Weekend Casual | White Dress + Chambray Shirt

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I've been meaning to put up this post since Friday morning. Since we got back from Mexico, I've been playing catch up at work. I've said this a few times in previous blog posts, but I'm so thankful for my colleagues and management. It's always a good feeling to return to work after vacation and have a team that supports you during your absence. Times like that makes me want to work that much harder for my company.

Here's a little about today's outfit. This little white dress I picked up at Banana Republic. It's a good staple for the summer. It's lightweight and comfortable. I also love the texture of the dress. This particular dress looks great with a belt or a shirt tied around the waist. The nude tote and sandals has proven to be a great additions to my closet. The bag can be used for work and play and the sandals look great with my summer dresses and rompers.

Here are a few of my favorite summer dresses from the Bloomingdales friends and family sales. Everything is currently 20%-25% off!

Dress - Banana Republic similar here
Shirt - Banana Republic
Tote - J.Crew
Sandals - Schutz Erlina Sandals c/o
Watch - Guess on sale

Photos by Lydia Hudgens

Home Tour | New York Apartment

Today I'm excited to share a few photos from my living room and office area. Over the last few years I've done a few updates to our apartment, but looking forward to updating everything this summer! Here's a look back at our place in 2013.

About the photos above, I somehow convinced Matt to help me strip the fireplace of all the paint and repaint it black. Our building is almost 100 years old, so several layers of paint have been applied to the fireplace over the years. After a week of scrapping off paint, we were finally done! Matt might disagree, but it was worth all the time and effort to restore this beauty. 

Sofa - ABC Home

Moroccan Rug - Overstock 

Coffee Table - Vintage 

Pillows - WestElm

Curtains - West Elm 

Papier- Mâché Deer Sculpture (photo above)

Batman loves his section sofa. Who knew a little pup needed to much space! 

What I'm wearing: 

ASOS Top

Reiss Trousers on sale

Zara Heels similar by Stuart Weitzman

The wall gallery is my favorite wall in our home. Most of the photos came from books and online prints. We also added our wedding signs "Señor" and "Señora" to our bar area. It's a reminder of our beautiful wedding day. 

The faux leather soft and vintage chairs are both from Craigslist. 

Desk - WestElem

Mirror table - WestElm

The mid century credenza is another find from Craigslist. I picked up the record player from Urban Outfitters. The Ficus Lyrata is one of my favorite plants. Growing up my mom always had beautiful plants in our house. I've always consulted my mom when taking care of plants, but it wasn't till I got the ficus lyrata that I learned how to "listen" to your plants.  They're very temperamental. So I'm careful about watering and sunlight. 

Coffee Table - Vintage
Mantel Painting - WestElm

Moroccan Pouf 

Side table - Vintage

Photos by Lydia Hudgens

Work Wear | Brightening Up Your Office Wardrobe

Wearing color to the office seems to be a struggle for a lot of corporate girls. I talk to my friends at work about this all the time. We all want to wear more colorful pieces to the office, but when you're out shopping the last thing we're thinking about is "work clothes".  J.Crew is on the top of my list (these are my favorite pencil skirts) when I want to brighten up my work wardrobe. If you're on a budget, check out J.Crew Factory and ASOS as they have a wide selection of skirts for the office.

For anyone who is looking for a lighter bag for the office, I picked up this tote from J.Crew (when I purchased the skirt) and it's been great to wear to work throughout the week.

Skirt - J.Crew 30% with code GOSHOPPING
Top - Banana Republic
Heels - DvF Bethany
Sunglasses - House of Harlow 1961
Lipstick - MAC Ruby Woo
Bag - J.Crew 30% of with code GOSHOPPING

Photos by Lydia Hudgens

Easy Hairstyle for Busy Mornings | Featuring Harry Josh Dryer

Like most corporate women, mornings are hectic and I don’t always have time to wash and curl my hair.

Just to give you an idea on my hair type, I have curly, frizzy hair -- and I have a lot of it! It can take 30-45 minutes to dry my hair after a shower. As you can imagine, I only do this twice a week. One trick I’ve learned, a twisted side braid is an easy way to quickly fix my hair and still look professional at the office. Here’s how I maintain my hair throughout the workweek.

I use a serum and dry shampoo to freshen up my bedhead. For anyone who hasn’t tried dry shampoo, the Klorane dry shampoo is my absolute favorite. I’ve been using it for three years and you’ll always find multiple bottles in my apartment (the travel size bottle is essential for business trips). Not to get too off subject, but Klorane just released a brunette-colored dry shampoo.  It still comes out a little chalky, but it can easily be absorbed in the hair by using a hair dryer and round bristle brush.  After using these two products, I blow dry the front of my hair to smooth out frizz and curls from sleeping.

For most of my adult life I’ve used drugstore hairdryers. I’m tough on my hair dryers, so I tend to buy a new dryer once a year. The Harry Josh 2000 Pro Dryer has been great to use the last few months. I love that it’s lightweight and compact. The dryer can easily fit in any suitcase. When traveling for business or pleasure I use hotel dryers and for my hair, it typically takes 10-15 additional minutes to blow dry my hair, which is never good when I’m on a tight schedule for meetings. A little about the Harry Josh dryer. It offers two power levels, high and low and gives you the option to use ion functionality. The ion feature is always on when I dry my hair because it reduces frizz in my hair. There is also a “cold air” option. If you want to put serum or dry shampoo in your hair, without the heat, this is a good option for you.

On the mornings I’m rushing to the office, here’s how I fix my hair to look professional at work. The best part about this look is that people think you spent hours doing your hair. I always get compliments from the men and women in my office when I do this to my hair.

Step 1: Apply a condition serum to your hair. I’m applying the Prive vanishing oil, that helps condition and restore my hair. It also leaves my hair soft and reduces frizz.

Step 2: Apply Klorane dry shampoo to your hairline and oily areas.

Step 3: Use a round brush and a hair dryer, I'm using the 2.5 inch Harry Josh round brush and the Harry John 2000 Pro Dryer, to blow out any curls or frizz.

Step 4: Begin by sectioning off a top portion and bring a second section over the top portion. It’s a basic twist, but you pull hair from your hairline.

Step 5: After braided, tie off with a small plastic rubber band. 

Step 6: Start twisting any remaining hair into a bun and bobby pin around the bun. 

That's it! You're done. Off to work you go! 

Right now, the DermStore is offering the Harry Josh 2000 Pro Dryer for 33% off with 3 free gifts.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial! This post was sponsored by DermStore. All options and thoughts were my own. Thank you for reading.  

Prive Vanishing Oil,
Klorane dry shampoo
Harry Josh 2.5 inch Round Brush
Harry Josh 2000 Pro Dryer

Photos by Lydia Hudgens

Makeup Travel Checklist for Business Trip

After a few years of traveling for work, I've learned that less is more when packing. I'm a light packer. I take an overnight tote for short trips and sometimes two day trips. Today, I'm going to share a few tips when packing for your next business trip. 

When it comes to makeup, I pack when I put on makeup for the trip. I go through my entire makeup routine and decide what is a necessity and what's a "good to have". 

EcoTools has created a set of brushes that are perfect for the busy business women. The Lovely Look  has a range of brushes to complete your look without taking up valuable space in your bag and for only $14.99 it's a great purchase for any woman.  What I love most about the EcoTools line is the softness of the bristle and the products are cruelty free.  These brushes are great to leave in your makeup travel bag, after washing and when not in use. The set includes all the essentials. A Foundation Brush, also great for applying under eye concealer. A Power Brush for overall coverage.  The Shadow Brush to apply a base shadow and accent color. The Flat Eyeliner Brush for under-eye shadow. Finally, an Angle Blush Brush to add color to your cheeks and blending. 

Not included in the set, but one of my favorite brushes to apply setting powder, is the Angled Kabuki Brush. I originally started using the brush because I love the softness of the brush. The way it feels on my skin after finishing off my routine is so relaxing. The combination of the brush and HD setting powder gives me longer coverage for my hectic business trips.  Oftentimes I used this setting powder and brush when my face looks oily, giving me a more matte and fresh look to my appearance. 

NARS Foundation $57

NARS Powder $55

MAC Blush $24

Make Up For Ever HD Setting Powder $19

EcoTools Angled Kabuki Brush $9.99

MAC Eyeshawdow Palette $40

EcoTools Lovely Looks Set $14.99

Kat Von D Eye Liner $19

MAC In Anticipation Lip Liner $20

Anastasia Perfect Brow Pencil $23

L'Oreal Mascara $8

MAC Ruby Woo Lipstick $16

MAC Please Me Lipstick $16

When traveling for business I always carry blush in my purse. After hours of traveling my makeup tends to wear off, so I quickly throw on coral color blush to brighten up my face. I also bring two different colors of lipstick when I travel. A day lipstick. This color is important because I need to be able to wear it to any type of meeting. Then I throw on a bright and bold lipstick. Often I make plans with friends outside of work, instead of packing a different outfit, I throw on my Ruby Woo lipstick and I'm ready for happy hour. 
 
Photos by Lydia Hudgens

Below is a checklist of what I bring when I travel for business. 

Thank you EcoTools for sponsoring this post.

Weekend Wear | Valentino + VillageLuxe

When it comes to online consignment, my favorite place to buy and sell clothing is Poshmark. So when I learned about VillageLuxe, a community where you can rent luxury clothing & accessories from fellow stylist, editors and fashion enthusiasts around New York City, I was thrilled! For New Yorkers, here's a great place for you to rent your own pieces to other women in Manhattan. If you have a pair of Valentino heels in your closet and haven't worn them for a few years, VillageLuxe is a great place for you to rent our your pieces.

There are so many amazing designer shoes, bags, dresses on VillageLuxe. There are so many bags I wanted to rent for a week, but I decided to get try out this pair of Frame ripped denim that I've been lusting over for months. The Valentino heels were an easy decision for me to make. I love my black patent leather pumps, the nude pair are great to complete any summer look. And last, the beloved Chanel bag. Red being my favorite color, this was a great piece to add to my outfits for the week. I love the durability of Chanel bags. 

For those interested, you can signup for VillageLuxe with access code CATWALK. The code is available for the first 100 users. Look forward to seeing what you find on VillageLuxe.

Blazer - J.Crew Blazer

Cami - J.Crew Factory Racerback Cami

Denim - Flame 'Le Color Rip' Skinny Jean c/o

Sunglasses - House of Harlow 1960

Heels - Valentino Patent T-Straps c/o

Bag - Chanel (similar style at ShopBop) c/o

Photos by Lydia Hudgens

White Denim + Boyfriend Shirt

One of the things I love about getting older, is seeing the success and happiness of my closest friends. This post is dedicated to one of my best friends, Nina. She recently took her passion for photography, full time.  Congrats to Nina!

We met in college. From the time we met in college to now, we've been through everything together;  crazy road trips, weddings and so much more. After college our paths crossed in San Francisco, but we quickly parted ways when she moved to Utah and I moved to New York.

We're both from Missouri and every once in a while, our paths cross. Several weeks ago we were both in Kansas City and we had an opportunity to shoot blog photos. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the shoot in downtown Kansas City.

Wearing a few of my favorite pieces for the summer. The boyfriend button-up is an easy piece to add to any closet. It can be worn to your 9-5 and then transitioned into a summer staple. After months of trying of white jeans, I finally found these high waist jeans by Hudson. They look great with crop tops and can be worn with a breezy summer top. The woven wedges by Michael Kors were an impulse purchase while shopping with my mom, but they've been a great addition to my summer shoes. Last, my mini Michael Kors Selma bag. This bag travels well and looks great with most of my looks for the season.

Denim - Hudson High Waist Jeans

Top - J.Crew 

Wedges - Michael Kors

Bag - Michael Kors mini Selma