Style & Cheek

Black and white is crazy big right now and has been since the end of winter. After so many colorful spring/summer prints and neons people are craving the simplicity of black and white. Black and white prints are not quite as simple as straight b&w or as wild as some summery prints but they’re comfy for those who don’t go for so much color or bold prints in their closet – like me. You can stay with the black and white combo or go as complicated as pairing black and white prints with other prints but this takes some practice if you’re not used to print clashing/matching.

Black & White Prints + Neon

1. J.Crew Perfect-fit Ballet Button Tee

2. ASOS LULLABY Ballet Flats

3. Alice + Olivia High Waist Back Zipper Capri Pants

4. Topshop Kissing Giraffe Pleated Skirt

5. J.Crew Short-sleeve Summerweight Boyfriend Sweatshirt

6. J.Crew Pilar Glitter Sandals

When Dan and I were in Princeton we made a trip to J.Crew in hopes of finding me a casual pair of pants. While I was there I couldn’t help but try on this neon pink short sleeve sweatshirt. I love it and as I was putting together this post I realized it would look great with a black and white print skirt or pants. Even though the sweatshirt is bright, it’s a solid which would balance out any busy print. Same with the ballet tee that I’ve paired with polka dot capris, which is an updated nod to Sandy’s outfit at the end of Grease. Getting retro with neon and prints.

Black & White + Prints

1. Westward Leaning 9.5 \\ Color Revolution Sunglasses

2. Madewell Soludos® Low-Cut Espadrilles in Woven Raffia

3. Madewell Something Else Paradox Printed Tank

4. Topshop Beach Postcard Print Runners

5. Topshop Stripey Scoop Back Maxi Dress

6. Kate Spade New York ‘Chevron Stripe’ Scarf

7. Zara Leopard Print Sandal

Much like taking a solid piece and pairing it with black and white prints, you can pair smaller prints with bigger, louder prints. Print pairing is an art and there is a lot of potential for disaster, but yes, it is possible to pair black and white prints with other prints. For the outfit on the left I combo’d black and white prints with very colorful prints that used black as well. This is helpful because it ties the outfit together. The maxi dress and scarf have slightly similar patterns and the blue in the shoes is close to that in the scarf. The patterns can be different as long as they have a common trait.

Black and White Prints + Black or White

1. Madewell Peppermill Tank

2. Marc by Marc Jacobs Goodbye Columbus Colorblocked Mini Crossbody

3. Zara Mini Skort

4. Zara Bomber Jacket with Zips

5. Topshop FIGARO3 Whipstitch Sandals

6. Zara Cropped Trousers

7. Elizabeth and James Leopard Fairfax Sunglasses

8. Vince Camuto ‘Lancaster’ Flat

Easy peasy. This is the first combo I would go for with my 90% black closet. I don’t pick black on purpose, it just always seems to look the best so to me it seems natural to pair a  black and white print with solid black or white piece. These looks are a bit sporty which was not intentional but I’m digging it. Even the accessories here are black and white which ends up looking very cool and modern.

- Julia of Style and Cheek

Pinterest Picks will be back next week because I really want to share some pics from the awesome weekend I just had.

The days before the wedding involved insane weather. In New York, the weather was fine for a bit, but as we left dinner it was pouring so we had to buy an umbrella. On Friday in Princeton we walked into a sandwich shop and 5 minutes later the sky opened up and Dan got soaked running to the car to get said umbrella. I’ve said this before but in Seattle we don’t use umbrellas and now I realize that it’s because our raindrops are nothing compared to fat east coast rain drops. But Saturday, the day of John and Katie’s wedding, was beautiful! Perfect weather – not so hot that everyone looked like a melted mess but hot enough for people to enjoy warmth into the night.

John and Katie have ridiculously fun friends. From the rehearsal dinner, the wedding, to the breakfast brunch Dan and I were highly entertained by this group – it also helps that these people love a good party. John and Katie are probably the nicest most smiley people I’ve ever met. They’re so positive and upbeat, which explains the people they surround themselves with. I hope Dan and I have the opportunity to hang out with these people again soon. It was just a really fun wedding and my best experience on the east coast to date!

Check out these pics from the wedding weekend that were captured by guests using this pretty cool app (check out the other pics there as well) – Wedding Party Katie & John 

The men

Inside the tent

Katie and John

Dan and I

Celebration shots

Gary and Dan

We went to New York yesterday, after a very long feet shuffling morning that involved coffee that tasted like wheat bread and Dan fixing the shower drain so I wasn’t shin-deep in soapy water while I showered (you know). Our plan was to take the slightly more scenic route (the George Washington Bridge) into the city and head straight to the Met.

First let me say that New York drivers are crazy. New York pedestrians are crazy. If you don’t go when you can go you’re screwed so everyone just goes, otherwise they get trapped between some crazy double-parked moving truck and the probably suicidal super aggressive cabbies. Thankfully, Dan somehow actually likes driving in New York, and I didn’t have to do anything but sit back and watch all these psychos try to get where they were going.

After a drive all around Central Park, we parked and head into the to Met. That place is gigantic so Dan and I rushed around as much as we could. If I was a jewelry designer and lived in New York City, I would 100% go to the Met for inspiration. There is AMAZING ancient Roman, Greek, and Egyptian jewelry on display in that place; fine gold link necklaces with agate gemstones, ridiculously heavy and detailed armlets, and really intricate pins. There was even a beautiful gold hair-bun-net. Even Dan was into it.

Gold openwork hairnet with medallion

Beyond the jewelry, there were so many beautiful works that it’s hard to list them all, though a lot of my favorites were  paintings that stood out because the level of detail blew my mind. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000), 1912 Gustav Klimt 

The Huis ten Bosch at The Hague and Its Formal Garden (View from the South) Jan van der Heyden

Oh and then there is this insanely creepy piece that I really shouldn’t post but WTF these people are marching/being-dragged down to hell through somebody’s giant mouth… this is some disturbing Stephen King stuff right here. We walked back to it to make sure we saw it right. Creepy, creepy, creepy.

Christ’s Descent into Hell Style of Hieronymus Bosch  (Netherlandish, ca. 1550–60)

After we left the Met, Dan and I walked down 5th avenue along Central Park to grab dinner at Tao – an Asian place with a gigantic Buddha in the middle of its main floor and fun, loud house music. (Edit: we didn’t go to Colicchio and Sons like we planned, another time maybe) Dan has been really wanting “east-coast-style” Chinese noodles for eternity now and I guess he picked this spot so he could indulge with noodles that I might also like, ie they weren’t greasy and didn’t give me tummy death (they were yum). We also had a bunch of sushi and some really hard-to-maneuver-into-your-mouth duck spring rolls, topped off with our first dessert in more than a month, sugared warm donuts with a few dipping sauces. Oh and our server was really attentive and friendly, which is always a big plus for me. I liked her a lot!

Then it started pouring and we ran into a drug store to buy an umbrella. Eventually, we ended up back in our car and Dan drove around aggressively, swearing at a lot of stupid people who were honking for no reason or trying to cross the street when they could get crushed. It’s too bad it was raining so hard because there was sooooo much that we could have checked out that we really only got to glimpse at through rainy windows. The one thing about New York that really surprised lil’ ole naive me is that most of it DOES NOT look like Times Square. And thank god because otherwise I probably would have not enjoyed my time in the city half as much. I thought my eyeballs were going to burn out. Sooo bright!

And guess what? Only a little more than 4 hours later, even after a pretty decent sized meal at Tao, we got hungry again, and headed downtown to Balthazar, a French style bistro/brasserie best known for sick breads and pastry that Dan would eat by the truck load. Dude loves his French pastry. The best way to sum up Balthazar would be to say that if we lived in NYC, it is the type of place that would make both of us gigantic. There is no place near us in Washington where at 11pm we could get a really fresh tasting beet salad, sardines, chanterelle mushroom and corn chowder, and the most perfect cheese plate (blue, goat, brie, and hard cheeses all present). Sure you could find a place or two with some of that stuff available for late night happy hour, but not all of it, and it wouldn’t be nearly as good. Plus the place was awesome inside! I loved the old school tile floor and polished metal “mirrors” on the walls. And it had a seriously fun vibe, plus once again we lucked out with a great waitress. I’d go back to this place for sure – it is the definition of ideal Julia late night snacking. Nom.

(I’ll be posting better pics once I have time to edit them)

I’m sitting in a Holiday Inn in Newark, NJ with swollen feet waiting for some disgusting but delicious pizza. It’s 1:00 am here but 10:00 pm at home so Dan, who is sitting next to me reading With the Old Breed (WWII non-fiction), and I are still fairly awake and definitely hungry.

Today has been interesting. Normally it takes about 15 min to get through SeaTac’s airport security but today it took 90 min which was crazy, insane, craziness. We crossed our fingers that we wouldn’t miss our flight, but as we ran through the airport and realized we still had to take the tram I thought we were out of luck. But no! Zoom, zoom, zoom running paid off because even though we got to the gate at 3:30 for a 3:20 flight they were just closing the doors and they let us in! Seriously, I didn’t think it would happen but holy crap we were relieved.

But I wore the wrong shoes. My feet are pontoon size normally but with the swelling from the flight, the waiting in the security line, and then running all around Newark Airport to get our bags and then to go to the monorail only for it to have “limited service”  and then to walk back downstairs, etc. etc… my dead feet were so happy to get a cab. SO happy. I love my flats. I wear them to death. But they are not the right waiting around shoes, let alone running-for-my-plane shoes. And this is important to know when traveling. Wear comfy waiting around shoes. You’ll thank yourself.

So now we’re waiting for greasy pizza from some slightly sketchy pizza place that closes late. So much for avoiding bloat creating foods! Give me the pizza. I don’t care anymore.

Tomorrow, well, really today, we’re going to New York. I’ve never been! I’ve also never experienced a “real” thunderstorm and that’s what the weather is looking to provide. Realness. New York and a thunderstorm. Should be exciting. I’m not sure how this changes Dan’s plans for the day but I’m really pumped for the Met. Other than that, he can take me anywhere. We also have reservations at Colicchio and Sons which I’m mouth-watering over but I’ll share all of this with you on Friday.

In other news I want to talk about the newest Amodt. My brother Jonah and his wife Judy had a baby girl on Tuesday June 11th – Riley Madison. So they have Aidan who will be six in November and now little Riley. I love her. We went to go visit them at the hospital and my Mom, the baby whisperer, was holding her and swaying back and forth. Riley was sucking away on her pacifier looking calm and tiny. We were in there for two seconds before my Mom placed Riley in my arms and I was instantly in lurve. She stared at me forever, went back to her gnawing on her pacifier, then stopped and stared at me some more. I’m not a baby person at all but I can’t help but want to hold and see my little niece again.

The Makeup Lady – Mineral Sunscreen

I preached on here once before about the importance of sunscreen and I still stick by that comment. I will honestly never stray away from the fact that you MUST ALWAYS wear sunscreen. No. Matter. What. Trust me. When you’re 80 you’ll thank me for how great your skin looks.

The downside to sunscreen is the heavy, smelly formula which in turn makes you look like a grease ball and then you may end up with a breakout or two. Oh, and it’s hard sometimes to get your makeup to blend after you’ve applied sunscreen.

But you need to wear it. So what do you do?!?

Mineral Sunscreens!

I was introduced to this concept back when I worked for Bare Escentuals. The idea seemed simple enough yet so different. Could a powder that passes as a sunscreen really protect you from the sun? I gave it a try and sure enough it worked.  The tint gave me a slight coverage and also helped with knowing where I had applied it. If you’ve ever been sunburned you know the last thing you ever want to do is miss a spot when applying sunscreen!

As with any product there are some pros and cons.

Pros

- Easy to apply

- Lightweight

- Will not clog your pores

- On the go convenience

- Light coverage

Cons

- Reapply more often

- More expensive

- Messier

- Meant for smaller areas

Now that you know what you’re getting into, it’s onto the good stuff…the products! There are many different sunscreen products on the market and not all of them are created equal.  Look for products that have zinc oxide, iron oxide, and titanium dioxide in them. These are the same ingredients that you would find in most of your cream and liquid sunscreens.  Or just look for the items I’ve gathered below.

1.       bareMinerals SPF Natural Sunscreen

2.       GO!screen

3.       Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral SPF

4.       Brush On Block

5.       Philosophy the supernatural

- Jamie of The Lady and The Beard

There are so many different prints to play with that I decided to start with girly and ladylike dresses because sometimes it’s difficult to figure out what to wear with certain styles, especially when prints are involved. You can wear any print you like, you just have to know what to wear it with. Contrast is the way to go – take those ladylike or reserved pieces and have fun with accessories or wear that super bright print and choose more elegant accessories.

Outfit 1

1. Adia Kibur 3 Layer Chain Necklace

2. Diane von Furstenberg Anette Pumps

3. AMC Summer Straw Hats Flower Ribbon Ladies Women Gardening Sun Hat

4. Topshop Animal Ladder Back Dress

Outfit 2

1. TrendsBlue Classic Natural Fedora Straw Hat

2. Topshop Zig Zag Aztec Tunic

3. ONE by 8 Other Reasons Showtime Necklace

4. Whistles Two Part Simple Sandals

These two dresses are very bright and have bold prints which might deter those who think the print is too young, but that shouldn’t stop you. There are ways to dress up and fancify seemingly casual dresses, even for daytime. Add heels. Yep. I bet you knew that one but adding heels changes the entire feel of an outfit. Heels can be fun instead of stuffy and same with the jewelry – go for colorful, chunky, but put together. I’ve always felt like hat wearing was for confident people. I so rarely see people wearing hats but love how certain people can pull it off just so.

Outfit 1

1. ASOS Pearl Bow Hair Barrette

2. Stella McCartney Oversized Round Sunglasses

3. Elephant Eco Friendly Tote

4. Sam Edelman Gabrianna Ankle Cuff Sandals

5. ModCloth Tile Savvy Dress

Outfit 2

1. ModCloth Bridle Bliss Dress

2. ModCloth Bona Fide Fun Headband

3. ONE by Panda Jackson Sunglasses

4. Madewell Zip Pouch

5. Ancient Greek Sandals Medea Thong Sandals

With ladylike dresses you want to keep your outfit as playful as possible. For the left outfit I added a bow barrette which would look so cute holding up a Brigitte Bardot half up hairdo. On the right there’s a headband for a lovely, messy bun. For both of these outfits the messier your hair is, the better. Find some fun sandals and sunglasses and don’t worry too much about matching. Add a super simple bag like a zip pouch or canvas tote – the more relaxed the better.

- Julia of Style and Cheek