Strange & Charmed

If you have been following my YouTube Channel and watching my daily Vlogmas Videos, you will already know that this week I was in Rhode Island for a work conference through Wednesday. I just got home last night at 1 am, which was technically this morning, and was so exhausted that I basically just woke up! I didn’t intend to get home at 1 am, but I was unfortunately stuck in some major traffic exiting New York that threw off my travel time home by 4 hours! Crazy!

I didn’t have a post planned for today and since I woke up late as well I just thought I would take today off for some rest & relaxation! If you have ever traveled for work, you know it can be very tiring and very frustrating when travel plans go amiss, so I am sure you can understand how I am feeling! So, today I am just going to take it east, try to get a little administrative work done at home and try to catch up on my sleep since I got far too few of it over the last few days!

Hope you all had a wonderful week and are as excited for the weekend as I am!

As of late, it really seems that I have been pretty obsessed with Kate Spade, so I decided that I would dedicate a post to this obsession while it lasts! First off, I just want to say that Kate Spade has been on my radar probably since I was in high school, but I honestly wasn’t too interested in any of their items until very recently. The first Kate Spade New York item I ever owned was actually the teal jewel bar necklace that my husband bought me for Christmas last year! I had been perusing Kate Spade’ website as I usually did and then suddenly I actually liked something… a lot! After that, it was mostly accessories like iPhone cases, some more cute jewelry and some small purse accessories. When I received the Beau Bag, it was my first Kate Spade New York Bag!

Now, I own my fair share of designer handbags, so when I say the Beau was my first Kate Spade bag, it was only because it was the first bag of theirs that I loved! I am not the kind of person that buys a bag to own one from a designer, and I only buy a designer bag if I LOVE IT! There is no room for like when you’re dropping a few hundred dollars on a bag, and I would hope all you smart ladies out there follow the same rules when your shopping, because as nice as it is to have nice things, you don’t want to go broke trying to accessorize and I find that when you wait for that one special bag, you love it so much more because you waited and didn’t settle… sort of like with Mr. Right!

So, if I own so few items from the designer, why do I love Kate Spade so much? 

In all honesty, I think that the brand is absolutely lovely and represents a kind of sassy independent woman that I think myself to be! Although I only own some jewelry and accessories, when I use those items they never fail to make me smile from their quirky girliness! I especially love the Kate Spade iPhone cases for my iPhone 5 because of the lovely prints they use that are whimsical as well as practical! I don’t think you have to own every piece in a designers collection to truly appreciate their style, in fact, I think its much more special when you only own a few key pieces that you feel were designed just for you and your unique style, and that’s how I feel about my Kate Spade pieces!

As you may remember, I was recently gifted the new Kate Spade Beau Bag and ever since I have been meaning to do a What’s in My Bag with it, but I haven’t gotten around to it until now! I am taking a little inspiration here from my blogging buddy Kristin from My Life as a Teacup, because last month she did a similar post after we had a Skype chat about both utterly loving the What’s in My Bag phenomena. In all honesty, I can get obsessive about these sorts of posts and videos on YouTube. I can spend hours looking up pics of What’s in My Bag posts on Flickr and Pinterest, and then watch a marathon of videos on the subject on YouTube. It’s kind of odd, but I have found that I am totally not alone and this is actually a weird fetish for lots of women! So, here you go, have at it! I have included some good close ups of items so you can see exactly what everything is. If you have any questions about a specific item, let me know in the comments and I will give you the info on it!

Do you enjoy What’s in My Bag Posts? Do you have a similar post on your blog or YouTube channel? If so, please link it below in the comments so we can all share! 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I know fashion posts are rare on Strange & Charmed, but I have been planning my Thanksgiving #OOTD for at least a week now and I am really excited about it. It’s nothing incredibly fancy since I do have to cook, travel, and of course eat today, but I am loving the look so much I thought I would post it here!

Top :: Forever 21 Crazy Bow Dolman Sweater :: I don’t think this top is available online anymore, but if you check your local Forever 21 they may still have a few in stock. The bows are actually a fuzzy texture which I love!

Pants :: J Crew Pixi Pants in Black :: These are my go to pants for the fall/winter because they are thick yet comfortable and give an effortless chic appearance!

Shoes :: Black pointed toe flats from Forever 21 :: I bought these a while ago, but I wear them for work and they go nicely with my pants.

Bag :: Kate Spade Beau Bag in Black :: This is my go to bag at the moment and since I will be carting a lot over to my in laws, this bag will be perfect for storing everything I need!

Accessories :: Michael Kors Runway Watch in Rose Golden :: Kate Spade Blue Stone Earrings :: Kate Spade Goreski Glasses Bangle :: Since I am going for a black and white look, I decided to warm it all up with a bit of gold and rose gold, and those earrings match my birthstone Aquamarine so I love them!

Other :: Dior Addict Eau Fraiche :: Dior Addict Lipstick in Diorkiss :: Kate Spade Festive Bubbles iPhone Case :: I love this Dior perfume because its clean and sweet. The lipstick is my favorite day to day shade because it produces a lovely natural pink, and finally, I just received this new Kate Spade iPhone case from Shopbop.com and its my go to holiday iPhone case!

Are you dressing up fancy for Thanksgiving? Let me know what you are wearing in the comments or feel free to Tweet or Instagram a pic of your outfit and make sure to tag me @MissTrenchcoat in your comments so I can see them!

Lately, I have been super obsessed with all things black & white as you can see from this Instagram pic I posted on Monday. There is something so simple, clean and elegant about this look that says “put together” when really the whole thing was an effortless thought. I’m not sure what exactly has drawn me to this particular style, but I always think that the state of our lives dictate the way we choose to express ourselves, especially through clothes and accessories. Although my life has been pretty much the same for a long time now, recently, some very very positive things have been coming my way and I have a feeling that as I ride this wave of positivity, I will end up in a place that is different from where I began. In the new year, I expect that my life is going to change in some interesting ways and I suppose that I have fallen back to the simplicity of black and white to impose some sort of conservatism to my life while I navigate these new waters of opportunity. I truly feel that the choices I make in the near future of how to handle all these opportunities I have been given, may shape my life for a good many years.

How has your style changed in recent times? Do you find that your state of mind dictates your style as well? How do you handle change in your life? Are you pro change or do you get worried by it? Lets discuss in the comments!