Happy Halloween!

Friday, October 30, 2015




Boo! Happy Friday everyone! A few of my girlfriends and I are road tripping to Sleepy Hollow for the weekend, for some spooky Halloween fun!  Spending Halloween in Sleepy Hollow has been on my bucket list for years, and this year it happens to fall on a Saturday, so I'm super excited! You can follow PaddlingInPearls on Instagram and Snapchat for updates throughout the weekend...Maybe you'll even get a glimpse of the Headless Horseman!

This dress from the J Crew Factory Store is so comfortable! Paired with a denim jacket, and this cashmere wrap scarf that I picked up during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale,  it makes for a perfect outfit on a chilly Fall weekend! I have really been loving these Vince sneakers lately. I've been wearing them quite a bit, and they didn't really need to be broken in at all. Besides looking super chic, there is a really nice layer of cushion inside that makes them nice and comfy to walk around in. I will for sure be packing them this weekend for walking around Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown! Do you have your costume ready for the weekend? Happy Halloween! 

Brazilian Blowout

Thursday, October 29, 2015






I get a lot of questions about my hair. People often ask me how long it takes me to style my hair, if it's naturally wavy, etc. To be honest, my hair is kind of crazy. It wasn't until my twenties that I really figured out how to work with it, because it is just so thick! I have a lot of hair, and when it's not under control, it can be something of a frizzy mess.  My first tip to anyone who has hard to manage hair is to find a good stylist. I used to hate getting my hair cut.  It almost always ended in disaster, that is, until I found a stylist who specializes in cutting super thick hair, like mine. I've been going to the same girl for years now, and she's the only person that I'd trust with a pair of scissors near my hair.  Finding a good stylist was helpful, but it still took me a good 40 minutes each day to style my hair.  This lengthy routine lasted for awhile, but sooner than later, I was back to running the straightener through my hair every morning...A 20 minute process in itself. I was finding ways to manage my hair, but it was time consuming, I was using a ton of product AND I was killing my hair! 

About a year or so ago, a friend of mine saw me struggling with my hair on a particularly frizzy day, and suggested that I look into a Brazilian Blowout. This is a smoothing treatment, similar to Keratin.  However, unlike with a keratin treatment, you leave the salon ready to go. You don't have to wait 3 days to wash your hair, you can immediatly put it in a pony tail, etc. These are important factors for someone who is always on the go! I find that with my hair, the Brazilian Blowout takes away the frizz, without removing the body. Its lasts for about three months, and it cuts my styling time in half!  Did I mention that I don't have to use ANY post shower products? So although the treatment is a bit of an investment, I save a lot of money on pricey products that I no longer have to use to keep my hair under control.  With my busy lifestyle, easy to manage hair is essential, and the Brazilian Blowout has been a total game changer for me.

This outfit has been a favorite of mine for work this fall. I picked up this sweater during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale over the summer, and it has been such a great transitional piece. During the later summer months I paired it with white pants and Jack Rogers sandals, and for a more casual look I've paired it with denim. I love how the pleated chiffon comes out from the split back cut, which is so "in" right now. Do note that the chiffon is very sheer, and if you're planning on wearing this sweater in a work setting, layering a tank top underneath is necessary... Enjoy your day!

Fall Fun

Tuesday, October 27, 2015




Sweatshirt (similar) / Vest /  
Sneakers (similar) / Sunglasses

One of my favorite thing about the weekends is getting to spend quality time with my dogs! I love to take my pups outside to play in the crisp fall air, because it's not too hot, not too cold, it's perfect for them to run around and have some fun! Me and my sweet girl, Sophie, had a fabulous time playing around in the freshly fallen leaves this weekend!

This outfit was perfect for a busy weekend of running errands, and some outdoor fall fun. The weather here on Long Island is definitely starting to cool down, and there is a crispness to the air which means wearing a few extra layers in order to be comfortable. This North Face vest, worn over this great funnel neck sweatshirt, made for a classic and practical look for the weekend. 

Recently I did a BIG closet overhaul. One of my missions was to simplify my sneaker collection. Over the years I have somehow accumulated tons of sneakers, in every bright and neon color under the sun. They were all pretty worn out from years of being worn to the gym, none of them were really the greatest quality, and they were taking up a lot of space! My goal was to replace my odds and ends sneaker collection with one super comfortable pair, that I could wear with more or less anything. These fit the bill, and are a much more practical addition to my closet!  

Neutral Cable Knit

Friday, October 23, 2015




Happy Friday everyone! Who's ready for the weekend? I have a nice low key weekend planned, that I'm hoping will be productive as well! It'll be the last weekend that I'm home for a few weeks, because I've got some fun weekend trips planned for the end of October, and beginning of November. I'm really looking forward to doing some travelling, and it will be nice to have a little change of scenery!  This weekend I'm hoping to get out on my paddle board...It's starting to get chilly, but with a pair of wetsuit booties, and a few extra layers, this is a beautiful time to be out on the water! Paddling along some of the rivers that we have here on Long Island is my favorite in the fall, with all the leaves changing, it's just lovely! 

This is such an easy, but put together look, that I just love for work. I picked up this camel colored sweater during a sale event at Ralph Lauren, and I can already tell that I am going to get a ton of use out of it! It is so soft, and I just love the classic fit! I sized up for a slightly oversized feel, which is a quality that I love in a sweater for fall. While pairing it with this simple black skirt makes it appropriate for work, it could just as easily transition into the weekend with a pair of jeans and sneakers. As the weather starts to get cold, it'll look great with black skinnies, and riding boots...Really, the possibilities are endless! 



Lacey Layers

Wednesday, October 21, 2015



Sweater / Lace Cami / Jeans

Hey Guys! So it's been a little while since my last post, and over the past couple of weeks, people have been asking me what my plans are for Paddling In Pearls. A few months back I started a new job, which has been super exciting for me. I felt that during this exciting time, it was important for me to take a couple of months to adjust to my new schedule, and then gradually start incorporating my hobbies into my new lifestyle. Over the past few weeks, I've been back on the water with my paddle board, training for a half marathon, and now back to blogging! My plan for Paddling In Pearls moving forward, is to keep the posts coming around 2-3 times a week, and as always I will update my social media accounts whenever I've added a new post! I've got lots of fun looks for the chillier months ahead that I'm looking forward to sharing!

The outfit that I'm wearing here is a really fun, casual, weekend look for fall. I got this sweater from J Crew last year, around this time, and I absolutely love it! This time of year, cozy sweaters are key, and this one is on point. It's nice and warm without being heavy or bulky. I think that it looks particularly cute with this lace cami, that I recently picked up at Anthropologie, coming out the bottom. While I've paired this top with jeans and Converse sneakers here, for a more playful look, it also dresses up really nicely with a pair of black pants and ballet flats! As of now, J Crew doesn't seem to have this sweater available, but as it gets colder, keep your eyes out for something similar...It's a great piece to have on hand as the weather continues to cool down!




Neon Yellow Lace

Wednesday, September 16, 2015




Dress (super on sale!) / Bag / Shoes

Major sale alert! This beautiful neon lace shift dress is currently on sale at J Crew Factory, for under $40! To add to already exciting news, all sizes are available! In these photos, the dress almost looks more like a neon green, but in person it's a true neon yellow, and it looks killer with a nice end of summer glow! My aunt, who was taking these photos, pointed out how the color really enhanced my tan. It's a perfect dress to wear this time of year, as it really showcases a summer of "hard work," soaking up those rays!

This dress sparked a conversation between my sister, Alyssa, my Aunt Georgeanne and I, while these photos were being taken. They thought it would be more appropriate for a wedding, or cocktail party setting. I don't entirely disagree, as I would wear it to either of those occasions. However I think that it could also be worn to work, maybe toned down a bit with a neutral cashmere cardigan, and Jack Rogers sandals, like I'm wearing here. I recently started a new job, and I haven't worn it to work yet, as it hasn't quite been cool enough to wear it with a sweater yet. I do think it's a little bright to wear on its own in a work setting, but it's starting to cool down a bit, so maybe one of these days I'll try it out! I'm still thinking about it...What do you think? Work appropriate? Or save it for social events?

This Tory Burch bag is my absolute favorite everyday bag! It's big enough for the essentials that I carry on a daily basis, with two large comparments, a smaller zippered compartment, and two small compartments for a cell phone, etc.  It also has a nice padded, zippered, compartment for my laptop, on days that I need to carry that with me as well. 

Lilly Pulitzer Skort

Monday, September 14, 2015




I love absolutely all things Lilly Pulitzer, and this skort is no exception! There's not a Lilly print in the world that I don't like. When I'm buying Lilly, I often have trouble deciding which prints to go with, because they are all so much fun! This skort made that decision easy, because it has patches of so many of last years prints! This print is no longer available, however there are currently skorts available in several beautiful prints! 

Here, I paired my Lilly skort with a sleeveless polo from Vineyard Vines, which gives the outfit a real sporty vibe, especially when worn with tennis shoes! It makes me feel like I should be grabbing a bag of clubs, and heading out on a golf course somewhere! I don't actually know how to golf, but shhhh! Who needs to know, right? Learning to golf is definitely on my bucket list, as I love the atmosphere at golf clubs and country clubs. One of these days! I've also worn this skort with a light, solid colored sweater and pearls, and that's a nice look as well!

This necklace, by Kendra Scott, ties in really nicely with the teal color in the skort. I am a big Kendra Scott fan, and have a handful of her pieces. I've got my eye on the 'Rayne' necklace for the next addition to my Kendra Scott collection!

Ace and Jig

Wednesday, September 9, 2015


 



Here on Long Island we are in the midst of an end of summer heat wave, with record breaking high temperatures, and I'm totally ok with it. In fact, I'm kind of thrilled about it!  Here's why...As much as I am looking forward to pulling out some layered ensembles for fall, there is PLENTY of time for that in the cooler months ahead! While it will be fun at first, I know that as soon as those temps start to really drop, I will be yearning for summer heat, and easy, breezy, playful summer looks, like this one. So you won't hear me complaing about these 90 degree days! In fact, I'm enjoying every last second of it!

This is a dress that I picked up a couple of summers back, at Ace and Jig. The material is super soft, and it is so effortless to throw on. It has such a cute, fun, laid back vibe! I could see transitioning this dress into the earlier days of fall, by pairing it with booties and maybe a denim button down shirt. I'm definitely a fan of Ace and Jig, and I suspect that I will be purchasing more of their pieces in the future!

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, in a recap from my trip to Disney, how I cultured my own pearl at the Pearl Factory, on the Boardwalk. Well, this ring is the result of my hard work! Just kidding, the process didn't involve much work on my part. However, I did choose the ugliest oyster in the bunch, and they often contain the most beautiful pearls! This is a pretty rare, silver blue pearl, that I decided to have placed in a ring setting. I love how it reminds me of fun vacation memories, and I have been wearing it a lot lately!

Perspective

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

A few weeks back I wrote a post about my wonderful experince at Jellyrolls, the dueling piano bar on  Disney's Boardwalk. One of the performers that Alyssa and I very much enjoyed hearing was Jace Pawlak. After coming home, I connected with Jace via Facebook, and I discovered that he has an album that is currently available on Itunes. So naturally, I scurried on over to the purchase button, and well, I've been listening since then!  You guys need to CHECK IT OUT! 

The album is called Perspective, and it is just so enjoyable to listen to. Jace is a super talented musician, and the songs are beautifully written, with meaningful lyrics, and smooth melodies. It's a versatile album, with a perfect combination of songs that are upbeat, that you can jam along to, and songs that are a little slower and will tug on your heart strings. I always love to find a song that has lyrics that I can totally relate to, and this album has a lot of that. It's very real. 

It's kind of impossible to pick a favorite song from this album, because, no joke, they are all SO GOOD, but one song that I have particularly had on repeat over the past couple of weeks is Cry.  It's a great song to crank up the volume, and roll down the car windows! While We're Here, and Don't Talk To Me are also a lot of fun, but like I said, the entire album is fantastic! 

I love when I find an album that I want to listen to over and over again.  This time of year, as we transition into the cooler days ahead, we are surrounded by change. I find good music to be very comforting, and this is such a great time to find some great new tunes! That being said, I encourage you to head on over to Itunes, and purchase your own copy of Jace Pawlak's album, Perspective! 





Oldies, but Goodies

Tuesday, September 1, 2015





Shirt (old) / Sweater (old) / Shorts / Shoes

I wore this outfit last week, when my mom, Alyssa, and I, took Chandler and Sophie out to Greenport one afternoon. We had dinner at Crabby Jerrys, before taking a walk along the dock with the dogs. It was a beautiful night, and we stopped at one of our favorite spots for ice cream, The Magic Fountain, on our way home. We had such a great time, and it was just a perfect summer afternoon! Speaking of summer...Where has it gone?! I can't believe it's September already! I'm definitely not ready for the cooler days that are around the corner, just yet! 

This shirt is SO old! It's one of those that's been in my closet forever, and every now and again I'll pull it out. It's definitely not my usual style, but I had been watching Zach and Tori Roloff's wedding, on Little People Big World, and I was feeling something with a bit of a country edge! I really hardly ever wear denim shorts, I'm more of a chino girl, and this shirt is so random. Usually when I break out of my comfort zone like that I end up feeling uncomfortable, or disappointed, but I actually really liked this look! It's that time of year where summer nights start to cool down, so this sweater (also an oldie but a goodie) was perfect to toss on as an extra light layer.

I hope everyone is enjoying these last weeks of summer! Here on Long Island, we're having a nice heat wave, so I'm soaking up as much sun as I can before it's time for pumpkin everything! Fall is beautiful, and I'll even admit, I'm starting to think about some layered fall looks. But for now, I'm going to eat up all this heat, and get in some good paddles while I still can!


Disney World Recap Part 3: Disney Dining

Friday, August 28, 2015


Mickey Waffles 

For my final Disney recap post, I've decided to share a bit about one more thing in Disney that I absolutely cannot get enough of...the food! I should preface this by saying that, if I tried to write about every single amazing restaurant, and dish, that I've had in Disney, this post would be WAY to long! I can't possibly get to all of it without Paddling In Pearls becoming a Disney food blog. That being said, I'm going to tell you a little about the Disney Dining Plan, and A FEW of my favorite food spots that I visited on my trip last week.  I could see how there might be a misconception among first timers about Disney food being "park food." But take my word for it, Disney has world class dining, and the food is some of the best I've ever had. That's saying a lot for a person who is a vegetarian, and newly gluten free. Since going gluten free, I have found it extremely difficult to eat out. As a result, I've taken to cooking, and I've gotten really, really good at it. Disney makes gluten free eating so easy, and so delicious, that it's one of the very few places, where I prefer their gluten free meals, to my own. They will pretty much modify any meal to make it gluten free. As I mentioned last week in my post about Disney's California Grille, they just make it SO easy!

Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar

Dole Whip

The Disney Dining Plan is an option for guests staying on property. There are some different options, but my family has always opted for the standard dining plan. At $60 per person per day, you get 1 snack credit, 1 quick service credit, and 1 table service credit, for each day of your trip. You can distribute your meal credits as you please throughout your visit (in other words, you can have 2 snacks on one day, and none on another day).  We have found that with this dining plan, we literally never get hungry. It's SO MUCH FOOD! If you are wise about how you use your credits, you can really get a lot for your money. Snacks for example; a water bottle is a snack. However, any restaurant in Disney will give you a cup of water for free, and your quick service meals come with a beverage. So using a snack credit on a water bottle would be kind of a waste. Instead, I like to use my snack credits on snacks that are unique to Disney. Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bars, and Dole Whip Floats are a couple of my favorite Disney treats. Also, select items in the Disney candy stores, like the Confectionary on Main Street, are considered to be snacks. One day at Hollywood Studios, Alyssa had chocolate covered marshmallows, and I had a chocolate covered pineapple. Both were quite large, filling, and oh my goodness, were they delicious! There are so many wonderful snack items to choose from!

Pecos Bill

 
Hurricane Hanna's

A quick service meal, is basically a counter service, where you order your food, pick it up, and bring it back to a table. These menus commonly consist of things like burgers, sandwiches, pizza, salads, etc.  But each quick service location is a little bit different, with food that is unique to that spot. Every Disney resort has at least one quick service location, and the parks have many. On the Disney Dining Plan, a quick service breakfast consists of an entree and a beverage. A quick service lunch/dinner consists of an entree, a side, a dessert and beverage. I like to vary how I use my quick service credits, using them for different meals on different days. Last week, while in the Magic Kingdom, we had dinner at one of my favorite quick service spots, Pecos Bill, in Frontierland. The old fashioned saloon vibe is so much fun! I also had a few quick service lunches at Hurricane Hanna's at the Yacht Club. This was not only a delicious meal, but I loved that I could bring my food back to my lounge chair, and eat it poolside! 

Cape May Cafe 

Table service meals are either where you sit down, a waiter or waitress comes to take your order, and brings it to your table, OR, buffets. On the Disney Dining Plan, at a sit down restaurant, you get an entree, a dessert and a beverage.  At a buffet, it's all you can eat. One of my favorite ways to use a table service credit, is dinner at Cape May Cafe, at the Beach Club. This is a seafood buffet, which is funny, because I don't even eat seafood. However, there are SO MANY other options, salads, soups, side dishes, etc. that I always leave full to the max! Cape May Cafe also has a wonderful character breakfast buffet. 

Narcoossee's 

Alyssa and I, on the deck at Narcoosse's, with Cinderella's Castle in the background
My Dress / Alyssa's Dress

On the Disney Dining Plan, there are some restaurants that are 2 table service credits. These are the more expensive, and a little fancier, restaurants on Disney property. The food at these restaurants can simply not be topped, and the ambiance is on point. Two of my top three Disney restaurants fall into this category. One is California Grille, which I talked about in this post.  The other is Narcoossee's, at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort (which, by the way, is so beautiful! I could literally spend hours in the Grand Floridian lobby, shopping, taking in the sights, and listening to the live pianist and band). Besides having an incredible meal, Narcoossee's is located right on the Seven Seas Lagoon, across from the Magic Kingdom, with an amazing view of Cinderealla's Castle. In my opinion, the view alone is reason enough to eat there! At night, this is a great spot to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks, as well as the Electrical Water Pageant. Hollywood Studios fireworks can also be seen in the distance. Eatting at Narcoosee's has become a tradition in my family. We have dinner, and then sit outside on the deck to watch the fireworks. It's always a special night. I usually make it a point to eat at Narcoosee's at least once during each visit.

So, are you hungry yet? I am! Since I've been home I have been having major Disney food withdrawel!   I know that these Disney Recap posts have been longer than most, but, for anyone planning a trip to Disney in the future, I hope you found them to be fun informative! Or, maybe I've inspired you to start planning a trip of your own! I've had a blast reflecting upon my vacation, and sharing my magical memories with all of you! Next week, it's back to talking fashion, and outfit posts! Until then, have a magical weekend!






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