Shopbop Sale: Made in USA Picks

If you were in the shopping mood and needed to grab a steal this week, well then you're in luck! For the next three days you can take 25% off almost everything at Shopbop with code: FAMILY25 

Above are just a few of my favorite made in the USA picks.

There are a few brand exclusions, which means the beloved Rag & Bone fedora is still $195. Ouch

It's okay, I found another felt fedora that is much more wallet friendly and on sale! Check out this Hat Attack wool fedora that's only $70 include the sale discount.

I'm definitely torn on what to pick up - a pair of staple denim or a dainty piece of jewelry that I'll keep forever. But then my mind reminds me that Clare V. clutches never go on sale so this is the time to pick up one of those. Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.

Hey anything to keep my mind from freaking out over catching the flu or worse on the train. I literally saw 2 women this morning sporting those surgical masks in hopes of fending off some disease other than sarcastic eye rolls. Yup, we've entered that stage of our lives!

So Shopbop sale - what are you getting?

Made in USA Moto Jackets

I'm a coat hoarder - well at least according to my husband I'm a coat hoarder. If you can wear a different winter coat every day of the week for at least one week, then in his mind you're a coat hoarder.

But with fall jackets I'm a bit different. I have more than enough blazers to get me through life (although that never stops me from buying more of them), but I don't have a single moto jacket.

Womp. Womp.

Thankfully I found few beauties above that are all made in the USA and shockingly cheaper than the leather jacket I bought in Italy years ago (rookie international travel mistake). Which is your favorite made in the USA moto jacket as seen above? Or have you found another one that I didn't list?

Smash the Cake Session Outtake

I photographed a Smash The Cake session this weekend for a freshly, minted, one year-old. Is there anything better than a half naked kid, in a custom tie and diaper covered, smashing a perfect cupcake?

Nope!

I'm not cool with sharing any photos from the session, even if they are ridiculously cute (I'm biased), because the only time those photos are seeing the mass light of day is when his parents put them in his yearbook his senior year of school. Or show them at his wedding reception.

Focusing and white balance were a tad off in this photo - so it's going to the garbage folder! But hopefully it gives an idea of the setup we used. Although the cupcake and accompaning cute kiddo were safely positioned on the floor and not on a brick fireplace. That white brick was just perfect for bouncing all the natural light in the room back into my camera lens.

Random nitpicky question - there are little white dots visible in the fireplace. There is a large metallic candelabra in the fireplace. Should I remove those spots in post production to make the black doors more uniform? Or is that too crazy and I should just leave them in there because that's how the fireplace appears in real life?

Dannijo Architectural Minimalism Collection - Handmade with Love in New York

Mae ($168) // Bitty ($78) // Magna ($148) //

Vice ($98) // Rory ($158) // Verity ($148) // 

I've been a fan of Dannijo's crazy, beautiful statement necklaces for the past few years. Thanks Man Repeller for fueling that addiction. However, with a lot of jewelry pieces made in the USA the price point was a little out of my league. I have a Dannijo cuff that I scored on mega sale and I get giddy every time I wear it (true story). 

So when I heard earlier this week that Dannijo released a new minimalist collection that was not only timeless and classic, but also more wallet friendly I was hooked. Every single piece in the Dannijo Architectural Minimalism Collection is handmade with love in New York. And every single item is priced $158 or less. 

Yes, please. 

I'm all about the bracelets in this collection. Don't get me wrong, the other pieces are insanely gorgeous, but those bracelets man. There aren't words to explain how gorgeous and perfect they are and how I could wear them every single day because they're work, day, and night appropriate. 

Which is your favorite piece? 

Jeter's Farewell Tour

Made in USA: Jacket: James Jeans // Jeans: Paige Denim // Tee: U.S. of Awesomeness // Necklace: c/o Kris Nations // Bag: vintage Coach (similar)

I begged, pleaded, and then begged some more with my husband that we should go to Derek Jeter's last game at Camden Yards. Over the past seven past years of living in Baltimore I can't even count how many O's games we've gone to, but I know we've only gone to a handful of Yankee games when they're in town. Although we did go to both Orioles v Yankees playoff games in 2012 (Game 1, Game 2)

Two major reasons:
1. I'm a NY Yankees fan :)
2. Oriole Park at Camden Yards gets overrun with fellow Yankee fans when the Yanks are in town. Especially during a weekend series - forget about it!

Thankfully, my persuasion won the hubs over and we were able to go to Jeter's last game in Baltimore. There was a pre-game celebration honoring the 200th anniversary of when the Star Spangled Banner was written in Baltimore. Then, the Orioles gave Jeter crabs. Yes, that happened. They also gave him other gifts that were perfect for the occasion - including an official Navy Captain's hat. A captain's hat for the Captain!

That Sunday night was a sad affair. Derek Jeter has gone off to retirement and he's officially the last of the good guys I grew up with as a kid. I sincerely hope that this generation of young baseball fans finds their Cal Ripken Jr., their Ken Griffey Jr., and their Derek Jeter. Those guys don't come around too often and I'm so happy to have seen them all play.

I think this means I'm also officially no longer a kid anymore because the guys I grew up watching as a kid are now all retired. I'm calling it, at 31 years old I am officially no longer a kid.

Womp. Womp.

Gingham and Black

Made in USA: Top: Tradlands (similar) // Jeans: Paige Denim // Watch: La Mer Collections // Clutch: Bailey44 // Nails: Essie 'Bahama Mama' 

Imported: Shades: Ray Ban // Shoes: Goodwill 

The other day I found myself home for just a few minutes before heading out to meet the hubs for a date night. With 10 minutes to kill I thought, "why not set up a tripod and take a quick outfit post?" I've been living in black jeans here of late and this is my second pair purchased since this summer. Most people buy white denim in the summer time and I instead purchase more black. 

As for the outfit post. In a nutshell: serious props to anyone who takes their own outfit photos with a tripod. Without a remote. I can't even take a decent selfie, so I shouldn't have been shocked to find I can't take a self portrait with a DSLR. I used a broom and patio chair as a stand-in for focusing and still could never get my head in focus. C'est la vie. 

The big topic of conversation at the bar - would I be upgrading to the new iPhone 6 or not. Honestly, I struggled to fit my "necessary" items in a clutch this weekend at a wedding. I legitimately don't think an iPhone 6 will fit in half of my clutches with room to spare. I find it humorous that just as tiny bags have come back in fashion,  smartphones are getting even bigger. My brother joked I needed Zoolander's cell phone. 

Thus concludes the most random post ever! But yay or nay on the iPhone 6? I can't even comprehend the size of the iPhone 6+ at this point. Although I guess it would take over that "do I need an iPad mini" internal debate! 

A few more gingham and black favorites below:

My First Wedding Shoot

Last month I shot my first wedding. Honestly, I was more nervous acting as a wedding photographer than I was 7 years ago when I acted as a bride. As a bride, my biggest fear was tripping down the aisle or spilling red wine down the front of my dress. I figured anything else that happened was about par for the course. My dad was instructed to throw himself down, if I tripped and he couldn't catch me, to make it look like he was the one who caused the fall. Knowing my clumsy nature to spill on myself I avoided all colored liquids the second my dress was on. Just one more reason to drink nothing but champagne :)

But as a wedding photographer - absolutely terrified. I had a 'top ten' list of sorts of photos that I had to nail in order to walk away feeling somewhat confident. I may or may not have even told both the bride and groom to kiss away during the ceremony to ensure I captured their first kiss. They even did me a solid and gave me a huge dipped kissing half way down the aisle during the recessional (another tip I gave them!).

I don't foresee myself becoming a wedding photographer anytime soon or at least until someone invents a pause button. Actually, if I could have gotten a "make these black pouring rain clouds disappear" button on that August wedding day I would have been most happy. Besides a few moments of "I wish I would have done that differently" my biggest regret was not taking enough time during formal portraits to get a few more shots of the entire bridal party and the bride and groom. In all seriousness, it absolutely POURED and everyone wanted to get inside before the rain came down. I guess going with the threat of rain worked in my favor because no one would have been happy soaking wet.

Even though there are those normal post-event-regrets, I'm really proud of myself for saying yes to friends and acting as photographer for 8+hours. That was something well outside of my comfort zone. Getting outside of my safety bubble is definitely something I want to challenge myself more in the future. The time to start is now.

What's the biggest challenge you've undertaken this year to your comfort zone?