Confession: I cannot stop staring at this outfit. She's wearing Camilla & Marc's striped blazer and striped skirt but here are a few more affordable striped separates if you want a similar look for less:
DO YOU WEAR A WATCH?
On the day I turned 18, my dad woke me up and told me we were going to pick out my birthday present. He had decided that the one thing I didn't have in my bursting-at-the-seams closet was a nice pair of sunglasses. So we drove to the store together, spent at least an hour trying on different frames, and settled on a classic tortoiseshell pair by Ralph Lauren. I still cherish them — and my dad's thoughtful birthday gesture — six years later.
I wonder if watches are a similar sort of investment, a perfect gift for the girl who has everything. They're more of a style statement than any sort of necessity in this digital age, but there's something very chic about having such a signature piece to don every morning. So tell me: do you wear a watch? Did you buy it yourself or was it a gift? What does yours look like? Browse a few of my favorites below:
INTRODUCING JAMIESHOP.COM
Have you ever been reading Elle Decor or House Beautiful and noticed how many of the items in their product round-ups are "to the trade?" You could stumble upon the dining table of your dreams only to realize you'd need an interior designer to hook you up. Enter the online buying service jamieshop.com, the brainchild of L.A. designer Jamie Herzlinger.
Sign up on her website, shop the trade catalogs on her website, and score the items you've dogeared for as much as 40% off retail.
With designers like Bungalow 5, Jan Showers, Marjorie Skouras (my favorite!), Scalamandre, Schumacher, and hundreds more, you'll have access to top designers at the best prices available. Whether you're furnishing your dream home or searching for one perfect finishing touch, jamieshop.com is a brilliant way to get designer products at a discount.
*This post is sponsored by jamieshop.com, a site I genuinely love and endorse. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Design Darling possible!
LABOR DAY SALES!
This week cannot end soon enough... Not the best in my book. Can you say retail therapy? Fashion week is right around the corner which means I've been doing a lot more shopping than usual. Whether you're headed to the city or simply welcoming September in style, here are a few Labor Day sales you should know about... Plus a few of my top picks from each!
C. Wonder: 25% off full-price items with code LABORDAY
Joie: 20% sale items with code LABORDAY13
Nordstrom: Up to 40% off shoes
- Shopbop: new markdowns just added
- Tory Burch: 20% off purchases of $300+, 25% off purchases of $500+, 30% off purchases of $750+ with code LABOR DAY
OUTFIT {C. WONDER}
Silk pocket skirt (want this in every color!) // Stretch jodhpur patch leggings
Have you guys heard about C. Wonder's Get Prepped campaign? Carly and I had a blast choosing items from the new collection and styling them for cooler weather ahead (naturally we chose the same shoes...). I'd previously only shopped C. Wonder for home decor so it was kind of fun to put together an entire look. I'm totally into these jodhpur leggings for fall but I'm having a legit love affair with this shirt — it costs less than $100 and comes in seven colors so you know I'll be stocking up.
P.S. You can find my eyeglasses here!
HOW TO DRINK MORE WATER
I can finally cross #19 off my 101 in 1001 list. It's embarrassing to admit but this is definitely the goal that I started and stopped the most number of times... Drinking that much water is tough! Here's what worked for me this time around to finally get me on the right track.
1. Have a concrete, measurable goal in mind.
"Drink more water" sounds a New Year's resolution that starts with the best intentions but never gets accomplished because it's so vague. I went shopping for one huge bottle of water and found a 50 ounce bottle. I decided that to go from roughly 0-8 ounces of water a day (sad but true) to consuming this huge bottle would be major progress so that became my goal: drink 50 ounces of water each day for seven days.
2. Decide how to measure your goal.
Like I said, I bought one huge bottle that I refilled each day. I liked being able to see exactly where I stood for the day and tried to hit the halfway point in the early afternoon. I felt ridiculous carrying the bottle outside of my apartment so I used my BKR bottle (I have the pink pictured above) to pour water from the big bottle into a smaller, more transportable option.
3. Have a buddy.
Eddy works with me in my apartment three days a week and is great about drinking water every day so it was super helpful to have him encouraging and reminding me to keep drinking. There were definitely times when I was sick of going to the bathroom every ten minutes or felt so full and so sick of the taste of water... It was nice to have someone who could make me keep going when I needed a kick. Coworkers, family, or friends would all make great partners!
4. Keep your goal top of mind.
It's easy to start drinking water in the morning and forget about your goal before lunchtime. Having one big bottle at my desk was a constant reminder of how much I'd consumed and how far I had to go. I also posted a little note on my fridge to remember to take it out each morning!
I know this might all sound a little silly (how hard could it be?) but it's definitely a healthy habit that I've struggled to adopt. How many of you are good at getting enough water? What has worked well for you? Let's hear it!
OUTFIT {FOUR EYES}
Consider this outfit my ode to back-to-school... Two years out of college. It's funny to think this tote got me through four years of college and now lugs my laptop to and from the coffee shop a couple days a week. My brothers head back to class this week which naturally has me thinking about back-to-school shopping, something I fully intend to do regardless of my zero plans to set foot in a classroom anytime soon.
I finally got my eyes checked (for the first time since 2006, oooops!) as part of #83 on my 101 in 1001 list and had the hardest time picking out my new glasses. Unsurprisingly I landed on the same frames as my go-to sunglasses — I guess you could say I'm a creature of habit. They've made a huge difference (I'm literally seeing my neighborhood through new eyes) but seeing myself in glasses is definitely going to take some getting used to. Hellooo nerd alert.
I hope those of you headed back to class this week have a wonderful semester! And for the rest of us... New "school" supplies, anyone?
HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR JEWELRY
I was totally overwhelmed by the positive feedback on my studio tour last week! I'm excited to break it down a little and share some projects and sources that have been particularly helpful for making it work in such a small space. Given the interest for this post on how to organize your clutches, I thought some of you might like to know how I organize my jewelry.
I started with these Container Store acrylic jewelry stands in two heights: one for bracelets and one for necklaces. I happen to own way more bracelets than necklaces so the taller one holds a mixture of the two. I keep my earrings and rings in boxes and trays — right now I have this on my windowsill and this on my bathroom counter.
My clutches and my jewelry sit on top of the dresser in my only closet (note to self: next apartment must have double the closet space). I like that the jewelry stands are clear so the surface of my dresser looks tidy and I can see all my accessories at a glance.
What do you think? Could you live with this organization system? How do you store and display your jewelry?
WEEKEND READING
1. A funny (and smart) TED talk.
2. An affordable campaign desk. (Keep the brown wood or paint it!)
3. I just signed up for Netflix (#lateadopter) and can't wait to make my way through these recommendations. Any others you love?
4. I'll obviously be needing this striped quilted vest for fall/winter.
5. I'm pretty much drooling over my friend Katie's fashion week Pinterest board. Counting down the days!
6. Seriously digging the scarf print on this fall tote.
7. Sweatshirts and ruffles don't usually go hand in hand but this little number totally works.
10. Under $200?! This coat is almost too good to be true.
WEEKEND EYE CANDY
What. A. Week. I definitely took my own advice and ran myself ragged with work, doctor's appointments, and evenings with friends. Suffice it to say I was blown away by all the love for my little studio tour that went live on Tuesday. You guys even crashed their servers for a little bit... Amazing.
After skydiving last weekend, I made more progress on my 101 in 1001 list by finally getting my eyes checked and buying glasses I don't actually hate. Oh and I'm three days into my goal to drink the recommended amount of water every day for a week — is it lame that I'm pretty sure this is the hardest goal on my list?
Today I'm meeting up with Eddy to run a mile in Central Park and hopefully live to tell the tale. I was a gymnast through high school, a cheerleader my freshman year in college, and I make it to the gym three times a week but I am not, not, not a runner. That said, I am very much a list-maker and hopefully the motivation of crossing another goal off my list will keep me putting one foot in front of the other. If you see a redhead collapsing in Central Park this afternoon, do stop and say hello.
One more thing: this 101 in 1001 list wraps up at the end of September and I'm hard at work drafting my next list. I have about 80 tasks written down but I'd really love your input! If you or someone you know has written a similar list (bucket list, 25 before 25, 30 before 30, etc.), please email me or leave a link below. I'll take all the inspiration I can get!
Oh and join me on Pinterest for tons more eye candy every day of the week. Have a good one! xx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)