OOTD - layering

Dress & Sweater? Madewell. Blouse? H&M. Shoes? Brian Atwood.

You guys, I have a confession to make. I am terrible at layering. This outfit literally took me about 30 minutes to figure out. Waaaay too long.

Anyway, hope you all are having an awesome week so far. Happy Thursday!

reggie is not my dog

Reggie is not my dog. He's actually a family dog, or if we are going to be really accurate, he's my moms.

My parents got a divorce this past year. It was unexpected, messy and it completely changed our whole family. I won't get into the details, but all you need to know for the sake of this story is that my mom had an extremely difficult time with the divorce due to the circumstances that surrounded it. My boyfriend and I would stop by her house often to visit and we would always bring Pig to cheer her up. My mom loves Pig.

A few months ago, my boyfriend decided to breed Pig. My brother and I had thrown around the idea of buying my mom a dog to keep her company but my mom would always say she didn't want a dog. We should have listened to her, since you know, she told us she didn't want a dog, but when Pig's lady dog had puppies we of course had to go check them out.

I bought Reggie, the first dog my family has ever had, and kept him at my apartment during the week so we could surprise my mom on the weekend. This was probably a mistake. I have never owned a dog before so I had no idea I would get so attached to him in such a short time. By the end of the week when we were supposed to bring the dog to my mom I cried all day because I wanted to keep him. After a pep-talk from the BF I decided the only option was to give the dog to my mom like we planned.

My mom was shocked and so very excited about Reggie, immediately calling all her friends and family to tell them the good news. I was really happy for her and it made it worth giving up the dog. My mom asked if we could keep him until the next weekend so she could get some puppy supplies and get ready for him to live with her, so we took Reggie back to the city.

The next day I got a call from my mom, and she broke down. She was incredibly grateful for Reggie but totally overwhelmed and felt pressured to have him when she wasn't ready. I felt horrible. This was supposed to be a gift and instead it made my mom uncomfortable. She kept telling me it was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her which is why she felt bad being upset. I understood and offered to take Reggie until she was ready.

Months have passed and I still have Reggie living with me. I visit my mom every few weeks and bring the dog so she can see him, but she never asks to have him back. I don't know if my mom will ever take Reggie but as more time goes on I know it will be harder to give him up. My boyfriend says that I did this on purpose so that I could keep him, but I promise that was never my plan. I just didn't have the heart to force this responsibility on my mom after she came to me so upset. It wouldn't have been right.

So for now Reggie is staying with me, or actually with my boyfriend. My roommate doesn't want Reggie in our apartment so we are both temporarily staying at his place until I figure something out. And I will. But whatever happens, if my mom takes him or I move into a new place, I am glad that I bought the little nugget and that he is now a part of my family.

black and white inspiration

This is probably going to make me look like I am obsessed with Madewell since my last few posts have been about Madewell clothing (and maybe I am a little bit obsessed...) but when I saw this photo on Pinterest I knew that I had to recreate it:

Of course, I changed it up a bit to be more office appropriate, but here is my version:

Scarf & shirt? Madewell. Sweater? Uniqlo. Skirt? AnnTaylor. Belt? F21

new bag

You guys I'm so excited! My new bag from Madewell just arrived in the mail today. I got such a good deal I have to tell you all about it. It was on sale and then Madewell was offering 40% off all sales items and then I had a gift card my brother gave me for Christmas. When all was said and done, I spent less than $30 on a bag that was originally almost $200. Not bad right?

What's the best deal you ever got on something you really wanted?

there's no place like home

There's no place like home, but I don't have a home anymore. I have an apartment in the city and my mom still lives in the house that I grew up in, but I don't have a home. I'm sitting in my boyfriends apartment with one dog on my lap and the other laying next to me, trying to relax, but this place is not my home. There is no familiarity, no comfort, or time to be myself.

It's like I've been living out of a suitcase for the last few years. I can't seem to unpack my things and build a space for myself. I live as though I'm in someone else's home, tiptoeing around, being polite, and staying out of the way. I am waiting for this vacation to be over. I want to go home.

I want all of the things

My favorite picks from the new items at Madewell. Honestly though, I would seriously buy everything from their new line :)

sometimes I just can't get it together

I've been trying to make my own lunch for work to save money and most of the time I do and it's not a problem. It takes about 30 minutes and then I'm good to go for the next day.

Last night was not one of those times. The thought of making even a sandwich was too much so I put some lunch meat in a plastic bag and called it a day.

Needless to say, it was not my favorite meal :)

OOTD - spots!

Sweater? Loft. Shirt? H&M. Belt? Forever 21. Necklace? Ann Taylor

Pants? Banana Republic. Shoes? Brian Atwood. 

A few months ago when I was buying a Kate Spade iPhone case I saw one of the employees wearing this shirt. I fell in love with it and figured it was from Kate Spade but since I have been trying to keep my clothing budget to a minimum (which is hard since I work a few blocks away from Union Square in SF) I didn't ask the employee because I figured it was out of my budget.

On my way home I passed H&M and this shirt was in the window! I walked in to see how much it cost and it was something around $20 so I decided to buy it. I brought it home to show the BF, excited for my find, and he gave me a weird look. "What animal is that supposed to be?"

......good question, is it dalmatian? So I ask you fellow bloggers, what is this print? Is it a little Cruella De Vil or just random spots?

taking care of the pup and a weekend recap

Happy Monday folks! I hope you all had a nice weekend. Mine was pretty boring, I didn't end up doing anything very exciting but I got a lot done which is a plus.

Friday:

I made this chicken stir fry recipe from my Food Network crush Tyler. Seriously, my mom and I used to talk about how I should marry this guy someday. He's cute and he cooks.... :)

The recipe was delish and super easy. If you are looking for a good stir fry I would definitely try this out. The bf even gave his approval.

via FoodNetwork.com

Saturday:

My lovely friend Jen took pictures of me for my social media profiles and for work. I figured I needed an update since the last ones were taken almost two years ago.

If you are in the SF Bay Area and need your picture taken for anything please consider Jen. She is a great photographer and she's also sweet and fun to work with- especially for you awkward people like me! Here's a sneak peak of her work:

The rest of Saturday was spent doing laundry because my puppy peed on my bed twice and then threw up all over my blankets after getting a little too aggressive chewing on a bone and gagging himself. I know, I should obviously never let my dog on my bed again or give him any bones or toys but you know, it is what it is.

Oh and I got completely caught up on Nashville. Do you guys watch this show? You should. It's AMAZING!!!!!!!! And full of country music.

Sunday:

Yesterday was supposed to be spent at a brunch in the city and then getting ready for the work week but instead I ended up going to the East Bay to visit my mom and taking Reggie to doggie Urgent Care because he had a horrible bacterial/yeast infection in his ear :(

Poor guy was acting weird all day and then kept scratching his ear. The good thing is it came on fast and we caught it early so he's not in a lot of pain, the bad news is he is quickly competing to be the most expensive dog in the world. Do you know how much an urgent care appointment costs for a dog? Too much my friends, too much.

What did you guys do over the weekend? Did you do anything fun?

OOTD - black white yellow

I love black, white and yellow mixed together in outfits. I think it's so fresh and bright! In fact, one of my girlfriend's, took pictures of me this weekend and I knew I wanted to wear these colors. I will post the pictures once she edits and then passes them on to me.

Sweater? BR. Top? Old Navy. Jeans? Levi's. Boots? Steve Madden.

I love Kate Spade

I could create a whole blog about how much I love the clothes and accessories from Kate Spade. Everything from bright and fresh designs to the quirky details, I really haven't found a piece I don't like. However, today I am going to talk about the customer service I get every time I go into a Kate Spade store.

I am on my 4th Kate Spade iPhone case. While I'm not super careful with my phone, I never drop it or do anything that would break the case. So each time that my case would break (honestly it was always within a few weeks after getting a new one) I would go to Kate Spade and they would happily replace it every.single.time!

I guess I wasn't the only person having problems with their iPhone cases because they recently changed the design so that they would be stronger and hold up better. The new design has been great so far and my case looks like it did the day I bought it.

My point is, it's amazing what good customer service can do for your business. Because the Kate Spade employees have helped me with the issues I have had with my phone case, I have returned as a loyal customer multiple times.

I can't always afford Kate Spade products, but I always think of them first when I am buying a gift for someone or if I need something myself. I bought my mom earrings for Christmas, and will be buying my friend a wedding gift in the next few weeks.

So thank you Kate Spade, for the wonderful products and services you provide. It's nice to know you can count on a brand!

OOTD - rain rain go away

I wore this outfit last week when it poured for the first time in about a month. Something about the gross rainy day and the dark colors didn't really make me feel good in this. I almost didn't post it on the blog but not every outfit can be a winner :)

love Ban-do

Have you  guys ever bought anything from Ban.do? I haven't yet, but I really want to! They have the best accessories and they aren't too expensive. Here are my favs:

Pom Pom Flower

Signature Scarf

Heart

Sequin Scarf

Mini Pom Pom Flower

Flash Bobbi Set

Sparkle and Shine Bobbi Set

Glitter Bomb Bobbi

Flurry Pouf

Sparkle and Shine

frenchie friday

Hello friends! Today's Frenchie Friday is all about my pup Reggie. In all fairness, Reggie is actually not my dog, but that is a story for another day. Enjoy!

                                 

OOTD - feeling like spring

I know it's still January, but man it's been feeling like spring lately. I decided to take full advantage of the nice weather yesterday and show off my pasty bare legs. Good thing too, because today it decided to pour rain and I had to break out my tights and boots again. Oh summer, I can't wait for you to be here!

Jacket & blouse? Zara. Skirt? LOFT. Shoes? Target.

My new Kate Spade iPhone case! Sorry it's backwards :/

currently craving pretty summer dresses

You guys, I hate winter. I really don't like being cold and it drives me insane when it'as dark as I wake up and dark as I leave work. Luckily, winter is only going to last 2 more months in San Francisco and the weather will start to turn around. I am already getting ready for spring and summer by creating a wishlist of pretty summer dresses. Here are some of my favorites:

Loft

Nordstrom

GAP

Madewell