Style Lush

Date nights at home

by Christina

Life is exhausting and expensive. That could have easily been the title of this post. It's true. I stay home with two very crazy puppy-like boys and my husband works, a lot.  We are about to celebrate 14 years together and man, that's a lot of years. At this point in our life it's really easy to throw on your pj's, grab a carton of ice cream and veg out in front of the tv together at the end of a normal day. We've heard all of each others stories, know all of the family drama so coasting at this stage would be really easy to do.

With two kids and one income we manage to have one fancy date night per month. And it is magical. But, my sitter has a life and we have a budget so once a month it is. So what do you do when your weekends start to look like this?

You add another date per month and you do it at home. One, it's much more affordable to eat and drink at home and there's no sitter to pay. Two, you can drink and not drive! Three, you're at home, wear a skirt that's too short or that uncomfortable push up bra!  Date, date like you mean it, not like you're an old married couple. It's just once a month. Live a little!

We tag team putting the kids down, so it goes fast. Then its our time. We mix it up a lot but there are rules. Okay, one rule, no yoga pants or pjs. I get dressed, at least as cute as I would to go to a movie and sometimes even wear a dress. But it's always thought out, not just thrown on. This is a date!

The house is cleaned that day, I light candles, Mike makes a play list and we hang out. No tv. Just us. We like to have a theme, as if you were at a restaurant and we sit at our dining room table, not in the kitchen. We'll have nachos and margaritas or wine and cheese. Sometimes I cook a full meal, sometimes we get takeout, others it's just drinks and dessert. The menu is fun but it's really about connecting with each other at the end of the week after all of the mundane tasks of a couple with young kids.

We love this time together at home, sometimes more than going out. No interruptions, no bad service, no babysitter transportation. It's awesome. I totally recommend it.

(family photo circa summer 2010)

 

How Would You Wear It: Drapey Cobalt Dress Edition

By Rebecca

I found this dress at Modcloth and I have fallen in love with it. It's the Blue and Me Forever Dress by BB Dakota. This dress also comes in a really pretty green color, as well as red and black. Something about this blue spoke to me, though.

My first instinct is to wear it with brown boots and lots of gold jewelry. But what do YOU think? Would it be better with a statement necklace in a contrasting color with some delicate sandals? Or something that I haven't even thought of yet?

I also wondered about what I would wear over it if I got cold in the evenings. With those drapey sleeves, could I wear a cardigan over it? Or a wrap of some kind? Help!

 

(Photo credit: modcloth.com)

 

Colorblocking, a how to.

by Christina

I sort of hate that term, color-block. When it was first being used it drove me nuts, you mean wearing pants and a shirt? Or a skirt and a top in, wait for it, two different colors? Well, hot ham, I've been color blocking for a long time, look at me, all ahead of the curve. Come on, really? But, well, now I sort of get it, when it's one garment, not when its two because that's just getting dressed. (sorry) I don't think I've mentioned here that I'm in the throes of not shopping for myself for a year, I'm in my 4th month and it's going well. Not always easy, but fine. Before I started this crazy experiment I stashed some cash in my dresser for a rainy day and it came this week. I wanted something new to wear out this weekend, I ended up on the color-block bandwagon. I found this dress, on sale for $10.49 in store ($30 on-line)

It's bright and fun but the fit is really classic. Next I had to figure out what to wear with it. I headed to target to check out some tights and I found these, they were the perfect color. And a they will keep the look young without adding another color.I'll wear nude shoes, as well.

I tried a black belt, black tights and shoes with it when I got home but it was all wrong. Using the nude color was absolutely the way to go. I'll also wear a long gold necklace and a few bangles, keeping everything else simple as the dress is so bright and the legs will be full of texture.

So, this is my take-away. If you are going to try this trend, whether it be two different pieces in two colors or a dress like this, keep it simple buy limiting the number of colors you introduce to the dress/outfit itself. Three is always a safe number, any more and it starts leaning toward a third grader dressing herself. Now, go try this THIS WEEKEND! Wear it on a date. Mix colors your a little afraid of. Stop being so safe!

(images via Old Navy and Target- big spender! $19.00 outfit)

Valentine's Day Underwear Splurge

By Rebecca

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody! I hope you all have reservations for luxurious and champagne-filled dinners tonight. In the spirit of this post, I will pretend that I do too. AND, in the spirit of this romantic holiday, allow me to introduce you to a fun underwear splurge, the Hanky Panky Low Rise Thong.

These are extremely comfortable. Even if you're not normally a thong-wearer, you might even like these. The lace is soft and not itchy in the least. However, obviously, for Valentine's Day the appeal is that they are a) red, and b) lacy. Bam! You're not a tired mom, you're a sexpot!

(There I go, typing out my inner monologue again.)

Anyway, I know that a thong is not everybody's cup of tea. If that's the case for you, maybe try the boy short version?

I personally own both these styles and absolutely love them. Now granted, as I mentioned, these are a splurge. Not cheap, but really fun, and if YOU don't deserve nice underwear, who does? Hmm?

{Photo credit: nordstrom.com}

 

Last Minute New Year's Eve Style

By Janet

Recently, I implored you to get sparkly this New Year's Eve, even if just for watching the ball drop on your television. There's only a little time left to order sparkling shoes from the Internet, but here are a few last minute ways to get glittery with items you can pick up at your local Target or department store (or maybe in your own closet). Add one or more of these to a little black dress and you're set!

Put on a pair of glittered dancing tights!

Layer all your most sparkly necklaces.

Paint your nails with sparkles (more inspiration here).

Gorgeous glittered eyes!

Happy New Year, friends! See you in 2012!

{Images via Nordstrom, The Chic Department, Love Maegen, Dress Design Decor}

Gift an Experience

by Leah

I know it's early, but if I don't share this now I'm going to forget it. (Yes, I use Style Lush as an idea locker and sometimes bookmark my own posts, WHAT?) If you can't stand to think about Christmas yet, though, just file this under Gift Giving, General and it'll work just as well.

Every year since my son was born, we've bought a family membership to a local attraction; the first year it was the California Academy of Sciences; the next year, Children's Fairyland (one of old Walt's models for Disneyland); and this past year, the Oakland Zoo. Each of the memberships paid for themselves after the second visit, but just knowing we had those member cards in our wallets meant we used them each at least half a dozen times over the course of the year. Major value.

Whatever we have a membership to becomes our easy, automatic, cost-free, no-brainer way to spend a few hours--or an entire day. Having a membership also takes away the tension and hurry out of feeling like we have to cram in the whole experience of a place in a single visit to get our money's worth. Back when we had a kid who still napped, the membership meant we could make the outing just a few hours in the morning or afternoon and never feel like we were wasting a full-price ticket on a half-day visit.

While we were at the zoo again last weekend, my mother-in-law heard that our membership was about to expire and offered to buy us a family pass for next year. (One of the reasons she thought it was such a great idea is that our membership card can with a free admission for two guests, which means she and her boyfriend got in for free too.) What a brilliant idea for a gift, I thought, especially when the alternative might be another singing, blinking plastic toy. One year some friends gave my son three free tickets to Children's Fairyland for his birthday, and I still think that's one of the best gifts we ever got.

I always have a hard time buying gifts for other people's children (will their parents think it's just more clutter? will they outgrow it in six months?), so this year for Christmas I'm going to give the families on our list the gift of an experience--something they can enjoy together, and not have to store in a closet somewhere. Children's museums, science and nature centers, amusement parks, zoos and aquariums, even theatre tickets or one-day ski passes. Some of the best birthday gifts I've received have been tickets to events--a Giants baseball game one year, a Colin Meloy concert another--and I remember and cherish those gifts much more than I do a lot of the stuff I've been given. This also answers the question of what you get the person who has everything.

Money-saving tip: Make sure you watch for deals on group coupon sites (we got our Fairyland and zoo memberships for 50% off through Living Social). If you're buying for people who live out of town, it might even be worth it to sign up to receive emails for deals in their city. I've bought Groupons for my parents this way, and they love it.

A Year of Dates: A Great Holiday Gift

By Sara

A few days ago I received the best link in my inbox from a good girlfriend of mine: the blog, Life In General, and specifically the author's brilliant Christmas gift to her husband, a Year of Dates. 

 

Shannon, the author, pre-planned a year of dates, one for every month, for she and her husband and presented him with the basket for Christmas. This is such a nice way for a couple to a) make time for date night, at least once a month and b) try things they might not otherwise. The dates can be as easy as a restaurant gift certificate for dinner and a movie or something more extravagant like a weekend away at a nearby bed and breakfast. I know my husband and I don't take enough time to nurture our relationship, especially with little ones around, so this would be a fantastic way to jump start 2012. Consider this added to my Christmas gift list!

All photos courtesy of Life In General and Shannon Brown.

Top Picks from the 2012 Ikea Catalog

by Elizabeth

So I've pretty much maxed out on the amount of IKEA furniture I can put in my house without it starting to resemble an IKEA showroom, but that doesn't mean I didn't await the arrival of this year's new catalog with breathless anticipation. Now that it's finally arrived, here are a few of my favorite picks from the new selections on offer:

The Sigurd Bench

I love the plain silhouette of this bench, and I love the red color. I also love that it's made of solid wood and not some kind of funky particleboard. There's a spot in my dining room that's perfect for this baby. I can't wait to check it out in person, and at $79.99, I think it's pretty much perfect.  

The Ursula Throw

Every year I sigh wistfully when the new fall catalogs come out -- all those gorgeous heavy-knitted throws, for all those extremely high prices. This looks oh so lovely and sweatery and cable-knit and it's a mere $29.99. I will be purchasing one as soon as the slightest wisp of fall drifts through my windows. It's not listed on the U.S. website due to what I can only assume are the forces of extreme evil, but hopefully it will show up in the store soon. 

The Kivik Loveseat and Chaise

I don't normally love IKEA couches, but I really like the looks of this one a lot. Also, this may not actually be new, but I've never noticed it before. I'm definitely going to have to sit on this one some time soon. 

The Svelvik Bed Frame

Not new but also something I've never noticed before. I love the straight lines and the silver and black. If I needed a new bed, I'd be throwing this in the back of the Jetta for sure.  

The Songe Mirror

Ok, so I'm apparently really bad at this, because this mirror is also NOT new, but I love it! The arch and the metallic finish is too fabulous. 

Dagny  and Henrika Pillows

 

 

Finally! These are new, and they are awesome, and dudes, IKEA pillows are so cheap! They don't come with the pillow insert, but you can also buy those in the store for something like $6, and these stripes and pleats are totally killer. 

Do you have any favorites, new or old, that you're planning on checking out next time you're in the market for some meatballs and some cheap Swedish furniture?

{Photo credits: ikea.com}

Painting With A Twist

By Jessica

Sometimes you are awake and chatting with a friend on Facebook at 4:30 in the morning because of insomnia, a migraine or copious amounts of rum (hey, no judgments) and divine inspiration strikes. Divine inspiration in the form of a crafty fun thing for our group to do which could include her Littles by Proxy in the coming weekend that they would be in town. That crafty fun thing turned out to be Painting With A Twist . Have you heard of it? It's a painting class where you are welcome to bring your favorite bottle of wine (or other beverage) to imbibe while the instructor walks you step by step through creating a painting. We didn't actually choose to imbibe anything as we had a day class with Littles in tow, but think of the possibilities for bachelorette parties, book clubs (you could have a painting directly correlate to a theme in your book), cooking clubs, wine tastings, date nights, etc.

Each location has a calendar of the classes they are offering in future but if you book a party of 5 or more people you can specify which piece of art you would like instead.

 
They provide you with your canvas, paints, brushes, smock and instructor.

Each step in the process is laid out by the instructor and it's fun to see how differently people paint. Also interesting which people are SUPER ANAL about how they blend, cover the edges and how slow they take each step. I happen to be crazy, CRAZY slow.

Our group worked on the peacock feather the day we attended:

(The Littles by Proxy in question is 5, didn't she do an awesome job on her painting? We call it her "blue period" as a nod to the greats)

Here is my finished painting. It's currently hanging in our office above my desk.

Our little group is planning our next outing with a painting that is a nod to an inside joke and is sure to be insanely tacky when it's done but I can't wait. It's going to be a blast!

The (not so) Shabby Apple

by Christina

I like to have a go-to when I need a special outfit for an occasion. It makes life easy when you have one place you can go and know you will find what you need without running all over. For a long time it was Loft, then J. Crew and after I stopped working, Francesca's because it's cheap and trendy. Now though, I want better fabrics with a longer life. They drape better and hold up through more washings.

I've found a new place, though, I'm a little sad it's online and not a shop I can visit to try things on. That being said, I'm at an age where I know pretty well what works for my figure so I'm a little more comfortable. All that is to say that Shabby Apple is rocking my world.

 

 

 
 

Cute, right? They aren't out of reach either, many of their dresses are around $88. They also have gorgeous swimsuits and a slew of accessories, including shoes to round out an outfit.

With The Blathering coming up, I am totally in the market for a going-out dress.

Do you have a go-to shop for special occasion dressing?

(images via Shabby Apple)