And then an opportunity popped up - I accepted a project with Teri Jon in exchange for any dress. It was kismet. Let me tell you, in person it's even more spectacular. I got it right in time for my Nephew's Bar Mitzvah party.
I've been looking for the perfect choker for months. At the AV Max sample sale last week I finally picked up a bunch! It's seriously my go-to sample sale for jewelry - and the best part is that everything is under $25.
Unfortunately I forgot my bag and I was over 200 miles from home...so I went to Target. Found this clutch for less than $20. Seriously, where else can you go at 9am on a Sunday? Target to the resuce!
My mothers requests that I have a head covering at religious gatherings so I brought along my favorite fascinator. Married orthodox Jewish women cover their hair and for the longest time I struggled with it. This hat is more of a token covering (as it doesn't cover much LOL) but I've made my peace and I'm okay with that. I grew up in a pretty strict household and you can say I'm a bit of the black sheep. I like to think of myself as a little more modern orthodox and I do modest-ish at best.
These days it's more my vanity than religion that motivates my covered up looks. Your body changes when you have kids. Add being over 40 and it's an uphill battle. Right now I'm the heaviest I've ever been. Sigh. But it's so important to have beautiful clothing that you love - even when you've put on weight. Last time I was this heavy I hid. Literally. I didn't recognize myself. I refuse to hide anymore. In full disclosure I'm 5'5" and 176 lbs. right now. By some miracle my dress is a size 8. I've always looked lighter than I weighed (heavy bones?) so numbers don't bother me. I may not feel my best right now but when you look like crap you feel like crap - so I put on a pretty dress. Some days even a little lipstick can go a long way.
- Fascinator: Scala, Century 21, $25
- Choker: AV Max, sample sale, $10
- Dress: Teri Jon, gifted (RV $1,420)
- Clutch: Merona, Target, $16.99
- Shoes: Shoes: Jimmy Choo Swarovski Whistler heels, sample sale, $100 (RV $2,450)
My eye makeup was all thanks to my Lancôme Voxbox from Influenster. (Be sure you sign up here to get your free boxes of stuff!) I wanted to try something different so instead of using a colored liner on my top lid I used it on bottom. I love this Drama Liqui-Pencil - I often play with blues, golds, greens and purple to set off my hazel eyes. The Définicils Mascara was not my fave thou. It clumped and didn't give me the long fanned out lashes my Korres mascara does. The lipstick is actually by Korres - it's the Morello Lipstick + Cotton Seed Oil Lip Liner Duo in Classic Red. I was very impressed. It's the perfect shade of red and it stayed on for hours. The company Octoly gifted it to me. If you have over 10k on YouTube or Insta you can apply to Octoly here.
It was actually freezing outside but the lighting in the restaurant was terrible. The girls were huddled together in most of the pictures I took of them LOL. I really wanted to find a prettier location to shoot but as always we were running late (and it was 20 degrees out) so we had to quickly shoot in the parking lot.
Nina Shoes sent me these Idabell pumps and let me tell you - they are gorgeous! Even my flats wearing mom wanted to try them on. I should mention they run a little big. I tried sizing down but they were too small in 8.5 so I took the 9 and figured I'd pad them. For some reason I thought they would match my new dress but the color was off. I still needed to take a picture with them anyway. Check out the beautiful crystal heels!
My pics were taken by my son and teenage nephew B. Thanks guys! If you have kids, train them young!
You can shop our looks here:
Last but not least, check out my new Daniel Wellington Classic Black watch. I'm all about rose gold right now. It came with a matching cuff and you can get 15% off their website with code LEHOARDER. I'm also wearing my new Carolina Amato leather gloves ($15) and Marc Jacobs scarf ($20) that were both sample sale scores. Can't forget my new Baci Outlet jacket! I'm extending my Baci Outlet giveaway so you too can get this jacket with the gift card I'm giving away on Instagram! Enter here.
This week I took the week off from sample sale-ing. There are tons of great sales but so far I'm resisting the urge to shop. If I cave I'll be sure to share my adventures on my Insta stories :)
And I still can't believe I own the dress of my dreams. Thank you Teri Jon! Can't wait to wear it again!
XO
Shoppinggal
