feeling sorry for the boys...

You know who I feel bad for in the warm summer months? Men who have to wear dress clothes. While I do think they have it easier in general when it comes to dressing professionally (hi, where are entire women's suit sections in the stores? oh yeah...), I imagine it kind of sucks that they have to wear long dress pants, full sleeved shirts, and a tie when it's 90 degrees out.

Which is the nice thing about being a woman! We can get away with wearing a sleeveless shirt dress and simple accessories, and be good to go (at least those of us with a business casual dress code). Mine is from J.Crew Factory and I'm so excited about it. I'm wearing a size large, and it fits my bust and hips well. You can see that there's a bit of extra fabric in the waist, which I plan on having my tailor take in (as well as remove that belt loop that sits too low on my waist...oops!) - it should be an easy fix for her, and will make all the difference in having the dress fit me the way I want it to! I should also note that some of the reviews say it runs a bit sheer - I personally didn't think it was see through, but I wore a slip just in case for work. The dress is currently under $30, if you are interested!

Dress: J.Crew Factory [exact on sale]

Shoes: Tory Burch [exact]

Belt: H&M 

Watch: c/o Larsson & Jennings [exact]

Below are a few more under $50 picks from J.Crew Factory. My favorite? That grey skirt - wear it now with a striped tee and metallic sandals, and then pair it with tights, boots, and a vest in the fall. LOVE. 

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sassafras

Apparently, I was feeling extra sassy this day (you should see the outtakes - the eyebrows were out.of.control)!

I think I was probably slightly compensating for that grow out - yikes! I haven't been to the hair dresser in almost six months (partially to grow my hair out after it accidentally got chopped off last summer), and I finally go in next week! While I'm a blondie, it has slowly become a dark dirty blond over the years, so girlfriend needs her highlights. For me, I've run the gauntlet with hair - I've had red hair, black hair, long hair, short hair, bangs, a perm...but I always go back to medium length blond with side swept bangs. It's that safe hairstyle that I think looks best on me...but then I get an itch to do something new. Any suggestions for this time around? Or just pretty highlights and a trim, as always? Because to be honest, this is basically what I wish my hair looked like all the time. 

Tee: Gap [exact]

Jeans: Paige [exact]

Jacket: Paige [save | splurge]

Shoes: Tory Burch [exact]

Watch: Michael Kors [save | exact on sale]

Necklace: Charlene K

Today is the second to last day of the Shopbop sale - save 25% off your entire order using the code INTHEFAM. This is one of the best sales out there, and even though Shopbop does have many expensive items, they also have some great more reasonably priced items as well. Below are my picks for shoes, jeans, and clutches at three different price points. Have you picked anything up during the sale? 

under $50: Soludos espadrilles, Free People flares, Hershel clutch

under $100: KAANAS flats, Blank denim, Splendid clutch

under $150: Sam Edelman flats, James jeans, Oliveve clutch

plaid tidings

4 more days until Christmas - who's ready?! We get Christmas Eve and Christmas day off from school, which is really nice, but not enough time for me to fly home. I would definitely say that the hardest part of the holidays this year (and last year) is that I can't go home to be with my family. I actually likely won't be able to visit my parents until January 2017, which is something I try to suppress sometimes when I'm feeling homesick. I am so lucky though that CR's family takes me in, and basically treats me like their fifth child. I don't know how I would manage without having that support system somewhat close to us!

In less sappy news, I'm slightly obsessed with my plaid skirt. I've worn it twice since I received it, and plan on wearing it on Christmas Eve as well. The issue with patterned skirts like these is that they show off your curves a little more since it's just a bunch of lines on fabric, but it's so fun to wear that I just don't even care in this situation! The last time I wore it for work I wore it with my simple white ASOS blouse, but I've also worn it with a sweater, and for Christmas Eve may wear it with a sparkly shirt. Gotta get those wears in before it's no longer plaid skirt season ;)

Blouse: Asos [similar]

Skirt: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Shoes: Tory Burch c/o Shopbop [similar]

Bracelet: gift from my friend Lizzi [very similar]

Below are a few plaid items, some you can still order today and receive by Christmas (or pick up when you are at the mall getting those last minute presents)! My favorite is the pom-pom scarf. Seriously, how cute is that?! The duffel bag is also pretty great for if you only have a few days to spend somewhere this weekend (plus it's under $40 and reversible!)

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