It’s no secret that I love supporting small businesses. Well, I recently stumbled upon Hailey Raine Boutique, and I am straight up obsessed with their clothes. Run by Lauren and Ashley Petta, two sisters from Chi-town, their goal is to provide trendy clothing that’s high-quality yet affordable. Soooo yeah, it’s pretty much all I’ve ever wanted, ha. This is the first of three features to come so make sure y’all keep an eye out.
Let’s start today’s post off with info on my new dress – we’ll get to personal stuffs later. As mentioned in the title above, my new find is only $20 (!!!!) Originally priced at $46, this is a really great deal because you’re getting fast free shipping on top of the discounted price. I love this baby for a handful of reasons. Firstly, I’m a sucker for all things floral…and maroon, so naturally this number spoke to me. I also really like that it’s versatile – you can wear it to work, you can wear it on a date, you can wear it to the grocery store, and so on and so forth. It has an a-line silhouette so I can guarantee comfort – no sucking in necessary, thank you very much. If you’re planning on having a particularly indulgent meal for date night, this dress = godsend because it’s super forgiving.
I paired the floral mini with my pink All Saints jacket and carried a bag to match for an elegant work-friendly look. I skipped jewelry altogether because I wanted the floral print to really stand out. To finish the ensemble off, I threw on cute peep-toe heels from Amiclubwear. What do you guys think of my new dress from Hailey Raine Boutique – is it something you’d wear? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
Now, let’s move on to my highlights segment. I didn’t get to recap stuffs for you guys because I had a sponsored post for Red Lobster on Monday – click here if you missed it and want to browse serious foodporn – so this will be a bit longer than usual.
- Lunching at Carpaccio with mi madre: I seriously just to need spend a day exploring Annapolis. I don’t know it very well, and I feel like I’m missing out because I know for a fact that it’s a gorgeous city. Anywho, I agreed to cover Carpaccio for Nomtastic Foods so I went in with my gorgeous mom for lunch last Thursday. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I walked in with an open mind. I say “open mind” because I’ve heard some not-so-great things about the restaurant. Welp, I’m glad I gave it a shot because the food was exquisite. I was actually realllllly surprised that so few people were there for lunch, and I’m not really sure why they have a bad/mediocre rep. It’s totally underrated IMHO, and if you’re looking for fabulous Italian food in Annapolis, I highly recommend giving them a shot. Their Wild Mushroom pizza was delicious, and I loveeeed their Parma Piadina. Also, their tomato & mozzarella salad was bomb, AND they gave us complimentary pizza bread to start so we were sold. The review’s not up yet, but I’ll make sure to share it with you all when it goes live.
- Trying Brown Rice (the restaurant, not the food =P) for the first time and shooting with the wonderful La Belle Mel: After a veryyyy long teaching day last Saturday, I met up with one of my fab blogger friends at Peabody to photograph a couple of looks. After quickly cranking them out, we headed to one of my favorite places in Baltimore for dinner, Mount Vernon Marketplace. It’s only about a 5-10 minute walk from school, and it makes me feel like I’m back in NYC because it has a trendy vibe! They’re a food hall aka lots of options, but I was in the mood for Korean so we hit up Brown Rice. Think of it as a Korean Chipotle, haha. I got spicy chicken on brown rice and topped it with a variety of veggies – super healthy and yummy so I’m DEFINITELY going to go back soon.
- Lunching with the gorgeous Angelica Talan from Clarendon Moms: I’ve run into Angelica at events and even modeled with her on TV, but we never really got to know each other so we planned a lunch date. Yay for quality girl time and healthy eats! We met in Bethesda and got noms at True Food Kitchen (my first time there btw). We shared an order of the curried cauliflower to start, and then I got a Kale-ade and a tuscan kale salad with chicken for my main. I enjoyed the meal for sure, but the food was definitely pricey! Have any of you guys gone? If yes, what did you think? Is it worth the moolah or nah?
- Checking out Black’s Bar and Kitchen with DCFoodporn: I haven’t seen Justin in a while so I was excited to catch up and swap stories – I was recently in Orlando and he was in Miami for the South Beach Wine and Food Festival so we had a lot to talk about. I’m sure you guys all know this by now, but I REALLY like Justin. I’m allergic to fake so I can’t chill with people unless I adore them. I have all the respect in the world for him and more. He’s an amazing content creator and an even more amazing human being. So humble, fun and nice – he’s definitely one in a million so make sure you follow him if you aren’t already. Anywho, Black’s is a part of the Black Restaurant Group – they own Addie’s on top of several other restaurants. I liked Addie’s better (read my feature on them here), but Black’s had some SOLID food! Their rueben was impressive, and their desserts were almost too beautiful to eat.
Anywho, that’s it for today guys! I hope you had fun following along and reading about my adventures. They mostly revolve around food, BUT that’s totally ok with me…and I hope totally ok with you =P Sending so much love from Maryland! See you guys on Monday and make sure y’all follow me on instagram so stay up to date via stories.
Shoes: c/o Amiclubwear || Dress: c/o Hailey Raine Boutique || Coat: All Saints || Bag: YSL
Photography by my ride or die, Sung Shin.
I’ve been to True Food a couple of times. Very nice atmosphere, good service, and an interesting menu. Maybe a little pricey, but definitely worth checking out. Such a pretty dress — you look wonderful. Enjoy your weekend.
Lovely mini floral dress