If you hadn’t noticed, I have a penchant for black! I should probably dip back into the colored side of my closet one of these days…

When I found this dress at Banana Republic during their latest Friends & Family sale, I instantly fell in love! The mix of mesh and neoprene fabrics made it sporty, a style that I had never thought I could pull off, but when I paired it with a pair of their ladylike pumps it instantly became me. 🙂

You are probably wondering if these shoes are actually comfortable. The answer: YES!!! A thousand times, yes. They have become one of my favorite go-to pairs to wear to work, and the two-tone coloring helps them match with just about everything.

Oops, I guess I forgot to remove the hair tie from my wrist! #blogging101 >_<

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m headed on adventure back to Paris. The countdown is on… just a few more days!

I haven’t gotten very personal with you guys, but I’d like to start changing that.

When I was growing up, my family was never big on traveling far or to new places. We instead always went to tried and true locations like Yosemite, Tahoe and Disneyland — not that I’m complaining, mind you, because I do love everywhere we’ve gone! However, now that I’m older, I have met many amazing people who have traveled to all sorts of places around the world, and they just seem so much more at ease with themselves.

Not a huge risk taker by any means, I often stick to what I know. While these aren’t necessarily bad things, I am realizing that my nature is partially a product of how I was raised. Again, not complaining! But with a milestone birthday approaching, I realized that if I want to give myself the chance to break out of my comfort zone and grow as a person, I would have to put myself in a place without the support of friends and family constantly by my side.

Paris seemed like the perfect place to do this. Having been there before, it wouldn’t be completely jarring and new, yet the thought of being there, solo, made me anxious — in a good way. Because if I was feeling anxious, it meant the idea was exactly what I needed it to be: slightly risky, but mostly just exciting. And that’s what led me to plan this trip.

With the clock ticking, I am wrapping up work and getting all my things in order before I leave. Surprisingly (and ironically?), this is the least stressed out I’ve ever been before a vacation, which kind of makes no sense considering this will be the longest amount of time I’ve ever been away from home. Go figure, right? I guess it’s a sign that I’m more than ready for this trip.

I hope you will join me on my three-week adventure! I will be posting photos on my Instagram and blogging throughout my stay.

See you in Paris!

Outfit details

Dress: Banana Republic
Shoes: Banana Republic
Clutch: Zara
Necklace: Stella & Dot (old)
Rings: Svelte Metals, Francesca’s Collections (old, similar here), Melinda Maria (old)
Bracelets: Stella & Dot, Jawbone, c/o Svelte Metals, c/o Marrin Costello
Flash Tattoo: Tattify

Photographer: Jane Dinh