casual style

Road trip to Tahoe with the kids in spring

April 13, 2016 in General Fashion / Travel tagged casual style / family / mansur gavriel / outfits / spring 2016 / travel style / travel tips by Bay Area Fashionista

Pictured: Scenes from Auburn, Ca.

What I wore for our road trip to Tahoe in the spring: Sunglasses: Chanel / Lipstick: Chanel Mighty / Earrings: Kendra Scott / Tee: Banana Republic / Necklace: Kendra Scott / Handbag: Mansur Gavriel / Bracelets: Kendra Scott / Nail Polish: Dior Cosmic / Jeans: Gap / Shoes: Jimmy Choo

For spring break, we took the kids up to Lake Tahoe in order to ski, play in the snow, see a silver mine, relax at the beach, and have fun! The San Francisco Bay Area is about a four hour drive from Lake Tahoe, so this was a perfect road trip with the kids.

When we road trip with the kids, we always leave the house at a time when other people are not leaving their homes. This ensures an easy drive to our destination without hitting too much traffic. For our road trip to Tahoe with the kids, we left the house at 7am on Sunday morning. This was the best time to leave the house. Most people left for Tahoe Friday after school, or on Saturday morning since the public schools had spring break. This meant empty freeways, and highways, for our road trip to Tahoe with the kids! Love that!

It is always a good idea to stop on our way up to the mountains. The last thing we want is a child with elevation sickness. My favorite place to stop for a break on our way to Lake Tahoe is Auburn, Ca. If you would like to visit, it is easy to find. Look for the “Old Town Auburn” sign on Highway 80 and follow the exit. You will be right in the middle of town!

Auburn is an historic gold mining town. The Old Town Auburn area offers a few choices for meals, and snacks. We can also walk around and see historical spots to share with our children. It is a nice break from the road, and something educational for the kids. Now that’s win/win!

My favorite place to have a meal on the road in Auburn, Ca is Edelweiss. They offer a HUGE menu filled with brunch, and lunch items. My kids love it! I highly recommend it if you are road tripping to Tahoe, and would like a place to stop on your way up there.

I always like to be comfortable when I am on a road trip with the kids. Since it is springtime, I decided to go with a fun pair of embroidered jeans, my go-to casual tee, comfortable denim espadrilles, and my favorite handbag. This outfit was perfect for sitting in the car, and walking around Auburn with the kids.

We arrived in Truckee at 11:40am; even though we stopped for almost an hour in Auburn on our drive up. Sunday morning is definitely the best time to drive to Tahoe with kids!

Stay tuned! I have more articles coming up this week about our spring break trip to Lake Tahoe.

My road trip outfit to Tahoe in the spring season:

Wide leg pants for spring 2016

April 7, 2016 in General Fashion tagged banana republic / casual style / givenchy / outfits / spring 2016 by Bay Area Fashionista

Pictured: Sunglasses: Chanel / Earrings: Kendra Scott / Lipstick: c/o Dolce & Gabbana Dolce Rosa / Tee: Banana Republic (love this tee, have it in blue too!) / Necklace: Kendra Scott / Pants: Banana Republic / Handbag: Givenchy / Bracelets: JCrew (old, similar here) / Ring: 2Bandits / Nail Polish: Gucci Dark Anemone / Shoes: Topshop

Wide leg pants for spring is a huge trend in fashion right now. Since I am 5’4″ tall, I am always squeemish about wearing wide leg pants. They tend to make me look short and stout. Despite this fact, I love how they look. There is a certain effortless vibe wide leg pants give off, and I am drawn to anything effortless.

When I saw these wide leg pants for spring from Banana Republic with vertical stripes, I thought the stripes might offset the wide leg, and not make me look short and stout. I was almost right!

I tried on these pants with both flat shoes, and tall heels. I found with flats, I look short and stout. Ugh! When I paired the pants with high heel platforms, the pants were balanced out, and voila; I look normal again! Yay! I found wide leg pants for spring I can actually wear!

One of the things I love about Banana Republic, is that they offer petite, and short pants. My height is on the border for petite clothing, which means petite pants do not always fit properly because my waist is long, and my legs are short. With Banana Republic’s short pant option, I can find the proper rise, and leg length, without having to have the pants altered. Love that!

I have been wearing my striped, wide leg pants for spring with a tee, and heels, but they can be styled so many other ways. For meetings or the office, they can be paired with a blazer, or crisp shirt. On colder days, they can be paired with a light sweater, and jacket. I’m looking forward to wearing these striped wide legs pants for spring in many different ways throughout the season.

Have you tried the wide leg pants trend? What do you think of the trend?

Lace trench coat and pink for spring

March 22, 2016 in General Fashion tagged casual style / denim / lace / mansur gavriel / outfits / spring 2016 by Bay Area Fashionista

Pictured: Sunglasses: Chanel / Earrings: Kendra Scott / Lipstick: c/o Dolce & Gabbana Dolce Rosa / Blouse: Banana Republic / Lace trench coat: Express (last seen here) / Handbag: Mansur Gavriel / Ring: Kenda Scott / Nail Polish: Chanel Roubachka / Jeans: Gap / Boots: Sam Edelman

This lace trench coat! I originally purchased this lace trench coat for spring at the end of January to wear in New York for fashion week. It has since become the perfect trench coat to wear this spring season!

We took these photos while it was lightly raining outside, you may spot water drops on the camera lens, and this lace trench coat was the perfect weight. The lace is over a lightweight black liner which adds just the right amount of warmth on a mild, unsettled spring day.

The temperatures this month have been hovering in the 50’s and 60’s. This lace trench coat has been the perfect topper to tee shirts, and this long sleeve blouse, during mild weather. Although I would not wear a lace trench coat during heavy rain, it performs fine during light rain, or fog mist. I love it!

I have worn my lace trench coat over skirts, a black dress, and my favorite casual spring outfit; flares and a top! I love how it spices up a pair of basic flare jeans, and a pink blouse. The lace trench coat really makes the outfit; otherwise, it’s just jeans and blouse.

Lace has never been a fabric I have been drawn to. I always used to associate it with pajamas and lingerie; or as an accent on formal wear. When lace became a popular fabric for everything from shoes to coats to dresses a few years ago, I started to take note. This is the first season I have broken out of my comfort zone, and purchased a lace piece of clothing! I am so glad I did!

I am looking forward to wearing this lace trench coat more, and more, during the spring season; and on foggy summer days! What are your thoughts on wearing lace pieces casually this spring?

Outfit details:

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