Playgrounds & Lollipops - Hello Preston

{sweater, blouse & bracelet - J.Crew; jeans - Gap; heels - Kate Spade; necklaces - Juicy Couture & vintage; 

glasses - Warby Parker Preston in Whiskey Tortoise} Photos taken by M.Shanti Photo

I've been wearing glasses for 27 years.  I had just started the 3rd grade and my first pair were translucent pink.  I'm sure I went through a couple of more pairs that are none too memorable, until 7th grade, when I chose a pair of bright jade green Liz Claiborne frames that bore a striking resemblance to the ones Sally Jesse Raphael wore, but in red.  I thought they were cool, until a friend pointed out the uncanny resemblance.  I was stuck with those suckers until my mom finally allowed me my first pair of contact lenses in 9th grade.  Since then I've only ever worn contact lenses, and only wore my glasses at night before bed time.  But these frames have finally gotten me to trade in my contacts.  I couldn't be happier with them, and even with my bad prescription and the special lenses they had to put in, they are still nice and light weight and aren't geeky thick.  Thanks so much for all your help in helping to pick this pair.  You guys are neat :)

Yes, I wear glasses.  No, I'm not trying to be hipster; I actually need them.  Classic.  Linking up with Lindsey and Jill

Style Inspiration - Sorbet & Macaroon

{Alice & Olivia images via Style.Com, Polaroid borders created by me using Pugly Pixel extras}

In between editing images last night from our trip, I browsed around Style.com and began to get inspired by Spring 2012!  It's just around the corner, and the temps here in southern California this week tell me so; high 70's all week baby.  Of course we'll hit our usual cold spell come February, but until then I'm really enjoying these images from Alice & Olivia and J.Crew's spring 2012 collections.  Still lots of color, but more muted, softer, paler shades of sherbet, pistachio and lemon.  They remind me of pretty macaroons or ice cream flavors.  And I'm in love with all the capris and midi skirts.  I can't wait to use these images to inspire some of my own style posts in a couple of months.   

And I'm not sure what's come over me, but I've suddenly been hit with a bit of blogging inspiration myself and brainstormed some fun posts for the coming weeks; posts that are both helpful and interesting (I hope - maybe I shouldn't over promise anything).  At any rate, it's the new year and I'm feeling refreshed!  Helping to get me a little more motivated to have fun here are the Pugly Pixel extras I recently signed up for.  For $5 you get 30 day unlimited access to her fantastic Photoshop gadgets, like the tinsel brush I used to create the Happy New Year lettering in this post, and the Polaroid borders for this post.  Go check her out if you're interested in some top-notch, fun and quirky extras.  Have a great Tuesday folks!  Off to do a little Meals On Wheels delivering and then to finally return some things at the mall.  

{J. Crew images via Style.Com, Polaroid borders created by me using Pugly Pixel extras}

Much Too Much?

{Hat: Tarnish; Trench, Silk Crepe Shirt & Tank: James Perse; Pants: J. Crew;  

Sandals: Sam Edelman; Necklace: Juicy Couture; Earrings: The Rusted Chain; Nail Polish: Essie Boat House}  

I may be wrong but it seems to me that hats, especially fedoras, draw a lot of attention.  When I met up with JJ and Rachel last month for a Blog Sugar planning dinner and wore this hat, it became the subject of a running joke for about a week, all in good fun of course. I do think it takes a bit of courage to pull off bold accessories and statement pieces, and some days you feel it and some days you don't.

I met one of my favorite bloggers Jules for lunch last week and I wore this outfit, but ditched the hat.  I took it off at the last minute because it seemed just a little too much for a first time meet and greet.  I do love it, but might just wear it in the confines of my own home, which I wouldn't mind a bit.  Just me and my hat, walking around the house together.  We had a great time at lunch though and I got to meet Emily as well.  Between a tardy sitter and a lot of traffic getting out to the IE, I ended up being 30 minutes late.  Way to make a great first impression.  All was forgiven though and we talked shop for about 2 hours and laughed a lot.  In the end I was glad I left the hat at home because I don't think it could have handled being the butt of another joke.  I've got to protect its self esteem you know.    

Are there accessories or trends that you love, but feel a little shy or intimidated to wear?  What holds you back, or what pushes you forward to try something new?  I'll also get back to my "lessons learned" type of P&L posts next week.  I think I've just felt a little fried these last couple of weeks to properly coordinate a nice little lesson plan :)  Have a great weekend everyone!  We have our Anniversary date night today and I still need a gift, but I've got plenty of ideas!  Thanks everyone for your wonderful suggestions, now to just decide today...

I'm linking up for the first time to Real Momma Real Style!