Thanksgiving Style with Jaleh Clothing

Turkey day has finally come y'all. Every year, after I'm done helping out in the kitchen, I sit in my room and stare at my closet like the "perfect" outfit is going to appear. Looking cute on Thanksgiving has never been a priority of mine, but this year I figured maybe I could switch it up and grub in style.

One of my favorite local womenswear lines, Jaleh Clothing, let me pull some gorgeous pieces from their collection to make a few different Thanksgiving Day outfits. One of my Aces, (see what I did there Jess!) Rosie and I brainstormed a few outfits we thought were perfect to wear to dinner tonight. Before you decide on sweatpants, an old shirt, and throwing your hair in a bun, consider these ideas:

1. Comfy Comfy Comfy: For the girl who just wants to eat whatever she wants and not feel constricted by the pants she wears.

Bonus: the jacket hides the belly!

(Pictured: Lily Crossover Jacket, Ella Leggings, Nordstrom BP T-Shirt, Steve Madden Boots)

2. Casual: For the girl who wants to look extra good while eating good.

Observation: Scarves prevent stains or catch crumbs...hey, snack for later!

(Pictured: Della Bows Top, Ella Leggings, Nordstrom Rack Scarf, Rag & Bone Booties)

3. Dressy: The name says it all. This outfit is for the girl who takes dinner outfits seriously, wants to work it from beginning till the end and doesn't care how cold it is outside.

Thought: Skirts give the tummy a little breathing room too, so eat up!

(Pictured: Jacki Draped Top, H&M Leather Skirt, F21 Shoes & Necklace, Pitaya Belt)

My personal favorite is the casual outfit, which one would you wear? A huge thanks goes out to to Jaleh and Rosie for helping me out. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

**If any of the Jaleh pieces caught your eye, they're having a huge Black Friday sale!

Concert Recap: Jojo & Leah Labelle

Ever been on Cloud 9 after a concert? My inner 13 year old just about died and went to heaven after I got to see Jojo and Leah Labelle live in concert last week. It has literally been a dream of mine to see Jojo perform and 10 long years later, it has finally come true. Jojo came to the Crocodile along with another soulful singer and a Seattle native herself, Leah Labelle.

Photo credit: Leah Labelle's Instagram

Simply put, these ladies are crazy talented. Jojo is my girl. The one I grew up with, the one who sang songs that reflected how I felt in middle school and the one who sang about liking that boy, but not knowing what to do about that boy.

You know we all had that one artist who got "us" like that.

Quite frankly I could go on and on about how amazing the concert was. It was nothing but, good music and good vibes with good company. I can't wait till they come back to town again!

Mentionable Concert Moments:

- Jojo performed her infamous "Marvin's Room" remix to which she confessed, "I wrote this when I was hella hungover."

- Leah Labelle had a special and emotional moment on stage. She was finally performing in her hometown in front of family, friends and fans. I absolutely loved it.

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Sarah Basto is a born and raised Seattleite. She’s a former merchandise marketing student of The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and is currently working as a marketing manager at a local nanny agency and serves as the PR & marketing intern for local luxury swimwear company Adicora Swimwear. She’s obsessed with all things Seattle and is interested in just about everything – this explains why she considers herself an entreprenista in the making! Outside of work Sarah loves spending time with her family and friends, baking, exploring the city, and being a full-time happy hour guru.

Find Sarah on  Twitter, and view all of her posts here.

Raid The Warehouse! Gilt City Warehouse Sale Recap

Four words: Gilt City Warehouse Sale. A huge sale put on by Gilt that pops up in major cities such as San Fran and Boston. Items featured include women's and men's clothing from top brands, shoes, beauty products, home furnishings and much more. Bonus: all items are marked up to 90% off! Heaven for anyone who loves a good deal.

Now, Seattle was never on the map to host the event, but this year that all changed. The Gilt Warehouse Sale finally came to the good ol' Northwest and once I saw the event pop up online I cleared my schedule. Prior to the days leading up to the sale, I decided to educate myself by watching YouTube footage and reading endless reviews of shoppers in other cities. All they did was make me nervous.

On the day of, there were 4 different sessions scheduled for crowd control purposes. I was in the 2nd session with a couple of my girlfriends, and we thought we were in a good position to still snatch up the good stuff. We decided it was a good idea to divide and conquer by taking over one specific category - shoes, bags, clothes. Once we walked in and saw the rows of racks, pile of handbags and the stacks of shoes the plan flew out the window and it was "you're on your own sista!"

This doesn't even capture the madness of the clothing racks.

Total shoe chaos. The ladies were diggin!

The sale takes tons of patience and lots of energy. After a few hours digging through all the goodies, I ended up purchasing just a necklace. Many of the items I fell in love with had been snagged by fellow shoppers, didn't look good on me or were much more than I wanted to spend (ie: $500 dress came down to $150). I walked out of the building with my newest accessory, bottles of Aqua Hydrate, loads of VitaCoco and CocoCafe and an Uber gift card (which I may have been more excited about than my necklace.) Still walked away a happy girl!

My nOir necklake I copped! The neon got me.

My friend's Rag & Bone shoe find! Orig. $500 Sale. $99

If you went to the sale, I'd love to know your thoughts and if you purchased anything!

Seattle Style - Nordstrom Designer Preview

I've always found it exciting when any fashion event takes place in Seattle 'cause let's be real, not many big productions occur here. I haven't been to many shows and when I was presented with the opportunity to attend Nordstrom’s 2013 Designer Preview Show, I jumped at the chance! (Thanks Jess!)

Let me break down the evening and my thoughts during the show:

1. The venue was absolutely amazing and came with a gorgeous view. Seattle you are beautiful!

2. Cocktails + Desserts + Shopping = Deadly Combination.

3. We saw F/W 2013 Collections from 15 designers total.

4. Jess posted a ton of my favorites in her post, but majority of my favorite pieces came from Oscar De La Renta, Valentino and Givenchy.

5. The accessories caught my eye - shoes, handbags, earrings, clutches galore!

 6. The head-scratchers.

Although I love me some fashion, there were a few pieces throughout the show that left me wondering, would someone really wear that?

 What do you think? Let me know your thoughts!

All photos credit Team Photogenic

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Sarah Basto is a born and raised Seattleite. She’s a former merchandise marketing student of The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and is currently working as a marketing manager at a local nanny agency and serves as the PR & marketing intern for local luxury swimwear company Adicora Swimwear. She’s obsessed with all things Seattle and is interested in just about everything – this explains why she considers herself an entreprenista in the making! Outside of work Sarah loves spending time with her family and friends, baking, exploring the city, and being a full-time happy hour guru.

Find Sarah on Twitter, and view all of her posts here.

Oh Beyonce, How I Admire Thee!

I was scrolling through my Instagram a couple weeks ago and saw this post from Dimepiece LA. I immediately fell in love with it and knew I had to share it with Jess, cause we all know she loves herself some Queen B!

It wasn't until this past weekend, that this quote really resonated with me. In the midst of all the exciting things that were happening and yet to come, I found myself uninspired, void of passion and in a rut. I realized I was at a point where I needed to make a move whether it be a career change, exploring internships, trying a new activity or even taking a vacation.

Random thoughts and personal goals had been weighing heavily on my mind and I thought to myself, "what's next and how can I possibly achieve it?" I looked back at this quote and it hit me.

I've got the same 24 hours in a day as Beyonce and look at all she's accomplished and done so far! With that time, I'm going to knock things off my list and continue to make things happen. Here's to getting back on track, staying inspired and focusing on what I love!

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Sarah Basto is a born and raised Seattleite. She’s a former merchandise marketing student of The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and is currently working as a marketing manager at a local nanny agency and serves as the PR & marketing intern for local luxury swimwear company Adicora Swimwear. She’s obsessed with all things Seattle and is interested in just about everything – this explains why she considers herself an entreprenista in the making! Outside of work Sarah loves spending time with her family and friends, baking, exploring the city, and being a full-time happy hour guru.

Find Sarah on Twitter, and view all of her posts here.

Kube 93 Summer Jam RECAP!

Have you ever found yourself just wanting to relive an amazing weekend? As I write this, that feeling has been running through my body since Saturday - the night of KUBE 93's Summer Jam. I couldn't have asked for a better venue, weather, line-up and group of friends to go with! (well, if Miguel was there it would've been perfect!) My friends and I decided to escape the city for a weekend in Eastern Washington and to enjoy the talents of Drop City Yacht Club, Wale, J.Cole, 2 Chainz, Trey Songz and the King, TI.

The whole day consisted of dancing, drinking a few cocktails and singing at the top of my lungs - my voice is shot by the way. This was by far one of the best outdoor concert experiences I've had! I want more!

A couple Summer Jam tidbits I'd like to share:

1. My left side of the body is darker than the other.

2. 2 Chainz has been in heavy rotation on my car playlist.

3. Crop tops and jean shorts were the "unofficial" outfit of Summer Jam.

4. Trey Songz is undoubtedly amazing live.

5. I wish I knew why 2 Chainz wore a long sleeve sweater in 85 degree weather.

I've posted a few pics below to recap the night!

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Sarah Basto is a born and raised Seattleite. She’s a former merchandise marketing student of The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and is currently working as a marketing manager at a local nanny agency and serves as the PR & marketing intern for local luxury swimwear company Adicora Swimwear. She’s obsessed with all things Seattle and is interested in just about everything – this explains why she considers herself an entreprenista in the making! Outside of work Sarah loves spending time with her family and friends, baking, exploring the city, and being a full-time happy hour guru.

Find Sarah on Twitter, and view all of her posts here.

Ariana Grande: Mariah, is that you? (Contributor Post)

*I've got a doubleheader today! Please meet another one of my fabulous contributors, Sarah Basto! She'll be sharing new music, fashion and more here on Fresh Jess. Peep Sarah's bio at the end of this post.  Enjoy!
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I've been abusing my repeat button lately bumpin' The Way by Ariana Grande. Some of you may know her as Cat Valentine, the red-headed friend of Tori on Nickelodeon's Victorious. And if that doesn't ring a bell, then you're probably someone who doesn't follow these teeny-bopper shows, unlike me who's intrigued by them. (I have no shame whatsoever!)

I'm usually a little skeptical when it comes to hearing music made by teen stars coming from huge networks, but a friend of mine insisted I give it a listen and boy, I'm glad I did. She is seriously a young Mariah Carey in the making.

This song embodies everything I love about the 90's and represents what I believe the music industry has been lacking lately.  It samples Big Pun's classic, "Still Not A Player" and once I heard the beat combined with her voice I was absolutely mind-blown. Ariana can sing! The song takes me back to Mariah Carey's Daydream album days and just puts a big fat smile on my face. Everytime I hear it, I can't help but clap my hands and dance.

I'm eager to hear what she has in store for her debut album, Daydreamin' (gee, I wonder where she got that from!) out later this year. Give it a listen and let me know if you dig it too!

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Sarah Basto is a born and raised Seattleite. She’s a former merchandise marketing student of The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and is currently working as a marketing manager at a local nanny agency and serves as the PR & marketing intern for local luxury swimwear company Adicora Swimwear. She’s obsessed with all things Seattle and is interested in just about everything – this explains why she considers herself an entreprenista in the making! Outside of work Sarah loves spending time with her family and friends, baking, exploring the city, and being a full-time happy hour guru.

Find Sarah on Twitter.