Lei Ann...Off Duty

*the easiest DIY ever - the floral hat*

i was perusing online for a hat to buy for this kentucky derby party MDH & i had to go to, but really wasn’t wanting to spend mucho $$$ for something ridiculous that i’ll only wear once.  DIY skills to the rescue!  so easy.  took a wide-brimmed hat i already had…found a ribbon that was already conveniently connected & fit around the crown of the hat…found all these black & white hair doodads in my drawer….then got to either safety pinning or clipping to the hat or ribbon in a pretty arrangement.  the centerpieces were just a regular black silk hair bow & a grey mink flower brooch, then arranged the flower clips around.  easy, peasy & ready for the derby! no hot gluing, no permanent fixation.  i can easily disassemble the flower clips for hair use once more :)  or…i can keep the hat the way it is & hope another garden wedding or some other suitable occasion pops up to wear again ^_^

*black & white kentucky derby party outfit*

truth…i’ve never attended a kentucky derby party.  i know right?  i loves me any excuse to wear decorative headgear, but it was just never anything i really got into.  my husband had a work-related party though, so i was happy to oblige.  as i recall, the way MDH RSVP’d for us was…”oh don’t worry!  any excuse for my wife to wear a big ass hat, we’ll be there!”  hahaha!  he knows me so well.

wearing: target black/white floral dress || h&m hat || assorted flower hair clips || gucci leather handbag || bebe black platform pumps

*the h&m dolce & gabbana style dress*

even with fresh snow still here on the ground in new england, happy first day of spring!  h&m is having a great clearance sale right now…half off already reduced items.  this originally $25 dress i snagged for $5!  however, it wasn’t the incredibly low price point that got me…but rather the design reminded me of the 2012 collection from my favorite designers…dolce & gabbana.  i don’t know what it is about old world italian floral print that speaks to me, but it sure does!

coincidentally, this dress also has that “mirror” or “kaleidoscope” pattern trend that seems to be on the rise these days…also evoked by my PB x target sweatshirt.  whatever…it’s bright, it’s colorful & especially on this still windy & chilly “spring” day, i’ll take it!

wearing:  h&m floral print long-sleeved dress || h&m gold collar necklace || c/o kmart black tights || isabel toledo x payless booties 

*prabal gurung for target sweatshirt*

i am in love, LOVE with this sweatshirt from the prabal gurung x target collab.  it’s just so bright & FUN!  in fact, i also like the proenza schouler one from a few months ago as well.  these are such easy pieces to wear…the comfort of sweats, yet not too casual or boring or covered with some high school/university logo :)  plus, more groundbreaking news…i wore pants!  i so hate pants, but these ann taylor ones gifted to me fit excellently both waist-wise & lengthwise.  some days just call for pants as well.  as much as i love tights & knee high boots & the whole rigmarole…there’s also the simple ease of pulling on a pair of pants, slipping on ankle booties & then just go :)

a side note on this sweatshirt…i wore it when i was in florida recently visiting my brand new niece.  my youngest brother said to me “the baby can’t hear you…your shirt’s too loud.”  so funny!  that’s my brother…gotta be such a goofball XD

wearing: prabal gurung x target sweatshirt || moda international striped shirt (very old) || c/o ann taylor black curvy wide leg pants 

*an afternoon at the aquarium*

wearing:  h&m mandarin collar blouse || target pink skirt || c|a|m dyed horsehair bracelet (via fab) || target watch || dv dolce vita cork sandals

i’m quite happy to be one to laze about the house, but maybe the whole “end of summer” doldrums was finally getting to me & i got into a slight panic about getting out & enjoying this final holiday weekend.  first, i relaxed for a whole afternoon whole 2 hours at the pool the other day.  then, enjoyed a backyard BBQ with MDH’s friends out in the boonies of massachusetts.  finally, spent a carefree afternoon wandering the new england aquarium with MDH & having dinner & desserts in the north end.  

this peony floral top is one of my first purchases ever from H&M & what i usually put on the first warm day of the year to herald in the spring season.  i realized i didn’t do that this year, so instead wearing it to cap off the last of these summer days :(  ah well, the animals at the aquarium of course didn’t care what i was wearing but they were certainly colorful & season appropriate in their own way…hahaha!

*simple black for a simple summer day*

pretty much my uniform for any time of year — a dress & season-appropriate shoes…hahaha!  have to admit i’m in a bit of a funk today.  i spent a great weekend with my husband’s family…all his aunts, uncles, cousins, kids, grandkids.  the whole kit & kaboodle!   reminds me a lot of my own family where it’s just tons of food & drink, a lot of running around or hanging out & just being with one another.  i miss all of them already :(  so, keeping it low key with no color & short heels (for me) ^_^

wearing:  liberty of london for target dress floral embroidered dress || DIY fan earrings || nine west pony hair zebra print “geta style” sandals

*mixing black & grey print*

weirdly into the ladylike silhouettes this days, i guess, with the more demure & longer length skirts.  am i feeling all right?  hahaha! also, here we go again with more basic tones & not a lot of color.  i’ll be honest that i’ve been feeling a bit out of sorts.  some random weekend houseguests, other people popping into town, unsettled weekend schedules with either going out of town or staying…i hate when my normal routines are pushed off to the side & right now i’m playing a lot of catch up :(  what happened to my lazy, hazy last days of summer?

wearing:  striped top (baclaren, manila) || express floral skirt || swapped earrings || zombie pendant (comic con vendor) || melissa egg wedges

*one floral maxi dress…five years apart*

this is apparently the dress i wear when i’m anticipating a major dose of food coma…hahaha!  lemme explain.  you see, the photo on the left was taken in japan after a huge 10-course omakase birthday dinner for my husband.  the photo on the right was taken yesterday after yet another huge all-you-can-eat lobster buffet dinner for MDH’s birthday once again…exactly 5 years later :)  hey, if it works…go with it…right?

side note:  any restaurant that has hammocks outside for you to take a nap after dinner & your table is still saved so you can go back in at your leisure to have dessert…that’s the restaurant for me!  also, that’s *not* my sultry, come hither, bedroom eyes stare.  that’s the look of i’m so bloated & full, i have to sit for a bit before walking to the car…bwahahaha!

wearing: old navy maternity (mistakenly bought) maxi dress || on left: bolero jacket (divisoria shopping area, manila), louis vuitton wallet || on right: jewelmint horse bracelet, target watch, tortoiseshell pendant (gift from MDH from a PNG trip), steve madden platform cork wedges

*sweltering in the south*

wearing:  floral maxi wrap caftan (formerly kristen’s via swap) || target sunglasses || cameo pendant (via ebay) || bebe mesh peeptoe booties

well, here i am…back from my week long trip down south & this is the only outfit photo i took!  hahaha…we all know the dangers of feeling burnout & pressure to post while vacationing, but since this was more of an “on duty” vacation for me & time was very limited even for fun stuff, if i’ve gone a week without posting, oh well, so be it ^_^

maybe later when i have more time, i’ll describe more what i was doing down south, but long story short…one of the sister schools of my kung fu system in tennessee was having a big anniversary performance & i, along with other instructors of the boston school, were invited to perform :)  in addition to doing that, i had a great time seeing tons of friends, other kung fu cousins that i’ve known for years & eating lots and LOTS of barbecue!  i even went ziplining & a “mild” version of white water rafting for the first time!  unfortunately, it was also super hot down south with many 100+ heat index type days (*pant*).  i’m glad that i ended up with kristen’s floral orange & white maxi dress from fiesta swap that despite the long layer, was floaty & airy enough to keep me cool.  *well*…somewhat cool.  the waterfall near this wonderful picnic spot that MDH found for us at a stopover in abingdon, VA also helped a lot :) 

*wearing & gathering flowers in the garden*

kind of overdressed just to go into the garden to pick me a fresh summery bouquet of flowers, huh?  hahaha…i’ve been meaning to showcase this lovely watercolor japanese maxi dress that sugarlips apparel kindly sent to me, but the weather has been so awful of late.  heatwaves, thunderstorms, flash flooding…sheesh!  this floaty, dreamy dress deserves a walk outside & a beautiful day finally came :)

this dress is already a “maxi” not just in terms of the length of the dress, but with the colors, print, piping & different materials, simple styling is always the best.  tan heels, a bronze cuff, earrings in the same lovely, water lily-covered koi pond colors…that’s all i need. well, that & my bouquet of flowers, of course ^_^

wearing: kyoto japanese maxi dress (c/o sugarlips) || thrifted mother-of-pearl earrings || cameo pendant (ebay) || JS dany platforms

disclaimer:  this is a sponsored post courtesy of sugarlips apparel, but my opinions are 100% my own