Happy Tuesday loves! 

What a weekend!! The weather here was super mild and it was so lovely to be a little less bundled and spend some time outside.   

 Generally I am a pretty confident person, but like a lot of women I can be very critical of myself.  Like most, my self doubt comes and goes, but in recent weeks even after having made the New Years goal of being nicer to myself, I have failed miserably.  I blame a lot of my self critiquing on my dance years when I would stand in front of a mirror in a leotard and pick apart every perceived flaw.  Although I don't stand in front of a mirror hours on end anymore, now when I pass by my reflection I see my wrinkles, laugh lines, muffin top, thighs... ugh! 

On Friday evening I was out to dinner with some friends and every single one of us at one point ripped ourselves apart. I had to put a stop to it! All of these woman are beautiful, intelligent and super successful! What is wrong with us? What is wrong with our society that it is so ingrained to think we aren't enough.  Truth is, I can make as many goals to treat myself better, and have self acceptance, yada, yada, yada, but how? How do we break the cycle of negativity? Affirmations? Mantras? 

How do you practice self acceptance and love? 

xx, Elise

top similar here / vest / jeans / bag splurge v. save / belt great dupe here / boots / sunnies 

Good Morning Dolls! 

Who's excited for the weekend? 

Maybe it is because Valentine's Day is right around the corner, perhaps it is because I am longing for Spring, but whatever the case, I am totally crushing on blush! 

Fortunately the online boutique Gamiss has all things pale pink and blush. 

Below is my almost valentines, super girly, blush wish list...

What have you been crushing on recently?

xx, Elise

PS: How cute is this fedora?!?

fedora / phone case / swimsuit / earrings / sunnies / top

tote / throw / sweater 

be sure to check out other Valentine deals at Gamiss

Good Morning Loves! 

I hope you week has started off well. 

The weather of course has been nuts.  The two feet of snow we got last week has all melted due to the few days of mild temps. Saturday started off in the sixties, it then rained, got sunny again, super windy, and then temps plummeted into the teens just in time for the Pats game. 

Do you guys have that thing that when someone falls, you uncontrollably laugh?   I do, maybe it is not one of my best qualities, but when I see people take a tumble (and know they are ok) I get hysterical.  That somebody was me this weekend. We went to dinner at a bar / restaurant that was packed with people tuning into all the playoff games. On my way back from the rest room, my boot slid, I twisted my ankle and in what seemed to be slow-mo, I ended up on the floor in a split. Luckily, one of my better qualities is being able to laugh at myself... I was in tears from laughter. I chuckled all night and all day yesterday every time I thought about it.  Unfortunately I twisted my ankle and have been limping around, but I am thinking it isn't too serious. 

I have challenged myself to not purchase any clothing, shoe, accessories in the month of January.   

Here we are halfway through the month and I am finding it isn't as difficult as I would have thought. This challenge has forced me to look deep into my closet and get creative. 

This puffer coat is a few years old, and I always forget I have it. The collar is my absolute favorite, so it is being brought back into the rotation. 

Have you ever gone on a shopping ban? 

xx, Elise

coat similar here and here  / top / scarf / jeans / bag / boots similar here/ sunglasses  

TGIF eve!! 

 The past few weeks have been a blur to me with the holiday sand snow days etc. 

This is my first full week and it has been crawling by! I am struggling to get back into my routine.

On the upside,  finally we are climbing back into normal temperatures for this time of year, possibly even 55 on Friday!  Yippee!! 

Sweaters have really upped their game this year! With embellishments and ruffles, bell sleeves and laces, it is so easy to make a usually boring piece the focal point of your look.  Considering I will be living in sweaters for the nest 3 to 4 months, I need them to be cute. 

I loved this Rosegal lace up sweater when I saw it. Truth be told I thought it was going to be more mauve or blush from the photo, but I perhaps should have red the 'dark auburn' description. Turns out it is more rust. Rust is not at all in my comfort zone, and normally I would steer clear of it, but I have worn this sweater a number of times already and I quite like it! Thought?

What are colors you tend to avoid? 

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!

xx, Elise

sweater c/o / vest / jeans / boots / sunnies / bag similar  

Happy Tuesday Loves! 

How about those Golden Globes?  Usually I like to see most, if not all of the nominated movies but this year I saw exactly zero. I did however enjoy tuning in.  I thought all of the women look lovely dressed in black and I loved the message of solidarity it sent to the #metoo movement. 

I watched hours of the red carpet and truth be told, I think it was so I could watch people somewhere enjoying warm weather. 

The weather has been crazy everywhere, and here in the northeast we have been below freezing for 14 days!!  With arctic winds, sub-zero temps and over a foot of snow on the ground there has been little to no opportunity for blog photos.

Here are a few of my favorite picks for realistic snow and cold temperature looks.
Cozy and war can still be very cute!

How are you staying warm?

xx, Elise



Boots

Cozy Sweaters
 Hats
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 

Happy New Year!! 

I hope you all had a wonderful NYE. Mine was totally low key, shopping, lunch and at night we hunkered down to watch Netflix while barely made it to midnight. With big ideas for NYE, it has been just too darn cold. In the Northeast, much like the rest of the country, we are in a 'deep freeze'.  For me this means, there is absolutely zero ability to look cute. I want to wear all of my sweaters at the same time and just snuggle.     

It has been difficult to take photos and acquire content for S&S because in addition to looking like Randy from a Christmas Story because I am so bundled up, the highs have been about 9 degrees and lows about -5 degrees.  Being outside for more than three minutes seems to be like cruel and unusual punishment.  

2018 Goals

I have never been a big New Year resolution maker,

 but I often like to set small, manageable goals for myself throughout the year. 

Here are just a few that I thin I may be able to tackle. 

Continue to be Present

This is a reoccurring goal. It was 'try to be more present'. I have definitely achieved being more present,  but every day I am astounded with how fast time goes and how quickly my son is growing up. So, I will try and continue to be more mindful of being present and enjoy every bit of it. 

Be Kinder to Others

I am not sure what happened in 2017, but people have gone haywire! It seems it has become completely acceptable to be rude, crass, classless and say unsavory things to people who don't agree with you.  I am not excluding myself from these unspeakable acts, I have been quite unsavory on far too many occasions. It is unacceptable. I have always subscribed to the belief that people base their beliefs and opinions on their experiences and not everyone has had the same experience as I have.  Respect the opinions and try to listen to others.  Sometimes if we step back and listen we can learn a thing or two. 

Be Kinder to Myself    

I know we can all relate to this. I mean, I am aware that I am self deprecating to some degree, but when my son said the other day my butt was the jiggliest of all jiggles and referred to me as a cow, I was stunned. His response to my stunned face was 'Mom, you always call yourself a cow.'  Simply, I need to be more careful what I say about myself and view myself in a more positive way.  

Limit Alcohol

 I sneeze, my sinuses fill up and I get nauseous, sounds wonderful, right?   

All that after only a two glasses of wine. Why do I do it? Not sure, but it makes me feel like crap, so it will be even less frequent that I have a glass or two of wine. 

What are some goals you have made for 2018? 

top / coat Primark not available online. similar here and here / jeans / bag / boots / sunglasses