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My Epic Bachelorette Weekend

April 25, 2019

This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing items through them may provide me with a small commission. Some items pictured were provided to me for reviewing purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Dressed for Time! 😀
Hey loves, spoiler alert!
I got married earlier this month!! I know, you might already be sick of hearing me talk about it, but if not, keep reading!

I’m not going to lie, any chance to go back to my home town of Southern California and I jump on it. When a couple of my bridesmaids offered to throw me a bachelorette party, I instantly thought of Palm Springs. It’s close to almost everyone I wanted to invite, relatively inexpensive, and there is always so much to do. We booked a couple of rooms, planned a few meals, I hopped on a plane, and my epic bachelorette weekend was on. It made the most sense for me to just stay out there until the wedding, and I was more than happy to enjoy a week and a half in my old stomping grounds.

Duster / Nordstrom Rack (sold out) // Tank / Madewell // Jeans – STS Blue // Sandals / Steve Madden // Bag / Philip Lim for Target (old)

I landed in San Diego on Friday morning and decided to beat the weekend traffic and drive up to Palm Springs with my bridesmaid Jessica that afternoon. The weather was everything I needed! I left 40 degrees, windy and overcast/raining for 75 degrees, sunny and gorgeous! Jessica and I had dinner at her friend’s house, some light bar-hopping, then home to rest up for the next day.

I will say that check-in at our hotel, the Infusion Beach Club, was less than smooth. They surprised us with extra parking charges, a 45 minute delay in the lobby to get in to our rooms, and no elevators. Normally, I wouldn’t mind taking the stairs, but I was carrying a 49.8 lb bag that held all of my outfits for the trip. It was not pleasant.

We got settled, munched on charcuterie, sipped on rose, and got ready for our first outing… A scavenger hunt in downtown Palm Springs! It took us from the Palm Springs Museum past several landmarks and bars, which we had to stop in to, of course! TBH, we didn’t end up finishing the hunt, but we did find a tiki bar, and that’s winning in my book!

Back to the hotel to change for dinner at Lulus! I had been crushing for months on this tiered, pleated white midi dress from, ironically, also Lulu’s. I paired it with a chunky turquoise necklace, silver heels, and my trusty round woven bag. Ha, and I can’t forget my headband/veil combo that I also rocked!

Dress c/o Lulus (sized down to a L in this) // Bag / Shop Daily Belle (currently on sale for under $40) // Necklace (thrifted) // Sandals / Urban Outfitters // Veil / Amazon // Sash / Oriental Trading Co.

Not going to lie, we were all feeling pretty wiped from a day of drinking and running around in the sun, so we only made it to one bar before calling it. That wasn’t the end though! A group of us got into our swimsuits and headed to the hotel’s jacuzzi to chat and drink until we got kicked out. Such rebels, right?!

Magically, and I mean this wholeheartedly, none of us were hungover the next morning for brunch! I was amazed, at even myself. Mixing Patron, wine, and champagne can frequently go oh-so-wrong. We turned it out though, check out my gorgeous crew!

Dress / Olivia Culpo for Le Tote // Clutch c/o Sharon Threads (DM to order) // Sandals / JustFab (love these for a slightly wider foot without being “wide” and I wore them EVERYWHERE on my trip)

Last thing on the schedule was to clock some serious time poolside. If you can imagine, I hadn’t see a pool in over 8 months, so it was a very welcome change.

My coverup is from Forever 21 and is a couple years old. My suit, which I wish I’d have gotten a better shot of, because it’s adorable, is from Adore Me.

That’s a wrap on my epic bachelorette weekend, folks! After the hours spent lounging poolside, Jess and I headed back to San Diego and I met Mark and his family at the airport in the morning.. Wedding post is coming soon, stay tuned!!!

NYFW A/W ’19 Recap Part Two

March 20, 2019

This post contains affiliate links. Making purchases through them may provide me with a small commission.
Thank you for supporting my blog!

Whoa, doggie, as my mom would say! It’s been a heck of a rollercoaster, planning this wedding. And with 10 days before I leave for California, it feels all the more rushed. Trying my best to enjoy the ride, though. I realized this morning that I hadn’t yet shared part two of my recap for NYFW. At the end of the day, I’m sad to say that sometimes my blog gets left behind to focus on other things. Thankfully, in my downtime, I’ve been making lists of posts to write, things and places to shoot, and topics I’m excited to cover. After the craziness settles, of course!

So without further ado, read on for my NYFW A/W ’19 Recap Part Two!

Let’s see, where did I leave off? Ahh yes, back to the shows!
ICYMI, Custo Barcelona was one of my absolute favorite shows last season. I had an even better seat this time (thanks, Custo!), and my jaw was basically dropped as design after gorgeous design came down the runway. The only bad thing was that the lights completely blew out the clothing, so I wasn’t able to get any good videos or pictures. Their PR rep never got back to me with pics of the collection like they did last season so I could share them here, but you can see the full Custo Barcelona spring collection through that link.

At Spring Studios
(Outfit details below)

After Custo, I headed by myself to Spring Studios for the Son Jung Wan show. I have to say it, this show is now battling for my favorite of the season. Extraordinary pieces that definitely make a statement but in an unfussy way. Understated, yet breathtaking. It may make me a terrible fashion blogger, but I was so in-the-moment at the show that I forgot to post a single story from it. I think I’ll go do that now.. You can check out the full Son Jung Wan collection here.

Following my only experience at Spring Studios this past season, I met up with Alyssa for our first ever front row seats at Mac Duggal. This was the brand’s first plus size runway, and I was honored to be front and center to watch all of the gorgeous ladies and stunning designs just a couple feet from me. Check out my Instagram stories for copious footage. I tried to only post my favorites, which ended up being about 20 looks, not even kidding. Their collection was called Fabulouss, and the models all walked at the end of the show holding up posters with inspiring words on them. Such a fun moment. Even though their line is marketed as prom, there are still some dresses I would be happy to rock as eveningwear to my next big event!

With the designer, himself! Such an honor!

With Maddie Baillio, from the film Dumplin’, who modeled in the show! She was so lovely!

Obsession doesn’t begin to describe my love for this sequined dress. It was one of the last things I bought for this trip, and it came just in time. I felt like a princess. And @lizzieinlace said she loved my outfit, which is a high compliment in my book!
Dress (under $75!!) / ASOS // Coat // ASOS // Belt (under $20) / ASOS // Heels / Calvin Klein // Bag and earrings / vintage // Necklace / Kyle Chan Design

After Mac Duggal, we were on our way to the Oxford Fashion Show. So, let me say that I know this accumulation of designers is regularly highly acclaimed and noteworthy. This season, for me at least, there were too many political statements, impractical pieces, and just nothing I would care to wear myself. I am probably in the minority on that, but I can’t lie! Neither of us enjoyed the collections. After that, we were beat, so we just grabbed a bite and headed home.

Sunday was supposed to be a crazy busy day for us, but it turned out to be one of the least. Partially, my fault. I had added the start time for my first show (Alyssa had one at Spring), as 12:30. Turns out, it actually started at noon, a fact I learned at 11:00 while still in Brooklyn and not done getting ready. So I missed it. The second one I was going to meet Alyssa at, but the address I’d added to the spreadsheet was off of the first email the PR company sent to me. Apparently, that was their offices, not where the show was being held. IDK if it was my bride brain, but I felt like I had royally screwed the pooch on shows that day by not triple checking the details.

We walked around for a bit to get some shots in, before heading to Blank Slate. If y’all remember my visit there last season, you’ll know it’s a must stop in while in NY. So girly, the best tea lattes, and just a nice place to sit and chill for a while. Lee from @legalleeblonde also stopped by to join us for a bit. Always lovely seeing her!

Coat / ASOS // Sweater / Forever 21 // Skirt / Miu Miu // Sneakers (currently under $20) / Old Navy // Pearl Pin (under $10) / Full Line Collection // Hair bow & Phone case / Forever 21

Next, we headed to the Nocturne Landeros show at Scandinavia House. We were crammed in a room full of hundreds of people, with no visible runway or platform. After about 45 minutes of waiting, a gentleman came out and started singing. And singing. When the third song started, I looked at Alyssa and told her “I need to leave.” I was getting claustrophobic, and the club-level volume and club-level amount of packed it was in there was not good for me.

I ended up heading to meet up with Laura from @lauraadney/Have Need Want. We went to dinner at Nomo Kitchen and OMG were their Brussels sprouts amazing. Everything else was OK, and priced on the higher side, but those sprouts I would definitely return for. Home to Brooklyn, this time a $28 uber because the train was still down.

Monday was our last day in town, and Alyssa and I had decided to book a photo shoot in the morning, since we hadn’t had too much luck photographing our outfits on our own. My camera kept dying, and the phones weren’t cutting it. I was about 20 minutes from being ready (actually a half hour ahead of schedule!), when I get a text message from Southwest, saying that my flight was cancelled. Since Mark booked it, it wouldn’t let me change the flight online or through the app. The estimated hold time was 22 minutes, and it ended up being 59 before someone picked up. She told me I was getting the last seat on the last available flight that day, now at 2:00 instead of 6:00 PM and that inclement weather in Chicago was delaying/cancelling flights from everywhere. What else is new?!

So I missed the shoot, and had to start packing. I made it to the airport 2.5 hours early, and my flight continued to get delayed until 5:45. I honestly thought I was going to have to get a hotel room, but thankfully, the last one pushed out. I landed at Midway and had to take another uber home, because Mark was out of town. That one was not cheap either, if you can imagine!

I like to keep it real on here, and even weeks after this trip, I felt defeated. This was my third time attending NYFW, and as much as I thought I’d properly organized everything, SO many things just didn’t work out. I guess after having two amazing visits back to back, it was time to shake things up! ?
Regardless, I’m always thankful that I even have the opportunity to attend each season, and look forward to the next more than you can imagine!

I’d love to hear.. Have you ever been on a trip that didn’t quite go according to plan? What did you learn from it?
I’d love to implement your tips! ?

NYFW Spring/Summer ’19 Days 1 & 2 Recap

September 20, 2018

This post is created in partnership with Delsey, Aldo, Eliza J, Kestan, and TheeGirl. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links and clicking on them/buying items through them may provide me with a small commission.

Sweater (regular/plus) / Maurices // Jeans / Mavi // Sneakers c/o Aldo (so obsessed with these, they are like metallic mermaid print and magically go with everything!) // Luggage c/o Delsey (currently over $200 off!) // Necklace / Kyle Chan Love Initials

Oh my goodness, dolls.. It has been an adventure to get to where I am now (mostly literally ?). Not only did we pack up a admittedly overstuffed 3 bedroom house and move cross-country via road trip with 2 dogs, but 5 days after, I packed up again and flew by myself to New York for Fashion Week! I have SO much content to share with y’all so I’m going to break the posts up into NYFW Days 1 & 2, 3 & 4 and 5 & 6, so I don’t overwhelm everyone, including myself. I’ll also be sharing a few tips on attending and some observations I’ve made over this season and the last, (I attended in February as well, check out those posts here for Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3/4).

This time, a group of us (9 influencers and one photographer), for our lodging accomodations worked with a company called Domio, which is similar to AirBnB but soooo much improved, in my opinion. Domio is just moving in to the New York area and we had the opportunity to stay at one of their properties that is not even on their website yet. We were ALL trepidatious about 10 ladies staying under the same roof during the flurry of Fashion Week, but I’ve got to say, we all had enough room to spread out, and boy, did we! I’ll be sharing some shots of our apartment on my last post, but for now, I’ve got to share with you some of the fashion!

After landing, I took the Newark Airport Express shuttle bus to the city, which is a great option when flying in to EWR. It’s only $31 for a round-trip ticket, versus around $70 for an uber. I met up with Lauryn from @lauryncakes outside of our apartment, but unfortunately it wasn’t ready for us to explode upon just yet.. Not Domio’s fault, we both just arrived HOURS before check-in. We hauled all of our stuff to the nearest Starbucks, put on full faces of makeup at the table, and changed into our first look. We were joined by Caitlin of @caitpatton, and Cait and I headed off to Spring Studios for our very first show!

Now, I will say that I didn’t get too many still pics of the fashion shows this season… It’s just too rough, unless there is a presentation. However, I have saved all show coverage on my Instagram Stories, if you wanna go check those out. So here is where the tips and what have you come in to play. I was told to get to the show 30-60 mins before start time. I actually arrived about an hour and 20 minutes prior, and stood in line for ONE HOUR AND 45 MINUTES. Now… I’m not saying that I am not incredibly grateful for the opportunity to go to a major runway show, and have a seat on top of that, but girrrrrl, my feet were killing me! So first tip… Yes, arrive early, (but not too early), stand in line and be respectable. But for the love of everything, wear shoes that you know won’t wreck your feet after standing in place for an extreme period of time. My blisters had names by the end of the day.

The first show we went to was Tadashi Shoji, and WOW, so many gorgeous designs, I was clapping in my head during the entire runway. I also couldn’t help but notice Heather Graham, Dascha Polanco, and Tess Holliday sitting front row, hello! Cait and I met up with her friend Austen of @austentosone, and we did a quickie photo shoot across the street from the event space, which I shared on Instagram and Eliza J was so amazing to share on their feed as well, so thank you, Eliza J!

Dress c/o Eliza J // Bag / Target (old Phillip Lim collab) // Heels / vintage // Necklace c/o Kestan

Side note, can you tell the difference in the color of my legs? I was still having to wear a compression sock on my right leg because of my sclerotherapy battle wound, but thankfully, I think the nude shade wasn’t TOO different from my own skin. It probably would have been an exact match, except I was a little red from all of the running around and sweating in the low 90’s heat.

After this, we headed back to the apartment to check in, unload all of our stuff, meet up with the roomies who had arrived while we were gone, and then get ready for the next event!

Jozy (@blondeblissblog), Leslie (@dear.kindred), Courtney (@courteypecorinophoto), and I all headed to the Banana Republic store for the Bumble event. The real treat was to hear the Foster sisters, Erin & Sara, speak on gender equality, creating content, female empowerment and so much more. What I didn’t know is that they are both hysterical and I could pretty much listen to them feed off of each other all day long. On that note, going to check to see if they have a podcast… OK, so it doesn’t look like they have one, but they did inspire me to download the Bumble app to see if it could lead to me meeting new people, now that we’re settling into the Chicago area. More on that later!

After the event, the four of us went to a fantastic little tapas restaurant that I now for the life of me can’t remember the name of. But it was good. We were all so wiped after the long day of traveling and whatnot that we headed back to the apartment and knocked out. Good thing too, because Leslie and I had the most jam-packed ever schedule for Day #2.

OK, so I wasn’t expecting to write this much in each post, but I feel like each day was so full, it kind of just gets long, you know? So Day 2 included Leslie and myself waking up at 5:45 AM, (I was supposed to wake at 5:15 but like a ding-dong set my alarm for PM instead of AM, insert face palm), to take a $45 uber to Brooklyn to get all kinds of dolled up for a photo shoot for SoCal dress brand, Thee Girl. It’s been a long time coming, me working with this brand. They didn’t offer any size above a Large, but I was asked to help with the launch of their new extended size range, woohoo!! I’ll try not to overload y’all, but we took some reallllly good shots!

Dress c/o Thee Girl // Heels (on sale under $15!!) / Maurices // Earrings & Necklace c/o @collette_marie_jewelry

How stunning does Leslie look in that sheer overlay gown???
TBH, the first thing I saw when I looked at these shots is wow, I’ve gained some weight. My hips look ginormous, my thighs are all dimpled, I’m so damn pale… And then all of a sudden, I was like, why am I talking down on them? Yes, those are all traits that I have, but that doesn’t mean the pics aren’t still gorgeous and that I look really good in that dress?! I know it’s not just me, but sometimes it is SO easy to play the comparison game and get down on yourself for supposed imperfections. I’m trying to learn to appreciate the “flaws” as just part of what makes me, me.

OK, guys, and this is where I take a moment to get a bit serious and tell you the whole story. Shortly after Leslie and I got back from our shoot, my phone rang and it was my mom. I instantly got a bad feeling and my throat was tight when I answered. She said “Hi”, and then told me she was calling to let me know that my grandfather had passed away in his sleep that morning. I’m now crying as I type this because I didn’t really have a chance to process it then. He was 96 years old and lived a long and full and beautiful life, and can now be at peace with my grandmother, who passed a year and a half ago. I wouldn’t say that the news was completely unexpected, but I definitely thought I’d have another chance to go back home to see him again, and I deeply regret not doing that sooner. My mom asked what I was up to, and I told her I was in New York, (she had forgotten I was going to Fashion Week), and she told me to put the news out of my mind as best I could so I would be able to enjoy every moment. She told me that Papa was proud of me for working so hard to get where I am and he wouldn’t want to put a damper on my plans. And you know, she was right. Papa was one of those selfless people who always wanted to make others happy and put their needs before his own, especially with regards to my grandmother. I could only hope to be so devoted to someone after 60 years of marriage. We just booked our flights to fly back to San Diego next weekend for the services, and are still trying to figure out what to do with the dogs. I might do a post on loss later, because I have so much to say on that topic, but for now, back to the reason you came here!

@dear.kindred; me; @blondeblissblog; @raelynsroulette
Shot by Courtney Pecorino Photo
Immediately following the shoot, we raced back to our Murray Hill apartment to decompress, change, and then race to our next event, the Fashion Palette show featuring a plethora of awesome Australian designers, such as Elliatt and Harvey the Label. Unfortunately, even though we were technically 10 minutes early (and thats after someone else’s ticket issue held us at the door for 5 minutes), they had already given away our seats! So my coverage of that show was not as good as it could have been, I’m just sayin’. Something to be wary of as well.. Your seating situation can change at a moment’s notice. You can go from standing to seated or seated to being shoved in the back in the far corner jusssst like that. But it’s all part of the ride!

After that, we jetted over to the Eliza J showroom to check out their newest collection (OMG, swoon!!) I was beyond excited to run in to Kim from @liveloveblank in the their lobby! We’ve been following each other for years, and it was so nice to finally connect in person. She is one of those people who is EXACTLY like she is in her stories… another running conversation in my apartment was how each of us kept meeting people at random events and them being so completely opposite of their persona on Insta. I’m talking specifically about girls who are cheery, bubbly, tote being highly religious and/or inclusive in their bios and then treating some of my roomies and me like absolute dog shit. I’m not going to name names, but some of these chicks were so aggressively rude for NO reason, I just don’t get it.
Note to everyone, having 500K followers on Insta (or whatever platform or whatever number), does NOT EVER make you more important, more entitled, or just plain better than anyone else in this world. Get your shit together, ladies!!

Time for a little photo shoot in front of the apartment!

Trench & Necklace c/o Kestan // Tank / Nordstrom Rack find // Jeans / Black Orchid Denim // Bag / Loeffler Randall // Sneakers / Superga // Earrings / Banana Republic
Shot by Courtney Pecorino Photo

I honestly don’t even remember what we had for dinner because it was such an exhausting day. Another little honesty bit is that we actually had THREE more fashion shows to attend this day and missed them all. The first, because our shoot ran crazy long, and the other two we were too overwhelmed and already beat to be able to enjoy. So note for next time, schedule no more than 2 shows and 2 events per day, and budget TONS of time for anything that’s beyond your control.
Hope you enjoyed to post, loves, and stay tuned for the next two chapters in my recap!

Yellow Midi Dress & Aurate New York Signet Ring

August 14, 2018

This post is sponsored by Aurate New York. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hello, loves!
Can I just say that I don’t even know where most of this year has gone? This past month in particular held for me a couple of fun trips, like our first visit to Chicago, the blogger brunch that I hosted, (post coming soon!), and the beginning of our visit with Mark’s family in Columbus, Ohio. That last trip was definitely the most impacting, because Mark popped the question, and we are now engaged!

Engaged AND moving to Chicago at the end of the month, so much change going on! Although Mark is from Ohio, I’ve never lived east of where I live right now, and have definitely never contemplated a cross-country move with less than a month’s notice. Side note, any tips you have on big moves or planning a wedding, please feel free to share below! I will need all of the help I can get.

Speaking of new jewelry, I’ve recently fallen in love with the delicate and exquisitely made pieces from Aurate New York. They let me choose a couple of styles and I was instantly drawn to this signet ring. I love that it’s definitely smaller-scale than a lot of the signet-type styles I’ve seen, but the gleam coming from it is still enough to catch your eye when the light bounces off of it.

I loved pairing the signet ring with a single dangly pearl earring, this bold floral print dress from Eliza J, and my favorite pop-of-color pumps. I think this is the perfect special occasion or fancy date night look, because it’s a little sexy, a little feminine and a whole lot of color, right up my alley.

Be sure to visit Aurate New York if you’re looking for great quality pieces (they’re perfect for gifting), that you can wear literally every day.

Dress c/o Eliza J // Ring c/o Aurate // Heels (old) similar here // Ear cuff / eBay // Bag / Target