SWEATER DRESS & FUR VEST : CHRISTMAS OOTD

Happy Holidays! Its that phase between Christmas and Nw Years, when I have seriously lost track of what date it is. But I am happy and blessed that I am surrounded by friends and family, who make this time all the more magical.

The holiday season comes with its share of fun dates, and it is so much fun, planning outfits for each one. Holiday parties at work, cocktail parties with girlfriends, Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas lunch, visit a Christmas tree farm, and so much more. While I love sporting my share of true red and forest green ensembles, its Mulled Wine, which was my inspiration for this year's Christmas Outfit. I was hosting a potluck for friends, and comfort was key. I wanted to style an outfit, in which I could lounge in and not bother about my food baby.

So my wine sweater dress was my anchor piece for this outfit for Christmas Day. My fur vest can take any outfit from drab to fab, and it was a great compliment to the sweater dress. Loved the warmer tones in the outfit. As its the Holiday, I wanted some major bling with my cozy and comfortable outfit. So paired two sets of Swarovski earrings to add some much needed holiday bling. Temps were around 45F on Christmas day, which is very warm for a midwestern winter, so I was bold enough to skip the tights, and just opt for boots.  What I didn't predict was the wind chill, and slipped into tights, just after these photos were taken for the blog.

SHOP MY LOOK:

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HOLIDAY HAIR : CARAMEL TOFFEE FOILAYAGE

 4 days to Christmas. How exciting is that! I was in two minds, whether I do an Outfit Post, or I write about my fabulous new hair color. I decided to let the outfit post, wait till Christmas day and pen down a beauty post. I got in a lot of requests for more posts on hair, especially after the success of my Summer Hair Rehab post.

I have been getting my hair colored since I was 16. As tempting as it may sound, I never try and use box color. There's a reason that there are experts, in this case, Hair Experts. They went to Beauty School and have years of experience. And they can execute results, without frying your hair. I trust my hair expert - Amanda Pogue of Studio A Salon, KC. She has been taking care of my hair, for almost a decade now. I have textured hair and she understands that textured hair has special needs.

While I go for regular trims and bang trims, I had been having long hair, for the last few years. It was time to change that and maybe even change the hair color. Last but not least it was time to address the Grey situation.  While I get Blonde balayage, I like shadow roots. Which also meant, that my greys, were becoming super prominent. I come from a family of premature greying, and my greys are mostly concentrated on the crown of my head. So we put grey coverage on the plan.

Its almost been 5 years, since I went this short with my hair. It is always a big change when you go for such a drastic length reduction, but t slowly grows on you. Amanda gave me a Layered Lob. It is easier to manage and style, especially with all the stress, with the move. We retained the side swept bangs, as I love my bangs.

Regarding the actual hair color, I knew I didn't want to going back to being icy blonde now. So for grey coverage, Amanda, colored them with my natural hair color- black. This was my first experience with grey coverage, and I learned that it needs to be followed up every 8 weeks or so.

Caramel Toffee Foilayage was the route we opted for when it came to the overall hair color. Caramel is a broad spectrum, and it is up to the stylist and client, what tone or shade they want to opt for. The perfect middle ground between blondes and brunettes, especially at this time of the year, when we love everything warm and toasty. With hair color, often what you see, is not what is achieved in one sitting. In my case, it was no different. In the first sitting, we had the grey coverage, the haircut and we had Balayage.

And in the second sitting, we went over it, with a  round of traditional Foils, to achieve the hair color, we wanted. I have a warm undertone, so I believe that the warmer tones of hair color, compliment me much more, especially in colder weather. It adds that much-needed touch of warmth to my overall skin tone and makes my eye color pop more. Doesn't wash me out or make me look pale!

A session in a hair stylist's chair is surely therapeutic!

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LEATHER JACKET WITH STAR STUDS

A Leather Jacket is an investment. Its a staple for anyone's closet. And I have a thing for leather jackets, which is evident from my collection. Leather jackets can take any outfit from being drab, and give it an edge. I love pairing my skirts and dresses with tights in winter and leather jackets. And if you ask me about my uniform from Fall to Spring, then leather jackets feature heavy in it. I love how versatile they can be, and the endless possibilities of styling them, as the weather changes.

While I love my colored leather jackets, it is my black leather jackets, which hold pride of place, in my closet. Last year, I had picked up this amazing faux leather jacket with star studs. I just fell in love with the detailing on this jacket.  It was love at first sight, and the love story continues strong enough. I had been waiting to feature it on my blog, for a year and finally had time to get some quick pictures done.

I wanted the leather jacket to be the star of the outfit, so I paired neutrals as much as I could. Charcoal skinny jeans and a grey sweater created just right canvas for the leather jacket to shine. And Leopard is a neutral, right. My $40 Leopard Booties are still in great shape, even in their second year. Berry lips and red nails, and we were all set to take on the evening.

How do you like styling your leather/faux leather jackets?

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BOOZY AND SCHMOOZY NIGHT OUT AT FRANKIE & JULES BOUTIQUE

Who doesn't love an evening out with their girlfriends? I know as much as I love that, I have not been able to manage that as often, as my heart would have wanted. So in one my busiest weeks so far, I thought of taking away a few moments, to pen down about a fun evening, I had, with some of my blogger babes.

Frankie and Jules Boutique, hosted Boozy and Schmoozy Night Out, along with KC Style Trio. It was a weeknight with the vibes of the weekend. I had been planning to go to the boutique, for some time, and the invite just came at the right time.

 Mother-daughter duo, Jan Morgan and Julia Rice, created Frankie and Jules in 2006. They started out with pop-up parties, and are now in their second location at the intersection of 159th and Metcalf in Overland Park. If you cannot make it to the boutique in person, then I have linked the website for you to shop online.

They have the cutest range of affordable fashion-forward attire. It was fun to scope the cutest outfits and carry on a mega try on sesh! From shag jackets to tweed blazers, from chic jumpsuits to sky-high boots, they had something for everyone.  It was hard to choose from when you love almost love everything. I picked out the cutest sweater, which I finally wore on my birthday.

The wine was flowing and the party was on, as we shopped our way through the evening. Besides the cutest outfits and accessories and shoes, they had the cutest collection of home decor items.

It was really nice to meet so many lovely ladies in one evening. Blogger babes are surely the best.
Thank you, Frankie and Jules and KC Style Trio for hosting such a fun night. This Momma really needed it!

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CHUY'S OVERLAND PARK - GRAND OPENING

Since I started my journey in blogging as a food blogger, it is always great when I get to write about food. Chuy's opened their latest location in the Kansas City metro area, in Overland Park, just off 135th street. I was invited for their VIP opening night, to soak it all in, before it opened to the public. I love me some good Tex-Mex and it is always great to back at Chuy's. 

Good food was surely on the agenda, but a proud mom moment featured high too! Do you recognize one of the cute pup pictures up on the bar at Chuy's Overland Park? Yes, Blaze features on the Doggie Hall of Fame. So if you are headed there, make sure you get a selfie with his pic of on the wall. I might have exhaustedm y whole camera roll, at Chuy's that evening. 

As you wait for your food order to come in, you cannot help but admire the eclectic decor of this restaurant chain. While Elvis shrine finds its pride of place at every outlet of Chuy's, every restaurant has its own signature take on the decor idea.

And who can miss the fresh tortilla stand?

We started our evening with the Appetizer Plate. It consisted of chile con queso, nachos, deluxe quesadillas, chicken flautas, guac, and sour cream. Trust me, this was such a handsome portion, that I could have just dined on this platter. But we decided to venture onto the next few courses.

 The Fajita and the Steak Burrito was our choice of entree. We opted for shrimp and beef as our choice of protein, for the Fajita, which was grilled with pepper and onion. Served with Mexican rice, pico de gallo, refried beans, sour cream cheese, lettuce, fresh tortillas, and guac.

The Steak Burrito is a handmade 12" tortilla stuffed with grilled and sliced steak and cheese, topped with spicy Hatch Green Chile sauce. It is served with green chile rice and charro beans. We have a soft corner for Green Chile at Chuy's ever since we attended their Hatch Chile Fest, earlier this year. 

 The dessert of dreams was their Tres Leches Cake. It was so huge that it was big enough to be a pillow.

And if that is not all, then the whole restaurant is like a treasure trove of Instagram-worthy walls. You cannot help but get happy, at this place. So if you are on the lookout for a new place to eat out in Overland Park, Kansas, how about Chuy's! 

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KCFW SS'19 - FRIDAY: RECAP

And finally, a recap of Friday night Runway shows of Kansas City Fashion Week's Spring Summer'19. Apologies for the delay, but a surgery, moving and an ongoing renovation sucked the creative juices out of me.

So who is ready to talk all things fashion! Friday night was the only runway show I could attend this season. Trust me, we are going back to the old schedule, come next season. For the last few years, KCFW has moved their Fall-WInter shows to the Grand Hall of KC, but the Spring -Summer shows remain at the old stomping grounds - Union Station KC. Undoubtedly the most magnificent venue of Kansas City. So many memories of past years(not only seasons) with the KCFW crew at this amazing venue, and I was so excited to be back. To see the magic unfold again.

Talking of the KCFW crew, they have almost become family over the years. The warmth is undeniable. The hard work which goes into pulling off this fashion mammoth is beyond comprehension. Thank you team KCFW for making our city such an amazing fashion hot spot. Thank you, for having me, yet again, to be a part of it all. Honored and humbled.

For me, Fashion Week is also a time when I get to spend some quality time with my favorite creative crew. Be it photographers, bloggers, fashion designers, makeup artists KC is home to such wonderful creatives. All thanks to KCFW that twice a year, we all come together. While some create magic behind the scenes, some of us capture that magic as it unfolds on the runway.

If you want to know more about my outfit for the evening, then check out my dedicated blog post, linked Here.

Now for my favorites from the designers who took the runway by storm on Friday night at Union Station.

Lenzanita's L'amour Holiday collection kick-started the evening. Their collection was dedicated to the awareness for women to take an active role in learning the risk factors of heart disease, and what women can do to keep a healthy heart.

Crystal Brakhage brought in fur and leather for a Spring-Summer show, and we fell in love with it. Fashion Week is a mix of fashion and drama, and the evening's drama had surely begun with this collection. Her target customer is a woman who is not afraid to be who they are, and be a little different.

A few months before the film  "Bohemian Rhapsody," released on the big screen, Anna Leigh evoked "Queen," as she brought forth her collection on the runway. AnnaLeighh is interested in KCFW, as she feels it is a great way to get recognized. Her monochromatic avant-garde pieces surely set the drama quotient a bit higher for the evening.

Elyse Anastacia's collection, named Dolores, is based on the skyline of Chicago. Yet another monochromatic collection, which makes us wait for Spring with bated breath. In Elyse's design, she focuses on architecture imitated through complex pleats and water imitated through volume.

Designer Justin Hope's line Naava Swim seeks to create swimwear which makes women of all shapes and sizes, comfortable in their own skin. Love the citrus pops of color, to classic monochromes, there was something for every woman. I am someone who has been campaigning for body positivity for more than a decade, so when a collection like Naava Swim is on the runway, it just means, that body positivity is on an all-time high. Every woman is beautiful, and they need to know that.

If you ask my toddler what is her favorite store in town, she will undobtedly start talking of Oak Park Mall's Disney store. Every season, the Disney store, brings out a  collection, which surely inspires parents like us, and makes our shopping trips easier. This season was no different!

Designer Ameli Skoglund Blaser's line, Ideas from the North, is based on her Scandinavian aesthetics. Loved her clean lines, and mix of knits and fibers.

 
Designer Rachel Pollak returned to the KCFW runway with another stunning collection. Her collection was what you call Spring-perfect, with its dreamy and romantic silhouettes.

Amanda Casarez was the finale designer for Friday night. The brand's design philosophy is based on the duality of hard lines and feminine details, and a linear design aesthetic, with a focus on texture, structure and color.

I had a great time covering KCFW, as offcial media, for yet another fabulous season!

Thank you Eli Stack, David Bram, Jason Atherton, and Larry F Levenson, for capturing me in various moods throughout fashion week, this season. !

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