om.

dolphin. bird of paradise. cat-cow. down dog. camel.

there were a lot of "animals" and poses across the great lawn in downtown west palm beach this past sunday at the annual yoga day, and while i love a good practice, i was there for a different reason. besides the sunday funday bacon bloody mary ritual after the soccer game at o'shea's, it was the vendors that brought me down to clematis street and the waterfront.

i've found that over the years i've gotten the coolest, funkiest additions to my closet with my art fairs and festivals finds...and the best part is, no one else has them.

this year there were the usual cute yoga tees and bohemian jewelry, of course, but it was a booth with latin spices and accessories that caught my attention. it was only 25 minutes and a few chats with friends before i went home with this handmade cross-body bag. i love the stamped detail on the faux leather, and the southwestern serape print made it all the better.

from there, the man and i celebrated my new purchase, his soccer win and having his cousin in town with a few more stops down clematis, including in front of this mural by eddie mendieta on the hip, artsy 500 block. 

(and to my reader, rachel...look, i'm wearing my pistachio green boots!)

artigras: ima take your grandma's style.

in south florida, we're blessed with beautiful beaches, gorgeous winter weather and amazing art shows. some may debate that weather statement when thinking of this past weekend when it got down to the 40s, but not me. i welcome it. 

what they won't debate, however, is the art. you may remember my love for the pieces i purchased at sunfest last year, and the street style it brings. but that's not the only show to keep in mind. art fest by the sea i coming up march 8-9 and the cityplace art fair march 30-31, and the palm beach jewelry & antique show is going on this weekend. 

those not shopping for diamonds or high-end antiques...ahem, me...were not at the jewelry show, however. we were at artigras, the outdoor fine art festival at abacoa in jupiter. 

it had been a few years since i went to the event, but was glad we decided to check it out after my husband's soccer game and irish breakfast - complete with a bacon bloody mary - at o'shea's today. here are a few of what we thought were the best finds of the day:

 

my fun new ring that i have no idea how to describe; purchased at the michael stephens booth; silverandbold.com. some of the biggest, funkiest jewelry and watches i've seen in a while at pretty decent prices. check it out.

i guess this is artigras' version of "festival fashions." probably my best find of the day, so of course i had to sneak a pic. love that i'm pulling trends from old men. 

to quote macklemore - and @omalleymso on instagram - 

"ima take your grandpa's style. no, for real, ask your grandpa, can i have his hand-me-downs?"

  

crazy bones. this might have been my favorite booth, but was just a little out of my price range on this particular day. the artist is from micanopy and her pieces have that old florida and native american flair. my sister and i really liked the pieces made from turquoise and ivory. fun fact: a lot of her pieces were made from prehistoric ivory, and the mammoth or walrus tusks used may be 800 to 20,000 years old. crazy bones doesn't have a website, but i have the artist's contact information, so leave a comment below if you want to know how to reach her...you won't be disappointed.

of course we had to take a few pics of the lilly pulitzer jeep too...it wouldn't be a true "palm beach" blog without it...

and since recycling is always in fashion, i had to post this photo of the stylishly decorated recycling bins at artigras this weekend. each was designed by a different school, and i liked this simple but beachy bin, but there were a lot of innovative monsters and sea creatures that were just as cool.

 

did you go to artigras, or are you planning to go tomorrow? let us know your favorite booths.

say it's her birthday.

so it's not all about me. january is the month for my lovely little sister's birthday too, but her gift was a little late in getting to her.

my husband bought her butters speakers, a.k.a. a "beatz buddy," in honor of her favorite "south park" character (sometimes i think they are more meant for each other than we are), but my original present of purple skinny jeans from gap unfortunately didn't work out.

to make up for it, i got her this rock & roll, blog-approved dress from h&m. it's pretty girly, but my influence definitely came through with the skull pattern.

what do you think? 

i think she's extra adorable. i also think we can expect more skulls in her fashion future.

say it's your birthday.

now that i'm over the age of 21, i no longer care much for my birthday. actually, that is probably only considered to be a half-truth, considering it may or may not have taken me until at least 25 to stop planning my own parties.

well, today is my birthday, and no, i'm not going to tell you which year. luckily, i have some way cool people in my life that made the day semi awesome. the "birthday suit" i got from urban outfitters helped a little too, mixing business with pleasure by adding spikes and color-blocking to an otherwise conservative collared, button-down dress. no pics yet, but i'm sure it'll show up on the blog soon enough. in the meantime, here's one of my instagram-inspired nail art courtesy of my new bff, van from tipsy spa.

back to those cool people i know. first, my man. probably the smartest guy i know...he sneaked a look at my pinterest page and purchased my latest obsession: these minty fresh, lace-up "troopa" boots by steve madden i found on zappos. (want your own? my green version is sold out, but the purple is a close second.)

barely over the excitement of my new boots - which, by the way, i plan on wearing every day i'm not working until the florida summer gets too hot - two of my lovely friends and coworkers also surprised me with gifts i can only assume are from francesca's collections at cityplace. love these goodies and the patterns: a wallet with colored bikes (that match my boots!) and a pretty lunch bag with little russian dolls.

they know me so well.

now i'm looking forward to a low-key happy hour at the wine dive on clematis street with my parents, little sis and of course, the guy who officially gets the title of the best gift-giver ever. after all, his past present resume does include a a sewing machine and lady gaga pit tickets.

p.s. i'm not yet 30, so your chances of guessing the correct age is one in four.

christmas in september.

so i know it's only september, but i'm pretty sure i found my holiday dress...christmas, new year's, a december wedding in vegas, whatever. i'd wear this to anything and everything.

one problem. i just spent way more on a new bike than i should have, and the beautifully blackberry floral frock by rachel rachel roy is still full price at macy's...and there is only one left in my size. 

it's got almost all the elements i'm loving right now: a purple hue, sheer fabrics, a peekaboo sweetheart neckline, flowers, a low back and a near-perfect fit (it's missing leather, but let's be honest, that would make this dress more fit to be worn at monarchy on clematis or liv at fountainebleau rather than a dinner at grandma's house...and the vegas event is still not that kind of wedding).

if you just had deja vu, that's because i had a similar situation back in may. i'm going to officially dub it the "rachel syndrome" since i have a feeling it will come up again. 

p.s. i can't find it online anywhere so i don't have a link to share. even if i did, i probably wouldn't anyway because while i love you all, i am greedy when it comes to this dress and don't want you scooping up the last one before i can! but if you like the look of the rachel rachel roy "party" collection, try the black and gold louise dress instead :)

season's must-haves.

reason #2 why i love fall:
there is not much better than a pumpkin spice latte from starbucks (even if it does cost more than my lunch at $4.19).

wondering what reason #1 is? 
boots. duh.

check back later this week for more on two of my favorite pairs of boots i was able to add to my collection for less than $50 each, even as autumn launches. and yes, i'm referring to my boots as a "collection" now, considering i have now accumulated more than 15 pairs, which is just crazy for a south florida girl.

fashion's night in.

my husband always says new year's eve is amateur hour. people who don't go out that much and can't handle their liquor out on the town, often times making a mess of it.

well that's how i feel about fashion's night out. don't get me wrong (or send hate mail), i love a good giveaway, makeup trial, or first peek at a collection. i also love supporting the fashion industry, as my husband or amex card can also attest to. i just don't like tons of other shoppers crowding me and making the checkout line that much longer, all for a free lipstick and martini with purchase.

it's not that i'm hating on the event. it's just that for me, there's something to be said about finding that one cool sequined-lined skirt that's left on the rack from the season that just ended (meaning it's technically still in style for us regular ready-to-wear types). and that sheer joy in realizing it's marked down 50 percent off, and surprisingly in your size. and as you're checking out, you're able to chat up the sales girl behind the counter to ask where she got the cute boots that pair so well with her dress, even in the florida summer season.

this scenario couldn't happen on fno. the skirt would be snatched up by someone else who probably will just return it later because the fitting room was too backed up for her to try it on, and the sales girl would be practically sweating from running around the room, let alone having more than 30 seconds to speak to you about anything other than whether you're paying credit or debit...or if you want an extra 15 percent off by opening a brand card.

i also think fno has lost some of it's original magic. it started in nyc as part of fashion week as a way to boost the fashion retail industry through parties, innovative pr stunts and connecting the regular buying public with designers through fashion presentations, etc., all the while getting shoppers to buy at full price. sales and discounts were not part of the deal, but that has since changed once many other locations around the world started building off the promotion too.

so that's my rant. if i could hang out with lubov & max azria from bcbg in new york tonight i might not be writing this. but until then, this is probably the only post you'll ever read here about fno.

that being said, if you did attend a fno event, i really do hope you had a fantastic time and scored big on the stylish goods. feel free to comment and tell me why i'm wrong too!

update: 

 

i'm not getting free denim manicures at guess, designing my own bracelet at lord & taylor, or meeting nigel barker at nine west, but i am still pretty excited about my own "fashion's night in" with my most recent online purchase that just came in from piperlime, which will make an appearance in one of this week's diy posts. stay tuned.

how to shop like a local in palm beach.

whenever i travel to new york, cali or even tallahassee, i have a clear map set out for sightseeing before i even step off the plane or out of the car. and by sightseeing, of course i really mean shopping. it's american rag cie in los angeles, the little wooden jewelry kiosk in santa monica, brandy melville and top shop in nyc, and divas & devils in the home of the seminoles. but i rarely stop to think about where i'm buying locally - or just window shopping in some cases - that would intrigue an out-of-towner.

 me in nyc after stops in both brandy melville and top shop. 

p.s. i'm wearing my new sugarlips shorts, which we'll have another post on later this week...

which is why i was so excited about a facebook message from the way cute new yorker, katy,  who asked me for recommendations on where she and a friend should shop while visiting palm beach this labor day weekend. they're looking for "little boutiques with not too circulated brands that are very on trend." located within an area that i'd consider to be one of our nation's fashion capitals, this seemed like an easy question.

it made me think about all the places i'd like to shop this weekend and some of those little corners i haven't had time to sneak into lately. and after thinking about it some more, i realized this really is a multifaceted answer...

must-stop shops 
* asquared boutique ~ this is one of the newer shops to the area and not technically on palm beach (just over the bridge in west palm beach), but is a must for all the pb natives. i met the ladies behind asquared at a marketplace event for junior league of the palm beaches, and fell in love with their collection. i found it was barely a fraction of the pieces found at the gorgeous store, which the self-dubbed "southern gals" use to bring a "new casual comfort and edge to palm beach." the apparel is definitely unique and on trend, the accessories are delightfully eclectic and the cool cowboy boots are to-die-for. only problem? they don't re-open for the season until sept. 4! katy, i hope you're staying in the area until tuesday!

photo credit: asquaredboutique.com

* eye of the needle ~ think long summer dresses, maxi skirts, sheer tunics, sparkling beach bags and miles of neon and lace...at least for the summer anyway. with shops in palm beach and nantucket, you know you're in good company shopping here. look out for trunk shows here too, where you'll find merchandise not available to the regular public yet. some of our favorite looks from the store can be found from the girls over at the fancy secrets blog.

photo credit: eyeoftheneedleackpb.com

* cityplace shops ~ i work at cityplace in downtown west palm beach so i'm obviously biased, but it's all for good reason. two minutes from the island of palm beach, it's mostly national brand stores, but you'll get fun finds that scream palm beach at c.orrico, which carries lilly pulitzer, tibi, trina turk and other beachy brands filled with resort wear that includes, but goes beyond only palm tree prints and patterns. and about 10 stores down you'll find francesca's collections. if you've never stopped in this retailer, it is a corporate store but has the best boutique feel with the cutest - and affordable - sundresses, tops, accessories and gifts perfect to bring back as souvenirs. 

photo credit: cityplace.com

palm beach opulence
* worth avenue ~ so you might not find those brands that are off the beaten path, but if you are visiting palm beach you can't miss worth ave. it's the rodeo drive of the east coast and it's a fantastic feeling just to walk down the street. among top names like gucci, ferragamo and hermès, you'll also find luxury brand retailers that are not as common to see in regular malls like hervé léger by max azria, alex and ani and calypso st. barth.

photo credit: worth-avenue.com

vintage finds
* house of lavande ~ for the very few of my readers who've been following since the beginning (just forget my lag for two years), you know that i love house of lavande. this vintage jewelry shop has the coolest pieces, from estate accessories and costume jewelry to new collections that feature vintage stones. watch a red carpet show and i guarantee at least one of the celebs will be wearing an hol piece. and if the jewelry doesn't capture you, the whimsical design of shop itself will.

photo credit: me!

* antique row ~ the vintage shops along antique row (south dixie highway) are some of my favorite because you'll get some amazing resales - both couture and ready to wear - from the many millionaires who live so close by. most have been barely worn or still have some of the historic charm from decades before. glam vintage is one of my favorites, although i've even found theory dresses and elie tahari blazers at the goodwill along this street.

fishing fashions
* clematis district ~ this may not be what katy is looking for, however some girls - and guys - just want a piece of florida and its sun. the best way to do that is head to downtown west palm beach to check out two of the outdoor apparel companies that launched here locally, avid sportswear and native outfitters. think of clothing that's athletically cute and perfect for the boat.

* juno beach ~ surfing more your thing? you'll have to head up north about 20 minutes (we'll worth the view!) to jupiter and juno beach, where you'll get stoked about the wide-leg linen pants and that monokini you've wanted to try, which you can get at locals or ground swell, both off of u.s.1 with just a minute worth of driving between each other.

with some of these unique to palm beach county and others a little more mainstream, i hope you find this guide to south florida shopping helpful, no matter what you're looking for. and katy, please give us an update on your finds after your trip!