Maine Girl

Today may be the last day of August, but summer is not officially over until September 21st. It's a bitter sweet time of year. We are happy about a lot of things. The kids go back to school, pumpkin spice coffee is being brewed at Dunkin' Donuts, and we get to enjoy warm days and cools nights outside by the fire pit. Life is good! This is also the time of year that you begin thinking about your wardrobe choices. If you are a fashionista, you've got your wardrobe for fall all planned out, purchased and ready to wear. I used to be like this. But now I am a little more "chill" as my son would say. I have plenty to wear to get me through the entire season, so I really don't need anything. But I have managed to make out a list of pieces that would be nice to have. My goal is to narrow it down to ten pieces. So far I have it down to twelve. And here they are: 1.} A pretty dress is a must. This little peplum number from TALBOTS will get me through the h...

I feel that blue and green is a great transitional color combination. This time of year can be a little challenging when getting dressed. Just remember, it's still August and it's still summer. Don't break out the plaid and the wool quite yet! What are some of your favorite transitional color combinations?  What I wore : ~everything from TALBOTS ~nail color is "5th Avenue" by Essie "The statements and views expressed in these postings are my own and do not reflect those of my employer." ~Laura Lynn Michaud

Fall Fashion Week. What does it mean to you?? To me it means celebrating accomplishments, making new friends and enjoying the excitement of life itself!  By celebrating accomplishments, I mean that we now finally get to recognize everyone's hard work. You put in long hours when you work in the fashion industry. Everyone in this world is just as important as the next. It takes a team to make a dream come to life. You cannot assume that you will make it happen all by yourself. On September 5th, 2013, I am proud to announce that the tiny village store that I manage in Bangor, Maine will once again be celebrating Fashion Week. In previous years we have named this event Fashion's Night Out, but since FNO is on hiatus this year across the United States, we have decided to name it our "Tribute To Fashion Week." We will have a fashion show with real women from our community showing off their unique individual style as well as Tastefully Simple refreshments and a ma...

I spend more time with these ladies than I do with my husband. It's a good thing that we get along so well! We work & play together. There is nothing like being surrounded by fabulous people who encourage you when times are tough and support you through the many decisions you have to make in life. Sometimes I think back to when I first met each one of these ladies and I am so thankful for those times. You never know who you are going to meet in life and how they are going to impact you. But before long, you see your life taking shape because of the choices you have made. And while you still may not understand why you were so lucky to have made the friends that you now have, you realize just how important they are to you.

Recently, my family and I made a trip to Manchester, NH to visit relatives. My sister-in-law was kind enough to take me on a tour of the city. Before we went on our tour I Googled "consignment boutiques in Manchester." CC's Consignment Boutique was the first one to pop up. I mentioned to Judy that I wouldn't mind seeking this one out. We found CC's Consignment Boutique at 389 Chestnut Street. The window displays were really cute. We went inside and the first thing I noticed were the pretty little chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. I am always a sucker for pretty chandeliers. Since it was set up so nicely, I was enticed to look around. There wasn't too much merchandise, so it didn't look junky. I could see that they were very picky about what they chose to sell. Some vintage clothing and jewels were included in the displays. A Dior suit hung from one of the fixtures. Everything was so unique. I almost felt like I was in a full price retail boutique. ...

What I wore: ~statement ring by  Silpada   ~suede ballet flats by Amalfi ~everything else from TALBOTS

I recently have been lucky enough to be chosen by the Vogue Influencer Network to experiment with "Catfight" lipstick and "Jilted" lip pencil by Urban Decay. I have to say that the pigment is great and they both are very long lasting, but as much as I would like to be a lipstick girl, I can't seem to give up my gloss. Ladies look so much more glamorous and sexy to me when they are applying lipstick in a little pretty little cosmetic mirror than when slathering on gloss at the dinner table, but lipstick seems to be much more high maintenance to me. I have little time to look in a mirror during the course of my typical day and gloss is just so easy to slap on. However, I do recommend this lipstick for glamorous evenings out on the town. It's a great color. It looks great on pale skinned ladies such as myself, as well as tan skin. And I typically do not use a lip pencil, but it's great for preventing any "bleeding" lipcolor. On a scale of 1-10,...

  This is the time of year that I feel torn when I get dressed. I LOVE summer so much, but I am so excited to see the new fall fashions arriving in stores. I just couldn't wait to wear my textured scoop-neck sweater layered over my classic denim shirt from TALBOTS . This is such a classic look. But you know me. I can't just let classic be classic. I need a little bling in the mix. Hence the bead and flower rhinestone necklace I am wearing, also from TALBOTS . This necklace happens to be my obsession of the moment and I am wearing it with just about everything I own. As a matter of fact,  I am bringing it with me on my three day mini vaca this week. Along with my classic strand of pearls of course.  Oh and I mustn't forget to mention the cute rain boots I found at, believe it or not, Walmart of all places. If you know me then you know that Wally World is not one of my favorite places on the planet. I just happened to run across these cute boots when doing the earl...

 I feel that I have always been a spiritual person, but it hasn't been until of recent days that I started practicing Zen Yoga. Zen Yoga has not only been a way for me to connect with the spiritual world, but also a way for me to stay positive, healthy and energetic in my every day life. I also sleep better at night.  How do you disconnect with your busy life and connect to your soul? Benefits of Zen Yoga : 1. a sense of calm 2. a sunnier outlook 3. aches erased 4. better, longer nights sleep 5. crazy high confidence 6. head to toe toning {ZEN earrings available at Laura's Style Boutique }

It's always a pleasure to visit my hair stylist Charlene. Not only is she excellent at what she does, she's also a great friend. She is always so positive and creative. A true "out of the box" thinker. Right up my ally! Today we decided to kick the red up a notch and well, I love it! I always feel so good after a fresh color. I also happen to love the Neuma products she carries at her salon which she has appropriately named Nourish. Today I purchased this cute Neuma neuMoisture set which Charlene handed me in a beautiful gift bag. It's that special treatment that keeps me going back! Plus I just love her :)

You have more than likely seen me wear this Talbots floral pencil skirt more than once in my blog postings, but seriously, do you blame me! I just love it. It's a happy skirt! But mainly I intended to make my necklace the focus of this post. As much as I want to tell you that this is a JCrew necklace, I am going to confess and tell you that I picked it up on sale at JCPenny for $1.99 last winter.  Costume jewelry is the best.

Textures, prints and patterns. Oh my!

Never underestimate the power of a good breakfast and an inspiring catalog to begin any day of the week!

{Me at age six. Just dancing around in full costume as usual.} Even though I have not taken a ballet class for many years, I still call myself a dancer. Don't ask me why. I believe that it's just in my blood. I was strong enough to be able to wear my first point shoes at age eleven, and that is where my tolerance for an immense amount of pain began. It has not been until now, at age thirty-nine, that I have decided that my endurance for discomfort must come to an end.  I stopped wearing my point shoes at age seventeen, when "the boys" started to take over my brain. But I still continued to live through the agony of ill fitting shoes. This time it wasn't for dancing. It was for fashion . Please don't get me wrong. There is nothing erroneous about feeling a little uncomfortable in order to look amazing. Those four inch heels make my legs look so long! But after twenty-one years of working forty or more hours a week while attempting to tolerate my mis...

Being a lover of fashion and living in Maine, I am always on the look out for fabulous local designers and I try to support them whenever possible. I have been coveting the ever popular Sea Bags for quite some time and my vacation on the coast of Maine validated the fact that I must have one of these bags. This is the one I chose. I happened to see it speaking to me from a cute little store front window display called Jane Alden . What I wore : ~ TALBOTS linen blazer, white slimming jeans, necklace and vintage pointy toe pumps ~ Max Studio ruffled blouse ~ Silpada pink cocktail ring ~vintage bakelite bracelet from the Antique Marketplace & Café ~ Butter London nail polish in Blagger ~ Sea Bags tote "The statements and views expressed in this posting are my own and do not reflect those of my employer." ~Laura Lynn Michaud