What I finally came up with is…Authentic Artistic.  Kinda of cheesy sounding, but it really does sum up my aesthetic at home and in fashion.  Think simple leather sandals, a unique sundress, a denim jacket, and of course one great necklace.  I’m attracted to items that are quality made, artistically designed, or cultural.  I love leather goods…anything from classic sandals, simple boots, to handmade bags.  I tend to be drawn to special, artistic items when I shop.  But I’ve been trying to layer in quality basics to balance out the special pieces.  I’m kind of a combo of Madewell meets Anthropologie.

From top: Chambray tee, Anthropologie by Cloth & Stone; Tortoise shell sunnies, Target cheapies; Turquoise stone necklace, Anthropologie; Leather sandals, Madewell; Lasercut leather skirt, Anthropologie by Liefsdottir (older); Straw and leather bag, thrifted

In terms of my home, it’s collected.  It’s welcoming.  It’s curated.  It’s new meets old.  My go to’s for home are Terrain, Pottery Barn, but mainly antique stores. I think my style and my interiors tend to go hand in hand.

I draw inspiration from Kinfolk, Europe and Santa Fe, my art school background, and gardening. I love to scour Tumblr’s for hours just looking for beautiful images. To help me nail down my label, I referenced my Pinterest boards. It’s an ongoing visual label of my style, but the hard part was putting it into words.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my exploration of style. Now go out and make your own fashion discovery! Let me know what your label is. I love to hear about what inspires people and their style.

*Disclaimer- the inspiration for this post is not original.  I referenced the book Lessons from Madame Chic by Jennifer L. Scott in both posts pertaining to my style.

Everybody knows I love me some cute clothes.  I mean its my job to put together outfits and what not.  For as long as I can remember, my closet has always been bursting at the seams.  Every time I moved in college, it probably took me 50 trips to the car and back just to load up my clothes.  (Guilty face)

Since I’ve started in retail, it has actually inspired me to streamline my look.  The things is…there is an endless amount of product out in the world today, and it simply isn’t possible to get everything you love and there definitely isn’t room for things you just kinda like.  My mom and I have both been encouraging each other to pare down, buy less, and love what you’ve got.  She is way better at this than me.

Probably once a season, I go through my closet and eliminate about a bag of items that just aren’t working anymore.  But, I had kinda got to a point where I really liked and wore most of the things in my closet, but I still just had way too much excess for my historic house with one mini closet in the bedroom.  Our bedroom was filled to the brim with my clothes.  I had the whole closet (and stuck Brian in the guest room’s). I had an armoire for my dresses, a dresser for my basics, and a lingerie cabinet for the extras.  Oh and don’t forget the under-bed container for my sweaters.  While I am very organized, I just felt crowded.

Then, I bought my mom and I both a copy of Lessons from Madame Chic.  It’s about how French women dress, shop, eat, etc. in a more chic way.  Of course, my mom took it and ran with it.  She is already so good about so many of the ideas in this book, but she has really slimmed her closet down to the things that she wears, loves, and are her style. Me on the other hand.  I like to make excuses.  I’m too busy to eat like a Parisian.  There is no way I can do the “10 item wardrobe”, let alone get rid of anything else in my closet.  I work in retail.  Sorry.  I just can’t do this whole French minimalism thing.  So, today, I called in reinforcements.  My mother.

With her help, I got rid of 26 tops and bottoms from my closet.  About 5 dresses. 2 shoes. 12 tees/tanks.  (In addition to the 2 bags I had already filled on my own.) She asked me the hard questions.  Diagnosed what I really like to wear and what I’m actually not wearing.  Helped me get rid of stuff that just wasn’t “me”. When all was said and done, I had five bags stuffed with clothes, shoes, and jewelry.

From now on, I’m only supposed to buy quality basics and the occasional accessory.  Two things we decided I need now are a pair of classic black heels and a black jean.

Also, in the book, it suggests labeling your look.  Giving it a name.  What is your style?  This is something I’m bad at. I can look at other people and do this easily, but not myself.  So that’s my next project.  What is my style?

If you enjoy this type of thing like I do, check out this great book by Jennifer L. Scott.

We enjoyed lunch at a little cafe, strolled through a church, and watched people sailing around the harbor in their tiny sailboats. Then, we headed back into town.

Once we were back in Dubrovnik, we had a historical walking tour with a guide then explored the town on our own. It is a curious city inside huge fortressed walls. You can walk all around the Old Town on the walls. It was probably the most quaint, unique visit we made on our trip.

After exploring, eating, buying souvenirs and all those other touristy things, it was time to head back to the ship to enjoy dinner and a show.  Then, onto the next place…

Venice is one of those places in the world where it’s just hard to get a bad picture!

This was the view from our hotel Locanda de la Spada. Loved this hotel and it’s location on the Grand Canal, though a little touristy outside the hotel.

This was the side of a shop just down the alley from our hotel. This quaint scene might be my favorite shot out of the whole trip.

Street artists are a common sight, but we succumbed to buying one of these sketchy watercolors of geraniums on the side of a Venetian home. Other common souvenirs are Murano glass, Venetian masks, leather goods, and biscotti.

Can’t forget about the gondolier rides! We didn’t take one, but they are just floating along everywhere you look.

So after a day of water taxi rides, visiting every church in sight, hitting up Louis Vuitton (just for kicks), eating lots of margherita pizza, strolling San Marco’s square, chowing down at Hard Rock Venice, and just general exploring, it was time for us to depart from the Venice port. So more to come on our next stop, Dubrovnik, Croatia!

So guys, I’m back!

P.S. Here are some fun moments from my bday!