Week in Review - Vol. 7

I don’t know about you, but I’m already in weekend-land. Tomorrow, we’re heading down to Richmond to visit the Quirk Hotel and celebrate my sister-in-law’s birthday. I couldn’t be more excited!

Last weekend, we planted our garden (FINALLY NOW THAT SPRING IS BASICALLY OVER) and I may have done a little shopping on Sunday. I picked up a few really adorable pieces from Take 5 Boutique that I can’t wait to show you!

I posted all about my interview with Katherine Schwarzenegger earlier in the week and learned all about her favorite trends, why she's partnering with TJMAXX to tell the stories of Real Girls across the US on the #RoadToReal tour, and of course, where she loves to get coffee in DC.

Tuesday, we celebrated my mom’s birthday with a surprise happy hour at one of her favorite restaurants, Cooper’s Hawk. We invited a few of her closest friends and took MAJOR advantage of the tasty happy hour specials. 

I got this adorable boho dress in the mail from Banana Republic on Wednesday, so naturally, I wore it Thursday. I was ambivalent about the snakeskin print, but they made it work. SO WELL. 

I recapped the new Bluemercury store opening on the blog and included both Marla and Barry Beck’s skincare secrets! 

Photo by Jen Eun

Wednesday I got my Greenheart Juice fix! I visited their Georgetown shop located within Downdog yoga and drank ALL the strawberry milk (their beauty almond milk) and ate ALL the chia seed pudding. Have you visited their shop before?

Did you catch this insanely gorgeous Suno dress on the blog? I’m in love.

Thursday was eventful - I left my wallet at home (classic) but luckily, the people of the bus had grace on me and let me borrow some money. I had actually started to go back to my car once I realized I had left it in my yoga bag, but someone actually ran after me to let me know that they could help me out. YOU GUYS. Humanity.

Later in the day, I met up with one of my very best gal pals, Erin, and we romped around Georgetown eating Sweetgreen (where I thankfully had a gift card!) and taking photos. Best. Afternoon. Ever.

I’m gearing up for a super super, super fun weekend and I’m basically counting the hours until we leave (FYI - it’s 27 hours)

SO MANY GOOD THINGS are happening next week! I’m getting my hair done with the one, the only, Nadine Matar (!!!) then I’m hosting the Cuyana Le Sud Summer Party next Thursday! Hope to see you there!

Bluemercury Opens at Cathedral Commons

Sweaty and tired, I swung my bare feet out of my car and fastened on my strappy heels. I checked my face quickly before I paid my parking meter - just as I’d expected. Shiny. I was eternally grateful that soon my problem would be solved - I was on my way to the Bluemercury opening at Cathedral Commons.

Upon entering the store (their 95th location!) I actually squealed. As one does as they enter Bluemercury. There was Oribe (pronounced OR-BAE as I learned that night) to the left, makeover stations on my right…oh - and cupcakes. Definitely ate one or two (or ten) of those before enjoying a little post-work makeup touch-up! 

The founders (Marla and Barry Beck) arrived shortly after and I was beside myself with excitement. Marla was SO beautiful - not that I was surprised. She is co-founder of my favorite makeup and skincare store of all time. AND with her semi-recent launch of her new skincare line, M-61, she’s more on-fire than ever.

Before I got a chance to steal Marla away from the throngs of people fawning over her (which I did later), I asked her husband and co-founder of Bluemercury, Barry Beck, about their mens grooming products.

“As guys start to move into their career, they start to take better care of themselves - they get a better haircut, buy nicer shirts, invest in nicer shoes, and we fundamentally believe that taking care of yourself in terms of better shampoo, hair grooming products, better shaving creams - and the truth is, better grooming products are actually better! The ingredients are better. And there’s a reason why certain people out in California in the movie business look so good!”

He’s so right, friends. My husband has really taken off in his career and with his entrepreneurial mind, is always meeting new people. Looking your best is important. And while I’ve become quite the skincare prowess, if I do say so myself, I had no idea what a guy should be using. I knew he’d have no patience for my 7-step routine, so I asked Barry for specifics.

He suggested this routine for bae:

1. M-61 Brilliant Cleanse Face Wash
2. Kiehls Blue Astringent Toner
3. M-61 JetGlow Cream

Now that I had a set routine for the hubs, I needed to get Marla’s take on her favorite products. And I got my chance shortly afterwards when she joined my group of friends as we were chatting about our favorite M-61 products. 

Pictured here with Marla Beck, Briana and Ally

Her favorites?

The M-61 Vitablast C serum (which I'm already obsessed with) and the PowerGlow Peel. I also picked up their makeup remover because it is actually THE BEST I've found.  As evidenced from all the products in my hand in the photo above. I'm CLEARLY a fan.

The new Bluemercury store is located in Cathedral Commons at 3320 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016. Be sure to check out this gorgeous (and my new favorite) location! Not located near one? Shop my favorite Bluemercury products below! 

Floral Suno Dress from Rent the Runway

Slipping away from reality, loosing track of time, naps in the middle of the afternoon. Such is the life when on vacation. Each year when we visit my Papou in Florida, we savor the moments where it’s not looked down upon to have a drink at 2 PM…where you aren’t sure what day it it…and it’s acceptable.

Our souls need it, really. I think in a culture where we’re so preoccupied (and consumed) with time, it’s nice to just let it go. (As Elsa would say!)

At first, it’s hard to do. We fight it, carrying our phones, checking the weather, setting alarms, not wanting to miss out…but then, by the end of our trip, I’d left my phone in the condo, only telling time by how close the sun is to the horizon. 

As the trip goes on, I start to find myself wanting to wear softer, more comfortable pieces. Thankfully, I’ve started curating my closet to reflect this GRAVE CONCERN so I’m never having to decide whether I want to eat all the food OR look good in a dress. I want it all, ok? And I’m not apologizing for it.

This SUNO dress is everything I could want in a vacation vacation outfit. It’s the silkiest silk, the prettiest pattern and lots of room around for when the waiter stops by with the dessert menu.  I fell in love with SUNO last year, but their pieces are a little out of my price range, so I was thrilled when Rent the Runway started caring them!

Best of all, I didn’t even have to worry about packing this piece (how does one even pack a silk dress without getting it wrinkled? I certainly don’t know!) I had them mail it to my Papou’s condo so it was there when I arrived. It couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. 

Also - goes anyone else find themselves wearing less and less makeup as the trip goes on? First day, I get super dolled up for dinner. The next night, I might blow dry my hair. By the third night, I let my hair air dry and swipe on a little gloss before dinner.

Maybe it’s the beachy happiness that starts to really soak in…or maybe it’s the natural tan that finally starts to show itself that gives way to feeling ok about not slathering my face in concealer…but there’s something so beautiful to me about letting the sun soak into your soul. Don’t you think?

Wearing SUNO dress and Loeffler Randall bag via Rent the Runway, J.Crew sandals, Sophie Blake cuff, J.Crew denim jacket.

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Girl talk with Katherine Schwarzenegger at TJMAXX

It’s 6:30 AM and I’m standing in front of our mirror in full-on panic mode. I’d been invited to interview Katherine Schwarzenegger at the Georgetown TJMAXX for her “Road to Real” tour. What on earth does one wear to meet the daughter of a movie star/politician and a wildly successful journalist? But that wasn’t what intimidated me.

Aside from writing two books (one on the struggles of post-grad life and one about body image), I’d spotted her in a fashion week documentary “Baring It All: Inside New York Fashion Week" and swooned as I saw her explore backstage, chatting casually with designers and sitting front row with everyone I follow on Instagram.

So you see my dilemma. 

I finally landed on my trusty Elizabeth and James skirt (that I scored on major sale last season), my silk Cuyana tank, my lightweight Achro blazer and a denim jacket to give the look a more casual vibe. I threw on my new go-to Tuckernuck necklace to finish off the look - I love how well it works with the neckline of this top.

Upon meeting Katherine, I was thrilled that she was as down-to-earth as I’d hoped. First we chatted about her favorite spots in DC (she’d already been to Baked & Wired, smart girl) since her sister (a Georgetown alum) had insisted she not miss it. As a self-proclaimed coffee addict, I had to know what kind of drink she ordered (a latte - a girl after my own heart!) I was surprised to learn that Katherine is a very recent coffee drinker! (As opposed to me, who has been drinking coffee since i came out of the womb practically.)

One thing I noticed immediately about Katherine was her radiating confidence. What was her secret?

“Knowing who are you are as a person is the most important thing for feeling comfortable and confident in your own skin,” Katherine explained. She talked about how her partnership with TJMAXX was a perfect match, given their great price point and wide selection of pieces for every body type.

She added, “TJMAXX makes it easy to dress for your body type - and when we do this, we feel our most comfortable and confident.”

And let’s be real, friends. There is a very specific body type that’s considered “beautiful” in our society. But REAL girls have hips, cellulite, arm jiggle - I know I do! So I asked Katherine what she thought could be done to make every women feel beautiful…

“I think being able to open up the conversation and talk openly and honestly about body image - that’s why I wrote my first book. I felt it was a taboo topic that we couldn’t talk about openly and honestly without someone saying, ‘why are you talking about that?'"

She’s so right. On the blog, I don’t often talk about my insecurities, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there. The more we open up that conversation and the more media shares images of REAL women and what real women look like, the more it’ll become clear that every body type is beautiful.

As for her must-have staples for what should be in the real girl’s closet? 

“Anything you can buy at TJMXX! Whether you’re looking for something for a job interview to your workout clothes to finding the perfect piece for your home, there’s everything in one place. TJMAXX understands what a real, modern-day women needs and that’s everything in one place.”

Duly noted! After our interview, I tried on ALL THE THINGS in TJMAXX - my favorites being the chicest pair of Vince mules (a tad to small unfortunately) and the silkiest culottes from Rebecca Taylor…which, by the way, are on -trend with THIS SEASON’S styles. 

Be sure to keep up with Katherine on her Road to Real tour, where she’ll be interviewing women at TJMAXX stores throughout the country through July 17. If you can’t make it to one of her appearances, be sure to keep up on social media by searching #RoadtoReal. And if you have a friend, niece, nephew or cousin who has recently graduated, Katherine wrote a great book to give them! 

Week in Review - Vol. 6

Phew - thank goodness for 4-day work weeks. I say we make this a habit, shall we? IF ONLY!

We spent last weekend in Orlando (see my weekend snaps here!) so getting back into the swing of things was hard. Luckily, there were lots of fun things I had planned for the week ahead!

Photo by Via Leah

Wednesday I met up my friend, Leah, for a little shopping trip in Georgetown. We grabbed a quick bite at Chaia then popped over to a few of my favorite local shops, Lynn Louisa! I picked up some sassy shorts that I can’t wait to show you soon!

Shopping at Lynn Louisa

Later that evening, I attended the opening of the new Blue Mercury shop in Cathedral Commons and got to meet the company’s founders, Marla and Barry Beck! I got some great skincare secrets that I’ll be sharing on the blog next week! In the meantime, be sure to check out their new location at Cathedral Commons at 3320 Wisconsin Ave., NW.

While at the Blue Mercury event, I snagged a few of my favorite products - their M-61 makeup remover (the best one I’ve tried so far!) and the Oribe Supershine Cream. Friends, it’s an investment, I know. But after using up my sample size version of this, I knew I had to go ALL IN. It’s the only way I survive the summer humidity and the winter static-hair syndrome.

Inspiring read of the week - this post by the Be. Bangles founder will make you realize you’re worth more than you give yourself credit for. 

This weekend will be ALL ABOUT the gardening. In case you didn’t know, I’m a little old lady at heart. We’ll be planting zucchini, summer squash, spinach, heirloom tomatoes, cilantro, thyme, basil, and more. As long as it doesn’t rain. 

Are you addicted to the farmer’s market? Then you won’t want to miss this post where I share my tips on how to make the most of your trip!