OUTFIT AND OCCASION

Outfit:

Wish top (Shalom Shuk, Burlington), $3.00, Abercrombie and Fitch Jeggings (Marshalls, NY), $10.00, Madden Girl slip-ons (TJ Maxx), $8.00, Be the Change necklace (gifted), white bangles (gifted)

This silk top is an unfamiliar brand to me, but is sold online with items in the hundreds!  I love the delicate color and how it flows 🙂

Occasion:

A night out in Brookfield!

Amanda, Tom’s sister, and her husband, James, gave us the perfect gift of a night out in Brookfield, VT, a rustic town near Montpelier with a floating bridge and beautiful country.  They know how much we love to go out dining, and we got to try Ariels, a beautiful family-owned restaurant in a quaint farmhouse.  I found out exactly what kind of wine I like because the glass I had was perfection.  I now know to ask for “suave” 🙂  We had the juiciest fried brussels sprouts, tasty mussels, and I had the halibut and Tom had the hanger steak.  What a classy time we had on a cool summer’s night!

 

OUTFIT AND OCCASION

Celebrating 26!  In Quebec!

Outfit:

Turquoise top (Banana Republic, Burlington), $30.00 splurge alert, Madewell Skinny Jeans (Shalom Shuk, Burlington), $2.00, Forever21 Layered Necklace (forever21.com), $10.00, Forever 21 bracelet (forever21.com), $6.00, H & M bag (Shalom Shuk, Burlington), $2.00, Moccasins (Shalom Shuk, Burlington), $2.00, Earrings (gifted from Sweet Lady Jane, Burlington)

I went retail for this Banana Republic top and it has become a work staple.  The rest of this outfit is compiled of dirt cheap finds.  The bracelet brings out the turquoise color and it matches my new favorite earrings that my mom and dad got me for my birthday!  Also, at two dollars, these moccasins were brand new and are incredibly comfy!

Occasion:

Quebec, continued.

View of Quebec City from the ferry to Levis

A glimpse of the quaint, European-like streets in the Old City, right where we stayed in our AMAZING air bnb

Walking on the Citadel

Delicious dinner at Le Sale Gosse for my birthday!!

Soft-served with the most incredible chocolate, hardened coating (in 12 different flavors!) that melts in your mouth!  I picked Dulce De Leche.  Beats Godiva, Lindor, Ghirardelli, etc etc.

Wonderful vacation with my honey!

OUTFIT AND OCCASION

Outfit:

Ann Taylor Loft Skirt (Richmond Thrift Store, Vermont), $4.00, Kirkland Tank Top (Costco, NY), $7.00

Soaking in the sun in this ensemble before summer’s end!  The skirt is from a shopping spree at my favorite thrift shop earlier in the season!

Occasion:

Québec City, Canada

Clear blue skies with soft kisses from the comforting breeze…bustling cobblestone streets filled with people dressed in colonial attire for the Fêtes de la Nouvelle-France…charming shops and floral displays everywhere…gratitude.

Chateau Frontenac – The most photographed hotel in the world!

Le Petit Champlain – The oldest commercial district in North America.  Beautiful!

Les Sale Gosse – Early Birthday Dinner

This meal was phenomenal!  We started with an antipasti and lamb meatballs and I had Guinea Fowl with slaw and a carrot puree for my entree.  Tom had “the best fish (sea bass) ever”.  The flavors were extremely innovative and unique, cooked to perfection!

OUTFIT AND OCCASION

Outfit:

Hand-me-down skirt and top!

This sheer maxi skirt allowed my legs to breathe on the most beautiful, breezy day while being girly and flowing.  Jess, are you sure you meant to throw this number to the curb??

Occasion:

Festival of Fools and The Avett Brothers!

The Avett Brother’s concert was at the Shelburne Museum about 20 mins from Burlington.  It is my favorite venue because the sun sets behind the stage and the setting is just magnificent.  Not to mention, there is always a ben and jerry’s truck with FREE scoops all night!!  The Avett Brothers were so much fun and are eclectic.  They mentioned Brooklyn (Wanda’s birthplace), Poughkeepsie (Mark’s hometown), and lots of Vermont praising.  Something for everyone and relaxing time with the fam.

We ate sandwiches from The Red Onion.  They have the biggest sandwiches loaded with deliciousness. 

Not to mention it was Festival of Fools all weekend in Burlington.  Church street was filled with street performers from around the world!  We saw magic acts, clowns, and beautiful musical performances from the famous Kat Wright (she is now featured on The Point!) and Francesca Blanchard, a french girl with an amazing voice!  Here’s a picture of Wanda and I on the decorated streets.  p.s. the shirt was a Shalom Shuk find!

Overall, awesome weekend!  Other highlights are dinner at Church and Main  with Tom’s family, Bolton Potholes, breakfast at Penny Cluse (a must) and Parkside Kitchen (in Richmond), and walking by the Burlington Waterfront!

 

Outfit and Occasion

MONTREAL!

Outfit:

Kate Spade Eyelit Dress (Richmond Thrift Store, VT), $6.50, Clutch (Richmond Thrift Store, VT), $9.00

Found this dress online at Zappos for $400.  For some odd reason my new fav thrift shop was willing to part with it for under $10.  Luckily it was in my size!  Total scoreeee

Occasion:

Montreal for Laughs Festival 🙂

Place d’Armes

Old Montreal

It’s crazy to think that Montreal is only 2 short hours from Burlington and it is a) another country! b) a French/English speaking melting pot c) SO beautiful and fun and rich in culture.  Old Montreal is gorgeous with cobblestone streets and awesome galleries/tourist shops.  We walked on the pier and saw a 37 million dollar yacht (we looked up the price later) and all sorts of boating on the most beautiful day!

Tom and I went for the “Just For Laughs” festival to see Graham Clark, Tom’s favorite comedy podcast host.  His performance was based on the intricacies of the phone book and it was HILarious!

While we were there, of course we explored the food options!  Pictured below was the best Indian food I’ve ever had at Darbar.  Tasty tandoori chicken took me to another world of happiness.  We had fresh mango mojitos to accompany our eclectic meal.  We must go back!  Tomorrow, perhaps???  We also had a Polish and an Venezuelan meal.  One worldly day of delicacies!

Darbar

A week in the states and then back through the border for my birthday in Quebec!  Stay tuned!

Outfit and Occasion

Outfit:

Topshop Sequined Daisy Crop Top (hand-me-down), Tank Dress (LF, NYC), $?

One person’s trash is another’s treasure.  My sister, Jessica, is definitely stocked with treasures that she graciously passes on to me and become personal favorites!  This crop top is decorated with sequin daisy’s and is perfect for summertime!

Occasion:

Vermont Brewer’s Festival

Let me explain the VT Brewfest craze.  Months ago, tickets became available online for 4 separate Brewfest events in Burlington by the waterfront, each with about a 1,000 person capacity.  Within 4 minutes, at 4pm on a weekday, tickets were sold out!  I was one of the lucky ones who registered fast enough and reserved a spot at this coveted extravaganza.

There were 45 Vermont brewery’s at the event!  You get a 6oz glass with 12 tickets, typically one drink per ticket, but some neglected to ask for a ticket (more for me!).  I tried craft beer that ranged from hoppy to pale to citrus to elderberry.  There was even a key lime pie flavored beer with graham cracker hints.  SO GOOD.   4 straight hours of eclectic flavors saturating my tongue!  What a day!  The weather was warm with a cool breeze.  And lets just say, my friends and I were feelin silly.

Pictured above was a special treat.  Worthy Burger is an hour and a half away in South Royalton and renown as the best burgers in VT. They graced the Brewfest with their presence!! Juicy, tasty, melts in my mouth!  Great interim meal to soak up the alcohol and make me the happiest girl in the world!

Already looking forward to next year!

Outfit and Occasion

Outfit:

Strappy Back Yoga Romper (Forever21 online), $18.00, Joe Shorts (hand-me-down), Sandals (Sevilla, Spain), $8.00, Clutch (Richmond Thrift Store, VT), $9.00, Jewelry (gifted – earrings made by cousin Sam Chalfin), Geometric Print Towel (Forever21 online), $10.00

This black strappy thing is actually a leotard romper that is excellent for my sass-filled Zumba nights, but it works well as a top too!  Adds a little spice to a plain black/white ensemble and allows this fun clutch I found at my new FAVORITE thrift shop to really pop!  (Not pictured together, but you get the gist).

Occasion:

Stoweflake Hot Air Balloon Festival

This weekend was beautiful and HOT.  Tom and I saw the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival in Stowe!  So cool!  So many adorable little ones and people watching and, of course, the ginormous dozen or so balloons that filled the sky right in front of us!  We had an awesome soft pretzel and camped out as each balloon inflated and took off!

We also went to an arts festival in Waterbury that had beautiful jewelry, paintings, postcards, and beyond, and I ate homemade pasta with fresh pesto and local sausage…yum!

And we went to the bolton potholes to chill.  This is a natural swimming hole that is in the mountain and has layers of pools to relax in and spots to jump from.  It looks like this…

To top it all off, we went cruising in Amanda (Tom’s sister’s) boat with their little boy, Will!  Maximizing breeze and cool water to beat the humidity.  Love the sun, but definitely have had my fair share for the week!

Outfit and Occasion

 

Missoni Tank (Shalom Shuk, Burlington), $2.00, Reiker Sandals (Salvation Army, Burlington), $2.00, Paige Shorts (TJ Maxx, Burlington), $10.00, Necklace (gifted), Earrings (Siren, Mamaroneck NY), $12.00

Missoni is known for its rayon fabric that is hard to see from a picture, but is shimmery and silky and very signature of this colorful, Italian designer brand.  This particular shirt it Missoni Sport which was discontinued in 2002.  I found a similar tank on Etsy for $328.00.  Quite a difference from the $2.00 I spent at good ole Shalom Shuk!

Occasion:

Mirabelle’s is a breakfast/lunch spot in Burlington that has awesome pastries and is quite charming.  Their brunch wait is always shorter than Penny Cluse, my ultimate favorite, but this Egg Tostada is a close second.  Plus the hash browns are to die for.  Delicious start to the day!

Happy July 4th!

I saw the fireworks from a friend’s private beach on Lake Champlain and it was magical!  My favorite fireworks were the ones shaped like smiley faces 🙂 🙂 🙂

 

Outfit and Occasion

Outfit:

Vintage skort (Battery Street Jeans, Burlington), $6.00, Crop top (Charlotte Russe, Burlington), $8.00, “Abby” necklace (gifted)

This skort has a happy pattern AND I never have to worry about it riding up too high – hurray for the skort!

Occasion:

Burlington Jazz Fest

Every year, for a week in June, Burlington is graced with wonderful tunes for the annual Jazz Fest.  You walk down Church Street and there are awesome bands at restaurants, under tents, and on the street.  Tom and I ate outside at Asiana Noodle Shop so that we can enjoy the perfect weather, listen in on some sweet funk, and eat a deliciously refreshing meal!

Asiana Noodle House has a great mix of sushi, noodles, and broths. It is a little pricey, but I am always full and happy when I leave 🙂

Salmon, squid, shrimp, mussels, and scallops in this light yet filling seafood salad!  Delicious gingery dressing.  Def coming back for more!

Pork Gyoza – just the right about of doughy-ness

This “Holy Duck” appetizer is out of this world!!!   It is a tower of delight with yummy duck and an overall sushi flavor.

Ginormous berry beverage with pomegranate seeds!  A bit like kool-aid, but kool-er…