business casual Archives - Popcorn and Pandas

2013 Fashion Round Up

These are a few of my favorite outfit posts from 2013. The past year has been a wild ride full of ups and downs, but I am so grateful for how everything has turned out. These past four months have been especially wonderful watching my little boy grow up right before my eyes and spending time during the holidays as a family of three. I am going to soak in this last week of being a stay-at-home mom and enjoy every minute of snuggles before going back to work. Hope you all have been enjoying the little break, and wishing you all the best in the new year to come. I’m looking forward to a bright future ahead in 2014!

XO,

Gina

Stripes, Polka Dots, and Sparkle

I donned this get-up on a “business” lunch the other week with my boss and coworkers. Nico was in tow, which is why the business is in quotes, and it was more of a catch up session on what’s been going on in the past few months as well as a chance for my office to meet my little guy. I liked this stripe, polka dot, and sparkle mix so much I decided to sport it again while on our trip to Maryland over the holiday. Pattern mixing can sometimes be tough, but I think it works well when you keep within the same color palette. How do you all feel about pattern mixing?

Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Striped Blazer: GAP – now on sale! / Polka Dot Button Up: J. Crew (old) – similar / Sparkly Loafers: Seychelles / Jeans: Motherhood / Watch: Coach (old) – similar / Lip: Lancome Groupie

The holidays are in full force! We put up our tree last night and decorated the house. It was so sweet to watch Nico’s eyes and smile grow wide when he saw us putting up all the lights. He was kicking so hard with joy in his rock-and-play, I thought he might jump out and try to help! We did get him a super cute sock monkey stocking and a brand new ornament which he helped to put on the tree. It’s crazy to think how different this Christmas is from last year’s. I even cried while dancing to Silent Night with my little family. Ok, enough of the emo stuff. Nico and I are off to his 3 month doctor’s appointment today. Hope you all are enjoying the week and the holiday season!

XO,

Gina

I Didn’t Listen

Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Blazer: Target / Peplum Top: StyleMint – sold out, but also like this one and this one / Pants: Motherhood / Sunnies: ModCloth / Leopard Pumps: Liz Claiborne – on sale! / Necklace: Forever 21 / Watch: Michael Kors / Bracelets: Baublebar and Henri Bendel / Earrings: ALDO / Lip: MAC Candy Yum Yum

I didn’t listen. They told me not to wear white. “You’re a new mom. Moms just can’t wear white.” I despised this statement. I thought to myself, “I can rock white. Just because I’m a mom, now I can’t wear white? But I like white. Who cares what they say. I’m going to be a rebel and do it anyway.” So I flounced around in ivory lace skirts and more recently in this winter white blazer. Well, I’m sad to say, everyone was right. This white blazer lasted no more than an hour on our leisurely Saturday afternoon. I won’t go into details, but you can probably imagine a scenario or two that could have happened to my white blazer. The only upside was that I got to (had to) buy a new sweater to wear for the rest of the day. The take away from this experience: I am not going to stop wearing white. However, I will most likely save my white wearing days for those when I am back in the office with no little munchkins around.

It’s starting to get chilly here in New York City, and I am getting super excited for a little mini vacay we are taking to Florida on Wednesday! The weather is looking nice and warm for our trip, and I have a fresh mani/pedi for the occasion (thanks hubby for watching Nico so I could enjoy 90 minutes of bliss). It’s time to get packin’ over here.

Hope you all enjoy the week!

XO,

Gina

Preppy With A Twist {Guilty Jean Series #2}

Here is my 2nd look from the Guilty Jean photo shoot over the weekend. I was definitely enjoying the sunshine on this beautiful, glorious Saturday! For this look, I purposefully chose the same Guilty Jean jewelry pieces as my last outfit post to show how versatile this line can be. Even if you don’t see yourself as someone who is “edgy” or “punk rock,” you can still glam up your look with Guilty Jean’s designs. This particular look gives the preppy business casual girl a little edge. I love how these pieces work so well with a variety of different personal styles, and I plan to rock these jewels no matter what I’m wearing!

Photos by: Zack Notes / Edited by: Myself

Yellow Button Down: GAP / Blazer: GAP / Jeans: Motherhood Maternity / Pretty Little Evil Necklace: c/o Guilty Jean (on sale!) / Turquoise Bracelet: c/o Guilty Jean (on sale!) / Sinner & Saint Bracelet: c/o Guilty Jean (on sale!) / Clutch: Express – similar / Sparkly Flats: Nordstrom Rack / Watch: Michael Kors / Ring: Banana Republic – similar here and here / Sunglasses: Ann Taylor LOFT / Lip: Mix of MAC Candy Yum-Yum and Lancome Fuchsia Clutch / Nails: Essie Smokin’ Hot

Hope everyone is enjoying their week so far! I have been busy busy, so I am looking forward to a little R&R tonight.

XOXO,

Gina

Accessorize Me {Flair Accessories Series #1}

Here is the first outfit post for my Flair Accessories series. I started off with a simple business casual look — colored button down, black denim skinny jeans, black pumps. Simple right? What brings this look to the next level is the accessories. A little leopard print belt and gloves take this look up a notch as well as the vintage sunglasses. And lastly, the fabulous flair that was added to complete the look. Take note of the purple pop to my ears and the chain bling around my neck. I also added this fun cage style ring. Without the accessories, the look would honestly be quite boring in my opinion. Accessorizing is a key element to my getting ready process and can turn a look from “nice” to “amaze” in a matter of seconds. Definitely check out Carly’s amazing store online. I guarantee you will find a piece of flair you adore!

Photos by: Zack Notes

Coat: ASOS / Button Down: StyleMint / Pants: ZARA / Belt: J. Crew – similar / Shoes: Cynthia Rowley / Sunglasses: Vintage / Gloves: Dorothy Perkins / Necklace, Earrings, Ring: Flair Accessories / Lip: Lancome Red Haute

It’s a busy week here with work conferences, clients in town, movie nights, meetings, photography class, photography homework, etc. Hopefully I can find some time to fit some sleep in there. Right now I’m just whirling on through.

I saw Argo over the weekend and Beasts of the Southern Wild last night, which are two more Oscar nominated films to check off my list. Both were absolutely amazing. Beasts was especially impressive coming from a first time director, and that little girl was such an amazing actress. I would recommend both films though!

In other news, how was everyone’s Super Bowl? I really didn’t have a team to rally behind (since my beloved Redskins did not make it), but being from Maryland, I must say I have a lot of happy friends this week!

Hope everyone has a Happy Hump Day!

XO,

Gina