San Fran: "Can't Sit Here...Seat's Taken"

Printed Shirt: Forever 21, Tank: Banana Republic, Skirt: Forever 21, Shoes: LOTUS/Dolce Vida, Necklace: Aldo Accessories, Bracelets: Handpicked, Ivy & Leo, Watch and Purse: Michael Kors, Ring: LeVian (photos: Me and My Self Timer)

I LOVE being in San Fran. There is such an amazing vibe here. I have gotten up early, worked out (don't be too impressed, body is still on EST so although the alarm says 5am, my body's clock says it's 8am), taken my time to get ready in the morning, turned the last music video channel (FUSE) that I am aware of way up (sorry neighboring hotel rooms), hailed a cab to go to the office, and met a lot of really great people that I had only ever spoken to over the phone until this week. Whenever you are traveling you are kind of limited in your clothing choices, having to live out of a suitcase and all. That is unless your hotel is SMACK dab in the middle of Union Square (shopping mecca)! Funds are kind of tight, so although there is every major designer store within walking distance, I was most excited about the enormous, 3-story Forever 21 and gigantic H&M right outside my door. I have been to a dozen Forever 21's (and admittedly most of them are not that impressive...messy, full of teenagers, disheveled), but this one is RIDICULOUS. It is clean, organized, pretty, and jam packed full of every color, style, print, accessory, shoe, piece of outerwear, and random delicious detail that you could ever wish for; and although I know it is the same place, even the quality of the stuff in this one looks better. That being said, you will see a lot of pieces from Forever 21 in the next few blog posts. As soon as I get new stuff I have to wear it almost immediately. This great printed shirt/jacket/blazer thingy that I am wearing is from there and so is this great skirt. The skirt is exceptional. It is a dark blueish/gray color, has rouching all over it, and an exposed zipper running up the back. I love it. It is dressy, but the zipper makes it a bit edgier than one of my normal pencil skirts. I paired these great pieces with black tights, a simple black tank, my fav-o-rite pair of Dolce Vida black pumps and then added a little something special to pull it all together...this great statement necklace from Aldo Accessories. ZINGER! Aldo is one of my go-to places for shoes, and in one of the malls in Charlotte, they have a separate accessories store that I pop into once in a while across the "hall". I tried to curl my hair this morning, but with my straight bangs, it just wasn't turning out right (have to work on that) so I pulled it back into a high ponytail. I kind of like the ponytail/bangs combo, I wasn't so sure how I'd feel about it. Oh, and if you notice my ring (a birthday gift) on my ring finger, I am not engaged. It's just that there is a huge conference going on in my hotel. I saw a sign for it, it didn't say "Welcome Unhappily Married, Sleeze-Ball Business Executives in Tailored Suits", but it may as well had. These dudes were hitting on anyone in a skirt, so I slapped this ring on and said in my best Forrest Gump school bus scene voice...."can't sit here, seat's taken".