Friday, January 31, 2014

My Style Lately











TGIF on the real!

This graphic hoodie from my friends at Style Lately expresses my only plans for this weekend.  Have you subscribed to Style Lately yet?  They feature some pretty necessary trends at some pretty incredible prices.  I also have this leather pencil skirt and a practical #selfie tee on my wishlist.  

And while we are on the subject, let's talk about my style lately.  Random as ever, I know.  In the past two weeks I have been dishing out complete prep, winter boho, corporate wear and a little street style.  But I am ok with it...and I hope you are too.  Who wants to dress like a bohemian goddess when you feel like a complete bada** some days.  Different attitudes call for different fashion.  And I finally broke down and bought wedge sneakers.  They were on major clearance and I was tired of having an internal battle over them for the past year.  I wore them to dinner last Friday, and I slightly regretted my decision when the 17 year old in attendance asked for the deets...  But I decided that I am going to wear wedge sneakers in the back-half of my twenties and I am going to love them.  

There will be a rare Saturday post on Moda & the Mar tomorrow, so make sure to come back!

Thanks for reading!  I hope you have a fabulous weekend!  Linkups below.

Linking Up With: Lauren // LuLu // Allison // Kristen


Thursday, January 30, 2014

A Decade of Love











Happy Thursday, Snow Bunnies!

I'm sure you have all heard by now, but winter storm Leon dropped buckets of ice and snow here in Eastern NC for the first time in three years.  Snow shuts down this part of the world.  We simply cannot handle that there is something on the roads/grounds.  I took full advantage of the snow day with cinnamon pancakes, a Gossip Girl marathon and homemade snow cream.  I also loved seeing how crazy the snow makes the puppies.  There was so much ice they turned the backyard into a race track slip-n-slide and chased each other until their paws started to freeze.

In March or April of 2000 my mom came home from a day of shopping with this J.Crew denim jacket.  And I hated it.  Nobody else in my small-town high school had a denim jacket {or if they did they hadn't worn it since the early '90s}  I mean, nobody.  And the last thing I wanted to do as an unpopular freshman was to stick out even more.  I tried it on over and over...and over... and finally agreed to keep it.  And wouldn't you know Mom -and J.Crew - are always right.  A year or so later I was lost in a sea of  jean jackets at school.  I can't tell you how many times this forced-fashion process happened with me and my mom growing up.  At the time I would smirk at the items and bury them in my closet until they became "popular."  Now, I am extremely grateful for her influence.  I know it's one of the reasons I love to take risks in fashion and why I still play dress-up every day.  

And in a rare hair-up post, I wanted to show off these gorgeous earrings from Trendz Boutique.  The pictures simply don't do justice to the colors and detail.  Trendz never fails to impress. - and at $10 and under for most of the earrings, they never break the bank either!

Thanks for reading!  Linkups below.

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Linking Up With: Bethany // Meghan // Agi // Jacqueline // Erin // Tara


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

A Little Black Dress and My Anchor


Happy Wednesday, Dolls!

Today I am teaming up with the gorgeous Claire of Little Miss Fashion Queen to style a little black dress from day to night.  Isn't Claire a bombshell?!  She has such a classic personal style.  I adore the touch of peplum on her LBD.  And the Chanel pin - I die.  Go spend some time on her page.  I know you will be fast friends.











Lat & Lo coordinate cuff c/o  - use "modaandthemar" for 20% off your purchase

I styled my LBD {on this terribly windy day} for a typical work look with a long grey blazer.  Even though the color palette can seem completely banker boring, the leopard detail and fun booties infuse my personal style into the look.  These booties.  Swoon.   A chunky heel with gold detail, suede tassels, and, a pointed toe that could clean a corner.  Perfection. 

I was so excited to share this special piece of jewelry today!  Lat & Lo is a Southern company creating memories and conversation pieces with customized coordinate jewelry.  Handcrafted in the USA, each piece tells a unique story of the wearer through just a few numbers.  The idea is to create a tangible memory of where your life is anchored.  I immediately knew the exact location I wanted to memorialize on my cuff.  Shackleford Banks is a barrier island off the coast of Carteret County, NC.  If you are familiar with this area at all, you know that "Shack" is famous for it's wild horses and popular shores for boaters in the summer.  However, I consider Shack such an integral part of my life.  

While I didn't live in Carteret County, I spent every spring break, summer and Christmas vacation at my grandparents house here.  Who wouldn't want to stay with their grandparents all summer when they live at the beach?!  The majority of every summer was spent on the boat at Shack.  It's where I learned to swim, dive, and drive a boat; where I learned to find sand dollars and start a camp fire.  During college summers, it became a place to party and flirt, and when I met Matt it became our Summer Saturday routine.  And on August 20, 2011 it became the place where he asked me to love him forever.  Shack is most definitely where my heart and spirit are anchored.  It's my favorite place on this planet.  And now I can carry all of these memories with me in this gorgeous gold cuff.  

Ok, sappiness on the lock down now.  Lat & Lo is offering an AHHmazing deal for you guys!  Get 20% off your custom order with the code modaandthemar {enter at checkout.}  How perfect would it be to gift a friend or loved one with a token of a special place.  Valentine's Day is just two weeks away so get to ordering now! - code is valid until 02/27

Thanks for reading!  Linkups below.

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Linking Up With: Shanna // Lindsey // Jessica // Sarah // Courtney // Alison












Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Styling By Ale












Happy Tuesday, babes!

Today starts our two-day blizzard {translation of NC lingo: 2-5" of snow.}  And while I am so so SO excited about getting a little wintery for the first time in 3 years, it's also such an inconvenience.  It's an inconvenience because I am so not prepared for snow and/or ice.  I am in fact so unprepared, I spent my entire lunch break yesterday searching for snow boots.  FACT:  of the 11 stores I visited/called, zero stock snow boots.  Zero.  I mean, really.  I understand we get snow once every three to ten years, but can't a major retailer carry at least one or two options just in case?  I mean, really.  Another fact:  I secretly just wanted snow boots to look adorable snow-bunnyish in the 2-4 inches of snow.  Alas, I will be rocking my rain boots with 4 to 8 pairs of socks.  Wish me and my toes luck.

Today I wanted to introduce you to a wonderful fashion service by a truly incredible fashionista.  For some people, like myself, fashion and style seems to come easy.  I have been dressing myself and remixing my wardrobe since I was 5.  I honestly don't know where my love of fashion started, but it has been my love and creative outlet for decades.  My parents and husband can attest to the numerous hours I get lost in my closet playing dress up.  

This desire to create beautiful imagery with my clothing just seems to come naturally to me.  However, I know a lot of woman their clothes to represent them, and to seem creative and stylish, but either don't have the time or patience to really work with their wardrobe.  This is where a style consultant comes in.  How nice would it be to have a subject, stylish eye come in and remix your wardrobe, edit down all of your impulse purchases, or even go shopping for you within a set budget.  Good news is, I know someone who can do just that for you.  - Styling By Ale is a great tool for those who need a little more assistance in the fashion department. 

 I was introduced to Ale's styling service through Instagram and we decided to collaborate on a typical consultation.  We discussed my personal style, the event I needed to dress for, my budget, and of course my sizes and measurements.  Three days later, I had this GORgeous J.Crew embellished shell on my doorstep.  I can honestly say I don't know if I would have selected this shell for myself had I been shopping at J.Crew.  I probably would have passed it up thinking it was too "summery" for January.  However, now that I have it in my closet, I am discovering endless styling possibilities.  Ale nailed it.  

Please visit her Facebook page or contact her to discuss what styling opportunities you need!

Sorry I got a little wordsy today, but I just had to talk about this phenom tortoise cuff from my friends at Moon and Lola !  This is one of their newer pieces and is so representative of their classic, southern style.  Honestly, most days I want to live in a Moon and Lola store.  Everything is SO pretty and fun.  My Moon and Lola wishlist is miles {and miles} long.  And it is all monogrammed.

If you actually made it this far, thanks for reading!  Linkups Below ! 
Don't forget to enter the CASH giveaway in Monday's post!

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Linking Up With: Laura // Lauren // Elizabeth // Karly Kim


Monday, January 27, 2014

Valentine Work Wear & A $1,000 Cash Giveaway










Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you all had an amazing weekend!  Things were pretty quite around the homestead this weekend.  It was actually the tzu tu's first birthday Saturday.  We celebrated with a puppy cup {whipped cream} from Starbucks, lots of play time in the backyard, and "banana" flavored puppy cupcakes that I made at home.  And after all of the whipped cream and icing, Sunday turned into bath day for both pups.  

With Valentine's Day just two weeks away, my brain is locked into all things pink, red and gold.  I love Valentine's Day simply because of the color scheme and adorable decorations... and all of the chocolate doesn't hurt.  And I can proudly say the hubs is my first true Valentine {sorry, Dad - you were a really swell Valentine for the first 25 years of my life...} Since Valentine's Day falls on a Friday this year, I will be stuck at the 9-5 admiring the roses the hubby will undoubtedly surprise me with.  Just because you are at work doesn't mean your V-Day attire has to be boring.  This print-mix look is perfectly office appro and still festive.  And can we talk about how gorgeous this new necklace is from Trendz Boutique ?!  I can't tell you enough how much I love this store!  Every piece needs to be in my closet immediately.  

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I have teamed up with some fabulous blogger friends to gift one lucky reader with $1,000 cash.  Yes, $1,000.  One Grand.  To enter simply fill out the Rafflecopter below.  And make sure to visit the the other blogging beauties below.  They are some of my favorite daily reads!  contest is open internationally!

Ashley Brooke    |    Diary of A Debutante    |    Mash Elle    |    Little MAC Book    |    Whiskey Ginger   |   Every Little Thing




Thanks for reading and Good Luck!  Linkups below!

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Linking Up With: Molly // Elena // Lauren // Leeann // Claire // Lauren D.