DC Fashion Night Out

DC's Fashion Night Out is Scheduled for Thursday, September 8 from 6-11 pm in Georgetown.

Last year I was in SOHO in NYC for Fashion Night and it was pretty crazy and amazing to see everyone dressed to the nines in their most fashionable outfit. Seriously, you never saw so many girls teetering around on very, very painful looking shoes. Also, I saw the back of Gwen Stefani's head through the window of Sephora and Usher being escorted into a limo by big burly security guards. It will be interesting to see how the DC version compares. It looks like there are a bunch of events and sales going on. Definitely worth the trip out to Georgetown for a peek.

Oh dear...

I walked into Anne Taylor innocently enough this morning to just have a look around and walked out with a sequin skirt, satin pants and two shirts. What? Don't give me that look. It was 50% the sale price and I needed stuff to wear to work. Geez. Did I mention I scored the satin pants for $10? Ok, then.

To Cut or Not to Cut

Right now my hair is kind of ri-darn-diculously long and I kind of want to keep is that way. However, this coupon on Livingsocial is making me think about getting a little style change up. Currently I have side swept bangs ala LC:


But I'm thinking maybe it would be fun to have some straight on big bangs ala Camilla Belle:


What do you think? To cut or not to cut that is the question.

Apropos of nothing I am really in love with this braid!

(Image via FFFFound!)

A trip to the beach

My dears I had such a wonderful time at the beach last weekend. I had the wonderful opportunity to spend some time on Topsail Island in the Outerbanks of North Carolina. Topsail Island is a very laid back beach experience. The beaches are fairly uncrowded and the house we were at was five steps from the ocean. It really doesn't get any better than that! Enjoy some pictures from the trip!


The Intercoastal Water Way. The Outerbanks used to be Pirate county because the Intercoastal Water Way provided such great cover for the ships.


Topsail Island used to be the site of top secret missle testing. Here you can see one of the observation towers used by the military.
(Image via WWAY Channel 3)


And here you can see a house that was once a missile observation tower. I love how something that was once so sterile can become so inviting. Wouldn't it be lovely to spend a weekend here?


By far one of my favorite parts of the house we stay at is the enclosed outdoor shower. Have you ever used an outdoor shower before? It's so refreshing and wonderful to hear the waves crashing outside. It's such a unique experience and I always feel like singing "Gonna Wash that Man Right Out of my Hair"


Look up and you see nothing, but the sky...


...Look down and you see the see grasses coming though the deck.


A trip to Topsail wouldn't be complete without a trip to The Crab Pot restaurant. They have the best hushpuppies. I don't know why but the word hushpuppies always makes me giggle.


The outside of the Crab Pot. This is where I imagine that every and all Shag contests takes place.


Shag classes! Yes, please! I didn't know about this soon enough to take them this year, but I'm planning on doing it next year.


No offense to the Crab Pot, but we always make our own crab feast. This is the fishing boat that caught our crabs complete with shell souvenirs in front.


Yum!


The table all set for the crab feast. Complete with a newspaper table cloth.


And finally, an advertisement for Cheerwine, an awesome cherry flavored soft drink that's made in North Carolina. It's difficult to find it outside of the south, but if you do I highly recommend you try it. It's really tasty!

Back to reality...

I'm back from the beach and I want to go back already! I'm putting up more pictures of my trip tomorrow, but in the meantime enjoy a couple of pictures that I manipulated in Photoshop to look Hipstamatic. Sadly, I don't have a smart phone so I have to use what I have. These are from a walk Charlie and I took on the beach. Enjoy!

And I'm off!

I'm headed to the beach in for the next couple of days for my own personal Sun Fun Festival. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!


(Image via Being Glorious)


(Image via The Daily Beast)

One more day!

Just one more day before I head to the beach! I've got all my packing done.

U Street Shopping Trip

My friend Wendy and I head down to U Street to check out the Dog Days sales. See what we found below:


First stop a trip to Treasury to check out their nicely curated selection of vintage and contemporary clothing.


I'm also lusting after this purse. It would look great with a cocktail dress for a night on the town.


Wendy showing off a gorgeous 1920s shift. I'm dying for that print.


Next up a stop at Dr. K Vintage. Dr. K's feels a little like your grandmother's basement, where if you do a little digging you will be rewarded with an awesome find. I could sit in that chair and watch people try on vintage all day.


No shoplifting! I see you!


Last, but not least, we finished our trip at Ginger Root. Ginger Root sells revamped vintage clothing as well as jewelry.


My eye was immediately drawn to this ring. I love the polished geode.


Some revamped ties complete with funky pins.


Thank you! Come Again!

I'm testing out my teaching skills by teaching my friend Lauren how to knit. So far it's going well. Perhaps I have a new career ahead of me...

Go Martine!

My friend Martine and her awesome street style blog, Beyond Boston Chic, were featured on CNN! Congrats Martine!

Not to brag (or actually to totally brag) I was once lucky enough to grace BBC.



(Image via Beyond Boston Chic)

"A bubble flip is much better for shagging."

Just in time for my trip to the beach in North Carolina next weekend Vogue.com has done a feature on one of my favorite movies of all time, Shag. I think this means I will have to switch my vacation wardrobe from "Things to Wear on the Lanai" as originally planned to "Things to Wear to a Shag Contest." I will also be uploading the entire sound track to my Ipod.

And because I couldn't resist, a couple aweseme screen shots from the movie:

I'm still amazed that waitress can dance in roller skates.


I like to call this "Oh Nadine, do you really think I could win?"

Thanks to my super chic sister Tracy for pointing this out!

My birthday is only 111 shopping days away...

Thanks to the Daily Candy tip off on the consignment and vintage site The Syle Armory, I know what I want for my birthday and it's this necklace:


(Image via The Syle Armory)

I love the tribal feel without going overboard on the trend. I'm picturing it as a nice show piece against a simple black dress. Now, if only I could just suggest it ever so casually to the boyfriend...

About Town: Mid City Dog Days

Mid City Dog Days are happening this weekend, August 6-7. It's two days of side walk sales from businesses on and around U Street. You can find the complete list of participating businesses here. I hope you find something awesome!

Favorite Things

This post may veer strongly this into the schill-ish category (yes, I'm making up words now). What can I say when I like something a lot I want to tell people about it. Especially when that something comes from an independent designer who does amazing work. Va De Nuevo is a company based in Costa Rica that takes used leather jackets and pants and turns them into amazing bags. I discovered them on Etsy when I was looking for a unique leather bag that was sturdy and still looked fashionable, but not too trendy that it would be out of style in a year. I ended up with this bag:





It's incredibly well made and includes clever details, such as the cuff turned pocket. I always get compliments on it and feels good to know that I have a completely orginal bag. A bonus came in the personal email I was sent by the designer letting me that the bag had been shipped with a nice note about the bag. A little touch like that just made it all feel a bit more personal. Swing by the website and check out the other drool worthy bags if you have a moment.

(All images courtesy of the Va De Nuevo website)

Oversized Bun Courtesy of the Beauty Department

My lovelies have you discover the Beauty Department yet? It's Lauren Conrads site dedicated to trends and tips for hair and make-up. It's a great site that has simple how-tos and nice explanations on what the heck that brush is used for. I've always been team LC and now even more so.

My favorite part the very nicely photographed and easy to follow tutorials. Today I attempted The Fun Bun:

(Image via The Beauty Department)

My version unfortunately was falling down when I took this picture. Still, I feel very late 1960s Oscar attendee. Fun!