I’m a last-minute planner. I hate to admit this, but it’s just the way I am. I pack the night before a trip (often leaving out very important items and I’m ways down for spur-of-the-moment adventures because it leaves out the planning process completely.

So when my cousin got married a few weeks ago, I casually perused my closet the week before. Surely, I had something great to wear.

But as I opened up our closet and looked through my items, my smile turned upside down as I realized that I’d spent so much time working on my ‘casual wear game,’ that I’d completely neglected my event/wedding wear game. While I heavily rely on Rent the Runway for most events, I realized I NEEDED to buy at least one great cocktail dress I could wear and re-wear for lots of different events.

I’ve been vying after a Self Portrait dress for quite some time, but the price point seemed just out of reach for me. So imagine my joy when I spotted this one on the Outnet for just around $200. There were only a few sizes left, and I’d heard people talk about Self Portrait’s weird sizing issues, so I crossed my fingers and ordered the UK size 8 (I’m usually a US 4.)

When the dress arrived, I ripped open the box and threw the dress on. Luckily, it was the perfect fit! I’m not saying I’ll be eating pizza before I need to wear it and think it’s all gonna be fine…because it certainly doesn’t have a TON of room to give around my waistline, but it’s in every way perfect to me. Expect to see this at just about every holiday party I attend this year, NO SHAME.

Needless to say, it was a hit at the wedding, and the perfect piece a couple weeks later when I wore it to the Washingtonian Style Setters party. I met up with photographer Dennis Turbeville before the event to run around CityCenter (but not too quickly given the height of these heels), and snap a few pics. We had such a blast, and if you’re looking for an inspiring account to follow, be sure to check out his site and Instagram page!

Wearing Self Portrait dress via The Outnet, Banana Republic sandals (my go-to fancy shoe), Jeffrey Levinson clutch, and Sophie Blake bracelet.

Whoa, it's been quite some time before we did a Week in Review (due to September being my Month of Madness), so let's catch up over a cup of coffee, shall we? Here's what's been going on lately:

Diner en Blanc
Alicia and I attended this year's Diner en Blanc and we had THE. BEST. TIME. If you haven't been before or don't know what this crazy event is, check out my recap post of Diner en Blanc here! (I rented this Alexis dress from Rent the Runway if you're curious!)

Bought my first designer bag
IT HAPPENED, friends. I've been eying this Mansur Gavriel bucket bag for about year, and finally decided to pull the trigger. I couldn't be happier, especially since it holds everything I could ever want.

Traveled to New York for Fashion Week
It was crazy, amazing, stressful, and insane...and I'll be telling you all about it on the blog soon! (Did you catch my first NYFW look here?)

Got to meet Erin Fetherston
I got to meet one of my favorite designers, Erin Fetherston, at her 10 year anniversary party! It was so surreal to even stand next to her, let alone have a conversation with her. She's so sweet, and if you haven't seen her home tour on Domino, what are you waiting for?

Splurged on a Self Portrait dress
This is something else I've been dying to get my hands on for ages...I'd sort of been looking around on consignment sites, but when I was invited to my cousin's Greek wedding, I put finding one at the top of my to-do list. I landed on this brand new Self Portrait dress from The Outnet that was on MAJOR sale. It's my favorite dress I own.

Finally bought the Morphe 350 Eyeshadow Palette
Can't wait to share more about this steal-of-a-deal kit

Had my 5 minutes of fame on a promo billboard
It's still up if you find yourself at Mosaic! Loved being a part of their Fall Campaign!

I visited the new Grace Street Coffee shop - a lot
If you haven't stopped into this cute place on Grace Street in Georgetown, be sure to do so before it becomes the next hot-spot destination (a la Georgetown Cupcake) - there's also a South Block Juice Co. inside so prepare for epic-ness.

The hubby was featured on Huffington Post in an article about Instagram Husbands!
If you want to get a real-life, no frills, honest view on what it means to have your significant other shoot some of your photos, don't miss this piece.