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Downtown Date Night

September 21, 2017

This post was created in partnership with Maggy London and contains affiliate links. Clicking on these links or buying items through them may provide me with a small commission. This is a small part of what keeps Dressed for Time going.

Hey there, you beautiful things!
We got a hint of the cool weather over the past couple days, and then it was 90 degrees again today. Le sigh. When we shot this dress it was 98 degrees, but I’m owning my glow! I had plans to meet Mark for a quick drink and then dinner downtown, but knew I’d have some time to kill before he got ready after work. Thankfully, my lovely photographer Holli was able to meet me to snap some shots (and join me for a glass of vino before the man of the hour arrived). I think Redlands, our city, is just so perfect for date night. I mean that for married couples of 30 years, or dreamers on their first date, and everyone in-between.
If you’re in the mood for cocktails, there are so many options, and I’d almost tried them all, but this was the first time I’d ever been to the District. When I heard “vape-friendly bar”, I’ll admit, I scoffed at the thought, because I’m not a fan of the vape. Thankfully, we had the place to ourselves, and the bar is actually REALLY nice, a little hipstery, but it’s Redlands, so there are touches of that everywhere. It was super clean and the drinks were very reasonably priced (1/2 off wine bottles on Wednesdays!), plus our bartender was so welcoming! He even allowed us to shoot pictures in the lounge area, which we greatly appreciated, so we could try to capture the vibe of this spot. I’m so thankful that Mark indulges me in these little dress-up date nights, even if they’re just in town. He knows I love to play dress-up, and I think he secretly enjoys it too!
I must admit that I look to Maggy London first when I am in need of a cute little cocktail dress. This one I love for the rich fabric with a subtle sheen, the off-shoulder/cut-out detail, and the pleated skirt for a little drama. I paired it with some neutral vintage accessories, (this pair of floral earrings that was part of a set acquired during Mark’s bday adventure up the coast this summer; a snakeskin clutch found at the Scarlet Threads consignment sale), along with nude pumps. Perfectly date-ready for wherever the night takes us!

Dress c/o Maggy London // Heels / Calvin Klein // Earrings & clutch / vintage

Shot by Holli Z Photography.

Summer Sheath and New Hair

August 25, 2017

Hello, loves!
This may be the first you’re seeing it, but I recently chopped off over a foot of hair! Yes, I donated it, because that seems to be the first question that anyone asks, followed by “why the hell did you do that?” Short answer, I felt like I needed a change. Long hair is gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but I felt like mine was so long that I never knew what to do with it. Styles would take forever, and usually fall out quickly because I had too much hair to do them properly, or be physically laborious (girls with superlong hair will understand the arm/neck/shoulder pain of trying to style 2.5 foot long locks after already spending 20 minutes blowdrying.. it’s an upper body workout!). So I was left with only curling it, or straightening it, because my air dry waves were not so beach chic due to their weight.
Let me take you back a little bit, to the time before last I visited my stylist. She greeted me with “Hey, what are we doing to you today? I had a dream last night that you chopped all of your hair off!,” which of course had me wanting to flee. But later on that day, I was watching Jane the Virgin and saw one of the actresses, Xiomara, with a super cute lob. I found a still online and I screenshot a pic to send to my stylist, with the caption “hey, if I did go shorter, how would this cut look on me?,” to overwhelmingly positive response. Honestly, I had completely forgotten about that conversation until I received her reminder text the day before my most recent appointment. Low and behold, 2 months later, that pic would serve as inspiration for this style you see today. Yes, it was impulsive, and yes, I realllllllly miss my hair. But I’m also having fun styling it and finding how much more versatile this shorter length is. More to come in the next post!
Moving on to this gorgeous sheath dress from London Times, it’s truly one of my favorites from the collection right now. I love the print mixing, the curve-hugging shape, and the black, white and red combo. It’s classy for work, but could totally transition easily to a going out look. To take it from office to restaurant, I’d throw on some black, thin-heeled ankle booties, a cocktail ring and a maybe a crystal choker, to bring a little glam.

Dress c/o London Times // Necklace / Kyle Chan // Block-heeled sandals / JustFab // Clutch / Topshop // Sunnies / Perverse // Ring / Box of Style

Shot by Sarah Soulberg.

This post was sponsored by London Times. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Happy New Year + Polka Dot NYE Look

December 31, 2016

Hello, loves!
This year of ups and downs (a lot more downs as of late), is coming to a close, and I for one, am looking forward to what the new year brings. This is, of course, the time to start making resolutions and personal promises about being more healthy and spending wisely, etc… I’ve heard two schools of thought on resolutions. One is that you shouldn’t be waiting for a certain time to make positive changes, why not start today! Another is that the new year is a great starting point for a clean slate. Personally, I’m somewhere in the middle. I think that if you want to start a workout routine or financial restrictions, you should dive in as soon as you have a game plan, not wait until Monday or the beginning of the month (or year). At the same time, there is something restorative about a new year beginning. It’s a chance to definitively draw a line and say “this is where I’m starting over.” A deadline to finish up with things you don’t want following you in to a new year, like toxic relationships, unhealthy habits and so on.
For some reason, it really does feel “easier” to maintain a resolution when you’ve told someone what you’re hoping to accomplish. For that reason, I’m sharing a few of the things that I hope to start/maintain/back away slowly from..
I’d like to renew my commitment to practicing yoga. I sustained an injury to my knee about two months ago and had to stop going to my favorite yoga class because of this. I’m almost healed, so I’m striving to attend at least two classes a week. I also love to run, but I find myself making excuses to not wake up (suuuuper early, like 4:30), to get outside and just go. An extra glass of red wine the night before is usually the main culprit, haha! Which brings us to…
A two drink maximum at home and socially. I can hear Patti Stanger in my head when typing that, but it actually makes a lot of sense. It’s hard to interact with intention, not to mention, remember half the night, when over-imbibing. I like to wake up and think back fondly to hanging out with friends, celebrating a birthday, or spending some time with my honey at home, not feel the lasting sting of a hangover. Looking back over the past year, I’ve had a couple of nights where I took it a few too far, and my head paid the price the next day.
As far as relationships go, I’ve been with the love of my life for almost 4 years now, and I think we’re in a pretty great place. I would like to work on communication more, because I think it’s something that can always use improvement, but I’m looking forward to all of the fun things we’ll do together in 2017.
I’m not going to make a blanket statement about dieting, because if there’s one thing I will never deprive myself of, it’s food. I would like to be more attentive to how many starchy foods I’m taking in, and also recognizing when my hunger is actually a cry for liquids. I think I confuse the two quite frequently, so pouring a glass of water before eating a snack seems to be a good solution.
I’d love to hear.. What are your resolutions? What do you think of making them?

Side note, this was one of my favorite shoots to date, featuring this DIVINE polka dot dress from Maggy London. It’s called the Abigail Flare, if you look for it! I couldn’t decide which to cut, so you’re getting more shots than usual, I hope you enjoy! 😀

Dress c/o Maggy London // Bag / vintage // Heels / SJP // Geometric ring / Slate from Rocksbox (purchased) // bracelet / Wilson’s Jewelers // Midi & other gold ring / Forever 21 // Necklace / LA find // Sunnies/ Amazon

Shot by Holli Zenko Photography.

This post is sponsored by Maggy London. Items in this post were provided to me for reviewing purposes. All thoughts/opinions are my own.