Heart Grow Fonder

You know that saying, "absence makes the heart grow fonder"? Last week, Alex and I put that to the test when I took a trip up to the Bay Area to attend Bloom the Workshop (more on that tomorrow!), and spend a week with my family. He stayed in LA and worked. And ate microwave pizza. And drank beers with his friends.

Since the day that Alex and I met more than four years ago, I would guess that we have spent fewer than 30 days apart. Total. Alex and I had a sleep over on the second day we knew each other, and then every day since that. After dating for only four months, we officially moved in together. A couple months after that, we took a two-and-a-half week road trip from Boston to Los Angeles. If Alex is making a run to the bank, I'm sitting in the passenger seat next to him. If I'm working on the couch, he's to my right typing away on the dining table. We walk our dog together, always. Grocery shopping is a two person operation. If Alex goes to Target without me, it's a betrayal.

Clearly, we spend a lot of time together. And I love it.

When we first met, Alex told me he can be a bit clingy, and I was like "yes! This is the person for me! Cling away." And sometimes -- oftentimes -- I wish he were more clingy.

But last week was kind of like... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Space.

Remember when Carrie Bradshaw said, "Maybe we should see each other less, and then we can miss each other more"? I'm totally with her on that front now. Spending every waking (and sleeping) moment with your spouse is wonderful, and provides a lot of intimacy, but it was such a sweet feeling to miss Alex. It was nice to indulge my own interests, operate on my own schedule, but still wonder what what my husband was up to and how he was doing. It was fun to exchange text messages like teenagers, FaceTime before bed, and call to check in. The novelty of time spend separately was actually kind of fun.

And, being reunited, even though it was at 2am after a five-hour drive from Northern California, was like falling in love again. It was that sensation of something being so dearly familiar, yet fresh and new. Like the feeling that you've known someone your whole life, but your only on the first date. And the best part was that we are married!

It was a good feeling, borne of time spent apart. Maybe we should do this more often...
 

Thanks to my mom and sister, Lindsey, for snapping these photos of me looking out of San Francisco.

Gap Sweater

Lindy Bop Dress

Target Shoes

Kate Spade Handbag

Laugh It Off

A few weeks ago, I bought this handy little gadget that lets me take my own photos. This remote gets Alex off the hook when it comes to blog photography, and it's fun and everything, but it doesn't yield the best results -- after all, it's still an iPhone photo -- and, I feel SO WEIRD while posing in front of a phone held by a tripod that's gripping my car rear view mirror, or a near by fire hydrant. It's super awkward when I have to come into contact with another human while acting like an utter narcissist. That's why most of my recent photos feature a giggling Anni.

I guess that's my new approach to life... Just laugh it off. Learning to not care what others think for me has been a long road, and I'm still on it. Fashion can feel so competitive sometimes almost always. I think about that lyric in Van Morrison's Wild Night, "All the girls walk by, dressed up for each other," and I think that goes right to the heart of the issue. I can't tell you how many times I have purchased something because someone I was jealous of already owned it, or wore a particular outfit in order to impress another woman. Look at me, I'm stylish, I have it together, I make enough money to completely empty my bank account on this new handbag...

I'm starting to laugh off that way of looking at things. I'm turning inward, and disregarding the thoughts of others. I'm finding that what matters most is how I feel about myself. Wearing a dress and sneakers makes me feel like I can kick some major ass, but also that I'm totally adorable, which is what I feel like being today. In a lifetime of trying to define my style, the truth is that it's it's undefinable, because I am, too. I can not be summed up by an outfit, a dress, a particular style... So instead, I choose to express myself different day by day, and remember that the only opinion about me that matters, is my own.

Don't Let Anyone Dull Your Sparkle

I'm sure -- especially if you're a pinterest user -- that you've seen that phrase before. Generally speaking, I tend to roll my eyes when it comes to platitudes like that. But here, I'm taking it quite literally. I know that it is actually ridiculous to wear sparkly sequin pants in the light of day, but that's just me. I'm kind of silly, and I like dressing myself a little "out-there," so to speak... And on days like this one, especially since I felt under the weather, wearing something that makes me feel good, that makes me feel like me, is incredibly empowering and healing. I will not let a tiny little cold, or people thinking I'm a weirdo, or the fact that the sun hasn't even set, stop me from rocking a pair of sequined leggings and a fringe-y necklace. No way, no how.

Purple Peridot Necklace | Similar
Urban Outfitters Button Down
Piperlime Sweater | Similar
H&M Sequin Pants
Starburst Keds
Kate Spade Saturday Sunglasses | Similar

Clothes Before Bros

Apparently, I'm really into graphic tees paired with skirts right now. There's just something about wearing your heart on your sleeve your opinion on your chest. As I wore this Clothes Before Bros tee walking down the street, I noticed that other women were smiling more at me. A barista even said to be, "I have a boyfriend and I share that sentiment." Hello, lady. I have a husband and I'm totally down with this. Clearly, this three word statement was vibing with other gals.

Let's be honest, I would never put my actual wardrobe before my man, but here's how I interpret it: put yourself, your happiness, your passions before anyone else. Never let a dude tell you what to wear. My girl, Jessica, has started this amazing movement called #idressforme. The essential idea is that you should dress to impress no one but yourself. Everyone should be able to freely clothe themselves in whatever fashion they choose without fear of stigma or personal harm. Jessica's hope, which I ardently share, is raise awareness for sexual harassment and assault. A mini skirt is not an invite. She wasn't asking for it by wearing a low cut top.

Furthermore, just because you enjoy fashion, doesn't mean that your don't have a brain. I've always gotten the feeling that when I tell people about my career as a fashion designer, or my collection of shoes, that they suddenly start to think that I'm not very bright. It's as if a penchant for the sartorial automatically means your straight out of Clueless. You think that's all I do? I'm just a ditz with a credit card?

Perhaps, I should put less stock in what others think of me, but let it be known: I'm actually pretty smart. I'm really good at fractions, and I use geometry almost everyday. Those facebook vocab quizzes? I pass them with flying colors, every time. I even beat my dad at Scrabble last Christmas. So there.

Target Clothes Before Bros Tee

Banana Republic Plaid Skirt | Similar

Grey Keds

Create, Caffeinate, Repeat

This is the tee shirt that made my break my New Years resolution of no shopping for a year. I literally had to have it; it was that good. If the phrase "create, caffeinate, repeat" doesn't sum up my life, I'm pretty sure nothing will. I find that there are plenty of products out there about drinking copious amounts of coffee, but since green tea lattes (with soy, pretty please!) are my drug of choice, this tee especially spoke to me.

Create Caffeinate Repeat Tee

ShopBop Skirt | Similar

Kate Spade Purse

J Crew Pumps - on sale!

Kate Spade Saturday Sunglasses | Similar

BaubleBar Earrings

Marie Claire China Outtakes

A few months ago, my bestie, Jessica was working on a story about shoe collectors for Marie Claire China, and she remembered how ridiculous my keds collection had gotten.  At the time, I had about 15 pairs, but it's grown to about 25 since then. I literally live in keds, I wore them at my wedding, and I'm pretty sure they go with every possible kind of outfit. Marie Claire China only ended up publishing one of my photos (and they misspelled my name), so I thought I'd share some outtakes from the shoot we did at my home studio. 

Here I'm wearing a dress from my Expect line, which is currently on haitus. I'm working to list all my inventory on etsy, so stay tuned in case you're like, "Hey, wait. I gotta have one of those mint Laura dresses!" I gotchu.

Golden Girl

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the #coasttocoastchallenge? Yesterday's theme was wearing the 'it skirt,' which gave me the perfect excuse to sport this metallic gold pleated wonder of a garment that I purchases over the holidays, but never had the chance to don. Even though it probably was slightly insane to wear out of the house for casual errands, I felt so good about myself in this outfit, I really didn't care about the WTF-esque stares we were getting while taking pictures in front of this ten commandments mural. I clearly broke at least of them during the process.

Wifey Tank

Gold Skirt

Polka Dot Sweater

Glitter Keds

Key Necklace

The Dress

As a fashion design and fashion lover, the wedding dress was one of the most important elements to my big day. I tried on about fifty dresses before deciding to just make my own. I kept thinking about how challenging and stressful it would be to make my own dress, but the more I tried on dresses, the more I began to believe that my dream dress couldn't be bought: it had to be created. Here are some shots of the finished product. I luuuuurve the way it came out and I wish I could wear it all over again!

During most of the wedding planning process, I was determined to wear three wedding dresses. Two dresses are for sissies, I declared! I ended up going with one and a half dresses, and boy am I glad! I constructed a layer of swiss dot tulle to go over my dress like a apron. Halfway through the reception, I scampered upstairs and removed the top layer (only held on by one button), and swapped out my shoes. It made the rest of the night so much more comfortable. It got a little silly after that!

I have every intention of posting a making-of series behind the dress. So, stay tuned for that. Any other awesome brides make their own dress? I would love to hear your stories!