October Closet Additions

I open my closet each day, see it stuffed to the brim with clothes, and feel despondent. I know it's not about the clothes, it's about me, but for some reason, they have always been a reflection. I try to get rid of things, pieces I know aren't serving me, and yet I get stuck. I buy things and then never wear them, yet scroll through my instagram feed and immediately purchase a bodysuit I see another blogger wearing. Next I see posts featuring a camel sweater dress, a plaid blazer, a floral dress; and click 'add to cart' without hesitation.

This month I was supposed to not be shopping. Clearly I get an F. I probably get a C- for at least trying to follow the one in - one out rule.

One item not in this post is the plaid blazer. If you happened to see my story on Instagram yesterday than you know I have two plaid blazers and can't decide which to keep. I thought it would be an easy choice since one is half the price of the other, but then the votes overwhelmingly were in favor of the more expensive H&M blazer rather than the $25 Target blazer. They are both similar in pattern, both lined, both in a boyfriend cut. Care to weigh in?




Banana Republic Sweater Dress, $47
Joie "Pattyn" Tweed Moto Jacket, $14 thrifted
Zara Bodysuit, $20
Gorjana Newport Hoop Earrings, $16 via Poshmark
Target Sandals, $20
J.Crew X Abigail Borg shirtdress, $90
Banana Republic Turtleneck Sweater $23
Black Rene Rofe Bodysuit, $10 via Boscov's
Lush Olive Ruffle Cami, $16 via ThredUP

Floral Shirtdress

Just a rebel without a coat, determined not to let this dress that I had to buy, hang in my closet for the next six months. I do swear I'll get around to sharing some more seasonal content, mother nature will of course force my hand and it will be all sweaters and boots until April.

I often feel like my biggest gripe with fashion as of late is that it was never intended to make sense. Models walk down runways with eight layers on top and next to nothing on the bottom. There is no weather condition ever that would work for. But even though we are forced to live in the real world, we want to emulate it all the same.

Take a quick scroll through your blog feed and I promise it wont take long before you come across someone wearing a dress like mine but with a blazer or leather jacket draped over the shoulders. If it's cold enough for the jacket, then it probably needs to be actually on, and bare legs are probably not going to work. The next thing you'll probably see is a super warm and cozy sweater or cardigan being worn with half or all shoulders exposed. Such a look serves no function other than esthetics, because if it's cold enough for nubby sweaters, why would you want your shoulders to freeze?

Am I much better, spending half the year dying of cold, trying to take outfit photos without a coat? Probably not, but I swear I want to be different. I want this space to be more than just pandering for page views and trying to sell you something. After all, I bought this dress because I loved it and it was on sale. It's 90% sold out, so if you want it and aren't a 00, you'll have to stalk the page like I did and hope for your size to pop back in.

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The Rundown 
Floral Dress J.Crew
Pumps "Gennie" Coach thrifted similar
Leopard Clutch Clare V c/o Shopbop
Loyce Earrings Elizabeth Cole c/o Shopbop
Bracelet The Cavernous Jewelry Box
Thin Gold Ring Etsy via Ellyn Blue Jewelry
Gold Herkimer Diamond Ring c/o Lumo
Chevron Ring Etsy via Silver Canyon Jewelry
Sunglasses "Meteor" Ray-Ban c/o TJMaxx




Linking up with Pink Sole's How I Fall

Where to Eat: Oak Haven Table and Bar

I often feel fortunate to live so close to New Haven, because there are a seemingly endless amount of amazing restaurants to dine at! The other week I had an opportunity to visit Oak Haven Table & Bar on State Street.

Since the days are getting shorter and I wanted to take advantage of any amount of daylight, I went shortly after dinner service started at 5 p.m. (which also means getting to take advantage of happy hour!) and had the restaurant completely to myself for at least the first hour. Another perk of being an early bird was not worrying about taking over several tables to take photos.

Oak Haven's menu is setup so that you can eat your way through it, with most dishes designed with sharing in mind. Thankfully I brought my mom along so that we'd get to try several things!

Whenever presented with a cocktail list, I usually just scan it for whatever drink has gin in it, and go from there. My cocktail not only was gin based, but also served in a teacup. It was a blend of gin, sweet vermouth, Lillet Rouge, birch liqueur and whiskey aged bitters - strong and very tasty!

For the food, we started out with the vegetable tempura, then tried the fried chicken bao, which was so tasty, and finally the braised beef short ribs with spaetzle and mushrooms, and the duck leg with mango jasmine rice. While everything was delicious, the short rib dish was a true standout. The meat was so tender, the mushrooms and spaetzle incredibly flavorful.

By the time we finished the place was packed, and under different circumstances I could have easily seen myself lingering over a cheeseboard and a second cocktail, though I'll just have to keep that in mind for a future visit.

If you find yourself in the neighborhood and want to stop into Oak Haven for a drink or a bite, mention SiggPay and you'll get 10% off your bill!

Thanks to Oak Haven Table and Bar for offering me the chance to stop in and check them out! I was given this opportunity through SiggPay, my views and opinions are my own.

 Leopard wrap, burgundy top, button fly jeans, toe cap heels-4.jpg Leopard wrap, burgundy top, button fly jeans, toe cap heels-2.jpg teacup drink at Oak Haven-2.jpg Leopard wrap, burgundy top, button fly jeans, toe cap heels-6.jpg mason jar drink-1.jpg veggie tempura-1.jpg fried chicken bao-1.jpg beef short ribs-1.jpg duck leg with mango rice-1.jpg Leopard wrap, burgundy top, button fly jeans, toe cap heels-9.jpg Leopard wrap, burgundy top, button fly jeans, toe cap heels-8.jpg
The Rundown
Leopard Print Poncho FRAAS similar
Burgundy Long Sleeve Tee Target
High Rise Button Fly Jeans Gap
Toe Cap Pumps "Varesse 70" Shoes of Prey
Bucket Bag "Johnny" Danse Lente
Gold Hoop Earrings Amazon
Tanner Toggle Lariat Necklace Gorjana similar
Gold Circle Ring Thrifted

Nail Color "Caviar Bar" Essie




Linking up with

Chill in the Air

I felt like I needed to pull out these white pants before it got too much later into the fall season, not that I don't enjoy wearing white year round, but these are a somewhat thin satin and wont tolerate much cooler weather.

I'm a little disappointed that these pants were final sale and I ordered a size four petite instead of sizing up to the six. I should know by now that the petites always run smaller overall, and I should size up! The fit isn't too bad, but I do believe they were meant to be a touch looser and when I sit for even five seconds they get terribly wrinkled. When I edited these photos I actually went over them with the skin softening brush in Lightroom to help downplay their state of wrinkledness.

That aside, these pants were a total steal, and right now are only $11! I could almost justify buying the alternate size, but I probably wont. I just hate final sales.

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The Rundown
Camel Sweater Thrifted similar
White Satin Pants Gap
Toe Cap Pumps "Varesse 70" Shoes of Prey
Suede Accordion Bag Banana Republic similar
Neck Scarf Loft similar  
Loop Earrings Mejuri
Thin Gold Ring Etsy via Ellyn Blue Jewelry
Nail Color "Caviar Bar" Essie




Linking up with Shopping My Closet Style Me Wednesday
and
Style on the Daily

It's a Wrap

You know those perfect fall days, where there is this crispness in the air, the sun is out, maybe there is the most gentle of breezes? This was that day. There was only one, and I pulled out this wrap dress which I've been staring at longingly in my closet since last Thanksgiving, waiting for a perfect fall day to come around.

To be fair, I spent most of my day under the florescent lights of the Post Mall, getting the grand tour of the Boscov's department store which just opened, and then quite sometime after just sitting in the furniture section of Macy's Backstage catching up with Nonee and Megan. Afterwords I took Nonee to my 'old haunt', the Milford duck pond for outfit photos.

Another item you might not see for a while, these Target sandals. It took me ordering three sizes to get them right, so rather than having them for the end of August, I got them for the start of October. Now I'm pretty sure my little toes would get frostbite if I wore open toed shoes outside!

Are you happy with this cold weather, or are you missing summer like I am?

 printed wrap dress, danse lente johnny bag, black strappy sandals-12.jpg printed wrap dress, danse lente johnny bag, black strappy sandals-15.jpg printed wrap dress, danse lente johnny bag, black strappy sandals-7.jpg printed wrap dress, danse lente johnny bag, black strappy sandals-11.jpg printed wrap dress, danse lente johnny bag, black strappy sandals-8.jpg printed wrap dress, danse lente johnny bag, black strappy sandals-14.jpg printed wrap dress, danse lente johnny bag, black strappy sandals-5.jpg
The Rundown
Print Wrap Dress c/o eShakti similar
Bucket Bag "Johnny" Danse Lente
Sandals Target
Earrings Vintage similar
Necklace "Scottie" LuxbyUK
 Bracelet The Cavernous Jewelry Box
Thin Gold Ring Etsy via Ellyn Blue Jewelry
Sunglasses "Meteor" Ray-Ban c/o TJMaxx
Nail Color "Caviar Bar" Essie




Linking up with Pink Sole's How I Fall

Thrift Mates

Whenever I find myself in Westport, I always want to stop at the Goodwill, as it's generally known that the wealthier the town, the more high end goodies are bound to end up getting donated. I probably spend a good hour and a half scouring the racks and filling my arms with anything that peaked my interest.

From the armload, I ended up with three pieces which fit, all of which were skirts. A printed Lilly Pulitzer skirt, a navy Dana Buchman wrap skirt, and this Kate Hill silk floral skirt. I decided I probably wouldn't get much wear from the Lilly and the Dana Buchman was overpriced, so I left with just the Kate Hill for $10.

It wasn't until I put together this look that I found my one and only other item by Kate Hill, which is this silk beaded shell, also thrifted sometime in 2014. I suppose they were just meant to be together!

Hard to believe we are over half way through October, and the warm weather we had when these photos were taken feels like ages ago. The cold settled in quickly, once again skipping over fall and going straight to winter. The lack of seasons is disheartening to say the least.

 beaded silk shell, brown floral print skirt, toe cap heels, scalloped felt hat-9.jpg beaded silk shell, brown floral print skirt, toe cap heels, scalloped felt hat-12.jpg beaded silk shell, brown floral print skirt, toe cap heels, scalloped felt hat-14.jpg beaded silk shell, brown floral print skirt, toe cap heels, scalloped felt hat-15.jpg beaded silk shell, brown floral print skirt, toe cap heels, scalloped felt hat-8.jpg beaded silk shell, brown floral print skirt, toe cap heels, scalloped felt hat-7.jpg beaded silk shell, brown floral print skirt, toe cap heels, scalloped felt hat-11.jpg beaded silk shell, brown floral print skirt, toe cap heels, scalloped felt hat-1.jpg
The Rundown
Beaded Silk Shell Kate Hill thrifted similar
Silk Floral Print Skirt Kate Hill thrifted similar
Toe Cap Pumps "Varesse 70" Shoes of Prey
Suede Accordion Bag Banana Republic similar
 Scalloped Brim Floppy Hat TJMaxx similar
Bracelet The Cavernous Jewelry Box
Pearl Ring Thrifted
Thin Gold Ring Etsy via Ellyn Blue Jewelry
Nail Color "Caviar Bar" Essie




Linking up with