Friday, December 29, 2017

Holidays 2017

It's been a whirlwind few weeks, but I wanted to get in one last post of 2017. As the year winds down, and as I look ahead to 2018, I am so thankful for all the love in my life. My husband, my sisters, my parents, my two boys... I have a wonderful life.

Here are some highlights from the past few weeks:

December 22nd: The Nutcracker

My friend, Lindsay, and I had a Girls Night Out downtown on a cold Friday before Christmas. We started with dinner at The Melting Pot, the only place within walking distance of The Fox Theatre where we could get a reservation, followed by The Nutcracker. We had fun dressing up for the occasion, and the festive atmosphere really helped set the tone for the weekend ahead.

I'm wearing Halston Heritage; Lindsay is wearing BCBG.

December 23rd: Bake Me a Cake

I spent Saturday doing a lot of baking, as I was determined to make a chocolate layer cake for Christmas Day dinner. It was a lot of work, but worth it in the end!

My chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Pug Cookie Jar from World Market.

Christmas Eve: Our Italian Tradition

Christmas Eve in our house always follows one rule: seafood required. We try to keep to the Italian good luck tradition of eating seven different types of fish on Christmas Eve, though I think we only made about four or five this year.

With my parents on Christmas Eve 2017. I'm wearing a dress by Erin Fetherston.

Christmas Day: Boys and Toys

We spent Christmas Day with my family this year, traveling to my sister, Laura's, house for Christmas Day dinner. I had fun playing with my nephews and seeing them open some gifts. They love ripping off that wrapping paper, which this year was pug-themed (thanks to World Market). I also gifted my parents and Laura with a pug cookie jar (and one for me, too, of course).

Here are a few photos from Christmas Day:

My hubby is wearing one of his Christmas gifts: a cashmere sweater! I'm in Alice + Olivia.




Happy Holidays!

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Rarely Worn

I was searching through my closet today, trying to decide what to wear, when I came upon this bejeweled Shoshanna fit-and-flare dress.


I don't think I've worn it on the blog before, and it's too beautiful not to share, so here you go!

I originally purchased this Shoshanna dress several years ago, but only wore it once or twice, though it was the dress I chose for our 2014 holiday family photo. That was George's last Christmas with us, and I probably haven't worn the dress since the day this photo was taken. (I picked a few hairs off the dress this morning, and immediately wondered if they were George hairs.) He would start getting sick at the end of that December, and passed away a month or so later. I still miss that boy every single day. He was my soul pug.

Holiday Photo 2014

Since the dress is three years old, it's no longer available online, but it's definitely still in style. I'm also glad to see I haven't aged too much since this photo was taken back in 2014, and I think my hair and eyebrows look even better than they did then.


Dress: Shoshanna Black Jeweled Fit and Flare Dress

Shoes: Jimmy Choo Abel Patent Leather Disco Hologram Pumps

Monday, December 11, 2017

Dresses With Detail

This Trina Turk dress has a lot of subtle details: a small amount of fringe, the all-over floral embroidery, and the mesh hem that shows a hint of leg. It all combines into one beautiful and very unique sheath dress that makes me excited to see the Trina Turk label back on its game. The dress has a 1920s vibe that I just adore, and it's just a really flattering look.


Dress: Trina Turk Energetic Embroidered Floral Dress in Indigo

Find the dress at Amazon, Neiman Marcus and Saks.

Shoes: Manolo Blahnik Specchio BB Pumps in Bronze


I'm getting over a cold or sinus infection or something, which is why I look a little tired in these photos. I blame the weather! Atlanta got snow on Friday (and into Saturday), and the constant change in temperature -- warm, cold, then warm again -- always throws me off balance.

Here's a photo from Friday night before all the snow had really fallen. I think we got about four inches in West Midtown.


I loved how many friends in the city were showing off their dogs or children enjoying the snow, running around in it and so delighted with Atlanta as a winter wonderland.

Not my boys. 

Here is how they preferred to weather the snowstorm:



I guess they take after their mamma!

Monday, December 4, 2017

Layers

Blue is definitely a color you can wear throughout the year -- even bright hues like the aquamarine of today's Black Halo dress. The right color can do wonders for your skin tone, and I find that wearing brighter colors can even help lift my spirits. I knew I would be stuck inside today, with not even a break for lunch -- I went from meeting to meeting, report to report -- so I purposefully chose this dress for the color. I want to avoid all cases of the Mondays!


Outfit Details:

Dress: Black Halo Mattie Sheath Dress in Atlantic Aqua

Shoes: Schutz Scalloped Lace-Cut Leather Sandals

I'm coming off a weekend full of baking and birthday fun for the hubby, who turned 41 on Sunday. His favorite dessert is anything that combines chocolate and peanut butter, so I made him this three layer cake as a special treat. I normally stick just to cookies, so creating this beauty was a first for me -- but it turned out really well. I even used gluten free flour to great success; the cake was moist and not dense at all. Get the recipe here on my new favorite recipe site: Brown Eye Baker. I did everything but the chocolate ganache topping.