{ Hotel Lautner | Desert Hot Springs, CA }

Vintage coat (similar); Vintage heels (similar); glam | camp necklace

My thing for swing coats dates back to fall of the year I first started blogging: I bought a black-and-white, retro-style coat from Forever 21 and posted a photo in it, and it was the first time anyone asked me "where did you GET that?!" (on the Internet, anyway). It was a really good coat, especially given that it was something like thirty bucks; I wore it for years and years until I finally had to admit that the shape had become a little less "swing" and a little more "sack," and sent it off to its future owner via a yard sale.

First, we need to have a very serious discussion about those boots, because while they look a tiny bit like I wrapped Lucy around my feet, they also look like EVERY BOOT FANTASY I HAVE EVER HAD.

Look. At. Them. Eeeeeeeeeeeeee.

When I tried them on and discovered that they were a full size too small, I strongly considered not caring and buying them anyway...but had a rare flash of rational thought and realized that I would likely never actually leave the house wearing boots that felt like tiny vises. Which means that they are still there, and if you are a size 7 a) I'm jealous and b) you should probably hop on out to the desert (or, you know, call the store) and pick them up.

Brie Barbaccia, desert aficionado and owner of a seriously good head of hair

Brie is a fashion and lifestyle brand manager, event producer, and the Creative Director of Modrn PR (so "hugely successful" is a pretty good descriptor) -  and easily one of the most stylish and in-the-know (about pretty much everything) women I've ever met. She could also have a second career as a high desert tour-guide: we just spent a couple of days tooling around the area on a girls' weekend, and Brie executed an itinerary so perfect - hikes! vintage shopping! cool bars with live music! midcentury-modern hotel rooms with plunge pools! - that this weekend just went down in my personal history as one of my all-time favorites.

Tl;dr: When it comes to brand management, style, and the desert, Brie knows what she's talking about. So let's give her a listen.

Tia Link at the Shazam offices

(Photo from the series I Am An Actor by Franck Bohbot)

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Click over to Hope & Grace to check out an interview in which I talk whether I "always knew" I wanted to be a mom, judgy strangers, that time I gave birth and totally lost it at my husband and mom, and (much) more.

 Aquazzura is KILLING IT with the tasseled shoes lately. (These are my favorites and I would like to wear them every day all spring and summer except I won't because children.)

 FYI: Ferndell artisanal coffee (the company dates back to 1862) is HELLA good (and has a swoon-worthy Instagram page).