A Foodie Staycation

This weekend my bf decided to surprise me with a mini staycation. What I love about a staycation is being able to make a mess in your hotel room and not having to clean up after yourself. I also love being able to order room service and eating it in bed. I'd never eat in my bed, so it's nice being able to do that without worries. Heehee. 

A staycation is such a nice way to feel like you're on vacation when you have a small budget or don't have the time to get away.

Outfit details:

DIY circle skirt.  Similar here & here. 

H&M Blouse (similar here & here) & jacket (similar here).

Nine West Flax Leopard Pumps . Size down 1/2 size from my normal 5.5 to a size 5.
Necklace from J. Crew.

 

 SPG, me and the significant others met up for lunch at Hog Island Oysters. I been here a couple of times and never failed to order their grilled cheese, although they are very famous for their oysters. I decided to opt out on the oysters since my last experience was a terrible one! 

After lunch my friend Karen met us up and we all headed toward downtown to do a little vintage shopping. It was an unfruitful trip, as the vintage store we wanted to go to was closed during the weekend.

Clam Chowder & Grilled Cheese from Hog Island Oysters

 

Dinner outfit:

My 3rd Sewing Project - DIY lace dress inspired by this Free People Rose Garden Dress & on sale here.

F21 Faceted Faux Stone Bib Necklace

Stuart Weitzman 'Spectacle' Stretch Suede Boot. (similar here)

 

Dinner at First Crush:

Romaine Hearts Caesar Salad | Hand Cut Truffle Fries |  Pan Roasted Scallops | Grilled Wild King Salmon

 
Brunch at the Rotunda in Neiman Marcus.
The glass dome at the Rotunda is so beautiful. Even though I have been here a number of times, the beautiful ambiance and decor never cease to amaze me.

Honestly, I come to the Rotunda mainly for the ambiance! But I do always look forward to their complimentary pop-over with strawberry butter and chicken consomme. I'd be happy if my meal consisted of just that!
Their menu changes every so often and I'm really happy with the current change because their food was quite excellent this time. I ordered their roasted pepper tomato crab bisque as a starter. It was one of the most delicious soups I have ever had and they didn't skimp on the crab either. For the main entree, I got the hamachi salad and the flavors were so light and citrus-y (it was seriously so yummy!). My bf got the lobster club sandwich and the portion was huge. He had some leftovers to take home and I'd be more than happy to finish it for him later.

View from our room at Parc55 Hotel. 

Dress from H&M. Also worn on this post.

.

I had such a fun and eventful weekend, but now I am super tired and ready for bedtime! Have a good night everyone and hope you had a great weekend as well.

Warm Winter Days

I was chit chatting with an acquaintance's bf and he mentioned that this weekend was going to have a couple of the warmest winter days in SF. He said you should bust out your bikini and hit the beach. I thought to myself, hmmm no! Today was nice and in the mid 60s --warm enough for a sleeveless blouse in the sun but definitely not warm enough for bikini on the beach.

Below is a DIY polka dot peplum shell that I've been working on for the last couple of weekends. I picked this fabric up because of the cute polka dot print. The material proved to be quite challenging as it did not have any stretch to it at all. Initially I made the top without any openings and it was impossible to get over my shoulders. I ended up taking it apart (which took hours!) and adding an invisible zipper to the back. When I was close to finishing the top, I ironed the seams to make sure everything was pressed and flat. I had the heating setting too high and ended up burning a hole by the shoulder. I had to cut off a couple of inches which caused the armhole to be a bit small. It's doable, but you can tell the armholes could use a little more room. I thought about starting over so many times, but didn't want to waste fabric.

Definitely a lot of work for such a little top!

DIY polka dot peplum top. Similar here.

Urban Outfitter BDG Grazer Jeans. Size 24. Had the ankle area slimmed.

Jessica Simpson Heels. Similar here.

FP Earrings. Super cute ones here!

Elliot Lucca Bag. Similar here.

HOMEMADE

I received a sewing machine about 5 years ago as a gift and never touched the thing. The idea of threading the machine and learning the many functions was such a daunting idea. Well this X-mas I finally decided to open it and give it a whirl. What inspired me to do this? Well after receiving the beautiful chevron skirt that SPG made, I got motivated and wanted to make my own skirt!

My favorite skirt of all time is a black circle skirt from F21 that I have worn many times (here, here & here) on this blog. I wanted to duplicate something similar, but knew that my sewing skills were very limited. I made a similar style and decided to forgo the pleating to make my first sewing project less tedious.

I'm pretty meticulous when it comes to details. I had to make this skirt 3 times before I was satisfied with the results! The first time I made this skirt, the bottom hem kept on bunching. The 2nd time, I did a horrible job on the invisible zipper. I think I'm most happy with the 3rd try, although there are still many errors.

I posted close up pictures below and you could see the mistakes. The most obvious is the zipper as the placement should have been placed higher because it doesn't reach the band and you could see a little peek-a-boo hole. I also didn't do a good job of keeping the stitching straight, but that is less evident in the photos. There are a many issues, but I won't go into all of them and am motivated to improve my sewing skills and make garments less "homemade" looking in the future.

Similar circle skirt here, here & here.
F21 Burnt Orange Blouse. (similar here)

Nine West Flax Leopard Pumps . Size down 1/2 size from my normal 5.5 to a size 5.

J. Crew Mini Haul

Hello Everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the New Year.

Here are pictures of the items I purchased at J. Crew over the weekend. All the items below are final sale so purchase with caution.

First item up is the Naomi Shell. XXS. $13.99. 

I'm normally not the person to gravitate towards pink color items. What I do like about this blouse is the feminine ruffle neckline and the soft silky texture of the shell. When I got home and tried on the top, I thought the neon pink complimented my skin tone nicely. The fit of the shell is blousey, but I don't think it looks bad at all. The armholes fit quite well as its neither too big or small. The sale price was also appealing so this was a definite buy!

 

My favorite item of this haul is the Bling Button Cardigan in natural. XXS. $27.99. At the store, this was the only color available in XXS, but there are plenty of color & size options online.

The fit of the sleeves and torso are slim and hug the body without being tight. It is made of alpaca and merino wool so it is a cardigan that will keep you warm despite the fact that it's see through and thin. The light weight quality makes the cardigan easy for layering without looking bulky and also tucks neatly into a pencil skirt. I also have to warn those with sensitive skin. If I had to rate this cardigan in terms of itch factor from a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 4 or 5. My skin can tolerate it, but I can see how the texture might bug some people.

Painter Boatneck Tee in White. XXS. $17.49. 

I also have it in navy blue from last year's version. There isn't a big difference in fit between the 2 versions. What I like about this year's version is the little gold buttons on each side of the shoulders. Even though the gold buttons are so small, I can't help but love the cute little detail to make a plain tee more interesting. I'd have to say the tee fits very slim throughout the arms and more relaxed and loose from waist down. This tee has been an item I been reaching over and over for because it's so comfortable and easy to wear.

The last and maybe my least favorite item is the School Boy Blazer in Red. 00P. $62.99

See detailed reviews from Kelly @ AlterationsNeeded, Jean @ Extrapetite and Elle from FF&FF.

I couldn't help but pick up this item due to the deeply discounted sale price. When trying this blazer on in store, I felt a little hesitant about the fit. After looking a these photos, I feel like it might not be the best fitting blazer for my body type. I have a long torso and feel that this blazer is cut too short and wide for me. I also feel that it's a tad baggy throughout the arms and the length is a bit short for my liking and wish the sleeves were an inch longer. The blazer is lined, but still very lightweight. I'd be so cold if I wore this even with a sweater layered underneath during this time of year in SF. I didn't really take the time to style this jacket, so I might try to do that and see how I feel about it.

Ladies, what are your thoughts on these pieces and did you pick up any sales items at J. Crew?