Friday's Fancies #18: Lovely Layers

I can't believe I missed Friday Fancies last week. So lame.  But don't you worry--- I'm back again! Still loving green (did I mention my new kate spade bag is emerald? So excited), and I once again worked it in to one of my looks. I'm definitely a layering girl in real life. It rare that you'll find me with out a cardigan. I may have a problem actually. I wear sweaters in 100 degree weather in the DC summers. Crazy.

Hope all of y'all have a great weekend!!! Stay safe for those of you in the snow up here in the Northeast! Thankfully we are just a little wet in DC. No snow for us!

Oh and congratulations to the lovely ladies behind Wil.Harris on winning the Mardi Gras Giveaway! Send me your mailing address ASAP gals, so I can get you some beads before Tuesday!

Color Crush: Greyed Jade

First of all... notice anything different around here? 

I finally have a real blog! OMG I know. So exciting. Kate has been putting up with me for the last, four months or so to put this together, and I'm absolutely thrilled with out it looks. She calmed all of my craziness and created something so much more than I ever could have thought of. Thank you so much Kate, and to any of you out there, I can't recommend her services enough. We may still be under construction today- but bare with us!  

So we all know I've been obsessed with Emerald lately (as evidenced here, here, here, here oh and here). Well I was browsing pinterest this weekend and decided there's another color I might be loving a little bit more. I know. Shocking. It's no lie I love the color grey (very strange I know), but this Greyed Jade color is absolutely gorgeous and so glamorous. 

I couldn't help but imediately start shopping to add some pieces to my wardrobe. While I still haven't found anything that I can't live without, I have found a few things that I love...

shawl collar cardigan / coat / straight leg pants / heels / leather handbag / metallic bag / necklace / scarf 

I mean, that kate spade bag? I may have to add it to my collection. LOVE it.

Anyways, hope you ladies have a wonderful weekend. I plan on catching up on some MUCH needed sleep. Yay. So excited.

Friday's Fancies #17: Black and White

I absolutely loved this week's Friday Fancies theme. Black and white is one of my go-to combos. Last year I made a goal of integrating more color into my wardrobe, but lately I've been reaching for some go to black and white options.

I especially love to pop this color combo with a few gold accessories. Something about it just seems so perfectly classic to me.

Anyways, hope you ladies have a wonderful weekend. I plan on catching up on some MUCH needed sleep. Yay. So excited.

First Lady Fashion

I'm still recouperating from the madness that has been this 57th Presidential Inauguration. I promise to bring a full re-cap soon, but I wanted to check in and say hello! What did y'all think of Michelle's looks yesterday? I'm loving this edgier first lady. The sleek hair (and the new bangs!), the graphic print with the sparkly belt? Love.

via

While I loved the 2009 yellow combo--- it seemed she catered a bit to what she thought she should wear,  something traditional, but this is the second term now, and she's setting her new style agenda off on the right foot!

Then she showed up in this gorgeous Jason Wu gown. I loved the bright color, the subtle pattern, and the fit. She looked absolutely stunning.

Friday Fancies #16

For this week's round of Friday Fanices the theme is Outfit Crush. It may be the fact that the inauguration is now upon us but I have red white and blue on the brain lately. I pinned this a while back and I'm still obssessed. 

Here's my take. I may have gone a tad overboard with the broaches, but I love the combo of the feminine lacy dress with the structured, yet still feminine, military jacket. 

Sorry for being such a bad blogger this week, but life just gets in the way at times. My parents get into town tonight, so let the whirlwind weekend officially begin. I promise to tweet and instagram up a storm over the festivities! So follow me twitter and instagram.

Have a great weekend lovelies!

Emerald Inaugural {FF #15}

I'm not going to lie, I've had Inauguration on the brain all week. I'm so excited to get all dressed up, see friends and family, and pretend like we are a part of the Washington elite. What a glamourous life I lead (said with full sarcasm). So after Wednesday's post where I talked inaugural options, where SO many of you commented and just gushed about the emerald option (no longer available at Macy's BTW, ANNOYING), I've been re-evaluating my options. I want to incorporate emerald one way or another. But should I run out and get a new dress? or maybe invest in a few accessories? What to do. What to do. So these are all options I would love to consider adding to my look.

Evening dress | high heels | handbag | ring | necklace |  drop earrings | stud earrings | head band | sequin gown |  bangle

What do y'all think? Full on gown? or do I stick with accessories?

PS. How amazing would it be for Michelle to rock that Elie Saab Gown? I'm dying just thinking about it.  Have a great weekend loves!

Inaugural Gowns

As many of you know, my office is on Capitol Hill here in DC so I'm lucky enough to see the gorgeous capitol building every day. Congress officially began their new session last week, but the President doesn't start his new term for another two weeks or so.  I've been slowing watching the process as they've built the scaffolding, hung flags, and delivered more port-a-potties than you can imagine. With festivities kicking off next weekend I've been running around making sure I have dresses and accessories to all of the various events that weekend. I think I'll be attending 3 balls this year, most of them for work, so I need three different outfits. 

While I haven't decided yet, there are some things to consider for Inaugural balls. First... this is not prom. Obvious, but I haven't really had to wear long gowns since high school, so there's a whole new set of rules.  As with anything in DC the balls are potential networking events, so I need to stay some what professional. Strapless dresses are pushing it--- so make sure you have a wrap. This may not be the time to make a real statement with your fashion choices, so tone down the color and the trends. 

Here are a few dresses I think would be perfect. 

I really like the coverage of this dress. It's a gorgeous bright red, which is fun while still being patriotic (obviously this is an inaugural ball). 

Red Dress

Again, really liking the coverage of this dress, but the lace detail make it a little less stuffy. Plus it's emerald, so on point with the trends--- while not taking too many risks. 

Emerald Dress

While this dress is strapless, I really like it. The deep color is fun, yet professional and the beading is just enough to make the dress unique but again not overly flashy. A gorgeous pashmina and you're all set to hit the town.

Purple Dress

Again, this one has some sparkle (which we all know I love), but I adore the halter neck. The shoulders show a lot of skin but you do have to worry about cleavage.

Navy Blue Dress

So what would you wear to an inaugural ball?

{Friday Fancies #14} New Year New Hopes

It's Friday! Yay! I'm loving this strange pseudo week. We should have tuesdays off more often! Plus I was on the hill all day yesterday for the kick off of the 113th Congress,  so it didn't really feel like a work day either. Now, on the the main event...

Green Top | Sequin Blazer | Jeans | Flats 

I'm loving this week's theme of "New Year New You." 2013 Promises to be a great new year. I'm obsessed that the Pantone color of the year is Emerald. Remember who called that? Wow, I'm awesome.

I'm loving the emerald trend and hope 2013 will have lots of it! Still loving leopard--- and I refused to leave it in 2012. Sorry. Color blocking? Yep. Love all the citrus combos for Spring. I'm officially obsessed with sequins after wearing my NYE look

I'm also, obviously, looking forward to going back to school (hopefully). Even if it is a professional school... I'm beyond excited to take advantage of the student lifestyle again. Jeans. Flexible schedule. No boring suits. Ugh. So excited

Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

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Polka Dots and Curls

I spent the weekend with my bff a few weeks ago, and we obviously had to do a photo shoot for fun in downtown Williamsburg. 

Dress: forever21 {old} {similar} {love}  | Sweater {LOFT} | Belt {Macy's} | Tights {Macy's} | Coat {Target--old} | Bag {similar} | Glasses {similar}

Eyes: Naked Palette, L'Oreal Volumnous Mascara | Lips: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Stain in Honey | Face : CoverGirl Foundation, boi-ing concealer, CoverGirl TRUblend Mineral Powder, The balm Hot Mama Blush

2012 in Review

Well since the new year is upon us, I thought I would do a quick look back at 2012. What a year it was. I had a rough start to the year emotionally, but I think I've really come into my own, and so much of that is due to blogging. 

January and February

A stressful few months at work, but that stress led to a few emotional breakdowns that ultimately lead me to make some major changes in my life. The stress lead me to the take the jump and make the decision to get back into the blog world. 

March and April

I created Blue Dog Belle and absolutely fell in love with blogging. I began branching out, meeting new friends, and trying new things with fashion. 

May and June

Tons of fun. Puerto Rico. Relaxed in the lovely pre summer weather. 

July and August

Lots of life decisions were made in these two months. I began devoting myself to the LSAT full time and realized how much I love fashion blogging. 

September and October

I had the greatest ride during the political season this year. The convention in Charlotte was the experience of a life time then came the decision to trek out to Ohio for the final push into Election day. Fun times. Oh. And I took the LSAT

 November and December

We Won! I came back to DC rejuvenated and ready for change. Started working on the blog more, took time for friends old and new, and started planning for 2013. 

Can wait to see what next year brings!