Trina Turk Accomplice Top

Surprised by the Trina Turk Accomplice Top 

During the blogger meet up at the Trina Turk Boutique in Burlingame a few weeks ago, I ended up picking up the Trina Turk Accomplice Top. To be honest, the top did not look like much on the hanger, and I probably wouldn’t have tried it on if the lovely salesperson Betsy didn’t suggest it.

I loved the top the minute I put it on. It is very comfortable, and I love the fit. It’s roomy but not boxy, which I had feared it would be from just looking at it on the hanger. I guess I am used to tunic-length tops, and a shorter top looked very different. But instead of being boxy, the top drapes nicely.

Comfortable Yet Put-Together Outfit

I paired the top with comfortable, ancient, roomy jeans and a basic black blazer from Zara and loved how effortlessly the outfit came together. I actually wasn’t feeling very well on the day I was wearing this outfit, and I was very comfortable yet presentable.






Outfit details:
Trina Turk Accomplice Top (whitewash Trina Turk Accomplice Top, hot pink Trina Turk Accomplice Top)
Blazer: Zara
Fringe Necklace (Banana Republic, old): similar, similar, similar 

I guess the lesson learned here is that you can’t judge a garment from what it looks like on the hanger. I probably should try on a lot more clothes! Also, a good salesperson can really steer you in the right direction. Thanks, Betsy and Trina Turk Burlingame for helping me find a great addition to my wardrobe!

I know that I’ll get lots and lots of wear out of this top and am already planning several outfits that include the top.

Questions: Do you go by what clothes look like on the hanger? I have to admit that I usually judge clothes by what they look like on the hanger. This experience taught me that I should try on a lot more things! Do you try on many options? I don’t. I should change that, too…

Linking up with:
Monday: iwillwearwhatilike, Style Nudge, VisibleMonday
Tuesday: Confident Twosday, TurningHeads
Wednesday: Style Me Wednesday, Fresh Fashion Forum, Style Perspectives
Thursday:  Top of the World, Powers the Flower, A Labour of Life, Throwback Thursday, Thursday Fashion Files, Thursday Favorite Things, Thursday Moda
Friday: Weekly Favorites, Fabulous Friday, Sheela Writes, Weekend Wear, Passion for Fashion, Fridays Fashions, Fun Fashion Friday

Be Well,
Andrea

[Disclosure: Links to clothing items in this post are affiliate links, and www.andreaswellnessnotes.com may benefit from actions taken on the links.]

Desigual Dress Love

A Dress with a Bold Pattern

I love Desigual. Their fun prints add just the little something extra to my wardrobe that it is sometimes missing. I don’t own a lot of Desigual - two bags (last seen here and here in the last photo) and a dress, but I always feel good when I’m wearing one of them. They are fun and make me smile. All my Desigual pieces are from outlet stores, and I foresee myself visiting there again sometime this year...

My Desigual dress is about five years old. But I still love wearing it, and I wore it to the blogger meetup at Trina Turk in Burlingame.  It’s a bit too short on its own, but I really like it with leggings underneath. It feels very me: comfortable and interesting.

 

Simple Accessories to Go with A Bold Dress

The dress has such a bold print that I kept my accessories simple: a red necklace, a jean jacket, and a small black bag. I like how the outfit turned out. I had first contemplated not wearing a necklace, but I think I needed a little something near my neck.

 

I thought about when I had worn the dress last, and it actually had been a while - more specifically November 2014, when we took our holiday card photo. 

Desigual dresses I currently love: one, two, three, four, five, six

Linking up with:
FashionFoodandOtherStuff
Monday: iwillwearwhatilike, Style Nudge, VisibleMonday
Tuesday: Reasons to Dress, Confident Twosday, TurningHeads
Wednesday: Style Me Wednesday, Fresh Fashion Forum, Style Perspectives
Thursday:  Top of the World, Powers the Flowers, A Labour of Life, Throwback Thursday, Thursday Fashion Files, Thursday Favorite Things, Thursday Moda
Friday: Fabulous Friday, Sheela Writes, Weekend Wear, Passion for Fashion, Fridays Fashions, Fun Fashion Friday

Questions: Do you like bold prints? Do you own any Desigual pieces?

Be well,
Andrea

 [Disclosure: Links to clothing items in this post are affiliate links, and www.andreaswellnessnotes.com may benefit from actions taken on the links.]

Why I Started a Blog, Continue to Blog and Enjoying a Blogger Meet Up at Trina Turk in Burlingame

Why I Started A Blog 

I started Andrea’s Wellness Notes seven years ago, on March 14, 2009. When I started my blog, I was pretty frazzled with a toddler, a teenager, and a demanding job. Plus, I was quickly approaching 40. I wanted to refocus on myself and on living my best possible life. Initially my focus was mainly on healthy living - food, exercise, and other things that brought me joy.

Not too long after starting my blog, I met some fabulous people through blogging. Most of the connections happened online, but some bloggers I got to meet in real life. And I was able to attend some pretty awesome blogger conferences. The connections I made with others are what kept me blogging.

Andy also started a blog in 2009 and initially focused on food (in 2011 he switched his focus and has been chronicling the craft beer scene in the South Bay ever since), so we got to attend two FoodBuzz Festivals in San Francisco together (2010 Part 1, 2010 Part 2, 2011 Part 1, 2011 Part 2). It was a fun way to sneak away on a date… We even got to dress up for a fancy dinner in the Ferry Building. Hard to believe the kid was that small once… And my recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Smoothie got second place in a recipe contest at the festival!

Why I Continue to Blog

While I love blogging, there have been times when I thought about quitting. But then I remembered all the fabulous people I have connected with through blogging. I believe the real magic of blogging is connecting - and staying connected - with people you meet through your blog. Most of the bloggers who started when I did (and there was a group of us that all started at the same time and got to know each other pretty well) are not blogging anymore today. Two of those who have quit (or have for the most part quit) have become very good friends of mine.

Biz from My Bizzy Kitchen is one of the few who is still blogging today. Her blog was one of the first food blogs I found, and I still read her blog every week for some humor, awesome recipes, and to keep up with her life. She recently quit her job, and is carving out her place in the food world, and I’m very excited for her. I’ve known Biz for almost seven years now and feel a real connection to her, even though we have never met in real life.

Starting a Style Blog 

Last year I had to take a blogging break for a few months (the first time I didn’t blog at all for more than a few weeks), and when I came back to blogging, my focus shifted more to style as I realized that style is an important part of self-care and that’s where my current passion lies.

Since becoming part of the style blogging community, I have connected with some awesome bloggers online. And on Saturday, I got to meet some of them in person. They were just as nice in person as online.

We all met thanks to Kim from Northern California Style who hosted an event at the Trina Turk Boutique in Burlingame. Dawn Lucy from Fashion Should Be Fun and April from Ms B in the Bay Area were also there. I very much like each blogger’s individual style and enjoy the local connections in their posts once in a while. It was wonderful to meet them in person!

 Dawn Lucy from Fashion Should Be Fun, Me, Kim from Northern California Style, and April from Ms. B in the Bay Area - Thanks for the photo Kim!

We chatted, had a drink and some snacks, tried on clothes, and I ended up taking a few pieces home. Here are some not-so-good dressing room photos of some of the clothes I tried on. I’ll share what I ended up buying soon.

In the meantime, Dawn Lucy already posted about the meetup on her blog.  Check out her post, showcasing some of the pieces she tried on. I love her in the orange jumpsuit! She looks stunning! And if you are not familiar with her blog, check it out. She has an amazing sense of style and has a lot of fun with fashion - I guess hence her blog title!

And here are some of my Trina Turk favorites. Such a great line!

I look forward to meeting up with these fabulous ladies (and a few others who couldn’t make it) again. Thanks Kim for hosting such a great event! And thanks to the fabulous ladies at the Trina Turk Boutique in Burlingame. They were so friendly and helpful; I look forward to going back!

Questions: If you are a blogger, why did you start your blog? If you are a blog reader, why do you read blogs? Have you ever thought about starting your own blog? If so, what’s stopping you?  If you are a blogger, why are you continuing to blog? Have you met any bloggers in real life? 

Be well,
Andrea

[Disclosure: Links to clothing items in this post are affiliate links, and www.andreaswellnessnotes.com may benefit from actions taken on the links.]

Grey Leopard-Print Jeans 3 Ways

Casual Outfit for a Soccer Match 

Last weekend, we went to the San Jose Earthquake’s season opening game at Avaya Stadium. I’m normally not a big sporting events watcher. However, I have to say, going to the game was a great experience. The view from pretty much anywhere in the stadium is fantastic and there is a big food truck meetup right inside the stadium. The only problem was that it was colder and windier than we had anticipated.   


I don’t own any Earthquake gear (nor can I imagine myself ever owning any), but I wanted to wear a casual, yet put-together outfit for the occasion. And out came my grey leopard-print jeans. I have had the jeans for about five years and recently rediscovered them during a closet clean out. I remember debating whether to buy the jeans when I saw them in Germany; they were on major sale and fit well. However, I am normally not a fan of printed jeans, but the grey on grey seemed muted enough yet different. I’m glad that I bought them as the cost per wear is really low by now, and I enjoy wearing them (although I may forget about them for a while at times…). I paired the jeans with a grey long sleeve printed tee, my jean jacket, and a blue/grey leopard-print scarf. I also wore comfortable black flats as well as a delicate fringe necklace.

Two More Casual Outfits with Leopard-Print Jeans 

I wore the grey leopard-print jeans and the jean jacket again later in the week on a day I was working from home, this time with a grey sweater, a purple scarf, and turquoise and purple jewelry.  

And since I often get stuck on recently “re-discovered” clothing items, I wore the pants a third time. It was an unusually cold and windy day, and I paired the jeans with a plaid shirt, sweater, and my favorite grey jacket. Unfortunately, I was freezing all day...

Similar grey(ish) leopard-print items: jeans, jeans, jeans, scarf, scarf, scarf

I was thinking about when I had worn the pants the last time and realized that it was last summer when we visited my aunt. I even wore them with the same grey printed long sleeve tee.



Questions:  What clothing item(s) did you recently rediscover? Do you ever think about what the likely cost per wear will be for an item when you purchase it? 

Linking up with:
52 Pick-Me-Up
FashionFoodandOtherStuff
Sunday: StyleStories
Monday: iwillwearwhatilike, Style Nudge, VisibleMonday
Tuesday: Confident Twosday, TurningHeads
Wednesday: Style Me Wednesday, Fresh Fashion Forum, Style Perspectives
Thursday:  Top of the World, Powers the Flowers, A Labour of Life, Throwback Thursday, Thursday Fashion Files, Thursday Favorite Things, Thursday Moda
Friday: Fabulous Friday, Sheela Writes, Weekend Wear, Passion for Fashion, Fridays Fashions, Fun Fashion Friday


Be well,
Andrea

[Disclosure: Links to clothing items in this post are affiliate links, and www.andreaswellnessnotes.com may benefit from actions taken on the links.]

Flare Jeans & A Boho Top

For the longest time, I cringed whenever I saw 70s-inspired clothing. I grew up in the 70s but never really liked the style (maybe because my mom pretty much decided what I got to wear…). But then I somehow became intrigued by flare pants. So several months ago I dragged Andy to Bloomingdale’s on a date night to “do some research.” Unfortunately (or fortunately), I fell in love with the first pair of flare jeans I tried on. Unfortunately, they were not cheap, even though there was a denim event going on at the time, and the jeans were on sale.

They are long and didn’t quite work with my fall/winter boots. But they do work with my higher sandals and clogs, and I can see myself wearing them all the time in spring and summer.

I recently wore the jeans with a white Boho blouse and a heart scarf to the Bacon and Beer Classic at Levi’s Stadium (where the Super Bowl took place just a few weeks ago). To make the outfit more fun, I carried my colorful Desigual bag.  





I have never paid that much for a pair of jeans. However, I love them. They are incredibly soft and comfortable (in fact, I read one online review where someone was complaining that they are too soft! I would never complain that jeans are too soft!). Considering that, over the years, I bought quite a few items of clothing that I ended up hardly wearing (because they were not perfect), I think spending more money on jeans that work and you will get a lot of wear out of is a good investment and worth it in the long run.

Andy was a judge at the event, and it was fun that we had VIP access to the field.

Outfit Details
Jeans: Paige High Rise Bell Canyon in Nottingham
Top: Old (option, option, and option with colorful embroidery)
Scarf: Old (similar, similar, and a red version)
Bag: Desigual (similar)

Questions: Do you like flare jeans? What’s your favorite jeans style at the moment? What’s your favorite jeans brand? Do you like boho-style clothing? 

Be well,
Andrea

Linking up with:
MyRefinedStyle
Monday: iwillwearwhatilike, Style Nudge, VisibleMonday
Tuesday: Confident Twosday, TurningHeads
Wednesday: Style Me Wednesday, Fresh Fashion Forum, Style Perspectives
Thursday:  Top of the World, FineWhatEver, A Labour of Life, Throwback Thursday, Thursday Fashion Files, Thursday Favorite Things, Thursday Moda
Friday: Fabulous Friday, Sheela Writes, Weekend Wear, Passion for Fashion, Fridays Fashions, Fun Fashion Friday


[Disclosure: Links in this post are affiliate links, and www.andreaswellnessnotes.com may benefit from actions taken on the links.]