Fall On My Mind.

 

1. Ice Cube Bracelet, J. Crew  2. Cross-Strap Flat Camel, Marais  3. Essie Mezmerised, Essie
4. British Racing Green, Butter London  5. Knitted Stripe Block Top, TopShop  
6. Black Daisy Embellished Shell Top, Top Shop  7. Coral Crochet Lace Collar Swing Top, TopShop  
8. Le Pilage Apache Tote, Longchamp  9. House of Harlow 1960 Feather Studs, Bloomingdales  
10. House of Harlow 1960 Jordana Sunglasses, Nordstrom  11. Vince Camuto 'Jerrell' Bootie, Nordstrom  
12. Raindate Pumps, Nine West  13. Prada Infusion Diris Eau de Parfum, Nordstrom

With fall within reach and this unbearable summer heat, I'm fairly certain that the upcoming fall season is on all of our minds.  It is the perfect transition season to put away our summer sandals but not quite pull out our heavy winter coats.  I am eager to hit the stores and start shopping for some key pieces and in order to prepare for my adventure, I've put together a shopping list of sorts to get me started.  I plan to visit Kelly in New York soon and what better a place to find a fall wardrobe!

Getting Through the Day.

Hello friends! We're alive. I promise. Work, life, and more work has been getting in the way of the more enjoyable things lately. No worries though, we haven't forgotten about you.  I've been working long hours recently so for today's post, I wanted to share with you what helps me to get through the day: the oh-so-captivating fashion e-mails I receive. It's my connection to the fashion world after enduring those long hours in the office that I take a few minutes to peak at what I'm missing out on after work.  How do you get through your days at work?

On a different note, as you may have noticed, Kristen's been working on a new design for our blog and I think it's perfect! We wanted to shy away from the "cute" look and go with a design with a bit more edge.  It's still a work in progress with a few more tweaks here and there so stay tuned!
 

Succulent Garden.

I never fully understood the obsession with succulents until this past weekend.  My sister, Katie, and I were strolling around an outdoor mall in Miami this weekend and saw succulent arrangements selling for $30+. I didn't want to spend this amount and immediately thought to just do it ourselves.  Quickly after, Katie and I were running all around Miami and picked up these perfect hanging candle holders from CB2 we'd seen endless times before.  From there we headed to Home Depot (in the pouring rain) and picked up gravel and an array of succulents.  The next day we got to work and arranged the succulents within the candle holders with dirt on the bottom and gravel on the top.  As you can imagine, the hardest part was arranging the cactus!  We successfully completed this project and only spent about $7 on each arrangement.  I would love to hang these somewhere and I absolutely cannot wait to do other succulent arrangements.  They are the perfect plant, both indoors and outside, that add life to a room and are easy to maintain.   

Brush It Off.

I recently stumbled upon a brush holder that was a square container with coffee beans.  I think this is the perfect solution for storing brushes and much easier than rummaging through my makeup bag. I decided to make a brush holder of my own, but I used black beans instead of coffee beans.  I first cleaned my brushes with shampoo and water, let them dry, filled a square glass vase with beans, and then arranged my brushes accordingly.  I've been using this set-up for about 2 weeks now and I love the ease of finding my brushes.  This mini project is so easy, economical, and useful!

Patio Set Restoration.

My balcony has been bare except for my herb plants and I've wanted to purchase patio furniture for some time now but didn't want to spend the money.  Instead, I salvaged a patio set that my boyfriend's family was getting rid of and we restored it to look as good as new.  We sanded the table and chairs, wiped them with paint thinner, and then sprayed them black. There was no table surface, so we cut out a round piece of wood and stained it a nice chestnut color.  For the backing on the chairs, I purchased fabric and stuffing to create a cushion back.  I wouldn't consider myself the handiest person, but I think my boyfriend and I did a pretty decent job and I'm extremely happy with the results.  I'm excited to cook a delicious meal to serve on my new patio set!