Olive Obsession

Dress & Jacket-Loft, Blouse-Equipment, Boots-Target, Scarf-local boutique, Necklace,
Ring, & Bracelet-Target, Watch-Coach, Earrings-F21

Fall maybe here, but it's not the leaves falling or temperatures dropping that clued me onto this, it's the change in my color palette. I tend to go for darker colors, particularly neutrals. After looking at the past few posts, I've noticed I may have a slight obsession with the color olive. Check out the other ways I've worn it here, here AND here...yep. Obsessed! Looks like I'm going to have to step away from that color for a while. Hmmm. That's going to be a tough one. Let's see if I can do it.  Call me out if you see me wearing it in the next two weeks. Baby steps people. Baby steps. I can't just stop cold turkey. Just a week or two.

Chardonnay

While in California last week, we spent a good part of the time drinking wine. Shocking, no? On Saturday we took part in the 2nd Annual Chardonnay Symposium. It was a fun day, but starting with wine at 9:30am and knowing we had to get from Santa Maria up to Paso Robles that evening for the Train/Maroon5 concert made things a bit more sobering. We started the event at a discussion around "To Oak or Not to Oak". We tried 12(!) wines, each from a wine maker that either uses oak or doesn't. Typically, I like oaky/buttery chardonnay, but I did find a few that I liked that weren't oaked. The fun part was listening to each of the winemakers share their story about why they make wine the way they do-they have such passion. We then made our way another vineyard to have lunch, which was delicious. Once we had some food in our bellies, it was off to a third vineyard for the full wine tasting event. I think there were at least 30 wineries present, a silent auction and some fantastic food samples. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. Fortunately, we had time to squeeze in a quick cat nap before heading to the concert.

Tank-F21, Cardi-Target, Shorts-Banana Republic, Shoes-Vince Camuto,
Bag-Elliot Luca, Sunnies-Target, Necklaces-EmersonMade

Hearst Castle

Jumpsuit-F21, Tshirt & Cardi-Target, Scarf-Gap,Shoes-Vince Camuto, Purse-Elliot Luca,
Necklaces-EmersonMade, Sunnies-Target

I've been to the Central Coast plenty of times, but never have I had time to visit Hearst Castle. I'm so glad we were able to fit it in this time. If you ever get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it. It's hard to imagine that William Randolph Hearst actually lived here. After taking the bus ride up the winding mountain road, you are dropped off at the front stairs and feel like you have been transported back in time. Everything is set up as it was when he lived there. I was in awe the whole time I was there. We toured the house and then had some time to walk around the ground. They are unbelieveable. I've posted  a few (I think I took almost 100 pictures!) pictures below, but they don't do it justice. You must see it in person.

My Besties

Don't you love how we coordinate? Didn't even plan that!

I'm a Wave

Tee-Stylemint, Shirt and Vest-JCrew, Jeans-Citzens of Humanity, Scarf-Target, Shoes-Gap, Necklaces-EmersonMade, Watch-Coach, Bracelets-Maui and Target

Yep, I'm a wave. World's worst college mascot. I went to Pepperdine University and they are the Waves. So wrong. But, I loved going there and a silly mascot didn't get me down. When we were in California last week, I brought Ramesh up to Malibu to see my alma mater. He's heard me talk so much about it, it was great for him to finally experience it. It's a beautiful campus and when I was in school, I never took it for granted. I can honestly say I appreciated everyday I was there. Malibu has changed A LOT since I went to school there. They didn't have all the fantastic shopping they have now. Thank god! A college girl's budget wouldn't have gotten me very far and the temptation would have been unbearable. I did stop into the Malibu Country Mart to get myself an Iced Blended from the Coffee Bean(my favorite drink, and no a frappacino is not the same!). I used to sit there and study for hours...aww memories.

Too hot to travel

T-Stylemint, Vest-JCrew, Jeans-Paige, Scarf-Gap, Shoes-Vince Camuto, Necklaces-EmersonMade,
Bracelets-Maui, Watch-Coach

This was my planned travel outfit last week, but it was to flipping hot to wear jeans. While trying to get these pictures, I had to run into the house numerous times and stand in front of the fan. Can you see the sweat on me? Look closely, it's there. I heard someone say Satan went back to hell because it was cooler than here- can't blame him! HA! After many repeated attempts, I decided it wasn't worth the effort and switched to this little number. It was much cooler and still comfortable for the flight. Check back Monday for an update from my trip to California. It was so much fun, but I think I need a vacation from my vacation!

Fatigued Animal

Shirt-Store in Maui, Skirt-BCBG, Sweater-Target, Belt-Target, Shoes-DV Dolce Vita, Bracelets-Gifts,
Juicy Couture, Maui, Watch-Coach, Necklace-EmersonMade, Earrings-Limited

Monday came way too quickly. My blog post title is both describing my outfit and my state of mind at this point. I could have really used a weekend from my weekend. Don't get me wrong, I had a great weekend. But getting up today was BRUTAL. Top that off with meetings back to back all day (I didn't even have time to eat lunch) and then finally leaving the office at 5:45 only to come home to finish what I didn't accomplish at work. UGH. Someone pass me a bottle of wine stat!  I'm glad I'm taking Friday off this week, if only to sleep in. Ha! Why are Monday's so bad? I think it should be mandatory 3 day weekends with Mondays off. But then would Tuesday's become the new Monday? Hmmm things to ponder as I try to get myself to bed early.

Backyard Shenanigans

Blouse-JCrew, Sweater-Limited, Vest-JCrew, Jeans-JCrew, Shoes-Born, Scarf-Target, Necklace-EmersonMade, Earrings-F21, Bracelets-Gifts, Local, Watch-Coach

Yesterday I shared with you that we spent the weekend in the backyard and how much I loved it at night, so I thought I'd share a few photos from the evening. Ramesh cooked coconut curry shrimp (his specialty) and chicken and we had a few friends over. The champagne was flowing and the conversation was hilarious -note the promotion of organic tomatoes...don't ask. I love summer in MN. It's the best time of the year. It could have been a tad warmer, but I'm not complaining...after all it was too hot to handle earlier in the week.

Bohemian Mix

Jumpsuit-F21, Blouse-Equipment, Vest-JCrew, Shoes-Born, Necklaces-EmersonMade, Bracelets-Gifts, local, Watch-Coach

Last night was Hadley's last night in Minneapolis (remember this card). I dedicated this post to him last week, but I've got one more post for him today (I promise... this is it, we've just been celebrating so many times, it's become funny!). Over the weekend, we took him out to Masu in NE Mpls with a bunch of friends (If you haven't been, get there now! it's awesome). It was a great night and even though he's leaving us, we're all super excited about his new adventure. I wore my 70's inspired jumpsuit because I was feeling festive and knew he would appreciate my look. Those who know me, know I love me some 70's! And when I saw this jumpsuit at F21, I knew it would be mine. Hadley called it bohemian and I have to agree. At first I was thinking more disco fab, but based on how I styled it, bohemian fits. Cheers to Hadley, and being bohemian.

Easter Dress

Dress-Tucker for Target, Leggings-INC, Vest-JCrew, Shoes-Target, Necklaces-Target, Sunnies-Chloe,
Bracelets-Gifts, Limited, Watch-Coach

We took my parents to brunch on Sunday for Easter. We started this tradition two years ago when we decided for just the four of us, it didn't make sense to make a huge meal with such production. The weather was divine and couldn't have made for a better day. As you can tell, we need more days like this so I can get the yard in shape again. This winter has been BRUTAL. Hope you had a good holiday. Now back to the grind at work. I'm counting down the days until I leave for Maui -t minus 3.5 days!

Closet Overhaul

Tank-Target, Cardigan-JCrew, Vest-JCrew, Jeans-7for all mankind, Belt-Limited, Earrings-Target,
Necklaces-Target, Bracelets-Gift, F21, Ring-BCBG, Purse-Fendi, Shoes-BCBG

Saturday was spent with a new client. We went through her closet, cleaned out all her old stuff and put together about 20+ outfits with what was left. I took pictures for her to reference when pulling together outfits and then made her a list of the items she should be on the lookout for. I love going through other's closets and showing them the possibilities they have. It's like giving them a whole new wardrobe. Next up we'll be shopping for the items on the list and she's going to be looking amazing!

On my way home from her house, I stopped at an out of the way Target and found the two necklaces I'm wearing on clearance. They were a steal to begin with, but then layer in my discount and the additional 5% off for using a Target card and it was almost like they paid me to get them!! Looks like I need to venture outside the city limits once in a while to get my hands on the stuff that doesn't sell in suburbia.  

Bright

Tank-Target, Blouse-Target, Vest-JCrew, Skirt-JCrew, Shoes-Seychelles, Belt-The Limited,
Necklace-Juicy Couture, Watch-Coach, Bracelets-Gifted and local, Earrings-The Limited

With Spring in the air, temps warming up, and daylight lasting longer, it was high time I broke out some color and spiced things up at work. This is my toned down version of color blocking. I originally wanted to wear a bright orange sweater on top, but thought it might a bit bold for my co-workers. Thus, I opted for a light orange gingham blouse. This is by far my favorite spring outfit to date. I can't wait to break out more color. Long live spring!