Origin Story

Spring has officially sprung, as evidenced by the orangey streaks streaming through my window sheers this morning. Days on end of overcast and rainy weather have proved especially hard for me these past months. The kids thrive in the San Francisco fog, but I have always struggled with it.

Home Design v. Clothes Styling

Somehow after being an elementary school teacher, then staying at home while my kids were young, I found myself starting and operating a home staging company to compliment my husband's real estate company.

Like my dear wise friend once said,

"Home staging is like design on crack."

I knew nothing about home design, but once I started drawing parallels between styling clothes and designing homes, it all started to make sense.

Balancing color, texture, proportions, fabrics, finishes, pattern--I found it was all so similar to the way you would pull together an outfit.

Taking a Break

Since closing my home staging company in January, people have asked, what will you do next?

And for maybe the first time in my life, I felt content saying that I was going to take a break to figure things out. This answer didn't suffice for everyone, and I get that. But when you’re a mom, a break essentially means still doing all the mom stuff you do on a daily basis, minus the career balancing act. So I knew that taking a break just meant being able to focus on a few things I had been neglecting.

While I’m still finishing up some design and staging projects, part of the process of refocusing energy meant carving out some quiet moments to write. I've found myself time and again writing about fashion and style, and finding joy in this. It's my very own happy place--a part of my life that is all mine.

Clothes + Confidence

I've always felt connected to my clothing. Every piece has a story or feeling attached to it. When I reflect on my past, I remember moments fondly, like buying a plum and navy rugby shirt at the Gap for my fifth grade school portrait (great shirt, awkward photo), that favorite coveted Guess denim overall jumper, the black slingbacks I wore in the 7th grade until the soles were eventually inadequate, and the navy belted wool coat that got me through the hour long MUNI commute to school my senior year of high school.

I clearly recall all of those shopping trips for graduation and prom dresses, and especially how I felt perfectly at peace when I tried on my Reem Acra silk embroidered wedding dress for the first time. My clothes have always been such a huge part of the journey, maybe because they were always something I felt confident and authentic about, no matter how unsure or guarded I was feeling about everything else.

Sar Wears

Although I’ve always enjoyed writing, the words seem to just flow when I indulge myself by thinking and writing about life and clothes. Taking time to look back into my childhood has been a study of sorts, helping me understand where my style has landed in my 40’s, and where it may go from here.

My body continues to change, from my knobby-kneed skinny early years, to waiting impatiently to size up my bra (which never happened), through three pregnancies, and finally to a stronger more athletic body, as a result of starting a regular fitness routine for the first time in my life. So it’s realy been a process to understand what looks and feels good on, and what shapes and sizes work best. Recently admitting I was no longer a size XS was a huge breakthrough.

The challenge is trying to stay effortlessly and agelessly chic, comfortable, and confident not only in my clothing but in my own skin--as I move through the various stages of my life, as the kids grow up, as I figure out what I want to be when I grow up, and as I attempt to juggle it all. This blog grew from my goals to write authentically, have fun with fashion, meet like-minded people, and document my journey. I'm excited and terrified, but mostly I'm just glad you're here with me.

Thank you for joining me. Let's do this!