Winter White

Its 70 degrees today. In December. Nuts. Typically, I expect to be all bundled up in a coat, hat, scarf, and gloves by this point in the year, but I've seen people walking around in short sleeves...

I haven't gone that far, but a skirt without tights works for me. The "skirt" is actually a dress, but I put a chunky sweater on top to give it the illusion of being separates, and I love its A-line silhouette. Its super classic and though its on-trend right now I don't think it ever truly goes out of style. This sweater has quickly become one of my favorites. I got it at H&M and its the softest, coziest thing ever. Also, the texture along with the leather of the skirt makes the white-on-white look much more interesting. Tying it all together are my grey Zara flats.

Photos by Ryan Dennis

H&M sweater / Zara dress / Zara flats

Leather

A leather jacket is the ultimate fall staple and this one is my favorite overall purchase of the season so far. I wear it with everything and now that its finally starting to get colder than just chilly I'm trying to squeeze every single last wear I can out of it. This outfit is super simple; something that I would wear out to lunch or coffee or even to the office. And a pair of simple pumps or strappy sandals could easily turn this from a day to night look.

I paired my jacket with a white button down shirt, black cigarette pants, black loafers, a full, thick knit circle scarf, and a black tote that's another hand me down from mom.

Photos by Ryan Dennis

Zara jacket / H&M blouse + scarf / Topshop pants + shoes 

Cozy for the Fall

Its still kind of unseasonably warm for November so I can still get away with wearing just a chunky sweater in the afternoons. My mom handed this sweater down to me a few years ago and every time fall comes around I can't wait to wear it. I don't wear a ton of colors (and that's probably pretty evident from the posts I've published so far) so it breaks up the slight monotony of the neutrals I wear. Plus, turtlenecks are a huge trend this season (though I've always been a fan personally).

I paired the sweater with my high-waisted "mom" jeans from American Apparel. I think they make this look way more 90s than I intended, but to be honest, I'm not ready for the 90s revival to fade yet. I can quite get into this 70s resurgence. And I finished it all off with a belt and another pair of pointed toe flats with ankle embellishments.

Photos by Ryan Dennis

Paul Harris sweater / American Apparel jeans & belt (similar) / Steve Madden flats

Pies 'n' Thighs + Bonus Laduree!

I went to New York on Wednesday with some friends just for the day to hang out, see the sights, and of course eat. While I've been to New York before, they've been short trips in and out and I've never really had the chance to have an entire day to enjoy it.

Now, I love food -- especially brunch -- so it was important to me to plan out our meals along the way. One of my co-workers suggested Pies 'n' Thighs, a restaurant that specializes in pies and fried chicken (which are two of my favorite things) among other things. It was also featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives so that should be enough to testify to its tastiness.

They have two locations -- one in Brooklyn and the other in the Lower East Side. Since most of our plans involved places in Manhattan, we decided to go for the LES location.

First of all the place was SO. CUTE. Look at it! Its adorable. And its really tiny so we nearly walked past it.

Once we finally got inside we ordered a round of mimosas. (Which I downed at light speed.) It took us no time at all to figure out what we wanted to eat (obviously everyone read the menu beforehand in extreme anticipation). Three of us chose the Chicken Biscuit (pictured above) which is far superior to Chick-fil-A's. The breading on the chicken cutlet was super crispy and the meat was juicy, the biscuit was clearly made from scratch, and hot sauce and honey go extremely well together.

Another winner was the fried Brussels sprouts and squash salad. It was a warm salad so it was kind of weird on the palate, but ended up being a winner.

Overall I give Pies 'n' Thighs a 10/10. I would definitely eat there again. Plus bonus points for not being crowded AT ALL. Although I guess it was a Wednesday after all.

BONUS: We went to Laduree on Madison Avenue which is probably a totally touristy thing to do, but I love Laduree and I love macarons and they're just so pretty. And they're delicious too of course!

Basics & Black

I love wearing black. Maybe not as much as I love wearing nude, but its a pretty big chunk of my wardrobe. I always complain about the lack of color in my closet, but whenever I go shopping I'm always drawn to darker colors. This look is super simple and made up of great basics everyone should have in their closet.

The blouse is from H&M (and I bought it in three other colors because its such a great piece to wear day-to-day) and the cigarette pants are from Topshop. And pulling this look together with one of my favorite trends this season are these gorgeous grey pointed-toe flats from Zara.

Photos by my friend Olivia at OH Snap Photography

H&M blouse / Topshop cigarette pants / Zara flats

Classic & Clean

If I could dress a certain way every day, this would be a big contender. For one, its shades of nude, two, its a pretty classic silhouette, and three, a crop top is involved. It's not very fall-like, but to be honest the weather has been feeling more like late August than early November lately.

I purchased this skirt from Zara during their big end-of-summer sale and its quickly become one of my most cherished pieces in my wardrobe. Its a bone-colored leather and though I'm terrified to wear it (because even though I love nudes and whites, I'm a disaster when it comes to spills and others mishaps) it goes with many of the pieces I already have.

The cropped sweater is an oldie from H&M, but still a goodie. And my bag is Dooney & Bourke that I got as a welcome home gift from my mom after my semester abroad in London (where I got my sunglasses!) last year.

Photos by my friend Olivia at OH Snap Photography

H&M sweater / Zara skirt / Nine West pumps / Dooney & Bourke handbag