style

sunday comfort

Does social media ever make you feel inadequate when you get dressed to go enjoy your day off? Being a “blogger”, I know this feeling all too well. Since I follow so many amazing creatives, I have a bad case of comparison envy and often have to snap myself out of it. It’s never a full picture of reality and it’s often the product of an hour of makeup application and another hour of taking photos just for that one shot.

Anyways all of that is to say, I wanted to show you an outfit that I ACTUALLY wore for an ACTUAL Sunday off in my real life. Our day’s plans consisted of breakfast and strolling around for Sunday In the Park (see previous blog entry) at Oakland Cemetery. More often than not, this how I actually dress for my days of ease and comfort. What you typically see in my outfit posts is how I dress for work and for blog photos. Full disclosure, I work at Anthropologie and so yes, it is by definition my job to dress well.

Everything I’m wearing in these photos are items I got for a steal, that I happened upon due to sheer luck. My hair is second day waves and I couldn’t be bothered to put in contacts or wear any makeup. Luckily there was a slight chill in the air and I was having a pretty good skin day. All I needed was a delicious latte from Octane and I knew my day was gonna be awesome.

there’s a chill in the air

If you were ever in doubt of what your closet might need for fall, it’s almost all here in this outfit. Every single piece of this look can often be found with every other piece I wear. A moto style jacket, a pullover sweater, black stretch denim, and booties. I put them all together to show you that casual doesn’t have to mean sloppy. The neutral palette from head to toe keeps it simple, but chic. I got so many compliments in this outfit, but not like about the actual clothes – all the comments were like “you look really good” or “you look really pretty”. This tells me that I wore the outfit, not the other way around. I’m confident that almost anyone could pull off this look, and in varying tones of fall colors like creamy whites, maroon, forest greens, and navy.

And let me tell you about the non-Anthro accessories which go so well with this look. The sunnies are from Urban Outfitters, and I’ve worn them nonstop all year long. I’ve even bought different colors for different moods! The lovely asymmetrical gemstone threader earrings are made by a dear friend of mine, Stone + Arrow.

sweater / jacket / citizen denim / boots
earrings by stone + arrow

first days of fall

dress / necklace / hat

forest musing

dress / belt / hat

no sweat

turtleneck / anthropologie
pants / anthropologie
sunglasses / urban outfitters
heels / matisse via sinclair’s mercantile
necklace / anthropologie

summer wrap up

sinclair’s mercantile

The longer I go on blogging, the more I want to get into vlogging. Why? For one, pictures say a thousand words but then videos say 10,000. Secondly I think my genuine reaction in real-time would be so much more entertaining than coming here and trying to rehash the experience. Do you watch food network? I basically want to be Guy Fieri but also touring shops, testing products, and interviewing artists, et cetera. How do I become a famous personality so that people become interested in my opinion?… I guess I’ll just keep working on it. If you know anyone looking to make a TV show featuring me, let me know.

For this blog post/episode, I’m pleased to introduce you to Sinclair’s Mercantile, a newly opened lifestyle boutique down in the heart of McDonough. Where’s that, you ask? It’s about a 45 minute drive South of Atlanta. So not TOO far, but far enough (for me) where this really has to be a purposeful visit. Which is really just fine seeing as how Lanie Beth and her husband Brad have made it their mission to create a beautiful open space with just about anything you’d need to enhance your wardrobe. If half my bank account wasn’t already committed to Anthropologie, then I’d be spending a whole lot of it here.

The duo has paid careful attention to what comes into their shop, in regards to both assortment and origin. It’s truly a shop for the whole family and includes thoughtful accessories for life and home as well. Being that they are in the heart of a small town, they knew it was going to be quite a big risk to bring in premium denim and designer names. Somehow though they’ve managed to create a balance – I can tell it was an intentional focus – between accessibility and aspiration. I couldn’t really resist and I bought a ring for $14 and bangin’ Matisse shoes for less than $100.

I’m a shop girl at heart so I love things.

creative makers: lauren friday

Boy, it’s getting harder and harder to write introductions that do my subjects justice. I’m surrounded by so many creators in my life, amazing women who conquer fears every single day and inspire every person they know. I don’t want to start sounding repetitive but there are just not enough words. Not enough words. This particular darling of a gem is someone I’ve admired from the day I met her; she has always had a fearlessness about her (although I’m sure she’d argue otherwise), a confidence that was so evident yet still humble. She’s just one of those people who loves people and you can see it radiate in how genuinely she presents herself. I strive for that sort of graceful transparency, and I couldn’t do it without role models like Lauren.

Tell me more about what you do.

I currently work for a brand new educational business named The Callback Company. It is a company focused on training students of any age how to audition well based on their own skills. We provide Broadway masterclasses, seminars, cabaret performances, local showcases and NYC showcases to help broaden our students horizons and give them the skills needed to succeed in the professional world. We also help high school students prepare for their college auditions so they have an even bigger shot at getting into their dream program. It has been an amazingly fulfilling experience.

So what’s your average day look like?

To be truthful, I don’t feel like I have an “average day”. Since I have so many different projects, it’s all about prioritizing and multitasking. Every day begins the same, however, with a bountiful amount of coffee.

What inspires you? How do you stay motivated?

I have to find the tiny joys within each day. The small victories often lead to giant ones. I also have an amazing support system that surrounds me. I try to fill my life with the most creative and positive people there are and gain strength and motivation from their encouragement and talents of their own. Inspiration is all around me, I think. I can be inspired by commotion or stillness. The challenge I face most often when it comes to inspiration is being in the correct mindset to see it. I feel like as an artist living in this world as it is today, it is hard to take yourself out of the daily grind long enough to truly experience your surroundings. This is something I am working on. The tactic that works the best for me is changing my scenery and other elements in my environment.

just a touch of trend

I’m going to be real with you guys. There’s just not enough time to take a picture with a nice camera and edit it and all that jazz. But, I had to share this outfit because I genuinely love it and what’s more – is that I’m surprised I love it.

I don’t know if I’ve ever had a cargo pant and I wouldn’t call myself a lace-up lover but somehow, both of these work perfectly together. All from Anthro, as per usual. I think the key here is all about fit. There’s no point in indulging in trends unless it fits you to a tee. Also it helps that this look is all neutral colors aka foolproof!