Last Friday I was invited to the opening of Atlanta’s new concept Ann Taylor store at Lenox Mall. I was curious to see how Ann Taylor would update its look. I’ve always liked the classic, ladylike quality of Ann Taylor clothing and was worried that the new concept store would end up looking like a J. Crew copycat (sequins on wool cardigans, desert boots worn with velvet dresses, sparkly brooches on denim jackets etc.).

Turns out there was no need to worry. The store is like a more glamorous, more feminine version of the old Ann Taylor. The same great work clothes and wedding-appropriate dresses are still there, but with a bit more flair.

The store had quite a few pearly and sparkly bobbles that were reasonably priced. I was tempted to buy one of the bracelets.

Instead, I took the practical route and bought a pair of black stretchy pants! The pants are like jeggins, but with a bit more heft. The store handed out these cute little tote bags with a sketch on it that says Ann Hearts Atlanta.

Don’t forget Atlanta readers, until Sept. 5 you can get a 20% discount at the new store by saying “There’s a new Ann in town” at checkout. Let me know what you think of it!

The Little Black Dress Experiment is coming to a close – I can’t believe August is already over! I’ve loved checking out how the 30 bloggers styled their Ann Taylor dresses.

On a side note, the grainy Mac photo booth photos are due to the fact that neither Lar or my bf were around to take my picture the other day. Thanks for bearing with me!

Before the Little Black Dress Experiment officially ends, I wanted to share two of the sponsor gifts that we received for participating in the project.

Gift #1: Hard Night Good Morning daytime moisturizer (pictured in the center on my bathroom shelf). I’m not a big beauty product junkie, but I have to admit that I love this stuff. It smells good, isn’t greasy and has SPF 20.

Gift #2: Michele Watch. I’m a sucker for watches and I don’t even need them. I have about 3 watches that I’ll wear even though their batteries are dead and I rely on my cell phone to tell the time. I just love how watches can make an outfit look so dapper. I’m sure you’ll be seeing me wearing this watch in many upcoming outfit posts.

The other day I wore my Michele watch with a dress and belt from H&M and Biviel shoes from Eviva. The best part about this dress is that it’s a knit material so I don’t ever have to iron it. I pack it every time I have to go to a work conference.

Hope you all are having a good start to the week. The Decatur Book Festival is coming up this weekend – I can’t wait!

Lar uploaded these photos right before she left for Scotland, but she was so busy packing that she didn’t get a chance to write the post. Hopefully she won’t mind me posting these for her.

Last week when our aunts were in town we did what every respectable Asian American family does on the weekend – we went out for Dim Sum. I can never walk away from a dim sum meal without feeling completely stuffed, but Lar and I decided we had to take outfit photos in the cute little courtyard near the restaurant (I’ll post mine later).

Lar is wearing an American Apparel dress, Moxsie purse, American Eagle boots and I think the belt is from Madewell.

After doing some post-dim sum shopping at the Asian market, we all went to my parents’ house and watched The Joy Luck Club. Then we had Chinese takeout for dinner. I’m not kidding. It’s like we were living an Amy Tan novel for the day. Fun times.

A couple of days later my mom made her amazing shrimp creole to add a little bit of Cajuness back into our lives.

As I’m writing this Lar and her bf are flying across the Atlantic to Scotland – my favorite place on earth. They’ll be meeting up with friends and staying in a cottage on the west coast north of Glasgow and finishing their trip in Edinburgh. Not only am I insanely jealous, I also already miss Lar like crazy.

To distract myself I’ve decided to focus on some fun stuff.

1.) AsianCajun playlist on Songza!
Songza is like Pandora and every social media site all rolled into one. You can create a playlist and then friends can add their own songs to it.  Listen to the AsianCajuns Songza Playlist and add your favorites to our hodge podge of songs. I’m obsessed with this site and listen to it at work all the time now.

2.) New Ann Taylor Concept Store in Atlanta
In honor of the store opening, our Atlanta readers will receive a 20% discount at the new Lenox mall store when they say “There’s a new Ann in town” at checkout. The deal ends on Sept. 5. Make sure you get over there – I’ll be visiting tomorrow!

3.) Atlanta Bocce Ball!
The inaugural season of the Atlanta Bocce League starts Sept. 15 and continues every Wednesday night at Piedmont Park. It’s a co-ed league with league bars and drink specials every week. On top of all that, Whynatte and Esperanza, two of our favorite local companies, are league partners.

4.)Imogene + Willie
I’m trying to figure out when I can make a special trip to Nashville just to check out Imogene + Willie. The store sells the designers’ premium denim (they suggest washing denim in the tub or a creek) and other lovely Americana items, like vintage cowboy boots, in a beautifully retro-fitted gas station. I love the videos on their website including this one:

Things have been a bit crazy the past few days for Lar and me – a wedding, a funeral, a trip to Montana, and family visiting from Maryland. I have a couple of outfit posts in the works, but for now, here’s a few fun photos from the past week:

A close up of my Toms near an okra plant at Stone Mountain Park.

It doesn’t get more AsianCajun than this: Cafe du Monde chicory coffee sold at a Doraville Asian market.

Our friends’ wedding reception was at Cafe Alsace – one of the sweetest restaurants in downtown Decatur.

Dexin looked gorgeous as a bride, but my bf (who took this photo) was more interested in the French beer at Cafe Alsace, which turned out to taste like a watery Belgium.

We took our aunts out for tea at Dr. Bombay’s in Candler Park.

Dr. Bombay’s might not have the most elegant tea setting, but I love its bird-cage and book-filled interior.

Lar is on her way to Scotland in two days – I’m so jealous! Let’s hope British Airways doesn’t go on strike!

Hello dear readers! We’re glad you all enjoyed our travel guide on Glamour.com. As I mentioned in the previous post, Lar and I have been crazy busy, which means we haven’t been able to blog as much, which means we’ve been cranky. But you know what’s helped? Your comments and the chance to participate in the Little Black Dress Experiment.

Dresses gifted by Ann Taylor. For other outfit details, see the full post here.

For the month of August, style bloggers from around the country have been showing off how to style this gorgeous Ann Taylor dress (psst! the link gets you a coupon) and we were invited to represent Atlanta – woot, woot! Click here to check out our post and the other 19 stylish girls that have participated.

FYI to our Atlanta fashionista readers: a new Ann Taylor concept store is opening up in Lenox. We’re going to explore it soon and will let you know all about it.

A couple of weeks ago the lovely people behind Glamour.com’s Smitten blog asked us to write up an Atlanta travel guide. Lar and I love doing anything that helps show off our adopted home city. Check out the write up here.

On a side note, we’ve been slammed with work and family stuff this week, but we’ll be trying to post as often as possible. In the mean time let us know what you think of our guide and when you’ll be coming for a visit!

I won’t go into the title of this post too much because, really, who isn’t inspired by Annie Hall? This outfit is an updated Annie Hall look sans hat. Actually it really came about because I’m so sick of wearing skirts to work. I miss pants and blazers and black tights, but we have at least another two months of hot summer weather in Atlanta.

Outfit details: Zara shirt, H&M vest, recycled CD necklace made by my talented friend Lena, McQueen for Target pants, shoes from Eviva boutique and a Saddleback bag.

I’m completely in love with my Saddleback satchel gifted to me through the Little Black Dress experiment. It’s probably the best quality bag I’ve ever owned and so well made that I’ll still be using it in 50 years.

Speaking of the LBD experiment (we mentioned it before here), Lar and I will be showing off our, um, styling skills with our little black dresses on the 20th. Check out how other bloggers around the nation have cleverly styled the same Ann Taylor dress here.

And because I couldn’t resist, here’s a photo of Boo Radley in mid-tail wag and his full-on Ewok look:

A couple of weeks ago, one of the owners of Simply Bags contacted us about sending two monogrammed beach bags. Usually I’m a little hesitant about embroidered initials, but I had just read about monograms on a Garance Dore’s post (her blog is my fashion bible). I mean if Carine Roitfeld is getting her Lanvin bag monogrammed (see below), can’t I do it on a beach bag? I went with “Lar” instead of my initials because I’m not C.R. and because my initials are the acronym for bad cholesterol (LDL).

Photo from GaranceDore.

Polka-dot shorts from Asos.com, quarter holder necklace from Snoozer Looser, black tank from who knows where, croc friends on location at Heliotrope.

And this (above) is how you’ll usually find me when I carry my “monogram” tote, surrounded by googly-eyed crocodiles.

ps- Are you guys having a good beginning of the week? Apologies for not responding to your sweet comments, work is still using up most of my time and brain power. I’ll be back in business by the end of the week!

Photo courtesy of www.thedecisivemoment.com

Last week Lar and I were invited to a little shindig to celebrate the premier Atlanta season of TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress – at least we thought it was little. We realized our mistake when we pulled up to the party location in downtown Atlanta, saw the red carpet and the 800 plus guests – most of them dressed to the nines (think prom gowns, professional updos and dapper suits).

We hadn’t heard of Say Yes before, but after experiencing the party and hearing from our friends about how they’re obsessed with the show, we realized that somehow we’ve totally missed the boat on the show AND the whole wedding business in general. Just as a disclaimer, Lar and I aren’t really wedding girls. We get super excited if a close friend is getting married, but apart from the obvious, we don’t really know what it takes to put on a wedding.

Luckily, there are plenty of talented wedding experts out there – like Lori Allen, owner of Bridals by Lori Atlanta.

Photo courtesy of www.thedecisivemoment.com

That’s Lori on the left in the photo above during the party. Bridals by Lori is one of the largest wedding salons in the nation, which also makes it the perfect spot to film a reality show following soon-to-be brides around while they find THE dress like this one:

No, silly, I’m not talking about Lar’s Paul Gaultier for Target dress, I’m talking about the gorgeous bridal gown on the 10 ft model. Eat your heart out Chelsea Clinton! (Actually, I loved Chelsea’s dress, but that’s a hole ‘nother blog post)

Here’s my WTF-how-did-everyone-get-so-dressed-up-for-a-6:30 p.m.-party-on-a-weekday-? look:

I’m wearing a dress Lar gave me for my birthday from Ramona West.

Apart from the gorgeous dresses and giddy vibe, the best thing about the evening was the jars of candy and cupcake-covered tables. Lar helped herself to a big ol’ bag of M&Ms and chocolate covered raisins.

Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta premiered last Friday. Seeing as I don’t have cable I asked my bf to DVR the show for me. I can’t wait to check it out and see what all the fuss is about.