Fjallraven Backpack + UO Giveaway

When I visited Paris last Fall, I noticed lots of Parisians and many travelers wearing a certain kind of backpack.

Of course, I had to find out this backpack that everyone in Europe seemed to own. I tried to be sly as a peered over at my neighbor's bag while we waited for our connecting flight. 

The backpack that everyone seemed to be sporting was from Fjallraven. I hadn't heard of them before, but now I see them everywhere!

A few stand-out qualities about this backpack:

• Photographers will love this insert I spotted for cameras, lenses and flashes
• Made of durable polyvinyl
• Roomy main zip compartment (I couldn't believe how much I packed in here for a photoshoot!)
• Easily accessible front + side pockets
• Adjustable woven shoulder straps made for comfortable carrying.

So now the fun news - Urban Outfitters is giving away an incredible trip along with a Fjallraven backpack filled with amazing goodies. Enter here!

• 1 North America Winner + 1 Friend
• 1 Week Stay in Stockholm Sweden + Flight and Hotel Covered
• $1K UO Shopping Spree
• Fjallraven bags packed with Paris-Themed travel accessories from UO

Good luck, friends!!

Outfit 1:
Urban Outfitters top c/o, Fjallraven backpack, Chinese Laundry boots (old), Who What Wear Collection skirt, Gucci belt, Sophie Blake earrings

Outfit 2:
Urban Outfitters dress c/o, Fjallraven backpack, Anine Bing boots (sold out but identical from Sezane), Gucci belt, Fossil Annette watch

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Holiday Giveaway: $1000 Nordstrom Gift Card

Now…it’s time for a fabulous giveaway! I’ve teamed up with an amazing group of bloggers to give YOU a chance to win: a $1000 Nordstrom Gift Card, just in time for the holidays!

Simply enter below by completing the rafflecopter. You’ll receive one entry per completion. This giveaway is open internationally and runs until 12/5. Winner will be announced here. Good Luck!

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LIPP Beautifully

Happy first (official) day of summer, friends! To celebrate, I’m doing a little giveaway over on my Instagram page starting at noon today - be sure to head there and enter!

Wearing "CAUSE" semi-custom lipstick from Lipp // Conflicted Pixie necklace (on sale!)

With new seasons comes new trends. While I typically talk about fashion trends, I want to go into one way I can drastically change up my look with one item. I’ll give you a hint - it’ll make you smile.

LIPP lipstick shades and Take 5 Boutique shorts

Guessed it yet? LIPSTICKS! I’ll admit - when it comes to makeup in general, I have my makeup uniform pretty set in stone. I’ve found my go-to eyeshadow that I rarely deviate from, developed an obsession with this conturing palette and have life-changing feelings about this eyebrow pencil kit. The one thing that I love changing through the seasons? Lip colors.

One of my favorite companies to discover new colors has been Lipp. This season, I snatched up their Santorini shade (the prettiest coral color) and my own custom lipstick (that I designed myself!) called CAUSE. I’m wearing Cause in most of these photos and I can’t tell you how many compliments I’ve gotten on both shades.

I love them both SO much that Lipp has decided to let one of my lucky readers make a custom color themselves! Just head over to my Instagram at noon today to enter! And if you'd like to pick one up for yourselves, they're offering free shipping all month-long with code: LIPPSHIPFREE!

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Closet Staple: Cleavitz

A few weeks ago, Garance Dore visited Washington, D.C for a book signing at Club Monaco. If you’re not familiar with her, she’s this brilliant woman from France who illustrates, writes, blogs and photographs people among many other things. I love her for a thousand reasons, but one is that she loves to do so many things, just like me. When we met, I was dumbfounded with words, or rather, a lack there-of. My mouth spewed sounds that were most definitely unintelligible, somewhere in the mix was definitely an “I LOVE YOU SO MUCH,” and yet, Garance was so charming, so genuine…smiling, asking about myself when she saw I was clearly starstruck. I thought, I want to be just like Garance.

So I bought her book. In it, she discusses the pillars of style, how to be graceful, how to write thank you notes…but the thing I found most alluring was her chapter on wardrobe essentials. I flipped through, desperately counting the things I didn’t have on her list and giving myself a little pat-on-the-back every time she listed something I already owned.

In my mission to create a highly-curated closet, I’ve find myself being more purposeful about shopping, about filling in those gaps. One item that I needed to be on my personal style list: a crop top. Not just any crop top and not one that I could only wear to blogger events, but one I could wear IRL to work. Let me introduce you to Cleavitz.

Cleavitz is a local company from Maryland that sells just that - the perfect crop tops that make layering (or covering up when you totes forgot to sew that button back on your work blouse) a cinch. They don't ride up or bunch. Finally a brand that gets being a woman! And best yet, they're made in the USA!

I’ve had this one for just over a week and I’ve worn it multiple times. Here, I wore it in Florida on a warm evening out to dinner with a denim jacket. Pairing it with a high-waisted skirt was important for me since I’m not a fan of showing too much skin.

Next week, I’ll be sharing another look with Cleavitz, but on a more work-appropriate note. In the meantime, I’m giving away any top on the Cleavitz website!! The contest runs through next Monday, March 21, good luck!! (However, if you can't wait, use code: SPRING16 for 25% off!)

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This post done in partnership with Cleavitz. All opinions are my own.

Wearing: Cleavitz top c/o, J.Crew denim jacket, Few Moda skirt c/o, Veja sneakers via Anthom, Loeffler Randall clutch, Gorjana bracelet via South Moon Under c/o, and Finding Ferdinand lip kit.

Raw Hem + Denim Giveaway!

You know that piece of clothing you own that’s kind of like you’re lucky number? Maybe it’s a dress that you’ve celebrated your favorite moments in or maybe it’s a special scarf that you inherited from your grandmother (I have one of these!) These items are things we hold dear to our heart - not because it’s just something we like, but because we’ve created meaning for it.

And when I cleaned out my closet last year (Marie Kondo’s method is NO JOKE), I vowed only to keep the things I loved. Well, getting rid of 2/3 of the things I had left a few open holes in my closet that I was excited to fill.

One thing I realized I needed was a silk blouse. I have this one from Equipment (which is such a staple and I LOVE IT), but I wanted something not-so-basic…a fancier, more unique version of the classic must-have. Then I found the blouse of my dreams.

THIS is my lucky blouse. I wear it with these wide-legged trousers to uber important meeting, with jeans for fun brunch dates with my best girls and with a statement skirt for to evening events. I’m not gonna lie - it wasn’t cheap. But Sandro knows how to make a top you’ll love forever. I bought mine 6 months ago and I still have butterflies when I wear it. THAT’S how you know.

Another thing I realized I needed are light-wash jeans. There MAY have been a period of time where I exclusively wore dark-wash flares ONLY. Now I'm finding all these amazing kinds of jeans and have been developing a minor obsession. Last week, when a new pair arrived in the mail, my husband was like, "Don't you have a pair of jeans like that?" My response? "Those were light-wash, these are MEDIUM wash, are slightly more distressed with a raw hem." Totally not the same. The pair I'm wearing here were found on Fitcode, literally the best way to find jeans. (Talked about it here!)

If you're as into finding the perfect pair of denim you can obsesses over as me, you're in luck!! I'm giving away a FREE pair of denim from Fitcode (which carries my fave brands like Citizens of Humanity, PAIGE denim, FRAME, J.Brand and more!) Enter below by February 28! Part of the entry asks you to find your Fitcode Number - you can do that here! Good luck!

Wearing Sandro blouse (similar), Paige Denim via FitCode c/o, Old Navy shoes c/o, Achro jacket, Coach bag (similar), Sophie Blake bracelet.

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