fancy Archives - Popcorn and Pandas

Electric Embroidery

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Dress: ASOS (last season) / Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Clutch: Express / Sunnies: Modcloth / Earrings: Forever 21 / Lip: MAC Snob / Bracelet & Necklace: Vintage

Found these photos from a wedding I went to back in June that I never got around to posting. It was a beautiful, gorgeous evening in Upstate NY with family complete with a full vegan healthy menu and lots of dancing, which is my kinda party! Love the bright boldness of this dress and even more, the entire design is embroidered! I definitely need another excuse to wear this one next spring.

We are starting to get into our “back to school” routine over here. My little guy is having a little bit of a hard time getting adjusted to 2’s as I guess is expected, but just something new for us. My older guy is enjoying Pre-K so far, and has come home from school pretty much EXHAUSTED each day. Coordinating a nap for the little one has been difficult some days and yesterday was one of those days. He only got about 10 minutes of one in the car, and wouldn’t go back down. Luckily he’s an easy-going kid, but even the easy-going need naps, and it sorta made him a little nuts. After not putting non-food items in his mouth for months, I have a good idea that he “ate” a marble last night, so in an effort to make sure there was no obstruction, we spent the evening in the Urgent Care Center getting an x-ray. Seems like all is fine, but will just be having to check diapers for the next few days. #momlife

It’s been a little nutty over here and there is a lot of shuffling going on, but we are trying to get into the swing of things, and I am enjoying having a little more time to write, build my coaching business, and have a little bit of a breather again during the day.

Whether you have kids or not, there is definitely something to September having that “Back to School” vibe. It’s almost like the new January in a way. Back into routine. No more late summer nights. I have to say I’m enjoying the routine aspect of it, and I think the kiddos are appreciating too.

Cheers to a fresh fall start! What are you most looking forward to for this upcoming season?

XO,

Gina

Belvedere Sparkle

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Dress: Vijiv via Amazon Fashion (I know. I can’t believe it either. Amazing, right? Just wait ’til you see the price!) / Shoes: Nina / Bracelet and Earrings: Gifted / Sunglasses: Vintage / Lip: MAC Up the Amp / Bag: Old, cheap, and don’t remember! Oops! – But LOVE this one here

TGIF!!! Every Friday deserves a little SPARKLE!

Can you believe I seriously found this dress on Amazon? Like PRIME, 2-day shipping Amazon. With 3 weddings in June, I needed some fancy dresses quick, and I was happy to say that Amazon did NOT disappoint! As surprised as I was to find this gorgeous number, I am actually obsessed with this dress, and wish I had a million more occasions that I could wear it to!

This occasion in particular was the beautiful wedding of a fantastic couple and long-time friend. It was held at the classy establishment The Belvedere in Baltimore, Maryland. This classic, fancy, old-style venue seemed like the perfect opportunity for a flapper dress.

That being said…we rocked out the night to a Bruce Springsteen cover band (who was amazing) all night long! I think it was the busiest dance floor in that I’ve seen in my wedding guest history (and I have been to a lot of weddings!) The energy was plentiful and the dance floor was PACKED the whole night through.

Honestly?!?!?!?! I think the venue had some trouble getting us out of the building!!! It was as if we were at a real-live concert and the lights came on to kick us out, but everyone just screamed ENCORE!!! Pretty cool if you ask me.

SUCH a fun night, and I’m looking forward to posting more photos from their wedding soon!

Tomorrow, we are having a joint birthday party for both Nico + Luca!! Their birthdays aren’t until the end of the month, but we will be on vacation, so we wanted to do something at home with our friends in the neighborhood and any family that could come to town. We are doing a LEGO theme this year and we have been busy building over here this morning! I seriously cannot believe Nico will be 3 and Luca will be 1 already. It’s like I snapped my fingers and 3 years have gone by. They always tell you it will happen that way, but it’s hard to imagine when you are living it! The days are slow but the years are too quick!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!!

XO,

Gina

Watercolors

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Dress: Olive & Oak / Shoes: Call it Spring / Sunnies & Bracelet: Vintage / Clutch: Express / Earrings: Stella & Dot by Jess Sigler / Lip: MAC Up the Amp

No, I’m not traveling to Miami, but this “Miami Maxi” by Olive & Oak is the perfect flowing dress for summer! Fancy enough to dress up for a wedding, but easy going enough for a Sunday BBQ, this is one of my favorite versatile looks for summer. Plus the colors are just gorg!

June was the month of weddings for us! Lots of traveling, lots of love, and lots of dressing up! Will be sharing some more summer wedding looks on the blog here in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned.

We spent this past week at the lake in the Poconos with friends celebrating Independence Day. It’s getting tougher to “relax” the more kiddos we add to the mix here on vacation haha, but we did have a great time!

Today in my challenge group it’s “Random Act of Kindness” Day. It seems that the world could surely use a little (or a lot) more kindness, so I would love it if the rest of you could also participate in this little challenge! Please do at least one random act of kindness for today and report back in the comments section when you have done something KIND!

Hope you all had an awesome weekend, and cheers to a great week ahead!

XO,

Gina

Little Black Dress

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Wedding season is officially upon us! I just love the silhouette of this little black midi-length dress, and the sheer cut out gives it that little spice + sass while still keeping it classy. The hubby and I very much enjoyed our black tie evening out sans kiddos…dining on fabulous food, catching up with good friends, and dancing the night away as we celebrated the beautiful union of two wonderful people.

This gal is ALWAYS excited for an excuse to play dress up, and this was no exception!

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Little Black Dress: Express / Shoes: Audrey Brooke (black sold out, but the red is also beautiful) / Clutch: LuLu Townsend (similar) / Bracelet & Earrings: gifted / Lip: MAC Up the Amp

After almost two weeks of rain and clouds, the sun is FINALLY shining!!! We are basking in it up here in NYC, and I pretty much just want to be outside all day.

My Busy Mama Boot Camp is going strong and I love seeing these fabulous mamas make a little time for themselves this week!

Make it a great one!

XO,

Gina

Lady in Red

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Dress: ASOS / Shoes: Audrey Brooke / Jacket: LOFT / Clutch: Lulu Townsend / Lip: MAC Russian Red

On Zack – Tux: Men’s Wearhouse / Button Down: J. Crew

When I stumbled upon this dress, I knew I just HAD to have it. The perfect dress for a December wedding AND I can wear it for Christmas? Money well spent in my book! Apparently I wasn’t the only one, because it sold out quick! But I am here with some amazing news! Since I last posted this dress, it’s now back up for sale on the ASOS website! Guess it was so good, they decided to get more in stock! If you order it soon, you can still even have it for Christmas 🙂

December has SERIOUSLY flown by. I am sitting here staring at my Christmas tree right now, and I’m a little bit sad that it will be my last day to enjoy it in 2015. We are back on the road tomorrow morning to head to Maryland for the holidays. Which means I should probably stop typing and start packing. Holiday cards and wrapping presents will have to wait until we are settled at my parent’s home. We have had a busy month, but I am looking forward to some more family time, friends, laughter, and fun since this really is my favorite time of the year. It’s even more fun this year as I think Nico is actually getting excited for Santa to arrive. The joy on his face makes my little heart melt into a puddle. I cannot wait to see his eyes light up on Christmas morning and imagine it will be purely magical.

Have a great weekend!

XO,

Gina

Curls & Twirls

As much as I love fashion, hair is not really my thing. I love it. I wish I could do it. I love having it done for me by other people. But when it comes to doing it myself, I usually end up falling short. I end up taking the easy route and just flat ironing it straight for lack of a better option. Even worse, now that I am a busy mom, I let it air dry or throw it up into a messy top knot. The days of actually “doing” my hair are few and far between, but I still long for a fancy do when I have a special event to go to. I just have trouble making it happen myself. I have tried multiple tools, curling irons, etc., and I always end up in a sweaty huff and unhappy with the results. Until now.

After trying their fabulous hair extensions back in September, I decided to give Irresistible Me’s Sapphire 8-in-1 Curling Wand a whirl. Ladies and gentlemen (all three of you gentlemen that read this blog), I am happy to say that I HAVE FOUND THE CURLING IRON OF MY DREAMS! Not only are there tons of options for different type of curls, but it was EASY, and I could do it MYSELF! I actually liked the results, I wasn’t a sweaty huffy mess afterwards…and the best part is that my curls stayed from 10 in the morning when I did my hair until well after I went to bed for the night! As someone who struggles to do their hair normally, this tool has totally changed my mindset on prepping for a fancy night out. I am so happy to finally find something that works for me, and works SO well. Thank you Irresistible Me!

More BEFORE photos:

And now for the AFTER:

Sapphire 8-in-1 Curling Wand: c/o Irresistible Me / Top: Express / Eyes: Sonia Kashuk / Lip: MAC Up the Amp

What do you think? Not bad for my first go at it huh?

Used this curling wand for the first time for a beautiful bridal shower in upstate NY for a lovely bride! It was a lot of fun and a gorgeous affair. I loved how fancy I felt, so I decided to go for round 2 of the curling iron this past weekend at my cousin’s baby shower in MD. Happy to say it wasn’t just beginner’s luck! I’m still obsessed with the tool, and plan to use it for many more events in the future.

Had a nice little girl’s weekend with my mom, family, and close friends…although I did miss my boys while away!

Yesterday wasn’t feeling so great, but hoping today will bring sunshine and happiness my way.

Hope today will bring the same for you!

XO,

Gina