Style Crush Saturday

I have followed Helena Glazer of Brooklyn Blonde for years. I've always admired her minimalistic and sophisticated style. She is also the perfect example of maximizing your closet by combining different styles with her classic yet edgy ensembles. I love how she pairs a structured, button down blouse with distressed denim and super chic pumps. I definitely have to give her credit for convincing me to try pointed-toe pumps-and now I'm addicted! And her blazer and coat collection could make anyone a tad green with envy. I chose this particular look for my Style Crush Saturday because it is so versatile. A patterned blouse is a must for building your wardrobe. You can dress it up with a pencil skirt, keep it dressy casual like Helena did with distressed denim and heels, or make it casual with denim shorts and converse sneakers. 

Helena of Brooklyn Blonde in Equipment, AG Denim, Schutz, Chanel and Hermès.

Check out her post here.

But, just because a patterned blouse is a great addition to your closet, it doesn't have to be expensive. Even though I absolutely love Helena's Equipment blouse, it retails for over $200. I have to be budget conscious and snagged this look-a-like from Loft, which was originally $60 and is now on sale for less than $35. Some of my most popular posts have been "look for less" posts, so I wanted to show you firsthand how you can recreate your favorite looks while maintaining your own personal style. You may have noticed I went with a pair of high waisted jeans versus the low rise style Helena wore. When recreating looks, remember to make it work for you. I'm curvy on the bottom, so one of the most flattering denim styles on me is the high waisted silhouette, and I typically don't wear baby blue, so I went with a neutral colored blouse. Don't be afraid to add your personal twist to your favorite fashion inspirations. Make it your own! Here's how I styled Helena's look:

Top: Loft Utility Striped Blouse

Jeans: F21 High-Rise Jeans

Shoes: Jessica Simpson Claudette Heels

Bag: Quilted Velveteen Crossbody

Watch: Michael Kors Mid-Size Bradshaw

Bracelet: F21 Linear Cuff Set

Necklace: Michael Kors Pavé Thin Bar

Sunglasses: Marc by Marc Jacobs 57mm Retro 

Hope you were inspired to try something new! xo

I Can't Get Enough of: Pastels

We all know that pastels have made another come around for this spring, but I couldn't help myself from making an inspiration board featuring some pastels I've been crushing on. Pastels can be a great addition to your closet no matter what your personal style is. If you're a tomboy and love distressed denim, get an edgier pastel piece-like a motorcycle jacket. If you're edgier and wear a lot of dark colors, grab a pair of metallic, pastel sandals to contrast your all black ensembles. And if you're a girly girl like me, it's not hard at all to integrate pastels into your closet. Check out some of my favorite pastel pieces below!

Just because I'm still crushing on my look from last week's post, and it shows off how obsessed I am with pastels.

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Hope you were inspired to try something new! xo

Last Minute Valentine's Day Outfit

Still don't know what to wear for Valentine's Day and it's like...TODAY!?! Don't worry; I've got just the right solution for you! Grab that New Year's dress you never got around to wearing, throw on a jeweled belt, and rock your favorite motorcycle jacket to create a whole new look that your significant other (or girlfriends if you're celebrating Galentine's Day) will love! And if you want a reason to shop for an entirely new dress, check out this post for Valentine's Day outfit inspiration! 

Hope you were inspired to try something new! xo

Treat Yourself This Valentine's Day

Even though I absolutely love when people buy me things-I mean, really, who doesn't-but I always say, some of the best gifts I've received were the gifts I bought for myself. Valentine's Day isn't just for couples, it's for just you as well! Hey, this might sound corny, but nobody can love you like you love yourself! There's nothing wrong with showing yourself a little love this Valentine's Day. 

So, spend that money that's been burning a hole in your pocket and get that super splurge item that's been sitting in your online shopping cart for the past three months. You never know, it may even be on sale by now (words from a shopaholic). Because a sale constitutes a shopping spree right? Yep, thought so! Happy shopping ladies and have a great Valentine's Day! I hope your day will be filled with more chocolate and pampering than you can handle! 

I'm definitely missing the romance of Paris. 

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Hope you were inspired to try something new! xo

My Trip to Brussels, Belgium

My mom and I ventured out on our own for two days and visited Brussels, Belgium, which was only a 3 hour train ride. Getting to our hotel was the hard part-it took us nearly 2 hours to find our hotel...our hotel was only a mile away from the train station. I guess our sense of direction wasn't as great as we thought. But, it was definitely "an adventure" as my mom likes to say. I will say that the 2 hour, 1 mile walk was so worth it once we arrived to our hotel. 

We chose to stay at Meininger Hotel because of its vicinity to the city centre, and we were so glad we picked this hotel. It was super urban and was uniquely decorated (a chandelier made of wine bottles hung over the hotel lobby). And our room was even better! We had two full-sized beds, a couch to lounge on, small nook, and a huge bathroom (which had a sink decked out in iridescent tile). And the hotel didn't just amaze us on looks, Meininger Hotel offered a free walking tour around Brussels' most iconic areas. We were first on the sign up sheet!

We decided to stay in the night we arrived-we were still so jet lagged. We only left the hotel for a quick window shopping trip, drinks, and dinner. Walvis was a very hipster-vibe cafe that sat right across from La Belle Équipe, which is where we ate dinner. The restaurant offered a huge variety of classic pizzas-you can never go wrong with pizza right? But nothing beats a European pizza-I've been craving La Belle Équipe's pizza since we returned home. After our excellent dinner, we went back to the hotel to rest up for our walking tour the next morning.

My mom and I woke up super early for breakfast and we were first in line for the walking tour. I've been on several different walking tours, but this one in Brussels was the absolute best. Our tour guide was witty, fun, and extremely well-versed in Brussels history-especially since he's been living in Brussels for only five years. He took us to Grand Place, Manneken Pis, Palais Royal de Bruxelles, Mont des Arts Garden, and so much more. Grand Place was truly breathtaking and the buildings looked so unreal, you had to touch them to know they were really there and not imagined. 

Grand Place-No picture can do this square justice-it is perfection in person.

 Yes, these waffles were just as good as they look (drooling now).

My first (and only) Belgian beer from Scott's Bar.

Manneken Pis (even though Brooke and her husband warned us, we still weren't prepared for how small he was)

Mont des Arts Garden

After our tour, my mom and I went to get Belgian chocolate from Elisabeth (recommended by our awesome tour guide). All it took was a sample of Elisabeth chocolate, and we were hooked! This was the best chocolate I'd ever eaten. After stocking up on chocolate-saying my mom is obsessed with chocolate is an understatement-we went to Drug Opera for lunch (suggested by the wonderful worker at Elisabeth). Our service and meal was fantastic. I had a pesto pasta and mom had pizza again! We finished our lunch off with a Crème Brûlée. It was the best way to end our afternoon in Brussels. 

Our time in Brussels was awesome and we got to see so much of the city. We returned to spend the rest of our trip in Luxembourg later than evening. This was yet another amazing trip with my mom and it was so fun spending time with my friend Brooke and her family. Hope you guys enjoyed the photos from my trip!

Hope you were inspired to try something new! xo

My Trip To Paris, France

Paris was absolutely amazing! I could visit Paris over and over again-I'm already planning a trip back for 2017 with one of my best friends. My mom, Brooke, Brynn (Brooke's adorable 6-month-old daughter) and I took a train from Luxembourg to Paris-and we arrived in Paris 3 hours later. 

Mom, Brooke, and I ready for our overnight trip to Paris, France.

Once we arrived in Paris, we checked into our hotel, L'Ocean. The hotel was perfect, and the staff was so kind and accommodating! After we settled into our rooms, we ventured out to the Champs-Élysées. There, we walked to the Arc de Triomphe and window shopped at some amazing clothing boutiques. 

Our great views from the hotel room. Every building looked like a work of art.

After taking the typical tourist photo at the Arc de Triomphe and walking through the Louis Vuitton Flagship store, we headed to Le Deauville located in the middle of the Champs-Élysées. Our dinner was great. My mom ordered a salmon dish, Brooke chose a fish and chips combo, and I went with steak and fries. My steak was cooked to perfection and was complemented with a special sauce! Our waiter was awesome and extremely helpful when it came to reading the menu. He was even nice enough to take a photo of the three of us. 

We finished our meals at Le Deauville and we all agreed that Ladurée was obviously the best destination for dessert. I experienced Ladurée for the first time in Soho, during my visit to New York last September-but Ladurée in Paris was a totally different experience. It was a sweet lover's dream. I stocked up on macaroons and bought a Ladurée keychain as a souvenir. 

With full bellies, we took a metro to The Louvre. There, we saw the portrait of Mona Lisa, Marly Horses, Aphrodite (Venus de Milo), Winged Victory of Samothrace, and so much more. All of it was truly breathtaking! We could have spent days at The Louvre. It was also so much fun to see artists hanging around the museum as they sketched some of these masterpieces. The Louvre is definitely one of the coolest places I've ever been. 

Outside The Louvre.

Artists sketching the Marly Horses.

Winged Victory of Samothrace.

Later that night, we went to see the Eiffel Tower at night and it was so surreal-and we were lucky enough to get a quick glimpse of the Eiffel Tower's light show. And by the time we reached the Eiffel Tower, we had definitely walked off our dinner and dessert, and made room for crêpes-because who doesn't make room for crêpes? There was a small crêpe shop right across from the Eiffel Tower. My mom (chocolate lover) and Brooke ordered Nutella crêpes and I got a honey and banana crêpe. It was a great end to our first night in Paris!

This crêpe shop was amazing! Watching him make the crêpe was so cool and of course getting to eat the crêpes was even better!

We woke up early the next morning to see the Eiffel Tower during the day and seeing it again was just as amazing as the first time. The weather was perfect-the sky was a little foggy, but you could see the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. 

After our short trip back to the Eiffel Tower, we went back to the hotel lobby to relax a bit. Later, I explored Paris by myself, got a little lost, then asked for directions, only to be led the wrong way-but came across tons of fun boutiques, and I finally somehow found my way back to the hotel again. My mom joined me on a walk to a hallway of shops-it seriously looked like a scene from Harry Potter. 

Some delicious sweets in a Paris bakery.

Once we got back to the hotel, Brynn was asleep, so Brooke and my mom went to see Sacré-Cœur Basilica. They were able to take a trolley up to the church and took amazing photos of Paris. Once they returned to the hotel, we made our way to the Paris train station, ate dinner, shopped, and headed back to Luxembourg. 

My beautiful mom!

I hope you enjoyed the photos from my short trip to Paris, France. Check back later this week for my Brussels, Belgium post.

Hope you were inspired to try something new! xo