living in grandma's plaid // the clings-to-you sexy dress that you can eat in

I know it's technically fall but in Cali I'm still dressing like its the middle of summer. Boa and I were in China this past July. One of my favorite finds from our trip was this red plaid button-up. It's my grandma's plaid from decades ago. I found it at her old house in Shanghai. It's in great condition and I can't wait to break it in even more.

Side note: I'm obsessed with wrapping something around my waist. First of all I'm super into the 90s and secondly how many of you girls have experienced the whole heat-wave-outside and then icebox-inside thing?! I've had my fair share of that experience and it's just not fun when you're not prepared for the climate inside shops, restaurants, or the movie theatre. Wrap something around your waist! You'll fashionably prepared for anything.

It's also great to have a super easy to wear dress on hand. The one I'm wearing in this post is from Forever21 (its called the marled knit tank dress and I'm wearing a size medium for that "clings to your body in just the right places but isn't so tight you can't eat anything" look ;)

Since I've got a shorter petite frame I really love that this particular dress hits me right around my knees--the longer length helps me in the height department by creating longer lines. When it comes to style I'm all about comfort first and this one is so comfy you could take a nap in it. This dress is a closet-must have since its hits all my personal criteria: price, comfort, the ability to dress up/down, and versatility. We all need more pieces like this in our closet!                                  

PEPPER LOVE

Hi friends! I know it's been FOREVER since my last post. Wishing I could keep up my blogging at a steadier pace but life gets busy and you just gotta roll with it. The last couple of months my boy and I have both been busy working and for those of you that missed the announcement 14 weeks ago on Instagram...WE HAVE A FUR BABY!!! Her name is Pepper and she's perfect.

       

The day we found the love of our lives. She was so grey from the newspaper that lined her crate at the pet store it took four baths to get her to the white fur puppy she is. 

Her ears when they were still kinda floppy...

A Holiday Family Event

We had the parents over our place for dinner two weeks ago just in time for the Holidays. 

The table setting. I'm so glad I could pull out this Williams Sonoma tablecloth. I don't get to use it much when it's just the two of us. During the holidays Trader Joe's is my favorite place to be. They have amazing seasonal products and a great florals selection. I got one bouquet that I divided for the arrangement. 

T G I F !

A bunch of my favorite pieces are in this post. I naturally reach for clothes based on comfort and this outfit is just that. It's important to invest in key pieces that are a marriage of comfort and style. Soft flowy tops and faux leather leggings aren't going anywhere anytime soon and I could live in them!

It also felt like it was a dark lips kinda day. I'm wearing Black Dahlia by Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. It's a really great dark lip color to have around. You can build the color from a plum shade to a purple-black. Go check out their line of Lip Tars and I guarantee that you won't be disappointed. The colors are highly pigmented, mixable, nourishing, and have a great finish. I have a bunch in my makeup kit. You can find them online (link below) and I'm pretty sure they're selling at Sephora now. 

So thankful that California winters are much less brutal than east coast winters but it still gets cold enough for leopard coats. I'll be bringing this baby back east with me for Xmas ;)...and yes I'll be reppin CA 

h e r b s || g a l o r e

A few posts back I had mentioned that one of my goals this holiday season was to grow my own herbs.  I'm sick of buying herbs and not being able to use all of it before they go bad. I love cooking with a variety and nothing's better than cooking with things that you've grown yourself. My first stop was to Home Depot for potting soil and my seeds. My second stop was to grab these simple silver pots from Ikea along with a set of very cute and inexpensive set of gardening tools. I had purchased chalk labels from Martha Stewart's line at Staples awhile back with no real purpose in mind. They turned out to be the perfect solution for my pot labeling. In general I highly recommend the Martha Stewart line at Staples...I mean the woman is a genius!

Boa helped me drill a hole in each of the pots to allow the herbs to drain :)

Asian Pear Pie

For the last two years I've made a pear pie right around the holidays and both times they were a huge success. This year Boa and I made this pie together which is why it's that much more special. This year instead of bartlett pears I used Asian pears. The results are out of this world delicious!

Aren't they a beauty!?

Hubby being fabulous in the kitchen :)

Thanksgiving 2013

 I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving surrounded with as many loved ones as possible! I spent Thanksgiving 2013 in California with Boa & his parents, their neighbor, and my sister from another mother Jocelyn. We shared a lot of laughs, amazing food (I was craving prime rib for months haha), pumpkin pie (duh!), and a few fun but also frustrating rounds of the new Super Mario Bros (that game is surprisingly difficult). It was an extremely successful Thanksgiving in my book. 

Lots to be thankful for!

Thankful for good health. Thankful for good friends. Thankful for having amazing family. Thankful for having so much love in my life.