Bay Area Fashionista

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival

 in General Fashion  tagged casual style / fall 2014 / lifestyle / outfits by

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Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival, pictured from top: Farmer Mike and his famous pumpkin carvings. Each pumpkin takes roughly four hours to carve and lasts about 3-5 days. / Pumpkin Mac N’ Cheese. Yes, it was delicious! / Standing in front of the second through fifth place pumpkins from the weigh-in. Please excuse my fog-frizzed hair! We were not able to view the winning pumpkin, the line was way too long and my kids were not interested. / Street view / Pumpkin pie. Yummy! / Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins! / Picking out a pumpkin.

What I wore: Earrings: Bauble Bar / Lipstick: c/o Dolce & Gabbana “Petal” / Necklace: Bauble Bar / Shirt: Express / Handbag: Mansur Gavriel / Ring: Bauble Bar / Nail Polish: Christian Louboutin Farida / Jeans: Gap / Boots: Rag and Bone

Over the weekend, we took the kids to the annual Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival. If you are not from the San Francisco Bay Area, the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival is an annual event which includes a pumpkin contest for heaviest pumpkin and most beautiful pumpkin. There are pumpkin themed food booths, pumpkin carving, jumpy houses, bungee games, artists, art booths, a 5K race, and more! The festival draws people from all over the Bay Area and is a well-loved event.

I knew there would be a lot of walking at the festival, so I made sure I wore my comfortable Rag and Bone boots. They are like pillows with heels! Love that! All of my skinny and boyfriend jeans were in the laundry, so I reached for a pair of boot cut jeans I have not worn in ages. I told myself it was OK to wear them in public because flare jeans are an emerging trend. OK, not exactly the same thing, but I had to work with what I had clean!

The food at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin festival was delicious. We started the day off with pumpkin pancakes and then bungee games. After the kids bungeed, they went on the jumpy houses (of course) and then we sat down and watched Farmer Mike work his magic on a pumpkin. He is such an incredible pumpkin carver/artist! My kids were mesmerized by his work.

Hopefully next year we will have room in our tummies to try the homemade pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin nachos, and other pumpkin themed food! Have you been to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival before? What did you think?

Gunmetal jewelry for fall 2014

 in General Fashion / Jewelry / Trends  tagged bracelets / cuffs / earrings / fall 2014 / gunmetal / necklaces / rings by

gunmetal jewelry fall 2014

Pictured: Earrings / Bracelet / Cuff / Necklace

Gunmetal jewelry has been creeping into fashion over the past few seasons, and for fall 2014, designers and brands have put the darkened metal front and center. Gunmetal jewelry is being shown in every way imaginable from the main metal of a piece to an accent mixed with other metals and materials. 

For fall 2014, gunmetal jewelry offers an understated vibe which is less flashy than silver or gold. In addition to being quiet, gunmetal jewelry for fall 2014 can make a piece significantly edgier than the same piece offered in gold, rose gold or silver. Love that!

Gunmetal jewelry can easily be mixed with white metal jewelry to create a personal take on the trend. Gunmetal jewelry is also being shown paired with jet black jewelry in order to create a dark, cool weather look which is a little bit rock n’ roll.

It was only natural that jewelry would be offered in gunmetal options for the fall 2014 season. Over the past few years, designers such as Chanel, Dior, Hermes, and more have started to offer gunmetal and black hardware on their handbags. This darkened, understated handbag hardware has inspired a trend in jewelry which is just as popular for fall 2o14 as traditional gold and white metals.

As gunmetal jewelry gains momentum on the street, designers and brands from all price points are also showing handbags with gunmetal and black hardware. This signals a big uptick in the trend which is showing no sign of slowing down as we move into the spring 2015 season and beyond.

I love pairing gunmetal jewelry with black, grey and cool tones this autumn season. I feel like it adds a fresh take on my overall look. When a jewelry piece is gunmetal, it can be large and complicated yet still maintain a less “flashy” look.

What do you think of the gunmetal trend for the fall 2014 season? Are you wearing it? Is it something you would like to try?

Christian Louboutin Farida nail polish review

 in Beauty / Nail Polish  tagged christian louboutin / reviews by

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Pictured: Christian Louboutin Farida nail polish 2014©

Christian Louboutin Farida is a beautiful, sparkling brown nail polish from the Christian Louboutin “Noirs” nail polish collection. Brown is a nail polish color I do not normally purchase, but, Farida by Christian Louboutin is a brown hue which seemed un-brown to me; if that makes any sense!

Brown, to me, is a neutral hue which is used to make other colors seem richer. As a nail polish, the thought of brown never really peaked my interest until I spotted Farida in Christian Louboutin’s nail polish collection. This fabulous brown hue sparkles; in such a way that is seems as though it is a color, not just a fall neutral. Love that! Christian Louboutin Farida seems jewel-like to me, and I love anything that sparkles or suggests bling!

I tested out Christian Louboutin Farida nail polish with two coats of color and one base coat; no top coat. The nail polish is extremely long lasting and lasted eight days without chipping! The only reason I took off the nail polish on day eight was due to the fact that my nails grew and I had a space between my cuticles and the paint; and that bothers me.

One of the things I love about Christian Louboutin nail polish is the fact that is it free from the five nasty chemicals found in many other nail polish brands. Knowing Christian Louboutin nail polish is safe and natural, makes it seem even more luxurious. My only complaint is the length of the stiletto-inspired brush. It is a little bit too long and unbalanced which makes it a little bit challenging to apply the nail polish. That being said, once Christian Louboutin’s nail polish is applied, it is long lasting and the color saturation is exquisite.

I am in love with Christian Louboutin Farida nail polish and look forward to wearing it throughout the fall season. You can find Christian Louboutin nail polish online here and here.