Lucky No. 13: What I Wore To Cook With Carson Daly and Why

The shoes! Very blurry shoes. My sweet dad caught me in action as I was starting to move.

Wardrobe check. A very blurry wardrobe check.

My awesome Dream Team; Talking to my baby brother after the show.

My MAMI!

Did you read this post about the 13 things I AM going to do this summer? I wrote that right after a quick trip to NY I felt was a wash and came back to DC slightly frustrated and a little discouraged. I stopped to think about what I really wanted to accomplish this summer --- mostly things that are the essence of me and personify my spirit. But no.13 as stated had just been a dream I was confident could happen eventually but didn't know how. I simply made a bold statement; a very confident statement without any strategy, plan, inside contact, method or real plan. I just made a bold assertion, threw caution to the wind, and carried on.

11 days later I got an email inviting me to do lucky no. 13.

It really did happen. And I invite you to read all about cooking with Carson Daly on the TODAY show Plaza last Wednesday.

As per usual with my life, I work really well under pressure. You already know that means I didn't pack for NY until midnight, just 6 hours before. I had NO time to really put my look together. Are we serious right now! I literally had no time to process what was really going on, let alone focus on a proper but perfect look. Or two. Who does that?

I was going to be on the Today show, in front of 5 million people on TV all over the world and whole bunch of faithful Plaza fans that hug those security rails every day. And this girl here did not plan for a great outfit. I did want to be effortless chic, but I could have spent a bit more time, no?

So I did what I do best and throw caution to the wind, again. I threw three tops, 2 jeans, 5 shoes and a whole bunch of jewelry in my checked suitcase. I had my essentials tho: toiletries and hair products. I thought I'd be fine.

Until Wed. morning at 4 am when I looked at my options, dropped my jaw and panicked for all of 8 minutes.  I had a horribly blous-y green top which looked like a baby doll top gone way wrong, a white top with happy lettering on it, and we already know that's not advisable... and this orange silk top. Orange. Yes, orange. Yes, that's it. I was gonna be cooking with Carson in his virtual 'Orange Room' but outside. How cliché.

But it's the only thing that worked with my other options. The jeans. The only jeans. So I had no choice.

That's why shoes are so key! I steamed my top, threw on my $6 skinny floral patterned jeans from Target and my tan stilettos... which happen to be one of my favorite summer sandals. They're perfect. Open toe, 5", double ankle strap with a lovely and exotic leather floret with a stone center bud. Gwen Stefani's shoe collection used to be fierce made of great quality. Not so much anymore. These are from about 5 years ago. And I'm so glad I wore them and not the other options.

So I ended up with this look because while I was going to be on the biggest morning platform ever, I was still working. And I wanted to be casual and still be the real me. And I was still going to get dirty, potentially, and I had to look comfortable but sassy.

And this simple look did the job!

And the accessories just pulled it all together. The arm candy, really.

A long gold chain from the 40s and my arm candy -- the most important element for me when I cook on TV. Contrast metals and textures with some color to complement the bright orange top nicely popped great on camera.

And at the end of the morning, I was happy! My shoes suffered a slither of butter and oil from the mess Carson and I made. But it was worth it!

Had I stained my silk blouse, it still would have been worth it.

I learned that in the middle of all that action, the outfit is important, but people are really looking at my cooking and what I made. I just made sure to give viewers something else to talk about. And in last week's case, it was the shoes! Go figure!

I'm not crazy. It's ALWAYS about the shoes! Always.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Wearing:

Top from H&M
Jeans via Target
Shoes by L.A.M.B via Nordstrom
Bag: From Italy
Sunglasses: Vintage Versace, worn here.
Scarf: Paisley print from Old Navy
Accessories: 
Tag Heuer diamond watch; C.B. Herrera crystal and pearl cluster cocktail ring and Swarovski bracelet; blue and gold studded bracelet via Neiman Marcus; Lucky Brand bee motif charm bracelet; chunky stone ring; BE stackable rings via Nordstrom;  "Dream Big" leather and metal bracelet.

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