I am feeling all kinds of lovey dovey vibes leading up to Valentine’s Day! Whether it is pink + red literally everywhere or hearts, chocolates or roses…there is definitely a lot of Love In The Air.
I love wearing these colors year round, but especially leading up to Valentine’s Day so I had to share a little V Day outfit inspo with this little ensemble.
I love the color red. To me it always makes a bold statement + adds a little bit of sass to any look – Valentine’s Day or not, I highly encourage every gal to embrace a little red moment.
Pink is another one of my go to colors since I am a total girly girl hehe :p This skirt is perfect for year round wear. Pair it with a sweater + boots for the winter or a camisole + blazer for the office, either way it is a must-have for your wardrobe.
Since I love a good pop of color, this red Gucci bag was a must-have for me! I actually got it on sale at the Gucci outlet near me (yes even designer bags can be snagged brand new for less) + it has become my newest fav bag because of it’s bold color + simple design.
These bow pumps are an oldie but goodie. They are from Michael Kors + are no longer available but I found some similar styles below:
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner + I am taking time to soak up every little bit of love around me. One of my favorite types flowers are roses, makes sense since my middle name is rose (fun fact) so it made sense I had to style this Tadashi Shoji Rose Print Tea Length Dress for Valentine’s Day (can you get any more romantic?) ♥
I love the romantic print of this dress. I think it is great to wear to for date night, a winter wedding or any special occasion. The rose print just gives it an elegant + classy feel for my + to let the print take center stage, I paired this gorgeous dress with neutral shoes, bag + accessories.
The length of this dress is great to dress up + make a statement. When I slipped it on I felt like I was heading to the Met Gala haha That is what I love about Tadashi Shoji…his designs are impeccable + are just the right amount of glam.
I invested in this Gucci mini bag a few years back + wear it all the time when I go out. It is the perfect size for when you are heading out or going to a special event.
These black patent leather heels are a must-have for every gal’s wardrobe. They are classic, match with everything + will last you years!
Valentine’s Day is just a few weeks away and while I am all excited to share some outfit inspo + gift guides with you all, I wanted to kick things off with a little love talk + what Valentine’s Day is all about…for me at least haha :p
Now although I am in a happy, healthy + loving relationship now, love was certainly one of the most difficult things for me to find + achieve in my life (yes I said achieve…more on that later). For years I dated both in NY + LA and while I had short lived relationships here + there, absolutely nothing compares to the loving partnership I have now. What I have now is the type of relationship I wouldn’t have been ready for a few years ago, to be completely honest I wasn’t mature or smart enough yet to open my eyes to what is really important in life… yes, I was one of those gals that felt it was all about the car you drove, the outfit you wore, would we look like a power couple, would you go all over social media with me, be the Jay Z to my Beyonce and basically take over the world wearing LV + Chanel (my boyfriend would cringe if he heard this haha but he knows I have matured since we got together haha :p).
Fast forward to now…My boyfriend is so not into designer stuff although he supports my obsession (within reason), he makes practical financial decisions I never would have in the past, he thinks ahead to the future + he is not on Instagram (crazy I know considering that’s what I do everyday haha :p) A few years ago I wouldn’t have been ready for a relationship where my boyfriend tries to avoid going out to dinner + instead encourage us to save money for better experiences or things we want or I would have been bored watching On The Money or anything stock market related, or I wouldn’t have been ready to stop thinking of just myself + actually think, care + love another person.
While I am far from old + wise, I am turning 27 in a few weeksand for the first time in my life I feel stable. I know who I am, I know what I believe in and because I truly know + love who I am (for the most part) I was in turn able to truly love someone else. I realized all of the dumb ideas I had in my head from my teens to early 20s were just that…dumb. I had a checklist of everything I wanted + ‘needed’ in a partner, I was picky as sh** + I was basically all about me + just wanted a guy along for the ride – the absolutely wrong way to find + achieve love.
While I am all about being an independent, strong woman, I realized thanks to my boyfriend that life is way better when you have a partner to experience it with who you respect + want to be with everyday because you LOVE each other not because you need each other or just because you don’t want to be alone. While every woman should find a guy that loves + adores her, that doesn’t just happen without work on BOTH sides (it isn’t just ‘if you can’t accept me at my worst you don’t deserve me at my best’…great quote but unrealistic, why the hell should a guy accept you at your worst if you don’t make the effort to get to know, accept + understand them as well, I often times find the women that post that quote all over social media do so because they don’t want to make compromises of their own – more on that later).
When I was younger I had such a fear of being alone that I was trying to fit puzzle pieces together that simply wouldn’t work. I would make excuses if a guy was an a**, I made excuses for myself if it didn’t work out + it was maybe my fault, I blamed my issues on everyone else other than me + I didn’t want to actually better myself because I thought I was the sh** + that meant a guy who truly loves me would just deal with it – WRONG.
New Flash – LOVE is not just accepting every single part of a person the good, bad + the ugly without speaking up, compromising or possibly changing a little…love is truly understanding each other + becoming better people together and independently of one another. LOVE is when you feel crappy the other person is there to pick you up + help you overcome that challenge, LOVE is when you are annoying the other person, you make efforts to fix that, LOVE is doing things you may not have wanted to do but because you care deeply for the other person you compromise + do them (shout out to my BF for becoming my photographer, something he certainly was against but now has become so supportive with it), LOVE is understanding who your partner is + wanting to be together because life would be not as fun without them not because you couldn’t ever survive without them. That is why I say you find but also ‘achieve‘ love. Even if you have love at first site, in order to sustain it you have to put the effort in + that is what, I truly love about love. I enjoy putting the work in, as my boyfriend always says, you get what you give…that principle is one that should be applied to ALL aspects of your life. Think about it, at work you get a promotion or you get hired based on the effort you put in, you make more money when you bust your butt to do so, you loose weight by working out, eating right + making the effort to do so. LOVE works the same way, it doesn’t just happen, it happens because YOU make it happen.
When I see my boyfriend everyday he makes me smile without even trying, when he asks me to not do a certain thing (like mention his name on my blog or post photos of him on my social media) I respect it + him and don’t do it (trust me this was hard because all I wanted to do was show the world how in love we are but I realized other people aren’t needed to validate our love + that was my immaturity coming out), when he says he has my back, I truly believe he does + he actually does (and I have his).
In my opinion that is LOVE. That didn’t happen overnight. We have been together 2 years now + while we rarely argue, there are definitely times we don’t see eye to eye, times I freak out or over react, times I am trying to communicate + feel like I am hitting a wall BUT rather than us get frustrated we always work it out – that is a relationship + that is LOVE. LOVE is not easy, LOVE is not just finding a person you are attracted to + have things in common with, LOVE is actually being a better person with your partner + together you both put in the effort to make that LOVE grow.
I know Valentine’s Day is supposed to be all about ‘LOVE‘ but when you find love + (achieve) it, it happens everyday, you don’t necessarily need a holiday to acknowledge it (I am in no way being a sour sally + trashing Valentine’s Day haha I enjoy it but it just isn’t crucial). I think when I was single I was so harped on having a partner to celebrate Valentine’s Day with (because I saw it in my face all day in person or on social media + had major FOMO) but now that I am truly in a loving relationship, Valentines’s Day has just become a day for me to post red, pink + heart themed photos and a day that I look at my boyfriend, smile + say let’s stay in and avoid busy restaurants ♥
Valentine’s Day is just a few weeks away and while my full Valentine’s Day Style Guide will be up soon, I am sharing a great casual alternative here. Maybe you are heading to a girl’s night in or a casual Valentine’s Day date or just want to embrace some pink + red to wear to the office, either way – I made the pom pom cardigan trend work for the day of love.
I have been loving the pom pom cardigan trend for casual days that I basically want to snuggle up in bed + in turn treat the pom pom cardigan like my warm cozy blanket haha I bought it in pink + also a baby blue and they have become my instant go to + I have gotten a ton of compliments on them! My boyfriend is not a fan but hey sometimes trends are for the gals + not the guys, am I right? 😉
I wanted to let the pom pom cardigan take center stage so I paired it with a light pink chiffon camisole + white skinny jeans. I love wearing white skinny jeans year round + Valentine’s Day is no exception!
I am also a huge fan of these chiffon camisoles – I layer them under everything + own them in every color. They are a great staple to have + wear year round so I highly encourage every gal to stock up on them!
I am obsessed with these pink Manolo Blahnik slingbacks! They are my first ever pair of Manolo’s (crazy I know but I tend to splurge on handbags not shoes) + I bought these as a Christmas gift to myself on Cyber Monday for under $300 – crazy right?! I am slowly beginning to invest in designer shoes but still can’t get myself to pay full price especially when you can buy the styles you love for less from various retailers + outlets.
My bag was another Christmas gift to myself and I scored it at my local Gucci outlet in Palm Desert (one of my favorite places to shop since they have all the designers you love for discounted prices + the styles are still pretty current)!
I’ve always loved the movie 10 Things I Hate About You so I decided with today’s outfit post to add my own little twist so ya’ll can get to know me better…10 Little Things About Me♥
Before I start, I want to breakdown my outfit since it’s one I have already worn to a few events + date nights and it’s one you’ll for sure be a fan of! Heading to girl’s night? Brunch? Dinner date? This look can become your go to!
I live for a a cute wrap dress since I am a firm believer they look good on just about every type of body shape + they look as chic as can be.
Usually I am not a huge fan of stripes (I find them difficult to pull off sometimes) but this dress from Vibe Apparel is one striped dress I am totally digging.
I have been really into white boots lately. I invested in a few pairs this year + I am so glad I did. They freshen up neutral colored winter looks + match with everything.
This Gucci bag was a Christmas gift to myself + it is the first designer bag I bought in a non-neutral color(fun fact haha – I tend to always buy neutral colored bags so they can go with everything – especially when investing a lot of money on them)
♥ 10 Little Things About Me ♥
1. I moved to LA 3 years ago from Long Island, NY(yes, I had a LI accent for a while but it has since went away…however I somehow developed a lisp haha)
2. I have been blogging for over 7 years(crazy I know, when I started Missy On Madison, I was working on Madison Avenue in NYC)
3. I had the absolute worst luck with dating until I met my boyfriend of 2 years who I live with about 20 miles out from LA(he is amazing + also the ying to my yang…while I love social media + sharing about my life, he is very private + doesn’t have any social media haha hence why there aren’t photos of him on my site or social, it’s our mutual respect for one another…he however is the photographer behind all of my amazing photos :p)
4. I have a slight (ok major) handbag addiction…I typically buy a new bag or two for myself every year, usually CHANEL, Gucci or Louis Vuitton (I share my tips to investing in designer bags here) I bought my first designer bag at 14 after saving all of my money from scooping popcorn at my local movie theater, it was a Dior saddle bag which I still have + has come back in style this year! That is what I love about bags, they tend to retain style + value over the years. Double fun fact, I got my handbag obsession from my mom who is an avid handbag lover as well.
5. I have traveled more in the past 2 years than I have in my entire life (what can I say, my boyfriend + I have the travel bug!) On that note, I took my first trip outside of the country last year + it was to London and then Paris.
6. I absolutely LOVE animated movies + characters(this you may know from my Instagram haha I LOVE the Minions but also Disney)
7. Similar to fun fact 6, I LOVE theme parks(my BF + I have been to so many since we began dating and we are continuing our tradition by celebrating our anniversary + my birthday at Disney World…just a few weeks away!)
8. I LIVE in dresses (ok this may be a tad obvious) but I have always been a fan of fit & flare dresses since I was in elementary school.When I got to middle school none of the girls wore dresses but I loved dressing up, wearing heels etc. Guess it makes sense I ended up blogging. Similarly, when I was a kiddo my mom never wanted to put my in the same outfit twice + she used to take photos of me every morning before pre-school etc (her clients think it’s funny now I still take photos of my outfits + have a blog haha :p)
9. I get lash extensions every two weeks + hair extensions every few months(if you follow me regularly you have seen me collaborate with hair extension brands) Once I tried lash + hair extensions for the first time, there was no turning back…they are addicting (but hey, I guess there could be worse things to be addicted to, right? :p)
10. I wear heels in practically ever blog picture but in reality I live in my Tory Burch Miller or Thora thongs daily(perks of sunny LA weather)
