This is what I wore for a morning/early afternoon of walking around Olde Mystic Village with Christian, my sister and her boyfriend. These boots are one of my favorite every day shoes. Ever since I bought them in 2014 they have been in constant rotation. So much so that I actually wore them out and bought a second pair. I still have the original and will wear those when I want comfortable shoes but they might get dirty/etc. 

I was recently introduced to PowerStep insoles and learned that, because of my high arches, I may need supination insoles for high arches to make walking more comfortable and reduce the amount of wear on the outer soles of my shoes. I bought a couple pairs of supination insoles to try out and see if they help me walk better and stop me from putting extra pressure on the heel of my foot. I chose the "PowerStep Bridge Adaptable Arch Supporting Insoles with Energize Foam" and then the "SlenderFit 3/4 Insoles" to wear with "fashion" shoes.

I always enjoy walking around the shopping center, there's new things to see every time! We perused a few shops but my favorites are always the kitchen related stores. Christian and I had a ball tasting olive oils at Extra Virgin and honey at Sticky Situations. We ended up splurging and buying 4 different honeys - orange blossom (our favorite,) rosemary and blackberry honey plus tangy citrus honey mustard. We couldn't leave without eating so we grabbed some donuts from Deviant Donuts and pizza at Mango's Wood Fired Pizza.

Back to the supination insoles - I took a photo of both pairs of boots side by side and you can definitely tell by looking at the older pair that I walk on the outside of my feet. I'm excited to see how long these boots last now that I have insoles to correct my step.  Unfortunately, the larger insoles I bought didn't fit into the boots as intended so I used the SlenderFit instead. Those easily fit in a lot of my thinner width shoes so I'll be swapping them between pairs as I need. The Energize Foam supination insoles will now live in my favorite Winter boots that were my Grandmother's. I've been meaning to get insoles for them for a while so that was a happy accident!

Outfit Details

Coat: Burberry Brit Wool Minstead Duffle Coat In Military Red (Marijane Boutique) 

Sweater: Banjo + Matilda Trinket Embellished Stripe Sweater (The Outnet)

Velvet Jeans: J.Crew 

Boots: Vince Camuto 'Davilla' (Marshalls)

Bag: Purple Prada Cahier in Viola (Rebag via Vestiaire Collective)

Hat: Ricefield Collective (no longer open)

*This post was made in partnership with Responsival.  Thank you for supporting brands I feature*

Starting the new year off right, with pretty jewelry! Everyone could use a bit of sparkle during these long cold Winter days and Aurate New York has great options from necklaces and delicate huggie earrings to rings and bracelets. In my years of working with Aurate I have amassed quite the collection of beautiful pieces I continue to reach for when I'm accessorizing. 

I wore this outfit for Christmas Eve with the family. I decided to wear a dress I haven't worn since Christmas 2015 - wowza! It's a knit silver and gold dress so I decided to accessorize mixing silver and gold. The silver came in with my sandals and the gold was all my jewelry! I also used the new Melie Bianco bag I won from Marijane Boutique last month! It's such a fun piece and is very similar to the new cult favorite Bottega Veneta Jodie bag but at a much lower price point. The woven (vegan) leather creates such a beautiful texture and makes the bag feel very fancy and the black makes it a classic that will never go out of style. But we all know that my crazy colorful bags also never go out of style, I'll wear them with anything!

I've only worn these sandals three other times since I bought them in 2017 (for my cousin's wedding,) but I keep them around in case I want something very shiny, like I did here! They're the perfect splash of fun for the holidays. This sweater dress was a holiday staple for a couple years before it was basically retired for newer things. I wore it for various Thanksgivings and Christmases in the mid-2010s. I'm glad I was able to give it a new life when Lydia was done enjoying it and now bringing it back out again after 7 years, crazy!

I haven't taken the huggie earrings off since Christmas Eve, they're so comfortable and I don't even notice they're there. I like how close they are to my ear so I'm not afraid of them getting ripped off.  I also wore two gold station necklaces from Aurate. One is Rose Quartz and the other Lavender Jade. The lavender gemstones I got were more blue than purple, but still pretty! I also got a pearl station necklace in rose gold that I can't wait to wear!

Dress: London Times metallic stripe dress (from Lydia)

Belt: Kenneth Cole Reaction (Marshalls)

Bag: Melie Bianco 'Drew' (Marijane Boutique giveaway)

Sandals: New Look Metallic Block Heel sandal (ASOS)

Jewelry: Endless Gemstone Station Necklaces, Skinny Gold Hinged Huggie Earrings c/o Aurate

We're getting closer to Fall, my favorite season. While I'm not ready for sweaters just yet, I can start getting into the spirit with my jewelry. Layering gold necklaces from Aurate New York is a perfect way to do that while not burning up in the end of Summer heat. After all, there's still 2 weeks until Autumn officially starts! (on my 4th wedding anniversary! Yes, we love Autumn so much we got married on the first day - although some years it's a day or two later)

I wore this on a warm early September day (aka this past Friday) and, since we're still experiencing Summer weather, I decided to celebrate the upcoming season with my color choices rather than pieces of clothing. These Proenza Schouler tweed colorblock shorts are quite an odd piece to style. I've worn them in warmer temperatures with tees and tanks but also wore them for Thanksgiving last year with tights underneath and a sweater on top. I could easily wear this on an early-Autumn day in a month with a sweater and no tights. The color palette is perfect for Fall, the colors remind me of falling leaves.

Sandals will remain in my outfits until it becomes too cold for my toes. They're my favorite form of footwear so it always takes a while for me to give them up for the rest of the year. These black leather ones can also be worn into Autumn & Winter with jeans, especially with tights or socks!

On to the main event - Pre-Fall layering! Since we can't layer our clothes, why not our jewelry? It's so easy to do with any necklaces you have. I make sure they're different lengths and also try to have one stand out from the rest. The buttery and bronzed tones of the semi-precious stones in this Destination Aura beaded necklace are perfect to carry me into those cooler months. The colors go perfectly with the colorblock shorts; they were meant to be worn together! I wore the beaded necklace with the clasp up front because I loved the detail of it.

If you're also an Autumn lover, how do you celebrate the coming season with your wardrobe choices? Do you ease in with colors or go all out and wear sweaters in September even if it's hot. (No judgment ;) )

Bodysuit: Who What Wear x Target

Tweed Colorblock Shorts: Proenza Schouler (Roundabout) 

Belt: Kenneth Cole Reaction (Marshalls)

Bag: Louis Vuitton Epi Leather Sac D'Epaule (HauteTrader)

Sandals: Lanvin studded leather 'City' sandal (The RealReal)

Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop

Necklaces: AUrate Simple Pearl Necklace, AURATE X KERRY: Lioness Pendant & Destination Aura Beaded Necklace (Marrakech)

 *This post was made in partnership with Responsival.  Thank you for supporting brands I feature*

*This post was made in partnership with Responsival.  Thank you for supporting brands I feature*

What better way to start off 2022 than buying something pretty? If you're going to buy new jewelry this year, consider classic sustainable jewelry from Aurate! The New York based brand is doing what it can to make the jewelry industry more ethical and sustainable.

All of Aurate's gold is sustainable; it's 100% recycled and is able to be reused without losing quality or harming the environment. In addition to their gold, Aurate only uses sustainably harvested pearls from family-run farms. I found this pretty cool video showing how on farm sustainably grows and harvests their pearls.

If gold and pearls aren't your thing, never fear because their diamonds are also ethically sourced using the Kimberley Process. This ensures that the diamonds are not from conflict regions and there are no human rights violations behind the scenes.

This is what I wore for our Christmas Eve celebrations. I actually ended up changing into burgundy jeans once I got to my parents because I realized the suede coating on these was peeling away from the pants, not a cute look. So, sadly, this is the last outfit post featuring these faux-suede pants.

Sweater: Inis Crafts Fishermans Sweater (Marshalls)

Faux Suede Jeans: Blank NYC 'Persuede' jeans (South Moon Under) 

Sandals: Lanvin studded leather 'City' sandal (The RealReal)

Bag: Purple Prada Cahier in Viola (Rebag via Vestiaire Collective)

Some other sustainable and ethical brands to shop:

Everlane - Longtime readers will know of my Everlane tee obsession. Pretty much all of my tshirts are from the brand, but they're getting a bit worse for wear, so I may need a stock up soon! I also love their cashmere sweaters! 

Stella McCartney - If you want some high fashion sustainable clothing look no further than Stella! I have a polar bear sweater and crazy pair of jeans I love. If budgets weren't a thing, I would own much more.

Sézane - I haven't bought anything from Sézane yet, but many of my blogger friends swear by the brand. I've been meaning to make a purchase, perhaps 2022 is my year to buy one of their gorgeous sweaters or dresses! 

Resale/Pre-Loved - Another great option is shopping resale sites. Buying something pre-loved instead of brand new will keep clothes out of the landfills and give them a second life. Roundabout is one of my favorite local places (they ship too!) but I also frequently check The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective when I feel like browsing my favorite designer brands or looking for a specific item.