A Little Sparkle

Dress: ASOS | Coat: H&M | Sunglasses: Karen Walker | Tights: Forever 21 | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Clutch: Jimmy Choo | Necklace and Earrings: J.Crew | Watch: kate spade

Sharing some New Year's Eve outfit inspiration today! I've worn this dress a couple times already this holiday season already, and I may reach for it again this Wednesday.

Hope this look brings a little sparkle to your Monday!

x, Tam

Merry Merry

Coat: J.Crew (last year's--see it styled here; find a similar one in petite, regular, tall and plus sizing at Old Navy) | Turtleneck: H&M | Skirt: ASOS | Boots: Stuart Weitzman | Bag: Valentino (available at Nordstrom or Farfetch, where I found mine) | Sunglasses: Karen Walker | Necklace: Ann Taylor | Watch: Michael Kors | Lips: NARS 'Cruella' + Fresh Sugar Cherry

I wanted to wish all my lovely readers a very merry Christmas and the happiest of holidays--from my little family to yours! Below are a couple watercolor illustrations (including Stanley's Christmas portrait) and some lettering I did for my holiday cards this year. Hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating with your loved ones.

Happy Holidays!

x, Tam

Our Parisian Wedding -- Part II: Louvre, Seine, and a Café

I'm back today to share more photos from our wedding in Paris (Part I is here if you missed it).

After our ceremony on the Pont des Arts, we spent some time walking around near the Louvre, taking in the gorgeous architecture and morning light without a tourist in sight. It felt like we were on a movie set and the city was there just for us. Our photographer, Juliane, knew exactly where all the prettiest spots were and got some lovely shots of us and our beautiful surroundings.

Photo Credit: Juliane Berry
On Tam: Dress: Sue Wong (carried at BHLDN) | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Earrings: J. Crew (similar here)
On Sean: Suit: Calvin Klein (similar) | Shirt: Brooks Brothers | Tie: Yves St. Laurent | Shoes: Ecco
Flowers: L'île aux fleurs, 20 Rue Monge, 75005

Our Parisian Wedding -- Part I: le Pont des Arts

It has been nearly two months since our wonderful wedding in Paris, and I am finally ready to share some of the photos we recently received from our fantastic photographer, Juliane Berry. She was a dream to work with and took such beautiful photos that perfectly captured our day.

We had decided to do our ceremony in the morning as we noticed the Paris streets were nice and quiet in the early morning hours, and that would give us a lot of freedom and privacy to have our ceremony and take photos wherever we liked. Our only snafu was that the Paris Marathon (think 50,000 runners--eek!) was happening that day, much to our surprise, but between Juliane and our driver Didier, we didn't even see a single runner while we drove around Paris, and there was almost no traffic.

Didier picked us up in his 1953 Citroen in front of our apartment (more on our gorgeous apartment here if you're interested) at about 7:10 am, as sunrise was at 7:20. I had initially wanted "getting ready" photos, but I'm glad we jettisoned those and went right to our ceremony spot, the Pont des Arts across the Seine.



I did do a little bit of getting ready while waiting on the bridge, just to make sure my lipstick looked right. I decided to do my own hair and makeup as I wasn't sure if I could find someone to do it the way I wanted without meeting them well in advance. I love makeup and I know what looks best on me, so I preferred to mess with it myself. It turned out looking very "me," which Sean and I both agreed was the way to go.

Directional Stripes

Dress: Plenty by Tracy Reese via Anthropologie Petites (runs small--I'm wearing an XSP) | Sunglasses: Karen Walker "Super Duper Strength" | Shoes: Stuart Weitzman| Bag: kate spade new york | Bracelets: J.Crew, H&M c/o, David Yurman | Watch: Michael Kors

I wore this fun Plenty by Tracy Reese dress for a Sunday date night with my soon-to-be husband. I had intended to potentially wear this dress to work when I ordered it, but it runs a bit small, and I decided once I put it on that it was definitely not work-appropriate. I was considering returning it, but it's comfortable and flattering, and great for cooler nights out because of the long sleeves. Although it seems like petite sizing is sold out at Anthropologie, I think the stretchiness and shape of this dress would make it a good fit in regular sizing (I'd suggest ordering your normal size in regular if you're petite; order one size up if you're not).

Have a great Monday!

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Red Letter Day

Coat: H&M | Blouse: Ann Taylor (last seen here) | Skirt: ASOS (other colors available, too) | Sunglasses: Karen Walker | Shoes: Stuart Weitzman | Bag: Tory Burch (similar here) | Watch: Kate Spade

This weekend was a very exciting one (hence "Red Letter Day"). Boyfriend and I became officially engaged! I'm finally marrying the mysterious man behind the lens (he occasionally shows his handsome face on my Instagram). We're both very excited about the upcoming wedding.

The clothes I'm wearing here are what I wore out on Valentine's Evening to a lovely dinner at Potager, a local farm-to-table contemporary-style restaurant in Denver. It's nice to go somewhere where the menu changes constantly and every time, it seems to get better. I love how festive and fancy this ASOS Skirt felt--definitely a good purchase as I think it can be styled nicely for all four seasons.

Hope you had a nice Valentine's Day celebrating with your main squeeze, your family, or your friends!

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Dot-Dot-Dot

Dress: Anthropologie (no longer available, similar here) | Turtleneck: H&M (similar here | Tights: H&M c/o | Sunglasses: Valentino | Shoes: L.K. Bennett | Clutch: Jimmy Choo | Necklace: Ann Taylor | Bracelets: David Yurman, Swarovski, J.Crew | Watch: Michele

It was nice to take a break from work this weekend and catch up with the blog a little. January has been pretty brutal at work after the holiday lull, so there hasn't been much time to wear anything but suits all day and flannel pajamas when I finally get home at night. I'm excited to have a few posts to share with you this week, though!

One of my favorite purchases this winter has been my plain black turtleneck. It's comfy, cozy, flattering, and perfect for layering to make more summery dresses winter-friendly. The Anthropologie dress I'm wearing here is pretty lightweight, but adding tights and a sweater underneath makes it a three- or four-season piece. I could also see wearing it to work like this if I worked in a more casual environment.

Hope you had a great weekend, too!

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Winter Blues

Turtleneck: H&M (similar here and here in petite sizing from Ann Taylor) | Skirt: UO (last seen here) (similar here and here) | Sunglasses: Karen Walker | Tights: H&M c/o | Shoes: J.Crew | Bag: Rebecca Minkoff | Necklace: J.Crew Factory | Bracelets: Ann Taylor, H&M c/o | Watch: kate spade

Last week was a crazy-busy week for me at work. It always seems to all pile up around the holidays! I'm looking forward to taking a few days off around Christmas to ski.

Before I had off to the mountains, I'll be attending a few holiday parties here. The look in these photos is great for a not-too-formal, but still a little dressed-up kind of party. I like how the jewel tones (necklace, tights, and skirt) and little metallic bows on the shoes say "holiday" without actually breaking out the red and green.

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Wine Country Wedding

Dress: BCBG | Shoes: kate spade new york (similar here and here) | Sunglasses: Karen Walker| Bag: Rebecca Minkoff | Necklaces: Brian Gavin, Theresa Mink | Bracelets: H&M c/o, David Yurman | Watch: Vintage Dior

I spent last weekend in Sonoma for a friend's gorgeous vineyard wedding. I had never been there before, and I loved it--it was hard to get enough of the food, wine, and scenery. I'm hoping I'll be able to go back sometime soon!

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50 States of Fashion: Online Shopping Launch with H&M

H&M Launches Online Shopping in the U.S. + A Great Contest to Celebrate!

I am very excited to announce that I've partnered with H&M to celebrate their launch of online shopping today in the U.S.! As a longtime fan of H&M, I was very happy to hear that they were introducing e-commerce to U.S. shoppers, and I was even more thrilled when I was asked to be Colorado's Blogger Ambassador for the 50 States of Fashion Contest they're running as part of the celebration--see the details below for how you can enter to win one of 5 $250 gift cards or a $1,000 online shopping spree plus a trip to New York Fashion Week!

H&M's fall collection is now online, and in the photos here, I've styled a couple of my favorite pieces that are currently available on the brand-new site. I like that these pieces would work for a less formal day at the office (with a more subdued jacket) but could transition seamlessly to an evening out.

Location: the Denver Center for the Performing Arts
Blouse: H&M c/o | Skirt: H&M c/o | Cardigan: Crewcuts (similar here) | Sunglasses: Valentino | Shoes: L.K. Bennett | Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim | Necklaces: Brian Gavin, Theresa Mink | Rings: Vintage
Bracelets: H&M c/o, David Yurman, Tiffany, J.Crew

More on the 50 States of Fashion Contest--entering to win is really easy! All you have to do is post an Instagram photo relating to the theme of personal style with the hashtag that corresponds to the state in which you are located. For my fellow Coloradans, our hashtag is #HMShopOnlineCO. If you are in New York, you'd hashtag #HMShopOnlineNY; for California, #HMShopOnlineCA; for Arizona, #HMShopOnlineAZ, and so on. The photo can be of you in your outfit of the day, of a favorite #throwback outfit, of your handbag collection, of your favorite accessories--whatever highlights your personal style!

Your photo will be featured on the 50 States of Fashion site in a gallery where people can like or vote on your look, and you can vote on your favorite looks from each state as well. The top 5 looks from each state will be the finalists for the prizes, so make sure you encourage friends and family to like/vote for your look, too! You can post as many photos as you'd like to increase your chances of winning. (See the official rules for the fine print.)

P.S. If you click on the "Ambassadors" tab, you can see yours truly as well as all of the other State Blogger-Ambassadors and check out their takes on H&M's online collection.

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Peachy

Dress: Anthropologie | Sunglasses: Valentino | Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Clutch: Reed Krakoff | Necklace: Theresa Mink | Bracelet: David Yurman | Ring: Gift

I got to play dress-up a little the weekend with this gorgeous dress from Anthropolgie (can you tell I love their petites section?). It was a lovely, cool weekend in Denver, which was a nice break from the recent heat wave.

How was your weekend?

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Work Outfit: Need for Tweed

Suit: Ann Taylor Factory | Sunglasses: Prada | Shoes: Nine West (similar style here) | Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim (currently available at Barney's and Otte) (read my review) | Bracelets: Tiffany, Swarovski | Earrings: F21 | Watch: Fossil

Confession: I'm terrible about going to the tailor. My strategy is usually to buy the best fit I can off-the-rack and have my mom do a hem or shorten shoulder straps if need be (thanks, Mom!).

With suits, however, tailoring is almost always required. In the professional world, being competent and professional is not enough--one has to also look competent, confident, and professional. This is especially true for petite women.

This suit was a Christmas gift from my parents, and while it looked passable off-the-rack, I knew it could look great with a slimmer, more fitted silhouette. I had the jacket's sides slimmed, sleeves shortened, and armholes brought up. I had the skirt taken in at the waist, which made the length more flattering since it now sits higher on my waist, plus it has the added benefit of more reliably keeping a tucked-in blouse or shell where it's supposed to be. These seemingly minor tweaks changed the look of this suit so much, and I felt very confident and put-together when I wore it for an exceptionally challenging day at work yesterday.

For anyone who might be looking for a tailor in Denver, the one I've been seeing for the past year or so has done a marvelous job with every piece I've left with him and his lovely wife. Erol and Filiz of Erol's Tailoring are so kind and talented, and they work quickly while still making sure that you are getting exactly what you're hoping and expecting. I've sent some friends with wedding dresses his way in the last few months, and it seems they have been very satisfied.

P.S. Don't forget to enter here to win my hot pink Cambridge Satchel! This giveaway runs through April 3, 2013.

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