The First Kiss Of Autumn

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One’s first kiss is usually not special. At least mine wasn’t. I was seventeen.

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First kisses can go either way.

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I was not going to go on another date with my husband after our first date (I was twenty one and it is a long story for another day), but he asked if he could kiss me when he dropped me off back home. I did not have the heart to say no. He kissed me. And I happily never went on another date with another person.

He knew how to seal the deal.

As he tells it, he knew that if he kissed me I would go on another date with him. And he was right.

We were married four months later.

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Free People’s First Kiss Dress is definitely on the positive end of the first kiss spectrum. It is one of my favorite dresses. I purchased it last year (previous post here).

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It now comes in more colors but I continue to love the black and white.

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I paired the dress with Anthropologie’s Vegan Leather Bomber Jacket (previously styled here).

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If I were ever to make out with an inanimate object, this jacket would be it. Wait. That might be too much information. Can we forget I said that? Kiss that thought good bye.

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It is absolutely perfection. Lightweight. Slimming. It looks great more fitted like I purchased it (size medium) and looser the way my daughter wears mine.

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Are any of your fall items kissable? I love so many of my cozy items.

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Which other items do I love? I will have to leave that a mystery for now.

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I don’t always kiss and tell.

The Sisterhood Of The Stay-At-Home Jacket

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I opened up the bag that had come from Anthropologie. I sat there on the floor. Stunned. Staring into the wrapping.

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My daughter looked up from her cell phone, “Whadja get?”

This jacket,” I replied in a surprisingly monotone voice. The tremors in my soul not vibrating yet to betray my vocal cords. I held it up for my daughter to see (and definitely not to worship, as I held it above my head… on my knees… with my eyes closed).

“Oh. My. God,” was her reply.

“I know right?!”

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I immediately slipped it on. Its buttery softness engulfed me. I stood and looked into the mirror. I ignored the flannel pajama bottoms and oversized stained t-shirt I was sporting. My hair was piled on top of my head in a greasy four day old mess. The jacket was the star. The scenery did not matter.

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“Here. You try it on,” I generously proclaimed to my daughter.

She put it on and I rolled the sleeves for her as I had seen another blogger do earlier in the week.

She turned to face the mirror. “I love it! It is soooooo soft.”

“I know. And it is not real leather. It is fake leather. No animals were hurt making it!”

My husband piped up from the corner of the room. “Were any fake animals hurt in making the fake jacket?” He quipped.

He knew I would ponder that all afternoon if I let it get to me, so I ignored his question and turned my attention back to my new favorite purchase.

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“We can share it!” I proclaimed. This is kind of amazing because I am a size 6-8 and my daughter is a size 0-2. But the size medium fit us both perfectly (on me it is more fitted and on her it is looser). It was just like that book/movie with those traveling pants. Minus traveling. And pants. But you know what I mean.

I actually was going to break my cardinal rule and let her be on the blog for this post. She had been wanting to. But when I asked her if she wanted to take pictures with me for this post (I thought it would be funny to have pictures of us fighting over the jacket), she vehemently declined. Why? Because she did not want anyone to say that she looks like me. Sigh. And so it begins continues.

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I will still share the jacket.

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Now, before you think I am the most giving person out there. That I am sharing my most favoritest (my most favoritest not-a-real-word word) of jackets out of simple selflessness and not greed. This is what I told my husband:

“If we both use the jacket then technically it is only half price for each of us. Technically my clothing budget is only moderately affected.”

“Is that how it works?” Deadpanned my husband.

“Yep.” I like to use my fake logic on him.

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Do you own a leather jacket? Or a fake leather jacket? Or a traveling pants kind of jacket? If you have a fake pet, please do not show it this post. It would scar it for fake life.

*I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Reasons To Dress.

*this outfit was inspired by Tifforelie on Instagram. I love how she paired Anthropologie’s Vegan Leather Jacket with Anthropologie’s floral tights. The colors match perfectly. The cream Free People slip is combined with a dress from Forever 21.

Purple Dayz

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Who doesn’t want an easy summer? The deeper into summer it gets, the less I want to wear. Nothing says, “easy,” like a maxi skirt. More comfortable than jeans. More covering than shorts.

The best part about a maxi is definitely the breeze around your legs.

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I purchased this maxi skirt for a great sale price on Free People (they have a new version here) last year. I have worn it but have never gotten around to blogging about it.

Purple is my least favorite color, but I love the volume of this skirt. And it has grown on me.

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I did not want to be bogged down with too many accessories so I simply paired it with my Anthropologie Necklace from earlier this year.

The sandals were a killer deal that I scored in December. The were originally around $130 and I paid $23. I usually wait for a sale on most of my clothing and accessories. In fact, this whole outfit head to toe was obtained for $128.

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I plan on wearing this skirt a lot this summer. A good rule of thumb is to buy your summer clothes in the fall and your winter clothes in the spring. You will get the best deals that way.

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Do you wear maxis or shorts in the summer? Are you with me on wearing less accessories in the heat?

These photos were edited using the App Afterlife’s Equinox Filter.

It’s The Little Things: Bracelets

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I started this blog while I was still discovering my personal style. And I still am discovering it. I think self discovery is always an on-going cycle. With that said, I used to not like to wear more than one accessory. And sometimes that is still true.

But lately I have wanted to layer more and more.

The less clothes I get to layer as the weather warms up means the more accessories that get to take their place.

I bought my first bracelet last year.

It was so exciting.

I have since added a few more:

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This Free People Hammered Stacked Multi Cuff was a recent acquisition as I try to push myself past my comfort zone.

My husband thinks it looks like shower curtain rings.

When is he going to learn that when he compares something to something else weird or funny, that just makes me like it even more?

Forever 21 has a very similar version in gold. I really like that one, too.

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I wore these Forever 21 Globetrotter Cuffs yesterday. They are my absolute favorites. They are also less than $5 each. I love them so much, I hope they last.

The turquoise layered bracelet was one of five that I purchased last year for $4 each. They are sold out, but Forever 21 has some fun colored bangles in a similar color vein here. And I saw almost identical ones at Target yesterday.

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I own two of the Anthropologie Scalloped Monogram Bracelets. One with my husband’s initial and one with my own. I think these are feminine and sweet. I like the little details on them.

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One weird fact (of many… Too… Too… Many) about me is that I love octopuses. I think they are brilliant creatures that we still have not studied enough. So, when I saw Modcloth’s My Pet Octopus Cuff, I knew it was being added to my collection. This bracelet is fun, but I will say that I have small wrists and this moves around a lot. I think this would fit better on a girl with larger wrists.

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I purchased this yellow wrap bee bracelet two weeks ago at Nordstrom Rack for $10. I could not find a link for a similar bracelet (or rather, I could not find a link to a similar bracelet at a reasonable price. I am not going to link to a bracelet that costs more than most dresses). The brand is Dazzle. Each bug had a different color. There was a pretty kelly green one, too, but my heart belongs to the bee. Ever since my grandmother passed away, I feel more drawn to my heritage as a daughter, granddaughter and great granddaughter of many generations of beekeepers. So when I see a piece of jewelry with a bee or bees on it, I pounce.

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It’s The Little Things: A small accessory to bring a little more fun to an outfit. And a little more joy to my heart.

Have you gotten into the bracelet love this season? Do you layer them? Do you have weird jewelry rules like me (you will never see me wearing a necklace and earrings. It has to be one or the other)?

*Disclosure: The links in this post are affiliate links. Clicking on a link will result in a small commission for this site.

P.S. Speaking of bracelets, Heather from the shop, Peacock Fairy, has some pretty bracelets, too. She is giving away a beautiful necklace.. It ends tonight at 9:00 p.m. PST. Please do not forget to enter. Thank you!