French Women Inspiration | Striped Dress + Nude Heels

French women have been my style inspiration my several years. Their style is always elegant and timeless. They stick with simple pieces and never go overboard on any trend. Here are some of my own fashion advice to dress like the French...

1. Jewelry - as much as I love bracelets, necklaces and rings, I never wear too much jewelry

2. Makeup - I use cover up for my freckles, but like all natural for my overall foundation and eye shadow 

3. Lipstick - my lips are always bright and this brightens up my face and any outfit

4. Heels - never underestimate the power of nude heels

5. Stripes - black and white stripes give you a clean finish to any outfit

(Here & here are two articles that discuss tips on dressing like French women)

This Warehouse dress I found on Poshmark for $25! I got this dress as part of a bundle with my J.Crew trousers. Right now the dress is on sale for $33 on Asos. So if you're in need for a great summer striped dress, be sure to check out this dress online. 

Equipment Dress on super sale!  (TopShop, Lord & Taylor)
Michael Kors Tote 
Prada Sunnies (NastyGal, Sole Society)
Zara Heels (love these ASOS heels)
Banana Republic Bracelet


Photos by Lydia Hudgens

What to Wear to Work | Mixing Colorful Pieces

Zara Top (similar Banana Republic, ShopBop,TIBI, JC Penny) 

J.Crew Pants (similar Tory Burch, Reiss, Ann Taylor)  

Zara Heels (similar from NastyGal)

Coach Bag (love this newer Coach purse)

Karen Walker Sunnies

J.Crew Necklace (similar)

My outfit post are finally back up! Today's outfit is becoming one of my favorites. These trousers from J.Crew are so comfortable and fit me perfectly. The pants needed to be tailored, but I did it by hand. It may have taken me an hour to hand stitch both pant legs. I found these pants on super sale on PoshMark

for $25! That's 75% off retail price. Needless to say, I was thrilled when I got these in the mail. They are from from last year's collection, but the material is just as beautiful as this year. 

If you're on the lookout for new pants for work, I'd recommend the J.Crew trousers. They're currently on sale for 30% off. They come in three different colors; grey, black and navy. Although they're wool, they are a light material and so comfortable. My only complaint is that they wrinkle easily, so don't throw them on a chair (like I did yesterday). Try and hang them up immediately and you'll save yourself time from pressing them the next time you wear them to work. 

My bright color cropped shirt is a good compliment to the dark navy trousers and nude pumps and bag. This outfit was an easy outfit to master when returning to the office from a 10 day hiatus.

Photos by Lydia Hudgens

Please Join Me in NYC for a PoshParty June 26th

Hello everyone! I'm back in New York [insert sad face]. We're planning on taking our honeymoon over Thanksgiving...perhaps Paris and Amsterdam (time to start saving again). As for the wedding details, I cannot wait to share all the details! The last few days I've taken some time to unwind and get back in the hang of things. Considering I wanted to wear my swimsuit to work today, I think I'm still recovering from all the fun we had in Mexico! In a few weeks I'll receive all the professional wedding photos and outfit pics I wore during the wedding celebration, so stay tuned. I'll also continue to share tips and recommendations on wedding planning. I'm trying to convince my Maid of Honor to write a blog post on how to be the most amazing MOH. Without her, my wedding would have been a disaster! 

Till then...I'd like to share an upcoming event in NYC hosted by my favorite app, POSHMARK! If you're in the area next Thursday, June 26th I'd like to invite you to The Delancey to enjoy food, drinks and mingling with me and four other bloggers (Sarah, Martha, Jen and Naty) and the wonderful ladies of Poshmark! So mark your calendars and come join the fun! 

When: Thursday, June 26th | 6:30-9:30

Where: The Delancey (168 Delancey Street) Main Floor

Don't forget to RSVP by June 25th! 

Be sure to download the Poshmark App, so you can see why I'm so excited to share this amazing app with my readers! 

Next week I'll also be sharing on my blog with you how I buy and sell on Poshmark. You'll see why I'm always so excited to co-host this event. 

5 Ways to Save Money While Planning a Wedding

Hello everyone! We're in Mexico enjoying breakfast on the beach. I'm looking forward to sharing more photos of our trip. It's truly paradise. I'll be posting more photos on Instagram! 

In the last eleven months I've learned a few ways to save money while having the wedding of my dreams. Here are five ways to save money while planning your wedding. 

1.       Prioritize - what are the five “must haves” for your wedding? Write them down and talk to your family and your fiancé about these “must haves”. What can you really live without? For example, my dress, the photographer, food, location and bride transportation were important to me. My flowers, veil, wedding favors, invitations and wedding parties were not top priority for me or my fiancé. Throughout the planning, we made the decision to save on certain parts of the wedding, which got us to stay within our budget. Which moves me on to my next subject…

2.       Set Budget & Stick To It- as a bride, we can get overly zealous about wedding planning and wanting everything is perfect, while our fiancé is more realistic about spending and saving. In most cases, allocating a budget, even with a little cushion will allow you to have a beautiful wedding. Plus, this will show your fiancé that you’re good with money!

3.       Create a Direct Deposit- create a joint account between you and your fiancé. Both agree to a set amount to allocate every paycheck. Mark the debit cards with WEDDING and only use the money in the account for wedding related expense. You will be surprised how quickly money accumulates!

4.       DIY Parts of Your Wedding- can you make your own ceremony programs and name cards and save $200? Probably. I was brave and decided to do my own flowers, which saved us thousands of dollars! That money that I would have use for flowers, I can now redecorate my kitchen…without the guilt.

5.       Sell Old to Buy New - I’m a huge advocate on selling things in your closet to buy something new. By selling old bags, shoes, skirts and shirts I was able to buy the designer shoes for my wedding and dresses for our wedding weekend.    

My Wedding Workout Routine

Hello everyone! Since we'll be in Mexico with our closet family and friends celebrating our wedding, this week I'm going to share some things I've learned over the last ten months planning this weeding. I'm no expert, but I do have a few tips that you mind find help! Today's post is sharing my wedding workout routine.

Several people have asked about my workout routine, so I wanted to share my experience and workouts with my readers. Please note, this program works for me and my body. I'd highly recommend taking it slow and/or see a trainer if you're just starting to lift weights for get back into the gym.

What I've found that work best for my body is lifting weights. It creates muscles and burns fat. I've never been a cardio bunny, but the few times I've tried to "run off the weight", I saw no changes to my body. I'd highly encourage women to hit the weight room and lift heavy. At first it might be intimidating, but after a few days you'll love the way your body starts to tone up! What surprised me the most, was how quickly I lost inches around my waist and became stronger.

So here's a look at what my week might look like at the gym. I typically do 8 exercises per day and it also changes week-to-week, but this will gives you a general idea. Every morning, my fiance and I get up  at 6am and go to the gym down the street. It's an easy walk, if you have to drive to your gym, I'd highly recommend joining the gym closest to your house. You're more likely to go! If you don't belong to a gym, don't sweat it. Do HIIT and buy a yoga mat and a few weights...big girl weights, like 10-20lbs. The next time you see a 3lbs weight, walk away. Pick up the 15lbs weight. I promise you'll thank me later!

Monday | Quads/Glutes | 3x12-15
Squats (one of my favorites)
Leg Press
Hip Thrusters
Bulgarian Split Squats
Leg Extension

Tuesday | Shoulders | 3x12-15
Lat Raises
Cling Press
Cable Upright Rows
Front Lat Raises
Overhead Dumbbell Press
HIIT

Wednesday | Back | 3x12-15
Lat Pulldown
One Arm Cable Rows
Bent Over Dumbbell Rows
Dual Cable Pull
Assisted Pullups (my favorite)

Thursday | Arms/Cardio | 3x12-15
Dumbbell Curls
Rope Tricep Push Downs
Overhead Cable Extensions
Barbell Curl
Robe Arm Curls
20-30 mins interval (jog/run) cardio

Friday | Hamstrings/Glutes | 3x12-15
Deadlifts
Walking Lunges
Lying Leg Curl
Seated Calve Raises
Leg Curls

Saturday | Chest/Cardio/Abs | 3x12-15
Incline Dumbbell Press
Dumbbell Flat Bench Press
Push Ups
Abs
20-30 mins interval (jog/run) cardio

Sunday | Rest

A few other things to keep in mind, I also had a healthy and well balanced diet. Fish, chicken, egg whites, fruits, veggies and water were my best friends. I also limited my salt, sugar and alcohol  intake. At first it was tough, but after a few weeks, you'll have it down!

If you're curious if I indulge, absolutely! Wine, cheese, chocolate, popcorn, pizza, hamburger, the list goes on. I try and limit these meals to 2-3 times per week. You'll find that eating healthy is addicting and can be a fun to create new recipes...plus you save a little money cooking at home!


Photo Credit Here

Weekend Wear | Striped Crop Top + Black A-Line Skirt

Hope everyone is having a good weekend! 

Black and white pieces are slowly taking over my wardrobe. I've found stripes and simple patterns, like the palm tree cami I wore yesterday, are easy pieces to dress up or down. As most of you know, I'm a huge advocate of statement necklaces. They spruce up any outfit! What I love about today's outfit is that nothing is new, they're all pieces I've had in my closet a while. Times like this show, that I always have something to wear in our closet, it's just finding the pieces that work well together. 

H&M Top (similar here & here)
The Limited Skirt (similar here & here)
Zara Heels (similar)
TJ Maxx Bag
J.Crew Necklace (love)

Photos by Lydia Hudgens

Palm Trees + Pencil Skirt

Happy Friday! Last night I finally made it back to NYC after a few flight cancellations and several delays. I had a great time with my family and friends back home, but it's good to be home. With only 4 days till we leave for Mexico, we're finishing up all the final wedding details. For all those brides-to-be out there, one thing I'd recommend doing is printing out list of things "to-do" and slowly check them off. There are so many tiny details I didn't think about, because I was more focused on larger parts of our wedding. 

With that being said, I've started to make myself an ongoing list of things I have to do prior to the wedding. One thing I didn't take into consideration was primping myself before the wedding. Hair, nails, facials, etc... I've been very meticulous about our wedding budget and that's one thing I didn't take into consideration. So this weekend, I'll spend most of my time in salons. 

If any brides-to-be have any questions, please email me! A few people asked about how I leaned out prior to the wedding, I'd love to share that with my readers. Hopefully I'll be able to post something before we leave for Mexico. Have a great weekend! 

Express Top (love these pants & top)
Zara Skirt (save & splurge)
Aldo Clutch (similar)
Zara Heels (similar here & here)
Karen Walker Sunnies
Initial Pendant Necklace

Photos by Lydia Hudgens