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RED & GOLD: OOTD CHRISTMAS'20

 


Happy Christmas Eve everyone! Are you Team Red or Team Green, when it comes to your Christmas outfit! I have been Team Red for most years, and may have been a tad partial! I try changing up the shade of red, pr the silhouette of the outfit where I am pairing the red so that it doesn't get boring! Also mix in a touch of buffalo plaid, when I can! And if you know me well, you know I have an obsession with red lipsticks! I could wear red lipsticks every day of the year and not get bored. 

Although this year's holiday season is very different, we are thankful for Zoom Christmas and being able to virtually hang out with our family and friends! So it's no surprise I have been getting dressed for these virtual meet-ups, as you had seen in my last post! 

For this year's Christmas outfit, I styled a simple red chiffon dress, which has the most beautiful pearl detailing on the sleeves! And the red isn't a blue-toned red, but a warm-toned one! More like a tomato red, if I might add so! I love how flowing the silhouette of the dress is! It hides my problem spots, but doesn't look like I am wearing a pillow cover! 

As far as accessories are concerned, the temptation was real to pair the pearls with pearls, but I switched it up here as well! I styled my Christmas gift to myself, my Gold Quartz Leather Earrings from Nickle and Suede! I am wearing it in a size large, but they are available in a few different sizes, for your convenience! The best part is, I plan to match with my mini-me, as we got her the mini earrings in the same style! She is very excited, as these will be her first big girl earrings! Tied in the gold of the earrings, with my trusty leopard pumps! 










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WINTER WHITES WITH EXPRESS

This Holiday season looks very different! Yes, the large holiday parties might not be possible, but the spirit of the holiday season is still strong! So we will still dress up in the spirit of the season, and enjoy ourselves as a family! I know there's a whole discussion about no whites after Labor Day, but I am one of those people, who wear whites all year round! It's hard to resist a good winter white ensemble if you ask me. So I decided to team up with Express to style my holiday outfit and embody all things polished yet cozy! 

I picked up this Cable Knit Mock Neck Sweater from Express as the anchor piece of my holiday outfit! I am always pairing my chunky knits with my skinny denim, and that's my uniform for the colder months. So I decided to switch up things a bit! All of you are well aware of my love for full skirts! This ivory skirt is from Express, from a few years ago, and I have styled it in multiple ways, on my blog! this time around, I decided to pair the cozy knit sweater with my ivory shimmery skirt! Cream and ivory pair very well, in creating the perfect Winter White ensemble! I have tucked in the sweater in the skirt to balance out the volume of the skirt! If I style this sweater with a pair of skinny jeans, I will probably not tuck it in, and embrace the loose fit!  Gold hoops(sadly half-hidden in the photos) and the quintessential red lips, completed the look! Hope you liked my Winter White Holiday Ensemble! 

 



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RED, GREEN AND METALLIC: CHRISTMAS DECOR 2020

 

Less than 2 weeks for Christmas! I was tempted this year to decorate early, but stuck to our family tradition of decorating on the weekend of Thanksgiving! There's this fun time-lapse that we did when we decorated, and it has been up on my Instagram. Sadly Instagram doesn't allow us to share the video with music, for copyright issues! But a detailed decor post was sue on the blog! I must say, I really enjoy this time of the year! Especially the views in my own living room! When the lights are turned on in the tree and on the mantle when the fire is burning in the fireplace, and I am sipping on some hot chocolate r maybe even some mulled wine! 

Let's talk decor, shall we! So we have a 6-foot tree which is probably on its way to retirement soon! Our tree is pre-lit with multi-colored light and I think I need clear white lights on my tree. When it comes to colors, every ear, I think I am going to do something more trendy, but every year I come back to the traditional color scheme! For instance, last year, I wanted to do peacock colors, like teals, and blues, and silvers. And this year, I was tempted to go the pink route! Even if I don't the full route of a 6 feet new pink tree, I was thinking more on the line of pink and purple decor! But then I stuck to my favorites, red, green, and metallic! There's this odd charm about this color scheme! 


Since we have an open floor plan, I decorate our tree, mantle, our dining space, and our kitchen table, as they are all connected! I love adding elements and accents in the color scheme I choose to bring cohesiveness to our whole living space downstairs! And we decorate our front yard with lights! We have slowly added to our collection of outdoor light decor.



Let's start with our dining space! We have a raw edge table and a raw edge buffet! And we have wallpaper in this space. I have added bottle brush trees, along with holiday candles from Rae Dunn, a tinsel deer, some cute quotes, and loads of fairy lights! I am a huge Rae Dunn fan if you didn't know that already! I have kept some elements on decor which are there all year round, and swapped out others for some holiday spirit! I will come back to the tablescape later in this post! 




Let's talk about the tree, shall we! I don't have a tree topper and every year, I make something from the sprigs and stalks that I have in stock! Love how the gold sprigs catch the light. I had done a similar topper last year, and it was so good, felt good to repeat. After I had fluffed every branch of the tree, I started off my decor with my gold deco mesh. I used two rolls of deco mesh to go around the 6-foot tree! Then I used two different kinds of ribbons to drape the tree further. Seasonal springs/branches go in next. I added in my ornaments inside the tree so that when I sit back and look, I don't see gaps in my trees. Next was the turn of my largest ornaments, and then my special ornaments, and so on! 

Plaid blankets and crochet blankets offer a play of textures to my festive pillows in red and white. The idea was to coordinate the cushions with the stockings for my children which were red and white! 
I am often asked as to how do I holiday decor with a dog! The trick is if your dog is trained and is introduced to the tree in a proper way, then it all gets better. For instance the first tree we decorated when we got Blaze was when he was 10 weeks old. We got his crate close to where we were decorating so that he could see what we were doing. He practiced a lot of "Leave It," and by the next Christmas he had figured out that if he didn't mess with the tree, he would get teats as a reward! and ow he poses with the holiday decor when mom takes pictures for the blog! 
For the centerpiece of our coffee table, I used a gold bowl, and added in pine cones, we have scavenged together in our neighborhood! In previous years, I have added in a candle with it too, but skipped it this year! 

For the mantle, I started off with what was originally a flocked garland, but now is not! The lights go in next. I have two sets of lights, one normal and one LED twinkling set. Then go in the money pieces, like the two Christmas trees, the fairy, the nutcracker, the snowman, and of course Santa! I added pinecones and ornaments in clusters. The stockings are hung last! 




Coming back to the tablescape for the formal dining table! Tying in with the tinsel deer on the buffet, I added in a steel/metallic deer on the table as my focal point. Bottle brush trees on one side, and a red car with a Christmas tree on it, completed the simple center piece! 



Last but not the least, is our kitchen table! I have a small jewelry tray, which is silver/steel! I had added pumpkins to it in Fall, if you remember. I swapped the pumpkins for shiny ornaments, this time! 


It's time to head outdoors, to our front yard! From candy canes to a deer, and gift boxes, we have quite the mix! 







Hope you enjoyed this virtual tour of our home! Wishing all of you a very happy holiday season! 
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KCFW FW'20 SATURDAY VIRTUAL RUNWAY - A RECAP

Hope all of you enjoyed the recap of Friday night virtual runway shows of Kansas City Fashion Week FW'20! Saturday nights of KCFw are always extra special, and I have enjoyed watching the Saturday night shows for quite a few seasons. Yes, it is different this time year, but I think it's a brilliant pivot, given the present circumstances.

The first designer for Saturday's virtual runway was Duane Topping! A war veteran who PTSD, let him explore his creative side. Loved the structured details, play of cutouts, and peacock and chartreuse notes! It was bold and feminine!
 The second designer of the evening was Jaxson Metzler. The brand which was earlier known as XYZ in an earlier season of KCFW has since then rebranded and is now Jaxson Wyatt. He seeks to create a more environmentally-friendly fashion that empowers all women. Before we go onto the actual collection, I wanted to add about the amazing hair and face art which was sported by the models! The collection had a romantic and edgy vibe to it. Loved how they paired masks with every outfit. Cognac, black, ivory, raspberry were the prominent colors of the collection Flowy and feminine and the most beautiful layering of textures, not to mention those amazing corsets!
The third designer of the evening was Fashion AF by Anabelle Frese. Monochromes with an edge! Loved the clean lines and uniqueness of every outfit. Driven by playful,vintage-inspired, and colorful styles, fashion Af seeks to design garments that express uniqueness and individuality.  Loved the interplay of monochromatic outfits with multicolor masks!
White House Black Market, Oak Park Mall,  had some brilliant pieces for Fall. From work-wear to casual wear, they had some classically tailored pieces!
It is always an aesthetic high whenever Rissa's Artistic Designs by Clarissa Knighten takes the KCFW runway! in such an artistic harmony! Take a bow lady! Only she can bring such unusual materials together Clarissa mentioned that she had picked up the deer antlers and the shells on the beach! My husband was watching the shows with me, as it was a virtual runway. Although he loves to dress up, he is a man of few words. When he asked me to convey his compliments to the designer, I had to share that. 
Either I need to plan to renew my wows or someone needs to invite me, where I can wear one of the creations by Potapenko & Yanchekno! The exquisite play of lace and a collection that was magical and ethereal!
  It was time for the finale of KCFW! Any Old Iron brought in rock and roll glam to the runway, and I personally loved all the KISS vibes! The best part of the collection was how wearable it was! You could take elements from that collection and literally wear to your NYE celebrations!x

And with that, it's a wrap of this edition of KCFW memories! Hoping we can be back for in-person shows in the near future! Always such a great experience to be a part of the official media line up! 
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