Gone Summerin'

Gone Summerin'

As you can see from a recent mirror shot, I'm tired and in need of some rest from blogging. So I'm off house sellin', house buyin', client stylin', new website designin', and generally enjoying this early summer. Back soon!

A Peek Inside

A Peek Inside

So maybe you're hoping that I have another new post about style, but I thought you might want to know what we've been up to lately. Putting our house on the market! It's so much work, isn't it?! I thought since we (hopefully) won't live there much longer, I'd share some of our realtor's pictures with you all! Here's our living room...

I'm so proud of how the house looks right now, though, especially when I think back to how it looked when we bought it. (Even though I do wish that coffee table were centered.)

If you'd like to see, here's how the living room looked when we saw our house online and then the day we moved in below.

Where to Find Cross Back Bras in A Range of Cup Sizes

Where to Find Cross Back Bras in A Range of Cup Sizes

Hi guys! Remember me? I've been really ignoring this space of the world, and I apologize! Some of the things we have been up to lately include putting our house on the market and looking at homes in Baltimore. It's so exciting but also a LOT of work, especially with my husband traveling most of the week lately. Phew!

I wanted to pop in and share some great finds with you. I recently became obsessed with the idea of wearing some open and drapey backed shirts this summer; have you seen the look I'm talking about? Like this.

Via

I never felt comfortable with open back shirts because I need a bra, and my bras I guess didn't feel pretty enough to show off or felt too much like that one season of Sex in the City where all we saw was bra, bra, bra, but the arrival of some gorgeous bras with strappy backs lately got me thinking that this could be the summer of the back!

The Many Faces of Ella

The Many Faces of Ella

So one of the many reasons that I haven't been writing a lot here is that I'm working on a new website for StartCloseIn Styling. I'm really excited about it, and it's getting closer to ready, but I've been spending a lot of the time that I typically use to write here doing that. Thanks for bearing with me!

I thought you might like to see some of the behind the scenes things that I'm creating for my new site. I was thinking of doing a casual photobooth vibe for some shots of me, and I made a collage with some of my many faces over the past year!

Stay tuned for more on the new site!

What to Wear to a Casual Rehearsal Dinner

What to Wear to a Casual Rehearsal Dinner

Via

This weekend, I'm in my cousin's wedding! She is more like a sister than a cousin, and I'm so excited. She was in my mom and stepdad's wedding, that's how close we were growing up! I have my dress for the day of the wedding, but somehow had blanked on the whole night before outfit. I had the perfect dress...and I already wore it to her bridal shower. Of course I'll wear it again, but not for this same series of events.

Via

So my plan is that

My Curly Long Bob Option

My Curly Long Bob Option

A few weeks ago, I bought this life-changing curling iron. That's not a phrase I thought I'd ever write, but it's true! I have lots of thin hair, and I had never considered wearing it curled to be an option, really. Now I've been wearing it curly to work and for fun, too. I've been trying really hard to get a good picture for you...

These two are how it looks when I first finish: it's a bit tight, but once I pull on the strands and just live life it drops a little and looks less ringlet-y.

Really hard...

The way I've been curling it is by following this Tiny Twisst video. I found it really useful because she has very similar hair to mine. In the past, looking at videos of women with very thick or very long or naturally curly hair has just not helped me.

It's so fun to have a new way to style my hair after all of these years with it stick straight! I hope you like that video-she has lots of fun ideas for how to style mid length hair, too, so check those out if you're interested!

In Search of Flares

In Search of Flares

Last week I went in search of flared jeans. I was going to try on as many pairs as it took until I got a great pair, and I was prepared to spend up to $150 for them. That's the most I've ever spent on jeans, but I know that I want flares to be my go-to-jeans for this spring and summer. I took my phone camera along with me for the ride in the hope that I can save you some time.

Wedding Client Question: What Do I Wear to a Casual Spring Wedding?

Wedding Client Question: What Do I Wear to a Casual Spring Wedding?

About a month ago, I received an email from Irene. She lives a few hours from me and was looking for virtual personal styling help for a family wedding coming up. The image above is the quick snap she sent me this past weekend, and I can't wait to share more images with you.

Irene wrote: 

In April my brother is getting married and I was wondering if you could help me with some fashion questions. I already have a dress but would like some help putting together the rest of the outfit. I'm not sure what kind of shoes, jewelry and hairstyle would look good with it.The wedding is on a Friday in the afternoon at a church and then the reception is at night. Even though its a Friday night reception its not formal because there will be kids and families there...I will be about 36 weeks pregnant that day, I'm thinking I don't want to wear flats maybe a wedge because I would like to elongate my legs. Maybe it would take some of the emphasis off my heavy middle area. I'm afraid wearing flats might make me look frumpy. Can you think of what might be a fun color to wear from afternoon to evening?  

My hair is shoulder length in layers. I was thinking about getting a blow out. Would that be enough?

Thanks so much!

 My first email back was this:

Tidying Up-And Paring Down to 5 Colors

Tidying Up-And Paring Down to 5 Colors

I'm back from Las Vegas, land of Red Bull and sequins. I never drink the stuff, but it's practically in the air out there. Gross.

In an effort to detox from that whole experience, I wanted to bring you up to speed on some cleansing that I've been doing over here recently. I read the incredible book The Lifechanging Magic of Tidying Up, which I highly recommend, and I put some of her tenants to practice.

The main one is to put all of your clothing in one place; I took things out of storage and from closets, and I put it all in one room by category. I had too much clothing, and she says it's ok to do shirt, pants, dresses, etc., so that's what I did! Then, you handle each item and ask the question: does this spark joy?

If it doesn't, you let it go. You get rid of it, donate or sell it. It's that simple. I was so ready for this! What I found after making my way through most of my clothing was very revealing: about 5 colors spark joy for me consistently. Black, white, gray, blue (mostly navy), and tomato (veering to coral, too). My husband says that black isn't a color, white is questionable, and gray barely qualifies, but that's just semantics! I'm going with five.



I have mostly whittled my clothing down to those five colors by this point, only keeping things in my closet that spark joy. I found a very few items that are outside of those colors that also sparked, and so I kept them, and stripes in all colors light up my heart. I've moved the patterned pieces to a separate chest that has hanging space so that my closet reads as far more cohesive and joyful now. I love it!

If it sounds too extreme for you, I suggest that you read the book or at least skim a few pages. You might be surprised by how incredibly light you'll feel afterwards! I am still dreading getting rid of books, though, and have been putting that stage off.

Let me know if you try it and what you think!

Weekly Roundup

Weekly Roundup

Via

I'm off this week traveling for work and didn't write enough to post this week in advance. But I do have a few silly things to leave you with, some silly, some serious, and some gorgeous.

First, have you SEEN John K's Tina Turner on Lip Synch Battle? Also, Chrissy Teigen is unnecessary, huh?

What about 10 ways to style a crop top without showing skin?

Did you read this intriguing article? So interesting how the men didn't seem to get what the benefits would be beforehand. They seem brave in that light.

Or this one on why to mother with style? Not sure what I think about it still.

And it's been out for awhile, but I still love the ideas in this ManRepeller post.

Have a great week! See you soon!