Dress Review: Trashy Diva Steel Magnolias

It was such a fitting touch when the small New Orleans based company, Trashy Diva, came out with the print, Steel Magnolias

This print was an instant fan favorite! It features a green-based grey background with large white magnolias throughout the print. The magnolias are perched on brown twigs with forest green and lime green leaves. As is Trashy Diva's signature, this dress comes in several different cuts and styles and also comes in several separates. I had a hard time choosing which cut I wanted out of this print. I ultimately went with the new Honey Sun dress style. The Honey Sun dress has the same overall cut as the honey. It features a full flaired skirt and a shelf bust with gatherings at the bust which form into a sweetheart neckline. What makes this Honey Sun dress different from the usual Honey dresses is that the back of the dress features fully adjustable cross over straps which can be worn either crossed over or not. Though the cross over in the back is what gives this dress it's fun, playful appeal in my opinion, it is also great having the option of not wearing it crossed over. Another thing that makes this Honey Sun dress stand out from the usual Honeys is that this dress is the first Trashy Diva dress in the Honey cut to ever come out in a light weight printed rayon fabric!

While I had to save up my pennies for this pretty one thing that I could not resist myself from doing was going back for the matching Carole Tie top in the Steel Magnolias print to go along with this dress. The Carole Tie Top is a cropped top with slightly puffed sleeves which ties in the front center. When worn together it's almost like if having whole other dress on!

I bought both pieces in my usual size. The Honey Sun dress fits just right, though a little long in the torso for me (who is short waisted) even when I adjust it to a shorter setting on the straps. For the Carole Tie top, I wonder if maybe I might have been able to size down. It's a very open style and feels just a touch loose to me though I have heard other people say they had to size up from their usual so I guess with this one it just depends on your frame.

While things sold out pretty fast in this print there are still some pieces available in this collection from Trashy Diva on their website. I think this print is not to be missed. It's one that can easily work for summer, fall, or spring!

Trashy Diva Honey Sun dress in Steel Magnolia- Front View

Trashy Diva Honey Sun dress in Steel Magnolia- Front View

Trashy Diva Honey Sun dress in Steel Magnolia- Side View

Trashy Diva Honey Sun dress in Steel Magnolia- Back View

Trashy Diva Honey Sun dress in Steel Magnolia (worn uncrossed in the back)- Front View

Trashy Diva Honey Sun dress in Steel Magnolia (worn uncrossed in the back)- Back View

Trashy Diva Honey Sun dress in Steel Magnolia (worn with the Carole Tie top)- Front View

Trashy Diva Honey Sun dress in Steel Magnolia (worn with the Carole Tie top)- Front View

Trashy Diva Honey Sun dress in Steel Magnolia (worn with the Carole Tie top)- Side

Outfit of the Day: Red Gingham, Blue Cats

Hello Kittens!

Here are some Outfit of the Days from a full fun weekend last weekend!


Outfit of the Day:
Saturday:
On Saturday Tim and I went to our neighbor's house to celebrate their daughter's 1 year birthday with a BBQ! Because I finally had a real BBQ to wear this red gingham dress to, and also because I knew this would probably be my last opportunity to wear this summery dress before the fall gets in full swing, I knew this would be the perfect dress to wear. I paired this Trashy Diva Trixie dress in red gingham with a red short sleeve cardigan from Forever 21 I got some years ago and nude flats by Easy Spirit which I got from Nordstrom Rack earlier in the summer. Red flats would have been my shoe of choice but I wanted to do something different from the red Vans I wore the last time I wore this dress and I'm still on the look out for some perfect, simple, and comfortable red flats.

Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Red Gingham- Front View

Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Red Gingham- Front View

Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Red Gingham- Side View

Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Red Gingham- Front View

Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Red Gingham- Front View

Trashy Diva Trixie dress in Red Gingham- Side View

Sunday:
On Sunday, as I posted in my previous post, Tim and I went to the Dancing Cat in San Jose! We were going to be in San Jose that day to go out for lunch with my sister so I said since we'll be down there let's take a trip to see the cats too! :) Because I knew the Dancing Cat cat cafe was going to happen I knew I had to wear a cat dress that day! I chose to wear this one I got from Modcloth, the Meet Me At Sunrise Dress in Smitten Kitten by Everly because, like the red gingham dress, I figured this might be the last chance I get to wear such a summery dress before fall gets into full swing. I paired this with a light rosy pink cardigan by MAK which I got from Trashy Diva and a pair of peach flats by Gabriella Rocha.

Everly Meet Me at Sunrise dress in Smitten Kitten from Modcloth- Front View

Everly Meet Me at Sunrise dress in Smitten Kitten from Modcloth- Front View

Everly Meet Me at Sunrise dress in Smitten Kitten from Modcloth- Side View

Everly Meet Me at Sunrise dress in Smitten Kitten from Modcloth- Front View

Everly Meet Me at Sunrise dress in Smitten Kitten from Modcloth- Front View

Everly Meet Me at Sunrise dress in Smitten Kitten from Modcloth- Side View

Everly Meet Me at Sunrise dress in Smitten Kitten from Modcloth- Close Up

The Dancing Cat Revisited!

On Sunday Tim and I found ourselves in San Jose and so found ourselves once again at the Dancing Cat Cat Cafe in San Jose!

Walking in for the second time I felt like I was coming home. (You can see the post from our first trip here). If I didn't know it already I know now without a doubt that the Dancing Cat in San Jose is one of my most favorite places ever! It is such a warm and inviting place and such a fun place to hang out with the clowder of cats!

We got there at about 4pm when the cats were all enjoying a leisurely recline in the late afternoon. Sleepy cats were the theme of the day, though it just made it all the more easier to sit and pet them. And while, for the most part, the cats were in their siesta mood, there was plenty of hijinks to be had!

What we walked into when we walked into the Dancing Cat! Can you spot all four?

Tim making friends

Bonnie giving her best Halloween cat impersonation

Dixie says, "Whatcha doing?"

Bonnie

Dixie

Lulu!

Bebe being good!

Bonnie again, A.K.A. Bear!

Clyde

The Dancing Cat

Kitties everywhere!

Making friends

Chill time with kitties

A kitty for each hand

All the adoptable cats

Cat themed sweets and treats for sale

Favorite seat of the house

I really enjoyed my second trip here and enjoyed getting to know these cats better and even got to meet both of the co-owners, Ann and Mary, of the Dancing Cat! Such a treat to meet the women who made this happen!

Also, I'd like to add that all of the cats at the Dancing Cat are adoptable and looking for their forever home so if you are looking for a cat or know someone who is, this is a great place to go! 

I make it my mission to come back to the Dancing Cat as often as I can before this temporary cat cafe closes November 15th!

Outfit of the Day: Warm Tone Weekend

Hello Kittens!

As I mentioned in my last post, last weekend was a fun filled weekend for me. Because my post about the Vintage Fashion Expo and Impromptu tea from last Saturday was so long I decided to keep the Outfit of the Day pics separate from the post and just combine all my Outfit of the Days from last weekend into this one post.

And so, here we go!


Outfit of the Day:
Friday:
After work last Friday my husband and I went out to dinner with my husband's mom. Since it was a Friday and we were going out to eat I really didn't need any more excuse than that to get out one of my pretty dresses to wear. We went out to Olive Garden and I knew that there is a gelato place just across the parking lot ;) so I thought this would be the perfect going out for dinner and gelato dress.

I was super lucky and randomly found this Stop Staring dress on ebay several months back for a really great price. I've been pining for this one since I saw it years ago on Gossip Girl and by that time it was already long gone from Stop Staring's stock. I paired this with some basic black flats and a black mohair cardigan for when the evening turned a bit chilly as it always does in Northern California.

Stop Staring Lura dress- Front View

Stop Staring Lura dress- Side View

Stop Staring Lura dress- Front View

Stop Staring Lura dress- Side View

Saturday:
On Saturday because my friend and I were planning on going to the Vintage Fashion Expo I knew a vintage dress was in order! I found this true vintage dress on Etsy a few years back. I love all the pintuck pleats in this dress and the adorable crochet lace on it. I paired this dress with peach Gabriella Rocha flats, cream ankle socks, and a vintage cream beaded cardigan.

Vintage 1940's 1950's Peach Crochet Lace dress- Front View

Vintage 1940's 1950's Peach Crochet Lace dress- Front View

Vintage 1940's 1950's Peach Crochet Lace dress- Side View

Vintage 1940's 1950's Peach Crochet Lace dress- Front View

Vintage 1940's 1950's Peach Crochet Lace dress- Front View

Vintage 1940's 1950's Peach Crochet Lace dress- Side View

Vintage 1940's 1950's Peach Crochet Lace dress- Close Up

Sunday:
On Sunday not only was it the last day of the last weekend of summer but it was also the hottest day of the weekend; some would even say, one of the hottest days of the summer! My friends and I spent the afternoon at the Eat Real food truck festival at Jack London Square in Oakland. Even though Jack London Square is right on the water it did little to give relief from the heat! Eat Real has been one of our summer traditions, along with the Fremont Festival of the Arts and Hayward's Walk of Wine. Unfortunately though, all three of us have noticed that each year the Eat Real festival has become less and less exciting. This year, even though the crowd was bigger than we've ever seen it, there just wasn't really anything all that exciting going on by way of food trucks. We had a hard time finding anything that really peaked our interest. We were thinking this might be the last year for us for checking out Eat Real but perhaps we will give one last try next year.

Anyhow, for this day's activities, I really felt like I picked the perfect dress to wear out-- my new Trashy Diva L'amour dress in Red Waterlilies which I paired with mustard peep toes I got from Target a few years backs. This is such a perfect summery dress and was so comfortable to wear despite the hot temperatures that day. I'm glad I was able to wear this dress on the day my friends and I bid adieu to summer.

Trashy Diva L'amour dress in Red Waterlilies- Front View

Trashy Diva L'amour dress in Red Waterlilies- Front View

Trashy Diva L'amour dress in Red Waterlilies- Side View