Ace is the Place

“Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man”.  Some jingles from my childhood will never leave my memory.  This Ace Hardware, Hillcrest Hardware in the Hillcrest section of San Diego, is the place with so much style.  I have never seen such a well curated collection of housewares, hardware, cards, gifts and so many things I did not even know I needed until visiting.

I bought several stocking stuffers for my husband and picked up a few ornaments before Christmas.  If you are in San Diego, it is worth a visit.

For the outing I styled a plaid shirt with a favorite new jacket from the Gap, denim, tweed shoes and my Moynat tote.

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Jacket

Plaid Shirt (this would work great too)

Shoes

Denim

Moynat Tote (this or this would look great)

Happy Shopping!

XO,

JAE

Blue and White

My tried and true favorite color combination is blue and white.  It is evident in both my home decor and most of my wardrobe choices.  When I saw this clutch while on vacation in Hawaii, I knew I had to have it.  For me it’s a neutral (and it has this handy shoulder strap inside for when you tire of carrying it).  It gives a nice pop to my casual outfit of white jeans, blue tunic and my new favorite sandals.

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Top (similar here and here)

Jeans

Sandals

Clutch (similar here)

Happy Shopping!

XO,

JAE

Sunshine

I brought a little Florida sunshine to San Diego recently (not that San Diego needs extra sunshine).  This Florida Jackie cardigan was fun to style with my paint splatter slim boyfriend jeans, Piper sunglasses and cork flats.

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J. Crew Florida Sweater

J. Crew Piper Sunglasses

J. Crew Slim Boyfriend Jean (similar here)

J. Crew Shoes (older style these and these would look great)

Lipstick Queen Chinatown Glossy Pencil in Pink Bluff

Happy Shopping!

XO,

JAE

Triple Stripes

Triple stripes?  Why not?  For this look I styled a shirting striped top with a striped clutch (similar here and here), a striped silk scarf (thank you J. Crew!) as a bracelet, Piper sunglasses in ocean, white denim and denim pom-pom flats.

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J. Crew Striped Shirt

J. Crew Piper Sunglasses

J. Crew Silk Scarf c/o

J. Crew Shoes (older style, these and these would look great)

J. Crew Clutch (older style, similar here and here)

AG Prima Denim

Lipstick Queen Chinatown Glossy Pencil in Pink Bluff

Happy Shopping!

XO,

JAE

Tea Time

Matcha Lemonade?  Yes, please.  I returned to Holy Matcha in San Diego to try a few more items on their menu.  The Easter decorations were gorgeous and for the weekend they had a rose wall, this time in ombre.   We tried the matcha lemonade, an iced matcha latte, avocado toast and a pink doughnut (that was vegan, gluten free and organic).  Everything was delicious.

For the outing I went with a neutral white pom-pom sweatshirtslim boyfriend jeans, demin pom-pom shoes (other options here and here) and pops of pink with my bag and sunglasses.   I also visited during their grand opening Holy Matcha!.

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J. Crew Pom-Pom Sweatshirt

J. Crew Jane Sunglasses

J. Crew Signet Bag

J. Crew Pom (similar here)

J. Crew Slim Boyfriend Jeans (also similar here)

J. Crew Shoes (these and these would look great)

Lipstick Queen Chinatown Glossy Pencil in Pink Bluff

Happy Shopping!

XO,

JAE

Lemonade

This has been one of my toughest weeks in a while. On the plus side, it was rewarding.

I had braced myself for my husband’s recovery from minor surgery. Turns out the procedure was not as minor as we’d anticipated.  I am proud of how, in the face of our unexpected challenge that we made more lemonade than we have made in a while.  I am more appreciative of all that he does on a daily basis.  We also took the opportunity to revisit what our seven year-old can for himself.  We discovered that he is more capable when we are not rushing to get things done and we just let him do things on his own.  My family feels stronger than ever even though one of us can’t walk without assistance right now.

I am making lemonade with this beaded lemon t-shirt from J. Crew.  I styled it with a jean jacket, white jeans and my yellow jellies.

jcrew lemon jack rogers flatlay

J. Crew Denim Jacket

J. Crew Beaded Lemons T-Shirt

AG Prima Jeans

Jack Rogers “Georgica”  (similar here and here)

Here is to making lemondade.

Happy Shopping!

XO,

JAE

Riding Into Spring and Consciousness

Spring!  I always go through an awakening when the season turns, even in  Los Angeles which does not exactly deliver seasonal weather changes.  In fact, we are bracing ourselves for rain and it was chilly today after being warm for the past few days.  And yet, I experience the same awakening that I enjoyed in New York and San Francisco.  It is as if a light bulb goes off and I suddenly feel more aware.  I find myself thinking “Was I asleep?”

This week the first day of spring coincided with my husband having minor foot surgery. My day was spent caring for him, dropping him off, picking him up, and handling more at home.  All went well but that’s not the only great part of today.  Today, my husband and I were nicer and more patient with each other than we have been in a long time.  It is not that we were not getting along,  but it was that extra layer of kindness that made all the difference.  I felt the awakening of my consciousness about kindness – “why don’t we act like this all the time?”  “Where have WE been?”  I do not ever want my husband or son to suffer, but I do love rising to the occasion and being their best caregiver when the stakes are high.

As part of my spring awakening, I’m layering myself in a really nice J. Crew indigo eyelet that is a nice change of pace from my typically more tailored look.  I styled it with my favorite white jeans, Legend of Lido clutch and J. Crew shoes.  These photos were shot on one of those warm pre-Spring days in San Diego and the top was perfectly breezy.

 

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J. Crew Eyelet Top (30% off with code HAPPYSPRING through March 24, 2017)

Legend of Lido Jaipur Clutch c/o

AG Prima Jeans

J. Crew Shoes (older style these and these would look great)

Here’s to kindness (and style, of course).

Happy Shopping!

XO,

JAE

Pink Lady

My love of liberty prints is well documented.  When I saw this lady jacket from J. Crew with Liberty print trim, I had to have it. I styled it with a striped ruffled shirt, signet bag (with pom-pom), white jeans and denim pom-pom flats.

You can see more of my Liberty print looks in these posts starting with my collection and introduction to them in London: May Liberty Flowers, Santa Barbara Mother’s Day, Liberty and Lavender, Denim on Denim, East River Sailing Club, Fiddlehead Farm, Stripes and Liberty, Paisley Liberty,and  Pink Liberty.

jcrew lady signet flatlay

J. Crew Lady Jacket with Liberty Trim

J. Crew Striped Shirt

J. Crew Signet Bag in Fuchsia Bloom

J. Crew Pom-Pom (similar here)

J. Crew Shoes (older style, but these and these would look great)

AG Prima Jeans

Chanel Rouge Double Intensite Ultra Wear Lip Color in Sensual Rose

Happy Shopping!

Have a great weekend.

XO,

JAE

 

Holy Matcha!

I was in San Diego last weekend and I had to check out the newest matcha bar, Holy Matcha, that just opened in North Park.  They have the most beautiful rose photo wall and decor.  The menu is perfectly curated with a just few items and everything is gluten-free and vegan. 

Since I knew the decor was going to be amazing and there would be plenty of photo opportunties, I kept my look simple with a pop of pink.  I am wearing a bell-sleeved silk blouse, Signet bag in fuchsia bloom, lookout high-rise jeans and leopard Gemma flats, all from J. Crew.

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J. Crew Blouse

J. Crew Signet Bag in Fuchsia Bloom

J. Crew Pom-Pom (similar here)

J. Crew Lookout High-Rise Jeans

J. Crew Gemma Leopard Flats (on sale!)

Chanel Rouge Double Intensite Ultra Wear Lip Color in Sensual Rose

Happy Shopping!

XO,

JAE

 

Peace, Love and Denim

My love of denim and chambray is no secret.  I have lost count of the number of times I have worn my J. Crew Western Chambray shirt that I bought two years ago (and it still looks great).  J. Crew just came out with a new Western Chambray Shirt with snaps in a vintage indigo wash and I knew immediately it was a must have.  I also picked up another pair of Lookout high rise jeans.  I doubled down on denim for lunch with my mom at Flower Child in Del Mar.  I love the bright decor and the menu options make it easy for me to stick to my new regime.

I styled my new denim pieces with fringe boots by Maison de Talons, J. Crew Jane sunglasses, a J. Crew monogrammed pouch and a J. Crew bandana in a Drake’s print.

Here are three more looks with my other Western Chambray Shirt (which is on sale!) : Denim on Denim, Falling into Neutral, and Beam Me Up.

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J. Crew Western Chambray Shirt

J. Crew Lookout High Rise Jean in Fairoaks Wash

J. Crew Drake’s Print Bandana

J. Crew Medium Pouch in Bright Flamingo with Monogram

Maison de Talons Fringe Boots (on sale plus 60%!) similar here with wedge heel (also on sale)

J. Crew Jane Sunglasses (on sale!)

Chanel Rouge Double Intensite Ultra Wear Lip Color in Darling Pink

Happy Shopping!

XO,

JAE