a  person who loves black as much as I do, white is a huge wild step in the color direction. And florals are just gorgeous. Don't even get me started on all of the rooms in my house I would wallpaper with floral designs if my husband would let me ( why do I even ask? I should just do it. There's a 50-50 chance he wouldn't even notice!!) But back to the dress. When I saw it hanging in Zara ( my latest obsession) it just spoke to me for some reason. It's structured and sweet and it has pockets and it is ladylike and fits like a glove.  It is so office appropriate in this nice weather and can't you just also see it at a brunch with your grandmother or to wear to church? And the best part of all is it's made out of this sort of stretchy material. If you didn't think it was perfect before, you sure do now, right? I bought this dress about a week ago, so it still should be online at Zara.   As always, I hope your day is just wonderful and I appreciate you stopping by so much. XO XO Michelle