TBMD

Hosted by Lauren @ Petite on a Penny, Petite Fashion Challenge #16: Summer Wedding has us creating an outfit for a summer wedding (the dress code is up to you). For bonus points, try to make your whole outfit, head to toe, come in under $100! (Or, exclude shoes and accessories to meet the $100 mark.)

Most of the summer weddings I've attended in the past featured an outdoor ceremony with an indoor reception. I kept the possibility of temperature variances in mind when selecting an appropriate outfit as a guest.

Outdoor ceremonies could very well occur on a hot and humid day, so I tend to favor dresses in lighter colors or ones with breathable fabric (or both). For this challenge, I went with the latter, a dark-colored dress in silk. The dress isn't clingy and flows nicely as I move -- great for dancing the night away.

The dress is on the casual side, so I dressed it up through accessories and strappy sandals. There's something about metallics that just scream "fancy" to me (shiny objects = bling, lol). I also brought along a shawl in case temperatures cool by nightfall. Ideally I would've preferred one with a nicer fabric, but I worked with what I had in my closet and loved the lilac pairing with navy.

My company doesn't always hold a holiday party. This year is one of those off years. Instead, I went to my brother's as his +1. Last year they had a food buffet, heated outdoors tent with a firepit for s'mores, roll your own cigar, and a casino setup with fake money?! Umm... the holiday party alone would be enough to convince me to switch jobs. Kidding... or am I? In return for him having to deal with his socially awkward sister, I was the designated driver. A win-win for us both.

Like a typical girl, I mentally went through my closet and freaked out like a drama queen over having nothing to wear. In the end, I decided on my tried-and-true Ann Taylor lace dress and piled on the accessories. The busy dress really doesn't need a whole lot of accessorizing, but what the heck, it's the holidays!

My brother felt last year's was more fun because fake casinos and rolling cigars were replaced this year with a food-centric theme (7 different buffet rooms!) In between bites and roaming from room to room, I had a grand time people watching. I've never seen so many Chanel flaps in one place in my life. I counted at least 15 of various sizes and colors, vintage and classic styles. What eye candy! Unfortunately, shoes were harder to check out without being obvious. All in all, it was a fun night.

The construction behind me is being turned into an urban, walkable community, slated for completion next year. I can't wait to take pictures with colorful (and modern) buildings as the backdrop. It'll be a change from the typical colonial style that's so prevalent here. Happy Friday, everyone!

I honestly don't remember what bf was saying/doing that made me laugh out loud. But whatever it was, the self-timer couldn't have captured a better candid moment. I think perhaps I should wait until he's around for future picture taking.

Hope everyone have a laughter-filled weekend!

My second attempt at wearing a scarf as a top (using SewPetiteGal's tutorial) didn't turn out too shabby, but I just realized it's styled exactly the same way as the first. D'oh! I don't know if I'm more proud of another DIY success or incorporating in the scarf ring. It took me long enough, right? Elle's scarf ring was finally worn the way it was intended. I looped the fabric through two of the rings, so the end result looked like a taut link of chains. I can also picture weaving the fabric over and under the rings in some way. I'm still working on this, but feel free to leave suggestions.

I'm seriously running out of ideas now, so pardon the likeness of today's outfit to this previous one.

What I said about no more new bags unless one goes? Clutches (and giveaway wins) shouldn't count, right? They're really accessories. Ok, you can tell I'm grasping at excuses, especially since I saw the most gorgeous brown embossed envelope clutch from H&M yesterday. It will be mine soon, I hope :)

A big thanks to Sunshine for this BCBG bow clutch in beige/gold! I love her. It's kind of dressy but I'm determined to find ways to wear it casually.

Hosted by Curls And Pearls, Petite Fashion Challenge #4: Holiday Party has us creating a holiday party look using festive colors without looking like a greeting card.

When I think of the holidays, I picture dressing in jewel-tones. Sparkling greens, vibrant reds, shiny metallics come to mind. I picked out accessories from these colors and created an outfit that would be appropriate for my company's holiday party.

The dress is an old one I dug out and I think the shiny material fits the holiday mood, even if it's a darker color. As for the shoes, the only metallic pair I own are strappy sandals, so they'll have to do even though we are in the middle of winter :) How would you accessorize this dress? Should I have added some sparkly bracelets? My arms do seem sort of bare.

My first pair of high heels (3+ inches) ever are these Carlos by Carlos Santana Trust shoes. (I believe Guess actually came out with something similar a couple years back). What drew me to these shoes were the criss crossing straps and the heart charm -- it's that extra touch of girly-ness that I loved :P

To date, after having owned and worn many pairs of heels, I have to say this pair is by far the most comfortable. Kinda surprising I know, given the height. Sometimes I feel like I can almost run in them!

I also like how the silver isn't one-dimensional. The python-like print gives it a nice texture. I don't know if you can tell from the left image, but the heel is actually a shiny metallic silver. I hardly noticed when I bought the shoes, but over time, I wonder if it's a bit too much. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now.

Modeling pic: