Fashion

Nordstrom, also known as “the happiest place on earth!” — even though El Hub would disagree with me. 🙂

Whenever we go, I park him on the nearest tufted couch, hand him an iPhone charger and say, “I’ll be back in an hour! Or two!” He’s never too thrilled about it, LOL! But thank goodness for smartphones, amirite? Best husband-sitters EVER.

I’ve had my eye on a few things at Nordies lately. These have all been burning a hole in my shopping cart, and — WHOOP-WHOOP! — several of them have gone on sale. I’m thinking that if I think they’re cute, hey, you might think they’re cute, too.

Starting with…

1. BLANKNYC Faux Leather Jacket

So, I have this same exact jacket in black, and I’ve worn it pretty much every season for the last, oh, three or four (or maybe five) years! It’s a style that shows up annually at Nordstrom, and I recently noticed that they have it in a beautiful camel color and a dark brown now. And bonus! — right now it’s marked down to $64.90 (originally $98).

It’s faux leather, but it doesn’t look fake. And it feels real, too! The material is soft and buttery, not stiff and crunchy.

Oh, this jacket does run small, so I’d suggest sizing up…

Ugh, the more I think about it, the more I keep telling myself that I gotta get that camel-colored one, huh?

This is a great little jacket, you guys, and I can’t recommend it enough. I wear my black one all the time… Wore it just the other day to take Connor to story time. I dressed down with a long white tee, black high-waisted Zella leggings and my black and white Nike’s. I’ve also worn it dressed up with a black and gold Anthropologie dress in the fall and winter. I really like to wear it in the winter layered over a hoodie, but I wear it everywhere all year round.

2. Bobeau One-Button Fleece Wrap Cardigan

I realize this sweater looks like it might be potentially dowdy, but it’s one of those things that you have to try on to appreciate. Once it’s on, it’s really cute.

I have a red one that I got a few seasons ago made from the fleece material, and seriously, I wear it all the time.

Um, I may or may not have even worn it to bed last night, haha!

The fleece is super soft, and it looks luxurious (not cheesy or cheap). I like how it drapes in the front, too. It has this sort of ruffled effect when you have it open, and when you button it up, it’s also cute.

Bonus: if you’re petite, it also comes in petite sizes, and the length on the arms is perfect!

They’re usually $58 each but currently on sale for $39.90.

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Accessorize Me! is a new series featuring roundups and single product features of shoes, bags, jewelry and other accessories that catch my eye.

Me: You don’t need another pair of shoes, Karen.
Also Me: OMG, that pale pink suede pair of Nikes is a totally good idea.
Me: Oh, no, those will totally get dirty, you know it, within 2.5 seconds.
Also Me: Who the heck cares?!

Girl… I strolled into DSW yesterday and was floored by all the cute tennis shoes. Yeah, I’ve finally become that person who wears tennis shoes all the time because, well, chasing after a high-energy child while wearing heels is a death wish for your ankles.

So, if you’ve read MBB for any length of time, you probably know that, once upon a time, I lived in heels. I loved them so much that I wore them everywhere, even to the airport, because I was that serious about having an extra three inches of height on me, LOL!

Ah, good times…

But now? Now I’m all about cute tennies. 🙂

It started when Connor (who’s officially a toddler now, wah!) became “that kid” (air quotes) — you know, the child shooting across Costco at the speed of light and screaming like a banshee. I swear, that girl has two speeds. She’s either standing still or sprinting for Olympic gold.

So I started wearing tennis shoes all the time because it’s easier to catch her in flats, but I’ve also realized — OH, SNAP! — that I actually LOVE wearing tennis shoes. My back, shoulders, feet and calves no longer ache as much as they did when I wore heels 24/7 (go figure!). Plus, there are so many cute styles and colors to choose from.

Which leads us here, to these 13 pairs of pink shoes from DSW…

1. Nike Court Royal Suede, $59.99

My rational side keeps telling me that I’m cray for wanting a pale pink pair of suede Nikes, because I know they’ll be covered in dirt in less than a day, but I love how the shoe is monochromatic with the pale pink shoelaces and pale pink swoosh.

UGH! SOOOOO CUTE! Maybe if I coat the living heck out of them with a suede fabric protector spray? Or make them my “fancy occasion” tennies?

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I wore this sweatshirt in a NARS review a few weeks back, and ever since that post I’ve been getting so many questions about it! It’s the Piña Colada Fleece by Honolua Surf Co., and it’s $44.95. I picked it up when I was in Hawaii last month, but if you’re not traveling to the islands any time soon, you can also find it online. Honolua is one of my favorite casual clothing lines.

I wear this sweater all the time (well, lately, only when it’s not hotter than a booty crack here in NorCal!) because it’s slouchy but not overly big, so it has a casual look, but it doesn’t seem sloppy. I’m just over five feet tall and 120 lbs, and a size small fits me fine.

The wine color is also surprisingly flexible. I wear it all the time with different pairs of jeans and leggings. Highly recommended!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict

Karen

P.S. TGIF, right!? Are you as happy about that as I am? I am SO looking forward to sleeping in.

It’s 88 degrees here right meow, and when I looked in the drawer earlier where my summer shorts were supposed to be, I only found two pairs of jeans shorts…

Where the heck did my other shorts go?!? Did I Konmari them into oblivion? I can’t remember.

Anyway, the next most logical thing for me to do was to go online and look for new spring dresses, HAHA! Obviously.

So, these are all from Old Navy and LOFT, and the main reason for that is because both are within easy driving distance of my house (Vintage Oaks in Novato). And also because Old Navy has good deals (all their dresses are on sale online right now), and their dresses are machine washable.

Let me tell you, when your clothes almost always have baby food and/or cat hair on them, machine washable is VERY important.

All of these caught my eye for one reason or another…

1. Old Navy Off-the-Shoulder Chambray Shift Dress ($37) — I love me some chambray! And I love the detailing at the bottom, but I don’t know if if I should “go there” with this dress, because I can see the Coywolf pulling down that top part while we’re in line at Target and exposing my bosom for all the world to see.
2. Old Navy Fit + Flare Cami Dress ($25) — The cut of this dress might be a little too young for this 40-something-year-old gal, but I sure do love the tropical print.

   Eh, if you’re in your teens or 20s, you could totally rock this, and I’ll rock it with you in spirit.

3. Old Navy Sleeveless Pintuck Swing Dress ($30) — Hello, yellow! So bright and happy. 🙂 I love the idea of this dress swinging in the breeze…
4. Old Navy Fit & Flare Cutwork Midi Dress ($42) — I’m thinking that the length of this dress might make me look pint-sized, but oh, the color!

   Ah, imagine all the coral lipsticks you could wear with it…

5. Old Navy One-Shoulder Swing Dress ($25) — Homegirl can’t say no to a good striped dress, or a ruffle, for that matter! This dress combines both.
6. Old Navy Jersey Tee Dress in Red Stripe ($24) — If the ruffle is too much, and I feel like it would be on some days, this red and white striped number could be a cute alternative, yeah?
7. Loft Bontanic Cold Shoulder Dress ($89.50) — The print on this reminds me of vintage china tea cups, which I’m fascinated by for some reason.
8. Loft Lace Halter Dress ($118) — I love the deep teal, the lace, the cut and the halter neckline… I seriously love EVERYTHING about this dress. Thing is, OH! I forgot to mention that I never pay full price for Loft, ever, because they go on sale every other day. No, seriously. They run 40% and 50% off sales often, so if you see something you like, just wait for it.
9. Loft Beach Floral Medallion Halter Dress ($59.50) — How pretty is this print? I think the burgundy would look * amazing with gold jewelry.

   * It would also conceal baby food stains well. #justsayin

10. Loft Islander Ruffle Midi Dress ($69.50) — Baby food stains would be harder to hide on this white and khaki dress, but I like the thought of wearing this dress with a stack of gold bangles on both arms.
11. Loft Plaid Flutter Dress ($79.50) — This dress looks so breezy and comfortable, ah… What a perfect Saturday dress.

That’s me! What’s on your lust list, babes? 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen