Berries For Days!

Hey y'all! So today I figured I'd post a little Christmas-y DIY!  I made a couple of these a couple years ago as gifts for my mother-in-law and aunt!  This isn't going to be a step by step, so it's gonna be a pretty short one today!

I actually found something similar on Pinterest that made me want to make these.  It seemed simple enough!  But little word of warning, if you do it exactly like me, it's not simple at all. Ha!!
So I went to Hobby Lobby (because...I'm obsessed) and purchased a couple large "D"'s and then ran over to the floral department and bought as many clusters of red berries as I could find and a roll of burlap.

I ran home and got started.  I painted the D a brown color, took all the little plastic berries off, and started hot gluing them to the D.  One by one.  I have to tell you, there has to be a better method to getting all those plastic berries onto the letter, BUT as time consuming as it was, I LOVED the way it turned out!

If you are going to make this, and make it the way I did, be ready with LOTS and LOTS of hot glue sticks.

Once all the berries were on the letter, I had my husband make a bow for it.  He doesn't like it, but he's the bowmaker in our house! :)

They were time consuming, but turned out great! My mother-in-law keeps hers out pretty much year-round since it matches her house!

What are y'all's favorite Christmas gift DIY's?

See you soon!

XOXO.

Christmas Party Looks

I meant to do this post last week, BEFORE the first Christmas party of the season...but our internet kept me from it.  So, since I'm attending another this weekend, I'll just go ahead and do it anyway! 

Of course, my outfit from last weekend is a great Christmas party look ;) but since I've already written about it, I will refrain! 

The next few weeks are filled with parties, shopping, eating, and gifting.  Ugh, who couldn't love the holidays?!  But what to wear?  A couple of these looks will work for a Christmas or New Year's party, and some are a little more casual than others! I love that these looks are versatile!

I've noticed that this holiday season, outfits have been full of sequins and plaid.  I for one am loving it! 

Outfit #1

Source: Polyvore

I love this casual look! It can be worn for a Christmas or New Year's bash!  

The jeans listed on this are 7 For All Mankind.  I prefer to get my jeans from American Eagle, but to each their own! 

For the tank, I couldn't find one exactly like the one above, but Forever 21 has a couple cute sequined tops!  There's one, here for $12.90! They also have a pair of high heeled booties for $34.90 (here)!

Charlotte Russe has an adorable blazer (here) for $32.99 

Lastly, an adorable black clutch from Target for $19.99 (here)

Outfit #2

Source: This Silly Girl's Life

Peplum Top: Similar here

Burgundy Skinnies: Similar here and here

Necklace: Similar here

Outfit #3

Source: ModCloth

Source: ModCloth

Dress: Can be found here!
Heels: Can be found here! 

Outfit #4

Source: Pinterest

Top: Similar here and here

Skirt: Similar here and here

Shoes: Similar here and here

Necklace: Woman in photo is wearing 2 of the necklace found here

These are just a few of my favorite looks for the Christmas season!  I hope all your Christmas festivities are "merry and bright" :)

See you soon!

XOXO.

Holiday Party Recap!

I apologize about not posting on Friday, our internet was down so I spent the entire day cooking and packing and getting ready for a busy weekend!

It was my in-law's annual Holiday Party this past weekend!

The party was an absolute success!  After all of the preparing and running around and decorating, the night was so much fun!  I love getting to be a part of their parties, especially when I can cook (I secretly really enjoy it, don't tell my husband he will want me to cook more! Ha!)!

The hardest part of getting ready for Saturday......figuring out what to wear!  I have a closet FULL of clothes, but none of them seemed to work.  So Saturday morning was spent running around town trying to find something to wear.  Here is what I ended up wearing!

The booties were a clearance purchase at Target a couple years ago! The tights are from Kohl's.  The skirt I borrowed from a friend, and I got the sweater at Target (you can find it here)
I loved it!  It was so comfy but dressy!
For my jewelry, I wore earrings and a necklace from LC Lauren Conrad (earrings here, I couldn't find the necklace online, but here is a little something similar).

Here are a few photos from the evening.  I didn't take a lot of pictures this year....hopefully next year!

My Dill Pickles! :) Love my girls!

One of my Christmas presents from my Dill Pickles! :)

Me & my lovely future sis-in-law!

My beautiful future sis-in-law & my brother-in-law!

See you soon!

XOXO.

Christmas Food

Sorry for my absence y'all, things have been a little hectic around our place since Thanksgiving!

It's officially December, which means Christmas/Holiday parties are starting up!  My in-laws always have a holiday party around the first of December, so I'm currently getting things together to cook and help out with that.  I thought today, since I am getting ready to spend A LOT of time in the kitchen for the next couple days, I'd do a couple of my favorites from past Christmas parties!

Sorry about the poor quality of the photo, this is from a couple years ago!  This was my first "crafty" food project!  I was hosting my friends for Christmas and decided to make a meal and so I needed a Christmas dessert!  I was worried they wouldn't turn out, but I have to say they were very easy to make!

I used a boxed mix for the cupcakes (I know, I know, this would've been better if it were homemade...) and made it according to the package.
I let them cool then used chocolate frosting (again, from the store) to ice the tops.
I put the Nilla Wafers on, trying not to put them directly in the middle.
I used white chocolate chips for the eyes, and just flipped them onto the flat side and pushed the "pointy" side into the frosting.
The antlers were a little harder, I had to make sure I found whole pieces of pretzels, and those things break so easily in the bags!
I bought a little tube of black gel icing to dot the eyes, then used chocolate frosting to "glue" on the m&m noses.

Simple enough right?   They were great for the party, however, there were only 4 of us so there was way too many! Ha!


Now, onto to my favorite dish from last year's Christmas party!

When I initially saw these snowmen cheese balls on Pinterest, I really had no interest in doing it.  The year before I'd made a cheese ball that hadn't gone over well, so I wasn't planning to repeat it.  All the recipes I'd found called for nuts in or on the cheese ball, and I was pretty sure that's what kept people from really enjoying the last one I'd made.  But, my husband reminded me (as he often does) that you don't necessarily HAVE to stick with a recipe.  So I used the recipe I'd used the year before, simply omitting the pecans on the outside of it!
Here is a link to the recipe I used, on Kraft's site.
To make the snowman, I just separated the mixture into two balls, one a little smaller than the other.  Once they were on the plate, I got Craisins (because I'm just not a fan of raisins) and made the eyes, mouth, and buttons, and used a baby carrot for the nose!
It was almost completely gone after the party ended, so obviously omitting the pecans was a good call!

Do y'all have any Christmas themed recipes you like to make for the holiday season?


Hopefully things have slowed down a little and I'll be back on here more often and have more posts for y'all!

See you soon!

XOXO.

Post Thanksgiving Hangover

Hopefully y'all are feeling good after a day full of family and food!

I know that a lot of y'all are out shopping today, hope you are getting everything that you want/need!  I'm sticking to online shopping for today, I can't handle those crowds!

Today I thought I'd just post a video instead of a long drawn out post.  Enjoy Black Friday y'all!

Give Thanks

Happy day before Thanksgiving Y'all!!! 

Today's post will be short.  It's almost the holiday and I still need to get packed up for all the running around we will be doing!

But I realized after my post on Monday, that I made it seem like my favorite thing about Thanksgiving is the food.  And don't get me wrong, the food is great!  The problem is that that's often the focus on holidays.  Not just Thanksgiving, but Christmas as well.  And that's not where we should be focused on such a wonderful day as Thanksgiving!

Thursday is supposed to be a day that is focused on giving thanks to what we've been given, and those around us!  It's about all the blessings we've been given in our lives.  So why have we strayed from that?  I know that I often forget to thank the ones around me for all that they've done for me.  So I decided that today's post, I'd just remind everyone to spend Thanksgiving focused on your families, on your friends, and remember to thank God for everything He's given you! :)

"Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name." 1 Chronicles 29:13

Also, when did stores start opening on Thanksgiving Day?  I know Black Friday has been around for as long as I can remember, but in the last couple years, a lot of stores are opening their doors on Thanksgiving!  I don't like that at all.  I know that it's a tactic so that you get all the great sales earlier than Black Friday, but Thanksgiving is supposed to be about surrounding yourself with family and friends, being together, being thankful, etc.  I don't know, maybe I'm the only one that takes issue with that, but I just think that it's taking away from a day that's supposed to be special for us!

However, I know that many of you will be out shopping for Black Friday (I'm not one of you, you will NOT see me out...I enjoy sleeping in) so be safe!

See you soon!

XOXO.

Thanksgiving Day Outfits

Thanksgiving is fast approaching! I am so excited!! I waited a little too long for me to do this post the way I wanted, so I apologize for how crappy the quality is!

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is the food.  I'm lucky enough to get TWO Thanksgiving dinners on Thursday, so I like to dress comfortably.  I know that I experience a pretty serious "food baby" after all the delicious food, and there's nothing worse than the button from your jeans cutting into your bloated belly.....SO here are some comfy, but stylish, outfits you can wear, that will give a little if you overeat like crazy on this holiday!


One of my favorite items that I like to wear when I know that I'll be sporting a full, bloated belly is a nice pair of jeggings. They give the appearance of skinny jeans, but give like leggings. Best of both worlds! My favorite place to buy these is American Eagle.  I've always preferred their jeans to other brands.  Here is a link to their jeans/jeggings! The following are a couple ideas of cute outfits that would work with skinny jeans OR jeggings! I love the idea of pairing them with a chunky/big sweater, because it wouldn't be too tight on you after a big meal.

Source: pinterest.com

Source: pinterest.com

The next couple are dresses. Because dresses are SO comfy and with tights or leggings are plenty warm if you are going to be experiencing a cold Thanksgiving (which we are this year!). The bottom picture has a fuzzy vest with it, I'm not a huge fan, but I know that there are a lot of people who can pull that look off!  Target has some that are pretty cute if you are in the market for one! You can find them here!

Source: pinterest.com

Source: pinterest.com

I'm still pretty undecided about what I'll be wearing this year! But I hope these outfits gave you a few options!  I'll post on Friday with a picture of whatever I chose! :)

See y'all soon!

XOXO.

November Birchbox!

It's my third month receiving Birchbox, and I haven't been disappointed yet! I feel like month after month, I see people complain about their boxes and the build up always concerns me but I haven't been let down yet....let's keep that going Birchbox! :)

This month was about giving back, Birchbox teamed with Red, to raise money and awareness for AIDS.  It's a great cause, I loved seeing Birchbox working with such a great organization!  One of my favorites things about Birchbox is that it's so interactive. Last month, we were able to fill in our favorite tv show, song, etc, take a picture, add it to any social media outlet and become eligible for a prize.  This month, they donated $1 every time a photo was shared of the box itself with facts about AIDs, HIV, and an AIDS-Free Generation with the hashtag #shaRED.  I'm such a fan of the interaction they allow between the company itself and their consumers.

Onto the samples!

1. Chuao Chocolatier ChocoPod: Firecracker, Full size Assorted box, $9.95

I actually got on the Birchbox site the morning before my box arrived, and saw what I was getting (I know, I was so upset with myself!).  I was pretty upset that there was chocolate in there, I'm not one to try new foods, I'm picky enough as it is.  I opened my box and didn't want to try the chocolate.  I figured I'd let Chris have it when he got home from work because he's not nearly as picky as me.  BUT I couldn't wait....I needed to know right away how it tasted.  So, I tried it. And it was definitely interesting!  The "Firecracker" had popping candies in it, and it was a pleasant surprise!  I'm not a huge chocolate eater, but the sample was nice, and while I wouldn't purchase a full size box, I know a lot of people that would've really enjoyed trying all the different kinds of chocolate in the box.  However, there are some other flavors in the box that I would like to try....so maybe I would purchase the box....oh, who knows! But the moral of this hot mess of a review is that the chocolate I had was very good! 

2. COOLA, Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face - Full size item, $36

I am not a huge fan of tinted moisturizers with sunscreens.  I really don't love the smell that comes along with it, but this particular product didn't have a terrible smell.  And based on the previous BB cream that I received last month, I was a little concerned about this product.  However, I must say that this product was so much better!  It went on smooth, blended well, and didn't feel heavy on my face. In the cooler months, my face becomes dry, so I needed a moisturizer to even out my skin before I apply all my makeup. I initially thought this would be my least favorite item from my box, but it wasn't.  I ended up really enjoying it! I did read that some people had an issue with breaking out, so I'd read the ingredients before buying the product!

3. Gilchrist & Soames, Spa Therapy Body Lotion - Full size item, $15

My absolute favorite product from my box!  My legs are incredibly dry right now. Not only do my legs dry out in the winter, but I've been taking some medicine that has a side effect of dry skin....so they are EXTRA dry.  Which is making for some miserable days.  But this body lotion has been amazing on my dry legs.  I must say, I'm not a huge fan of the scent, but I did love the lotion.  The lotion is pretty thin, and I read a few reviews and people didn't enjoy the product, so it seems like to each their own.  Some people complained that it wasn't moisturizing enough for their dry skin.  I felt like it was plenty moisturizing, my only complaints being the smell and that because it is thin I felt like I needed to add more than usual, making it harder to keep my small sample to use many times.

4. Juice Beauty, Green Apple Peel Sensitive - Full size item, $39

I was very excited to try this item.  Seeing the "green apple" made me a little worried about the smell, sometimes the green apple smell can be a little overwhelming, but the smell was light and I really enjoyed it! When I went to put it on my face, I almost spilled it all over the counter.  I didn't realize just how runny it was going to be!  I don't do well with peels, they are usually too much on my skin, but this was great for my skin!  It felt so clean and so smooth! My face did get a little red while the peel was on, but it wasn't something that stuck!  What I think I loved the most about this product was that, while it was removing all the crappy stuff from my skin, it didn't dry it out.  Honestly, that's one of my big worries with using peels, masks, and such is that my already dry face will dry out even more.  But this worked great! 

5. Klorane, Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk in Natural Tint - Full size item, $19.50

This was my least favorite item in my box.  Not because of the quality of the product, from everything I can tell, it works great.  I am just learning that I'm not a huge fan of dry shampoo.  I will say, this looked better than the previous dry shampoos I've used before.  The previous ones I've had left a white residue, and this worked the best with my brunette hair!  From what I can tell, it did absorb the oils in my hair, I just feel like I don't use dry shampoo properly. I will say that I did use it one day before I went out and my hair did not look bad!  I think what I'd use it for the most, as I used my previous dry shampoos, is to add body, and to help when I'm trying to fix my hair. The smell was also great! Honestly, my real complaint with this item had nothing to do with the product and using it, but that the nozzle had come off the bottle in the processing of being shipped and moved around.  No fault to Birchbox or anything, and it was easily fixed, but that was definitely my biggest complaint.  The product itself seems to work great, it's just not for me.

6. ModelCo, Party Proof Lipstick in Get Naked - Full size item, $24

Last month, my mother-in-law got a ModelCo lipstick in her Birchbox and I was so jealous!  I am obsessed with lipsticks, constantly buying new lip products, so when I saw lipstick in my box I was PUMPED!  Get Naked is a nice, nude lip color, and I am really loving it!  I was most surprised about the smell.  I opened the tube and definitely didn't expect a nice smell, I actually expected the smell that comes along with cheaper drugstore lip products...but I was wrong!  I was excited to get a nude lip color, it's one of the few colors I don't have in my collection.  I didn't love it the first time I put it on, it almost looked like I'd put on concealer on my lips and forgot to add lipstick.  I was disappointed, BUT when I added lip gloss over the product, I liked it A LOT more! 

Closing Thoughts

Overall, I was a fan this month.  As usual, there are products that I loved and products I didn't.  There were several products that I'll probably be purchasing full sized items of in the near future.  I've been lucky to have gotten so many great products over the last three months! 

If you are interested in signing up for Birchbox and getting all these goodies, you can click here!

See you soon!

XOXO.

Marley Lilly Part 2

I know I posted a few weeks ago about Marley Lilly, and how much I love their products, but it's happening again!! :)

I talked about the products I liked, but not anything that I owned!  Recently, I received a monogrammed tassel bracelet!

I must say that as much as I love the site, I was worried that I wouldn't love this.  I don't wear a lot of bracelets.  Nor am I really sure that I'm a huge fan of tassels, BUT I put it on and I must say that I am really enjoying it!

Let's talk about all the great things about this bracelet!  First of all, I've been loving gold jewelry, but I just don't own a lot of it, so when I opened the package, I immediately was excited about the fact that I got a new piece of gold jewelry! I'm also a big fan of the interlocking style of monogram.  Initially, I wasn't a fan of the burnt orange color, but I have to tell you, the color is growing on me!  I owned nothing that was burnt orange until this, and I think it's pretty great for fall! 

You can get a monogram tassel bracelet from Marley Lilly, here.  They cost $24.99, though the burnt orange color is on sale for $19.99.

I know that I've posted some of my favorite items from the site, but since I received the email saying that I was getting this bracelet, I've been scoping out more items to discuss on my blog!

I feel like I wouldn't be a good southern woman if I didn't want to monogram everything in sight.  So here are a few other products from the site that I'm loving, and links to them!

iPhone 5c Phone Case

I've had a monogrammed phone case once before, and I love the idea of using the monograms that I use as backgrounds as a case for my phone! You can get this here, for $39.99.

Printed Herringbone Vest

I'm loving vests and this pattern is one of my absolute favorites! And why wouldn't you want your monogram on your favorite vest! :)  This can be found here for $79.99!

Monogrammed Ballet Flats

I love flats...so much!  And who doesn't think it's a good idea to put your monogram on a cute pair of ballet flats?!  These are available in different colors, if blue isn't your thing! You can find them here, for $34.99.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, Marley Lilly is a great place to shop and you should definitely check it out! :)

See you soon!

XOXO.

Spicing Up That LBD

Karl Lagerfeld said it best when he said, "One is never over-dressed or underdressed with a Little Black Dress."

A little black dress is such a staple piece for any woman to have in her closet!  What I love most about them is that you can dress it up or down! Here are a few tips to spicing up that little black dress of yours! :)

1. Pair with a blazer

My black dress (on left) was from Target, and the red blazer came from Gordman's
You can find a similar dress at Target, here
You can find a similar blazer at Charlotte Russe, here

2. Statement necklace

You can find statement jewelry at so many different places, but BaubleBar is currently one of the most popular places for fashion jewelry!

3.  Pair with a pretty belt!

Here's a pretty gold belt available at the LookBookStore. And here is a pretty silver one from Nordstrom!

And last but not least!

4. Add some bright shoes

Charlotte Russe has several pairs of shoes that are bright and fun and pretty inexpensive!  They are also currently running a special, "Buy 1, Get 1 for $10".  You can find them here!

What are your favorite ways to dress up your LBD? 

I hope you enjoyed my tips for adding a little flair to your favorite black dress!  Have fun spicing it up! :)  

See you soon!

XOXO.

Spotlight: Miranda by Miranda Lambert

Y'all, I've held off doing this because I know everyone that knows me expected me to do it.....but here it is. Ha!  If you know me....even a little bit, or are my friend on Facebook, you'll know how much I adore Miranda Lambert.  I followed her on Nashville Star, I own her albums, I've seen her in concert twice (and a third this January!), met her twice, you could say I'm a big fan....so when I got an e-mail last year about her launching a line of shoes, I was very excited!! I am a complete sucker for shoes (though if I could get away with it, I'd never wear them, just ask my family), I buy new shoes way more often than I need to, but they are just so cute! :)

I figure I'll just show a few of the styles available from various sites.  I know that in store, her shoes are available at DSW and Famous Footwear, and online at Country Outfitter, I'll have links to all of these at the bottom of the post!

$59.95 on Country Outfitter

$44.99 (There's also a "Whiskey"/Brown pair for $54.99) on Famous Footwear

$59.95 on DSW

My FAVORITE pair! $79.95 on DSW & Country Outfitter, $79.99 on Famous Footwear

Here are the links to her line at each of the sites I used, Country Outfitter has the widest variety available.

Famous Footwear
Country Outfitter
DSW

Her shoes are awesome!  I also love the guitar design on all of her shoes.  Basically you can't go wrong with these! :)

Hopefully next week I'll have a November BirchBox review, I haven't had a chance to try out all of the products yet but I will make an effort to finish up this weekend so I can write up a review for y'all!

See you soon!

XOXO.

Style Icons

I spent all day yesterday baking cookies (for Chris) and watching Audrey Hepburn movies.  While I was watching Breakfast at Tiffany's I decided maybe it would be a good time to talk about a couple of my favorite style icons, one past and one present!

Audrey Hepburn

I am obsessed with Audrey Hepburn, and have been for a while.  She had such a classic style and was so beautiful! I think what I admire most about her, isn't her ability to act, or dance, or look flawless in anything she put on, it's her humanitarianism.  Her work with UNICEF put her in a different light, and showed not only her outer, but inner beauty.  Givenchy styled her on and off screen, and I know we can't all afford Givenchy, but her style was just so classic and simple and beautiful that you can easily recreate it with much more affordable brands.  Here are a few of my favorite photos of her.....I tried my best to narrow it down but she's my favorite sooooo there are a lot! :)

 Such a timeless beauty!
One of my favorite sites to shop for looks that remind me of Audrey, ModCloth.  They have a lot of retro style clothing and so much of it looks like something she would've worn! :)

Emma Watson

I had a harder time thinking of who I would include for my present day style icon.  Honestly, I couldn't decide between Emma Watson or Kate Middleton.  I adore both of their styles, I chose Emma to talk about for this post because her style is a mix of relatable fashion & high fashion. Also, I feel like I got to grow up with Emma Watson, and saw her style evolve as she got older, so I feel like her style is one that my generation likes to recreate.  She is also a humanitarian, working as a UN Ambassador.  A lot of the photos I decided to post are awards style, BUT they were just too good to pass up!

I hope that y'all can find a little inspiration in these two!  Who are y'all's favorite style icons??

See you soon!

XOXO.