Style Icon: Michelle Obama

Over the last few weeks, I've seen Michelle Obama appear on talk shows and at various campaign events, and I'm loving her style. She always looks so professional, but she adds a touch of her own flair and lets it shine through. Here are a few outfits I've seen her in and have been loving lately:

Today on The Ellen Show

I love the flower pins she's wearing above and below. They add an extra little something to her basic sheath dresses.

Last week on The Colbert Report

She perfected the color blocking trend for Easter at the White House this year (Sasha and Malia look cute too):

At the White House Easter Egg Roll

At the Kid's Choice Awards, the First Lady got glitzy with some sparkly jeans and a fun top... I think she looks so fun and fresh for a casual event:

Kid's Choice Awards

A bright pop of color for spring:

Wearing L'Wren Scott

She always looks great for formal events... I'm loving the piles of necklaces she's wearing too:

Wearing Marchesa

*All photos via www.huffingtonpost.com

Happy Monday everyone!

Can I quote you on that?

I have been uninspired this week, so that's why there was no Travel Tuesday yesterday. (Also, I've been thinking I might make that an every other week type of post.)

So, I do this thing where I write down quotes that I like in my planner whenever I see them online or in magazines/books I'm reading. I'm not sure when I started doing it (college maybe?) or what to do with them, (I have a few years' planners saved in my closet because they have quotes in them! :\) but I just like doing it and it makes me smile when I read over them. So to stir up a little inspiration, I thought I'd share a couple of recent ones I've written down with you today:

I printed this from Makeunder My Life one day on a whim...
Then when I went to put it in my planner, it matched!

"Sit down and put down everything that comes to your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it."

~Sidone-Gabrielle Colette

(French Writer)

"Read, read, read. Read everything--trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window."

~William Faulkner

"I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I always knew the woman I wanted to be."

~Diane Von Furstenberg

"All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know."

~Ernest Hemingway

(A Moveable Feast)

"What whiskey will not cure, there is no cure for." ~Irish Proverb

*Some of those I believe I found on my Google homepage gadget: Daily Literary Quotes. And then there's that last one, which I like very much... ;)

Spring Fling!

Spring is here, and I thought I'd do a little post about some clothing that I'm currently coveting for the season. I keep a list in my planner that has two columns: needs and wants. I just updated my list a couple of weeks ago. I keep it to stay organized and so I don't spend money on things that I don't really need. So it's there to remind me of the important things... and so once I've gotten all of the stuff on the need list (or most of it anyway) I can start looking for some of the things on the want list.

So here are few inspirations I've gathered for both lists for this upcoming warm weather season.
Swimsuits:
I really need a new bathing suit. For the past few summers, I've been relying on one suit that I really loved, but is now broken, and another one that I ordered online and really doesn't fit me (it stretches out when I get in the water... bad news!) So the criteria I'm looking for in a swimsuit are these:

1) No strings! (except for maybe a tie around the neck if it's a halter, but the bottom must be a hook.)

2) Bottoms with coverage

3) A color that flatters my highlighter bright skin (hey, neon is a trend this season... so I've got that going for me:)

J.Crew suits

So I found this, this, and this from J.Crew, but they are not the perfect one yet. (Also, I'd like to buy them from somewhere I can try it on first.) But here's what I like about them: the lilac tulle suit (tulle doesn't sound very practical... but it's so pretty!) has good coverage on the bottom and I like the shape of the top (it's got a little retro flair), and it comes in a green color that I think would look nice; the striped one is very classic, and again, I like the coverage on the bottom; and the blue one on the end is a very nice color, and I really like the detail on the top. (I would definitely choose different bottoms though!)

I like the design, but not the color

Then, I found this interesting suit on ASOS, which I think would be good for me. I like the criss cross at the bottom because I have what I call "the freak torso"... my mid-section is really long and probably belongs on someone who is closer to 5'9" than little ole 5'6" me. I like that those straps would kind of break things up a bit, but I don't know about wearing black with my pale skin (yikes!).

Also, I could always just go with something like this...

Haha... totally kidding!

Ok, well that was a lot to write about bathing suits, so I'll try to keep things short and sweet for the rest of the list.

Colored Jeans:

Forever 21 Twill Pants for $15.80!

I would really like to try this trend, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on it. I would like to hunt around at Forever 21 a little bit and find some other colors that I like... maybe red, maybe blue, or maybe green?

I am also really looking for some slim-leg dress pants. Both of these pairs of pants seem to fit the bill.

Fun Flats and Sandals

Left: ASOS; Right: Target

Here are a few things I've pinned lately that are inspiring me for spring too:
Pointy-toed flats

Maxi skirts

Simple white blouse

Fun bright blouse

It's about time for another fashion rant!

Now guys, I don't want to be too negative on here, but it's getting to be that time of year when I start seeing one of my BIGGEST pet peeves: Ugg boots and sweatpants! I saw the first pairing of the fall yesterday while we were out shopping. I knew this season would be quickly upon us when a couple of weeks ago, I had my first Ugg boots sighting; and they were red!

Now I want to be clear on this, I don't hate Ugg boots themselves (Hate is too strong of a word). I've just never seen a pair that's really excited me. I've never purchased a pair because they just aren't really my style, but if you love them that's fine (I will still be your friend, I guess ;). I know that people love them because they are comfortable and easy to throw on with any outfit.

What really just irks me is putting them on over your sweatpants! I mean are you trying to dress up your sweatpants or something? Because you're not... you're still wearing sweatpants! If you're going to put on a pair of boots at the very least you can put on a pair of jeans... you can find comfortable jeans people... c'mon, we even have jeggings now! (But please, no pajama jeans!) And if you want to wear sweatpants, go ahead, throw them on, but wear your gym shoes with them so at least it looks like you are heading to the gym. :)

Please, I'm begging all of you: the college girls running to class, the 20-somethings meeting your girlfriends for coffee, the "cool" moms shopping at the mall; STOP wearing Ugg boots and sweatpants together. We need to be a better example for the girls and 'tweens who are still trying to figure out their personal style... let's not confuse them anymore with this unacceptable combo!

***I was inspired do this post not only because of the aforementioned Ugg sightings, but also this morning I woke up to find this hilarious post by Garance, and I had to share this video as well. Enjoy!