Lace & Pearls

A Seattle Style blog. Helping women who struggle with their personal style or those who just need a fashion fix!

Top 10 Post of 2017!

Clockwise from left to right: Pixi Beauty Product Review | 8 Wardrobe Tidying Tips | Hate to shop or Need a Fashion Refresh – Try Stitch Fix | Up-and-Coming Design Monifa Kincaid Jewelry

I polled my Instagram audience and asked whether you wanted to see a reflection post or a top 10 post. It was a tie, so I decided to do both! My reflection post is here and keep reading for my top 10 posts of 2017!

Top 10 Posts of 2017!

Pixi Beauty Product Review + Giveaway

Any post with a giveaway ranks high. With that said, Pixi beauty is a well-respected drugstore brand that is affordable and effective. In this post, I share about the products I’m liking in addition to several other Pixi reviews and shopping links.

8 Wardrobe Tidying Tips That Will Change Your Life

I wrote this post in my first year of blogging and later updated it. What a timely post! It will definitely help you refocus in the new year and get things in order.

Hate to Shop or Need a Fashion Refresh – Try Stitch Fix

I teamed up with Stitch Fix in their My Body My Style campaign. For this collaboration they featured me on their blog and gifted me a shopping credit. If you’re in a style rut or need some inspiration, I highly recommend you read this post and sign up for Stitch Fix!

Up-and-Coming Designer Monifa Kincaid Jewelry

One of the perks of blogging is that you get to partner up with small business owners. Monifa had just launched her line and approached me to collaborate. Her pieces are gorgeous and I was ecstatic to partner with a fellow female entrepreneur!

7 Fail-Proof Tips for Getting Ready in the Morning

This post is also a great one for the new year! Surprisingly, I had forgotten some tips and am finding them useful. This is definitely a must-read.

Invest in a Classic Wardrobe and Save Money

Do you have clothes in your closet with the price tag still on them? What about buyer’s remorse? If so, this post is for you! The key takeaway: invest in what you want from the beginning instead of cutting corners because it will ultimately save you money.

Wardrobe Building Blocks: Your Guide to a Cohesive Closet

In this post, I show you how to maximize your wardrobe without feeling overwhelmed. It’s full of actionable tips that you can begin to incorporate today.

From Business Casual to Date Night with J.Jill

Toward the end of the year, I began partnering with J.Jill. This is my first post with them featuring three daytime looks that easily transition to night.

Comfort Shoes for the Stylish Fashionista

One of my biggest struggles when it comes to fashion is finding comfortable shoes! Even though this post was written in the summer, it’s a great resource for anyone who is looking to learn more about stylish comfort brands.

Lace & Pearls is Open for Business

It has been a long-term goal for me to launch my own jewelry line. As you might have gathered, I am a big fan of jewelry and all things girly! Check out this post to see where the journey began.

Thanks for a great year! Which post is your favorite and what would you like to see more of on the blog? Let me know in the comments. Your feedback is so important.

Related posts:

  1. Outfit Remix: How to Dress Preppy
  2. Outfit Remix: Easy Ways to Maximize Your Wardrobe
  3. 5 Ways to Style Printed Pants
  4. Comfort Shoes For The Stylish Fashionista (Spring Edition)

New Year’s Reflection: Stressed, Overweight and Tired!

This has been the fastest and most challenging year yet! Instead of going the traditional route of choosing a resolution, last year I chose to focus on the word healthy. Getting healthy is still on the forefront for 2018, so again I'll be focusing on that. After all, your health is your first wealth!This has been the fastest and most challenging year yet! Instead of going the traditional route of choosing a resolution, last year I chose to focus on the word healthy. Getting healthy is still on the forefront for 2018, so again I'll be focusing on that. After all, your health is your first wealth!This has been the fastest and most challenging year yet! Instead of going the traditional route of choosing a resolution, last year I chose to focus on the word healthy. Getting healthy is still on the forefront for 2018, so again I'll be focusing on that. After all, your health is your first wealth!This has been the fastest and most challenging year yet! Instead of going the traditional route of choosing a resolution, last year I chose to focus on the word healthy. Getting healthy is still on the forefront for 2018, so again I'll be focusing on that. After all, your health is your first wealth!This has been the fastest and most challenging year yet! Instead of going the traditional route of choosing a resolution, last year I chose to focus on the word healthy. Getting healthy is still on the forefront for 2018, so again I'll be focusing on that. After all, your health is your first wealth!This has been the fastest and most challenging year yet! Instead of going the traditional route of choosing a resolution, last year I chose to focus on the word healthy. Getting healthy is still on the forefront for 2018, so again I’ll be focusing on that. After all, your health is your first wealth!

New Year’s Reflection: Stressed, Overweight and Tired!

Towards the latter half of 2017, I gained over 20 pounds and am currently dealing with a slew of GI problems. I’ve missed more work then I can count and walking into the doctor’s office is becoming routine. We are still in the process of figuring things out and I hope to know more soon.

Along the way, I somehow managed to put on all that weight and have struggled with some other health issues (pre-diabetes and acid reflux). I have spent most of my life watching my weight and eating healthy, so it’s ironic that I’ve managed to get so off track. Plus, none of my clothes fit and I don’t feel that great about how I look and feel.

To help with stress, I have made some changes, like adjusting my work schedule to have every other Friday off. I also joined Orange Theory after being introduced to it by a coworker. I am obsessed! I really feel like it helps my mental state and overall health, so I’m in the process of building up to go 3-4 days a week vs the 2 days I’m going now.

This time next year, I hope to have my health back on track and be down in pounds. It will be great to have more energy and no stomach pain.

On the bright side, I have also accomplished a lot this year! I launched Lace & Pearls Jewelry, created a monthly newsletter, and successfully began partnering with brands. I even befriended some blogger babes and made some new connections that I hope to continue in the new year.

I wish all the best to you in 2018 and thanks again to those of you who continue to read this blog and comment! I apologize that I haven’t been the greatest at responding to comments, but I do read all of them and am grateful for your kindness and support.

Shop the post:

Dress: J.Jill c/o | Vest: Club Monaco (similar) | Necklace: Callura via Zulily c/o | Earrings: Charming Charlie (similar) c/o | Boots: Paul Green (old) | Clutch: DSW | Lashes: First Glance Lashes c/o| Lipstick: Neutrogena MoistureSmooth color stick (Rich Raisin) c/o

*c/o: courtesy of or gifted.

📷’s by  Luba Kochubey Portraits

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Learned from One Year of Blogging
  2. Fashion First
  3. What I’ve Accomplished in One Year of Blogging
  4. 3 Year Blogiversary + The Prettiest Tulle Dress

Lace & Pearls Jewelry is Open for Business!

Lace & Pearls Jewelry has officially arrived!!! This passion project has been a long time coming and I'm so excited to share it with you!Lace & Pearls Jewelry has officially arrived!!! This passion project has been a long time coming and I’m so excited to share it with you! You might have seen small mentions here or there but if this is your first time hearing about it, let me get you caught up.

Lace & Pearls Jewelry

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ve probably seen a recurring theme/fashion tip: accessorize, accessorize, accessorize. Some people are shoe people and others love a good handbag, but I love jewelry! It’s a girl’s best friend in my opinion.

A couple years back, December 2015 to be exact, I decided to take a jewelry class. From that point on, I got the itch to create my own pieces and eventually create an online marketplace to showcase and sell my creations. I toyed with the idea of an Etsy shop but after a discussion with a friend and doing my own research, I decided to go bigger and create an ecommerce store.

Lace & Pearls Jewelry has officially arrived!!! This passion project has been a long time coming and I'm so excited to share it with you!If you love a good signature necklace or something special, you’re in for a treat! All of the pieces in the Lace & Pearls Jewelry line are handmade by me and made of fine materials that include gold-filled, sterling silver, and brass chains along with real stones and pearls. I would describe my pieces as feminine meets minimalism. Everything is meant to feel dainty yet exquisite.

I hope you have fun checking out the site! Don’t forget to sign up for the mailing list and follow/like my Instagram and Facebook page. It would mean the world to me to have your support!

Lace & Pearls Jewelry has officially arrived!!! This passion project has been a long time coming and I'm so excited to share it with you!Inspirational Word

Today’s takeaway is to follow your dreams! I know this is cliche, but honestly, I never thought I would see this into fruition. The truth is, I didn’t really think much about it. Instead, I just kept moving forward because I knew that if I let myself get in my head, I would just hold myself back. During this entire process, I almost felt like it wasn’t me, but an alter-ego that was pushing me forward. I attributed that to staying out of my head. I will admit some days I did get in my head (let’s be real, a lot of days), but for the most part, I just persevered.

These photos are from earlier this year when it was warm. This was my first time shooting and wearing my pieces. Unfortunately, there are only two of these necklaces with the black onyx druzy stone, Life of Aani has one and the other is available on the site. I hope to make another similar piece soon but the stone will be slightly different.

Dress: J.Crew (old) | Necklace: Lace & Pearls Jewelry | Purse: Ted Baker London | Shoes: Josep Seibel | Lipstick: Rimmel London (Crystal Mauve) ℅

Lace & Pearls Jewelry has officially arrived!!! This passion project has been a long time coming and I'm so excited to share it with you!Thank you!

I have so many people to thank for helping get this business off the ground.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments. Thank you all so much!

📷’s by  Luba Kochubey Portraits

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Learned from One Year of Blogging
  2. Fashion First
  3. 3 Year Blogiversary + The Prettiest Tulle Dress
  4. New Year’s Reflection: Stressed, Overweight and Tired!

Break a Bad Habit in 30 Days or Less

I've developed some bad habits.The above might seem trivial, but it's impacted me in a big way. I'm positive correcting one thing will lead to the other. Target Who What Wear Blouse, worn with J.Crew grey toothpick jean. In January of 2016, my health wasn’t the best and from that point on things kind of fell apart. I was always tired, required a lot of sleep, and started gaining weight. This resulted in late nights, sleeping in, driving to work instead of taking the bus, and then getting to work later than I’d prefer.

So, if you haven’t caught on, I’ve developed some really bad habits. The above might seem trivial, but it’s impacted me in a big way and I’m positive if I can correct one thing the rest will follow. Sometimes you just need a little push to get started, then once the momentum starts you’re on a roll. Whenever I start something new, it’s much easier than I thought it was going to be!

I've developed some bad habits.The above might seem trivial, but it's impacted me in a big way. I'm positive correcting one thing will lead to the other. Target Who What Wear Blouse, worn with J.Crew grey toothpick jean. My plan to break these habits is to get up earlier so I can be tired earlier. In theory, if I change this one thing, I will be able to go to bed on time and wake up early which allows me to take the bus and start work on time. Win-win!

Now, if only starting it was that easy.

I've developed some bad habits.The above might seem trivial, but it's impacted me in a big way. I'm positive correcting one thing will lead to the other. Target Who What Wear Blouse, worn with J.Crew grey toothpick jean. I've developed some bad habits.The above might seem trivial, but it's impacted me in a big way. I'm positive correcting one thing will lead to the other. Target Who What Wear Blouse, worn with J.Crew grey toothpick jean. Blouse: Who What Wear | Denim: J.Crew | Necklace: Loft (old) | Ring: Happiness Boutique c/o | Boots: DSW | Purse: Marc by Marc Jacobs (similar) | Lipstick: Burberry (color Bright Plum #49) c/o 

Break a Bad Habit in 30 days

  1. Start small. No goal is too small. I believe making small improvements can have big outcomes.
  2. Write it down. Track the days that you achieve your goal and the days you don’t. Work to improve each week. Plus, later you can look back and see how easy it was to start your good habit!
  3. Make it visual. Create a vision board. Bringing it front and center makes it hard to ignore.
  4. Don’t be hard on yourself. If you don’t achieve your goal this week, reassess and break it up into smaller chunks. As long as you’re not giving up, you are on the right track.

What bad habits are you trying to break? Share in the comments.

Photos by Hello Rigby

Related posts:

  1. Juggling a Day Job, Blog, and Jewelry Business
  2. Tips For Styling a Peplum Top
  3. How to Stay Motivated + 2 Year Blogiversary
  4. How to Overcome Anxiety When Networking

3 Year Blogiversary + The Prettiest Tulle Dress

Celebrating a blogiversary is like gearing up for a new year. It’s that time to reflect and begin thinking of new ideas and goals. Tulle dress. I can’t believe I made it to year three (actual blogiversary is on 10/6)! This time last year I was contemplating giving up the blog. I was definitely feeling like my progress was stagnant, but according to some sources, year three is when things start to happen. This gave me hope and allowed me to quantify my progress: year one is for learning, year two is for putting things in motion, and year three is for scaling and growth.

Celebrating a blogiversary is like gearing up for a new year. It’s that time to reflect and begin thinking of new ideas and goals. Tulle dress, denim jacket.Celebrating a blogiversary is like gearing up for a new year. It’s that time to reflect and begin thinking of new ideas and goals. My jewelry line is just one example. I wrote about launching it all the way back in January of 2016. At the time, I just had too much going on and knew that if I wanted to really pursue this blogging thing, then the jewelry would have to wait. But how cool is it that I finally made it happen?! Who cares if it took almost two years from when I spoke about it. The point is that I actually did it! Let this be a lesson to anyone who has a dream, it can happen and will, you just have to take the steps to get it done.

Celebrating a blogiversary is like gearing up for a new year. It’s that time to reflect and begin thinking of new ideas and goals. Tulle dress, denim jacket. Blog Accomplishments

  • Improved writing. I’ve always felt insecure about my writing. Earlier this year, I went ahead and hired someone to proofread my posts. She primarily looks at grammar and whether things sound awkward, but it’s been life-changing and allowed me to spend less time reworking a post and more time doing the things I love. It’s also helped me become a better writer and recognize patterns. Kristyn has since helped me scale and work on things like gearing up my monthly newsletter and jewelry line.
  • Monthly Newsletter. Email lists are so important! In this business, you’re constantly bombarded with growing your list. This is something I’ve had on my to-do for a long time. My hope is to bridge the gap between me and my readers. I want my content to be more relevant to what they’re wanting. The newsletter is a direct way to communicate this to me.
  • Work ahead of schedule. At the end of July, I had three months of content planned out and about half of them written. This has truly given me room to breathe and create at my own pace rather than coming up with something every week. Again, I have my good friend Kristyn to thank for that! With her savvy editing skills, I can really get a leg up in my other blogging goals.
  • Sponsored content. I’ve finally begun to get sponsored posts! When you’re sponsored by a brand, you are not only gifted product but paid to share about the brand. I am very selective with whom I work with and turned down a lot of opportunities. It has to be a good fit for me and my audience. My photography expenses are pretty spendy, so having sponsored content to cover the cost of photos is something I am working towards.

Blog Learnings

  • Get help. If I’ve learned anything this year is you can’t do it all on your own. Plus, it’s much more fun when you have others to collaborate with and friends who support you in your dreams.
  • Make lists. Most nights I find it incredibly hard to shut down and get to bed early. I tend to keep all my to-dos in my head. Making a list and doing a mind dump gets it out on paper and allows me to step away and feel confident when I return.

Blog Goals

  • Bring in more sponsored content and brand collaborations to cover blogging expenses. I would love to be able to establish some long-term partnerships rather than one-time gigs.
  • Connect more with my readers and create content they love. My newsletter will help with this.
  • Lace & Pearls Jewelry is an extension of this blog and my love for jewelry. I hope to do some craft shows, sell stuff online, and have my products in several stores by end of 2018.

If you don’t take anything else from today’s post, remember this. Go for your dream, no matter how big or small it is. The worst that can happen is it doesn’t work. On the flip side, it could be a huge success. Don’t go through life wondering what if, instead think I will!

Celebrating a blogiversary is like gearing up for a new year. It’s that time to reflect and begin thinking of new ideas and goals. Tulle dress, denim jacket. The Prettiest Tulle Dress

For this milestone, I wanted to wear a party dress but still remain true to my personal style. This tulle dress hit the mark and is one that I will definitely wear repeatedly. I like that it can easily be dressed down. I was tempted to pair it with some booties but decided against it.

Celebrating a blogiversary is like gearing up for a new year. It’s that time to reflect and begin thinking of new ideas and goals. Tulle dress, denim jacket. If you’re a girly-girl like me then definitely grab this dress! I have a feeling it will go fast. Oh, I almost forgot to call out these gorgeous earrings! They’re SugarFix by Bauble Bar. They’re the perfect blush pink and totally my style. The necklace is one of my own designs and will be available soon to shop.

A big thank you to those who have supported my blogging journey! Every comment, visit, and acknowledgment means more than you know. Most of all, hugs and kisses to my sweet mom who is still my biggest cheerleader in every facet of my life. Love you much!

Shop the Post:

Dress: Asos | Jacket: Gap (similar) | Necklace: Lace & Pearls Jewelry | Earrings: Sugarfix by Bauble Bar c/o | Shoes: Josef Seibel | Clutch: Banana Republic (old)

📷’s by  Luba Kochubey Portraits

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Learned from One Year of Blogging
  2. What I’ve Accomplished in One Year of Blogging
  3. 4 Blogging Tips For New Bloggers
  4. 4 Years of Blogging: Learnings and Accomplishments

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