Oh hey there!

It has been quite some time since my last post. (doesn't that sound like a confession?) I was experiencing a tremendous lack of inspiration for my blog due to my tremendous lack of free time in the recent months. And I have told myself a million times that I would "get back at it" but I have failed time and time again.  

BUT NO LONGER! Now that the sun does not set at 4pm as it has been, it seems that there is more time in the day {sometimes} and I have more time to focus on the more important things in life...like blogging.

So stay tuned for new things, and more regular posts! I've got a few things up my sleeve and I hope you all will like them. i.e. pinterst projects, fashion inspirations and outfits for less, and home improvement/decorating ideas. Looking forward to great things ahead!


oh and this isn't an April fools joke. I really am coming back. 

A lot of news...

Here I am again. After quite a lengthy hiatus....but for good reason. I have a lot of news...

First News: A new look for High Fashion & Cheap Wine. I was feeling very disconnected from my last design and thought a fresh new look would be just the ticket. This design will work (for now) but I would like to get something more custom in the future. If anyone has suggestions on who to work with for custom blogs, please leave a comment! Because I find myself not utilizing my blog as much as I'd like, due to some changes in my life (read on), I do not want to spend a lot of money (at this point). So any *up and coming* designers or very inexpensive known designers are appreciated. 

News: The last time I posted anything, I was sitting on the balcony of my Massachusetts apartment, enjoying a glass of wine, and making a to-do list for some big changes that were coming our way. The first on that list: Packing. Packing because the bf and I were making a move from Massachusetts to New Hampshire....because I accepted a new job....in a new industry...with no office to visit on a daily basis....with a company who encourages their employees and was voted one of the best companies to work for by CNN. Quite exciting, I know!

As you would expect...this was all very stressful! Not only did we have to make a quick move, but we had a terrible time finding an apartment. Maybe because we were being picky, but just when we thought "this is the one!" we would get a call saying that they had selected someone else. Frustrating. We kept saying to each other "why doesn't anyone want us?! we are great tenants, always pay on time, mind our own business, etc" but we were disappointed time and time again. And let me tell ya, it's hard to move somewhere when you haven't got a place to move!

Now, because we have lived in several different apartment complexes before, we said...lets start fresh and move into an owner occupied home. This is where the frustration came into play. In the past, WE had always selected where to live. We would just say, yes we will take it, sign some papers and move in the furniture. This whole owner occupied search is QUITE different....THEY decide if they want you...you do not get to decide. You have no control....and we like to have control. Anyway, after a long search and subtle begging, we have a beautiful second floor apartment in an old Victorian home with the nicest landlords...oh! and a fenced in yard for my favorite pup. So it all worked out in the end.

With the move done, it was time to start my new job. My new job is in the craft beer industry and is very different from my previous jobs working with designer apparel and taking orders from a busy CEO. When I accepted this job, the only thing I knew about this particular craft beer was that I really enjoyed drinking it. And as we all know, it is much easier to sell a product if you love it right? So I suppose I was on the right track. 

Between the new job, the move, trying to furnish and decorate our new home, and figuring out now to manage my time, High Fashion & Cheap Wine has been pushed aside. I know what you're thinking...excuses, excuses. But seriously...I'm trying! 

Stay tuned for more posts if i find the time, and thanks for coming back to check in! Don't forget to leave comments about custom designs or anything really. 

**have fun**    **drink responsibly**   **look stylish**

So...summer happened.

So...I blinked. And then it was August.

So many things have been going on this summer that I haven't even thought about taking a moment to write a post. I'm so bad at this blogger thing. 

But don't fret, my friends! Soon I will be back at it and have glorious things to post about! 

But in case you've missed me..here is what I have been up to this last month. 

1. End-o-June: I went on a family vacation with the BF, his brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and the pups. It was wonderful! I had such an amazing time with them and am so thankful to have a family in New England since I can't be with my family back home in Indiana as often as I'd like. 
2. Bachelorette Extravaganza #1: FINALLY I was reunited with my college loves!! My bestie from college is getting married in September and our friend, Pooja, throw the ultimate Bachelorette weekend for us in Chicago. The theme "LBD" while the Bride wore white, and it was fabulous! Family style dinner, followed by drinks and catching up, then brunch on saturday, and trolly around the city Saturday night, and a tearful goodbye on Sunday morning. You never know how much you miss/need your girlfriends until you have to say goodbye. But it will be Hello again in September and I can't wait!
3. Bachelorette/Shower Extravaganza #2: Not only is my bestie from college getting married, but my BEST BEST friend from childhood is ALSO getting married in September, and I am her Maid-of-I-Couldn't-Be-More-Honored! I threw her a Bridal Brunch (which my great friend, Katie, was kind enough to catch on camera) and I could not have been happier with the results! Complete with mini-pancakes, mini quiche, and mimosas. What more could you want? Cupcakes?! Oh yeah...we had those too, as parting favors! I was just so pleased. From their we packed up and headed down to Louisville, KY for a fun filled night on 4th Street. If you haven't been to 4th Street, you're missing out. We had such an awesome time...and a few of us rode the mechanical bull....in dresses....not the classiest thing we've ever done, but we got a free round of drinks out of it! So chalk that up for a bachelorette success! 
4. New Beginnings:  A lot has been changing for me in the past month...a lot of great things...stressful things...exciting things! Things that I think will really launch me into a better place in my career, and my life (and my life with the BF). I can't wait to share more...but I will wait...for now. Stay tuned for the latest! It's coming....I promise.

**have fun**   **drink responsibly**   **look stylish**

Hint for whats to come
"Take Pride in Your Beer"

YSL, no longer.

FASHION NEWS!

The iconic label Yves Saint Laurent has dropped the Yves. Goodbye, YSL...Hello...SL?

If there were Facebook buttons on real life situations, I would dislike this. {side note} Facebook needs a dislike button. Sure there are plenty of things to like on Facebook, but trust me, there are plenty of things to dislike also. Point made.

WWD confirmed this morning that new YSL Creative Director, Hedi Slimane, has in fact decided to change the iconic Yves Saint Laurent name to Saint Laurent Paris. Slimane stated that the brand needed to re-brand itself, and along with that re-branding a new, more contemporary name was in order. As reported, the fashion house will not eliminate the known YSL logo completely. The logo will still be visible and present on shoe soles, cosmetic cases, and various other products. However, I can't help but wonder, if the idea is to re-brand the fashion house, why keep the iconic logo? Is this because the company knows that many products are purchased solely on the fact that they are YSL? Why not try to phase out the old logo? Perhaps brand products as YSL for Saint Laurent Paris? 

Whatever their reasoning my be, I would still like to dislike this decision. When Karl Lagerfeld leaves Chanel do you think they are going to let the new creative director come in and say, "we need a re-branding, let's try a name change." Absolutely not. 

There are reasons that these fashion houses have been around for as long as they have, and though they must be at the leading end of fashion, it doesn't mean they have to lose what they have always been known for, or known as. Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, and now Saint Laurent Paris? Just don't roll off the tongue quite as nicely as (que terrible French accent) Yves Saint Laurent.

Back to Basics

Hello All! I know I've been M.I.A for a couple of weeks, and I can feel myself falling into a pattern. Write a few blogs, forget about it for a while...Whoops! Realize I haven't written in a week or two....write a few blogs, forget about it for a while....you get the picture.

Anyway, to get back into the swing of things, I thought I would share with you all my revelation from the weekend. 

Is it just me, or does the fashion world seem to be more "trendy" now than ever? And I don't mean, "Oh shoot, that girl is so trendy!" I mean...there are so many trends...too many really. Prints, neons, cropped shirts, colored denim,  color blocking, tribal prints, pastels, floral prints.....is your head spinning yet?!

As I was cleaning out my closet this weekend (which was very eye opening by the way) I realized that all of these "trends" don't make for a substantial wardrobe. I mean, next summer am I really going to wear tribal print jean sorts? Probably not. Cropped tee's and tanks? I'm not sure why this is a trend in the first place, but you are more than likely not going to be caught dead in that next year when the hem lines are long again. So why are we spending all of this money on these trendy, one season, trying-to-be-something-we're-not, fashions? 

What happened to building a wardrobe around the "basics" and getting creative with those items? Where did the good ole' days of dressing up with your accessories go? As I rummaged through my disaster of a closet, I realized that I was about to take hundreds of dollars of "last years trends" to Goodwill....and my bank account cried.

Let's get back to basics people! Start building a better wardrobe. I'm not saying give up on all trends entirely, but have the basics to back it up! If you want to buy neon pink denim, go for it! But make sure you have the perfect plain white tee to pair with it and a great leather jacket to carry them into the fall! All I'm saying is, if we spent more money on buying basic, quality clothing, we would get much more bank for our buck!

Here's a checklist to get you started....

** you can get the original PDF by visiting InStyle **

so roll up the sleeves on your sheer button-down, oversized pocket, high-low hem line blouse, and start purging all of your too-trendy clothes. Let's face it, as much as we would all like to live at Coachella 24/7, 365, it's just not going to happen. And even though Pinterest does provide an abundance of inspiration for us to pretend we are fashion icons, the truth is that, the sexiest look is a simple v-neck tee and the perfect fitting jeans.

**have fun**  **drink responsibly**  **look stylish**

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Weather Forecast: Massachusetts

Saturday: Rain

Sunday: Rain

Monday: Rain

Tuesday: Rain

Wednesday: Rain

WTF, New England?! How am I supposed to get as tan as a Mexican on the weekends when there is nothing but rain? (no offense to anyone of Mexican decent here...I honestly admire your skin tone.) I enjoy a nice afternoon shower every now and again, but 5 straight days of rain?! Please tell me that this whole global warming business hasn't pulled a fast one on us and exchanged our weather with Seattle! I will undoubtedly fall into a rain induced depression as fast as Kim Kardashian moved on from Kris Humphreys.

To avoid the rainy day depression, break out your best rainy day fashion essentials. Rain is one of the best ways to show how creative you can be with your wardrobe and accessories. You shouldn't have to match your wardrobe to the colors outside.... taupe, grey, beige. Be colorful! If you've got a caramel colored rain coat (like myself), then wear bright, vibrant, rain boots. Add a pop of color to your outerwear to brighten the world around you. Or use a large yellow umbrella for an awesome color pop in your accessories.

And don't forget about your hair. We work so hard to polish our look but with the rain, polished hair seems to be impossible. Embrace messy hair!! With the right products and the right amount of effort (or lack there of) you can accomplish the perfect messy hair. And with messy buns and pony tails all the rage right now, you can pull off this look for work or play.

{sorry blondes, I'm partial to brunettes}

What is your favorite rainy day look? With the next few days of rain, I could use some suggestions.

**have fun**  **drink responsibly**  **look stylish**

Fail.

Once again I have failed on my attempt to capture memories via photos.

And I had a great Memorial weekend full of fun to share with you guys!

Fail.

And now it is Friday, and it's time for another fun filled weekend, and I've neglected to post anything all week. 

Double Fail. 

Sorry about that. 

Memorial Day weekend was perfect....well aside from me over overindulging on {vodka tonics}on Sunday night...triple fail. The weather was beautiful. Highs in the mid to upper 80's and the hot sun against the cool breezes from the lake...*sigh*...perfection.

We drove up to Lake Winni Friday evening after work looking forward to a fun trip, but no one had more fun than our precious pup. He loves short car rides, but long rides are his favorite. There is nothing like sticking your head out the window and smelling the sweet exhaust from all of the passing cars on the highway. 

Saturday we spent the morning on the Lake and braved the cold waters as we reached one of the many sandbars. It was nice and relaxing and just enough "lake time" before we had to head out to the boyfriend's cousin's graduation party. This is where I really failed at taking pictures. 

The boyfriend and I looked very nautical with his striped seersucker shorts and boat shoes, and my white and navy chevron maxi skirt. Our afternoon (and into the evening) was spent on his Aunt and Uncle's large deck overlooking NH mountains while a fully stocked bar and homemade margaritas were at our discretion. But what was even better than the margaritas was the full wine tasting right there on the patio. If you live in Kansas, make sure you check out Prairie Fire Winery. Currently they only sell locally in Kansas, but the wines are delicious! It's a family owned business right in the heart of Kansas (and they use some Indiana grapes which I'm a huge fan of). As we sipped the night away there were smiles, and laughs, and poking fun at one of the girls who had gotten a little too friendly with the tequila. All the things I love. 

The rest of the weekend was spent on the lake, enjoying the boat, and using plenty of sunscreen. Here are a couple of pictures that I was able to capture from the weekend. 

Instragram was able to show me what I would look like with lighter hair...hmm..maybe for the summer?

Uncle and Nephew.

I will try not to neglect you all again this weekend and week. And I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and have big plans for this weekend as well. 

**have fun**  **drink responsibly**  **look stylish**