Let's Have a Virtual Party...with Giveaways!

It's a jewelry party!  The best kind of parties, right?  But this one is virtual.  So grab a glass of wine, maybe some little cookies and follow these directions to shop & get entered to win!

The awesome people at Stella & Dot reached out to me to host an online shopping event, AND are giving my readers chances to WIN jewelry along the way! THREE chances.  Perfect timing as I've been loving my Stella & Dot Belle Fleur Earrings!

Here's the deal, a winner will be selected randomly out of those that have purchased something from the Chasing Davies group!  1 winner per week will win one of these great pieces:

Silver Soriee Earrings, Clover Wrap Bracelet in Teal, or Ivory Garden Party Chanallier Earrings

So if you were in the market for some new jewelry, and just in time for spring - take a look around! And need some jewelry ideas?  In honor of tonight's The Bachelor Finale, Season 15 - take a look at some of the ladies of the Bachelor wearing their Stella & Dot:

Jillian in Turquoise Sea Necklace; Lisa M. in Belle Fleur Earrings, Ali in Sloane Hoop Earrings; Natalie in Clair Necklace

Make sure to follow these directions to shop & purchase, so you'll be counted in the prize drawing: 
1. Go to www.stelladot.com/ashleypolo 
2. Click on "Can't make it to the trunk show? Find your hostess" 
3. Type in Chasing Davies 

Happy Shopping and GOOD LUCK! :) 
And don't forget to comment and let me know what you got or are eying!!

Party Time, Part 2

For my second party - my work holiday party - a night dancing, drinking fun drinks and eating good food, I wore my sequin dress!  I love this dress - it is fun enough, and also modest enough (with tights) to wear to a work function.

I love the cap sleeves and mesh trim around the edges.  It's a bit short for my preference, but I paired with bright fuchsia tights.  I feel like I'm channeling Kate Spade a little bit:

Hubs and I all decked out

I also have to share with you my hair - I loved it!  I had just let it dry naturally - which is a mess of frizzy waves on top and tight tendrils on the bottom. So a co-worker of mine twisted it back to a side up-do of the sorts!  She just experimented and it loved the outcome:

My twisted hair

Party Time, Part 1

I've had a couple of holiday parties where I've gotten to get dressed up and have a little fun!  To one of these parties, I wore my sequin dress I previewed last week, but first, I'll share with you my 1st party dress:

Worn to my husband's work party, and then to a friend's holiday party after that (2 in one night!) - I scored this turquoise strapless dress at Nordstrom Rack in Chicago back in October.  And because it was my husbands work party, I kept it modest with a black jacket.

I love these jeweled Nine West heels and necklace for a little sparkle to this outfit (it is the Holidays after all):

Jacket - Target

Dress - Donna Morgan via Nordstrom Rack

Heels - Nine West via Marshalls

Necklace - Forever 21

The Sequin Dress Update (Reviews)

Remember a few weeks ago, I had a sequin dress post with some great options, one of which I ordered for myself...another I tried on later.  Both failed.  But found another one, and love it.  So here are some sequin dress updates if you are in search for one yourself!

Ordered Jessica Simpson's Collection Sequin Dress:

Review:  No.  Yuck.  I didn't even take a picture of me in it (sorry).  I received it at work, immediately ran to the bathroom to try it on (I had such high hopes) and then took it right off and sent it back that very day.

The Bad: The fit. This dress will best fit someone stick skinny that needs major curve help.  The skirt part of the dress skimmed the side of my hips, which was fine, but then it pooched out over my stomach making (under the seam) and pooched behind, over my butt.  If you look at this model, you can kind of see what I'm talking about.  So put that on a curvier person and not a model, it could be very iffy.

The Okay: The top was fitted and actually nice looking, but it hurt my under arms when they touched the side of the dress.  Those sequins can be sharp!  The dress is TTS fit, but cut is very limited to certain body shapes.


Then I tried there two gold dresses on at Macy's, both by INC:

Review: They are very similar.  One is 2 inches longer and V-neck (the left one), while the other is scoop neck and has a chiffon lining that peeks out of the edges of the dress (the right one). Both look a bit cheapity in person...

The Bad: Looks cheap-ish in person, and then I put it on and it looked even worse!  They are both pretty short for such gold bling and tight fit and the color was just not right.  I looked a bit hookerish.  Definitely not ok for my work party! :)

The Okay: The neck lines were nice.  Not to plunging, but flattering.

So after the 3 fails, I was feeling that a sequin dress in my budget range ($80-$150) was not going to cut it.  I was sad and deflated.

BUT THEN...I found a navy dress with black sequins, cap sleeves and chiffon peeking out from the edges by the same INC brand those horrible gold dresses are from.  I tried it on and LOVED it.  I don't know if it's new or old (though it wasn't on sale), but I haven't found it online.  I got it from my area Macy's store.

Pardon the horrible photo quality - I was in a dressing room with only my phone to capture it.

Review: Not itchy, smoother fit and not soo tight. It clinches in a little at the waist and has a slight A-line which is what I need for my hips.  It's a little shorter than I'd like, but the modest top and pair with tights and I think it is ok.  I could also get a chiffon slip that hung out an inch or so to lengthen the look of this dress.

I am wearing this dress this week for my work holiday party and will post a new photo of how I style it up and all complete next week!  Happy Sequin Shopping.

Falling for Jackets: Holiday Luxe

Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving and long weekend.  What was your favorite dish?  Mine is always sweet potato casserole and pumpkin pie! :) Now thick in the holiday season, what better than a Falling For Jackets edition on fabulous luxe jackets perfect for slipping over any holiday party dress?  One thing better might be saving a buck or two... Here are some good options for both:

Merona® Collection Women's Aimee Fur Jacket - Ebony ($44.99), ModCloth's Just Luxe Jacket ($97.99), INC International Concepts Jacket, Faux Fur Three Quarter Sleeve Cropped ($79.99), Juicy Couture Faux Fur Hooded Jacket ($286.40)

So now all you need is a fabulous holiday dress...

What are you wearing to any fun parties this season?

All That Glitters: Sequin Accessories

From sequin dresses, to heels and now glittery accessories... I can't get enough glitz!  Well, it's the holidays after all.  And these sequinedy pieces can be worm year around mixed and matched in unexpected ways.

Wear Now and Wear Later: A Skinny Belt from NY&Co

For the holidays, layer a skinny sparkle belt over a cocktail dress or dark skinny jeans with heels.  

And later, mix this sparkle belt with plaid, like over this J.Crew plaid dress.

Wear Now and Wear Later: Sequin Wrist Watch from Nine West (and now on my wish list...love)

This watch would look great with a simple black dress for a holiday party, or dark jeans for a night out.

Or later, dress it down with an American Apparel v-neck t and jeans.

Wear Now and Wear Later: Glitter Tights from Kohl's

Slip these under almost any holiday dress with bright heels for subtle glitz.

Later, layer knee-high rugged boots on over these tights, with a wool skirt and button down shirt for appropriate for work.

What glittery goodness will you don this season?

All That Glitters: Shoes of the Day

Maybe a sparkly dress is too much sparkle, or maybe not enough?  From "All That Glitters: Party Dresses" to sparkly shoes that can be worn to party in or jazz up jeans:

A. Marinelli Event Pumps - $99; Nina Unilla T-Strap Pumps - $89

Audrey Brooke Kari Pump - $40; Report Women's Boyd Platform Pump - $90

And for a some more wild sequin options...try these patterns:

 Miss Me Women's Garnet-11 Pumps - $46; Lovely People Vera Sequin Pumps - $55

Thankfully I'm already covered this year for sequins on my feet.  I got these sparkly numbers last year and still LOVE them:

xoxo!

All That Glitters: Party Dresses (& sale codes)

Every year I look for and consider sequin dresses!  I actually don't have one, and in the past have settled on a sequin tank or accessory instead, never have found the right dress.  This year there seems to be way more sequinedy dresses that have me salivating and trying, yet again.

In the mail (so a review to come soon) is this coppery dress by Jessica Simpson:

And get 25% off now through Nov. 15th with code DRESS25 (on dresses only). So this dress, regularly $148, came out to $111.  Spend $125 before taxes and get free shipping.

Other great sequin dresses at all price ranges:

 SL Fashions Sequin Sheath Dress via Overstock for $70; INC International Concepts Dress, Sleeveless Sequin Gold Tank via Macy's (use code "VETSDAY" for 10% off today - 11/11); Chetta B Illusion Bodice Sequin Dress via Nordstrom for $178

Sequin Dresses with sleeves...I love this look with sleeves:

T Tahari Dress, Ezra Sequined via Macy's for $139 (through today 11/11, use code "VETSDAY" get 10% off); Parker Sequin Dress via Shopbop for $297

And if you want just a little pop of sequin - you could dry this Jessica Simpson Single Shoulder Dress with a touch of sequin at the waist:

$128 but with code "DRESS25" code, get 25% off until 11/15.

Will you be rocking a sequin something this party season?

30th Birthday Party

Last Friday, my husband turned 30!  That's a good age to mark with a party, so after getting his input, we decided to have a casual beer & scotch (his current favorite liquor) party, complete with food, beer pong and flip cup.

Here were a few highlights:

Triple layer chocolate cake from CostCo (birthday boy's pick, because it's amazing), topped with beer bottle cap happy 30th bday sign crafted by moi:

Besides chocolate cake, I made Chocolate Oatmeal bars and we had Beer Mug Sugar cookies individually wrapped up so that people could eat then or take as a parting souvenir.

These super cute, and amazingly good cookies were made by Kelsey at Sweet Cakes.  Clickity click on over to her blog to see the many other cookie creations she's done and if you are in the Kansas City area - hit her up.  She takes custom orders and you won't be let down!

Besides the desserts, we had a Soft Pretzel Bar:

I got frozen soft pretzels (you can find in any grocery freezer isle near the frozen breads and rolls) and the provided several different dipping options to try:

Pale Ale Mustard (a local brewery's beer mustard), Stone Ground Mustard, cheese (the kind you find near the chips for dipping or nachos), melted chocolate and then created my own cinnamon sugar sauce, that I really liked.

Cinnamon Sauce: 1 single serving of vanilla Greek yogurt mixed with 1 TBS of cinnamon, 1 TBS of sugar or Splenda, 1 TBS of brown sugar (or you can do each to taste).

I got my pretzel, tore it up and tried all the dips (except cheese):

The Scotch bar was a hit (among the boys...the girls stuck to the wine area):

And then there was a ton of beer - all kinds of cool beer, home-brewed beers, local, micro, etc:

(This photo was taken before most of the guests arrived.  This was just 1/8th of the visible beer.  We also had beer in the "beer" fridge you see and our regular fridge.)

We had macro/cheaper beers downstairs in a cooler for the beer drinking games.

Overall, I think we made my hubs start to his thirties pretty fun. :)

USA! USA! Go USA!

Getting ready for the USA Soccer game....

Funfetti cake, with white whipped frosting, blueberries and twizzlers

Flag decor...

And my outfit to carry on the theme...

haha...so much red, white and blue.

Beautiful Summer Wedding, Part 2

The second installment of my summer wedding posts - this one was amazing in every possible way.  I was a Bridesmaid in this  Pretty in Pink wedding and was so honored to be apart of such an extravagant celebration.

Before the actual wedding even got started - we had mani/pedis, ran a 5K all dressed in pink, splashed in a fountain post-jog and stayed in a lovely hotel for some major girl time.  It was an awesome fully packed weekend.

Just in case she forgot the words... 

Check out that beautiful pleating on the bottom of her wedding dress - it was truly amazing

My fancy hair - I loved it!

Bridesmaids - Pretty in Pink, for sure:

Our flowers:

Painted pink nails and our shoes, classic shot:

Reception Centerpieces:

The most delish cake, and strawberry I've ever had:

The rest of the night was spent dancing - dancing like there was no tomorrow! I don't think I've ever danced so much!  The band was amazing - played everything from Journey to Lady Gaga, slow songs, funky songs, dancing songs.  I couldn't even drink because I never got a chance to sit down! :)  That's the best. If you need a great band in the Kansas City area: Michael Beers Band.