Currently...

WORKING ON: New job! I got promoted to Senior Development Associate recently and am settling into being a team lead and hiring a new Dev Associate. It's been really fun and I am excited for the coming year and helping to make our awesome team, even more awesome.

THINKING ABOUT: This blog and what I want it to become. I think I'm going to move away from strictly fashion, but I'm still formulating the full plan in my head. I am hopeful brunch with my favorite fellow Austin bloggers next weekend will help me to sort some things out.

ANTICIPATING: Birthdays! Starting next Tuesday we have 6 family birthdays in 7 weeks. Its going to be busy and full of celebration and I'm excited. We're also going to do a big beer party at our house in honor of all the birthday folks, we have 3 new brews ready to go and it should be delicious.

LISTENING TO: Loose Change EP from Ed Sheeran. I love a good English singer song writer and this little EP, released long before he showed up on American radio is awesome. I highly recommend Little Bird and One Night. You've likely heard this somewhere, and its also quite good, now he just needs to come to Austin, and not just a SXSW show.

EATING: Tomatoes! I have been having a mad love affair with tomatoes this summer and there are 3 ready to be picked on our plant out back (and about 15 still waiting to get ripe). I thinking tomatoes, avocados, and crackers for dinner tonight.

THANKFUL FOR: So many things, I can't pick just one, so I'll list a few at the top of the list.

• Peter's new car, I am so glad we saved and we're able to make a great down payment and that he now has an awesome new car and a low monthly car payment. 
• Petunia Jean. I would be so lonely on the weekends without this little pup. We went to the vet yesterday and she weighed in at 7lbs, which seems just perfect, as she gets older, she gets less crazy and more awesome, I am so thankful we found each other. 
• My Granny. Seriously, she is the coolest lady I know, while I don't get to see her near enough, our phone chats always make me smile. Nothing like having a sassy Granny to give it to you straight and remind you of the important things in life. 
• The Olympics! Not much more needs to be said, they are awesome, its the only time you'll catch me with the TV on all day long.

PLANNING FOR: San Francisco. Peter and I will be taking a week and a half in October and running away to San Francisco for our Honeymoon/One Year Anniversary. We're renting this house in Noe Valley and can't wait for daily adventures, a short trip to Napa, biking (maybe) across the Golden Gate, and in general living it up. If you have any San Fran favorites, we'd love to hear about them.

*Thanks to Jen Loves Kev for inspiring this post!

Rocky Moutain High

I'll be in Colorado for the rest of the week and am SO excited!! I haven't been home in early summer in 5 years and there is no better time for fresh mountain air!

Not sure if I'll be taking outfit photos, but I will certainly have an Instagram recap on our return (or you can follow along real time @altann)

Happy rest of the week to ya!

Fairly Basic

I think if I had to pick one word to describe the most important thing to me in clothing, it would be comfort. That's what I was looking for this morning when I pulled out this gray dress. I added some fun touches with a leather belt and sequined shoes and was good to go.  Since this was a fairly basic color palette, I added some super fun teal bird earrings just to mix it up.

This week has just flown by, I'm a little shocked tomorrow is Friday. I'm also really excited because it means we are just 5 days away from our summer trip to Colorado. I am so excited for mountain air and seeing some of my best friends. It's going to be awesome!

Dress: Old Navy 

Belt: H&M

Shoes: Target 

Necklace: Target

Earrings: Target

Stella & Dot Party!

So back in March I met the lovely Whitney Fields at the Texas Style Council. Not only is Whitney super fun, but she is also a fabulous Stella & Dot stylist and within the first 5 minutes of talking to her, I knew I wanted to host a party for my friends to see the awesomeness that is Stella & Dot! 

 

The set up of lovely items.

 

The ladies looking at necklaces. Being able to see the items in the catalog and in person was awesome. I ended up really liking a lot of things in person that I might have overlooked otherwise. 

 

 Clark loved having all the ladies over. He really enjoys a good conversation.

  The lovely Whitney. Delightful company and really great at offering styling suggestions.

 The spread of food, I love any excuse to use my loads of Pinterest recipes! Including Creamy Avocado Yogurt Dip, Honey Baked Brie, and this delicious cocktail!

After spending the evening viewing the items, it was impossible not to fall in love with some of them and obviously I have to share my top picks! 

 

Throwing this party was such a good time. I loved having an excuse to invite all of my friends over, make a few (easy) delicious treats, have some bubbly drinks and play dress up. If you live in Austin, I highly recommend inviting Whitney over and throwing your own party!

If you are in the market for some stylish and fun new jewelry, my party link is active until June 12th! 

Stella & Dot

So treat yourself to something lovely, after all, like the Stella & Dot packaging says,

 

(photo credit) 

Minty Leopard

This outfit combines 3 things I love my accordion pleat skirt, leopard, and mint. It makes me smile and it happens to be the only outfit I've managed to photograph in the last 2 weeks. Life has just been busy, and its been hard to fit the photos in, but I promise I have been getting dressed.

I think May might be the busiest month in Austin. Its light out later, its warm but not terribly hot yet and it seems everyone plans events because its nice and we want to enjoy it before the oppressive heat of summer settles in and no one wants to go outside. I am going to work on figuring out how to fit outfit photos in, I've missed my little blog and I'm sure you've missed the photos of Petunia.

 

Cardi: Gap Outlet 

Top: Old Navy 

Skirt: Jason Wu for Target

Flats: Target 

Hairwrap: Forever XXI

Punch!

So this week has also gotten away from me, but at least for last night and today I have a good, no make that great, excuse, I was at the Punch Brothers. This means that I didn't get home until nearly midnight and then this morning no one was going to take a photo of my tried face. Lets say today was hair up, black dress, bright scarf, and Toms and wasn't worth photographing.

Instead of outfits today I'm going to show you some amazing music.

I have been a Chris Thile fan since I was 16, last night was my 15th time seeing him live and to be honest with you, that isn't enough. He is AMAZING and I will see him every chance I get for the rest of my life.

One of my most favorite Chris Thile songs, silly, funny, and awesome: "Set me up with one of your friends"

Chris' curent band is Punch Brothers, who are also (and obviously) amazing. I've seen them 5 times and everytime I fall more in love with them, I could literatly spend hours telling you how awesome they are, so instead I'll just post a few videos and let you see for yourself 

Also, they know Paul Simon 

And there is a whole movie about them and their awesome 

Basically what I am saying is, you should be a Punch Brothers fan. 

Totes Profresh

It's Monday, and that means simple with a pop. A black dress, black wedges, and lovely new statement necklace made for the perfect easy Monday combo. Plus we were holding interviews in my office today, so looking professional and well put together was important. 

I found this lovely necklace over the weekend, and it just makes me so darn happy. I normally have a strict no Forever 21 policy, but I am willing to bend it for jewelry only.  I've been looking for a blue/green statement necklace for a while, but since I am not one to wear jewelry a lot, I didn't want to spend much. Enter a random trip to the mall and finding the perfect solution.

Necklace: Forever 21

Dress: Target
Belt: Lulu's 

Shoes: Target

My life in Instagram

It has been a crazy past week for me, outfit photos just weren't in the cards, so please enjoy a few snap shots of my week via my favorite social media addiction, Instagram.

My outfit on Friday April 20, it felt like the perfect day for polkadots and leopard.  

Friday night treat to myself! I have recently embraced my love of mimosas, at all times. I highly recommend barefoot bubbly and blood orange Italian soda. Together they are amazing! 

Perfect Saturday morning on the patio. Maire Claire is good stuff, add a little coffee, sunshine, and puppy frolicking and its a perfect moment. 

Life World Library Books circa 1964. I wanted them all. 

The ones that made it home. Mostly inaccurate and totally awesome.

Petunia Jean and I went to Home Depot, she has a really great eye for paint brushes.

Bruce and Clark ate dinner. 

I had brunch with the lovely Julie & Sara, but I didn't get a photo of us. Instead here is the only picture I took, the W Hotel's tribute to Willie Nelson. 

Tired pup at the end of the busy weekend.

Administrative Assistant's Day is a whole week at my office, and it started off with these lovely flowers.

We started last week helping my Mother in law pick out a condo. She went with the one pictured and I am super stoked. Its a beautiful space in a great location, plus its patio is ginormous and perfect for family dinners! 

Then we went to Hopdoddy for dinner. I LOVE this place and the fact that they've put one in walking distance from our house is very dangerous. 

Sunday, the 22nd, was our 6 month wedding anniversary, but since Peter worked, we celebrated on Tuesday. We had agreed on no gifts, but that sweet husband of mine sent 2 dozen cookies to my office. OMG. Delicious. 

To celebrate we went to Uchiko for dinner. Sadly, Chef Paul Qui wasn't working that night, but it was still an AMAZING meal! 

Uchiko dessert, Sweet Corn Sorbet and The Strawberry dessert special. Both AMAZING. 

A gift from my mama, a little too big for coffee, but he is the perfect desk mate for my pens. 

Sometimes at my job we get to tour construction sites, in really amazing neon vests. 

I found these little dear highly amusing and a little offensive. 

So one of my wonderful gift officers took me to Perla's for Admin Assistant's week. Not only did I get to eat this divine lobster roll and chocolate tort, but we also ate with celebrities, well celebrity chefs that is! Top Chef Contestant Sarah Grueneberg, and Top Chef Masters Michelle Bernstein and Tony Mantuano were all eating lunch as well. Woo hoo for Austin Food and Wine Festival Weekend!

This graffiti was in the parking garage for Perla's. I found it rather uplifting.