Sundresses and Snowstorms

This is what it looks like outside of my apartment today. We've had 20 inches of snow fall and it's insanity outside.

But I want to take you to a different place, where you don't have to wear ugly shoes and trudge through waist high snow. After London I headed over to Israel for a few days to visit my sister. The temperature rose by 50 degrees and I spent my days either playing with my niece and nephews or lying in the sun, reading trashy magazines. Good times.

It also meant that I got to wear a new dress that I had picked up on the Evans sales rack the week before in London.

Can we have a moment of silence where we appreciate how little clothing I am wearing and how sunny it is. Ok, thank you.

The best part of the dress is the crocheted back. I love details like this and yes, next time I'll wear a black bra.

I have little on, but as for details my dress is from Evans, my flip-flops are Havianna's, my bag is Botkier and I picked up these sunglasses at a market in Turkey.

My hair piece was purchased at the Bust craftacular a few years ago and I think I got these earrings at a NYC street fair. My wonderful sister was both my tour guide and photographer for the day.

And just because I am a woman obsessed, here's a photo of my sister's "baby." It's official, my nephew is cuter than yours.

Layering at London Markets

My first full day in London I headed to East London to hit up some markets and do a bit of shopping. I attempted to dress like an East London hipster but I'm afraid that my smile and hair bow gave me away as a fake.

Because I was packing for an over 50 degree temperature variance on my trip my theory was to layer, layer, layer. I've got on a tank top dress from Brooklyn Industries which you've seen before here, a button down from Debs that I got in Fatshionista sales swap, a cashmere cardigan from Bloomingdales, tights from Target, my new Duo boots that I am beyond obsessed with and a Botkier bag.

I'm also sporting a hair bow from H&M, gloves from Uniqlo and a necklace from the Bust Craftacular.

A hallmark of London is its markets. London is absolutely filled with them and they all have a different feel to them. Some sell antiques, some food, some handmade crafts and while I was visiting last month I tried to hit up as many markets as I could in my limited time.

The first market I visited was Spitalfields on a Sunday (vendors and size of markets vary by the day) where it was in full swing for the holiday season. Spitalfields has a ton of handmade clothes, jewelry and accessories so I was in heaven. Also unlike many markets it is covered, which in the weather we were having is a blessing.

I quickly got sucked into a table which had beautiful, fluffy and feathery winter accessories. I think I tried on every single hat they had on their table.

But it was worth it because in the end I walked away with this beauty. I'm kind of obsessed with it even if I do look creepily like my mother.

Some of the other things that caught my eye at the market were these gorgeous necklaces. I ended up getting a headphone necklace from them. I also purchased a necklace that had a mini set of utensils on it that I've already worn about a dozen times. I'll be sure and show off the both of them to you sometime soon.

I was also taken with this vintage suitcase filled with bits and baubles for only 2 pounds a piece. Sometimes I get a bit taken away with things like that.

I also picked up some scarves for a pound a pop and some of the tastiest tea I've had in ages. While there was a ton of adorable clothes at the market none of it came in my size which was a bit aggravating but also good for my wallet.

Photo credit goes to my friend Elsa.

Happy Holidays

Yesterday was my office's annual holiday party. Mind you this was the 4th work holiday party I had attended over the previous seven days, but it was also the "official one." I hadn't really planned on wearing anything special until a friend gchatted me the night before to ask what I was planning on wearing. Oh my, I needed an outfit. I scoured my closet and was so excited when I realized I'd finally have an opportunity to wear this dress that had been sitting in my closet for the past year.

I picked this black, velvet, sparkle dress up in a charity shop in Charleston last year for less than $10. In a completely un-shocking twist of fate I was drawn to it by the sparkles. I picked it up, held it up and thought to myself, this looks like it'll fit. And then I looked at the size tag and though uhh...maybe it won't. Why? Well take a guess what size this dress is. Have you guessed yet? It's marked a size 6 and as my colleague said last night I may be many things, but a size 6 I am not.

But I grabbed the dress, took it into the fitting room and lo and behold it fit! It's a stretchy dress to begin with and I'm sure it has stretched considerably over the years. I'm guessing this dress dates to the Working Girl fashion era. It just shows that you should always, always, always try stuff on so you don't suffer from fashion remorse.

I paired the dress with my new hair fascinator from Primark that I picked up last month and my necklace is also Primark, albeit several years old.

I'm wearing my beloved and fairly banged up first ever pair of Duo boots.

And here's a close-up of the dress so you can appreciate the pattern. I like it so much that it's worth the trail of glitter that follows me everywhere I go when I wear it.

My friend kept saying I was wearing a diamond dress. I was a bit confused until she sent me this clip. NPH give me a call and we can be matching diamond twins.