All Posts By

Eric Wertz

Vintage Vibes in Wrangler

Posted on May 31, 2017

I’m always on the hunt to find new denim looks and pieces. So, when I got the chance to style some of the pieces from the Wrangler 70th Anniversary Release, I was thrilled! Wrangler has been around since 1947 and a lot of their pieces have such great vintage vibes. I went with their Retro Jacket, their Kabel Tee in Jester Red, and a pair of their Spencer Jeans in Light Pop. As soon as I saw the pieces and put them on I felt like I should’ve been apart of one of my favorite movies – Dazed and Confused. Owning so many denim jackets, it was nice to find one that stands out from the others. I love the rivet studded pleats and the indigo color. I have so much denim that is distressed, it’s nice when you get your hands on a classic and clean wash. The Spencer jean has a great light color and comfortable fit due to the subtle stretch in the material. I gave my pair a classic “tight-role” to really play up the vintage look. You can never have too many vintage tees in the wardrobe. The Kabel Logo Ringer Tee has that iconic Wrangler logo across the front, and these signature tees are exactly what comes to mind when I think of Wrangler. You can wear them with just a pair of jeans or even a suit and it will immediately make any outfit cooler. I went with red (because my wife likes me in red) but I honestly think any of these tees would’ve worked with the outfit. With such classic pieces, you can literally pick any top and any bottom from their collection and it will just work – no thought needed! lol Wrangler really knocked it out of the park with their Anniversary Release and I really dig all the vintage vibes! (this post is sponsored by Wrangler, however, all opinions expressed are my own.)

A Party With Popsicle

Posted on May 29, 2017

Who doesn’t love a good party? When I got a chance to style pieces from the new INC x Popsicle collaboration and throw my family a little party I was all in. This INC x Popsicle Print Shirt screams fun and has the perfect colors to rock out at any summer BBQ or party. The black base with the scattered Popsicle print, in their classic Popsicle colors (including the famous firecracker pops), is fun, without being too loud and over the top. It might be my son’s favorite shirt of mine! The black INC Men’s Skinny Stretch Pants are truly a rare find. A pant that comes in the perfect length and fit? With no belt or tight-roll needed? They seriously fit me perfect! These Popsicle’s are not only pretty iconic in the ice game but are actually a huge part of my family’s daily routine. My wife and I have a sugar-free pop almost every night – they’re only 15 calories! We LOVE the new Red Classics! And, as long as Nate finishes his dinner – he usually goes with a classic Popsicle Firecracker. Overall my family’s a big Popsicle fan, so we were thrilled with the INC x Popsicle collab. With such fun graphics from the INC x Popsicle collection, it’s only right to carry them over into the social media world & offer them as Emojis! My personal fave is the Popsicle Snow Cone – I used to live on those as a kid! Check out all of the INCmoji Stickers HERE. Plus, check out more pieces from the INC x Popsicle collection at Macy’s. Great collab! This post was sponsored by INC International Concepts, available only at Macy’s.

Home Reviews

Gettin’ Boozy With My Brother

Posted on May 26, 2017

I recently received a Brother P-touch D210 label maker. I’ve actually used Brother P-touch label makers before when doing electrical work. They come in handy when you need to label wire, pipe or finish plates…and are much neater and more legible than handwriting on tape! However, I never had the opportunity to take one home. So, what’s a guy like me going to do with a 14-font, 600+ symbol P-touch PT-D210 label maker? I started in my kitchen and decided to label my cereal containers and jars that I use for cooking & baking ingredients. Not only does it help make things look neat & organized, it also helps make sure there is no confusion on what you’re grabbing. My son, who loves to help me in the kitchen, is in the process of learning how to read, so putting a label on certain items helps him to familiarize himself with new words. When I ask him to grab something for me he can now see how to spell the ingredient he grabbed! Just like how my son and I usually try a new recipe every few weeks, my wife and I like to mix up a new cocktail every few weeks 🙂 Not sure if it’s just me, but I can’t remember a recipe for the life of me – even an easy one. So, we thought it would be cute (I mean tough) to put the ingredients on the pitcher – and if guests ash what’s in the drink, they can just look on the pitcher and if they like it, snap a pic & save it for themselves. Right now we’re making Strawberry Mint Mojitos (see below for recipe). We also used the P-touch PT-D210 to make flags for the straws so there’s no confusion on whose drink belongs to who. Now here you can have a little fun! My wife’s straw flag said “Lightweight”, mine, “Boozy” and Nate’s, “Virgin”. Almost all the drinks we make taste great – with or without alcohol. So, if you have someone who is not of age, like Nate, (but still likes to feel like he’s part of the party), you can make sure there is no mix up! The P-touch PT-D210 also lets you easily personalize your labels with borders, symbols and different color tapes. We used White On Lime Green and White On Berry Pink TZe tape colors to go with the Strawberry Mint Mojito theme. P-touch TZe tape is laminated, making it water-resistant, and fade resistant if you want to reuse the pitcher for the same recipe! Looking forward to many more recipes, and having fun personalizing with our Brother P-touch! To purchase the P-touch D210, visit Amazon.

STRAWBERRY MINT MOJITO RECIPE

Ingredients (serves one):

3 large strawberries, hulled and sliced
5 fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
1.5 ounces (3 tablespoons) white rum
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon simple syrup
1/4 cup club soda

Directions:

1. In a glass, muddle the simple syrup, strawberries, and fresh mint leaves until fragrant.
2. Add a handful of ice to your glass and pour in the white rum, lime juice, and club soda.
3. Gently stir, garnish with a sprig of mint, and enjoy immediately!

Family Home Reviews

Playtime With Our Brother

Posted on May 9, 2017

Since my kitchen is now in order, I decided it was finally time for Nate’s playroom! I could not wait to get my hands on the Brother P-Touch D210 label maker and show Nate how much fun organizing can be. I think he may have gotten a little too excited…as you can see by my face (LOL). Anyone who has a kid knows how challenging it can be to keep their toys, art supplies and other knick knacks organized. There’s nothing worse than when you go to play with something and you don’t have all the pieces or the color you need to finish a project is missing. We took his markers, paint brushes, and modeling clay, put them in old kitchen canisters that we were no longer using, and labeled them with “Draw,” “Paint,” “Create.” We then made labels for each one of his toy bins. This was the most helpful because he always forgets where each bin is when it’s time to put away his toys. As I previously mentioned, Nate’s just learning how to read, so it’s good that when we tell him to put his things away, he can now look at the associated words and familiarize himself when doing so. To give him a little motivation to start saving money, we labeled his purple crayon bank “Ice Cream Fund.” That boy loves his ice cream (LOL). It was really fun creating the labels with him. We used the P-touch TZe Red on White and Black on White tapes and added cute symbols that coordinated with our labels (there’s so much to choose from – 14 fonts, 97 frames and more than 600 symbols!). I love teaching my boy any chance I get. He loved helping press the buttons, choosing his symbols & emojis and then of course getting to press the big green button when it was time to cut the label. I can see it already – this Brother P-touch is going to get a lot of use once he’s in school and starting to get homework and art projects! Unfortunately, or fortunately, now he’s obsessed and literally wants me to help him label everything in his playroom. (LOL). To purchase your own P-touch PT-D210 label maker, visit Office Depot.

Style

Event Ready in Head to Toe Marshalls

Posted on April 21, 2017

The most important part of planning what you’re going to wear to an event is wearing something that you’re comfortable in. With that being said, it’s also good to step out of your comfort zone sometimes and try something new! I am and will forever be a denim guy. So unless I feel like the event is going to be very formal, I usually always wear denim but try to dress it up. I picked up this complete, head to toe, outfit from Marshall’s. I wore these designer Denim & Supply ($39.99) jeans and made them event-ready by pairing them with these great tan Joseph Abboud monk strap shoes (only $39.99). I love pairing blazers with denim. I love wearing suits, but I don’t really have the need for them in my daily wardrobe, so I end up getting my fix by wearing blazers. When I saw this designer blazer ($99.99), I really liked how the gold buttons contrast with the navy. The size of the jacket is a ‘short’, so the sleeves are a little shorter than you’d normally have a blazer fit, but, I actually liked how a little more of the sleeve was showing. I thought it gave it a little edge! When my wife saw the jacket on me, she confirmed – she also really liked how the jacket fit. I was really happy to also find this tan Todd Snyder shirt ($29.99). Not just because he is one of my favorite designers, but it’s hard to find a button down that has a slim fit that’s fits you to perfection! I literally topped my outfit off with a herringbone designer hat ($29.99). Check out my feature on the Marshall’s Blog!

Family Home Reviews Style

Comfy With Lacoste

Posted on April 9, 2017

Does everyone get that home-makeoever, DIY itch once it’s spring? My wife and I always do! We got this amazing new Lacoste Home Cotton Washed Solid Vapor Gray Bedding Collection and it just didn’t seem right to put such nice bedding in a room we really weren’t happy with. I’m still a full time electrician, but things got a little slow at work and I recently had some time off, so…my wife put me to work (LOL). We wanted to update our room but didn’t want to have to buy all new furniture – so, we figured we would try and spruce up what we have! We did that by painting our room all white to brighten it up, but left one wall black to give it a little contrast. I’m a little shocked we actually did an accent wall because we have always hated accent walls, but we really like how it came out. We like that the white walls gives us somewhat of a blank canvas, which lets you throw in almost any decor or color pop. We added a new floating shelf, some gold decorative objects, new dresser hardware handles, new frames, and of course some plants – we just love that pop of green with the new walls. When it comes to bedding we aren’t really the bold type. We like nice, clean quality sheets, usually in a muted color. We went with the Lacoste Home Cotton Washed Solid Vapor Gray Bedding Collection. We didn’t want the bedroom to look too bland, so we added in the Lacoste Home Printed Herringbone Sheets. I know it’s small but I actually really like seeing their crocodile logo on the pieces (it’s classic and just reinforces the confidence that you’re cuddled with a quality brand), AND of course my son thought the little crocodile was “so cute”. It was hard to get me and Nate out of bed once we got in it. The quality of the bedding made us feel like we were in a luxury hotel and we got all giddy and played around like we normally do when on vacation. We all loved the simplicity of the Lacoste Legend Supima Cotton Bath Towel as well. We love the bright, fresh beach glass color, with of course, the little crocodile detail. Whenever Nate takes a bath we wrap him up like he’s still a little baby and throw him on our bed to snuggle until mommy dresses him. He’s getting to be such a big boy, but I think he still loves how we treat him like he’s a little boy straight out of the tubby. He looked so cute wrapped in his new towel. Looking back at my previous bedding choices and some of the wild patterns and colors we were into is crazy. As I get older, my taste gets more neutral and it’s less about boldness and more about comfort and quality. We love our new room…especially with our new Lacoste Bedding!

Family Travel

Cactus & Canyons

Posted on April 6, 2017

My grandparents have been living in Arizona for 25 years and have been trying to get me to visit for about 20 of them. I actually did visit the state once before but it was so long ago I don’t remember any of it. Now that my son is getting bigger and they’re only getting older I wanted to bring him to visit them. My wife and I had never actually seen the Grand Canyon or any of the amazing wonders in Arizona, so we packed up our super cool Herschel Supply Camo Luggage and headed out west. The first day we were there we just explored the neighborhood (Sun City West). It’s actually an uber cool retirement community. I mean they had about 5 golf courses, 2 mini golf courses, tennis, swimming pools, pickle ball…you name it they had it! And, you just hop in a golf cart and just boogie around town! On the second day out there we wanted to start marking off some of the places we had on our list. Wildlife World Zoo was one of them. We all went and got to feed the giraffes and see an array of other beautiful animals. One of the cool features of this zoo is that it had an aquarium in it as well. We love aquariums. They also had a skyride, roller coaster, freefall ride and a bunch of other fun rides. Nathan is still too small for most of the rides, so we just took him on the “ski lift” as he called it. The next day we decided to head to the Grand Canyon. Since the whole point of going to Arizona was to see the GG’s (Great Grandparents) we asked them to come along everywhere we went. Which for the most part was really cool. We found out the one hiccup would be that my Grand Father wanted to be a Nascar 500 driver in his previous life so we had to constantly be asking him to slow down (LOL). We didn’t really have as much time as I would of liked at the Grand Canyon. We stopped at the visitor center, walked around a little taking in the gorgeous view and then we headed over to the Watchtower. I thought the tower was a little better of a view. Plus, you got to walk up a couple flights of stairs to the top floor, which was definitely more fun for Nate. The next time I go to the Canyon I would love to make it a point to have a little more time for hiking and maybe take a helicopter and/or a jeep tour. I would’ve loved to have gone to the north side to walk on the observatory deck, but we just didn’t have time this trip. After the tower we drove another 2.5 hours to Page, AZ. We stayed over and then the next morning we took a tour of Antelope Canyon. Since Antelope Canyon is on an Indian reservation you can only see it by tour. You take a 15 minute jeep ride (where everybody is sitting in the back of an open jeep) until you arrive at the canyon. You can tell right when you get there it’s going to be a really cool. I liked the feeling of being inside of it, just surrounded by the beautiful red rock formations. The guide was helpful to show you all the cool angles and how to point your camera just right to get all of the beautiful rock colors. Unfortunately, depending on the time of year, you don’t always get some of the famous light beams you see in pictures, but it’s still hard not to get amazing shots in this place. Just gorgeous and unreal. After the tour, which lasted about an hour, we drove to Horseshoe Bend. From the parking area it’s about a 7 minute hike to the ridge. For those who have kids, be warned that there is no guard or fence at this location. There are people literally hanging off the cliff just to get that perfect photo. I consider myself fairly brave but I would not dare to venture to some of the spots these people were going to get their shot…nuts! I think this view was actually my favorite from this trip. At this point Nate was starting to get a little restless, so we climbed some rocks (which made mommy a little nervous and unhappy…LOL). I felt a little bad since I thought we’d be doing more hiking and climbing on this trip, so we made it a point to explore around the area, since Nate just loves to explore. From Sun City West and from location to location it was a lot of driving for all of us, especially for Nate, but he was a real trooper in the car for hours. On the way back we stopped in Sedona for dinner. The town has a breathtaking view and a picturesque town with a lot of cool shops. We definitely plan on staying there a little longer on our next trip! Overall Arizona was absolutely gorgeous. From the perfectly manicured properties to the palm trees and cacti that we were all obsessing over, the state is beautiful. I never understood why my grandparents chose to retire out there…as I always thought I’d need to be on one of the coasts, but after visiting, I really think I’d also consider retiring out there. There’s so much to do and they are in driving distance of so many sights in the surrounding states. I’m happy we finally made it out there to visit and can check off Arizona and the Grand Canyon off the bucket list!

Style

Suits + Sneakers

Posted on March 28, 2017

So I really need to get more suits! I love wearing them and finding untraditional ways of styling them. I added a little grunge to this Sene Studio Soho Suit in Speckled Desert. I wore a slightly distressed blue t-shirt from M.I.D.A. and these new plaid distressed Vans. I don’t know why, but when I saw these Vans, the first thing I thought of was to wear them with this suit. OK, now let’s talk about this back pack! They just don’t get any nicer than this. Will Leather Goods are known for their classic leather bags. Their Oaxacan Dome Backpacks are a great way to add a lot of style with little effort. Between the quality, the rich colors, the aztec prints and the texture of the fabric, this bag is definitely a show-stopper. I’m in love. And with 15 different styles you have plenty of options to suit your own taste! Stay tuned for how I style their Oaxacan Duffle!

Home Style

Planters or Wall Decor?

Posted on March 23, 2017

4.5 years ago my wife and I bought out first house. It was bit of a visual fixer upper. The bones of the house were pretty good, but design-wise we knew we were going to have to upgrade almost everything. We were fine with this though! We knew we weren’t going to find a house with the design and style we exactly wanted. So we thought why spend more money on a house that’s decent (but we don’t love), when we would just end up renovating it anyway. So, we went with somewhat of a fixer upper. This year we decided to reno our kitchen. We knocked down a wall between our kitchen and living room and put an island with a quartz counter top. With this new layout it gave the first floor more of that open concept feel. We put new quartz counter tops and white shaker style cabinets in as well. We added matte black hardware, a matte black sink faucet, and a nice big matte black sink. We don’t get a lot of natural sunlight on the first floor so we really wanted to brighten up the space with a lot of white! For some decor, we wanted to add some plants in our kitchen to add a little green and bring in some life. Unfortunately, we have killed every plant we have ever had! Even the new palms we just bought…we’re already on the second plant! We’re really trying hard this time around to keep these little beauties alive! After our recent trip to AZ we decided to get some greens & cacti and hang them in these amazing Umbra planters. They are literally wall art! I love their clean, geometric white shape, with the touch of gold, and how they add another dimension to our kitchen. These might be one of our best home purchases! What are some of your favorite interior design brands? I’m always on the hunt for another cool, unique piece!

Style

Alternative to the Traditional Suit

Posted on March 17, 2017

I don’t have the opportunity to wear traditional suits as much as I would like since I don’t have an office job. My day job requires me to be in boots and jeans all day. But, I love wearing suits, so I try and find different ways to wear them in a more casual way. I actually wore this look for the first time during the Project Show and was bummed I didn’t get to shoot it…so, I had to wear it again and get some shots! The Soho Suit in Speckled Desert by Sene Studio is by far one of my favorite suits ever. I don’t know how a suit can be more comfortable. It has silk strands in the wool which make it ultra soft. I wanted to show a different way of wearing a suit so I paired it with an Olive turtleneck from Zara and olive Ranger Moc II Lyndon High boots from G.H. Bass. These boots are also very comfortable. It’s a nice change from a stiffer leather boot. I also rolled up the pant leg to show off a little bit of the chunky wool sock. To complete the somewhat lumberjack look I was going for, I topped it off with a red plaid hat from Stormy Kromer. I really dig this overall look and I’m happy I found another way to style my favorite suit!

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Eric Wertz

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