Baby Blue With Milreason

If there are two things I can count on they are these:  1.  as much as I regret to leave my bed so early in the morning, the morning sunlight is the most glorious and 2. Milreason makes absolutely stunning dresses that make getting out of bed on the weekend so much easier.

I feel like I can't win sometimes.  When the sun comes up at a reasonable hour, it is also terrifically cold outside that I sit in the car a moment looking with dread at the frosty air before stripping off my coat to plunge into the frigid world for a few pretty pics.  Alternatively, when the sun comes up well before any objective person is ready to be awake in the world, it does so to a blissfully warm temperature that makes my ante-meridian photo sessions extremely pleasant.  My choices are either lose sleep or risk frost bite.

Ah, but it was not such a difficult choice this morning.  I've been looking forward to this collaboration with Milreason and this V-Neck Wrap dress is my absolute favorite shade of baby blue with such a flattering cut and fit that I practically bolted out of bed today to snap a few pics in the golden hour.

With stretchy fabric, a swing skirt, a fitted waist and an oh-so-flattering cut, this baby blue dress is has the classic style I adore with the easy-like-Sunday-morning fit and feel that I need on days like this.  If you haven't been to Milreason yet, this little dress is one great reason to checkout all they have to offer.

Shopping Info:  Milreason 50s Style Dress Wrap V-Neck Sleeveless Cocktail A-line Dresses for Women with Pockets-$32.99, Chelsea Crew Gatsby T Strap Heels-$70

Mandatory R&R

Just a few photos from my beachy vacation.  It seems like ages ago now.  It was so difficult to choose the perfect dress for this photo shoot, mostly because I had no idea what it would be like on the day of the shoot and whether or not my dresses would be ruined by seaweed and salt water exposure that would just have to stay there for a few days until I could return home to properly wash them.

Since this pretty pink dress is just an inexpensive dupe, I thought it would be the perfect pick for a sunrise photo op on this lovely beach, and I think I made the right choice.

Normally Destin, FL is our holiday pick, but this year we decided to try out Santa Rosa. We primarily changed our destination because all the affordable accommodations in Destin  were fully booked for months.  

Santa Rosa is not too far from Destin and we loved the air bnb and exploring new beaches, but everything, beaches, roads, restaurants, was so crowded.  Even though we went during the week and before Memorial Day, the unofficial start of beach season, there were hour long waits for a restaurant table, and more traffic that I care to muddle through.  

On the plus side, all the crowding helped us to hold firmly to our plans to stay on the beach all day.  We knew if we left we'd lose our spot and have to fight a million cars on the highway only to stand in line at a restaurant.  No thanks.

Instead we stopped by the local grocery store early each morning, picked up sandwiches, drinks, and ice, and then staked out our place on the sand for long walks, even longer naps, and a little splashing in the sea.

Sometimes stress can be the perfect nudge into pure relaxation.  It certainly worked for us this year, but I do think that next year, I'll just plan our vacation a little further in advance so we can get back to our favorite secluded spot in Destin.

Easy Dress, Easy Style

One of the requisites for greatness when it comes to clothing is that a piece should be versatile, although more often than not it feels like it's the other way around.  When you find a really great dress, it's just easy to style it lots of ways.

Karina has some very pretty prints out for Fall 2021 in all the classic Easy Dress styles that we love so much.

I'm wearing the Kate Dress in Violet Femme.  This cute little geometric print with gray and pale purple circles is easy to accessorize and the Kate dress is such a comfortable style.

Like all Karina Dresses, this dress is wrinkle free and I love that the Kate dress has pockets.  I feel lost without pockets on my dress.  What are you supposed to do with your hands!? Swing them? No thanks.

Fall in love with the whole Fall 2021 collection at KarinaDresses.com

Shopping Info:  The Kate Dress in Violet Femme-$108 from KarinaDresses.com

Create Color Everywhere

Color plays a role in everyone's life.  Whether we realize it or not, colors affect our moods, our memory, our opinions of others and the world around us.  I don't believe in drab.  I need color everywhere, even or perhaps especially at the office where fluorescent lights and beige walls and file cabinets can make life a grind.  I can't change the lights or the walls or the file cabinets, but I can create color by filling my life with color in other ways.  That's why I'm so excited for this collaboration with WeLoveColors.

Orange is a color of energy, and excitement, but also of warmth as is most certainly the case with this gorgeous rust orange.  I think that's part of the reason why the fall colors conjure images of the busyness of prepping for winter and the coziness of curling up next to the fire with a hot cup of spiced tea.

I can already tell the affect these tights have on my mood.  I get that little shivery thrill as I look at these and think of rainy autumn on the way.  All I have to do is keep looking at them and not out my window at the scorched earth and the heat ripples.

I decided to get out this little wool dress to wear with my tights just to do a little wishful thinking for autumn.  Oh my goodness, I absolutely adore the richness in the color of these tights.  We Love Colors is true to their name.  These colors are bold and lovely and the tights are such a wonderful quality that I'll have them for years to come.

I want to mention too that We Love Colors has tights for Men, Women, and Kids plus dancewear, gloves, socks, and leggings, the works! and in sizes ranging from Small to 8X for adults.

I normally wear XS and ordered the S/M size in these Rust tights.  They are a perfect and comfortable fit, not too tight and no puckering or blousing.

I love these tights so much I may have to go back and get a few more colors, they are just so pretty colors that would look great with my wardrobe and I wear tights with all my dresses for at least nine months out of the year, it can't hurt to stock up.

Shopping Info:  Rust tights-$15 from Welovecolors.com, Maeve Dress-$135 from Family Affairs, Ecosusi Bag-$38, Life Stride Heeled Loafers-$60

We Love Colors

When it comes to tights and leggings, I'm a bit of a self-taught expert.  All my expertise came about of necessity because I love dresses and shorts but I used to live in one of the coldest places in the country.  It was a land of perpetual winter and no place at all for bare legs.  And so the search for good tights began.

Along the way, I've found that two things are hard to find in tights: 1.  Quality  2.  Colors  And I found both of those things when I teamed up with We Love Colors for this collaboration.

I cannot tell you how many times I've gotten a really cute pair of tights and while putting them on I have punched a hole right through them just with the pressure of my thumb.  That will not be happening with these tights, plus they're thick enough that I can wear these in winter.  We Love Colors sent over two pairs of tights for me to try, both are 70D thickness, which is excellent!  These tights are going to last me for years and years, and at only $15 per paid I can get so many colors to brighten up my wardrobe.  

As far as colors go, We Love Colors offers 51 hot hues to choose from, or you can buy a dye pack and tie dye your own!  I chose Olive Green for today's outfit, but let me assure it was so hard to choose just two colors; I want them all!

Join me here tomorrow to see which other color I chose and how I styled it as my collaboration with We Love Colors continues.

Shopping Info:  Olive Tights-$15 from WeLoveColors.com, Illuminated Dress from Samantha Pleet, Mak Cardigan from ThredUp, Rekayla Mary Janes-$24 from Amazon, Ecosusi Bag-$38

For the Elly May in All of Us: DressLily Collaboration

My collaboration with DressLily continues with this adorable little gingham sundress.  I'm a farmgirl to my core and I loved watching The Beverly Hillbillies when I was a kid.  Mostly because it was on TV when I got home from school and I just needed a little family friendly brain bubblegum.  I loved all the characters, especially granny with whom my personality most aligns, but there was a special place in my heart for Elly May.

Wholesome, caring, beautiful, kind to animals, adorably naïve: I wished I could be more like her.  So, today's post, in this cute little gingham dress from DressLily, is my tribute to Miss Elly May.  It's short and sweet and feels airy like cotton.  It's a little more boobalicious than Elly May ever wore, but I think I can fix that in the future with a different bra.  Actually, I think this dress is the perfect opportunity to finally try out my self-adhesive bra that looks like bunny ears.  I would recommend sizing up in this dress.  I ordered one size up from my usual and it fits perfectly.

Needing a little farm girl dress fix? Right now DressLily has their lowest prices of the year and you can enjoy and extra 22% Discount with Code: DLBF20.

Shopping Info:  Gingham Ladder Cut Plunge Front Dress-$17.97 from DressLily Use code DLBF20 to save 22% off your purchase.

Nearly Time for Fall Flannels: DressLily Collaboration

Ok, so I know it's probably a little early yet to think about flannel dresses, but let's face it, summer will be over soon so we may as well start thinking ahead.  I've had my eye on this Plaid Cuffed Sleeve Mock Button Lapel Dress from DressLily and DressLily is having their lowest prices of the year, so today it's only $9.99 and you can save an extra 22% with my code DLBF20! 

This Plaid Swing dress has three quarter sleeves, a zipper down the back, and a full skirt, but I particularly love the bodice on this dress.

I love it when my clothes are interesting, pretty and comfortable and this dress checks all those boxes.

I'm already dreaming of curling next to a crackling fire this autumn in this dress with a cozy blanket, a warm cup of tea and a good book under my arm, but since it is still summer for the moment, come back tomorrow for an adorable little gingham sundress from DressLily.  If you haven't shopped their sale yet, you don't know what you're missing.

Shopping Info:  Plaid Cuffed Sleeve Mock Button Lapel Dress-$9.99 from DressLily Use code DLBF20 to save 22% off your order.

Here Comes the Bride: Ever-Pretty Collaboration

Although June was once the favored month for weddings, August, September, and October and now nearly as popular, so I think this is the perfect time to talk wedding dresses!  The average wedding costs about $30,000 with the dress coming in at around $1,600.  However, there are many out there, like myself when I was planning my ceremony years ago, who simply don't have that kind of money or they feel that most of that money should go to the lifetime ahead of them.  There are plenty of ways to cut costs when it comes to venues, and decorations, and cake, but when it comes to the dress, many brides are torn between not wanting to settle for less and not wanting to break the bank.  Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more.  This post is the beginning of a series I'm going to do on inexpensive wedding dresses.  There are some wonderful options out there for inexpensive wedding dresses and I was so thrilled when Ever-Pretty (US readers use this link) contacted me for a collaboration.  

For this partnership, I'm featuring two dresses from Ever-Pretty, a bride's maid dress (click here to see that review) and a wedding gown, each for under $100!  (my readers can save even more so keep reading)

When you think of inexpensive wedding dresses, what's the first thing that comes to mind?  For me it's that they always lack three things: Length, fullness, and details.  Cheap wedding dresses are always so plain, short and inexplicably thin.  That's why I was so pleased when I saw Ever-Pretty's dresses.  Gowns like this Elegant Floor Length Strapless Wedding Dress have full skirts, loads of layers and details and make me feel like a princess, I can hardly believe that this dress was less than $100.  But, the best part is that you can save an extra 25% with my code Blogger25.

I was so pleased with this dress and I love everything about it, but there are a few things I like to highlight in my reviews since there things that we're all looking for when we shop, so let's talk about the big questions people have.  When it comes to this dress the fabric, both the satin and mesh, are very good quality and not at all heavy like some of the aliexpress dresses I've tried.  I had lots of mobility and I did this photo session in 90F/32C and felt comfortable....well, as comfortable as one can be in 90 degree heat.  

This dress fits true to size, so order your size with confidence, and unlike many of the other inexpensive dresses on the market, Ever-Pretty's dresses have loads of feminine details.  I love the cascading tulle down the front and all the appliques that form a belt and then are mirrored throughout the skirt and the embroidery on the bodice.

Because of the layers of tulle, this skirt has plenty of fullness, but should you want a more princess ballgown effect, you could easily layer it with a floor length crinoline while still staying in your budget.

This was easily one of the most fun collaborations I've ever done.  I wish Ever-Pretty had been around when I was tying the knot, but it brings me so much joy to share this with you.  I know how it feels to want a gorgeous bridal gown and feel that budget constraints will not allow for it, but let me assure you that with Ever-Pretty you can have a dreamy dress on your special day while staying in your budget and planning for your future.  

Remember my readers get an extra 25% off their purchase with code Blogger25 , so if you have a special event on the way, go check out Ever-Pretty.  They will definitely have a special dress for you.

Information & statistics from: https://www.theknot.com/content/average-cost-of-wedding-dress and https://www.soundvision.com/article/wedding-statistics-in-the-united-states