Fall Transition and Fridays Fab Favorites

When September Ends by christina-villecco featuring stretchy pants

I'm thrilled to be co-hosting Fridays Fab Favorites with Style Elixir today!For the occasion I've shared a few tips for the summer-fall transition. Dressing for the in between can be tricky. Early September is still warm, but the cool morning morning air calls for something more than summer dresses and sandals. I still love a good peep toe come fall, but pair it with long pants and deeper colors. And for those very warm days, light colors are still an option, done with sleeves and a longer skirt. These are a few ways I will be transitioning my summer and fall favorites.

Check out some great blogs in the link-up!

Style Elixir (follow here!) | Shimmer Me Pretty (follow here!) | Musings of a Mom, (Esq.) (follow here!)

Friday's Fab Favorites Link Up:

1. Please follow your Host Style Elixir (via Bloglovin' or Instagram) and your lovely Co-Hosts... Kylie Rae from Shimmer Me Pretty (follow via Bloglovin') Christina from Musings of a Mom, (Esq.) (follow via Bloglovin') 2. Link up anything... it could be one of your previous posts that you like, or a post about your favorite things! 3. Please include a link back to this post within your post (because it's such a nice thing to do!) 4. Now simply add your link below! We hope you all enjoy meeting other bloggers and discovering some new things. 5. If you would like to Co-Host Friday's Fab Favorites, email stylelixir@gmail.com for more details!

<div align="center"><a href="http://stylelixir.com" title="Style Elixir"><img src="http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/s570/stylelixir/FFFLinkUpButton200x200_zpsab036813.png" alt="Style Elixir" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Join The Link Up Now!

Summer Work Wear

To unofficially end the summer work wear season, I paired a comfy pencil skirt with a silk top and my favorite black sandals. Thankfully I can go back to easily straightening my hair as the September air arrives next week (as the grow out phase is underway and not very pretty).

Skirt, top: Ann Taylor, Necklace: J.Crew, Shoes: Sole Society, Clutch: GiGi NewYork

Linking up with Mix & Match Fashion

Print to be Tied

Print to be Tied by christina-villecco featuring a zipper pouch

Yes, I love things that match. And C. Wonder knows how to lure me in with 30% off. So I got myself a little mid-week pick me up to compensate for having the flu in August, a toddler with an ear infection, an angry client, and a husband going in for surgery for the 3rd time in 8 months. Wish us all luck!

Musings First Birthday

Happy 1st birthday to my little corner of the Internet, and a huge thank you to all my fabulous readers! It seems like just yesterday I was a carefree law school graduate starting Wearing White After Labor Day, and here I am 5 years later with a hubby, a 3 year old, a blog of a different flavor, a career as a lawyer, and nearly 3,000 page-views this month. Here's to many more years of Musings!

Fall Fashion Frenzy

Ahh, Fall. The word alone makes me happy. While I love days at the beach and margaritas in the backyard, I also love pumpkin everything, tweed, burgundy, and dark plum nail polish. Creating a fall wishlist has kept me focused and helped me to avoid the midweek sale binge which usually results in needless spending on things that will seem tired and uninteresting several weeks after the fact. Click below the collage to see product info and shop away!

Fall Fashion Frenzy by christina-eccleston-villecco featuring petite skinny pants

Summer Saturday

Sweater, necklace: Loft; Shorts: J.Crew; Shoes: Sam Edelman

Saturdays call for relaxed fabrics, open weaves, texture, and comfort. For a toddler birthday party followed by errands and then afternoon cocktails with mom friends, I paired an open weave sweater with white chino shorts and added a necklace for color. Neutrals are always a good choice, especially when a clingy 3 year old makes it difficult to actually spend more than 5 minutes creating an outfit.

A Few Favorites

A Few Favorites by christina-villecco featuring Dartington Crystal

                        

linking up with Mix&Match Fashion

Work Wear

Pencil Skirt: J.Crew, Blouse: Ann Taylor; Shoes: Sole Society; Clutch: Louis Vuitton

Come August, I am sick to death of summer clothes. I long for tweed, wool, and tights. Today, I am participating in a round-table at Proskauer's NYC office, where I will be the least seasoned attorney in attendance so a good outfit is of course a must. My trusty pencil skirts are about the only thing I can still get excited for as I wait anxiously for September to roll around.

My Essentials with Man Crates

My Essentials with Man Crates by christina-eccleston-villecco featuring a wine glass

Having a 3 year old and a fashion addiction makes one rethink what it means to pack light. I refuse to be the mom at the beach with 5 chairs, 10 bags, and a rolling cart so I'm serious about cutting out any nonessential from my routine. When ManCrates.com asked me to share a list of a few essential items I couldn't live without, I had to think about both form and function.

1. Starbucks. Yes, its hyped and overpriced, and there are lines, and terrible spelling crimes committed on most cups. But the earthy aromas and nutty blends engulf my tired senses each morning as I await the first delicious sip.

2. Lipstick. Not to be a total girl, but I need the butter soft, smooth infusion of moisture and color from Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color on my lips almost hourly. I can't fathom surviving a day without it.

3. Wine. Similar to the cherry on top of a sundae, a good glass of full bodied Cabernet is the best part of a good day (besides of course playing trains with my 3 year old).

4. Tory Burch. I am a bit addicted to a top handle bag, something about the security of holding my essential items in my grasp, feeling the saffiano leather against my palm. I would be lost without my trusty tote.

5. Sunnies. Because I detest fine lines, and can't imagine a day in the sun without my shades.

What are a few things you can't live without? Click here for the essential gift the next time you need the perfect gift for your favorite guy.

Why 30 Really is the New 20

'Don't worry, 30 is the new 20!' This expression is usually used among a table of full cocktails, as a girlfriend turns the big 3-0 a midst clinking glasses, cheers, and toasts to the future. But unfortunately for us, 30 is really the new 20 in all the ways we wish it wasn't.

When you are 20, you have no money, no job, and no real direction in life. There seems to be an infinite menu of options. Yet as soon as you chose one, the others are eliminated from contention, and the fear of buyers remorse settles in like dust on unused china plates left too long on the bottom shelf of the buffet.

So 30 rolls around. the decade of contentment, prosper, direction. Except something changed somewhere between 2004 and 2009 when I graduated college and then law school, when financial powerhouses collapsed, markets tanked, and uncertainty ran rampant like unconstrained brush-fire. Now, as I build a family, buy a house, work hard to climb the ubiquitous corporate ladder, those 30-something fortunes are out of reach and in their place I find the familiar discontent of my 20's still alive and well a decade later.  It is in some ways different- security of marriage, love for others runs deeper, and caring for a child fills my heart with indescribable warmth and fear. And these treasures would have at one time seemed fictitious to my 20-something self.  But the feeling that things are still not settled, finances are tight, time is escaping and standing still all at once is present. And perhaps that is life. And really 20 is just a younger, more tolerant 30, and our 30-something selves can teach our 20-something selves to live in the moment, say thank you, and just keep calm.