Shorties, a Giveaway Winner, & Some Exciting News!

{Top & Watch: Nordstrom | Shorts: Foreign Exchange | Sandals: Old Navy | Necklace: Luna | Bracelet: derng | Ring: Vintage (Aunt's)}

Memorial Day brought with it some bright, warm, sunny weather! High 70s in the OC today meant pulling out my summer shorts and sandals! This weather (and outfit) made me so excited for summer, because I'm taking my first summer off of work since I was 17! I can't wait for this much-needed break!

In other news, a winner has been randomly selected for the eShakti giveaway!

Congrats, Emma! I've e-mailed you to get you into contact with eShakti! :)

And finally... I have something SUPER DUPER exciting to share! I'll be absent from the blog until next week, because I'm off to New Orleans tomorrow to meet up with my blogging bling ring: Bekah, Sarah, & Sarah for a long weekend of fun, food, and (if you will) merrymaking! I can't wait to spend time with these ladies, my blogging besties!

Celeb Style - My Way: Gwen Stefani

{Gwen Photo via Pinterest}

{Tank: American Apparel | Jeans: Forever 21 | Boots: Steve Madden | Necklace & Watch: Nordstrom | Cuff: Luna | Ring: Vintage (Aunt's)}

FYI: I have what I'd like to call a healthy obsession with Gwen Stefani. When I was 12, I basically had an entire wall dedicate to all things Gwen/No Doubt related. It's really a wonder I never dyed my hair a non-human color, wore decorative bindis, or talked myself into adult braces. When I saw this photo of Gwen on Pinterest, I knew I had to give it a try immediately! Not only does she look flawless in this (as usual), but it's a super easy look pull off on your own, in "real life!" Now, I just have 1 important question: Why isn't my hair platinum blonde...?

Here are some more easy variations on colored denim I put together that you can try yourself!

Today is the last day to enter my giveaway to win a custom-styled and custom-sized piece from eShakti! Enter before midnight PST!

Waft and Weft

{Dress: Forever 21 | Belt: Luna | Sandals: Old Navy | Pink & pearl bracelet: Betsey Johnson | Chevron bracelets & Watch: Nordstrom | Ring: Vintage (Aunt's)}

This dress actually has tiny pinstripes; it's odd how the print was distorted through the camera lens! It reminds me of when you try to take a photo of a TV or computer screen. Odd!

Anyway, I wish I'd chosen to take photos of this wearing the denim jacket I had on most of the day; it gave an extra element to the outfit. But alas, I added that piece after the fact.

I got these sandals to replace my favorite Steve Madden sandals that I lost last year. Tragic, I know. Hopefully I can come to love these as I loved my others

Can you tell I'm having a bit of blogger's block today? What do you do to cure your writer's block?

You still have two more days to enter my eShakti giveaway!

Sunday Song - The Bird & The Bee

I am a major fan of covers. Well, good covers, at least. Tonight You Belong to Me (by Patience & Prudence) is constantly stuck in my head. It's so lovely, yet haunting, and makes me feel very calm inside. It's also pretty fun to play on the guitar and sing along to! I love The Bird & The Bee and all of their covers, and was so happy when I found this one!

I couldn't find an "official" video, but in my search, I did find another great cover a la Zooey Deschanel & Ben Schwartz. 3 of my favorite things combined? Hello Giggles, Parks & Rec, AND Tonight You Belong to Me? Check!

Mish-Mosh Pish-Posh

{Jacket: J. Crew | Shirt & shorts: Forever 21 | Sandals: Jeffrey Campbell | Necklace: Juicy Couture | Watch: Nordstrom}

I really love this outfit! It's a total mish-mosh of random pieces that I threw together one morning, but I think it's just fantastic! I'm finally remembering to wear my denim jacket. I recovered from my leopard sandal fashion amnesia and remembered these bad boys! I rarely wear this necklace, because it's my "fancy" necklace. In Dani language, "fancy" means "expensive." But I finally came to terms with the fact that if I'm not wearing it to work, where the heck am I wearing it? (Plus, no one provides compliments more than 4-year-old girls.) Ta-da!

And remember, you still have 5 days left to enter my giveaway to win a customized piece from eShakti! 

P.S. Check out Mode-sty.com & sign up for a chance to get an early access invitation to a 100% modest fashion flash sale site! I'm super excited for the launch of a site where fashionable meets modest!

Chalk It Up

{Top, scarf, bracelet: Nordstrom | Jeans: Urban Outfitters | Sandals: Old Navy | Bracelet: derng}

Let's not ignore the obvious here: my hair is blue and purple. I've been experimenting at work with sidewalk chalk in my hair (ahh, the wonders of teaching preschool) and thanks to a lovely coworker, discovered a perfect (and impermanent) way to color my hair! She brought in a pack of pastels (consisting of about 30 rainbow shades) and spent a few minutes one morning making me into a modern-day Rainbow Brite. My hair is pretty porous, so even after washing, I've still got some hints of pinky-purple hanging out at my ends. (And I'm not complaining!)

Don't forget to enter my eShakti giveaway for a custom-sized and custom-styled item of your choice!

Party Hopping

Today I'm guest posting over at The Tiny Heart, talking all things maxi skirt! Go check it out!

Also, don't forget to enter my eShakti giveaway!

eShakti Giveaway!

I've mentioned one of my fabulous affiliates, eShakti, in a handful of posts here on The Daily Dani. eShakti sells women's clothing that is customizable (by sleeve type, neckline, and hem length), comes in sizes 0-26, and is just gosh darn cute! By choosing what you'd like to change or customize about your favorite piece and entering your height and bust size, you end up with a superbly-fitting item that you can feel cute AND comfortable in! (This is a MAJOR feature for everyone, especially curvy women and modest women!)

Above are just a few outfits I've made with my favorite eShakti pieces, and now is your chance to do the same! eShakti is kindly giving one of my lucky readers a product of your choosing, custom-sized and custom-styled!

To enter, you must:

• follow The Daily Dani via Google Friend Connect.
• like eShakti on Facebook and Pinterest.
• head over to eShakti, pick out which item you'd choose if you won, and leave a comment here telling me your favorite piece! (Please leave your e-mail, too, so I can contact you if you win!

Bonus entries:

• follow eShakti on Twitter.
• follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, or Bloglovin' & leave a comment telling me so!
• Tweet about this giveaway - make sure to mention me (@daniicalifornia) in the tweet! You can copy + paste this one to make it easy:" I entered the @eShakti #giveaway on @daniicalifornia's blog The Daily Dani & so can you! http://dailydaniblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/eshakti-giveaway.html/"

The giveaway will run through 5/29, next Tuesday night, at 12am PST, and the winner will be announced 5/30, next Wednesday morning at 6:30am PST!

GOOD LUCK!

P.S. Check out some of my favorite items that eShakti has right now, and how I'd customize them!

Sprinkled candy dress / Ebb and flow skirt / Blossoming strapless dress / Sleevelss summer shirt / Black trim print shirtdress

Sunday Song: Dawes

I discovered this song while wandering through the mall one day. Seriously, it was playing on the sound system at the mall. I loved it instantly. It's catchy, and the lyrics hit home in some ways. (Literally, home, as I am about 30 miles from Los Angeles.)

The video also happens to capture some laid-back California coolness, and the band members are pretty foxy, as well. Now it's time to hop on Spotify to discover more of their tracks!

Tangerine Dream

{Cardigan, Blouse, & Jeggings: Forever 21 | Sandals: Old Navy | Watch: Shock Boutique | Necklace: Bauble Bar | Tortoise shell bracelet: J. Crew | Turquoise bracelet: Tory Burch | Yellow bracelet: Target | Pave tube bracelets: derng}

I sure got on board with the orange here. I'm mostly amused by 2 things in this outfit: 1. How many cheap inexpensive pieces of clothing I've got on. 2. How many bracelets I can manage to fit on my wrists at once. (9 today, if you include my Italian string wish bracelets and my watch. Ta-da!)

P.S. Go check out my blogging buddy/musical soulmate Hilary's new feature over at Young & Naive - Fashion{Insta}! Hil's combining 2 my (and many other iPhone-using bloggers') favorite things - fashion and Instagram! Take a look-see and remember to submit your favorite stylish Instapics next week!

LBD

So, today I got to thinking thinking... in my weekly blogger features/Q&As, one question I enjoy asking from time to time is, How would you style the classic LBD [little black dress] to reflect your personal style? Today, I started to wonder how I would answer that question myself!

Sometimes I like to go for neutral ensembles, but I'm definitely a COLOR girl! My closet is pretty much a textile rainbow! I really only have one LBD, and it's got a bit of flair to it, rather than a classic cut. I thought I'd use the always-amusing Polyvore (I always did love paper dolls growing up...) to play around with a classic LBD, and show you all how I would style it for different occasions!

Cocktail Party

Girls Night Out!

Work Wear

Brunch

How about you all? How would you style the classic LBD to reflect your personal style?

Pastel Prep

{Shirt: Old Navy | Pants: Forever 21 | Sandals: Salt Water | Blazer: Alloy | Bracelet: Betsey Johnson | Watch: Nordstrom}

Summer is steadily approaching, and pastels aren't going anywhere! I mixed my classic pastel pieces with a heavier classic - the nautical navy blazer! - and a summer classic - my trusty Salt Water sandals! I've been wearing Salt Waters since I was probably 2 years old, so nothing screams summer to me like these bad boys, especially in sunshine yellow!

Celeb Style - My Way: Rachel Bilson

{Shirt: Romwe | Shorts & Blazer: Forever 21 | Shoes: JustFab | Watch: Nordstrom | Necklace: derng | Bracelet: Gift | Ring: Vintage (Aunt's}}

Rachel Bilson is one of my self-proclaimed "fashion loves of my life," and I am always happy to emulate her effortless street style! When I saw this look, it just jumped out at me as the absolutely coolest twist on a classic look! There's something totally moto-chic about Rachel's look.

Source: cdn02.cdnwp.celebuzz.com via Dani on Pinterest

I went a more traditional route with the classic blazer and white button-down, but I think I amped it up and helped send it in the right direction with my bootie sandals! According to my coworkers, I was a tad "dressed up" for a day at preschool, but I think this look is pretty easy to transform into work-friendly for the office, if you switched out the shorts for red slacks and added a heeled black bootie! Voila!