Red Dress Collab & The Burnout Floral Velvet Kimono

Day to Night Stiletto Earrings

Hello. In honor of American Heart Month, Ada from Elegance and Mommyhood wanted to host yet another collab featuring, you guessed it - red dresses!  In many cases heart disease is preventable by living a healthy lifestyle. Nutrition and exercise is proven to be beneficial in a numerous amount of ways. This begs the question, why not do just that? For me, I get busy with life and convenience often wins over healthy food prep or carving out extra time for exercise. However, it truly helps to have reminders such as these to bring me back to reality. The reality is that my health needs to be a priority.
One way I'm looking into better health is by simply drinking more water. Now, that's what I was going for at the beginning of the year and then I stumbled onto research about alkaline water. What is all the hype about a supercharged water??

Over the last week, I've begun a simple, but possibly life-changing journey with merely 2 products: mineral sachets that I drop into my water and focus supplements that tell my brain what to do with all those fabulous minerals. It may sound crazy. At least it did to me, but I'm intrigued enough to share my findings in an upcoming blog post. Until then, let's get back to the Red Dress Collab!

As mentioned earlier, several bloggers are joining together to style their favorite red dress. Don't they look fabulous?? I love all the different takes on the red dress. When I agreed to join up with this collaboration, I knew I only had one weather appropriate dress to choose from and it was given to me! That makes it easy, right?

I love the bell sleeves on this dress and the lace trim even more. What I don't love is how it clings in all the wrong places...is there a good place for fabric to cling? I don't know. Anyway, I solve the cling problem by layering and how I layer is determined by my mood.

First up is the kimono layer with stilettos to keep a dressy vibe going...

Daring, Dressed to Thrill

Bring on the Boho:

With one small shoe change, the whole vibe is changed. Hello booties, hello boho. What I love about these ankle boots, other than their boho vibe, is the way they dip down at the front of the ankle. One of the dangers of ankle boots is a cut off, short-legged look. I think this particular style helps elongate the leg, making them more versatile with dresses.

Here's a perfect example of when ankle boots shorten the look of your legs:

Now I cannot continue without pausing a moment to take in the luxurious details of this burnout floral velvet kimono. Yes, velvet meets sheer elegance, while the floral print and pom pom trim add further interest and FUN. I scored this kimono AND the boots at the semi-annual Altar'd state sale I mentioned in the previous post. Both items were around $12 each. Thank you Altar'd State. Thank you.

I layered the shorter hematite necklace Daring, with the longer, adjustable height chain, Dressed To Thrill.

A Little Less Boho, A Little More Edge

A leather jacket and a rose gold clutch. The  rose gold and metallic clutch is from Altar'd State. They are sold out but Target has lots of options. Check out this one here.

Outfit Breakdown:

Dress: Altar'd State (Hand Me Down!)/Stilettos: WHBM Warehouse sale/Kimono: Altar'd State Clearance (Current Option, Norstrom Option)/Boots: Altar'd State Clearance/Clutch: Altar'd State Clearance (Target Option)/Leather Jacket: Michael Kors (Macy's)/Necklace: Premier Designs (Daring)/Longer Necklace: Premier Designs (Dressed to Thrill)/Earrings: Premier (Stilettos)
Linking up with Spread the Kindness, The Blended Blog, Not Dressed As Lamb, Classy Yet Trendy, Start the Week Stylish, I Do DeClaire, The Thursday Moda, Fabulous Friday, Fashion Should Be Fun, Weekend Wear Link Up, Fancy Friday, Shelbee On The Edge, Style Wise, Thursday Fashion Files

So, in light of our amazing, blood pumping hearts, what's one small change toward better health you can you make today? Last year we had to cancel our produce delivery subscription, but it just now occurred to me that I don't purchase as many greens as I used. So today, I'm buying more greens. Greens = alkalinity!

Also, be sure to take a closer look at these lovely ladies and their fabulous red dresses!
----------------------------------------------

Red Dresses for Women's Heart Disease + Awareness Month.

JENNIE from a Pocketful of Polka Dots

SHELBEE from Shelbee on the Edge

MAUREEN from Little Miss Casual

FONDA from Savvy Southern Chic

LAURA (and little CLAIRE) from I Do deClaire

MICHELLE from Michelle's Pa(i)ge

ADA from Elegance and Mommyhood

NINA from A World of Dresses

KELLYANN from This Blonde's Shopping Bag

CHRISSY from Granola and Grace

MONICA from Jersey Girl, Texan Heart

Much love, 

Chrissy