Current Obsession: Petit Point Jewelry

My favorite time of the year in Florida is festival season, which happens roughly from late February to May.

There are some great events in the Tampa area that highlight music, agriculture and certain time periods. The Florida Strawberry Festival is one of my favorites--though not necessarily because I love strawberries.

The best thing for me is visiting with an 84-year-old vendor named Joke Vandergroef. Joke is from the Netherlands and spends part of the year in Florida. She's a talented petit point artist and brings her handmade treasures to the festival each year.

Her booth is the first place I stop. Every year I admire her beautiful creations and take a few home, and every year Joke tells me I shouldn't expect her at the next festival.

This year though, she seemed to say it with more conviction. She's getting older. It's more difficult for her to get around. She's so tired by the end of the day. No one cares about the type of work she does anymore.

I can't speak to her first three points, but I can argue with the last one. There is someone who cares. There's someone who adores her work. There's someone who enjoys talking with her, even if it's just once a year.

Maybe it's because she's the perfect combination of my grandmother and my great aunt. Maybe it's because her talent is enormous. Maybe it's because I think her petit point rings, necklaces and earrings make up some of the most unique jewelry I own.

Whatever it is, she's the highlight of the Strawberry Festival, in my opinion.

And I hope I see her again next year.

Here's Joke at work at the festival.

And here are all the pieces I've bought from her over the years.

Outfit Details:
Petit Point Jewelry by Joke Vandergroef (similar creations via Etsy)
Target Dress (old, similar)
"Voyage around the world" by Budi Satria Kwan via Society6
Target Shoes (old, similar)

Outfit photos by my sweet fiance, Matt; all others by yours truly

April Wish List

1. Vire Necklace from Marimekko, $69
Love the geometric qualities and colors in this necklace from the Finnish design company.

2. Daisy Printed Doll Dress from Simply Be, $79.95
Can't help my desire to relive the my teenage years in this awesome '90s-inspired print.

3. Pining for Summer Sandal from ModCloth, $164.99
Little baby pinecones on a sandal? GIMME! The only thing stopping me from clicking "Check Out" is the price.

4. Women's Crochet Riley Crossbody from Payless ShoeSource, $19.99
The white, lacy effect is calling my name.

5. Winsome Watercolors Flat from ModCloth, $34.99
Floral cutouts on a mint-colored flat. Need I say more?

6. Pine Street Dress in Navy from Anthropologie, $69.95 (on sale)
The little details on this dress are adorable. If you look really closely, you can even see multi-colored specks scattered all over it.

This post contains ModCloth and Payless ShoeSource affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you click on them and make a purchase.

My Fave Spring Looks

Spring is my favorite season, and I've posted lots of spring-inspired outfits on my blog since I started it in January.

Coincidentally, through April 28, you can share your spring style in ModCloth’s ‘Spring-Time to Shine’ Contest. Snap a photo of yourself in your freshest spring ensemble and upload to the Style Gallery, and you could win a $50 gift certificate! Outfits do not need to feature ModCloth (although it's encouraged), and users can submit as many entries as they'd like by 1 p.m. PT. Two winners will be chosen and featured by ModCloth. Check out the ModCloth blog for more details. (This paragraph contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you click on them and make a purchase.) 

In honor of the season, I thought I'd compile some of my favorite springtime outfits that I've posted on the blog.

Happy Easter!

Original posts:

• Let's Do Brunch in Mid-Century Modern Houses
• What Does the Groundhog Know? 5 Ways to Beat the Winter Blues
• Flirty Floral from Forever 21
• One Bird, Two Birds, Pink Birds, Blue Birds
• Cross Stitch for the Florida Strawberry Festival
• Confetti, Baby's Breath and Other Details
• Spring Forward!
• Boho Beauty vs. Gardening Granny
• Indiska Dress and Closet Explosion
• Flouncy Floral and Ruffles

Marchesa Nails in 24K Brocade

I wrote a few weeks ago about the Revlon By Marchesa 3D Jewel Appliques that I had used to turn my nails into mini designer masterpieces.

I had chosen the Silk Rosette design, and I liked the way they turned out. Now, I'm trying out the 24K Brocade design.

I love the combination of mint and gold, and I think the shiny gold scrolls in these stickers look really eye catching.

I applied them following the same steps as the previous Marchesa appliques minus a base nail color because these stickers are opaque. Check out the tutorial here: Marchesa Nails: The Only Thing Designer About My Wardrobe.

Which design do you prefer? Tell me in the comments!

Watercolor Warblers for Work

Starting the week with some alliteration--woot!

The first time I posted about this dress (One Bird, Two Birds, Pink Birds, Blue Birds), I said I was looking forward to wearing it a lot.

Well, this is how I styled it for work recently. This time, I couldn't resist wearing accessories in my favorite color, mint, to bring out the blue birds in the print.

Looks like Cleo is a fan, too. :)

Have a great week, everyone!

Outfit Details:
Simply Be Dress
Target Tights
Kmart Shoes
Urban Outfitters Purse (old)
Charming Charlie Necklace (in stores only)
RRKK Ring via Etsy

Photos by my sweet fiance, Matt

This post contains Urban Outfitters affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you click on them and make a purchase.

ModCloth Posts Two of My Outfit Photos on their Facebook Page in as Many Weeks

I'm pretty pumped.

ModCloth is hands down my favorite online retailers, and I really respect the handle they have on social media marketing.

Allowing their customers to post outfit photos on their site, and then using those photos to promote their sales campaigns is genius. So is reposting photos from happy customers on Instagram. In both cases, not only does ModCloth benefit from their community, community members benefit from the publicity, especially if they have blogs like I do. It's all free, and everyone wins.

I've been super lucky to be featured in a few ModCloth social pushes lately. Check them out below.

I made it on their Facebook page and Style Gallery for my boho look and my pattern mixing look.

And they reposted one of my Instagram photos from my How to Make Cute Twirling Fruit outfit.

Pretty cool!

This post contains ModCloth affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you click on them and make a purchase.

Flouncy Floral and Ruffles

When I looked through these photos to pick out my faves, I was surprised at how much I look like my mom in this first picture.

Growing up, I was always told by relatives that I was a spitting image of my dad. But the tables seem to have turned somewhere along the way, and I'm totally channeling the maternal side of my family tree.

I wore this outfit on one of my first days at my new job, and I liked how flattering the dress-cardi-tights combo turned out.

I'll definitely be repeating this look at the office!

Outfit Details:
Simply Be Dress (out of stock)
Kohls Cardigan (old)
Target Tights
Urban Outfitters Shoes, Purse and Ring (all old)
Old Navy Necklace (old)

Photos by my sweet fiance, Matt

This post contains Kohls and Urban Outfitters affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you click on them and make a purchase.

Blurry Bike Blues

Just a quick post today. Partly because that's all I have time for, and partly because I don't have many photos of this outfit.

My fiance, Matt, usually takes my outfit photos because he's the sweetest ever, and we use my Nikon D40. Well, Matt recently found a pretty sweet deal on his own Nikon D3100, so we used that to take these photos.

Apparently though, there's a learning curve because many of the pictures we took ended up blurry. He's been practicing with the camera so we get better shots next time.

Outfit Details:
Ride Here, Right Now Dress from ModCloth
Urban Outfitters (old)
Torrid Belt (old)
Payless Shoes (old)
Target Purse
Fossil Bicycle Charm (old, similar options via The Find)
Argyle Gifts Spoon Ring

Photos by my sweet fiance, Matt

This post contains ModCloth, Urban Outfitters and Payless affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you click on them and make a purchase.