smoorelovin | Page 5 of 24 | a lifestyle blog with creative vibes & a fearless mind-set

Color Palette No. 23 | A Tropical Color Palette

August 8, 2017

There is nothing like a tropical color palette that packs a punch! This color study combines unusual colors to capture a tropical vibe. The vibrant and warm hues transport you straight on to your own private island. Or, if you are anything like me, it reminds you of the vacation spots your family stayed at in Florida in the 90’s. You know, the ones filled with spray painted starfish and seashells with the thick motel-style blankets where the entire family would inevitably get matching airbrushed t-shirts… Hopefully this palette can give you some inspiration on your beachy projects! -xx

Source: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Getting Glam | My Favorite Wrap Dress for Feeling Like Old Hollywood

August 2, 2017

I originally bought this wrap dress from one of the Reformation end of season sales as my go-to wedding attire, not taking into account that, “Oh hey Sarah, nude is kinda similar to white and you probably shouldn’t wear that.” Needless to say, it has never seen a wedding but it has seen a lot of really beautiful days and fun events!

Sunnies: RAEN | Dress: Reformation | Bralette: Unknown | Sandals: Dolce Vita | Shop the look at the end of the post 🙂

One of my favorite things about this dress is that it gives a sexy twist to the classic wrap dress. The low cut front is super dramatic and eye-catching and is also really fun to accessorise. I have layered this wrap dress over tanks and t’s for more casual outings or dressed it up with extra sparkly lariat necklaces when I want to make it super fancy.

Here I decided to land somewhere in between – understated but sexy. To help cut the impact of the deep v neck, I wore a cute white bralette with lace detailing. Side story – I bought this bralette at a boutique in Nashville a couple years ago. It is literally the greatest bralette of all time, it’s thick enough that you don’t nip out and actually feel secure but has the comfort of…well, a bralette. MAJOR DOWNSIDE, the brand name faded off the label the first time I washed it so I have no idea what the brand is to find them and buy more 🙁 Anyway, back to the wrap dress – I didn’t want to detract from the subtle beauty of the lace so i skipped a necklace and wore these lovely gold earrings for some shine. To keep everything understated I opted for nude slides. To top everything off I added these dramatic sunnies, they have a total old-hollywood vibe, no?

Get The Look

P.S. I get commission for purchases or clicks made through the links below.

Color Palette No. 22 | The Life of Copper

August 2, 2017

It has been a hot, humid few weeks. Something about this weather has me thinking about the patina on copper (idk, it just keeps popping into my mind for some reason.) It’s really cool to watch copper age and slowly turn from a bright and vibrant metal. The first step is to go to a slightly darker rusty orange, and then a muted brown. Then you start to see dark rings of teal and green until the whole thing has turned. And then my friends, you are left with beauty like the Statue of Liberty. Copper is so beautiful because its life cycle creates its own color palette. The more I look around Philly, the more copper I see. A lot of the new houses going up around me have copper details. I can’t wait to watch them age! Take a look at the scenes in this style post featuring my favorite wrap dress to see some of the best copper doors I’ve found so far!

Sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Keeping Up | July 2017

July 31, 2017

July was quite the month. I made some really important steps toward personal growth! Here’s a little peek into what I’ve been up to lately 🙂

The Blog

There have been some fun things happening on the blog! Color palettes have returned which makes me super excited. I ALSO shared some of my favorite spots in Asbury Park + a beach day outfit to wear while you’re there 🤗

Career

I had an incredible opportunity to travel with my company’s executive team to Washington D.C. for the Microsoft World Partner Conference, Inspire. Working in the booth during the day, and taking advantage of the networking [read party] events at night gave me the chance to get to know the company that I have grown to love even more. As with any job there are pitfalls, but for the first time in my career I am in a place where I am challenged on a regular basis and encouraged to try my hand at as many things as I like.The conference was yet another moment for me to push my fear of public speaking out of the arena because I led the demo booth. I think what made the biggest difference for me is remember that everyone you talk to is just another person. This may sound silly, but it helps me gain some perspective on the significance (or insignificance) of any given conversation. It also took my focus off my fear of not having the right answer for every possible question someone might ask and allowed me to recognize that my knowledge is more expansive than I give myself credit for.While at the conference I also had the chance to attend the Women In Tech Lunch. Lunches like this are always inspiring, the best of the best speak about the things they’ve overcome and how well they’ve done and how far they have to go. It simultaneously puts your struggles in perspective, challenges you to up your game, and reminds you of the shortcomings in the group you are celebrating. Tech is notorious for it’s lack of diversity and the room was definitely representative of that. I am excited to work for a company who is focused on breaking that mold and hope that is a mindset that is becoming more common across the field.On a less happy note, I had to say goodbye to my new boss. Due to unexpected circumstances, he had to leave our company and I am so sad. It’s rare to find someone who is incredibly talented and also able to teach their skills to others. I feel like the more common combination is to be so good at what you do that you are unable to empathize with those that aren’t at your level’s struggle. For those of you that know me well, you know that having a new boss meant that my work-load was a lot more manageable and I was truly excited to sign in to work each morning. While I am still thrilled to start my day, there is a little bit of nervousness in the back of my mind that we are going to end up with an influx of unexpected projects and I am going to drown under a sea of computer files (this is irrational bc business does not work this way and we have an incredible support system set up to stop things like that from happening.)

Fitness

I am super invested in Muay Thai at this point. I started training at the very end of December and have found myself completely obsessed with the sport. Having grown up doing gymnastics it has been hard for me to find a workout routine that has the rigor, discipline and distraction that I found in gymnastics. Muay Thai has all of that. It’s a sport that I could do for 15 years and still learn something new each time I train. I think I’m at the point where I am about to dive in and push myself to get good enough to spar (non-competitively.)

Fun Projects & Activities

1. I am currently working with a fellow PHLblogger on a new logo for her site. I can’t wait to share the final result with all of you!
2. My best friend in all the land was in NYC for a bit on a work trip and I had a chance to spend a whole weekend with her and Tim! We wandered around central park (so many dogs) and had a chance to peek around red hook a little bit. It’s funny how the heat and humidity can slow you down so much, we normally cover a pretty long list of activities when we hang out but most of our time was spent lounging in the shade. I can’t complain, it was just the rejuvenation that I needed!
3. I had to make the incredibly difficult call to step back from my role as Creative Director of PHLbloggers and The Blog Connect Conference. My involvement with PHLbloggers started with Chrystina and I getting together to talk about a logo for a group she had started and grown to 40 members and morphed into something so much bigger. The community ended up growing to have a pretty significant email list and a (now annual) conference. We went through a rebrand, two new websites and the branding and websites for two years of the conference. I got to pour myself into creating visual identities for events geared toward bloggers (what is more fun than that??) It’s with a (truly) heavy heart that I had to pull myself out of the mix after getting a look at what the next 6+ months of my work-life has in store for me. Luckily the team is awesome and I am super excited to see what they come up with this year!

I hope everyone had wonderful July’s!

A Day In Asbury Park | Denim Cut-offs and an Oversized T for a Day at the Beach

July 26, 2017

Photos By Tim Becker

Of all the shore towns in New Jersey, Asbury Park is my favorite. It’s followed closely by Cape May, but the lack of traffic makes it a solid number one. I love that you can easily sit down at a restaurant on the boardwalk and have a real meal and not just a slice of pizza or your other standard boardwalk foods. The architecture is fantastic, and I love the fact that the developers appear to be trying to keep them standing as they rebuild vs. tearing them down to start fresh. Old buildings are being utilized in awesome ways – there is a skatepark at the end of the boardwalk and murals all over the place. I love that there is an unapologetic grit to the city that welcomes you with open arms as you are and expects the same in return.

I first visited 4 years ago and it has been interesting to watch as the town has morphed and grown each time I return. With every visit there is another shop front open on the boardwalk and a few more restaurants in town. There are also a few more new hotels that have opened up! I am going to be staying at The Asbury later this summer, I’ll be sure to let you know how it is!!

The Beach

Starting the day on the beach is always my plan. I lather up in spf 30 and throw on a sun hat for a few hours of quality book time. I tend to make sure that the clothes I wear to the beach can be easily used to shade me if I feel like I’m getting too much sun – an oversized light-weight T with denim shorts is my go to for sure. Easy off, easy on when I inevitably start to feel the burn.

For the Dogs

When I was looking at things to do in the afternoon on a Sunday aside from lounge on the beach, I squealed when I found Yappy Hour at the Wonder Bar. Yappy Hour runs from noon to 7pm every day of the week, all summer long!

Did you know Asbury Park is super dog friendly? The guy that manned the door into the dog area at the bar mentioned a doggy buffet, multiple dog-friendly hotels and a general positive attitude toward pups! My mom and I have a stay at The Asbury Hotel planned later this summer, and she is all set to bring her dog, which makes everyone happier.

All The Music

The first time I went to Asbury Park was to cover the Skate & Surf Music Festival for Tri-State Indie. We drove up to streets filled with people ready to spend the day listening to punk and hardcore music in the sun. On this trip, we ended the day at the Stone Pony watching Reel Big Fish in a sea of people. It was a great way to wrap the day up and I can’t wait to see more show there! The venue was awesome (keep in mind it’s cash only if you decide to head to a show there yourself.)