Trinity Place $500 Sweepstakes

Trinity Place is a department store that specializes in adorable styles - dresses, cute shoes, and all things romantic seem to fill the online store. I found myself in love with their vintage style selection, so I wanted to share this $500 store credit giveaway they are currently running with you. Here are some of my favorites and what I would pick if I won.

Bunny Motive Flat $49.00 // Pillarbox Red Leather Satchel $154.99 // Bastille Bracelet $18.00

Contrast Collar Dress $90.00 // Foxy Combo Dress $88.00 // Driving Ms Daisy Blazer $99.00

Total :: $498.99

So go enter the sweepstakes here!

Recipe : Grilled Potatoes and Onions

Years ago, Jason and I moved into our home and got all excited to get a grill. Sad part was, we never really figured out where to put one, so two years passed without a grill. Once we moved into our new place, we found we had the perfect deck for grilling out. I was so excited to be able to make potatoes and onions on the grill, one of my favorite things my mom made when we grilled out at home.

That's The Last Straw

I have been planning this post for so long, waiting and anticipating the day I would be able to reveal that third and final resolution (the full one) I couldn't share with you back in January. This post has been written for awhile, even before I knew what exactly would happen. You see the planner in me needed to try her best to plan that which was unplannable. So, big breath in. Big breath out.....

I've got a new position, as in job. One of the big new year's resolutions was to move on from where I was working, whether it be moving across the country because Jason had a new job or moving down the road to get me into a new one. My work situation got progressively worse over the past year, and I felt like my time was limited there. I watched nearly everyone on my team, which I moved here to be a part of and that I loved working with, be let go. I have been lucky in the past to work at stable companies with employees that stayed for years, so this experience was definitely, well, an experience, but I am glad to be moving on. I have made some great friends in Pennsylvania who I will stay in contact with forever, and I wouldn't change a single way Jason and I chose to do things. So this goes out to Julie, Jim, Adriane, and Shauna - you were all wonderful to work with and have become great friends to me and my family. I am lucky to have met you all both professionally and personally, thank you for helping me grow over this time and believing in me and my work. I couldn't have grown so much without you all!

I am really excited about my new position - it's truly going to be a great new leap for me. I'm no longer working in pure product design and focusing on more graphics and web design, which is what I feel like I have been more into doing for awhile now. This is also why I have been so crazy busy lately. It's not easy to have a blog, move, and be interviewing for multiple positions all while having a full-time job. I am really so excited, and this outfit was my 'power outfit' I wore on the day I officially resigned. A dog print dress, bright heels, and a cheeky bag that just felt right for the occasion. We treated ourselves to a night out at the Circular Dining room at the Hotel Hershey - a fun and yummy dinner that ended with congratulatory chocolate strawberries.

cavorting canines dress :: anthropologie via ebay

belt :: modcloth remixed

wedges :: enzo anglioni remixed

bag :: kate spade

headband :: free people remixed

necklace :: target remixed

ring :: kate spade remixed

May's Sweet Sixteen

This will be the last of the sweet sixteen / nifty nine sponsor posts as I am changing things up a bit next month! You'll have to wait to see, but here's a great farewell post with tons of lovely girls.

//I adore this little floral lace dress that Sara wore perfectly in a field of flowers.
//Katie looks amazing in this lace top and shorts! Such a great combo.

//Kelsey's dress is a really interesting print and pairs perfectly with the beautiful flowers in this post. Also, her eyes are always like magazine cover beautiful. If what I'm saying here makes sense.
//Jessica got this dress from Ashley, and I absolutely adore it! Plus, her big hats always make me wish I could pull her outfits for derby.

//Chloe and I are kindred, animal-outfit wearing spirits. I would totally wear this outfit and might try and copy it.
//If I were going to wear jeans ever again, the only way I would do it would to be how Bevin did it here.
//Elana is back home from college for the summer, but her last outfit from Illinois is beyond adorable and perfect in every way. I love red and blue together like this!
//Marisa lives by the prettiest lake, and I adore this little nautical themed photoshoot.
//I'm completely smitten with this detailed jacket that Meghan wore.
//Ridgulous is a brilliant smart dog collar idea that can have a GPS fence, track your dog, speak to your dog, and more. It's seriously amazing - I would love to have one for Raynor as I fear her getting lose (even though she never has in the 4 years she's been with us).
//This Marrakesh vegetable curry sounds like nothing I have ever had before, and amazing too.
//Em went exploring in Michigan and came back with brilliantly beautiful photos that make me want to explore there too.

Style Icon :: Ali of the Drawing Mannequin

Ali of the Drawing Mannequin is amazing, there's no other way to put it. She's insanely creative, hilarious, nerdy, and stylish beyond my wildest dreams. She's the type of person you'd see walking down the street and want to be her. I want to be her BFF. Because not only is she beautiful, she's nice. She's a genuinely pleasant person, and her blog is just full of such inspiration for me. She's an artist - a damn good one at that - and her style is really inspiring. I was really excited to have her as my May style icon - I got happier and happier as I read her answers to my questions (she likes Pokemon AND Full Metal Alchemist. Swoon.) Hand down, Ali is my biggest girl crush. So here's her answers to my questions!

You've had your blog for quite a long time - since 2009. What inspired you to begin a style blog, especially at a young age! 
I can always remember loving to dress up since I was a wee grasshopper (fuzzy Disney princess crowns and oversized pearl necklaces, anyone?), but it all truly began in my high school years--I can specifically remember joining Tumblr and discovering tons of these fun fashion blogs that people who liked to dress up had. I've always been one to dress up, and so taking pictures of my outfits and smacking them on the interwebs totally made sense. Plus, I'm rather into archiving memories, creating things, and writing short little blips about my life (I've kept a diary since the day I learned to write), so transitioning those things into the form of a blog was pretty natural.

How would you describe your style if you had to? Any big influences on your style?
I totally have to say that Michael Jackson was one of my biggest inspirations fashion-wise. The loafers, the oxfords, the ankle socks, the totally badass jackets and blazers adorned with zippers, buttons, and the like... He had it all. I don't know if I channel my inner MJ as much as I used to, but he was definitely influential in some of my earlier outfits. As for now, I just make up outfits based off random color palettes I see around in everyday life (like Ketchup and Mustard) or nerdy little puns. But really, there's no magic system! Usually I just dig around and decorate myself until what I'm wearing feels right.

Your art is really impressive! I love that you share on your blog and how your artistic side shows through in your outfits and photos as well. What are some of your favorite pieces you've done?
Ooooh, you're too lovely to say that! My favorite right now would have to be this guy, Dreamstacks.

 I definitely feel like it's the beginning to a whole new world of drawings that I'm going work with when I start getting into my upper level art classes in the upcoming Fall semester. I want to start rendering these fairly undefined objects that have flowy lines and allude to some kind of hidden feeling or subconscious idea. I just really love playing with lines,' cause they can vary in thickness and sharpness and be anything at all! Lines are just great. 

You're also a bit of a geek too! What are some of your favorite movies or games? 
Oh, man--don't even get me started! I'm a huge Legend of Zelda nerd. Huge. I totally have a playable ocarina in real life and I'd have to say that my favorite Zelda games are Ocarina of Time and the Oracle series, though Twilight Princess is pretty rad, too. Honestly, I can't pick--I really like them all! Oh, and we can't forget Pokemon--Pokemon is life, and has been my life since I picked it up and played it on my prized clear purple gameboy. I hope I can play Pokemon games until I'm rotting in my grave. I'm not as much of a movie watcher, though I do watch a few of the better known anime and cartoon series--namely Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, and currently I've been rewatching... da da da... Justice League!

If you only had one meal you could eat for the rest of your life, what would it be? 
I'd have to go with Fuji apples smothered in raw cashew butter. There is literally nothing better to fill an empty soul (and stomach!) than that. The combination is so sweet and tangy, and the taste and texture cashew butter totally resembles cookie dough--'tis most excellent!

Be sure to follow along with Ali on her blog, Tumblr, and Flickr.

Busy Little Bees

I think life finally caught up with me. Jason and I have been scurrying lately it feels, and while this isn't a bad thing, it certainly makes difficult for outfit photos (I actually didn't take outfit photos for the past TWO weekends, and only on Sunday this weekend.) This coming from a girl who usually has outfits scheduled awhile in advance, this is one of few times you will actually see an outfit only 2 days after I actually wore it. I love dressing up for errands on weekends - there is something about wearing a strapless dress while parading a giant shepard's hook around Lowe's that makes me immensely happy. I'm also really happy that the weather has been beautiful, sunny, and perfectly spring like. I'm still playing catch up though - my blog comment inbox is crazed (the most it has ever been) an I haven't checked some of my favorite blogs in weeks. Eek! Still, I don't think I'm a 'bad blogger', I'm just a normal person who gets caught up in the whirlwind too.

sweater :: j crew factory remixed

belt :: target remixed

native birds dress :: anthropologie (available on ebay) remixed

sandals :: charles by charles david remixed

tote :: shinzi katoh remixed

bracelet :: kate spade remixed

necklace :: rusty chain jewelry remixed

DIY :: Polka Dot French Tip Nails

I wanted to do something fairly simple for this DIY - something that you could wear out without having animals or something too weird on your nails. I decided to try a polka dotted French tip - and it turned out to be pretty easy. All you need is two nail polishes, a toothpick or bobby pin, and a bit of patience!

Also, my Twitter is randomly suspended. Won't you follow me at @corgisandcocktails now? Thanks :D
It's back up! You can still find me at @corgiscocktails though, I have officially changed my Twitter handle.