The Best Pants Ever

I've always struggled with finding the "perfect" pants for me… until recently, that is! Now, I should begin by saying that I'm pretty big into brand loyalty. Mainly because I know what I like and once I finally find it, I'm not going anywhere. I wear my favorite boots until the heel wears down, get them repaired several times, and keep wearing them year after year like they were brand new. I'm also the type of person who gets something in every color if I really, really love it that much.

Back to pantalones (pants in Espanol!) I can't tell you how many leggings I've gone through in my life. Why are they all so thinly and cheaply made? Enter LC Lauren Conrad leggings. I bought my first pair (the blue lace pattern, below) over a year ago and keep going back for other colors (when Kohl's puts them on an awesome sale!) They are currently $9.99 and they are the comfiest things ever. They don't dig into my waist and they're a little long on me, how I like them :) Plus, I love that they are thicker than most other leggings I've found.

And then there's Old Navy. Sigh. Thanks to Holly, I became obsessed with Old Navy and all of their stellar sales constantly going on a little over a year ago before I moved to San Diego. I frequented every Old Navy in San Diego & SD County and that is where my love for their Rockstar pants began. Pants have always, always, ALWAYS been SUCH a pain for me due to my petite size. I was either getting pants tailored or trying my best to find a short size in several stores at the mall that always ended up falling short (no pun intended.) 

Somehow, Old Navy's regular length fit me well (with just a little added length.) I've yet to try their petite sizes but that's next on the list! Old Navy has several different fits of their pants and the Rockstar is my favorite. I'd say it's embarrassing just how many of their colored denim I currently have in my closet, but, well… I'm kind of proud :)

LC Lauren Conrad Lace Leggings

LC Lauren Conrad Solid Leggings

Old Navy Coated Wash Skinnies (pictured in Ideal Teal)

Old Navy Color-Wash Jeans (pictured in Garnet)

Old Navy Printed Skinnies in Olive or Oatmeal

Boom. I own at least one pair of each of the above pants and can totally vouch for how comfortable and quality they are. I am a frugal shopper and choose not to spend a fortune (or even more than $50) on a pair of pants. I've been on the hunt for pants that work for the amount I want to spend and for my height. As I write this, each pair is on sale!

Pants are a personal preference. We each have our own, unique bodies and fits that we prefer. These are what work for me and I just thought I'd share! Lastly, here I am rocking the Old Navy Rockstar Printed Skinnies in Olive on a date night :)

P.S. My most recent LC Lauren Conrad leggings were purchased for… free. Gotta love Kohl's Cash! I also got two "free" vests and a top! Double boom. Old Navy has their Super Cash every so often to keep your eye out for. Love it!

Color Overload

Let's talk fashion again. In case you missed my post on my first style obsession [Aztec/tribal prints] you can go check that out here. You guys should know by now that I am the queen of all things 90s, yes? Well, since several of you were gushing over my jellies in this post the other day [it's okay, I still gush over them too] I figured I'd piece together a post all about where you can find jellies! No. Such. Luck. It looks like I literally bought out the jelly population and left the world with nothing.

Perhaps I should start my own jelly factory?

Anyway.

I am obsessed with colors. Ob. Sessed. To the point where three people [they were all guys so what do they know?] in the past two weeks gave me the whole, "WOW. Look at you and all your colors!"spiel. But you know what? I'm embracing me and embracing my style and I love my colors so as the days grow warmer, my wardrobe is growing even more colorful.

Here are some looks that I am loving. They mix their colors and they mix 'em well.

1. Anthropologie onesie, but of course.

2. Oranges and lavender. Why am I the only one who likes orange?

3. Mint much?

4. Neon Color Block

5. Atlantic-Pacific. I so would have rocked the orange/blue to my high school football games.

6. Pinks + Purples + Oranges

7. Oh, with the greens, purples, and coral

8. This is basically me minus the pink 

Now, don't even get me started on neons. We'll have to save those for another time because my closet is filling up with them, to say the least. Perhaps in a future post I'll show you some of my own colorful outfits!

So, who's taking the color plunge with me this year? C'mon. Have fun. Live a little. Ignore what the fashion police say about mixing too many colors ;)

- Don't forget you can enter our giveaway for three $100 Visa gift cards here! -

After Sunset Jewels + A Huge Giveaway!

Boy, do I have some fun things in store for you today! First off, I am beyond excited to finally and officially share the launch of my new Spring designs for my Etsy shop, After Sunset! Making the big move to San Diego and being constantly surrounded by the beautiful sunsets, the gorgeous colors of the palms and the sea, and all the natural textures of the sand and the rocks along the coast - I have been super inspired to say the least.

My new designs use mainly stone and glass and seed beads along with funky gold touches [my favorite] to create colorful and fun jewelry to add to your outfits! I'm currently focusing mainly on bracelets because, let's be honest, you can never have enough arm candy, right?

Here are some of my designs using stone:

+ Multi-colored turquoise, mint, purple, and pink Wrap Bracelet

+ Turquoise and Mint Elastic Bracelet

+ Purple and Pink Elastic Bracelet

+ Circular Turquoise and Gold Geo Bead Elastic Bracelet

The bracelets with mint are limited addition so get them while they're hot!

+ Turquoise & Royal Blue Magnesite Stone with Gold Geo Bead Wrap Bracelet.

I'm obsessed with with the tribal/Aztec look right now so I pretty much wear that bracelet all the time :)

Now, let's talk about my love for Czech seed beads. They're so colorful and beachy!

Again, you can buy these seed bead + gold tube bracelets individually like this gorgeous Neon Yellow Luster Bracelet

OR

as an arm party combination like the Purple Ombre set below!

I'm also loving Czech glass beads and... chain. Obviously. I mean, I couldn't NOT have chain in some of my designs ;)

The Mint & Champagne Wrap Bracelet is an example of some of the Czech glass & chain wraps that are in the store! And yes, I wear multiples of these bracelets at the same time :)

And the Aqua, Mint and Matte Gold Elastic Bracelets are another one of our arm party sets you can buy!

Be sure to check out the shop for all of the bracelets & new ones will continue to be added!  As always, let me know if you want a custom order :) I am so excited, you guys. Creating jewelry has always been a passion of mine and it means the world to be able to share it with you all. I would LOVE it if you help me spread the word about my shop!

After Sunset

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And because I love my readers so much, I am offering you FREE SHIPPING for the next two weeks on all U.S. orders! Use coupon code BLOGGERLOVE at checkout through April 4th :)

Now, for the GIVEAWAY! 

I have teamed up with these amazing bloggers below to offer you not one... not two... but THREE $100 Visa gift cards that you can use for whatever your little heart desires. Amaze, right?! Enter using the Rafflecopter below and good luck to you all! 

Henning Love // Heart of Aloha // Love, The Skinnys

Home Sweet Auburn // Alisha & Brandon // Perfectly Imperfect

Life is a Sunset // and here's to you, Mrs. Robinson // Classic & Bubbly

Big Mario Life // Sparkles and Shoes // The Egg

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The Tribal Print Has Spoken | My Style

I prefer the term "style" over "fashion" because, well, I'm not big into fashion. However, I am big into personal style. I think it's important for all of us to find a style that's so "us" and to rock it confidently :) Throughout the years, I started realizing how difficult it was becoming for me to keep my style. Strict work dress codes were a huge part of that reason. When I'd shop, I'd shop mostly for work and, little by little, my closet was becoming less me.

It was time to change that.

In my last position, I was able to dress pretty casual and now that I'm in Southern California, I am fully embracing the laid-back lifestyle as I've always wanted to do :)

With Spring and Summer clothes coming into the stores, and with the lovely 80 degree temps we had this past weekend here in San Diego [!!!!], I was inspired to get back in touch with my style. San Diego is the absolute dream place to shop for me. I can't wait for Spring to officially be here so I can rock what I bought and show you all. For now, here is the first style element that I LOVE:

Aztec/Tribal Prints

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I am swooning. But what really makes me swoon... these tribal print skirts. I need them all.

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That final outfit will always be one of my favorites. I just love the Tribal/Aztec look. I love the colors, the shapes, the depth that it adds to an outfit. And, out of the three print items of clothing that I picked up this weekend, two of them were tribal print. The other was... you guessed it - animal print!

So, as the weather continues to get warmer, you'll see me rocking the tribal skirts... and shorts... and tops :) What ever your style may be, find it and rock it too!

After Christmas/Bday Favorites

I've been making note of a few favorites I want to share with you [hair products and kitchen trinkets] so be on the look-out for those. Today, I'm just sharing some random favorites!


Favorite Scent
I know I haven't even mentioned how my Christmas was or what Santa brought me but every year I like to ask for a new perfume [or a refill] and this year, Lola by Marc Jacobs was on the list! Lola was the runner-up last year so this Christmas was her year :) I am in love.

Favorite Food
Sushi. You guys, I may or may not sometimes eat sushi more than once a week. Let's just say that in the less than one month that I've lived in San Diego, I've had more sushi than I ever had in Virginia. And I lived there for over twenty years. Oops? I blame it on the West Coast...

Favorite Entertainment
Thanks to my sweet neighbors, I had free tickets to go see a wonderful play on its opening weekend here in San Diego. Not only do I love getting dressed up for the theatre but I love being surrounded by the arts. The show was called An American Story, written and performed by Hershey Felder. It's the true story of Dr. Charles Augustus Leale who was the doctor that tended to President Lincoln when he was shot. It was truly remarkable and a completely genius performance. It's playing at the Birch North Park Theatre until the start of February!

Favorite Fashion Line
LC Lauren Conrad for Kohl's is one of my go-to lines, especially since everything at Kohl's is on sale so often. I picked up this blouse in lime yellow a few weeks ago and finally chose to wear it on my birthday. I paired it with my teal skinnies because I can never get enough color.

I spent my birthday in Laguna Beach [more on that next week!] and while shopping in some of the boutiques, some of the girls complimented my outfit saying they would never have thought to pair two "greens" together like that but that they loved it! I never considered that my outfit consists of two "greens", but then I realized the yellow does have a hint of pale lime and yes, I guess teal is a blue-green :)

Favorite Home Goodie
Like that play on words there? I L-O-V-E Home Goods for anything and everything home-related. I also love Bath & Body Works and their semi-annual sale. Lucky for me, my gym is in the same shopping center as a little outdoor mall so I took it upon myself to walk around in my shorts and a t-shirt [jealous, yet?] and check out that sale.

I walked out with some goodies including the White Barn No. 2 Chestnut & Clove Wallflower. Currently on sale for $3. I think it's a great transition scent from Christmas into the remainder of the Winter season :)

Favorite Funny
Every time I see this, I can't stop laughing. Cat lovers unite! [Did I really just say that?]
The caption on Pinterest was, "Photo Bomb." :)

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And, with that, I shall bid you farewell and happy weekending!

Wishing to Wear My Fall Wardrobe

I "tossed and turned" so to speak about what to write about today. I was going to do my foundation review but decided to hold off on that. Then I was going to write about friendship but I'm not sure my heart is ready to yet. So, let's talk Fall Fashion.

Yesterday's post on the RoseRags Leopard Poncho [which you can win!] got me thinking about styling different pieces together and about how stellar that poncho will look with my brown faux leather jacket. [Remember when faux leather wasn't cool? SO glad it is now. #idontwearrealleather] Hashtagging in a blog post is cool now too, luckily.

Anyway - the temps are supposed to be in the 80s here in DC today. It's rainy. Muggy. I'm over it. I know some of you around the country are getting this same kind of weather too. It's October - come on now. Bring me the cooler temps! Here are the outfits that I wish I could be wearing right about meow:

1. This warm sweater/poncho is from Old Navy [Last season. Boo!] Have you heard of the blog Workday Weekend? Go check it out. I've apparently been hiding under a rock that I'm just now finding her.
2. I just want to wear my blazers! I have some fun colors this year like this one from The Pink Peonies and I want to wear 'em!
3. I like to call this look business meets urban meets a polo match. Kinda cute mash-up, yes?
4. I'm obsessed with plaid button-ups. Not pretty "J Crew plaid" but the "kind-of-worn vintage surfer plaid."
5. Do I even need to say it? I want to wear an animal print infinity scarf. Note: As of now, I still have not purchased one on Etsy. Soon! I love this outfit with the camel blazer. Although those particular heels aren't super "me."
6. But what do most of these outfits have in common/what is the #1 Fall item I am waiting so patiently to wear? Boots! Chambray and boots together = perfection.

Next week, I think I shall do the other half of my Fall fashion “wish” list. And when I say “wish” I mean “I have most of this stuff already and just wish to WEAR it.”

Which outfit is your favorite? :) What Fall items are your favorite to wear? Anyone else impatiently waiting to wear their Fall wardrobe??

Favorites | Wanna Be My Lover?

I think one of my favorite phrases from the 90's is quite appropriate for today:

T.G.I.F.

I mean, you know you're having a busy week when your most recent pins on Pinterest were not within the past 24 hours. Am I right, or am I right?

So, let's get to it and talk about some of my favorites this week! [Aside from T.G.I.F]

Favorite News:

I didn't need surgery on my jaw! You may have read this post last week about my dental woes that came out of nowhere and the dentist [we'll call him Dentist A] said I might need surgery on my jaw to start to fix the issue. Well, Dentist B said on Wednesday that it would just not be necessary and he took care of the issue! BAM. Luckily, my favorite wedges were there for moral support.

Favorite Sports Moment:

Many of you may know that I am a pretty intense Washington Nationals fan. I have loved going to their games and whole-heartedly respect and look up to each of the players. They are a wonderful and talented team. I'll stop there. 

Last night, during the game against the Chicago Cubs, not one but two fights broke out. The big one happened after the Cubs' pitcher, Castillo, deliberately pitched the ball with the intent to hit our All-Star, Bryce Harper. It. Was. Insane.

Nationals fans, can I get a "NATITUDE?"

Favorite Video:

Not only do I love the Nationals, but I also love [and I mean love] the 90's. This video that I found is amazingly hilarious and when you're out of the office and can watch it, do it. Especially if you love some Ace of Base and La Bouche :)

Favorite Outfit(s):

I'm a lover of leopard and a lover of pencil skirts [and just to tie everything in, I'm realizing I'm a lover of a lot of things in this post. "Wanna be my loverrrr?"] So, I love how this leopard skirt is paired with a denim jacket. And below, I paired some chambray with a lime green pencil skirt [and a future After Sunset necklace! Coming soon!]

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Speaking of chambray, I need more of it and think I might spend my weekend hunting some down. But I'm also going to try my best to take a few moments to sit back and appreciate life and plan out my future. I think we could all take a few moments to just inhale and exhale :)

What are you a lover of this week, friends?

2012 Fall Wish List | One

Are you ready for the crisp leaves, the pumpkin spice lattes or apple ciders, the boots, the sweaters?

Today, on this last day of August, I am so ready. I've been so excited as I scoop up some fresh, new clothes for the cooler days that are on their way. Today, I wanted to share a few of the little Fall accessories and beauty items that I most look forward to!

First up is an accessory I can't believe I don't already own from last year. I was all about scarves last year [and the year before that, and the year before that...] but I never ended up getting an infinity scarf! I LOVE them! Whether you wear them as part of an outfit or under your Fall jacket, they add the perfect pop!

Each of these scarves was found while perusing Etsy and they are all $25 or less! :)

1. This $16 scarf by anils is labeled as "Summer" but I think it's perfect for Fall!

2. I love the warm Fall colors in the orange/brown color block scarf from ohzie!

3. This scarf by DreamingDays is my favorite color. Enough said :)

4. This fun-patterned burgundy and white scarf by fairstore is also perfect for Fall!

I might just have to buy them all!

Now, if you're like me, you're obsessed with nail polish. While I don't have numerous Tupperware boxes full of nail polish, I've had fun growing my collection. As soon as I heard about OPI's Germany Collection, I practically jumped for joy. I took German in high school and fell in love with Austria and Switzerland so I knew I had to buy a couple of these bad boys:

OPI has the best names, don't they? My favorite names have to be, "Suzi and the 7 Dusseldorfs" and "Don't Talk Bach to Me." Genius. "Schnapps Out of It" and "Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine!" are hilarious as well and those two will definitely be added to my collection!

Does anyone have any of these new colors yet?

I'd continue on with more of my Fall wish list but... we'd be here all day! I'll save those for later because there are few things I love more than BOOTS!

What is on your Fall Wish List?

I'm linking up these favorites of mine with Lindsey, and you should join in too :) Happy Labor Day Weekend, everyone!!