What's all the Hoop-la?

Summer is finally upon us and I'm drawn to a time when boho was sheek (still is) with long flowing frocks, wavy sun-streaked hair, beads, sun-kissed skin, leather gladiators, and hoop earrings.  Oh how the 60s looked so sexy!  Love and Peace were on everybody's minds during a time fraught with civil unrest and war.  Well the 60s are back - without the civil unrest - and hoop earrings are all the rage once again.  There was a moment in the 80s when hoops the size of one's head with teased out bangs were the style - thank goodness those days have not returned!  Now the style is soft and feminine hoops some with touches of fun and funk, others with dreamy romance.  You can find hoops pretty much anywhere these days so I've picked a few for you that I found from Banana Republic, Anthropologie and Forever 21.


The options are endless and you can really play them up, dress them up, make them fun and colourful or go back to the basics.  Keep that sexy 60s vibe going and wear those hoops with pride!

Happy shopping!


Courtesy of:
Anthropologie
Banana Republic
Forever 21

Living Outdoors: Crate and Barrel

Let's face it, who really has time to run around from store to store looking for everything they need to make their outdoor space livable...aside from me, a lot of us busy gals (and guys) sometimes just want a one-stop-shopping trip to pick up all the necessary items to make that outdoor space their own.  In addition to my spotlight on Pier 1, Crate and Barrel has a number of items to tantalize and revitalize your backyard area.  Selecting single or grouped colour themes helps to keep your space cohesive and pulled together.


Whether you're going for the nautical, bright or basic themes be sure to keep your items tied together to maintain the look and feel you're aiming for.  I've put together 4 groups that I pulled together from Crate and Barrel to inspire you on your next shopping trip.

Green

Grey + Blue + White

Orange + White

Stone + Brown

  

Depending on your tastes there are a multitude of options available for you.  The 4 collections that I put together are to show you that there is versatility even with the neutral base items such as the tables, chairs and benches.  Adding a striped umbrella with hits of orange, blue and white really allow you to expand the colour palate.  I went with orange to spice up the collection, but you could easily choose blue or keep it simple with just white.  The green collection is bright, fun and cheery.  Instead of the Marimekko umbrella you could add a plain green umbrella and still have the same effect.  The addition of the Marimekko pillow and bean bag chair add a touch of whimsy and playfulness, but you can easily subdue this palate for more refined tastes.  The nautical-themed blue collection is simple and understated but with the addition of sea-inspired accessories (such as seashells and rope knots) you can really enhance the look and feel.  Last but not least, the stone and brown collection is simple and elegant and will look good in any setting.  The colours are netural and the textures provide visual interest.


Any style or colour combination you choose really has to appeal to your tastes but no matter what just remember that as long as you stick with a colour theme you really can't go wrong!


Happy Shopping!


Courtesy of:
Crate and Barrel

The Midas Touch

It might have to do with my growing age or perhaps a change in tastes (or both) but I have grown more and more attached to gold-tone jewelry.  When I was younger the thought of wearing gold jewelry seemed ancient and something my mother and grandmother would be wearing, but in my adult years I have grown quite fond of the warmth and softness that gold has on the skin and the opulence and feeling of status it brings when I'm wearing it.  In the spirit of honesty I will admit that I own very few pieces of authentic gold jewelry and rather my collection of gold-tone costume pieces has been growing quite nicely.


The style and selection of gold-tone jewelry is vast and diverse.  You can go from simple and elegant to vibrant and funky and everything in-between.  The possibilities are endless, and all you have to do is find one (or many) that tickle you.  Here are some examples of earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings which range from low price to high end:

As you can see from the pieces selected above that the possibilities are endless and that you can mix and match and expand with colour combinations in pieces with stone and enamel to really enhance or complement your outfits.  Summer is a really great time to sport gold-tone jewelry so why not get out there, seize the moment and pick up some really great pieces to add to your collection.


Happy Shopping!


Courtesy of:
Banana Republic
Aldo
Tiffany & Co
The Shopping Channel

Living Outdoors: Pier 1

The season for living outdoors is finally upon us and what better way to enjoy your outdoor space than by sprucing it up with fun and exciting decor items.  From furniture to dinnerware there has never been a more vibrant selection of items available.  Instead of opting for the basics why not kick it up a notch with bright colours, you can get away with a lot when decorating outdoors and this way you can experiment with colours that you may even want to bring indoors.


Pulling together an outdoor "collection" or "theme" can be tough especially if you don't want to have to run around from one shop to the next looking for that one piece to help pull all your items together; so instead, I've compiled some items for a one-stop-shop experience where you can see that everything you need may very well be all under one roof.  For this I've selected Pier 1 as your one-stop-shop and you can see from the items below that I've grouped them in colour-based themes to show you that you really can pull it all together very easily in one location.  


One tip is to think of a theme (be it a colour or texture) before you start shopping.  This will help you narrow down your selections.  Here are some ideas to inspire your next shopping trip to Pier 1:

Blue and Green

Neutral and Yellow

Red, Yellow and Orange

Blue and White

How fun are those!  You can see that colour-based themes work very well in pulling your outdoor decor together (just like your indoor space).  You can easily mix and match textures and patterns and still pull together a fun and well-conceived outdoor space just by limiting your colour selections.  Too many colours can be too overwhelming and will not achieve the cohesion you're looking for, so stick to two or three to help tie everything together and as you can see from those above selections above that they really do the trick!

Now get out there and visit your local Pier 1 shop for more inspiring ideas to make your outdoor space one that you'll want to spend all your time in!

Happy Shopping!

Courtesy of:

Pier 1