Halloween and Our Anniversary 2018

It's been an incredibly busy few days in our household!

We celebrated Halloween on October 31st by dressing up as a family. The theme: The Wizard of Oz! My husband is always an incredibly good sport about dressing up in whatever costume I throw at him.

Dorothy: Michele
The Tin Man: Chapin
The Lion: Norman
The Scarecrow: Wally

We have to take about 50 pictures just to get any good ones of the boys. Norman is the worst because he's always looking around instead of at the camera! Chapin likes to say that he has the worst case of FOMO he's ever seen. (FOMO = Fear of Missing Out.)

Aren't these boys the cutest?

I also made this sugar cookie cake to take to my office Halloween party. I dyed the frosting green to go for a "slime" motif, and added some black bat sprinkles, googly eyes and candy corn for decoration. I am so not creative when it comes to decorations -- think the Nailed It! Netflix show -- but people seemed to like what I did. Go figure!

As my Dorothy costume was way too short to wear to the office, I recycled an old Halloween outfit: The Cat in the Hat! I love this costume because it's so easy and incredibly cute. All you need is an all black outfit, and you just add the hat, gloves, necktie and a little cat makeup. (I used an eyeliner pencil to give myself a black nose and whiskers.)

The following day, November 1st, Chapin and I also celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary, which also marks exactly 19 years since our first date in 1999. We went out to a very nice restaurant here in Atlanta, Bacchanalia, and had a wonderful dinner. Here we are all dressed up!

Dress: Shoshanna Moreno High-Low Dress

You can also find the dress at Punch Boutique. I've never shopped this site before, but it has a lot of cute dresses!

Shoes: Jimmy Choo Claudet 100 Lamé Sandals (no longer available)

I took this dress to Paris but never had a chance to wear it. I'm glad to be wearing it now for such a special occasion.

The Bacchanalia staff was incredibly accommodating, since as you know I suffer from Celiac Disease. The chef modified recipes for me and our waitress helped me narrow down the choices. Here is a sampling of what we enjoyed on our date night:

Now we have the weekend ahead, and Chapin is taking me jewelry shopping on Sunday for an anniversary present. Yippee!

Glitter and Organza

Dressing up for work in a beautiful new dress is the best way to start a week.

Outfit Details

Dress: Kay Unger Navy Organza Glitter Fit and Flare Dress

I was drawn to the dress because of the neckline -- I just love how a square neckline shows off your cleavage in a more conservative way-- as well as the beautiful navy and glitter organza fabric.

You can find the dress at Bluefly and Saks, but only limited sizes are still available.

I secretly refer to the Kay Unger brand as the "mother of the bride brand," because most dresses look extremely upscale and are modestly tailored. Every once in a while, I will see a Kay Unger dress -- like this one -- that I would wear.

Unfortunately, Kay Unger dresses are extremely pricey. Today's dress cost around $500, but I nabbed it for $99 at RueLaLa.com. I just had to have it, and that's a pretty good deal.

You can find Kay Unger dresses online at these and other retailers:

• Bluefly
• Dillard's
• Lord & Taylor
• Neiman Marcus
• Saks

You can also rent Kay Unger dresses on Rent the Runway.

Sandals: Jimmy Choo Claudet 100 Lamé Sandals

Chapin and I had a relaxing weekend, which is a good thing, since I'm gearing up for a very busy week at work. We treated ourselves to breakfast at West Egg Cafe on Sunday, and Chapin made me dinner Saturday night: roasted Branzini (a whole fish) with a tomato and pesto salad. Yum! (He was so proud he took the picture below. Isn't he cute?)

Better In Person

When a dress has intricate details, like today's Parker dress, those details often don't show up in pictures. Just looking at this #outfitoftheday photo, you may think it's just a flat, one-dimensional, black and white dress. 

But it's not.

It's so not.

The dress is truly impressive in person. It has silver threads woven throughout the fabric, so it sparkles in any kind of light. The lace detail isn't part of the fabric; it's sewn on to give it an extra dimension. The fabric is a thicker cotton, making it seem more expensive.

I really debated buying this dress, because the pictures online didn't show these little details. And when you have as many dresses as I do, it's those details that count. I truly #loveparker and encourage you to seek out the brand online or in stores.

Dress: Parker Floral Lace-Trim Garnet Dress

Available at Revolve Clothing and Amazon.

Shoes: Jimmy Choo Claudet 100 Lamé Sandals

Here's a link to another post where I tout the Parker brand. Remember that you can shop Parker online at the following retailers:

• Amazon
• Bloomingdale's
• Neiman Marcus
• Nordstrom
• Nordstrom Rack
• Parker Website
• Revolve Clothing
• Saks Fifth Avenue
• Saks Off 5th
• ShopBop
• Others

Combining Prints

Watching the Oscars, especially the pre-show parade of stars down the red carpet, is always so inspiring. I love spotting trends and ranking my favorite dresses of the night. Chapin calls it my "fashion porn."

That's why I decided to dress up a little more than usual for work today in this fit and flare dress from Badgley Mischka, complete with glittering Jimmy Choo sandals.

Outfit of the Day

Dress: Badgley Mischka Combo Print Fit and Flare Dress 

This dress, which I of course bought on sale, combines two different prints: a striped one up top and a floral one on bottom. I like the uniform use of color, and the different prints helps elevate the overall design. The slash of color at the waist even makes it looks like I'm wearing a belt.

I would say size down for this brand. I am wearing a size four, but the dress is a little big up top. I may end up getting it taken in a bit. In addition to Amazon, you can also find the dress at Neiman Marcus.

Shoes: Jimmy Choo Claudet 100 Lamé Sandals

I could have worn a purple or pink shoe, but I went with a neutral color today as a nod to the color scheme of last night's awards show.

Oscars 2017 Fashion Highlights

I was a little disappointed with the lack of color on the red carpet last night; most of the stars dressed in neutral or metallic hues, with some red thrown in every now and then.

One of my favorite dresses was Halle Berry's one-shouldered Versace gown. I'm sure it's even more stunning in person, with the fabric glittering from head to toe. (It did remind me of the gold one-shouldered look she wore in 2003; clearly, she gravitates toward a certain silhouette.)

I was surprised at the number of long-sleeved gowns at the 2017 Academy Awards. The red Valentino that Ruth Negga wore was gorgeous, but so buttoned up and a little too stuffy for me. (And I couldn't help having flashbacks of the Valentino dress Florence Welch wore to the Oscars in 2011. Maybe she was just ahead of her time.)

My other favorites of the night included Nicole Kidman and Emma Roberts, both in Armani Privé.

Overall, I felt like a lot of celebs played it safe this year, which made for a lackluster red carpet. But, still, I enjoyed watching the show, especially the opening dance number (Justin Timberlake helped get people out of their seats and dancing to start the show) and the inclusion of Michael J. Fox and Back to the Future. It was an entertaining show, to be sure!

In other news, today is my sister's due date, but there is no sign of baby just yet. I'll keep you all posted!