Wardrobe Essential :: A Silk Cami

I personally think every woman should have a silk camisole in her closet. It's perfect for dressing up or down and can easily transition from season to season. I am excited that Lilysilk reached out to introduce their silk products. Lilysilk carries everything from dresses to tops to pillow cases. Every piece is made from luxurious, 22MM silk. I ordered a 2 pack camisole in blush pink and gold to feature in this post and I am very pleased with the quality. This pack is also available in black and white. It's hard to find a good quality silk camisole at a reasonable price. They usually run around $100 each. You get two Charmeuse silk camisoles for only $79.99 (single camisoles here). Now, that's an amazing price. I also have a special discount code for you. Just use "SFDiary" at check out to get an additional 15% off your purchase. These camisoles are beautiful, well made and feel so good on the skin. I love both colors. They go with everything. You can dress a silk camisole up for a night out with statement earrings and a pair of high heels. You can also dress it down with a pair of cut off shorts when it's warm outside. Overall, I am really impressed with the quality and would highly recommend you check them out. Outfit details: Topshop jeans *my favorite jeans of all time* | Lilysilk camisole *size XS* | Gucci belt | Gucci bag | Free People sunglasses | Cartier bracelet | Rolex watch | Forever 21 earrings | similar cardigan

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Wardrobe Essential :: A Silk Cami

Celebrating another year of love

After sharing a personal story, I got several private messages from you sharing your own personal stories as well. Some of you have gone through the same process, some are currently dealing with tough times. In today's world, sharing personal matters publicly is terrifying. I didn't know what to expect but after reading your messages, I felt relieved. Someone said she found hope and confidence in my story. She hopes to have the courage to move on and find happiness later in life. You don't even know how much those words mean to me. My husband and I are celebrating 9 years of marriage today. Sadly, he's out of town on another business trip but we'll celebrate this weekend. I thought I'd share 9 things I've learned after my divorce. Outfit details: Target floral rompers *love - size XS* | Le Specs sunglasses | Cartier bracelet | Michele watch | Hermes belt

1. Do not settle - Growing up, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted in a partner. I got married when I was 23. I met someone who has a stable career, seemed to look out for my best interested, I settled. I wished I had waited a bit longer before making a life-long commitment.

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Celebrating another year of love

Amazing designer sale :: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Stuart Weitzman and more

There is an amazing sale going on right now that I think you should take advantage of. I wanted to blog about this sale this morning but I didn't get a chance to do so. I just got home from work and I am tired. However, I wanted to get on here real quick to share this sale with you. It's just too good to pass up. We're talking about Gucci bags, Saint Laurent bags, Stuart Weitzman boots, Burberry scarves, Gucci sunglasses and much more. Not to mention free express shipping and free returns. Use code ND2018 at check out to get up to 15% off all these amazing items. If you're into designer goods, you know they never go on sale. I'd greatly appreciate if you decide to make a purchase using my links below.

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Amazing designer sale :: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Stuart Weitzman and more

Boating Day

  {2018 Yamaha AR195 boat - isn't she gorgeous?}

The temperature has dropped quite a bit yesterday but the sun eventually came out. We decided to take advantage of it and took the kids out for a boat ride today. We bought this boat a little over a month ago and have been enjoying it so much. We took family and friends out every weekend since we got it. As someone who doesn't know how to swim, I don't care too much for a boat. The husband, however, grew up doing all kinds of water sports. Owning a boat was on our list but it wasn't a high priority. An opportunity came up and we were happy to pull the trigger a bit sooner. Plus, we live 5 minutes away from a beautiful lake, it's silly not to take advantage of it. From our house to the dock is literally a 5 minute drive. It warms my heart to see him in his element. Can't wait to take a boat ride next month to see the Fall foliage along the lake. Outfit details: Star sweater *super oversized* | Target sandals | AE shorts | Rolex watch | Cartier bracelet | Le Specs sunglasses

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Boating Day

Fall Essentials On Sale Right Now

Today marks the first official day of Fall! Now that the temperature is dropping, it's time to think about those Fall essentials. These pieces are closet workhorses that you can re-wear year after year. The best part is that they're on sale right now. Check them out if you're on the hunt for a few new closet essentials for Fall. Happy Saturday, ladies!

- Burgundy cardigan (40% off)
- Denim jacket (25% off - Love the wash)
- Bakerboy hat
- Grey booties (33% off)
- Long sleeve floral dress (40% off)
- Leopard scarf
- Black skinny jeans (under $50)

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Fall Essentials On Sale Right Now

Our completed master bedroom

Sharing our updated bedroom today. It's been a long process but I am so happy with the way it turned out. We used hand me down furniture from my mother in law for the past 7 years. While the set is super well built, it's not really my style. I like modern looking furniture while the husband tends to learn towards traditional style. There is no way I can convince him to put mirrored dressers in our bedroom. You probably have seen it all over Pinterest. He wants quality furniture that can stand the test of time. Not trendy pieces that will be outdated in a few years. It wasn't easy to find a bedroom set that would compromise both of our personal styles but I think we pulled it off. Gray is definitely my first choice of color when it comes to interior design. We spent quite a bit of time checking out local furniture stores as well as online stores. I stumped upon the Livingston collection from Pottery Barn and fell head over heels in love with it. It's everything that I was looking for. Pieces in the collection have traditional style with a modern twist. Not to mention, the gray washed finish is just simply perfect. The only downside is that the dresser is not big enough. While our bedroom is not the biggest, the dresser does not look proportionate. It will not create the wow factor I was looking for. We later found out the collection is also available in office furniture. We did some measurements and the Livingston office suite is perfect as a dresser/bookcase combination. I love the way it turned out. The matching bed is also available but it's too matchy-matchy for me. I love the classic tufted upholstered look with nailhead trim and decided to go with the Harper bed (Fabric = Basketweave Slub, Color = Ash). It goes with the room yet at the same time, different textures create dimension to the room.

While I love the furniture, the star of the show is this beautiful chandelier. 2 things we didn't upgrade when we built this house: light fixtures and carpet. I knew I wanted to take time to find exactly what I wanted. Light fixtures are easy to upgrade. Words cannot describe how much I love this chandelier. It's incredibly beautiful and sparkly in person. It really made the room. I ordered it in April and it just arrived last month. Mine is a large size. I plan to get the matching rectangular version for my dining room in the near future. Keep in mind if you plan to order this chandelier, each piece of crystal came in individual wrapped and there are 400 pieces of crystal for the large size. We had to hang each piece individually. It was actually a good bit of work but I can't get over how beautiful it is.

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Our completed master bedroom

Asymmetric Floral Dress

We had quite an eventful weekend. Madelyn had her birthday party on Saturday. Can't believe my little girl is 6 years old. Then we had a cookout with friends and family later in the day. Today, we took the kids to the Jurassic Quest expo and it was actually pretty good. I highly recommend you check it out if they're in your city. Then we went boating. My in laws are staying another day with the kids since they don't have school tomorrow. I wore this pretty floral dress to run errands this weekend and I love it. It's so lightweight and airy. I am wearing a size S here and it's a bit big on me. If you're my size, go with an XS. This type of dress can be easily transitioned to Fall. Just throw on a denim jacket or a leather jacket and a pair of booties and you're good to go. Outfit details: Floral maxi dress | Suede wedges | Cartier bracelet

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Asymmetric Floral Dress

A birthday well spent

TGIF! It's been a crazy busy week for us. My husband just came back from another business trip at 1:00 a.m this morning. I am so overwhelmed this week that I had to take a half day off yesterday to get some stuff done. Our little angel is turning 6 tomorrow! Where did the time go? My in-laws will be in town this weekend for her birthday party. I've been running around all week trying to get things done. Speaking of birthday, I am sharing a recap of my birthday. I seriously had the best day and feel so loved. We planned to go to NY that weekend so I didn't really have any plans for my actual birthday. My husband took a day off as well. We spent the day together while the girls were at school. We did some shopping and had lunch together. I then went in for my microneeding appointment (if you're interested in hearing about my experience, let me know). I came home and took a nap! Can't even remember the last time I took a nap. The girls came back from school, I made them dinner, spent a bit of time with them before heading out for my birthday dinner at 8:00 p.m. We came home around 1:00 a.m and I could not have asked for a better birthday.

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A birthday well spent

Q&A

Before I get into the Q&A portion of this post, I wanted to quickly review this dress. I ordered this dress and this jumpsuit for my birthday. Unfortunately, I ended up sending both of them back. The jumpsuit was a disaster. The length is super long for a size 0 petite yet the crotch area is so short. Plus the color looks very different in real life. I didn't even take photos. This dress is better but the fit is still off. It's designed to fit someone with a longer torso. It's hard to tell in these photos but the bust area is very roomy on me. Even though the lace detailing is beautiful, I decided not to keep it. Outfit details: PLT dress | Christian Louboutin pumps | Michele watch | Cartier bracelet | Gucci bag

Now onto the Q&A

1. I respect your privacy. But if you wanted to do a ten facts about you, that would be a nice read. I enjoy your blog and visit often! I appreciate the luxury and affordable things you post about. Such a nice mix.
1. I don't know how to swim =)
2. I worked at Express Distribution Center (second shift 3:30 p.m - midnight) throughout college
3. I am really terrible at directions. I can't drive anywhere without Google Maps
4. I am a creature of habit when it comes to food. I can eat the same thing everyday
5. I tend to attract to passionate, driven and motivated people
6. I am a morning person. I wake up between 5:30 a.m - 5:45 a.m everyday
7. I rarely apologize but when I do, I really mean it.
8. My biggest fear is rats. I would probably pass out if I see one.
9. My dream career is to become a pharmacist. Clearly, it didn't go as planned =)
10. Believe it or not, I find cleaning to be mentally relaxing

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Q&A

09.07.2018

Today is a very big day for me. I officially turned 40 today. We're supposed to be on our way to New York right now but something came up so we postponed the trip until the first week of October. No complains from me at all. I am enjoying my day off from work. Tomorrow, we're going out with a small group of friends for dinner to celebrate my birthday. If you're a follower of my blog, you probably heard me talking about my birthday for the past few weeks. Leading up to this day, I feel really good about where things are in my life. I woke up at 4:00 this morning with an overwhelming sense of gratefulness. I started to reflect on where I am at in life, what I accomplished so far and what goals do I set for myself. Today, I am sharing something very personal to me so that you'll have a better understanding of where I am coming from. I am a true believer that life events shape our thinking, our beliefs and our personal development. It was definitely the case for me. I ended 6 years of marriage right before I turned 30. I wouldn't say it was the darkest time of my life because it wasn't. My family was very supportive and I didn't feel like I was going through the divorce myself. However, it was definitely the lowest point of my life. I won't go too much into details. Both parties have moved on. I am obviously remarried and have my own family. The other party is remarried and has his own family as well. It doesn't matter how amicable your divorce is, it's a major life event, it's painful and tiring. The divorce for sure took a toll on me. While my parents gave me their unconditional love and support, they couldn't give me any type of guidance. What I want to do with my future was 100% on me. I distanced myself from mutual friends completely. I just wanted to stay away from drama and judgments (sad but true, people will judge you). I wanted a fresh start and took this opportunity to focus on myself. Slowly but surely, I started to discover my own identity, got to know myself better, what I truly want in life, what should I focus on and most importantly, I have a clear vision of who I am. I become stronger and more independent throughout this whole experience. Things started to turn around shortly after. The past 10 years of my life were full of ups and downs, trial and errors. Looking back, I can't help but feeling great about how far I've come. I wanted to note down some of my accomplishments as well as my goals for the next 10 years (hope you don't mind the bullet points - I am a visual learner). Outfit details: Keepsake lace dress | Rolex watch | Le Specs sunglasses | Express sandals | Chanel WOC

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09.07.2018

Camo print jacket

The print of camouflage is not something that I am particularly drawn to. However, once in a while, I like to step outside of my comfort zone and try new things. Today, I am dipping my toes into this Fall's camo trend. Here are a couple of ways to incorporate the print into my wardrobe. One of the easiest way to wear the print is to pair it with your solid and neutral pieces (since the pattern itself is already bold). This lightweight jacket adds a subtle edge to a super basic outfit. Not to mention, this transition piece works great this time of the year. Outfit details: Camo print jacket | Similar knit skirt | PLT white bodysuit | Suede wedge | Louis Vuitton mini backpack | Cartier bracelet | Rolex watch | AE shorts | GAP tee

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Camo print jacket

Labor Day Sales

I am so glad the long weekend is finally here. Monday will be my very first day off since I started my new job 2 months ago. Looking forward to spend time with my family and friends this weekend. There are so many great sales going on right now. Even though everyone is gearing up for Fall, it's still blazing hot outside. I found some amazing summer pieces at rock-bottom prices. Check them out below if you're interested. Have a fun and safe holiday weekend, everyone!

Lulu's is one of my go-to places to shop for affordable trendy pieces. I got quite a few clothing items from them in the past and they're wonderful. This weekend, you can take an additional 40% off sale items. There are some amazing pieces still available. I purchased this dress a few weeks ago and it's now 80% off (what???). I plan to take some pictures this weekend to show you. Shop the entire sale here
1. White & nude lace dress ($18 - was $62)
2. Star print wrap dress ($18 - was $52)
3. Steve Madden slide ($46 - was $78) - A great Hermes dupe! Also available in black
4. Black lace mini dress ($31 - was $175) - I purchased a size XXS. For only $31, I might pick up the coral version as well.
5. Rusty button up rompers ($17 - was $59) - Also available in olive green
6. Floral jumpsuit ($21 - was $69)

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Labor Day Sales