Oxblood goes to lunch.

Today I met my wonderful husband for an impromptu lunch at one of my favorites, Stone Creek Dining Company in downtown Montgomery. He was there performing his "Presidential duties" for the Chamber and I was out and about with little Gabrielle running errands and still trying to catch up after getting back in town from vacation this past Monday night. I welcomed the break and some great food!

 

Since I was already out running errands I was going for comfort, but I couldn't resist having him snap a few pics after lunch since I knew it would be a different background for a change on my blog and I would still get to talk about how much I love my oxblood jeans from Target! I know I have things in my closet that look better and are more flattering on me, but I was very comfortable and totally enjoying this 55 degrees on the last day of November in Cincinnati :)

 

 

 Mossimo skinny jeans via Target (current)

Bag from TJ Maxx (current)

Sweater is Fenn Wright Manson via TJ Maxx (current)

Layering long sleeved tee via Target (past season) similar here

Madden girl boots via DSW (past season)

Michael Kors watch (current)

 Long pearl and metal necklace from random boutique

 

Thanks for taking a look!

XO

Jessy

Tiny Fashionista!

I want you to meet my "tiny fashionista"!  At just 9 months I think she already enjoys fashion almost as much as her momma :)  She loves to help me go through her clothes and never ever complains no matter how many outfits I put her in. She never minds hats, bows or headbands either!  Here are just a few pics of my first and only baby girl (she does have 3 older brothers who are not into fashion, but I adore just the same ;).

This is my gorgeous (and very happy!) baby girl!  I hope you all enjoyed her pics.  I am sure she will surface more and more as my blog goes on. It has only been a month since I started the blog. I had to catch you all up! ;)

There will certainly be more blogs pertaining to baby/mommy items, too. 

Stay tuned!

XO

Jessy

Spring into Fall

I know that everyone sees this alot, but I just wanted to point out how easy it is to gets lots of wear out of a great spring/summer dress year round.  See below for what I am wearing and my tips for how to come up with your own fun combo!

 

(please excuse my messy home office in the background!)

 

Starting with this basic dress from Target (black background, green and blue dot print)

Adding a sweater, tights and boots

 

Now for the pictures NOT taken with an iPhone ;)

 

Added a scarf and accessories......so easy to go from one season to the next without buying additional clothes. I love doing this!

 

 

What I am wearing:

Dress: Mossimo via Target here (last season) similar here

Sweater: I.N.C. via Macy's (several seasons ago) similar here

Scarf: Handmade from Etsy here

Boots: Madden Girl (several seasons ago)

Bag: Steve Madden via TJ Maxx (this season) similar here

 Stella & Dot Renegade necklace and F21 mini bead chain necklace (current)

 Gorjana "Brinkley" bracelet via Rue La La

 Stella & Dot Pippa Stone earrings

 

 

The dress I am wearing I wore a ton in the summer months - super easy to wear, comfortable, cute, forgiving and cool in the hot temps. I have paired it with and without a wide belt. Worn it with sandals and with pumps. Out for a day of running errands, to dinner and worn it to the office. 

Now that the temps are cooler I have topped it with a sweater, pulled on some tights and boots and even added a scarf. I still love it just as much in the fall and cooler months as I did in the warmer months and it is so easy to do!

I'll bet you have several dresses or skirts in your closet that you could carry over from season to season. 

Some rules of thumb if you are going to try this out:

• Make sure that the fabric is heavy enough (or looks heavy enough) to cross over into cooler temps. The dress I am wearing is actually a very light material, but it is lined with a heavier weight material that makes it a perfect dress to "cross-over".
• Prints are fine. Florals are even fine in the cooler months as long as they aren't to "tropical". It is hard to make a hawiian flower look right with a sweater and boots in the winter.
• Brights and pastels are certainly in right now even for the fall and winter months so don't shy away from those completely.
• Maxi dress and skirts work great in the cooler months, but do NOT wear pumps with them!  Wear flats, sandals or flat boots. A small wedge may work if you are very short, but be cautious.
• Pair your floral skirt/dress with an edgy leather jacket and boots or put a boxy oversized sweater over a maxi dress and flats. A fitted sweater looks great with a full skirted dress, too! Have fun and play around with different combos. You might be surprised what you come up with!

 

 

I wanted to get a pic of the inside of this bag becuase I just love the mini chevron print in there!

Well that is all I have for now. I hope you enjoyed this post!

XO

Jessy

Some color and fur.....

I was working today at a different location for our organization than I typically do and this one has a bit chiller temps in the office than where I usually am so I opted for some warmth from my faux fur vest today and it delivered!

 

Hope everyone had a great Wednesday! I did and I am so looking forward to another beautiful day tomorrow :)

 

Skirt: via Target (many many seasons ago)

Button down shirt: Worthington stretch poplin via JCPenney (current season)

Faux Fur Vest: Kenar via Marshall's (current season)

Boots: Madden Girl (no longer available

Bag: via TJ Maxx (current season)

Hooded Wool Duffle Coat: Victoria's Secret (current season)

  

 Such a fun pop of color with this coat! :)

                                                                      Earrings: Stella & Dot - Garden Party earrings

 Necklace: Stella & Dot - Renegade Cluster Necklace

Bracelets: Stella & Dot Vintage Twist Bracelet & layered with my dad's gold necklace (wrapped three times on my wrist to be worn as a bracelet).

Watch: Kenneth Cole white leather band with gold face (similar here and here)

Leather and Lace

Today was back to work!  Although I was sad to leave family and end our relaxing vacation, I was excited to get back to my "real" life which I happen to really like :) 

 

For the office I decided on a little leather and lace today. I meet with women all day and it is fun to play around with fashion for the office - it always makes for easy conversation with my clients.

 

I really love this skirt. I think it is beautiful and it is sooo comfortable, but it is slightly big. I bought it last year and it was the last one so I bought it even though it is a size or two too big (it turns around on my waist band so I am constantly centering it back!). I had the intention of having it tailored and I just haven't gotten around to it.  I will get to it one of these days.

 

Anyway, let me know what you think. I love reading your comments and opinions!

Skirt: Anne Klein (past season)

Sweater: Old Navy (this season)

Scarf: Steve Madden (past season)

Bag: via TJ Maxx (this season)

Boots: Madden Girl (past season - no longer available)

Earrings: bought at a boutique on vacation

 

Hope everyone has had a great start to the week!

XO

Jessy

 

It Works! Body Wraps

I thought this post would be pretty timely considering I just had a weekend long food binge as I imagine most of you did ;)

I love Thanksgiving and I LOVED heading down to sunny Florida to spend time with my precious family - it was very hard to leave! What I don't love is the extra pounds and inches that come from a 10 day long vacation with no exercise, on the road eating and topping it off with a weekend long feast of every delicious dish you could possibly be thankful for :)

I always end my Thanksgiving holiday feeling bloated and yuk....I know, after 30+ years you would think I would have learned, but nope. I just do the same thing every single year. The difference with this year is that I have discovered It Works!

Namely I have discovered the It Works body applicator wraps.  I had heard a little about them, but kind of waved it off as a gimmick. I was invited to an It Works party by a girlfriend a couple of months ago and I decided to try a wrap at the party.  I instantly lost an inch+ on my waist after being "wrapped", but what was most impressive to me was how much better I felt almost instantly and then the next morning everything in my mid section was tighter (and I had lost another full inch - no kidding!). Yes, I know what you may be thinking - you lost water weight. No doubt, I did, but that wasn't all that I lost and the inches stayed off for several weeks and I was doing very good until vacation food started! I hadn't done another wrap or been watching what I was putting in my mouth so all the junk landed right back in that area again. 

Let me qualify this by saying that I in no way believe this is a way to lose weight or to compensate for a good diet and exercise, but I do know that it will help to rid your body of toxins, extra water weight and make things "tighter". In my case, I have used the wraps to "tighten" an area quickly for an event, detox and reduce the appearance of cellulite.  The wraps really are a great way to "jump start" a weight loss plan (which I am working on...I am several pounds heavier than I have been in years and I really need to get back to where I feel best - ugghhh!!).

It Works doesn't just have wraps, but they have a full line of all natural products ranging from face wash and lotions to vitamins and protein powders.  I have tried many of the products and one of my favorites is their product called "Greens". It is a antioxidant rich powder made from powdered greens and super fruits. It is made to be mixed into water and makes a fresh citrus tasting drink - but it looks very green! Personally I prefer it mixed into grape juice (can't taste it in the grape juice) - see picture. 

The Greens will give you the nutrients that most of us are deficient in because of our diets which almost never include the proper amount of fruits and vegetables (do you know how much veggies you have to eat to get all the nutrients your body really needs?!). I am not sure how this works, but when you drink this you will feel full and really not want to snack.  It is a great supplement in my opinion.

Hopefully you can find a way to try these products out by checking with a distributor in our area.  If you are in the Cincinnati, OH area you can get info about the products and attend a "Wrap Party" by contacting Tina Wene @ Ultimate Self Image.

Let me know if you have already tried any of these products, have suggestions or try them after reading this and want to let me know how it worked for you.

Happy Sunday!
XO

Jessy

Still on the road - Happy Thanksgiving!!

We are still on the road for our family vacation, but I have snapped a few pics of my "travel outfits". You will notice that you are seeing many of the same pieces worn in different ways or with different bottoms/tops as I have limited options right now - I did try to pack light this trip! :)

Here is what I have for the past few days:

Happy Thanksgiving!  This was my family gathering, turkey eating, game playing outfit for the day :)

Plum colored skinnies: from Target

Black v-neck tshirt: from Target

Grey cardi - TJ Maxx

Coach ballet flats

Fendi Zip Code watch

Express Leopard infinity scarf

Large link bracelet - TJ Maxx

Black tank - (old) from Target

Black cardigan - (old) from Target

Print Skirt from Prana

Black strappy sandals - Northface

Fendi Zip Code watch

Black rounded neck t-shirt: Monique - old  (purchased at TJ Maxx)

Express Leopard print infinity scarf

Skinny jeans (old) from Jc Penney: a.n.a.

Coach ballet flats

That's all I got for now! Have a great day! :)

XO

Jessy

Express Holiday Sale - 50% off EVERYTHING through noon Friday!!

Express is running a 50% off EVERYTHING online AND in store now through noon Black Friday!!!

Yes, you read that right :)  That includes the BEST EVER leggings for only $14.95 a pair. Stock up!  They really are the best ever and you can't go wrong at this price - you can only go very very right ;)

Have fun shopping and I hope you find many more great deals out there - I will keep my eyes open and tell you of any other great deals I find out there!

XO

Jessy

30% off Sweaters at F21

Now thru November 21, 2012 you can get 30% off a huge selection of Forever 21's most popular sweaters!  A couple of my favs are currently on sale, too!

(Check them out here and here)

And, as always, FREE SHIPPING on orders of $50 or more.

Don't miss this sale - winter is just around the corner!

Follow this Link for Forever 21 sweater sale and enjoy your new sweaters, ladies :)

XO

Jessy

Stone Mountain, Georgia - family time!

Okay so I am not sure how fashionable one can be expected to be when on vacation with 4 children and having ridden in a car ALL day before arriving at Stone Mountain, GA, but this is what I came up with:

Yeah, I know.......not exciting, but I thought I would post anyway. My hair is dried out (2 days of traveling in the car will do that :(, my make-up is almost non existent, etc., but that is just the way it goes. What I do love about this outfit is the sweater, actually. It may not be super exciting in these pics, but I was complimented on it while checking out at a shop in Stone Mountain park (girl said, "I love your sweater. You are a hot mommy" - she was quite a bit younger than me -LOL!;)  Seriously, who doesn't love to get a compliment like that and how much better is it when you are feeling less than pretty?? 

Okay, back to the sweater; it is super comfy and though I wore it with skinnies it would go just as well with leggings. The length is perfect, loved the weight and in person the color is very pretty (oatmeal w/ coral specks in it). 

Sweater: Forever 21(sold out, but they have similar ones and there is a 30% promotion until 11/21/12!)

Skinny Jeans: a.n.a via JC Penney

Boots: "Jessii" - old (Madden Girl)

Vest: Three Hearts via Marshall's

On top of Stone Mountain.....you could see the downtown Atlanta skyline from here. It was beautiful (and slightly scary!)

Me and my precious baby girl getting some much needed time to stretch our legs in the "Play barn" at Stone Mountain. She loved to be out of her car seat for a few hours!

I did want to throw in a few photos from Stone Mountain.....it really was a very cool place.  We had never been as a family (although both my husband and I have been told that we went as very young children). It was definitely a great place for a young family and we all enjoyed it - even our 8 month old.

Yes, we had to take that to get to the top.....I was not excited about this part.

I took this from the Sky Lift ride....it was incredible!

My precious family! See the city in the distance? So cool!

Okay, back to planning more fun things to do on our trip!  We will be arriving at Disney in Orlando in a few hours :)

XO

Jessy

Dorothy Perkins 25% EVERYTHING ends today!

Use code DPFWD until midnight today to get 25% EVRYTHING on their site! I really love these clothes - great quality, great prices.
You can see some of my Dorothy Perkins pieces in this and this previous blog entry.

Don't miss this sale! Find Dorothy Perkins here.

I am a First Lady?!

Okay, let me explain about the First Lady statement, that is....at least according to the other people that were at the City of Montgomery's inauguration ceremony 2 nights ago where my husband was inducted as the President of the City of Montgomery's Chamber of Commerce! 

It was such a proud moment for me to watch him give his acceptance speech and see everyone excited to see him taking the reins. I was beaming!  As we got up to thank everyone and greet everyone at the end of the event I actually had two wonderful women congratulate me and (at separate times!) tell me that since I was "now first lady they were going to be watching what I wore".  Haha!  If they only knew.......

Okay, well here is what I wore last night. I hope I didn't let them down.....no pressure!  :)

Dress: Calvin Kline purchased from TJ Maxx - I really love this dress for it's versatility.  I will be in Florida this week and plan to wear it with some cute wedges, bare legs and grab a light cardigan for when it cools off in the evening. (find similar here)

Blazer/Jacket: Michael Kors - found on the clearance rack when on a weekend trip with my husband. Super steal!!  (See it worn in a previous blog here & find similar here)

Tights: Hue purchased at Macy's

Shoes: Nine West

Fendi ZipCode watch model# F112111BD (find similar here and here in brown) - bands are interchangeable and come in a variety of colors. I don't know if Fendi makes this watch anymore though. It is no longer available through their website. It is a fairly large watch measuring a bit more than 1.5" across which I love. It is a statement piece for sure!

My Fendi watch and a pair of Stella & Dot Soiree Studs was the only jewelry I wore to this event (with the exception of my wedding set and anniversary band).

  Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed your day!

XO

Jessy

Traveling stripes and leopard

So we made it out the door!  My husband and I were up until the early morning hours packing up the family SUV, but in the end were only about a 1/2 late getting on the road with the kiddos this morning - not bad by our standards for family travel :)

Well, I am now in the "hills of Kentucky" visiting my mom and grandparents before heading out tomorrow morning for our destination; Florida.  That is where we will spend some time at a couple of the Disney parks with the kids and some beach time before heading up to see my dad's side of the family in Tampa for Thanksgiving and the rest of the week.

I am working off my husband's MacBook Pro today and I am clueless how to operate this thing so I apologize in advance for the quality of the pictures (don't know how to use the photo editor for starters) and had to use my iPhone to get the pics since my camera is buried under suitcases in the truck.

I did wear leggings and stretchy clothing today since we are having our first Thanksgiving dinner of the week this evening.
So, without further delay, here is today super easy and comfy attire :)

 Vest: Three Hearts (similar vest from North Face here) I purchased this one at Marshall's

Striped tunic sweater: French Connection  I purchased this one at TJ Maxx

Leggings: Express  current season - best leggings ever!!!

Infinity Leopard Scarf: Express this season (comes in other colors)

Bag: Michael Kors Hamilton tote  I purchased this one at TJ Maxx

Boots: Madden Girl  (find similar here) I got these on sale a few years ago at DSW - no longer sell this exact style (Jessii). They are by far the most comfortable boots I own so they were an easy choice for travel today! 
Fendi watch: Zip Code Ladies Grand watch - see enlarged pic below (you can find a similar one here - mine has the diamonds in the numbers and the one on this site does not, but the watch is no longer made so it is hard to find. Prices range greatly between slightly different models)

 (Without the puffer vest, of course)

I really like the stripes with the leopard scarf in the same colors.

Taking advantage of the beautiful scenery here....fun to take some different shots :)

Watch: Fendi Diamond Zip Code watch.  Band is interchangable and comes in many colors (brown, white, tan, grey, etc). I am definitely looking to eventaully get another one or two so I can change them out now and then.  Christmas maybe? :)

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful Saturday!

XO

Jessy 

Still haven't packed!

I am leaving in 1 day to spend time with my family in Tampa, FL for the Thanksgiving holiday this year. That is the good news. The bad news is that I have not packed one single solitary thing - and we are a family of 6!!!  That essentially means that I pack for 6 people, of course, since no one else is capable or will pack their own. Maybe it is that I dont' trust anyone to do it right! ;)  Seriously, as soon as I post today's blog I am getting started. I have to or we will not have a single thing to wear all next week - wow, that would make for a boring blog! LOL

So I had to include one shot with my gorgeous fluffy man, Tuscan. He is my 2 year old standard poodle. We kind of matched today (with my oversized fluffy cream colored sweater!). They do say that owners and dogs tend to look alike..his ears are a blonde color and they are fluffy and curly like someone else I know....hmmmmm :)

Sweater/Jumper: Dorothy Perkins (find another color here)

Cheetah Scarf: from Target (see it in previous blog for more info)

Leggings: Express - seriously the BEST leggings I have ever had on. I am purchasing at least one more pair! (find them here)

Riding Boots: Zara - this season (sold out - find similar here)

Bag: Michael Kors "Hamilton" (find here)

Until tomorrow.......as long as the packing gets done by then!

XO

Jessy

Day at the office

Today was my normal Wednesday at the office so I went in a skirt, as I typically do.  I also need something comfortable. I am seeing clients off and on, but I also spend alot of time at the computer so I can't have anything binding or uncomfortable - really I NEVER want to wear anything like that, actually! ;)

I didn't have my incredible camera man today so you will have to look at the "self portraits" from the mirror - sorry!

 

Gray Cotton Maxi Skirt: from Target (see it worn in a previous blog)

Sweater: Old Navy (find here) - I bought mine in "Airwalker"

Infinity Scarf: Express (find it here) - I bought mine in "Gray Leopard"

 

Watch: Kenneth Cole (find similar here)

Bracelet: this is actually my dad's necklace wrapped around my wrist three times and fastened. He passed away almost 3 months ago and this was the necklace that he wore all the time.  I wanted to find a way to wear it or possibly have it melted down and turned into another piece of jewelry that I thought I would wear. I tried this yesterday and I LOVE it!  I like this above wearing it as a necklace so much more, as well,  because when it is on my wrist I can actually see it. It is a constant reminder of him for me - good memories because when I saw this necklace on his neck then I also saw his smile just above it :)