HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2016 will be spectacular!! Throw on some swanky goodness and let the party begin! Okay, you want to know what I'm rocking!! I'm a denim shirt lover and no one does it better than Current Elliott. I paired it with these must have, super comfy skinny jeans from Banana Republic. This was my first time trying their denim and it was a love y'all.

Dance...even if you're the only one on the floor!

A big awesome filled THANK YOU to my mountainman hubby ( this could be the year we upgrade the flannel- or maybe not), adorable stepdaughter, family and absolutely amazing friends that fill my happy cup. My vision would not be possible without the amazing photography talents of Deborah Hardee and Karen Krum ( hugging you both really hard right now). I feel the love and support and cannot express enough what that means to me!! Well I can try....it means the freaking world!!! The fashion filled adventure is going full force for 2016 and I'm so thrilled that you will be joining me along side some pretty awesome peeps!! It's going to be a great ride!!!!!

Shine BRIGHT!

shine bright like a diamond!!

I have to admit that I'm basking in a bit of post Christmas bliss. The festivities continue and so shall the outfits!! I get so excited about putting outfits together it's a bit insane. I think of all the possibilities... HELLO OUTFITS!!  A little sparkle and shine can upgrade an outfit, lift a drab mood and jump start a NYE party outfit like a champ!! This metallic pleated skirt from JCrew fits the bill perfectly! So, what are you going to wear to your NYE bash?!!! Well let's start by injecting a little shine and a whole lot of chic glam. Granted I will be on the ski hill getting cozy with my neck warmer and other ski accouterments but you have parties and shindigs to attend.

I'm all about dancing when I attend a party, so that means I want to wear something I can drop it like it's hot in!! So as you sip away on your champagne here's a few goodies that will allow you to ring in the New Year in style, whilst getting your groove on. I saw this dress and immediately fell in love with it! All you need to add my party ready friend is a pair of metallic or silver pumps, like these , ear bling and tada!!!! I would even rock this dress with some fun ankle booties, if you're not a pump wearing kind of gal :)  I love these lace pants because they're a fancy, comfy pant ( I mean that's a whole lot of winning in my fashion book). Pair with ivory silk top, necklace bling and some killer pumps like these (aahhh...DROOLING) and you'll feel and look like #winning.

Let me digress for just a bit because I'm feeling extra lovey-dovey ;) It's important for me to include something that brings a layer of meaning and relevance to each of my styling shoots. I was really excited to have this beautiful rug be a part of the photoshoot.I wish you could see it in person!! It belongs to my homegirl Syb and she shared its cool meaning. It's their Berber wedding blanket. They are hand woven in anticipation of a wedding by the bride's female relatives. It can take many hours or even weeks of work to attach the mirrored sequins once the weaving is complete. WOW! It is thought that during this collaborative task, the bride's relatives teach her all about the birds and the bees, among other marital duties and expectations. After the wedding ceremony, the bride wears the blanket tied around her neck as a kind of cape. The process of hand-weaving is thought to endow the textile with baraka, or blessings. When complete, the wedding blanket serves not only as warmth and decoration for the bride, but also to ward off evil and to bestow fertility and good luck upon the newlyweds.

As we ring in a new year, I'm sending all sorts of wonderful blessings your way. I cannot even begin to tell you how thrilled I am to dive into 2016. A fresh start to attack my growing "get done" list and letting those that I love know how much I treasure them. So brace yourself for some Laura loving!! I had one of those life experiences this year that made me realize in a BIG WAY...how to be grateful. I won't peg it as an aha moment but I call it my UN-RUDE AWAKENING. I have amazing people in my life that made me realize that LIFE is about the NOW, meaningful progress, making a DIFFERENCE, true KINDNESS, LOVING BIG, sharing, never settling and having some badass fun. I am incredibly grateful. I'm dying to know what's on your 2016 "must do or else" agenda. SHARE!!!  Are you scared to attack it??!! I know at times it might be scary (btw... that's a good thing)  but you've got more support in yourself and from those that truly love you than you think. I'm ready, so let's do this!!

and so this is Christmas

"Laugh hard, love big and wear something fabulously YOU" LT

Do you feel it?! The laughter in the air! The happy tearing sounds of wrapping paper! ahhhhhhh!!! The gleeful squeals as you open up your presents that has the you know what inside that you've been wanting forever!! Hallelujah!!  In my mountain man case ( the Hubby), stuff and things are not high on his priority list. Therefore, I locate said stuff and things and voila... a herringbone gray tweed goodness is all mine...YAY!! He's happy, I'm thrilled....It works :")

I love the holidays. It makes me want to hug everyone even harder than I already do (it may inflict a few eye rolls but fa la la la la la la la la ). Believe it or not I'm not a huge gift person...WHAT????!!!!!! I know what you're thinking but let me explain. I grew up in a non traditional Jamaican home, where we cooked a ton and enjoyed being with each other most of the time. Everything was at a shouting level but once the protocol was explained that my family communicates on a speak loud and respond louder level, it was cool :) Stuff was secondary. So back to the gift situation. Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff/things but I know it's always there, so it's not a main focus during holiday happenings.

There's a bit of magic that I hold on to about Christmas. A few weeks ago, I got to attack my friend Sam's closet, so freaking FUN!!  In my "make it pretty mode", we found a ton of goodness, one of them being this amazing traditional Irish kilt that belonged to her mom Nancy. I loved them ALL and this was one of my faves. Nancy bought them more than 45 years ago while living in England with her husband, who was in the Air Force. SO COOL!! These kilts are beautiful and especially more meaningful because Nancy is no longer with us. I wanted Sam to know that she can rock these kilts in a modern chic way. Nancy would love it!! At times the "stuff" can seem trivial but then I get moments like this and it melts me.

This Banana Republic sweater is a cozy knit of chicness...my stepdaughter kept petting me because it's SO soft.

I'm all about a balancing act when it comes to my style. This ivory sweater added a simple texture to the traditional style of the kilt. The kilt was the main player and I wanted a soft co-star. I want you to find styles that bring meaning to you. Whether you found it on a road trip with your peeps, at a flee market, in your Moms closet or bought it with your first real cha-ching paycheck. Wear it and make it count.

I'm working on a bonus post for next week MONDAY 12-28-15 that brings the glam right to your screen and of course, I'll tell you where to get it. HELLO OUTFITS!!!! WOOHOO!!

I wish you ALL the most amazing holiday. I hope that it is filled with all sorts of good LOVE and stylish goodies. I feel incredibly blessed to have such awesome peeps in my life that love on me and I won't give it up. I'm loving you back ( insert big ass hug here). I want to know all about your holiday happenings. Was Santa good to you or does he have some explaining to do :) Share below, love on the little heart icon and lets spread some fashionable holiday cheer together!!! MUAH!!!!

HOLIDAY!!! CELEBRATE!!!

Christmas, gifts, snow, travel, parties, what to wear-ugh it's freaking cold but I wanna look cute, food- oh the FOOD!!! ahhhhh!!! BREATH and come to my "happy place"...I've got yo back and it's covered in something chic and cozy.

I'm currently doing some major shopping for a few of my lovely clients and can I just say, there is so much cuteness out there! OH MY GOODNESS!! Let's talk about some of my favorites. I'm becoming more of a pajama girl ( I use to rock old tees hard ) but as I get older I just want to feel good even when I'm about to power down. You can find the coziest and cutest jammies here.  I'm currently loving on Sugarbums Intimates uber cute Cosabella Amore pj set and Skin ribbed shorty set. I also love the JCrew bow flannel pajama pants...ummm they have bows ( so cute) and the dreamy cotton stripe pj's #slumbergoals. I'm a brushed cotton kind of gal but the silks, flannel and lace are pretty sweet as well. TIS THE SEASON FOR GIVING!!! So what do you get the friend that has everything?!! I find it more meaningful to go for the heartstrings (kleenex please). Make it personal and thoughtful.  That means you might have to bust out a DIY skill but don't worry this one is on my level of amateur status. All you need are treasured photos and a pen. I'm sending out some cute and chic personalized cards with a little surprise attached. I used the app PRINT STUDIOS (download here) to turn some of my favorite photos into my own cool stationary.  There's tons of options out there for ACTUALLY utilizing the 2,453 photos you have ( guilty, 5,629) on your iphone or smart phone. This one is awesomely fantastic and you can upload your photos directly from your computer, tablet or iphone and pull from your Instagram or whatever photo library you utilize. SUPER DUPER ( and I don't use that duper word lightly) EASY. THE PRODUCT- it is beautiful ( see below y'all) - printed on amazing paper and your photos become a work of art!! poof, ping, wow- those are my "magic happening"sounds.

There's 3 things I love in life ( okay I've got tons of stuff, things and people that I love but I'm partial to these 3 things for the moment). FIRST,  a great party outfit (any...as in I will go to ANY holiday party because I love to dress up and it's freaking FUN). SECOND, staying warm (cute and warm must be combined in the winter months for me...seriously ask my GFs). Third, wearing all my clothes. Yes, I have my seasonal put away stash but for the most part I wear most of my clothes all the time, mixing and changing up how I wear them. Unless it's a booty short and it's winter. I'm a fan of mixing high pieces (fancy, dressy, ta-da) with low pieces (casual, cozy, pass me my coffee on the sofa comfy styles).

I paired this flannel JCrew beauty with one of my favorite Spring/Summer skirt from Alice and Olivia that I got a few years back from Fancy Pants. You can find similar styles here . It's one of my faves (I've got tons of faves, so hang in there with me). It gives an elegant but not overdone look. So attack your closet and pull out your fancy styles ( yes, I know you bought it to wear to that special what-cha-ma-call-it, so what! you bought it, it looks great on you, so wear it #bossypants.

SHOW ME YOUR FANCY!! Share with me on INSTAGRAM your high low and fancy blends with #SHOWINGMYFANCY and tag me @lauratully.co.  I'll repost my favorite ( but you know I love you all) and I'll have a LITTLE SURPRISE for my fancy instaPOSER!!  WOOHOO, CAN'T WAIT! I'm soaking up all the love like Buhl butter on warm artisanal toast!! THANK YOU!! KEEP THE LOVE COMING...it won't go to waste, comment below and click the heart icon (it's adorable). I've got some goodness coming your way next week so buckle your seat belts and make sure you've got snow tires!! LET'S GO!!