outfits

Relaxing family walk

 in General Fashion  tagged family / outdoor fitness / outfits / staycation / summer 2020 by

We finally visited Hakone Gardens! OK, you might be wondering what I am talking about. Well, let me introduce you to a hidden gem in Saratoga, California; Hakone Gardens!

These beautiful Japanese gardens are located in Saratoga just past downtown as you head south-ish on highway 9. Hakone Gardens is a relaxing property which includes Japanese Gardens, a small museum, and event areas. The gardens are currently set-up to encourage social distancing with one-way signs, and some areas blocked off to walkers. It made our visit very private, relaxing, and safe. Loved it!

The self-guided tour is a nice and relaxing walk along the paths inside the gardens. There is a little bit of uphill and downtown walking, making it a nice little exercise. I would place this walk in the easy hike category. It’s a great place to bring kids!

Hakone Gardens is a great place to see some local Japanese history too. It is over 100 years old, and one of the oldest Japanese estates in the Western Hemisphere. You can learn more at Hokone.com.

If you decide to visit, be sure to wear walking shoes and bring some water with you. It took us 45 minutes to walk through the gardens on the designated pathway.

wearing: earrings / mask / grey tee / black joggers / necklace / gold chain bracelet / chain cuff / turquoise and gold cuff / summer nail polish / blue handbag / white sneakers /

I’m looking forward to returning to Hakone Gardens in the near future. It’s so nice to have a beautiful place to visit and walk around, so close by!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

Stack on the barrettes

 in General Fashion / Trends  tagged Beverly beach by dorit / kendra scott / mansur gavriel / outfits / rebecca minkoff / summer 2020 by

wearing: multiple matching barrettes c/o Beverly Beach by Dorit (under $25)  / bold gold earrings / summer lipstick / black puff sleeve top / gold chain bracelet / gold chain cuff / red and black floral skirt / summer nail polish / black clutch / black slide espadrilles /

OK raise your hand if you are addicted to Real Housewives! Yes, my hand is waaaaay up! If you are a huge fan like me, than you must have noticed Dorit Kemsley’s addiction to the multiple barrette trend. I mean, who could miss all those glittering hair clips at the reunion?! Not me!

Now, if you have been paying attention to hair trends, you may have noticed a huge trend emerging in 2018. This is when fashion insiders starting to stack on sparkling barrettes reminiscent of the 1990’s. You can see my take on the trend at fashion week in February 2019 here. When I stacked barrettes in my hair, I used my vintage barrettes which I had purchased back in ’90’s! As the trend has evolved over the past year, it has moved away from a ’90’s vibe, and taken on a life of its’ own.

The current way the multiple barrette trend is emerging, is the way Dorit has rocked it. You know you can depend on her for rocking trends which haven’t started yet! Since the reunion was filmed back in 2018, the trend has exploded, and Dorit has brought it to us in an affordable way; with a high fashion vibe. Love that!

Beverly Beach by Dorit offers a cute little card with eight matching barrettes on it. They are actually hair clips encrusted in sparkling baubles. They catch the sun, and dazzle the eyes. Love them! Now, when I tried to stack them all together the way Dorit rocks them, I didn’t really like how it looked on my fluffy hair. Maybe I need to sleek it down! Anyway, I decided to split the card and wear four on the right, and four on the left. I like how it turned out.

My barrettes and outfit around the web:

So, have you been watching the current season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? What are your thoughts? I’m loving Dorit and Denise; as always. Share in the comments below!

You can find these barrettes by Beverly Beach by Dorit online here.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy

*brought to you by Beverly Beach by Dorit, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Starting to reopen

 in General Fashion  tagged casual style / outfits / summer 2020 by

casual summer outfits bucket bag trend 2020casual summer outfit ideas

wearing: bold gold earrings / pink fabric mask (I wore this the entire time, only removed it for a few photos when no-one was around) / black and white top / bucket bag / gold and blue bracelet / gold cuff / gold chain bracelet / black linen joggers / black slide espadrilles /

Things are starting to reopen! My daughter had her 8th grade graduation over live-stream at the end of last week. Since we were not able to take her out to a restaurant with family and celebrate, we picked up take-out food to enjoy at home. This was the first time we picked up take-out since the lockdown. It’s so nice to start to see things reopen here!

Despite things starting to reopen, it is definitely weird out there! We picked up macarons at Cocola, which is located on Santana Row. Most of the shops were boarded up, with restaurants open for take-out only. There was a handful of people taking a walk down Santana Row, with about 90% of people wearing masks. I wish everyone would wear a mask so we can get through this easier! But I digress. . .

It was so nice to actually go to Cocola. We waited in line outside, six feet apart from other people. They allowed one person inside at a time. It was clean, quick, and easy to pick up their delicious macarons for my daughter. She was so excited and happy to enjoy her favorite treat from Cocola as we celebrated her graduation.

Later in the day, we picked up sushi from Sushi Heaven in Saratoga for her celebratory dinner. They had a huge table blocking the restaurant off from the public. It was really well organized. They handed me my order and I paid, all while staying feet apart and wearing masks. This was the first time I didn’t cook dinner since early March! It was so surreal.

Shop my casual summer look:

It is really nice to see things starting to reopen around here. I think we are one of the most locked down areas in the country. I see my friends in other states dining out, and going about their business as if nothing happened. I cannot wait until we get there. Until then, we are enjoying the tiny little things that reopen slowly.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy

san jose street style