A Young Girl Reading | Style Imitating Art

Happy Style Imitating Art Day! This week we are getting our sartorial mitts on “A Young Girl Reading“ byJean-Honoré Fragonard. This one was pretty easy as it plays with two of my favorite colors. Yellow and mauve is a color combo that sits nicely in my heart as it is just so soft and pleasant.

I also enjoyed how the collar on my top, which is actually a dress, is a modern take on the collar the girl wears in the painting. I would have worn just the yellow dress, but it fits poorly and there are not many tweaks known to me that make it look decent. I can't alter it myself because the construction is a bit complicated and yet, I can't let it go. It was my favorite dress for years and I've never seen it's equal. So, it will remain in my closet, occasionally serving as a top until some other factor pops up and allows me to do something definitive with it.

My shoes don't fit well either. But, they're yellow too. So, obviously they must stick around, as well.

Make sure to check out Jen's blog for the full round-up of art inspired looks!

Sweater: Gap (similar, similar) | Top (dress) Eshakti (exact in navy, similar) | Skirt: Modcloth (similar) | Shoes: Modcloth (similar) | Lips: Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Patina

Having Fun with Kids and Still Saving Money | Family Life + Advice

As you might know, I recently had some family members lose their entire home to a fire. It was completely devasting to them and those of us around them. Afterwards, we personally kicked up our fire safety a notch in our house but it never quite feels like enough. Because this is such a personal topic to me, I was really excited to hear about the Gurnee Mills Fire Expo.

It's a free event for families that teaches fire prevention and safety, but also wraps it up in a fun little package that kids will love. I mean, hello, a firetruck alone is enough to make my kids' day. I'm always looking for free things to do because it's expensive taking a family of five anywhere. There are so many fun and often educational events to do out in the community that don't cost a thing and I would encourage anyone with kids to ditch the idea that every outing has to be at an expensive play place.

Some great places that host or advertise free activities are nature centers, the library, local businesses, and even community facebook groups. The members there frequently post about free events happening close to home. I learned about Princess Day at the Domes through a local babywearing group!

Enjoying our last free event, an earth day celebration at the nature center

Below you will find the description of the Gurnee Mills fire Expo and the itinary if you are local and would like to check it out for yourself.

GURNEE, Ill. (April 26, 2016) – Back by popular demand, Lake County’s Fire Safety Expo will return to Gurnee Mills on Saturday, May 14. The free interactive event, sponsored by the Lake County Fire Chiefs Association, aims to help prevent house fires and keep families safe. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. and run through 3:00 p.m. in Gurnee Mills’ Parking Lot E, near Value City Furniture. 

Multiple safety teams will demonstrate the latest fire prevention tips and give families an opportunity to learn through interactive activities while enjoying food, refreshments and prizes. All day events for the Fire Safety Expo include: Kids Combat Challenge, Fire Safety Smoke House, Kids Fire Pole, Lake County Dive Team Exhibit, Grayslake FD Fire Safety Trailer, Free Teddy Bear Clinic, Fire Safety Sprinkler Trailer, Free Blood Pressure Checks, Kids Passport to Safety and Free Fire Truck Rides.   

“Gurnee Mills hosts many community events throughout the year, and the Fire Safety Expo is definitely one of our favorites,” said Elizabeth Striegel, Director of Marketing and Business Development. “Fire safety affects all Lake County residents and we are delighted to team with the Lake County Fire Chiefs Association to help further educate local families on this important issue in such a fun and engaging way.”

A complete schedule of events for the day is listed below.

·         10:00 a.m. – Fire Expo Opens

·         10:30 a.m. – Trench Rescue Demonstration

·         11:00 a.m. – Lake County High Angle Demonstration

·         11:30 a.m. – Waukegan Fire Department Bomb Squad

·         11:45 a.m. – Side by Side Demonstration (of homes with a fire-sprinkler system and without)

·         12:30 p.m. – Auto Extrication Demonstration

·         1:00 p.m. – K-9 Demonstration

·         1:30 p.m. – Wild Land Fire Demonstration

·         2:00 p.m. – Raffle (Main Stage)

Links à la Mode

I was featured on Links a la Mode again this time around. Please check out the other awesome links below!

Links à la Mode, May 5

1. Al Balsam Life: Met Gala 2016 | Iconic Fashion Moments
2. Alive as Always: Mix It Up a Notch | Babydoll Batik
3. The Antisocialista: I Like Big Buds and I Cannot Lie
4. Arisgold: Five Reasons to Wear a Romper
5. Cat Eyes & Skinny Jeans: May Crush List
6. The Classy Junk: Black and Taupe | Outfit
7. Distinguished Diva: Style Tip | The Easiest Way to Tie Ankara Headwrap | Video Tutorial
8. The Dragonfruit Diaries: Beauty | Nightly Skincare Routine
9. Everyday Starlet: Man Repeller | Seeking Love. Finding Overalls by Leandra Medine | Review
10. The Fashionista Momma: Leather On Leather
11. Finite 1: It’s Easy as 1-2-3
12. Hey Just Jei: Mother’s Day Gifts to Make Mom Shine
13. Les Assorties: Armadio | Undiscovered Italian Luxury Discovered
14. Life in the Fash Lane: Summery Stripes
15. Modavracha: Is Pyjamas Fashion Trend Stylish or Merely Comfortable?
16. Sweet Tea Salvage: 10 Cute Bike Helmets
17. Tales of Two: Channeling Your Inner Garden Nymph
18. Vanity and Me: A Classic Look for Spring
19. The Wanderbliss: Mustard
20. We Are Ready Made: Rumour Has It

SPONSOR: Shopbop TRYB212, Diane von Furstenberg Dresses, Zimmerman Swimwear, Capwell + Co., Round Towel Co., Style Mafia, Crop Tops, Mules, Statement Necklaces, Men's Moschino

Shaped by Style

I'm over at Shaped by Style with an outfit featuring this lovely necklace from Emily. Check it out!

Floral Circle Skirt | Outfit

We took advantage of the stellar outdoor space outside of The Soda Parlor for these outfit photos. The little patio is right under a water tower and there are cafe lights strung about the support beams. It's all kinds of wonderful to hang out there for a while. It happens to be the reason I fell Alanis Morissette style head over feet in love with the city the first time we came through. Can I just hobo it up and squat in that water tower? I can just tell it was meant to be my home.

Our first time visiting Nashville, we were driving home from Georgia and we arrived in full road trip attire. Comfy, frumpy, and slightly smelly. I really didn't think anything of it because it's Nashville, right? Home of country music. Besides some long gone artists from another era, I can't think of a single country music artist that I personally would consider a style icon. Real talk here. I don't really consider country music very cool. However, when we arrived, I was surprised to find the locals to be much like Milwaukee city dwellers. They had a creative, current, and unique flair to their style that isn't exactly meant for the streets of New York or Paris, but it's all about personality. These were my people and I was in road trip clothes! I immediately went into emergency mode; cuffing and tying things into a suitable outfit. It's not that I think it's some huge faux pas not to be dressed to the standards of those around you. Seriously. Eff that. For me it's about being a part of the fun and I was missing an opportunity to be a part of a scene that I connected with!

I was not going to make that mistake the second time around. I packed my new favorite outfit in a bag and changed from my wrinkly road trip clothes in a truck stop bathroom because this was going to happen! And, yes, this outfit was worth a truck stop change. I am in love with circle skirts, but the weight of this slinky fabric has the most amazing fluidity to it. Combining that with the twirl-ability of a circle skirt and you've got nirvana.

Of course, that wasn't enough for me. Adding the clashing red shoes (I created cohesion by wearing a matching red lip) and the boater hat took the outfit to a spunkier, quirkier level that made me oh so very happy. Especially because both were totally practical choices. The hat provide sun coverage for my sun phobic skin and Saltwater Sandals form to your feet, guys! Just by following the instructions included in the box, they fit perfectly. Which meant they were so comfortable to walk in all day. The marriage of form and function just gets me into a happy place.

No regets this time around. I did it up. Check out yesterday's post to see the photographic evidence of our fun!

Shirt: Target (exact in stripe pattern, similar in plus) | Skirt: Modcloth (similar colors, similar style) | Shoes: Modcloth | Hat: Thrifted (similar) | Lips: Colourpop's Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick in Succulent

Nashville | Life

If you follow me on snapchat, you'll know that I took an impromptu trip to Nashville last weekend. If you're not following me, you should because it's delightfully mundane and weird (username: nmettille). It happened after my brother messaged me last week and said, "Let's drive down to Nashville for the day!" And I was all, "Ok!" 

All right. I was actually all, "I doubt that will work, but I will talk to my husband." And then a day later I was all, "Ok!" So, we did. We left Thursday night at ten and got back Saturday morning around nine. My Uncle is staying down there for a while after having a bone marrow transplant and we went mainly to visit him. He seems to be in good spirits and hearing the deep, resonating timbre of his voice was good for my soul. We also made a few sight seeing stops and we definitely visited The Soda Parlor, which is the business of our favorite youtuber, Olan Rogers.

This is my dream print. She will be mine. Oh, yes. She will be mine.

The Soda Parlor is located in Marathon Village, which is an insanely cool industrial building. It was an old automobile factory and retains much of it's historical significance by displaying machinery throughout the spacious passages between the shops. We spent most of our time there walking around flexing our photography muscles with the amazing architecture. The Soda Parlor itself serves (delicious) specialty floats and sells Olan Roger's apparel and merchandise. I've featured one of his t-shirts here on the blog because as good of a comedian as he is, he is an equally good designer. The intention of the Soda Parlor was to be a place for Olan to host his many fan appreciation events and connect with his followers. He's video on the making of it is totally worth a watch as it's full of the heart and passion that he puts into everything. Full disclosure. I cried.

This was a rose and cardamon flavored marshmallow. It tasted like old lady.

After that we had some time to kill before we met up with our family. We pretty much just wandered around for a while and followed interesting sights and sounds around like bread crumbs. That lead us to the very clear Tourist Trap Neighborhood as most of places were noisy bars and every other girl on the street was wearing short shorts and cowboy boots. That bit was a shock as it was markedly different than the cool, historical, urban vibe of the rest of the city. However, we did go into this cute little candy shop that felt appropriate to capture on film because of my recent homage to places like it. 

This is my second very short trip to Nashville and it certainly hasn't been enough. I will find my way back to this city since I have so much else to experience there! Stay tuned for my Nashville outfit post, tomorrow! Hint: It is NOT short shorts and cowboys boots.

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose | Style Imitating Art

source

Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there. I was too busy enjoying this gorgeous painting. Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent. Please, come join me.

Aaaaah...isn't it wonderful?

Good thing it's this week's pick for Style Imitating Art so, I get to enjoy it on several levels. I took a break from SIA as to not interrupt the candy shop flow from last month, but I am back at again and could this be a better painting to jump back in with? No Chandler sarcasm intended. That's all genuine enthusiasm.

This flowing romantic maxi was an obvious choice with it's pastel lily print spread across the pale, neutral fabric. I've been waiting for this dress to make it's debut on the blog because look at it. I originally saw it on A Clothes Horse and fell madly and desperately in love. This dress is one of the rare instances where I found something on a blog and was actually able to make it my own. It took some work as I had to wait two full weeks to buy it and with most heavily discounted items on Asos, it quickly disappeared one size at a time. Not to be completely defeated, I stalked all the different sections it was carried in (straight, plus, tall, and maternity) until one that would fit me was restocked. It must have been a return because there was only one, but I triumphed. And even though it is complately sold out now, if you have fallen madly in love I have hand selected an array of tasty, similar treats for you because I know how depressing it is to fall in love with something you can never have.

Please head to 14 Shades of Grey tomorrow to see the full round up of everyone's looks!

Dress: Asos (similar and similar in straight sizes, similar and similar in plus) | Shoes: It's a secret. I'll never tell. | Lips: Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Pure Hollywood