Tuesday, November 24, 2015

The Classic Sheath

When it comes to professional work wear, my go-to piece is always the sheath dress. I especially like a silhouette that is belted (to show of a small waist) with an open neckline.


One of my favorite necklines is the square neckline, which I feel allows you to show off your curves in more subtle way. That's why I jumped to buy this flattering tweed sheath dress from Kay Unger, even though it's a little big on me. (I wanted to wear it today when I had meeting after meeting after meeting; usually I would get the dress altered before wearing it.)

Outfit Details

Dress: Kay Unger Blue Tweed Belted Square-Neck Sheath Dress

The dress, my first from the Kay Unger brand, is still available at Lord & Taylor. Honestly, this brand tends to skew older (more "mother of the bridge), but this dress works for all age groups.

Shoes: BCGeneration Peep Toe Pumps

There are flecks of gold in the tweed pattern (this picture doesn't quite do it justice), so I would normally wear my gold Casadei pumps with this dress. Unfortunately, I left them at my mom and dad's house over the weekend. After celebrating our faux Thanksgiving, I changed into jeans and a tee to watch the final Hunger Games movie with my sister and good friend, Elizabeth. I can't believe the Hunger Games trilogy is finally over!

Monday, November 23, 2015

Faux Thanksgiving

My sister, Gail, was in town from Chicago this past weekend, so we celebrated Thanksgiving a little early. It was so nice to be with my family and eat some incredible food.

My sister, Laura, with her youngest son, Cole, Gail (middle) and me (far right).
The original Fontanelli five with our husbands and kids. Gail's hubby was in Chicago and couldn't make it.
Everyone pitched in, so we had a lot of food on hand:

  • Laura and Matt hosted and fried the turkey. Laura also made creamy mashed potatoes and a pecan pie!
  • Chapin made gluten-free brioche stuffing (vegetarian) and we brought cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes in Buckhead. 
  • My mom made an Italian meat stuffing (my Grandma's recipe), corn casserole, salad and corn bread.
We had a feast!


The weather has turned cold here in Atlanta, and the temperature has dropped. We had a lazy Sunday yesterday, just hanging out at home, watching Netflix and enjoying the fire. Today, it's back to the office, and I feel a bit stressed trying to cram a five-day work week into just three days. I'm looking forward to the upcoming four-day weekend!

Today's Outfit Details


Dress: Shoshanna Black and White Cleo Sweater Dress

The Shoshanna Cleo Dress is still available at the following retailers:


You can also rent the dress on Rent the Runway.

Shoes: Sophia Webster Mika Polka Dot Leather Pumps (no longer available)

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Silver Jacquard

It's a rainy, dreary day in Atlanta, and I just realized that our new office doesn't have any covered parking! For someone who wears heels most days, and often is carrying a laptop bag, purse and travel mug full of coffee, that is a little upsetting. Oh well! I guess I will have to get used to it, since we signed a seven-year lease on our new space.

Today's dress is one I'm super excited about. I remember seeing it and thinking it could have been made just for me. The cap sleeves, the structured fit and flare silhouette, the silver/grey color... I just love everything about it!


Outfit Details:

Dress: Halston Heritage Jacquard Cap Sleeve Fit and Flare Dress in Vapor

The dress is available online at Amazon (in a bluish lavender only), Lord and Taylor and Halston.com.

Sandals: L.A.M.B. (no longer available)


Monday, November 16, 2015

Pulling for Paris

Today has been a crazy day, mainly because my company just moved into a new office! We literally moved across the street from our old place, but moving is never easy, and it's always stressful. I'm still unpacking while trying to get all my work done.

I wanted to wear something different for our first day in the new office, so I chose this Shoshanna dress. With its asymmetrical skirt, it's unlike anything else in my closet, but I just love it. As a bonus, it has a plaid pattern featuring red, navy and white. I know the blues don't match up exactly with France's colors, but I feel like I am showing my support for Paris in my own way.

Dress: Shoshanna Asymmetrical Sicily Tweed Sheath Dress in red, white, blue and black

Shoes: BCBGMaxAzria Red Dress Pumps (no longer available)

The dress is available online at Shoshanna.com, as well as AmazonSaks Fifth Avenue and 6pm,

It also comes in another eye-catching blue print.


Here I am sitting in my new office and trying not to laugh for my picture:


Despite the way our Friday night started - watching the coverage of the Paris attacks on CNN - Chapin and I had a fairly enjoyable weekend. We ran errands and crossed things off our "to do" list that had been hanging around a while - for example, giving Norman a bath - and we had dinner out with our friends Rahul and Vinnie on Saturday night. We tried a place in Sandy Springs that people have been raving about: Rumi's Kitchen.

The restaurant specializes in Persian/Iranian cuisine, and the flavors are really unique and like nothing I've ever had before. I am trying to eat less meat, so I tried the vegetarian stew. Most of the menu is gluten free; there are plenty of rice and potato dishes, and if you avoid the pita bread, not too much gluten.

Although Rumi's Kitchen is fairly casual, I wore a dress and some new shoes I was dying to break in. I'm really excited about these shoes, because not only are they gorgeous, but they are my first purchase from the Tamara Mellon brand.

Tamara Mellon's name may be new to you, but she is a staple in the shoe fashion industry; she co-founded one of my favorite brands, Jimmy Choo. She left the label several years ago to start her own line.


Dress: Vince Camuto Embellished Little Black Dress (LBD)

Shoes: Tamara Mellon Talisman Beaded Watersnake and Suede Sandals
(Shoes also available at Saks Off 5th.)

Clutch: BCBGMaxAzria

You can see Norman wanted in on the picture. Chapin and I had no idea he popped in for this photo, so it was a nice surprise. He looks so cute in his new camo harness.

Teresa Palmer was seen in the same dress a few years ago, though she wore it as a maternity dress. I loved her in Warm Bodies, one of my favorite (more recent) movies.




Thursday, November 12, 2015

November Floral


Just putting on this floral dress from designer Trina Turk makes me smile. I love the bouquets of bright colors, especially in the middle of what's turning out to be a very dreary November. Atlanta had ten straight days of rain in the first part of the month!

Work has been keeping me very busy lately, and my company is in the process of moving to a new office, meaning most of my files and day to day items are packed and not available for my immediate use. I'll be glad when we're finally settled in at our new space.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Trina Turk Garden Jacquard Fit and Flare Dress

Also available at Lord and Taylor and Neiman Marcus.

Shoes: Schutz Ankle Strap Sandals

These exact sandals are no longer available, but here is a very similar style: Schutz Cadey-Lee High Heel Dress Sandals. Schutz is a very fashion forward brand available at very reasonable prices.

Celebrity Sighting!
Mindy Kaling recently wore the dress on an episode of The Mindy Project. She paired the dress with a green shirt for a more conservative look.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Inversely Related

I love mixing things up, and though I would normally pair a black and white dress like this one with red pumps, I decided today to pair it with these Kate Spade New York pumps. They have the same print - only with the black and white colors reversed. And I did use my red purse today.. and red lipstick, of course!


Dress: 4.Collective Mod Check Sleeveless Sweater Dress

I am not usually a fan of sweater dresses - they make me itch all over! - but I absolutely adore this one. The material is so incredibly soft, and the dress overall is just a thing of comfort. You can still buy the dress on Amazon, Saks Fifth Avenue or the brand's website. My only criticism: I wish it had pockets!

Shoes: Kate Spade New York Larisa Dress Pumps in Cream and Black (The pumps are no longer available, but I found a pair for sale on eBay.)

Friday, November 6, 2015

Always the Optimist

Chapin and I recently celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. We have actually been a couple for 16 years, though! It's hard to believe that much time has passed since our very first date in the Fall of 1999.


This year, we decided to forego gifts and cards and just go out for a nice dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, The Optimist. Many people commented that it was a good restaurant choice (the name) to celebrate an anniversary. I guess I agree! Chapin and I have our ups and downs like any other couple, and we definitely don't have a perfect marriage, but we love each other, enjoy spending time together, and have a lot in common. I think if you have that kind of foundation, you can grow and change together. I am certainly not the same person I was when I married Chapin at 25!

I think in today's Facebook/Insta-Age, we all try to display that facade of perfection. One Instagram user recently made headlines for "quitting social media," saying she was actually miserable despite all her positive posts. I'm guilty of it, too, I guess - Isn't everyone? No one really wants to read about how I was recently diagnosed with stress-induced eczcema, or how I often cry myself to sleep because I miss George so much. We are all only human, after all.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Shoshanna Sequined Polka Dot Katarina Dress (no longer available)

The Shoshanna Kimberly Dress is similar but has a different silhouette.  It's also available at Saks Off 5th.