Winter Layers

I hope you all had a good weekend. My weekend was spent helping my friend throw his 22nd birthday party. I love parties, throwing them, going to them, and recovering from them. The party was a 1920s themed and I will post my some pictures soon. Also, this past weekend we finally got some snow but already it's melting. With this crazy weather constantly changing I've spent most of these past few months layering. I never put away any of my spring/summer dresses. I just long sleeved shirts and cardigans over all of them, so I can keep wearing them throughout the winter. Laying is my favorite thing to do in the winter.

Outfit Details: 

Dress: Mango

Tights: Good and Plenty

Boots: Burlington Coat Factory

Coat: Guess

Polka Dots on Mint

As I sit here writing this post and trying to recover from a bad cold I can't stop smiling while uploading these pictures. The day I took these was probably one of the best days I've had in a long while. I took these pictures on a Thursday and started the day with a very successful shopping trip where I acquired this little outfit. The minute I saw the color and polka dots, I knew I had to add this little beauty into my collection. I'm a sucker for polka dots. These booties were a nice surprise and very unexpected. As I was heading out of the dressing room I spotted these and knew they would be perfect for the dress. Never expected to find an entire ensemble in one trip. I wore this outfit to see my current obsession Conor Maynard in concert and then met up with friends for dinner and drinks. The concert was amazing and ending the night with one of my best friends was just the icing on the cake. I love days like that when everything seems to just go perfectly.

 

Outfit Details:

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Dress: Urban Outfitters

Tights: Nordstrom

Belt: Anthropologie

Finding Inspiration

Hope you all had a great weekend and are starting this week on a positive note. I'm finally getting back into the swing of things and really excited about posting on my little blog. One of the reasons I stopped posting was due to a lack of inspiration in all aspects of my life. I felt so lost and confused, not sure what my life was supposed to look like or what I wanted it to look like. I finally made the decision to change that by taking the time to enjoy each day, making new friends, and staying positive about what's in store for the new year. Now that I am feeling inspired again, I plan on posting a lot more this new year.

Outfit Details: 

Dress: Material Girl 

Sweater: Thrifted (no name)

Boots: Bandolino

Tights: Pure & Good  

Happy New Year!

 Molasses pancakes as my first meal for 2013!

I wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year and start off my first post of the year with a look into what's going on with me. I know I haven't posted in a few months, but with moving back from Africa and trying to settle back into my life in New York, things have been a bit hectic. I am very excited about this new year and ready to for what 2013 has in store. This coming year I plan on sharing more food pictures with recipes and outfit posts. I hope you will continue to read! Happy 2013 everyone!

My new planner for 2013!

Dear Creatures Autumn 2012

It just hit me that the end of this week will bring us the official first day of Autumn. I am so excited, because Autumn is hands down my favorite time of year. I love the colors of the leaves as they change and layering up my outfits. Lately, to prepare for the upcoming cooling down I've been perusing many websites in order to plan my closet updates. Dear Creatures has really outdone themselves with their Autumn looks and these are just a few of my favorite pieces that I want to incorporate into my wardrobe. Are you all looking forward to the upcoming season. I am also looking forward to my return to the states and being back in New York City (24 more days to go and I will be back home)! Also, wanted to let you know I started a twitter, so it would be great if you all could follow me. Have a great week!

 



End of Summer and Freak Outs

It's been awhile since my last post, but things have been a bit overwhelming these last few weeks. I've been wanting to post, actually these pictures were taken ages ago for a post I had planned but I've completely forgotten about. Work has been extra busy with deadlines and reports. Also, I've started job hunting again since I will be back in the states in 5 weeks. Trying to figure out my next step in life is always a stressful thing for me to do. As days go by and October inches its way closer, the idea of heading back to New York unemployed and living off of my savings scares me. I know I'll eventually find something, but the thought of not finding a job that I will actually like freaks me out even more. I know I shouldn't be worrying and stressing out doesn't accomplish anything, but that's just how I'm wired.

 

 

Anyway, onto other things. Lately I've been looking forward to Autumn and planning my shopping list for the upcoming season. I've already marked a few items on some of my favorite sites to prepare me for October in New York. I can't wait till I am back in the city heading to my favorite coffee shop wrapped up in a warm cardigan. Summer heat and palm trees are nice, but I truly love that time of year when the leaves start to change and cool breezes take over. I'm a New England girl through and through and sure do love my Autumn's.

Outfit Details:

Skirt: mango

Blouse: Anthropologie

Shoes: Steve Madden

Work Trip (Part 3)

Today my post is heavy on nature and scenery. Since living in Africa, I haven't really had the chance to leave the city but during my work trip that's exactly what I did. These are the last set of pictures I will be posting, so I hope you like. These were taken during the three hour drive from one city to the next and from different views around Yamoussoukro. Today officially make it 4 months since I've been in Cote d'Ivoire, which means I only have 2 more months left and then back to New York. While I'm here I am enjoying the vast open spaces and random crocodiles hanging out in the middle of parks. Hope you all enjoy and have a great weekend!

Work Trip (part 2)

Here's the second set of pictures from my work trip last week to Yamoussoukro. I only have one more set of pictures to show and then I will be back to my regular outfit pictures. These were taken on a trip to visit the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Paix. I've been to my share of churches around Europe and never expected to see something like this in West Africa. I was blown away buy the size and artistry in this beautiful cathedral. Another amazing this was the quietness I experienced. Usually when visiting big cathedrals, there are long lines and crowds and non-stop camera flashing. Well on my tour there were only six of us and the guide really took his time to explain everything and we also had time to explore on our own. I have to say this was probably one of my favorite tourist trips I've taken while I've been in Cote d'Ivoire.



Work Trip (part 1)

This week was such an amazing as well as super exhausting week for me. I got the opportunity to go on a trip with my work and stay at a very nice hotel. This was my first trip outside of the city of Abidjan and I was really happy about being included. I finally got the chance to see more of the Ivory Coast and visit its capital city, Yamoussoukro. What was great about the trip was the fact that I got the chance to do some sightseeing and act the total tourist instead of sitting in conference rooms for meetings. These are just a few pictures I took during my mini trip. It took about three hours to get there but the drive was amazing and I spent the whole time staring out the window. Hope you enjoy these, I will be adding more next week. 

hotel pool

Cathedral in Yamoussoukro

Statue at one of the sites

Driving by the crocidile pond

 The view from the cathedral

Lunch: Fish in a sauce with a side of rice

Fast Times

Is it just me or is time flying by really fast? I mean, in less than two weeks it's going to be August. Autumn is just around the corner and I'm very happy about that. With days either filled with heavy rains or extreme heat, I tend to spend a lot of time indoors. My summer hasn't been my usual summer of balancing work, beach time, outings, road trips, and friends. Instead it's been filled with long days at the office and weekends filled with loads of laundry and hoping for the sun to come out so my clothes can dry. Not having a Laundromat or washer/dryer has been something I've had to get used to. Being in a foreign country and having no access to those things and doing my laundry by hand has been an adventure of not ruining my clothes and actually getting them clean. Hand washing is hard work! Anyway, it's finally Friday and it's raining, but I am looking forward to a weekend filled with catching up on some sleep and movies. Hope your weekends are filled with fun and relaxing!!!

Outfit Details:

Top: Anthropologie

Skirt: Anthropologie

Haziness of Summer

Surviving the summer heat as well as the summer humidity has been something for me to get used to. Living in West Africa these past three months has really changed my love of layering and made me rely more on light some dresses and just adding an accessory to my outfits to make them more me. I'm a layers kind of girl, but when the heat rolls around, that's no longer an option. The day I took these pictures, it was extra hot and humid, by that afternoon we had a full on thunderstorm that lasted a few days. As I type this up it's getting pretty cloudy today, so I am foreseeing a weekend indoors in my air conditioned apartment watching some movies. What are your plans this weekend?

Outfit Details:

Dress: Urban Outfitters

Shoes: Coach

Belt: Uniqlo