eshakti

The Beauty of Spring

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Spring and Autumn are my two favorite seasons. I would be entirely happy if we just switched back and forth between them. Spring reminds me that there are always new beginnings and new adventures around the corner. I recently celebrated the Spring Equinox (Ostara) as well as my 43rd birthday, usually we take a trip to Paris for my birthday, but this year my husband had a work trip planned to the Dutch city of Utrecht and I got to tag along. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Utrecht and we even took the train into Amsterdam a few times to explore the city. This was my first time visiting the Netherlands and I very much enjoyed my time there. We are actually going back next month to see the Keukenhof gardens when my husband’s mom comes to visit, so I will have tons of photos of beautiful tulips then.

On our last full day we visited the Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam’s Botanical Garden. It’s one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. It was established in 1638 by the city municipality as Hortus Medicus, an herb garden with medical plants for Amsterdam’s doctors and pharmacists. The reasons for establishing a specialized medical garden were very serious: at that time the cities of Leiden and Utrecht experienced the plague epidemic (1634-1637) with thousands of victims. Additionally, several monasteries moved out of the quickly growing city and there was not enough space in Amsterdam to plant herbs.

Of course I had to wear a floral print dress to visit a botanical garden. I love botanical gardens and this one did not disappoint. If you are in Amsterdam I recommend you take a few hours and stroll through these gardens.

Dress ~ eShakti
Belt ~ Amazon
Shoes ~ Soft Spots 

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Shot to the heart

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It’s been quite a while since I got all glammed up just for a photo shoot. When this dress from eShakti arrived, I immediately started planning out how I wanted to style this dress. However the weather clearly didn’t get my request for clear skies. But it’s ok, we made the best of it.

Normally I shy away from anything with cutesy hearts on it, but this hearts and arrows dress is so reminiscent of the iconic sweater that Ginger Rogers wore in the 1938 movie Carefree as well as the dress that House of Schiaparelli came out with in 2014, that I just couldn’t resist. I’m a sucker for garments with embroidery and this dress did not dissapoint.

 

Dress ~ eShakti
Velvet Hat ~ Vintage, purchased at an antique mall in Maryland
Corset purse ~ Hot Topic
Gloves ~ Vintage, gifted from my godmother
Umbrella ~ Vintage, purchase at a flea market
Shoes ~ Cheslea Crew

 

Ginger Rogers in Carefree
Ginger Rogers in Carefree
Schiaparelli 2014

 

Casual Charm

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I sometimes struggle with casual styles. I do try to dress in a fairly casual way when just running errands or doing simple daily tasks. Most of time, I still feel overdressed compared to the general population, but I’m trying to change my mindset a bit on what I feel could be considered casual. I’m not a jeans a t-shirt kind of gal and I do try and dress appropriately for whatever activity I’m performing. I’m always most comfortable in dresses and skirts and they do not inhibit me in my daily life.

So moving forward, I’d like to share more of my casual styles here on my blog and hopefully get feedback from you, my followers on your own favorite casual styles.

Today I was simply running errands…picking up my mail, running to IKEA and bit of grocery shopping. The style of this dress is maybe on the high end of the casual scale (with the tux pleating and key hole front), but since it’s a comfortable cotton material, I feel like that makes it more appropriate as a day dress. And with adding a tan belt and tan low oxfords, it really creates a comfortable casual style. I’m also always trying new hairstyles out and this is one I love. As we are heading into Fall now, I can wear my hair down more without sweating down my back.

What are some of your “go-to” casual pieces?

Dress ~ eShakti
Belt ~ Amazon
Shoes ~ Rocket Dogs (sadly no longer available)

Strolling in a Baroque Garden

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Just an hour and fifteen minutes from our house, is this beautiful 17th century Baroque Palace, Schwetzingen Palace. We took a tour of the palace and stunning formal gardens this weekend. Unfortunately photos inside of the palace were not allowed, however outside in the colorful formal gardens, it was all fair game.

It was quite hot and there were about 20 weddings/photo shoots going on in the gardens, so we were a bit limited to where we could shoot. But since its so close, we will be going back for more.

Hat ~ Vintage from The Vintage Hat Shop
Dress ~ eShakti
Brooch ~ Vintage Jade Butterfly, gifted from my Mom
Necklace ~ Jade and silver from Morocco, gift from my Gentleman 
Umbrella ~ Vintage 
Purse ~ Vintage
Shoes ~ Rocket Originals 

 

Out of winter…into Spring

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This winter was especially rough for me. I found it hard to find the motivation to get out and do things. Hence, the lack of posts here on my blog. Once the Christmas Markets are over, there really isn’t much happening here. And with it being so cold, wet and dark, I just really wanted to stay indoors and keep warm.

But today…today was absolutely glorious!!! It was sunny and warm and the birds are singing their beautiful songs. The trees are still bare, but you can really feel the pulse of life coming back after a long winter. Spring is finally here!!!

So, we spent the morning at the Homburg Flea Market with our friends and then ran some errands. On the way home we decided to drive a different way and ended up at the top of a small mountain where there is a nature park and a lovely hotel. We’ll have to come back and visit the nature park as they have goats, donkeys, horses and other animals roaming around. There are also beautiful raptors and other birds that you can view in a natural setting.

This dress has such a lovely 1930s silhouette. The elegant style of the 1930s is what I strive for, but my figure doesn’t always lend itself to it. So anytime I can find a dress that has that 1930s feel, and looks this good on me, I get so excited. And of course these shoes from Remix and my vintage 1930s hat are the perfect accompaniment.

Dress ~ eShakti
Hat ~ Vintage from My Vintage Hat Shop on Etsy
Shoes ~ “Boardwalk” from Remix Vintage Shoes
Purse ~ Vintage from a flea market
Umbrella ~ Vintage from a flea market 

Another beautiful week in Paris

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We were fortunate enough to have another long weekend in my favorite city, Paris. We took the fast train in on Thursday and stayed until Sunday. It’s not nearly enough time to spend in such a fantastic city, but it’s nice to be so close. We are going to make a point to visit every 3 months this year so we can experience all of the seasons. I’m also going to make more of an effort to photograph my outfits and excursions in Paris more.

The weather was lovely, a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings, but beautifully crisp and sunny during the day. So I’ll chronicle the four days of outfits here.

DAY ONE

After strolling around the 5th Arr. that afternoon, we attended a book signing/reading for Greg Proops’ book The Smartest Book in the World at Shakespeare & Company on Thursday night. We ended up hanging out and chatting with him afterwards for a little while, which was a real treat.

Our hotel is very near the Musee de Cluny and nearby is a quaint little park which makes for a delightful backdrop for photos.

Dress – eShakti
Purse ~ Mod Cloth
Brooch ~ The Jewellery Cloud
Shoes ~ Naturalizer

DAY TWO

We spent our second day at Disneyland Paris, we renewed our Annual Pass so we’ll be able to enjoy more Disney outings though out the year. We decided not to bring the big camera to Disneyland this time, so not many photos were taken.

Cardigan ~ Emmy Designs
Blouse ~ Tatyana
Sweater Vest ~ Land’s End
Trousers ~ Pinup Girl Clothing
Brooch ~ Kirbee Art

DAY THREE

Saturday was the sunniest and most beautiful day we were there. On our way to a museum, we strolled through the delightful Luxembourg Gardens and stopped at the Medici Fountain for a quick photo op.

Top ~ Slash Top from Vivien of Holloway
Skirt ~ Mod Cloth
Shoes ~ Naturalizer

DAY FOUR

On our final day in Paris, we took a leisurely breakfast and walked down along the Seine to the Jardin des Plantes. I could spend days walking around this garden, which includes a Ménagerie, the Natural History Museum, beautiful greenhouses and so much more.

The trees and flowers were just starting to bloom in Paris and it wasn’t quite as glorious as it will be in a few months, but it’s still an amazing place to walk around and take in all the loveliness.

Dress ~ eShakti
Beret ~ Broosky
Brooch ~ The Jewellery Cloud
Shoes ~ Remix Vintage Shoes

Matchy-Matchy

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I have always loved the show “What Not to Wear” and one of the lines that always stuck with me was “It doesn’t have to match, but it does have to GO”. I’m reminded of that quote all the time when trying to put outfits together. But sometimes a perfect match is just what an outfit needs for perfection.

I bought this scarf a year ago to wear as a turban (I’ve worn it several times), and I love the colors in it. When I found this eShakti dress I knew it was a perfect match for my much loved turban. Usually when I wear a turban, I want it to compliment the colors, texture or print that I’m wearing, and I think this does all three.

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Dress ~ eShakti
Turban ~ Plaid scarf from Primark
Brooch ~ Curiousity Shope on Etsy
Shoes ~ “Playtime” from Re-Mix Shoes
Lipstick ~ Red Velvet from Besame Cosmetics

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I recently bought these adorable shoes from Re-Mix Vintage Shoes. And as with most on-line buying I was worried about how they would fit/look/feel. I was not disappointed at all. I have very painful plantar fasciitis and I can’t wear a lot of my cute shoes right now. I also have to wear insoles to help with my condition, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that my insoles fit comfortably in these shoes and I was able to wear them all day without any extra strain on my feet. I think I’ll have to get another pair…maybe in blue???
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And lets’ just take a moment to adore this charming brooch. I have several “culinary” type brooches, but this is a complete set and it’s just amazing.

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