Bocca Rossa

Front view

I hit up Bocca Rossa on Thursday evening for Ronn P's birthday.  Happy Birthday Ronn!!!  If I was on my thinking game I would have taken a photo of Ronn but I was already in two flutes of Prosecco.  Now, that man can dress!  I'll catch him next time.  This lady really likes Bocca, the atmosphere is mature and the music takes me back to when I wasn't... you know mature.  Dana and Ronn do the DJ thang on Thursday nights playing all the sounds from back in the day.  It was crowded and hot and we had a great time!

Bar scene

DJ Dana Dane

Met this gentleman standing outside of Bocca, his name is Chris.  I loved his ability to be casual and dressy at the same time.  His jacket was a nice linen with a slight large check pattern.  His shoes were shined and clean, you know I love a well dressed man!  Oh, and the handkerchief in his breast pocket was to die for.  It's the little things that mean so much.

Here's a beautiful lady named Michelle that I met on the street.  It's her birthday and she's definitely exuding star quality.  I love that she wasn't afraid to wear yellow and red, I also love that she was sporting those shorts.  Happy Birthday girl, I hope I see you again in an equally cute outfit.  You're rocking this one hard!

This adorable little lady is named Lauren.  Spotted her right outside Zula as we took a walk to the Russell to see what was happening down the street.  I love the fact that her accessories aren't all one texture, between the gold belt and the straw bag to the leather shoes...so in right now.  She practically pushed her husband out of the way to get her picture taken.  I would have to say she was the most fun to photograph this evening because she was all in.  I hope to run into more people like this; don't be afraid I don't bite and if I take your picture it's cause I like what you're doing. 

This is Madeline, there's not one thing about her that I don't like.  From the fact that her name is Madeline which is just oh so French.  If you don't know this about me, I love all things French.  Her hair cut was so cute and the white pants are so right now.  Because of her I spent two hours in Nordstrom Rack yesterday trying to find white pants to fit me like this...no such luck.  Madeline was a little harder to coax into a picture but I wore her down.  Thanks girl!!!

I love that there are all types at Bocca.  We are going from a man in a linen jacket to a man wearing black diamonds.  This is Darren, he's clean, cute and comfortable in this picture.  I don't think there was a speck of dirt on him.  I love when a man can be himself and still look good doing it.  There's nothing wrong with liking fashion if your a man, trust me when I say that women notice.  You go boy!!!!

D & Brenda

Isn't this little one the cutest thing ever!  This is one of D's friends and it was because of her that I remembered that short hair is so cute.  It helped to push me to lop of my locks when the time came.  I also love that her nails and shirt match.  I mean, can she be any cuter?  Really???

Yet another busy week!  Of course it wasn't as bad as last week but it ain't over yet.  Wednesday night my friend Erin and I usually take my mom to the concerts in Elizabeth Park in West Hartford, CT.  Mom's a people watcher just like us so she likes to add her two cents when necessary.  The group was 8 to the Bar and the lead singer was dressed to reflect this.  This is swing music and she definitely represented.

I saw her and just had to capture that rock-a-billy vibe.  I love to see a woman in a wide skirt, so nostalgic and lady like.  She was just as sweet in person as she looks in this picture.  I can't remember her name of course as I'm still so new to this (that excuse isn't going to work for long huh?).  Love everything from the flower in her hair to the shoes.  She also had a fan in her hand hidden behind her back which I just find so feminine and pretty.  I have to incorporate this look more in my repertoire, it's such an art form.

This next couple were so cute.  I love it when people don't realize they are dressed well.  She knocked me out with the pattern in this dress.  I asked to take her picture and she answered with this tough NY accent that I didn't expect but loved none the less. She didn't want to take the picture without her husband, I guess she was self-conscious but she had no reason to be.  Just darling...

You should have seen the amount of people out there on Wednesday, guess the concerts are no longer the best kept secret in town.  What a pain to get out of that parking lot!

So lil' Lex Luther is getting married.  Jes and I went to her bridal shower on Sunday morning at The Ethel Walker school in Simsbury, CT.  This room was amazing to gaze at, it seemed like everything matched including the people.  It also seemed like it was the perfect place to take pictures; so I did.

Lexie looks beautiful in this little lace sheath that resembles the same pinkish hue that seems to be out right now.  She's all grown up.

Her hair was perfect, I noticed the tips were a blondish hue which I haven't seen her do before and it looks great.  Cosmetology school agreed with her, she's newly graduated and I wish her the best of luck.  She just landed a position at the Aveda salon next to Moe's in Blue Back Square.

When I say the room was beautiful; I mean it.

Lastly, we have Brooke one of Lexie's friends.  She's always on point, I had to ask if she would mind posing for me.  She makes high fashion look comfortable.

I had to snap this picture, Aaron is a great dresser.  I love the fact that he's mixing prints in a way that works for him.

Always faithful, Jose

I can always count on Jose to look fly.  I mean this man coordinates his underwear to his outfit, he showed me on Saturday and they matched perfectly.  We were rocking the pale pinkish hues so I figured we would pose together, why not right?  Look at that smile, I could learn something from him.  He's a natural.

I mean really?

Xavier...that's it...Xavier

Xavier has some of the most beautiful hair I've ever seen in my life.  He also has a nice smile but I guess we'll try to see that some other day because he was not showing it this day.  I don't really feel I need to say much about him...

I would talk about his clothing but really, what's the point no one's listening at this point.  Look at that mug.

Color coordinated man

This is Steve, Sonia's husband.  Whenever I see him, he's cute, comfy and everything matches.  He's got on khaki colored Nikes for Pete's sake.  I took several photo's of him hoping he would smile in one of them with no such luck.  Perhaps I'll catch him at another time with a smile, but I doubt it.

So, I found this adorable picture of Steve and Sonia in this mass of pictures I've accumulated.  I've known her since she was a teenager.  I still think of her as cute as a button but now with some extra fire cause she's all grown up.

Creamsicle color

I had way too many parties this weekend but it was a great opportunity to get my shine on and snap some pictures.  It was my girlfriends oldest son Aaron's gradueighteen party so you know I had to jazz it up.

I was strolling through my favorite store, Anthropologie looking for some shorts as it's been all up in the 90's lately; talk about hot!  Came across these cuties, they were originally $78 but I picked them up for $40.  I was having a hard time paying $40 as I figured they should be $20...because I'm cheap.  They're "Daughters of the Liberation" which I think might be something special but I have no idea.  They're high wasted and high wasted looks good on me so that's all I knew at that moment.  The shirt was a total fluke, it was just hanging there by it's lonesome waiting for me to pluck it from that rack.  It was originally $98 and I got it for $20 bucks, that's what I'm talking about.  My girlfriend Jes said I looked like a creamsicle; I'm taking that as a compliment.

The cookout was at Wickham Park in Manchester, it was like the woods to me.  I'm not an outdoorsy girl but I'll do what I have to do in some situations...this was one of them.  My earrings I purchased from Urban Outfitters for around $16 when they were having that 30% off jewelry sale and the brown tortoise bracelets were from my friend Rocio's closet sale last year.  The large ring is from J. Crew, got it for around $20 and the belt is an antique from my aunt.  The belt was originally gifted to my mother but she wasn't making any use of it so I took it on as my own.  It's one of my favorites even though I really didn't know what to wear with it.  I now believe I have a handle on that belt, I just need to own it.

I'm never seen without my diamond pinkie ring, I got it at an antique store on New Britain ave.  I adore that ring, it's my one staple along with my thumb ring that I'm trying to kick.  I don't believe that stylish people wear thumb rings anymore but I can't break the habit of it...it's comforting to have on.  The curve bracelet was purchased at one of the West Hartford Day tents.  I've gotten more wear out of it now than ever.  I've decided that I'm going to start wearing gold and silver together, I'm tired of wearing one or the other.  Why can't I have the best of both worlds???!!!

So sorry about the Havanah's, that ground was wet and I was not about to ruin my gold flats.  I think it still kind of worked but I would have preferred some wellies because my feet were disgusting when I got home.  I'll have to put them on my list of things I need because I am without them at the moment.

Michael Kors, where have you been all my life?

So, back in November I had a pretty big birthday.  I mean, this lady turned 40...that's huge!  This lady loves some birthday's; they don't even have to be mine but let's celebrate regardless.  So, I walked that West Farms Mall searching desperately for a dress.  I had already seen this MK dress but figured I didn't want to spend the $150 on it because I really didn't feel I would every wear it again.  I tried on so many dresses that were cute but not...me.  I found the MK dress in L&T and got it on sale for $118.  I mean, I'll take a percentage no matter how small at least I didn't pay full price right?  I'm still working on getting my monies worth but it's not like I can wear this dress to work...or can I?

Love the accents on this dress

So, I figured out how to add my video...here goes nothing. ;-)  Just check out how this baby moves, and talk about comfy!  I had a few glasses of Lillet (see prior post) prior to getting my groove on in Jes' kitchen.  Don't judge me, this is how excited I am about clothing.  So my brother took this video of me, he's just as crazy as I am...thanks Steve!!!

Who doesnt' love a good sparkle???

I think I might change my nail polish at least twice a week if I'm feeling ambitious...which is often.  In any case, I had this graduation party coming up and I knew I'd be rocking my sequin Michael Kors dress so I figured I should have some fingers to reflect that.  I love some sparkles but usually I put them on one accent finger.  I was feeling frisky cause every last digit got sparkles and I loved it.  The only problem is it's a bitch to remove sparkles, it's actually quite painful.  The good thing is that it's equally difficult for sparkly polish to chip, probably why you always see it on little girls.  The color I chose was not little girl friendly though.

Kardashion Kollection for Nicole

I originally wore my MK sequin dress to my 40th birthday party back in November and couldn't think of not a one reason to wear it again.  Imagine my excitement when I got an invitation to a semi-formal graduation.  Sequin and semi-formal go hand and hand in my book.  The only problem was that it was cold in November so I rocked some 4" black booties with warm stockings.  We are in June now so I couldn't very well wear black booties but I could rock this dress.  I love wearing my clothes all year round if I can.  Why not get my monies worth, right?

I found these BCBGeneration patent leather peep toe heels at Lord & Taylor.  They're having a sale right now, 30% off 1 pair, 35% off 2 pairs and 40% off 3 pairs.  If I was on my thinking game at the time I would have purchased a new pair of flat sandals but I was just trying to get out of there without too much damage happening all at once.  Don't sleep on L&T, between sales and coupons you can always leave with a good buy.  These babies were $48, originally $90.  Not bad right?  I can wear these for years, at lease that's how I justify it.

So, I have a small problem with heels.  I have fat feet with Flintstone toes that need room to breath.  The only problem is that I think I'm a size 8 3/4.  I'm not an 8 and I'm not a 8 1/2.  If I pick up an 8 it's too tight, if I pick up an 8 1/2 it fits the front but I'm flipping out of the shoe.  I just go 8 1/2 now and put innersoles in the shoe to keep them on.  It doesn't always work but I'm explaining the possible excess in the back of my shoe that might appear in my pictures.  I didn't have this problem prior to the 1/2 marathon of 08', I used to have dainty cute size 7 1/2 feet but after a year of pounding the pavement my feet had no choice but to expand...along with everything else when I stopped running  It's all good though.

I just painted my nails...again

I just painted my nails again...but this is what I wore right before I took off the last polish.  It's a matte finish that I got from Sephora for $3, can we say sale.  The great thing about matte color is that it dries pretty much instantly.  She was trying to get me to try the red but I chose flesh color as I know that's hot right now.  I loved it for about two days and then I took it off.  I'm too fickle for my own good!

Dear brother...

So, I informed that brother of mine that I was uploading his picture to my blog whether he liked it or not.  He whined a bit and said how he hates his pictures and he doesn't want to be on the blog.  Guess who sent me a picture in the middle of the night (again he's in CA) to show me his outfit?  I mean who would send a blogger a picture of himself if he doesn't want to get blogged about?  Anyway, he's going up regardless of if he likes it or not!

These aren't the clearest pictures; they must not have been taken with an iPhone but you get the gist of what I'm saying about his style.  Chuck Taylors and a bow tie, I couldn't dream this up if I tried.

This next pic is a close-up so at least you can see some texture.  I'm not sure who his friend is but I think he's the person that has encouraged my brother to rock a bow tie.  Needless to say, I would like to thank him for encouraging additional swag.  Also, peep the glasses on these two!!  Hello, just fab!

Look how he incorporates the checkered pattern and the bright yellow tie.  He's not afraid to mix his patterns, and yes it's kind of another plaid.  I'm going to request that his next picture doesn't involve plaid but I don't think he can do it.  I love, love, love the purple on his friend.

I believe they were at some artsy fartsy exhibit or something...who knows but you know how Cali life can be.  I miss you so bad CA!!!!

What to wear, what to wear?

Had a wake to attend a couple of weeks back, I had no idea what to wear.  I asked my mom and she informed me that you don't necessarily have to wear black, you can wear dark colors or white.  I had to wear this outfit to work all day and I wanted to be comfy and cute.

Both the skirt and top came from Anthropologie.  I have to stop going into that store, it's going to ruin me!!!  In any case that shirt was all of $20 bucks, talk about a deal.  The skirt ran me around $35 but it was originally up in the $120's.  The shoes I found in TJ Maxx for $40 bucks, BCBG on sale...that's what I'm talking about!  At first they hurt so bad but of course I did my stretching techniques and now they are bearable, not perfect but bearable.  Unfortunately, I have corns on my pinkie toes but what are you gonna do?  A gals gotta be cute!!!

Can you tell this clutch is pleather?  Well it is, and it was cheap; like $12 bucks cheap.  That bauble was from J. Crew for $20 bucks, earrings from Anthro for $15, and the bracelet was from the West Hartford Day fair and I can't remember how much it was.