Weekly Window Shopping

J. Crew Convertible Raffia Clutch in Fruit Salad

This fun clutch is the perfect vacation bag. It can be carried as a clutch or worn as a cross body clutch. The natural material and colorful fruit design make it a great style for a tropical getaway. It transitions well from day to night. Wear it as a cross body with a simple pair of navy shorts and white tee during the day, and convert it to a clutch paired with a black dress for night.

Vineyard Vines Beachcomber Stripe Bow Back Dress

Vineyards Vines has been releasing incredible pieces for the past few months, and this bow back dress is the latest in the parade of great dresses and tops. The stripes are a classic look, and it's impossible not to love a bow back. Paired with a red lipstick and white sandals, this would be a great dress for the 4th of July.

Lilly Pulitzer Cailee Halter Dress

I'm completely obsessed with Lilly Pulitzer's new gingham print. They keep releasing new pieces with the pattern and I love them all. This beachy dress is flirty and fun. It's easy to throw on with a pair of sandals for a day on the water, or paired with wedges for a nice dinner out, and the fit is flattering on almost everyone.

Tuckernuck White Petite Woven Lantern Earrings

I love white accessories in the summer. It creates such a crisp and clean look. The woven texture of these earrings add a bit of a nautical vibe to the earrings, making them perfect for a day at the beach or lake. The neutral white color ensures that they can be worn with almost every outfit, and the size is big enough that they make a statement but not to big that they can't be worn casually.

Anthropologie Sparkle Striped Buttondown

Button downs are a classic wardrobe staple. This fun and sparkly take on a classic is the perfect wardrobe update. It would look great tucked into a pair of navy shorts for a casual classic look, or with a fun and flirty skirt for a more glamorous look. It could also be office appropriate with a black pencil skirt or a black pair of work pants.

2017 Reserva Orquidea Rosario Estate Sauvignon Blanc

This week's wine is a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc that I picked up from Trader Joe's. Sauvignon Blanc is a varietal that I think the New World does better than the Old World. While I certainly won't turn down a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley in France, I prefer New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, and Chilean and South African Sauvignon Blancs are also great when you're looking for something a little bit more unique and different.

This particular wine was a cheap, great value wine. It was only $5 at Trader Joe's, but after tasting it, I would have happily paid $15-20 for this bottle. When I bought this wine, I had a feeling that it was going to taste much better than its price tag suggested. It's not too difficult to get great wines at a bargain price if you know what you're looking for. If I'm looking for something cheap and delicious, the first thing I consider is location. You want to look for wines from a region not really known for that varietal. For Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand and the Loire Valley are really well known for producing great wines, so I steered clear of those regions. Those regions are like brand names for Sauvignon Blanc, so wine producers know that customers will pay a bit more for their wines because of the region, so they tend not to be bargain wines. Instead, I looked for bottles from Chile, South Africa, and Washington state. I knew that those regions produced Sauvignon Blanc, but weren't well-known for it, so even really great wines would have to be at a lower price to entice customers to give them a chance. At this point, I had it narrowed down to this $5 Chilean wine, and a $6 South African wine. A Trader Joe's employee walked by while I was mulling it over, and asked if I needed any help. He told me that he had tried both the wines that I was looking at, and that he preferred the Chilean, so I went with that. Asking for help from an employee won't work at most grocery stores, but Trader Joe's is small enough and they have a culture of caring about their wine selection, so I felt that I could trust the recommendation. I generally only buy wine at local/independent wine shops and at Trader Joe's, and I will always trust a recommendation at a local wine shop. The people who work there are so passionate about wine and really know the wines that they have in stock. You should never feel uncomfortable asking for a recommendation at a wine shop, that's what the employees are there for, to guide you in the right direction.

This process works well for finding a great value wine of any varietal, you just consider different regions. For example, I've found some really great New Zealand Pinot Noirs that were much cheaper than a French or Californian bottle of the same quality. I've also been trying a lot of medium-bodied red wines from Eastern Europe that are a great value. If you're looking for a budget friendly wine, don't be afraid to check out some of the lesser known regions. They often carry hidden gems.

This wine was one of those hidden gems. It was unique and surprising, and a really enjoyed drinking it. When I poured a glass, based on the smell, I expected it to be a tropical Sauvignon Blanc. I've found that most Sauvignon Blancs can be placed into two categories: either very tropical fruit forward, or very grassy and herby. This wine smelled very tropical, I got notes of banana, papaya, pineapple, and a hint of lemon. When I went to take a sip, I expected to feel transported to a Caribbean Island. However, even though it smelled very tropical, it tasted much more like a grassy and herby Sauvignon Blanc. Parsley, dill, and fresh cut grass were the strongest notes, with a hint of grapefruit on the finish. I was very surprised, I haven't found very many wines that taste completely different from how they smell, and I thought this was a very interesting wine. I like grassy Sauvignon Blancs, so I wasn't upset by the taste, just surprised, and I enjoyed the surprise.

I drank this wine with a simple dinner of white rice, chicken potstickers, and green beans. If I had been more in the mood to cook, I would have paired this with a delicate white fish, or a summer salad with mixed greens, watermelon, and goat cheese. The wine has a very fresh and clean taste, and would go great with any meal that's light and a bit zesty.

A Sailing Scarf

I spent the weekend after my graduation relaxing and decompressing at my fiance's house. It had been a very hectic week leading up to graduation, with two short trips and then prepping my apartment for my family to visit. Graduation weekend itself was also very busy, with various reservations and graduation activities, so it was nice to just relax for a week and not have any plans. While my fiance was at work, I would sleep in, run an errand or two, get ahead on my bar exam prep, and watch a couple shows on Netflix. It was nice to do everything at a leisurely pace and not feel rushed or like I had a huge to-do list to complete.

Since I knew I would be spending the week just relaxing, I only packed casual and comfortable outfits. My navy peplum top is a few years old from J. Crew, and it's one of my favorite closet staples. It's so simple, comfortable, and easy to accessorize in so many different ways. The neckline is great for pairing with statement necklaces or with long earrings. I also like that I can wear this top with any style of bottoms, it looks great with shorts, jeans, and fitted skirts. I can even wear it to work with a pencil skirt or dress pants. It's one of those classic pieces that can be worn forever, without having to worry about it going out of style.

This is one of the first times that I've styled this top with a scarf. I didn't pay attention to the dimensions when I ordered this scarf online, and I thought that it was going to be a good size to tie around a ponytail and wear in my hair. I was very surprised when I opened the package and saw that it was much larger than I anticipated, but it's a great size to wear as an alternative to a statement necklace. It's hard to tell when it's tied around my neck, but the scarf has a very cute yellow and pink watercolor style sailboat image on it. It's the perfect design for the summer, and the navy and ivory background make it so easy to pair with almost any colored top or dress. It was the perfect accessory for my simple running errands outfit.

~ Scarf ~ Top (similar) ~ Pants ~ Bracelet ~ Earrings ~ Shoes (similar) ~

Weekly Window Shopping

Lilly Pulitzer 5" Ocean View Short

I'm loving Lilly's new blue and white gingham print. I bought the off the shoulder ruffle one-piece swimsuit in this print, and these shorts are just as adorable. They have an elastic waistband, so they're the perfect shorts to throw on when you're out running errands or at the beach. They'd look great with a white, navy, or coral top.

Madewell Texture and Thread Striped Bow-Back Tank Top

Stripes AND a bow, how could I not love this tank? This tank is absolutely adorable, Madewell has struck gold. It's the perfect summer tank. The bow is functional as well as so cute, it can be used to adjust the strap length of the tank. I want to wear this tank everywhere. It can be easily dressed down with denim short and sandals, or dressed up with a black skirt and wedges for a summer date night.

Brooks Brothers Red Fleece Pintucked Cotton Chambray Shirt Dress

The devil is in the details with this adorable timeless chambray shirt dress. The color and top section of buttons has a darling ruffle edge, the pintuck adds a lovely texture to the top half of the dress, and this dress has pockets! A chambray dress like this will never go out of style, it's the perfect summer dress that you can wear for years and years to come.

Halogen Poplin Ruffle Tweed Top

Halogen is one of my favorite Nordstrom brands, and this mixed fabric top is absolutely adorable. The pastel tweed makes this top perfect for both spring and fall, and the ruffle at the bottom adds a touch of whimsy to a very structured fabric. This top would be great for the office or at brunch with your friends. The tweed makes it a bit more conservative, so depending on your office dress code you could wear it with a navy work pant and nude pumps or flats for a fun office look. It would also be great with jeans or white pants for a more casual look.

Anthropologie Poplin Ruffle-Sleeve Dress by English Factory

This simple and darling dress comes in both navy and white, my two favorite colors. It has a simple, classic cut that's just begging for some fun accessories. It would look so cute with a bold statement necklace or a colorful pair of dangly earrings. It's a simple but elegant casual dress that's the perfect blank canvas for the rest of your look.

2015 Les Blondins Cote Roannaise

I picked up this week's wine from my favorite local wine shop, Wine Authorities. It's a Gamay wine from the Cote Roannaise in the southern region of the Loire Valley in France. This wine has a very interesting story. It's the product of friendship. Famous Michelin starred French chef Pierre Troisgros and and noted winemaker Robert Serol decided to plant a vineyard together in the early 1990's. Les Blondins is the only wine that comes from that vineyard. This pairing makes perfect sense. Wine is made to be paired with food. A great restaurant would lose it's credibility if it didn't also have a great wine list. Most wine drinkers select what wine they will be drinking in part based off of what they are eating that night. While there are times that I drink wine on it's own, I find that a good food pairing almost always enhances the experience of drinking the wine.

























Pierre Troisgros is a remarkable French chef. His father opened Hôtel-Restaurant des Platanes, now known as La Maison Troisgros, in 1930. The restaurant earned its first Michelin star before Pierre came on board, but shortly after Pierre joined his father, the restaurant earned its second and third Michelin stars. Pierre eventually took over, and the restaurant has maintained its three stars. The menu is driven by what ingredients are in season and available at the market. Pierre Troisgros is the ideal chef to have a say in the flavor and taste of the wine I'm drinking. 

This wine was excellent. When I sniffed it, I got subtle notes of red fruits, like cherry and dark raspberry, and stronger notes of black pepper, tobacco, and hay. It had muskier and more full-bodied scent notes than a typical Gamay. It kind of smelled like a barnyard, in a good way. When I tasted the wine, I had a similar experience. It started off with soft notes of cherry and blackberry, with much stronger notes of pepper, tobacco, leather, and a general muskiness coming in stronger. It had medium tannins that gave the wine a lovely, velvety texture in the mouth. It was much less fruit forward than most wines that I drink, and a bit funkier, but it was very enjoyable.

My fiance and I paired this wine with a chicken and rice dish, and they went great together. The meal was more robust than the average chicken dish, so it played well of the muskiness. This wine would also be great with roasted duck, or with a hearty mushroom risotto dish.

Graduation Weekend

Last weekend I graduated from law school. I've wanted to be a lawyer since I was 12 years old, and I went straight from undergrad to law school, without taking any time to work in between, so law school graduation felt like the culmination of years and years of hard work. My fiance, parents, brother, and grandparents all came to celebrate with me, and it was a very special weekend. Now, my next step is to take the Bar Exam in late July. I'll be staying in North Carolina to study for the Bar, and then I'll travel around Spain and Portugal for a few weeks after taking the Bar, before moving up to New Jersey and finally starting my job as an actual lawyer. North Carolina has been a fun place to live for the past three years, but I'm excited to move up north and become an East Coaster.


























I thought about wearing a traditional white dress for my graduation, but most of the white dresses that I tried on looked very young and playful, and made me feel like I was graduating from high school instead of law school. I wanted to find a dress that was a bit more mature and sophisticated. As I move into the next phase of my life as a young professional, I want my style to mature with me. I settled on this lovely blush A-Line dress from Kate Spade. The blush color felt like a more sophisticated alternative to the traditional white. A neutral, light color with a bit more maturity. I wanted to make sure that my dress wouldn't clash with the purple on my robe and hat, and blush paired nicely. The high neckline and short sleeves made the dress feel a bit more professional, while the rhinestone embellishments kept it fun and feminine. It was very much an appropriate balance for a law school graduation.

Graduation involved a lot of standing around and walking from place to place, so I made sure to wear comfortable wedges that I could walk in, instead of high stiletto heels. Nude wedges were perfectly understated and paired nicely with my blush dress. Since my dress had sparkles on it already, I kept my jewelry relatively understated with a fun watch and Kate Spade earrings that matched the rhinestones on the dress. My goal with my graduation outfit was to really embrace a timeless, classic, and sophisticated look, so that I'll be able to look back on the pictures for years to come and still feel good about what I was wearing.

~ Dress ~ Shoes (similar) ~ Earrings ~ Watch ~

Weekly Window Shopping

Gal Meets Glam Collection Jane Dress

The first half of the May Gal Meets Glam Collection launched this week, and, as expected,  the dresses are all so beautiful. The Jane dress is my favorite. The cut and style would be flattering on almost every body type, and the v-neck makes it flirty without showing too much. This soft purple color is my favorite, but it also comes in bright pink, navy, and black. The black version would be a great date night dress.

Tuckernuck Drop Waist Floral Shirt Dress by Rachel Behrens

A shirt dress never goes out of style, and Tuckernuck has this style in several colors, but the floral is my favorite. The drop waist makes this dress a bit more versatile. It can be dressed down with a pair of white converse or other sneakers, or dressed up with a heeled sandal or bootie. I love how the sleeves are rolled here, the cuffs make the dress look so put together while still being simple.

J. McLaughlin Alana One-Piece Halter Swimsuit

One piece swimsuits are getting a lot of attention this year, and I love the simplicity of this one. This is a timeless swimsuit. The navy color is perfect for summer, it would look great paired with a white cover up. The scallop detail elevates the suit though. It's the perfect small feminine touch without getting too busy or distracting.

Soludos Cherries Embroidered Espadrilles

I saw these espadrilles at my local Nordstrom, and they are just so darling. Espadrille flats are such a fun alternative to ballet flats or loafers during the summer, and this cherry embroidery is too cute. I love fruit prints for the summer, and these definitely fit the bill. They would be so cute with a simple chambray sundress.

Kate Spade Ruffle Wrap Mini Skirt

In addition to handbags, Kate Spade really knows how to do skirts and dresses well. I love how dainty and flirty this skirt is. The pale blue color is great for spring and summer, and the ruffle hem and up the side are the sweetest touch. This skirt would go great with a simple white or navy top, and some fun girly jewelry or a printed bag.

2017 Typic Cinsault-Syrah Pays D'OC

This week's wine is another Trader Joe's bargain find. It's a Cinsault-Syrah rose blend. It's 80% Cinsault and 20% Syrah. I first came across a Cinsault rose a few months ago, and I've been hooked ever sense. Cinsault is popularly grown in France, Algeria, and South Africa. It's known for its heat tolerance and drought resistance. In France, it's mostly grown in the Rhone Valley, where the climate is hot and windy. It can be a tricky grape to grow well, because it's so weather resistant, Cinsault is known to produce a high yield, but when it does so it's not of the best quality. When it grows without limit, it produces a lot of grapes with minimal flavor in each grape. To grow quality Cinsault grapes, the grapes must be limited and maintained to only grow about a third of the volume that it naturally would. This concentrates the level of flavor in each grape and results in a higher quality wine. When it's not limited, Cinsault is generally used as a filler or table wine. It's generally blended, rather than sold as a single-grape wine, with Syrah and Grenache being popular grapes to blend it with. It's also well known for being cross-bred with Pinot Noir to create the Pinotage grape. In South Africa Cinsault is commonly known as Hermitage, so the name Pinotage comes from blending the names Pinot Noir and Hermitage, just as the two grapes were bred together to create the Pinotage grape.

While I had this varietal as a rose, it's also very common as a regular red wine. In areas outside of France it's generally produced as a red wine, and even within France it's a mix of whether it's produced as red of rose. As a red, it's generally fruit forward and medium bodied, with some musky and meaty notes on the back end. The character of a Cinsault wine can be deeply affected by the tools used to produce it, it easily takes on notes from the variety of oak barrel that it's made in.

This wine smelled very light and delicate to me. I got notes of citrus, strawberry, a light floral note, and just a hint slatey minerality. The taste of the wine matched the scent. When I sipped it I got strong notes of grapefruit and strawberry on the front end, along with a delicate light floral note and a hint of nectarine. On the back end I got notes of light minerality that balanced out the fruity and floralness well. It tasted just as light and delicate as it smelled.

I drank this wine while I snacked on some chicken potstickers, and I don't think it was the best pairing. The wine was so delicate that it got overwhelmed by the soy sauce and the other salty flavors in the potstickers. It would go better with a flaky light fish, like halibut, or with a light summer salad, maybe arugula with strawberries, goat cheese, and a poppyseed dressing.

A Spring Shirtdress

Last week I had a week off in between finishing finals and my graduation, and I spent part of that week in Asheville, NC with my friend McKenzie. Asheville is a beautiful mountain town in Western North Carolina, and it's grown a lot in the past 5 years. We spent the first two days of our trip hiking and checking out local breweries. I obviously prefer wine to beer, but when I'm visiting a city with good local craft breweries, I enjoy checking them out and ordering flights of local beers. Asheville has a ton of local breweries, the city is basically the craft beer capital of the East Coast, and it seems like new breweries are always opening up. We went to about five or six different ones, and my favorite was One World Brewing, if you're ever in Asheville I highly recommend you check them out.

On the third day of our trip we did some shopping in Biltmore Village. The Biltmore Estate, a gorgeous mansion built by the Vanderbilts, is in Asheville and the Biltmore Village was historically a village for the estate workers back when the Biltmore was a private residence. Now, the Village is a cute neighborhood of Asheville with great shopping, cute cafes, and a couple of wine bars and restaurants. Since we were having a girlie shopping day, I decided to wear my new midi shirtdress from the Gal Meets Glam Collection. I love this dress collection by Julia Engel, it's so feminine and beautiful, and high quality. I'm excited for her to release new May dresses in the next few days.

This shirtdress immediately caught my eye when the collection was first released. A shirtdress is a timeless style that's flattering on almost everyone. I was also very excited to buy my first midi dress. Being on the shorter side, I've always shied away from maxi dresses, because I always end up looking weighed down by all the fabric, but a midi dress is the perfect length for when I'm not in the mood for a short dress. I love where the hem of this dress ended up hitting me, not too high that I look like a stuffy librarian with a dowdy knee-length skirt, but not so long that it looks like it's trying to be a maxi dress but failed. The length is the perfect Goldilocks length, just right. The details in this dress also make it very special. The dress came with a thin belt in the same color as the dress, perfect for adding waist definition without adding a flashy accessory. Also the collar is a lovely rounded shape, which adds an extra layer of femininity. I got so many compliments from strangers on this dress while we were out and about shopping. You can feel when you wear it and see it in person that it's a very special dress.

I decided to use my accessories to build off the femininity of the dress. My purse and earrings are very girlie, fun, and perfect for spring. I usually carry around a larger purse, but this pink bag made me feel so pretty and dainty. I had to switch from a full size wallet to a card wallet, but the bag fit that with my sunglasses, phone, phone charger, and keys with no problem. I love the details on this bag. The perforations create a delightful and fun pattern, without getting too busy, and the gold buckles dress it up a little bit. I bought this bag at the most recent Kate Spade Surprise Sale*, so keep your eyes out for it in the next one. I also linked a Kate Spade bag bellow in a similar shade of pink.

I got my earrings in my most recent Rocksbox, and as soon as I saw them I knew they'd be perfect with this dress. The dress is somewhat simple, so I was able to wear long, dramatic earrings without it being too much going on. I love how the stacks of flowers are just so perfect for spring. These earrings made me feel absolutely fabulous while I was wearing them, and put an extra pep in my step. This was the perfect outfit for strolling around the Biltmore Village.

~ Dress ~ Purse (similar) ~ Sunglasses ~ Sandals ~ Earrings (similar) ~ Watch ~

* There is currently a Kate Spade Surprise Sale on, and my bag is available.