napa/san francisco outfit post: black racer back midi dress

Inspiration - Banana Republic

I wore this dress on multiple occasions to dinner on our trip. It's a great lightweight non-wrinkle fabric that still looked good after being balled in a suitcase. I wore my brown wedges with it because I didn't bring any other heel options and just decided to embrace mixing black & brown. (Weirdly didn't get any pictures wearing it - or at least any decent ones that aren't just my head and a bit of the top of the dress.)

Dress: Black racer back midi dress - Banana Republic shop same, similar, similar, similar, similar Shoes: Woven wedge sandals - Arturo Chiang shop same, similar, similar, similar Accessories: Gold Christina link bracelet - Stella & Dot shop same, similar, similar

napa/san francisco outfit post: white portofino shirt, navy shorts

Inspiration - Mila Kunis

This is one of my favorite summer uniforms. A comfy pair of shorts with a portofino shirt. I feel cuter & more 'outfit-y' when my shirt has a collar and cuffed sleeves then when I just am wearing a tanktop with my shorts. (I wanted to wear my cobalt pendant necklace with this outfit but turned out it was hidden in the toe of the boots I packed & never wore.)

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On the second morning we walked downtown to explore for a bit and grab some breakfast. We walked along a really pretty riverwalk and checked out the foodie Oxbow Market.

Top: White Portofino shirt - Express shop same, similar, similar, similar Bottom: Navy shorts - Target Merona similar, similar, similar, similar, similar Shoes: Miller sandal - Tory Burch shop same, similar, similar, similar Accessories: Gold Christina link bracelet - Stella & Dot shop same, similar, similar  Brown nylon tote - Longchamp shop same, similar, similar

Vacation Pix:

napa/san francisco outfit post: striped chambray dress, white cardigan, brown wedges

Inspiration - Anna Paquin

I found this dress in the clearance section at Loft. (50% off online right now!) And even though I have a decent number of stripes & dresses in my closet - my large nursing chest is still preventing me from wearing most of them - so I totally 'needed' this one for our trip! Or so I told myself. :)

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For our third day in Napa we walked around downtown in the morning (outfit tomorrow) and then used the same driver again to explore the wider area and do more tastings. My uncle is a wine distributor and made us an appointment in Sonoma in the afternoon so we tasted our way from Napa over to the appointment.

• Domaine Carneros - For some sparkling wine. Great high terrace & view!
• Walt Pinot Noir - Small house, not on a winery, with delicious Pinot Noir.
• St. Francis (appointment) - Awesome food & wine pairing.
• The Girl & The Fig - Yummy dinner on our way back to Napa.

Top: White cardigan - Target shop same, similar, similar Bottom: Striped chambray dress - Loft shop same (50% off!), similar, similar Shoes: Woven wedge sandals - Arturo Chiang shop same, similar, similar, similar Accessories: Gold Christina link bracelet - Stella & Dot shop same, similar, similar

Vacation Pix:

napa/san francisco outfit post: gingham dress, brown wedges

Inspiration - Elizabeth Banks

Love love love this dress. It's a swing/trapeeze shape but belts nicely because of the thin fabric. It's perfect for hot weather and love gingham as a fun summer print.

Second I am IN LOVE with these wedges! Thanks to a reader recommendation I found them at Lord & Taylor and they are a super close knock off to the Stuart Weitzman wedges Kate Middleton always wears.

***

For our second day in Napa, based on recommendations, we hired a driver. So after breakfast at our hotel and he picked us up and took us around. He gave us great background and information about how wine is made, differences in wineries and the history of the area.

We sort of rambled around without a plan and went to the following places:

• Robert Mondavi - Beautiful grounds. We took their tour and saw their big wine making operation.
• Brix - Super pretty garden and mountain view. Delicious food.
• Laird Family Estate - Contrasting small winery compared to Mondavi earlier in the day.
• Couples Massage
• Cole's Chop House - Great service and super yummy steak dinner.

Top: Jean jacket - Target similar, similar, similar, similar Dress: Gingham dress - Loft shop same, similar, similar, similar, similar Shoes: Woven wedge sandals - Arturo Chiang shop same, similar, similar, similar Accessories: Gold Christina link bracelet - Stella & Dot shop same, similar, similar  Brown belt - Target shop same, similar, similar

Vacation Pix:
 

 

napa/san francisco outfit post: blue & white tunic dress

Inspiration - Alessandra Ambrosio

I bought this tunic recently at H&M (can't find it online - boo) and I love how soft and floaty it is. The only problem with it was it was too sheer. I don't own a good full slip but I was able to pull a nude interior layer out of another dress and make it work. Easy casual fun summer look!

Post 2 - Napa/San Francisco trip
We arrived in Napa in the afternoon on our first day. We checked into our hotel in the town of Napa called White House Inn, got freshened up (I changed into this tunic dress from my travel clothes) and then walked into town for a bite to eat. We wanted to try to squeeze something in on our first day so after eating we called an uber to take us to the north side of the valley to Castello di Amorosa which is a really pretty winery with a recreated 13th century Tuscan castle. We wish we'd gotten there earlier to take a tour but we were able to do a tasting and wander around before it was closing.

After all day cross country travel and some wine - we were pretty beat so we headed back to the town of Napa for dinner. (We definitely didn't plan logistics very well this first day - it was a 40 minute drive to the castle each way.) We ate Morimoto sushi restaurant of Iron Chef fame. Yum yum yum. And then it was off to bed to rest up for a full day of wineries in the morning.

Top: Blue & white tunic dress - H&M similar, similar, similar, similar, similar Shoes: Miller sandal - Tory Burch shop same, similar, similar, similar Accessories: Gold Christina link bracelet - Stella & Dot shop same, similar, similar  Brown nylon tote - Longchamp shop same, similar, similar

Travel Pix:

napa/san francisco outfit post: military jacket, striped shirt, skinny jeans

Inspiration - Olivia Palermo

Two weeks ago Hubby and I took our first trip to Napa for our anniversary. We spent three days in Napa, a day driving around from Napa to the California coast down to San Francisco and a day in San Francisco before we flew home. It was a great trip and we had a wonderful time. I'm going to share most of what I wore on the trip and my packing list. Hope you enjoy!

This first outfit is what I wore on the plane both to California and on the red-eye back home. It's basically my airport uniform - comfy stretchy jeans, a non-wrinkle shirt and a warm jacket that could be balled up for a pillow. I also had my Longchamp tote with my the whole trip. Normally it just contains the following long flight packing list of items but this trip I had the added bonus of carting around my breast pump & accessories. Mile high pump club! Woot woot!

(Previous jacket love.)

Top: Military jacket - Old Navy similar, similar, similar, similar Striped shirt - Merona Target similar, similar, similar, similar Bottom: Skinny jeans - Denizen Target shop same, similar, similar Shoes: Black 'Reva' flats - Tory Burch shop same, similar, similar, toe bow - love Accessories: Brown nylon tote - Longchamp shop same, similar, similar

outfit post: blue print maxi dress, jean jacket

Inspiration - Busy Phillips

After a long week - got a babysitter and headed out for dinner and some beers with the hubby. Easy forgiving maxi and jean jacket in case of arctic a/c. Easy peasy.

Top: Jean jacket - Target similar, similar, similar, similar Dress: Blue print maxi dress - Express similar, similar, similar, similar, similar Shoes: Miller sandal - Tory Burch shop same, similar, similar, similar Accessories: Animal bangles - Lilly Pulitzer (free with purchase) similar, similar, similar Kimberly gold necklace - Stella & Dot shop same

outfit post: grey sweater, burgundy frond skirt, grey pointed toe pumps

Inspiration - J.Crew

Still experimenting with ways to wear this frond skirt. Found this J.Crew picture on Pinterest and liked the combination of burgundy, grey and mint. Did my best interpretation with my own things. Like the result. (Although if my necklace had a touch of burgundy then I would super love it.)

Here are a few other ways I've worn this skirt.

**Random aside below - skip if daily life non-outfit stuff is boring... :) ***

Sometimes I feel like I've totally got my life organized and I'm doing a great job of keeping up with everything. My 'on top of my game' workweek routine looks a bit like this:

• 5:15 - wake up, feed cat & dog, make coffee, pick up around the house, diaper/nurse/pump
• 6:00 - workout
• 7:15 - relax & play with Skylar (she's extra super cute in the mornings)
• 7:30 - shower, clean kitchen, eat breakfast, pack lunch, take a pix & start blog post
• 8:30 - head to work
• 9:00 - work work work
• 5:30 - get home & hang with Skylar & decompress
• 6:30 - cook & eat dinner, stroller walk if I'm ambitious/not raining
• 8:00 - Skylar night time routine, pick up around the house
• 9:00 - maybe tv, time with hubby or blog
• 10:00 - hopefully in bed

But I feel like my routine is a bit of a house of cards. If one part goes wrong then the whole thing collapses. This week was a major collapse. Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday something was up with the kiddo. She was incredibly crabby (so unusual), woke up/stayed up dozens of times each night and on Monday got some crazy hives/blotches all over her head. Holy cow sleep deprivation is no joke. I went from, 'Look how much I'm getting done everyday while wearing a cute outfit!' to 'I wonder if other people can smell this dirty shirt? At least the stink will keep me awake on this conference call.'

I'm just telling myself to allow for the ebb and flow of my effectiveness in this new kid-having phase in my life. I should try to do the best I can each day with the brain power and energy I have and let the rest fall where it may.

That is a long way of saying - I didn't manage to get any blog photos or posts together for the last week. But after two great nights of sleep I am a new person again! Which means I got showered and dressed and snapped a photo of my outfit. Yay!

Top: Grey sweater - J.Crew Factory similar, similar, similar Bottom: Burgundy frond pencil skirt - Loft similar, similar, similar, similar, elizabeth & james ($$$) Shoes: Grey pointed toe pumps - Shoe Mint love, similar, similar, similar Accessories: Gold link watch - Michael Kors shop same,  similar, similar, similar Teal drop necklace - F21 similar, similar, similar, similar

outfit post - sister week: wrap up outfits

Things got a little crazy 'round these parts which is why I haven't had a fresh post since last Wednesday... things like - 

• Hubby & I went on vacation to Napa and took a red eye home on Sunday night. Taking a bit to adjust back to east coast time change.
• Need to get the crumpled mass of clothes out of my suitcase, washed and photographed so I can share my packing list with you!
• Things are bonkers at work with employee turnover & being assigned big new projects. Think I will be traveling for a week of workshops in South Carolina in two weeks. (<--another packing list!)
• Baby girl, who has previously been an amazing nighttime sleeper since 10 weeks, is cutting her first tooth. Work up approximately 1 bazillion times last few nights. Poor little girl. (And poor zonked out working momma.)
• After slacking in my weight-loss efforts since early July (maintained at least - just no further loss) I've rededicated myself over this past week. I'm on day seven of 5:15 AM wake-ups to fit in my morning exercise. 
• There might be more going on but I'm too sleepy to recall at the moment! :)

While I work on getting some new posts up - here are the rest of the outfits my cutie-pie sister sent. (Some are work and some aren't...)

 

Inspiration - Michelle Trachtenberg

Top: Chambray shirt - J.Crew similar, similar, similar, similar Bottom: Striped dress - H&M similar, similar, similar, similar Shoes: Black ankle strap pumps - Free People similar, similar, similar Accessories: Gold watch - Michael Kors similar, similar, similar

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Inspiration - Pippa Middleton

Top: Black blazer - Forever 21 similar, similar, similar Bottom: White dot dress - H&M similar, similar, similar Shoes: Black ankle strap pumps - Free People similar, similar, similar

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Inspiration - Miranda Kerr

Top: Ruffle blouse- J. Crew similar, similar, similar, similar Bottom: Navy ankle "Rider" pant - J.Crew similar, similar, similar, similar Shoes: Beige heels - Free People  similar, similar, similar, similar Accessories: Gold watch - Michael Kors similar, similar, similar

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Inspiration - Kim Kardashian

Dress: Striped dress - H&M similar, similar, similar, similar Shoes: Black ankle strap pumps - Free People similar, similar, similar Accessories: Green statement necklace - Forever 21 similar, similar, similar Gold watch - Michael Kors similar, similar, similar