Christmas 2016

Oh my goodness it's been a while since I've posted on here! If you're following my Instagram account @lesoleilchic, you'll notice that I occasionally post outfit pictures on there even though I haven't been posting on the blog. I am happy to say, though, that I've officially completed my first year of grad school! It's kept me very busy all year long and I finally have a somewhat extended break (5 weeks!) until the next semester begins in mid-January. It all passed by so fast. So much has happened in the past year, but I'm thankful to be where I am and I'm looking forward to what 2017 has in store.

This year for Christmas I am wearing the Renee Green Alpine dress from Lindy Bop with my Red Varah Heels from BAIT Footwear. Thankfully I got these pictures a week ago because it's been raining hard here these past few days! Which is pretty much the extent of our winter in Southern California. I just love the festive print of this dress, and how cute is the matching cropped jacket that it came with? I've really been loving the prints on Lindy Bop dresses lately.

Dress: Lindy Bop (different cut)

Heels: BAIT Footwear

Belt: Sidecca

Necklace: Forever 21

Bag and Bracelet: Kate Spade

Underskirt: Pinup Girl Clothing

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year, a season of joy, love, and time with family. But besides the festive lights, decorations, gift-giving, and warm cozy feelings, Christmas stands for so much more; we celebrate Jesus' birth! How amazing is it that God loved us so much that He became man, came to this broken world as Jesus Christ, and died to save us from sin? I can't imagine a greater love than that!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Winter Wonderland @ Mammoth Lakes, CA

We took a spontaneous trip to Mammoth Lakes this past weekend and when I found out a few feet of fluffy snow was awaiting us, I knew I had to pack my Bernie winter dress. I was a little hesitant at first since I wasn’t sure if the weather would be too cold for a dress (even for a few minutes to snap some pics), but I packed it anyway knowing it may be my only chance for beautiful scenery that matched my dress. Thankfully, the weather ended up being sunny and perfect! It wasn’t cold at all, but my feet did get a little cold since I almost fell a few times trying to balance in the snow. Packing this outfit (dress, petticoat, shoes) took up almost half of my luggage space, but it was so worth it. The backdrop was just beautiful! I wore the dress with my Sammy Snow Dog Erstwilder brooch and cream heels from Modcloth.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Bernie Dexter
Brooch: Erstwilder

Cardigan: Sidecca

Petticoat: Leg Avenue
Tights: Unique Vintage
Shoes: Modcloth

I’m officially in week 5 of Semester 1 of my occupational therapy master's program. It’s going great so far; I'm enjoying all my classes. Going back to school after working for 3 years has definitely been a huge adjustment, but I’m happy to be transitioning from a research-oriented job to a more clinical one. The program is about 2.5 years and, God willing, I'll be graduating in May 2018. I’m excited to see what God has in store for me as I start this new chapter :).

Valentine's Day is coming up! Does anyone have plans? My boyfriend and I just celebrated our 6 year dating anniversary and because it always falls so close to V-day, we don’t usually do anything big. But it’s a great excuse to dress up of course! I'm not sure what I'll be wearing yet, but I'm certain there will be lots of red and hearts involved :).

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Cherry Sundae

I'm just realizing how quickly this year went by. It's hard to believe Christmas is only a month away! The warm weather makes it feel like it's still summer. We had 90 degree days here well into October, but it's cooled down these past few weeks. The drop in temperatures can only mean one thing... the coats, boots and colorful tights can finally come out! In the meantime, I'm still enjoying the last bits of the warm weather with this beautiful sundae print Bernie Dexter dress :). I thought my cherries necklace and strawberry red heels were the perfect additions! Pictures below...

Outfit Details:

Dress: Bernie Dexter

Shoes: Ruby Shoo

Petticoat: Leg Avenue

Necklace: Modcloth

Hair Flowers: Sidecca

Close up of the cherries and sundae print!

I'm so excited for the holiday season and transitioning into fall/winter outfits! I'm planning on being a little creative and mixing/matching pieces from last winter to make new outfits. Is anyone doing anything special for the holidays?

Blue Angels Air Show

Last weekend I was down in San Diego and had the chance to experience the super awesome annual Blue Angels Air Show. It took place at the Marine Corps Air Station military base in Miramar. It was so cool seeing all the performances by military and civilian planes! I took the opportunity to dress as patriotic as possible. After the show, we had the chance to walk around and take pictures with various planes, which I'm sharing below :).

Outfit Details:

Top: Heart of Haute via Pin Up Girl Clothing

 Skirt: Steady Clothing via Modcloth

Neck Scarf: Vintage

Heels: Qupid via Modcloth

Brooch: Erstwilder

I've been totally lazy with blog posts lately. I've been so involved with the application process for occupational therapy school (among everything else) that I haven't made blogging a priority. The good news is that by God's grace I got accepted to my #1 choice program! I start in January, which means I have a few months to enjoy before I buckle down for school. I'm going to try blogging more often until then...

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Dog Days of Summer

As a dog lover, this Bernie Dexter Dog Print dress had long been on my wish-list. I was super lucky to finally get my hands on it a few weeks ago. I pulled it out yesterday and wore it with my black cropped cardi and patent black Mary-Jane heels. My Henry's Delightful Duo brooch from Erstwilder was the most perfect finishing touch. I can't imagine wearing a more appropriate brooch with this dress!

Outfit Details:

Dress: Bernie Dexter Dog Print dress

Cardigan: Sidecca

Brooch: Erstwilder

Headscarf: Vintage

Petticoat: Leg Avenue

Heels: Chinese Laundry

I love all the different dog breeds included in this print!

I've had my hands full with a million different things lately; standardized tests, pre-req classes, volunteering, grad school applications, and working part-time. That's no excuse for my lack of blog posts, I'll admit I do get lazy when it comes to taking pictures of my weekend outfits. This 100 degrees SoCal weather has not been helping my motivation either!

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

Happiest Place on Earth

Last Friday I went to Disneyland with Edwin, my sister, and a few of our friends. We had two June birthdays in our group; what better place to celebrate than with some Disney magic? And, what better piece to wear than my train border print Jenny skirt from Pinup Girl Clothing? I was so lucky to score this skirt at the PUG Yard Sale a few weeks ago! I had it taken up 3" to hit just below my knee and now it's perfect. I'm glad there was about 6" of fabric below the lowest part of the print so hemming it didn't cause the print to come too close to the edge. Ideally, these pictures would have been taken in front of the castle in Fantasyland, but the lighting wasn't great at the time we there so I had them taken here, in front of people's strollers... at least the lighting was nice!

Outfit Details:

Sunflower Mouse Ears: Little Crafty Queen

Top: Le Bomb Shop

Cardigan: Sidecca

Belt: borrowed from another dress

Brooch: Erstwilder

Skirt: Pinup Girl Clothing

Shoes: Restricted via Modcloth

It's so much fun spinning in this skirt :). And I just love the details of the print. This was my first purchase from the Mary Blair collection and I want all the different prints now.

Closer view of my top half, including the lovely Ula the Unicorn Erstwilder brooch!

Me with my Goofy!

One of the great things about Disneyland is the whole magical Disney vibe everywhere you go. The rides, the shows, the characters, the shops, the food, it's difficult to feel anything but happy! Right now Disneyland is celebrating their 60th diamond anniversary so a lot of the attractions are special edition, such as the beautiful "Paint the Night" Electrical Parade that we ended our day with. Even though we were exhausted by the end, I had an absolute blast and can't wait to go back again.

Do you have anything fun planned for this summer?