FASHION FRIDAY: BOY I LOVE HOUNDSTOOTH

Happy Friday Jet Setters!  I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas with your loved ones.  Christmas was a lot of fun this year with the boys, especially now that Richie is finally getting to an age where he's understanding the joys of it all!  I can't believe it's almost New Year's which means, as we've done in the past, we'll be hopping in the car to have a little jet set getaway to the Adirondacks in upstate New York.   We'll be checking out a lot of fun towns that I can't wait to share with all of you.  In the meantime on this Fashion Friday edition, here's a little sweatshirt and houndstooth jacket combo that I picked up recently at Forever 21.  As a mom of two boys, I fell in love with the top.  I actually bought the top, jacket and boots all at the same time, and didn't intend to wear them all at the same time, but when I took the stuff out of the bag I thought they would work together.  Hope you enjoy!

Top: Forever 21 (similar here)

Jacket: Forever 21

Boots: Forever 21

Jeans: 7 For All Mankind

Bag: Hello Fab

Scarf: TJ Maxx

Earrings: Stella & Dot

Ring: Stella & Dot

Bracelet: Sira & Mara

Lipstick: MAC Rebel

ENZO'S ON ARTHUR AVENUE

Arthur Avenue is the Bronx's own Little Italy.  I just love going there because you feel like you've jet-setted to Italy for some really good "down-home" Italian food without the international flight!  All along Arthur Avenue, you can find great Italian restaurants, pastry shops and specialty stores.  A couple of weekends ago we decided to check out Enzo's of Arthur Avenue for dinner.  IT WAS AMAZING!

If you are looking for good red sauces- then this is the spot.  We started out with some Fried Calamari which was nice and crispy with a good and spicy sauce, we also had their Caesar Salad which was one of the best I've had in awhile.  For dinner we had their Chicken and Veal Parmigiana and both were perfect- nice sauce and cheese proportions and the meat was pounded out nice and thin and fried nice and crisp.

Everything was great, big portions, good service and nice ambiance.  This will definitely be a repeat spot for us!  Here is what I wore to dinner- something casual!

Cardigan: Anthropologie

Top: Loehmann's

Pants: 7 For All Mankind

Boots: Vince Camuto

Sunglasses: Fendi

Necklace: Stella & Dot

Scarf: Stella & Dot

Bracelets: Stella & Dot 1, 2, 3

FASHION FRIDAY: CAMO

When camouflage came back in style this fall, I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to get on board with it- I don't think it's a style that looks good on everyone- me included!  But, when I saw this vest at Forever 21, I completely changed my mind.  I love the non-traditional black and white color of it, plus it is heavy and warm and of a really good quality.  I often layer it under my winter coat when I walk the dog on cold days and it really helps to keep me toasty!  Here, I put it over a dress that I bought when I traveled to Iceland (read more about that here) and thought that the bag and necklace really helped pull it all together.  By the way, when we took these pictures it was starting to snow (hence the white stuff in my hair- it's not dandruff- lol! :-)

Vest: Forever 21

Dress: RYK Boutique in Iceland (read about it here)

Leggings: LOFT

Boots: UGG (old similar here)

Bag: GAP (old similar here)

Earrings: Stella & Dot

Necklace: Stella & Dot

OH CHRISTMAS TREE

This past weekend we headed to A. Casola Farms in Holmdel, New Jersey to cut down our Christmas tree.  This was the first time we ever went there, and the trees and the setting were both so beautiful!  I should really say that we didn't actually cut down our tree- they did (we would have needed to bring our own saw to do that).  Either way- we had so much fun and were happy to start a tradition with our boys!

Top: Target (sold out similar here or here)

Vest: Target

Tank: Loehmanns

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Enzo Angiolini (old similar here or here)

Bag: Marc Jacobs for Target (available on ebay)

Bracelet: Stella & Dot

Necklace: Stella & Dot

WARDROBE WEDNESDAY: FAUX LEATHER AND YELLOW

I have had this dress in my closet since last year when I bought in on sale at Piperlime.  I just love the bright yellow color!  The dress is sleeveless, so I thought a good way to transition it into fall was by adding a jacket and some tights.  I found this jacket recently at TJ Maxx, and I thought it was a perfect piece to add to my closet...a tweed jacket with faux fur sleeves...pretty awesome in my opinion!

Dress: Piperlime (similar here or here)

Jacket: TJ Maxx (similar here or here)

Tights: Hue

Necklace: HRH Collection

Shoes: Nine West (similar here or here)

Bag: DVF

NEW HOPE & IVYLAND PLUS WHAT I WEAR TO WORK

A couple of weekends ago we headed to New Hope, Pennsylvania to take a ride on the Ivyland Railroad- a restored vintage passenger train from the 1920's!  We all had so much fun riding through historic and beautiful Bucks County- it's a great little day trip from New York or New Jersey.  Plus, the towns of New Hope, Pennsyvania and Lambertville, New Jersey have cute shops and great restaurants- so you can really make a nice day out of it!

Now on to What I Wear To Work...well, as a stay-at-home mom of two, I don't have a need to really dress up everyday, so I thought I'd show you an outfit that you can find me in most days.  Here I'm just wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, but because the jeans are rolled up and paired with fun motorcycle boots, and because the sweatshirt has some sparky jewels on it- I think it helps it look a little more dressed up.  I added a fun flannel shirt from last year and tank top underneath for some layers...grabbed my diaper bag...and "whale"...I was ready for work!

Sweatshirt: JCrew Factory (similar here and here)
Top: JCrew (similar here and here)
Tank: Old Navy
Jeans: GAP (similar here and here)
Boots: Vince Camuto (similar here and here)
Sunglasses: Fendi
Diaper Bag: Prada

FASHION FRIDAY: PREPPY SCHOOLGIRL

Happy Friday Jet Setters!  I'm so excited for the weekend, as we are planning to go and cut down a tree and decorate for Christmas with the boys!  Something I'll probably wear this weekend...the below outfit.  That's because leggings, comfy tunics and glasses are all my "go-to" pieces in my wardrobe both for everyday and especially for travel!  Looking at this outfit, I feel very "Preppy Schoolgirl," but as a youngish mom of two, this is an easy look that is comfortable and makes me feel good.  That is why when I found this tunic/dress at J. Crew Factory recently, I knew I had to have it.  Here I paired it with leggings, a denim shirt, boots and a maroon scarf (one of my favorite Fall 2013 colors).  But, I also plan to wear it with tights and heels for a more dressy look, and maybe belted with a blazer too.

Tunic/Dress: JCrew Factory

Denim Shirt: JCrew Factory

Leggings: LOFT

Boots: UGG

Scarf: TJ Maxx

Bracelet: Karen Millen

Diaper Bag: Prada

WARDROBE WEDNESDAY: THE WILD FACTOR

I just love leopard print anything...shoes, scarves, hats, shirts, skirts, tops, coats, vests....yup, love it all!  To me leopard is a neutral and can be matched with a lot- both solids and other prints.  I found this dress on the clearance rack at Target recently and figured for $12.48 it was a least worth a trip to the fitting room.  Well I'm sure glad I tried it on because as you can see was a keeper!

Dress: Target (similar here)

Jacket: LOFT

Belt: J Crew Factory

Tights: Hue

Boots: Nordstrom

Sunnies: Marc Jacobs (similar here)

Bracelets: Stella & Dot 1, 2

Necklace: Stella & Dot

Bag: DVF

COLOR ALL THE TIME

There is no such rule out there that says pastels can only be worn in the spring and summer, yet so many of us comply to this...myself included!  Well, not anymore!  I found this dress recently on the sale rack at Old Navy and I fell in love with both the color and the price.  It was probably marked down because it's "out of season," and that was just perfect for me!  I say wear what you want to wear, when you want to wear it, if it makes you happy!

Dress: Old Navy (similar here)

Jacket: Current Elliott

Tights: Hue

Boots: Carlos by Carlos Santana

Bag: GAP (similar here)

Sunnies: Marc Jacobs (similar here)

Necklace: Stella & Dot

Bracelet: Stella & Dot