Obsessed: RR

Happy Friday everyone!  Hope this day goes by quickly for you, and here's cheers to any fun weekend plans you have!  I know many of us are still in the midst of the toasty summer heat, but I had a chance the other day to peruse through Rachel Roy's Pre Fall and Fall 2011 collections- animal print, bold colors, modern hippie layering, lovely prints- this would all be my dream wardrobe for this fall!  Needless to say, as many of you know for these Friday posts- Obsessed!!  Take a look below and enjoy the beautiful art that is the existence of these collections.

 

 

Shoe Horse

The calendar pictured above is one of my favorite things to look at every morning.  Many of the designs are from recent years, and the pictures of the shoes make me wish I had Carrie's shoe budget.  Although I do not own any designer shoes as of yet, I am happy to tell myself that many of the beautiful shoes in this calendar have look-a-likes living in my very own closet.  Happy, happy, joy, joy!  Can you tell that I am a total high-heels addict?  Take a look and let me know- do you think you would find inspiration from this calendar to wear shoes hiding in your closet?

< Oh Jimmy Choo... how I wish you were my best friend! >

< Sparkle and shimmer... hello, lover! >

< Animalistic yet refined in an addicting shade of green >

< Color, color, and more color!  This pair of heels is so fun to wear! >

 < A little rocker vibe is something I like to mix in my style every once in a while- these heels are perfect for just that! >

< You're my boy, blue!  The most comfortable blue heels I have ever owned, thanks Nine West! >

Bakin' Banana Bread

Banana bread is one of my favorite things to bake.  When you have a trip planned and a few bananas lying around in your kitchen, this bread makes the perfect treat to pack along for your travels!  This aroma filled the house and packing time ensued the other night, and it was absolutely the most delicious treat to enjoy during early morning travel times.  I use a family recipe similar to this, and always line the bread pans with wax paper and a little butter spray- this is the best way to make sure that your loaves do not stick to the pan when you are finished baking!    I know that the recipe above says that no hand mixer is needed, but I disagree because I think a hand mixer always makes any baking/cooking/prepping job easier!  This is pretty much the only bread I ever bake, but I am looking forward to branching out in the future.  What is your favorite thing to bake?

Daily Dressing

Up, up, and away!  On my way to Alaska today, finally!  This trip has been on our calendar for so long now, and I am surprised that the day of departure has finally arrived!  I have prepared posts for most of the time I will be gone, so you can expect the usual daily posting.  The husband and I plan to take tons of pictures, so I will look forward to sharing those when I return next week! (Check out my Facebook page this week for some mobile uploads.)  In the meantime, here are some outfits that I have worn recently- hope they provide some inspiration for your everyday outfits!

- Photo on left -

Occasion: work

Shirt: Anthro

Skirt: BR

Shoes and purse: Nine West

Jewelry: F21, ON, BR

- Photo on right -

Occasion: work

Dress and cami: BR

Shoes: Nine West

Jewelry: The Limited, LOFT, BR, Tiffany

- Photo on left -

Occasion: work (inspired byJ's Everyday Fashion)

Shirt: Nordstrom Rack

Skirt: The Limited (really old)

Belt: Nine West

Shoes: Nine West

Jewelry: The Limited, LOFT, BR, Tiffany

- Photo on right -

Occasion: no meetings work day

Shirt: ON

Skirt: WHBM

Belt: BR

Shoes: BCBG girls

Jewelry: Citizen (watch), The Limited, LOFT, BR, Tiffany

- Photo on left -

Occasion: office to cocktail hour

Shirt: The Limited

Skirt: LOFT

Heels: Nine West

Jewelry: Ann Klein (watch), ON, LOFT, Tiffany

- Photo on right -

Occasion: pool time with the girls

Swimsuit and coverup: BR

Shoes: BR (old)

Jewelry: Ross and F21

- Photo on left -

Occasion: friend's birthday dinner and dancing

Dress: The Limited

Belt: ? (really old)

Shoes: Jessica Simpson

Jewelry: Ross (bracelets), WHBM (earrings)

- Photo on right -

Occasion: brunch

Dress: CrossRoads

Belt: BR

Shoes: Simply Vera Wang

Jewelry: ON, F21, TJ Maxx

Wonders from the Weekend

< Fun in the sun (and shade) spent poolside with the girls >

Whew- what an amazing weekend!  The end of this last week was quite busy, so it was wonderful to have a weekend full of fun and relaxing times with friends!  The summer weather was nice and 'cool' (meaning no triple-digit weather was in the mix) during the days, and was pretty much perfect during the evenings.  I have decided I could probably live on a diet of chips and dips and watermelon, but I would probably need to add sushi in there every once in a while as well as the daily vitamins.  All in all, amazing weekend.  This will also be the shortest work week I have ever had as the husband and I leave for Alaska tomorrow morning!  Whatever your plans are for this week, I hope you have a great one!

 < Mmm.. sushi boat filled with so many amazing rolls! >

 < Fun times with this inflatable parrot all day long >

 < Starting to pack for Alaska >

< Enjoying the view from our back patio >

Obsessed: Glowing in Leopard

< Image via InStyle >

Jessica Alba has a truly original style, even when she is pregnant, that never ceases to amaze me.  Take, for instance, this insanely fun animal print dress pictured above.  What kind of woman could rock a dress like this when she is expecting?  Only a fabulously confident and fun fashionista.  It is this kind of attitude that I hope to have every day when I look in the mirror.  Obviously, I am in love with Alba's dress choice here and, if you have read a few of my other posts (such as this, this, and this) you know that I am somewhat obsessed with animal print.  Thank you, Ms. Alba, for the inspiration to dream up these two outfit ideas with cheetah style!

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Obsessed: Cheetah Dress work by ParticularlyPracticallyPretty

Obsessed: Cheetah Dress play by ParticularlyPracticallyPretty