Wear Your Heart on Your Very Fashionable Sleeve

By offering fashion made with ethical and environmentally-conscious practices, that's the motto that Arboretum Apparel preaches. I can't even begin to say how much I fell in love with this store while roaming around the streets of beautiful Healdsburg, CA.

Downtown Healdsburg, itself, was a gorgeous sight to see during this time of the year. After finishing up work for the day, my coworker and I were excited about having the chance to do some shopping and delighted to find Healdsburg Plaza bordered with cute boutiques all along Center St. and Healdsburg Ave. As we took our time checking out the stores, everyone was friendly and didn't seem to mind that most of the time, we didn't get a chance to buy anything at all. Boutique owners and sales people alike just seemed genuinely pleased that we'd even dropped by. I loved it!

Between the awesome decor (created by marine biologists), bright lights, and striking fashion offerings, Arboretum is one of the most intriguing I've ever seen. I mean, have you ever seen clothing racks like that?! We were even lucky enough to have some time to chat with one of the co-owners, Kate Morrison! As I listened to how she had already found previous success as a boutique owner in Boston and moved to Healdsburg for love, I couldn't help but be excited. I think that's what LA lacks: boutique owners who will chat with you about what they do, how they got there, and even what kind of perfume she likes. Even as I left the store longing for the last pair of summer sandals Kate had displayed, she offered to ship them to me. Such a sweet gal! I'm not sure that I'll ever be back in town anytime soon, but hopefully she opens up shop in LA someday.

Just because I can't have them, maybe someone else who's a size 6.5 can!

Hello from Norcal!

Hello from Healdsburg, CA! I'm currently up in Sonoma County on a business trip and am LOVING the chance to visit this beautiful part of California during such a festive time! With the chance to mix work with play, I've been lucky enough to stumble upon some amazing eateries and boutiques. I don't have the time to do as detailed a post as I would like at the moment, but here's a quick sneak peak of one of the fabulous finds here in Healdsburg:

Can't wait to tell you all about this boutique when I get back to LA!

Kensie: Party Pretty

I took the day off from work to run some errands and see the dentist today! It's amazing what one extra day in a weekend means--I am definitely looking forward to only working 4 days a week in May.

One fun thing I got to catch up with on my day off was the stacks of magazines which have piled up over the past months (yikes!). I must confess that after spending 70% of my week in business casual clothes, I haven't really added much to my "normal" wardrobe lately. While checking out the March issue of Elle, I came across a gorgeous advertisement for Kensie.



The Spring '09 collection focuses on fun and flirty dresses, all priced under $200 (most are $158). I've never seen any of the pieces in person, but the line is carried at a multitude of boutiques, Macy's, and Nordstrom. As the weather gets more and more beautiful each day, any of these dresses would be cute for spring outings or warm summer parties. Most of the designs utilize a soft bone color and their high-waists and full skirts offer some figure-enhancing shapes (something I desperately need at the moment). I love that the brand is very focused on a light and romantic essence which is carried out via its ads, website, and mantra. As I become more and more bored with seeing the same dresses on people, this is a refreshing choice for the months to come!

Who says we can't still have some fun now that we're working? In the words of the brand, "We love to play."

ASOS: As Seen on Stars

I love weekends. Besides being an oh so much needed break from the struggles of the work week, I get to go home. This weekend I came home to a nice surprise: my ASOS order that I'd totally forgotten about!

ASOS is an online store I've often checked out, but been hesitant to order from since it's based in the UK. ASOS, which stands for, as seen on stars, specializes in just that. You can easily search the site by celeb and grab your own version (or even the real thing) of something that Posh, Alexa Chung, or Nicole Ritchie have been seen wearing (and who doesn't want to look as fabulous as them?)! I love finding the weekly Style Update emails in my inbox as they offer some great tips and style choices (seriously, you need to subscribe to this).

After having absolutely no time to shop and being in desperate need of some new clothes, I finally decided to place an order. I've read mixed reviews online about the quality of the clothes, but thought I might as well give it a try. The items range from designer must-haves to more affordable ASOS-brand pieces--there is plenty to choose from! The site even offers a spiffy video of the item on the runway. Shipping was only $6 despite being sent all the way from the UK and I'd say my package took about 2 weeks to get here.

I picked up a shirt, high-waisted tulip skirt, leather work tote, and a bunch of necklaces. Overall, the items were pretty true to site-image and description. The shirt has an odd sizing and didn't turn out as cute as it looked on the model, but hey I guess I'm no model... The necklaces are as fun and versatile as I hoped they would be! I will defnitely be purchasing from ASOS again. For now, those style updates will have to do! See below for my favorite pieces from the order: