on MUCH MORE THAN ME (& a GIVEAWAY!)

Sometimes you just stumble onto something so cool, you can't believe you hadn't heard of it before. That's what happened with Much More Than Me. As soon as I got to the website I was in shock I hadn't ever been there before.

Much More Than Me is an amazing company that was founded "out of a joint desire to give people a creative way to advocate for acting with greater compassion toward human beings and animals". To that end, Much More Than Me has a shop full of awesome t-shirts, and for each one purchased, a percentage of the sale is donated to a cause. And even cooler yet, is that you get to select what organization to donate to, from a great list of options. While MMTM was founded from the core passion to advocate for rescue animals, they support and promote lots of organizations. So, in short, you pick your tee, and you pick where you want your donation to go. Plus, you get to join ranks with the celebrities and actors that support the company. Win-win-win.

One of the co-founders of MMTM was incredibly generous and sent me the Rafferty Reasons t-shirt, which I (honestly) wore four days in a row. Yes, that's right, four. Mainly because it's so incredibly comfortable, but also because I was so honored to wear such a great message around town.



You have a chance to win your own t-shirt from Much More Than Me! If you win, you'll get to select the item you want. Make sure to enter below, and to follow them on their Facebook page and Twitter (definitely find the coupon code currently being offered, too).

Please note: this giveaway IS open to International followers :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ON yesterday wins (warning: BABIES & PUPPIES ahead)

Wednesday was wonderful.

It started with an audition with one of my favorite casting directors. Followed by being offered to sign at a new agency (!!!). This alone would have made Wednesday so very wonderful.

But then.. then there were babies. BABIES! Twins, in fact. Cutie, sweetie, lovey, funny, giggly babies. A little boy and a little girl who just stole all of our hearts away last summer. It's amazing to watch them grow, and to see how very much a boy the little boy is, and how very much a girl the little girl is. Best friends were there, too, and we coo-ed and commented on how baby feet are most excellent.

Then LaLa and I got a lot of work done from my office (read: my bed) and I got the giggles myself over how very much I love my new job and love working from home and love my life. She got her own puppy giggle over the flowy dress I had on (which I tried to capture for you in that photo up there, she was wrapping herself up in the skirt portion, I just could. not. deal. with the cuteness).

After we finished our work, in an oh-my-god-will-we-finish style, we hopped a cab to Aunt Julie's where all of LaLa's other Aunties were waiting to meet her. Also, this was a girl's night dinner party, but mostly La decided it was about her. See the picture above of two of her Auntie's looking down? That's because they were talking to her. We ate mostly healthy, delicious things.. but those cupcakes did us in. We never saw them coming. And we tried to do an outfit photo for you but I'll tell you what, an oversized jean button down mixed with a flowy dress, does not make for the best photo opt. But in person? In person this outfit was getting rave reviews. Someday I'll be the type of blogger that photographs outfits daily but today I am not.

This whole week is just so magickal. I am a grateful girl.

ON when you really need shorts right that minute

this is important information, as you never know when you'll find yourself in need of shorts right away.

for example, you may find yourself in 80+ degree weather and just not want to wear another dress.

but you haven't any short skirts. and you haven't any shorts. WHAT DO YOU DO?

Step 1: dig through your clothes until you find jeans

Step 2: make sure you're okay with never having those jeans again

Step 3: find scissors and cut off a large portion of the jeans

Step 4: voila, you have shorts

i completed this purple on purple look with a multicolored plaid shirt. it was flannel.

let's all process that: i cut up jeans to make shorts bc it was so hot, then added flannel.

i still got it, folks. i. still. got. it.

here is my favorite thing about this: i wanted shorts, i cut up my jeans. bam. that's it.

i didn't sit there and analyze and hem and haw over if i should or shouldn't.

i just did it. which is exactly how i make all of my best decisions.

watch out clothing items, none of you are safe from getting chopped up now!

ON a good life indeed

sometimes it is the end of the day and you happen to be right by one of your favorite places

and one of your favorite people also happens to be already on the way to said favorite place

and so of course you drive there because life is wonderful like that sometimes.

and you make it there first and you're freezing so you pop into the forever21,

because last minute oh-my-gosh-i-need-a-sweater is exactly what forever21 is made for,

and you grab a striped situation and throw it on over your floral print dress (you pay for it, don't worry)

and you've got these patterned, fabric boots on, too, and you think of course i can rock this!

because you love throwing on whatever and looking mismatched yet oh-so-hip.

and you meet your person and he straight up makes fun of your awesome outfit (!!)

and so you make the face at him as seen in photo number four above, a scowling sort of smile,

and later you go home and ask your pup what she thinks and she's all 'girl, you look so good'

and you're like 'yep, thought so' (and katilda says it best: 'pshh. haters gonna hate!').

and you think yes, this is a good life. this is a good life, indeed.

On One of Those Outfits

jacket: j.crew // dress: BB Dakota // shoes: converse // necklace: satya

When we got to the place we were staying, it finally dawned on me what I had forgotten: shoes.

I had flip flops that I'd driven the five hours north in, and I had open-toed sandal wedges for the next day. But it seemed that I sort of forgot to think of what shoes I'd wear that night.

So I threw on my converse kicks, and all of a sudden, I felt completely like myself.

Even more, it seemed to be the perfect outfit for a night by a campfire, pairing perfectly with s'mores.

She snapped a quick photo of me.. right before my camera died.

Turns out I had forgotten my camera battery, too :)

On My Can't-Stop-Wearing-It Dress

wore this dress part of saturday, sunday, and all day today.

not sorry about the mega fashion crime.

not. sorry. one. bit.

:)

StyleFULL: Beach Baby

This is one of my all time favorite places in the world.

Here's what I wore there last Saturday:

Skirt, tank & flip flops: all from Target! / Sunnies: Urban Outfitters 

The view from the back porch. 

Wouldn't you want to spend every weekend here, too?!

Grateful girl.

My True Love Gave To Me:

On the first day of Spring, we got a BEAUTIFUL day here in NYC!

Jeans: Gap / Tank: Loft / Top & Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters / Flats: Melissa

It finally felt warm enough to wear my new coral jeans. I had a great day of taking Henry on a walk, running some errands, popping by my favorite fountains and enjoying an iced drink from Argo Tea (I love Argo because they cater to vegans with almond milk, soy milk & lots of vegan food options!). Later that evening, I wore this super comfy outfit to my first night of meditation class (more on that soon).

How did you celebrate the first day of Spring?

What A Wonderful Boy You Are.

Well, hello there boys.

GQ recently chose their favorite fashion forward 30 under-30 male actors.

Needless to say, it's a delightful little slideshow to click through.

Boys: take note! Fashion can be easy! Even, dare I say it, fun. Every guy in this list has their own unique style and stays true to themselves. My favorite example? Michael B. Jordan (Parenthood, swoon) and his chronic cardigans. He looks fantastic but shows he knows who he is while also being the most comfortable guy in the room.

I love men's fashion. Love it. I often find myself, while shopping, looking at clothing that I'm totally drooling over only to then realize that it's not stuff I would wear but instead, what my dream well-dressed dude would rock. That being said, there's also something insanely delightful about a guy who has no clue how to dress, throws random things on and still looks ridiculously well-dressed. That messy, casual thing. (This is true for women, too! But this post has nothing to do with you ladies, sorry.)

All right, what say you? Agree with the list? Think they left someone out? Couldn't possibly care less about men's clothing or style at all? Sweet! Let's hear it!

C is for Cookie.

Recently, I volunteered at the CCAP benefit. CCAP, according to their website, is "Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) works with public schools across the country to prepare underserved high school students for college and career opportunities in the restaurant and hospitality industry."

How cool is that?! My friend Deborah's father is the founder so lucky for me, I got to witness just how awesome this organization is first hand. And how awesome tables full of dessert are. 
Passion fruit & caramel macaroons? Um, yes please.

So many of New York City's most delicious restaurants and amazing chefs came out to support.

Beautiful friends enjoying the night.

Sometimes you just need to sit down for a minute and take silly mirror pictures.

Outfit photos of the night and laughs courtesy of one of my favorite ladies.

Dress: Macy's (NYC); Shoes: Filene's (Boston); Necklace: Satya

So many people stopped me to compliment my dress. I couldn't help but laugh as some very wealthy and classy New Yorkers were loving a dress that I spied in the juniors section of Macy's. 

Just goes to show that you never know where you'll find an amazing new item for your closet :)

Eat well, be well & give back!

P.S. For more of my pics & a delicious review, check out Tough Cookie NYC

Thanks, Deb, for letting me partake in the night! For more info on CCAP, please visit their website.