Friday Favorites :: Furnishings For The Living Room

I like to think of the living room as a the formal room in the house. This is where most people host guests during a party or have a small group over for cocktails. You want your living room to be elegant but comfortable enough that people feel ok to sit on the furniture!

One King's Lane is probably my favorite site for a huge selection of furnishings and décor, at a range of prices with new deals happening every single day. We have rounded up our top living room pieces we are eyeing this Friday. Happy weekend!

What To Wear :: Bridal Showers

I'm not sure if it's just me or a majority of women who get a little pit in their stomach when they have to attend a shower as a guest or as the guest of honor. With a few showers coming up in my future, I am not only worried about opening gifts in front of people but what am I going to wear?! This tends to be the most frequent question I ask myself.

Dressing for a shower does come with a few guidelines…

First, let the bride wear the white. Even if you know she will not be wearing white that day, just avoid that color! 

Second, I personally don't love red or black at a shower. I tend to think of showers as a very feminine, soft dress code - keep a pastel palette in mind! 

Third, have fun! It's a few hours to open or watch someone open gifts, sip some champagne and it's another step towards a very exciting day. Below are what we would wear while attending a shower as a guest! 

Pssst! I love this lace dress and this pleated one for the bride!

Lust List

Bananas for the Bucket Bag

If you are a bag lady like myself than you have probably noticed the ever-growing popularity of the bucket bag. I think we have the label Mansur Gavriel to thank for that. Mansur Gavriel's bucket bags have become so popular lately it's almost impossible to get your hands on one of them. So many designers have taken a cue from this popular design and decided to put their own spin on the bucket bag. Here are some of our favorites::

Piperlime Sale

Snowed in…We are officially in "blizzard" mode here. If you haven't heard, we are supposed to get anywhere from one to three feet (yes, feet) of snow in the NY/CT area. I'm already going a little stir crazy. To help pass the time I plan on doing a little online shopping. The second Hunter's head hits the pillow for his nap today, I plan on taking full advantage of the huge sale going on at Piperlime (it ends today!!) You can take 25% off ALL full-priced items with code MUSTHAVE. I plan on treating myself to some post-baby clothes. Love this top and these jeans.

SHOP OUR PIPERLIME FAVORITES::

Words

Friday Favorites :: Serena & Lily Art

As I am gearing up for my move in early April I have been on the hunt for a large piece of art. I have an idea of what I'm looking for, but am uncertain about exactly what colors would flow nicely with my furniture. Having stalked Pinterest for decor ideas I found a few rooms with some pretty awesome pieces of art.

One of our favorite home sites is Serena and Lily. They offer beautifully made furniture (I love this console) and upholstery (everyone needs an X bench, whether it's in a bedroom or living room) as well as an art gallery. I took some time this week to look at their exhibit and see if I found any artists that excited me.

I truly love art - whether it's a painting, a photo or even a framed Hermes scarf (yes I consider that art!) I think it shows part of your personality through your selection of pieces and can even be a great conversation starter.

Nursery Inspiration

I'm not going to lie but I have totally put this baby's nursery on the back burner. I remember the moment I found out I was pregnant with Hunter, I started piecing his nursery together right away. This time around is a bit different. To be honest, I hadn't given the nursery much thought until a very sweet reader emailed us asking to do a post on nursery inspiration. So thank you (you know who you are!) for giving me a much needed kick in the bum to get this room all figured out!

What I do know for sure is that we are going to convert the guest room into the baby's nursery and leave Hunter in his room. I already bought H some big boy furniture and have moved the nursery furniture into the guest room. The guest room right now is painted a very light, light aqua color. I had been thinking for some time that we would skip the whole pink theme for a girl and stick with the light aqua walls. We would just find some white bedding and add silver metallic accents like these baskets and this pouf. Simple. My two reasons for this::

1. I've never been a big fan of the color pink
2. I'm really just too lazy to pick a color and have it painted

However, the second I started piecing together a nursery inspiration board my thoughts quickly changed.

I love all things neutral (which drives my mom crazy) and I don't think I would ever go for a pink wall. I'm thinking about painting the walls a very pale grey or an off-white. I'm going to keep with my white bedding idea (I love this and this) and a white glider (which we already have from H's room). And to tie the room together, I'll add very subtle light (light) pink and metallic silver accents. Love these pillows (1, 2, 3) and these baskets. I also have this cool monogram waiting for me in my shopping cart in both sets of initials in white (we are still deciding between two names).

To sum it up: a neutral nursery with (small) hints of pink.

I promise to share some pictures when I'm completely finished…which will hopefully be before the baby comes!

SHOP MY FAVORITE NURSERY FINDS::

SOME MORE NURSERY INSPIRATION::

Lust List

Piperlime's Denim Event :: Ends TODAY!!

I'm not sure how to stress this enough, but please stop whatever you are doing and head over to Piperlime for their amazing denim event deal. Receive 30% off ALL STYLES! Yes, that's what we said: ALL STYLES! I am a self proclaimed denim hoarder / addict / connoisseur so this is really making my Monday Tuesday morning.

My mind is racing thinking about all the pairs I have been eyeing these past few weeks. Just like my love for shoes, I will never ever have enough pairs of jeans. And just in case you were wondering.. I have these ripped ones, and these white ones in my cart!

Enter GOODJEANS at checkout!

Friday Favorites :: Graphic Tees

Can anyone say, "long weekend???" Happy Friday to you all. We thought we'd keep today's Friday Favorites simple and sweet by rounding up some of our favorite graphic tees. A graphic tee is the perfect way to keep your look casual and cool. Jules Sarinana from Sincerely, Jules has this look down pat. Effortlessly cool, don't you think? She designs her own line of graphic tees and we've included a bunch of them below. This one and this one are our favorites!

WWW :: Warm Weather Wear

I'm starting to believe I enjoy this self torture. No tropical vacation in sight, yet I still can't help myself from looking at all the warm weather wear. From bathing suits and coverups, to a crisp pair of white denim and sandals, I can't take my mind off of the beach. It doesn't help that I have an (almost!) two year old who wants to be outdoors constantly. Even when the temps are negative. NOT fun.

It also doesn't help that I check the weather in Palm Beach on a daily basis…

Here are some of my favorite resort ready pieces::

What's Hot at Kendra Scott

Kendra Scott was really the first jewelry designer whose pieces we coveted. You could say her line started our jewelry obsession and we quickly developed a love for colorful, affordable pieces trimmed in gold. 

We would gift Kendra Scott to each other, to friends and family, and it quickly became one of our jewelry staples. Over the years, we have seen incredible growth from this designer from her range in pieces and developing a custom color bar. It's no exaggeration how much we love Kendra's colors and the Danielle earring, you should probably own it in several colors!

Be sure to check out Kendra's Avant Garden Spring 2015 collection, launching January 21st!

Lust List

My Maternity Style Must-Haves

Going into my second pregnancy, I kind of had a good idea about things that I would need during my pregnancy and others that were a total waste of money. When I was pregnant with Hunter, I remember going to the maternity store with my mom and buying what I realize now was totally not worth it. Granted every pregnancy is different and every woman carries differently, there are certain things you absolutely need and others that you just don't need. Also worth mentioning, I've only been (very) pregnant during the cooler months and I'm sure my list would be a tad different if I was rocking a large bump in the summer heat.

Here is my short list of Three Maternity Essentials::

LEGGINGS::

Leggings are a must for pregnant women. Leggings are a must for me even when I'm not pregnant. But when you are growing at a rapid pace, nothing feels quite as good as a stretchy pair of leggings. Unfortunately most maternity leggings are about as thick as tights and are pretty much see-through the second you bend over. Not a good thing for moms chasing around toddlers in gym class. I have three favorite pairs of maternity leggings:

1. Ingrid & Isabel Active Maternity Leggings: The opposite of thin leggings. These are pretty thick but not uncomfortably thick. I wear these with sneakers when I'm running around doing errands and I even wear them with ballet flats and an oversized sweater. They come in a capri style and yoga style, too. 
2. Ingrid & Isabel Everyday Leggings: These are definitely on the thinner side but are the.most.comfortable things I have ever put on my body. I'm actually wearing them right now. They are the first thing I put on when I get home from being out. I stocked up and own three pairs (two left over from Hunter days). 
3. Beyond the Bump by Beyond Yoga Leggings: Ok so maybe these are tied for being most comfortable. I have every intention of wearing these after the baby comes. I own these in the black/white spacedye color and you can keep the belly band up or roll it down. 

DENIM:: 

Everyone needs a good pair of denim. I tried cheaping it up and I ordered a few pairs of $20 jeans because I kept telling myself how pointless it was to spend money on jeans you will only wear for a short amount of time. Unfortunately, you really do get what you pay for and the cheaper jeans didn't even come close to the quality and comfort of the "designer" ones I had tried on. My all time favorites are the AG Jeans. I wear these and these all the time. 

TANKS & TEES::

Maternity tanks are an absolute must. You need that extra length and the extra stretch that your regular tanks just won't give you. My favorites are the Gap Pure Body tanks and I love their V-neck tees also. These thin strap tanks are also perfect, especially for under sheer blouses and tops. I've been wearing a lot of my non-maternity oversized tees but I'm definitely on the verge of not being able to fit into those either.

As for sweaters and tops, I've been wearing my pre-pregnancy ones that luckily for me, are all on the baggier side. Here are a few I bought this year that are perfect for now and for after baby::

On a side note: I'm trying to figure out exactly what I'll need for the hospital. With Hunter, everything happened so suddenly and I was not prepared at all. We had him very unexpectedly at 32 weeks and I never had time to get my hospital bag in order. My mom and husband would get things as I needed them but to be honest with you I can't remember for the life of me exactly what I needed and what I didn't need. I think with all the chaos I just made do with whatever I had. I'm crossing my fingers that I  won't need my hospital bag until after 37 weeks but I'm trying to be as prepared as possible and would like to get one all packed up in the next week or so. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them! Here's to a long, healthy third trimester! xx

Golden Globes :: Best Dressed

Last night's Red Carpet might have been my favorite one yet. Maybe because there were so many pretty metallic hues and beaded gowns? Chrissy Teigen was definitely one of my favorites. She stunned in Zuhair Murad. And did you see what I thought was a totally heart warming moment but quickly became an internet sensation? The camera landed on Chrissy while her husband John Legend was accepting his Golden Globe for Best Original Song and she might have made the funniest cry faces ever. Check it out here.

Some more of our Golden Globes Faves::

images via eonline