Black & White Is Right!

I feel like black clothes often get forgotten during the summer. They are left to collect dust while  the bright colors debuted.  Well I am here to defend my staple go to color and say Black IS a color!!  Also, it can be summery when paired with the right ensemble.  One of the things that there is no lack of in my closet is black.  Don't get me wrong, I love and insist on pops of color in my wardrobe repertoire,  but this particular color NEVER goes out of style!  

That being said,  one of the many things that really compliments black is white.  With this outfit I wore a black top with a precious ruffled back to add an extra  feminine touch.  I paired it with my white jeans, black sandals, black purse and white accessories. 

Sunnies: Chanel

Top: Impeccable Pig

Necklace: Alexis Bittar

Purse: Chanel

Jeans: J Brand

Shoes: Chanel

The ruffled back sold me on this top!

Earrings: Kendra Scott

Ring: David Yurman

Bracelet: David Yurman

Sandals: Chanel

Xoxo,

B

Baby Blues

This outfit is perfect for summer and has the right amount of sass and prep.  And if you know me, you know I love ALL things preppy!  These Chambray sandals are too much.  I can't deal with how cute  and  versatile they are.  They go with everything  (colors and outfit options)  They would even be cute with a sweet sun dress.  This baby blue dress shirt is one of my favorites things in my closet.  It's so versatile and you can dress it up or down.  I can't fail to mention the cut…it's amazing.  It's slim fit and divine, I simply adore it.  Every girl should own one! Let's get to the best thing about this ensemble…the Kendra Scott necklace.  OMG, I'm obsessed with it and how many things in my closetI can pair it with.  It goes with EVERYTHING!!!  Coincidently these pictures were taken in front of Kendra Scott, right after I made this lovely purchase.

Sunnies: Chanel

Shirt: J Crew

Pants: J Brand

Bag: Chanel

Necklace: Kendra Scott

Shoes: J Crew

Nail Polish: Butter brand, "Trout Pout"

Xoxo,

B

Traveling Girl

Wow, posting for me has been very rare lately.  I've been throwing myself into my volunteer work and loving every minute of it.  That leaves little time for blogging after you factor in the taking care of the husband and house thing!  Last weekend we went to the Hamptons for a birthday of one of our dear friends.  It's a tradition at this pint and it's a whirlwind each year.  Unfortunately I didn't get any great blog photos except for the first few that we took while we waited at the Airport in NYC.  I can tell you one thing for certain, the weekends ensembles were very East Coast and preppy.  Which happen to be two of my favorite combinations!!

Here is the full look, then it's broken down below.  This outfit was so incredibly comfy yet super cute!  BTW, I overpacked as usual:) 

Sunnies: Chanel

Top: J Crew

Necklace: Alexis Bittar

Bangles: David Yurman

Earrings: Kendra Scott

Ring: Kendra Scott

Pants: J Brand

Sandals: Chanel

Suitcase: TUMI

Carry on: Louis Vuitton

Necklace: Alexis Bittar

Arm Candy: David Yurman

Earrings: Kendra Scott

Ring: Kendra Scott 

Sunnies: Chanel

Earrings: Kendra Scott

Ring: Kendra Scott  

Warning: below is a picture of my feet, the are scary ugly, not for the faint of heart...you've been warned!

Sandals: Chanel 

Here is a pic of my husband and I before heading out to dinner with the group.  This outfit may be one of my favorite going out ensembles!  I had a couple of full body shots but this one shows the vibrant blue the best. :) Not pictured are my nude heels with this little number.  Our friend Lauren and her sister co-founded the "Party Skirt".  It comes in several different color and length options.  You can find them here.  They are a Canadian based company that is ALL about empowering women :)  LOVE IT!

That is all I have for you today!

Xoxo,

B

It's Been A While...

I apologize for my absence lately, LIFE has been happening!  Since we got home from Europe, things have been CRAZY!   When you leave town for three weeks, you pay for it severely once you get home.  The fun part is having lunches, dinners and happy hours with friends to catch up!

I have been so bad about taking pics before I go out so I only have a couple to share with you today.  To make up for my lack of posts lately, I am putting a lot of looks and links in ONE big long post!! 

 I am in the midst of figuring out a solution to my embarrassingly low quality self portraits.  I am thinking weekly photo shoots with the clothes and having a photographer (aka my darling husband) take them for me and post one every day or so.  That way I can give you guys better quality on here.  I appreciate you bearing with me ;).

I was so excited to come home to these gems...I ordered these shoes for our Europe trip and they didn't arrive in Austin until two days after we landed in Europe.  Luckily I have the Hamptons coming up so I can sport them there, after wearing them here, it's a bit too hot!  Aren't they EVERYTHING?!?!  Again, we know I am obsessed with all things monogram, so of course I got my initials placed on the top.  These shoes are custom  and hand made from Germany.  Ordering them was a feat in and of itself!  Then they took 6 weeks to make and another 3 to get to me…totally worth it though! They come in so many colors that I am definitely going to have to order more colors.  If you order them, keep in mind that the price is in Euro's..not dollars!  http://www.blissany.com/schoshoes-helene.html

Here I am wearing my new shoes on my way to chop my hair!  No more top knot tutorials for me for a while!  Loving white and neutral colors this season, they look so clean and cool together.

Shirt: Zara

Necklace: Alexis Bittar

Earrings: Kendra Scott

Ring: Kendra Scott

Jeans: J Brand

Shoes: Scho Shoes

Here I am right after chopping off my locks…10 whole inches!!  It took some getting used to, once I got the hang of styling it.  Hair by Farah Reid at I Love You Pink Salon.

About to go to dinner with a girl friend, feeling sassy in red!  Maxi's are a great way to dress up an outfit but still be super comfy and cool in the summer.  It's all about comfort in our Texas heat!  However, you don't have to compromise style for comfort, you CAN have it all!!

Top: Zara

Ring: Kendra Scott

Earrings: Kendra Scott

Belt: Target

Skirt: Etsy

Shoes: Tory Burch

A few months back I was asked to judge a pageant.  Luckily I had the perfect dress for the occasion.  While we were in London, Chris bought me this great Ted Baker dress at Harrod's as one of my birthday presents!  This dress was so awesome that I didn't even add many accessories to jazz it up, it was designed with the perfect amount of flare!  Those built in modern shoulder pads and peplum ruffle are rockin'!  Can we please talk about that bright gold zipper that you can use as a teaser?  Show as little or as much as you please.  Zip it to match your style!  Find it here: http://www.tedbaker-london.com/store/womens/zip-detail-dress-GD06-WS3W-JAMTHUN-00.html

Earrings: Chanel
Dress: Ted Baker
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Bangle: Neiman Marcus Cusp

Grabbing coffee with a  friend , running errands and then volunteering, needed to be comfy and look nice for my little old ladies I drive around!

Sweater: J Crew

Pants: J Crew

Pearls: Nordstrom

Shoes: Chanel

Here I am on the lake..we are trying to enjoy our boat a little more often.  Ordered this suit 4 months ago and it finally came in while we were in Europe too!  Came home to so many goodies :)  Get your monogrammed bikini here:  http://www.tinytulip.com/monogrammed-bandeau-bathing-suit-tube-top

Suit: Tiny Tulip

Earrings: Tiffany & Co.

Sunnies: Chanel

Off to dinner with friends.  Mixing a classic peplum top with some fun bright colored pants adds a modern touch to a timeless look.  And I cannot stress enough how important red pumps are to own!  They add so much sass to any outfit! Business at the top, party at the bottom…or something of that nature!

Top: J Crew
Necklace: J Crew
Pants: J Crew
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik

Still crazy for polka dots and cork!  BTW, I wore my pearl earrings with this to go with the polka dot look.  One of the many weird things I think of to complete my everyday looks.  It's a beautiful Saturday outside and it's expected to be a scorching 106 today…needless to say, I am dressing for the occasion!  And boy am I feeling some East Coast Inspiration...

Earrings: Tiffany & Co Pearls
Necklace: MK Designs
Shirt: Zara
Shorts: J Crew
Cork Belt: J Crew
Shoes: Stuart Weitzman
Cork Bangle: J Crew
Feather Ring: J Crew
Watch: Kate Spade


Stay tuned for my "Europe Observations", I made a list while I was visiting just for YOU!

Xoxo,
B

Vintage Wine, Buildings & Clothes

So apparently I was too tired to post this yesterday.  I wrote it and saved it but didn't finish it.  So this and my previous post are out of order....sorry!

Today we went to the Louvre, stopped by some water fountains on the way. 

Sunnies: Chanel

Shirt: J Crew

Trench: Burberry

Belt: Hermès

Ring: David Yurman

Jeans: J Brand

Shoes: Tods

Purse: Tory Burch

Sport Coat: Bonobos

Shirt: J Crew

Pants: Bonobos

Belt: 1901

Shoes: Zara

You may not see it,  but that's a picture of me at the Louvre taking a picture (towards the right).  Chris is quite artistic when he wants to be!

After the Louvre,  we stopped in at Didier Ludot at Palias Royale (vintage shop that Roger buys Rachel's present in on the Rachel Zoe Project), ate lunch at a cute outdoor restaurant called  Muscade Palais Royal right by the vintage shop. 

Then we went to Fragonard Perfumier and got some fragrances that you can only by here and in Nice.  On the was we saw the Opera House.  A highlight for me was the Hermès Flagship store.  It was the biggest one in the world.  Floors and floors of gorgeous hats, scarves and Purses!  By this time,  we were super tired so we grabbed a pedi cab to take us back to our hotel.

We rested up for a short while,  then went to Le Bistro Marbeuf for dinner.  It was more of a local spot.  I'm not sure why,  but I seem to finish every bite on my plate here.  Must be the amazing food.  It will be hard to eat in America after eating here.  

FYI:  for those of you who have food allergies....they will possibly be better if not non existent here.  I can't have dairy, sugar or corn.  They don't put corn or corn syrup in anything here.  Food is extremely unprocessed and pure.  Even the chicken tastes differently. My mouth waters just talking about it! Mmmmmm!

Anyway,  then we retired to our room,  I took a very HOT bath and now I'm going to bed. Sooooo sleepy! Bonne unit!

XOXO,
B

Oh Paris....

***I posted this on Sunday but apparently it didnt post!***

Bonjour! We took the Eurostar to Paris today! First of all, the train station in London was gorgeous. I had never been on a train before,  and this one goes 150 feet below the English Channel.  Needless to say,  I was a bit nervous about this.  it ended up being a really neat experience. A big shout out to my Aunt Valerie for her French language learning materials,  I actually know enough French to get us around thanks to her!

Jacket: Burberry

Chambray Shirt: J Crew

Earrings: Kendra Scott

Jeans: J Brand

Shoes: Tory Burch

Purse: Louis Vuitton

Bangles: David Yurman

When we checked into the hotel,  everyone seemed to know we were here celebrating my 30th birthday.  The concierge was even acting funny,  when we got up to the room I finally understood why!  Chris surprised me with the most breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower, strawberries and champagne!  How lucky am I?  This is our view for the next week...

I don't have much fashion to discuss today.  I threw on a pair of dark denim J Brand cropped jeans and my J Crew chambray shirt, trench and Tory Burch ballerines.  Nothing exciting,  just comfy travel wear.  In my Europe look book (I make one for every trip),I only packed this shirt for one outfit but have worn it three times already!  Proves my previous post about chambray to be spot on!  Off to take a nap,  been awake since 2:30! Au Revoir!!

Xoxo,

B

Our Last Day in London..

Today was our last day in London.  Tomorrow is the 60 year anniversary of the Queens Coronation.  needless to say there is a lot of Pomp and Circumstance among us. We got to see the trooping of the colour (we were told it only happens once a year), we went to Hyde Park, Chelsea and Knightsbridge!  

We spent most of our day at Harrod's shopping.  I was in heaven, it was 5 entire floors of heaven.  Neat fact, they just opened the largest Christian Louboutin store in the world inside of Harrod's and they actually have sizes in stock!!!  

I introduced Chris to Zara Men today!  I think I've created a monster;)!  He is really excited that they have such great stuff at such great prices.  He fits in so perfectly here.  It's been fun watching him enjoy fashion the way that I do!

Today's Euro outfit was very similar to the other day,  different blazer, hat and necklace though!  It was another gorgeous day today.

Fedora: Target

Sunnies: Chanel

Necklace: J Crew

Chambray shirt: J Crew

Silk Camisole: J Crew

Blazer: Zara

Bangles: David Yurman & Hermès

Watch: Michele

Jeans: J Brand

Shoes: Tory Burch

Purse: Prada

Scarf on bag: Hermès

Xoxo,

B

Fish 'n chips and Penny Loafers

We slept in until 11:30 today,  needless to say we got a very late start!  We still got a lot accomplished.  We saw the Tower of London, London Bridge, Trafalgar Square and St Paul's Cathedral!  This is where Princess Diana and Charles married.  Those of you who know me,  understand how big of a deal that was for me:)!  We finished off our afternoon by grabbing lunch at a pub with the best fish and chips in London at The Golden Fleece Pub.  It came out with a green substance and I got excited and said "Honey look, guacamole!"  He and the server looked at me like I was an idiot.  Then my husband sweetly informed me that guac was a Tex Mex thing and that the server had no idea what I was referring too!  Turns out it was "mushy peas"!  Well it was delicious!  All of it:).

Today was the first sunny day in two weeks!  So I wore a thin cashmere sweater and equally thin cropped mint jeans paired with pennies!  Perfect outfit for this gorgeous warm day! Here I am in front of the very doors the Princess Diana walked through to become a princess 32 years ago!

Earrings: Kendra Scott

Sunnies: Chanel

Sweater: J Crew

Belt: Hermès

Watch: Michele

Crossbody: Tory Burch

Bangles: David Yurman

Jeans: J Brand

Pennies: Tods 

Xoxo,

B