It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Top: Mink Pink
Dress: Lithe
Tights: ASOS
Shoes: Mossimo

I LOVE the holiday season. It is such a happy time of year. On thursday after RT and I got home from my parent's house I immediately decorated the inside of our house for Christmas. Then, on saturday he put the lights up on the house and put out all of our outside decorations. That is our standing agreement with the house ... I take care of the inside and he takes care of the outside. 

Except for the dishes. 

He does the dishes. 

I love him.

Anyway ....  I digress. 

Being that this is my most favorite time of year, I wore my velvet swing dress that screams holidays and we took pictures in front of our big light up presents. And how about these tights from ASOS?! Aren't they so cute! Opaque on the bottom and fishnet on top. No need for layering. Love. Love. Love. 

Happy Tuesday!

Zig Zag Nails

I saw this idea on Pinterest and I think it is really fun!

Let me show you how I did it ...

First I painted my nails with the first color. I chose "Little Brown Dress" by Essie.

I allowed my nails to dry completely and then I used pinking shears (you could use any kind of scissors that create a fun edge) to cut a regular piece of scotch tape in half. Next I stuck the tape over half of each nail.

After that, I painted the half next to the tape with the second color. I used "You Don't Know Jacques" by O.P.I. I had to use 2 coats to cover the dark brown.

Don't worry if it gets on your skin a little bit. You can always clean that up with a q-tip and some nail polish remover. 

Immediately after the second coat is applied, carefully remove the tape from the nail. It is important not to let the paint set at all because then the tape might take some of the paint with it. 

Cover with the clear coat of your choice. I usually use "Good to Go" by Essie because it is quick dry and I am normally doing my nails in a hurry.

This is the finished product. Cute no?!

Happy Monday!

P Dub Cinnamon Rolls

I have something very important to share with all of you today. Cinnamon rolls. Enough said?? Yes I think so.

At my family's Thanksgiving meal we have cinnamon rolls instead of a regular dinner roll. My Nana has always made them and her rolls are seriously ah-may-zing! But she has gotten to where she doesn't really like to cook much anymore and my sister has tried to replicate her recipe and it has never been quite the same. Not to mention the fact that they call for Crisco which for some reason just seems wrong to all of us.

So this year with my sister gone with her husband's family, I was in charge of the "dinner rolls."

I am an avid reader of the Pioneer Woman blog. She is hysterical and she is a yummy and very decadent cook. She (and everyone else) swears by her cinnamon rolls so that is the recipe I used. Oh! My! Goodness! They were so scrumptious! Everyone loved them. I made 15 disposable pie pans full of rolls and we has 3 left. All of my family was talking about how much they liked them and people kept going back for more and more. Such a success!

Here is the link to her recipe.
Here is the link to all of her extra notes about the rolls.

And here is a picture of what hers look like when they are all finished.
























You have to make these! You will be so glad you did.

Mine looked a little different because I cut them much smaller and cooked them on their side so that they looked like a traditional dinner roll. And I didn't frost them.

This is so much better than an outfit post today I assure you. Mainly because I spent all day yesterday chatting and eating and so I look very similar to Violet Beauregarde from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory after she chews the piece of gum and fills with blueberry juice.

Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving as much as I did.
I am so lucky to have so very much to be thankful for.

Happy Friday!

Turkey Day is on the Way

Top: BCBGeneration
Cardigan: Michael Stars
Jeans: Citizens of Humanity
Boots: Nine West

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! You guys ... this is excellent news!! Who doesn't love Thanksgiving. An entire day centered around hanging out with the people you love and gorging yourself do death on the best food in the world. Honestly. It could be the closest thing to heaven right here on earth.

I might be biased though. I am a holiday junkie. I love any reason to celebrate with loved ones. 

We have been crazy busy at the store where I work. We are moving locations at the first of the year and so we have started a moving sale! It is like door busters around here. Ok not really. People aren't waiting in line at the door or anything but still, we have been really busy. So, I am glad to have on this super comfy outfit. I can be cute and comfortable for a crazy day at work. It's great right?! 

Have a great Turkey Day everyone! I'll be back on Friday.

Accidental Advertisement

Again I am in front of the rose curtains. I had big plans to take pictures yesterday and that just didn't work out for me. My brother's oldest turned 3 on wednesday and her birthday party was yesterday. RT and I were going out to the ranch they live on to hang out for the day and go to the birthday party. I thought the ranch would be an awesome background for blog pictures. The problem was, I thought it was supposed to be fairly warm yesterday so I dressed in a sheer top and no jacket. Considering it ended up being a high of around 60 with pretty substantial winds, pictures outside were not going to happen. I am really sad about it too because it was so gorgeous out there with all of the fall colors throughout the pastures. Complete fail!

Top: Joie
Sweater: Joie
Pants: Joie
Belt: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: L.A.M.B.

Today I am a walking advertisement for Joie (ha!). I didn't do it on purpose at all but Joie is by far one of my favorite clothing lines so this is bound to happen every now and again. We sell Joie at the store where I work and I can't help but buy it all the time. Their silk tanks work for all seasons and the clothes are such amazing quality and hold up better than most other lines. I have never gotten rid of a piece because it got worn out, only because I have worn it one hundred kazillion times and gotten tired of it. Perfection!

These pants were originally long and wide leg but I cropped them and tapered the width at the bottom to make them a little more wearable for me. 

Happy Monday!

The Bitty One

I am pretty sure I established long ago that I am an insanely obsessive dog momma. Whatever. I'm not ashamed (ha!).

So I was wondering if everyone has nicknames for their pets or if it is just us? We call Layla by her name some of the time but also Bitty, Itty, Itter Bitter, Bitty Woo, Bitters ... I think that's all. We don't have as many names for Zoey. She mostly goes by her actual name or Big Dog. Is this normal?

I took these pictures yesterday at work because the bitty was snuggling me so good. Its all I am really good for to her. a bed to sleep on. I am totally ok with that though.

I did not, however, get any pictures of my actual outfit yesterday. It was cute too so I will piece it together for you ...

I wore this Joie fair isle sweater

Joie Johana Fair Isle Sweater

with this lace skirt from Modcloth

Similar Style Here

and these nude booties by Gianni Bini

Similar Style Here

Hope you all have an awesome weekend. We will be hanging out with friends and family enjoying some football 

Getting So Big

Top: Peppermint
Skirt: Pasametes
Jakcet: Joie
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell
Socks: Asos

It is pretending to be fall here in TX today. It does that periodically throughout October and November. It is just pretending though. Don't worry. It will be 80 again this weekend. Seriously. It really will.

  *sad face*

I am extra happy for an opportunity to wear fall clothes! Socks and a leather jacket? Yes please! I am sure I have said about a million times how much I love the cold and love to dress for cold weather. There are just so many more options with layering for fall/winter than there are for the sweltering heat of a TX summer. 

This "top" is actually a dress that I am wearing under a skirt. I wanted to wear this skirt with these socks and wedges but I couldn't decide on a top so then I was going to switch to this dress with the socks and wedges and somehow realized that I could do both. I think it works well :) ! 

RT and I both have the day off today and we are going to look at houses this afternoon ... but this morning we went to the christening of my sister's twin baby boys, Spencer and Tommy. Look how sweet they are!! They are getting so big. It freaks me out. 

It is really special to me to get to be such a big part of the lives of all of our nieces and nephews. I am such a lucky girl to have such a big close knit family. Just in my family ... including all spouses and children ... there are 46 of us and on RT's side there are 26!! 

Blessed beyond belief.

Happy Wednesday!

New Tab: Blogs I Love

Top: Andersen & Lauth
Tank: Mossimo
Skirt: Young Fabulous & Broke
Shoes: Steve Madden

This is what happens when RT is at work and I need to take pictures for the blog. I am stuck using a tripod ... which I am particularly terrible with ... and hoping the pictures come out OK. This is the best I could do (ha!).

This skirt is more than amazing. It has such cute detailing and shape and yet it is made of the softest fabric ever. I basically feel like I am wearing pajamas. Bliss. Paired with a shear sequined top and leopard flats and it is the best work outfit ever! I am comfortable beyond belief but still uber cute. 

You may or may not have noticed I love to read blogs. It is to link you to the other blogs I love to read. I spend a significant amount of time every single day sitting, staring at my computer reading what all of these people have to say and feeling inspired by them. I read blogs for all types of reasons. Some have amazing pictures. Some have phenomenal style. Some are funny. Some are touching. Some offer delicious recipes. Some are all of the above. 

I guess it's because I am a blogger, so I get it, but people are down right interesting and I love it.

So I wanted to share with you some of my favorites so that you can enjoy them too. 

They are in absolutely no order and I am a tiny bit embarrassed by how many there are but I can't weed out so too bad. (ha!)

eleven/eleven/eleven

Happy Veterans Day!

Thank you to all of the troops and their families! 

 

Sweater: ARO
Slip: Michael Stars
Tights: Capezio
Wedges: Mossimo

I have been noticing people all over facebook updating their status with something they are thankful for everyday until Thanksgiving. I like the idea of that. I think it helps keep you positive about where you are and what you have in your life. I am obviously 10 days late but I am going to try to remember to put something that I am thankful for every time I post between now and Thanksgiving. 

Today, I am thankful for date night with RT. We both have work schedules that are always changing and sometimes we get to a place where I feel like I haven't really spent time with my husband in a while. It stinks. That is where we are right now. So ... last night he took me out to a yummy dinner so that we could have some quality "us" time. 

I ate myself sick on some incredible food and we ended it with dessert that was to die for.

Bread pudding with candied pecans. I normally hate bread pudding. Bread (in my opinion) should not be soggy. For any reason. Honestly I don't even like white bread because it is soggy to me. But the bread pudding last night was one of the best things I have ever eaten.

We had homemade Dulce de Leche ice cream on the side of our dessert. 

It is important to always order sides :)

This is RT's "oh wow this is so yummy" face.

My husband is funny.

Oh ... I almost forgot to add that I ate water buffalo for dinner. Yep that's right. I am an adventurous eater. ha! My dinner was a take on an italian wedding soup. It was a vegetable broth based soup with onion, celery, carrot, and herbs with fresh goat cheese ravioli and bufala (water buffalo) meatballs. Mmmm Mmmm Delish!

Happy weekend!

Follow

This photo has exactly nothing to do with this post.
But ... no pictures really do and I like it so I am adding it.
Random!

Let me start by saying ... Yes I have changed the layout of the blog AGAIN. But the problem is that, with the dynamic views, all of my links on the right side of the blog disappeared. I like the dynamic views better but my sidebar has to be there. I'll explain ...

Last week I told you guys about Casey who writes the blog Casey Leigh. She is a really great blogger and I enjoy reading her posts and what she has to say. Yesterday, she wrote a blog geared toward other bloggers and how to get their blogs out there for others to see. This was super helpful for me because that is something I have trouble with. I have some people who read and I appreciate that so much but my blog isn't really growing. So I plan to work on that. I have been writing this blog for almost a year and I would really like to build it up.

Anyway, that really isn't my point for this post in particular. In Casey's post advice. she also talked about how and why to follow a blog. Click the link to read her post but I can tell you what it means to me and how to follow my blog.

A lot of people read blogs regularly but do not formally "follow". This is fine because obviously you are reading the blog but there is no way for me to know you are interested in what I am blabbing about unless you follow. You do not have to have a blog to follow. It is just a nice way to let me know you are out there and supporting what I am doing here. I started the blog for me. It is an outlet for me to be creative and share who I am and what I am all about but it has no purpose without you readers :).

All you do to become a follower is find the "Follow Me" section on the right side bar of the blog.

Click on "Join this site" and fill in the necessary information. You can choose to follow publicly or privately. All this means is that if you are a public follower your name and profile picture will show up under the "Follow Me" gadget.

Comments are nice too. If you have thoughts, questions, etc. about a post. Comment or email and let me know. I love the feedback :)

Jumping Beans

*crazy dog eyes*

Shirt: Patterson J. Kincaid
Skirt: Michael Stars
Boots: Nine West
Necklace: Anthropologie

You know how a lot of times when you want something to happen right now, it doesn't? That happened to me while taking these pictures.
Usually when I get home and let the dogs out of their kennels Zoey goes completely berzerk. She jumps and jumps and jumps. I swear the dog could jump over my head if she wanted to. She can jump up and lick my face without even trying.
So I have this brilliant idea that it will be fun to take pictures for the blog of Zoey's insane reaction ... and she didn't really do it. Not to the extent that she normally does. She was excited and circled around me and stuff but she only jumped a couple of times. The one time that I want her to jump up and I am not going to reprimand her about it and she doesn't do it.
Good girl for not jumping but the photos weren't what I thought they would be. Oh well.
Happy Wednesday!

Down by the Bay

Dress: Vintage
Jakcet: Ella Moss
Boots: Frye
Tights: Spanx

These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago (notice the Halloween spiders and bats on the wall) and I just haven't gotten around to posting them until now. I found this completely amazing dress while in Round Top with my mom, sister, sister-in-law, and friend Jacque. It is so 70s and I honestly could not be more in love. I paired it with all grey to make it the obvious focal point. 

This was a new hair style for me and I thought it was pretty fun. I have gotten into Pinterest (it's an addiction) and I saw a how to on this hair do. I put my hair up in a high pony ... Got a clean sock and tucked the toe into the top to make a loop ... put the sock around the pony at the ends ... turned it down over and over until the sock with my hair around it met the base on the pony ... fluffed it around to make sure the sock wasn't showing anywhere ... pinned any fly aways ... and voila! Cute right?!

This past weekend I went down to Galveston with a couple of my girlfriends, Bridget and Katie. Bridget is from Houston and one of her mom's friend's has a bay house in Galveston. So we packed up and went for the weekend with her mom and two of her mom's friends. It was so much fun. The weather was perfect, mid seventies and sunny. We basically just hung out and relaxed. This was the view from the balcony off our bedroom. Perfection!

There was a bike rally going on while we were there and on Saturday we ventured down to the strand and this is what we found.

It was insanity. There were thousands of bikes and even more people standing around everywhere. We went to a couple of antique stores and out to lunch before deciding the crowds were just too much and we went back to the house. It was pretty interesting to see all the different bikes and all the people that come to bike rallies. Who knew??