Put a little sparkle in your life

With the biggest holidays of the year behind us, everyone has a little more time for themselves. Well, with all that leftover holiday gear and cheer, why not use some of that glitter from making snow globes and sparkling ornaments? Well, here are a few fun ways to use glitter to spruce up your wardrobe or decorate the house.

{ glitter candle holders }

 Try this tutorial from Ruche's Homemade Holiday guide to make these adorable glitter candle holders. Who says glitter is just for one time of the year? Plus, if you are having a romantic Valentine's Day at home, this is a fabulous center piece that is romantic and less cliche than candle sticks.

{ glitter shoes }

 Check out this fabulous tutorial from A Beautiful Mess on how to make your own glittery shoes. Instead of going out and buying super expensive glitter pumps that are out of your budget (let's face it, even knock-offs are expensive these days), you can pull those shoes out of your closet that are outdated and spruce them up a bit. This would be another fabulous Valentine's Day option ;)

{glitter shoe repair }

This is a similar tutorial from Wobisobi, but only covers the back heel of your favorite pumps that have taken a hard hit in the winter weather. It spruces them up and makes them look brand new and ready to wear all over again!

I hope your holidays were wonderful!

Holiday Desserts that make your mouth water

Happy holidays! Christmas is just a day away and the cheer and yummy smells are in the air! The Christmas dinner is always a tradition for a family, but the desserts are where it is fun to try something new! Here are a few delicious Christmas inspired desserts that will make your taste buds tingle ;)

{ Chocolate Raspberry Forest Cake }

[chocolate & carrots]

Give a yummy chocolate forest with your forest cake recipe. Follow the link to learn the recipe for your holiday treats ;)

{ Santa Hat Brownies }

[Daisy's World recipe]

Have these adorable brownie bites for your guests, they will be a hit with their Santa hats on!

{ Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes }

[edible garden]

So, its not really Christmas inspired, but hey, who doesn't love chocolate and strawberries ;)

Have an enjoyable holiday!!

What to Wear: Holiday Parties

Hello my wonderful readers! How I have missed you so! Finals went very well and I am excited to go home for the holiday to spend time with my family. I have been busy busy with knitting gifts for my family!

So, I never have the right idea to wear for a holiday party, but this year I am changing that! I wanted to share some adorable ideas that make your wardrobe steal the party, just by changing up the way you wear it! Also, I have found some adorable ways to style your hair for any soiree you find yourself at!

{THE TOP}

 

[source]

Take your favorite sweater or long sleeved top and tie it up as seen above to give it a new feel and make you look gorgeous. If you try this with a men's large shirt/sweater, it would be long enough to wear as a dress with leggings or tights.

 

[source]

Or that fabulous sparkling top is always a must on the holidays!

{THE HAIR}

[source]

[source]

[source]

You want to have sass and bounce to go with your holiday outfit, and these fabulous hairstyles give you just that. I love the bow in the back of the first's hair and the source gives you instructions on how to accomplish this sassy look. I love the second for its '50s style and gorgeous sleek appeal.

{THE SHOES}

[source]

[source]

So I have a philosophy about shoes that I am going to share with you right now. "You can wear flats everyday of your life, but those gorgeous heels only get out on special occasions." That said, please oh, please wear your amazing shoes that you have in your closet, I know you have a pair! If you don't please feel free to treat yourself to a pair, no regrets :) I have this amazing pair of gold sparkly heels that I just got from Sears (totally on sale) that I have gotten out once and can't wait to get out again!

{THE FALLBACK}

[source]

Or, you can always pull that sexy little number out that has been anxiously waiting in your closet all year for a night out. Either way, don't forget those shoes ;)

Happy Holidays!

Fashion Friday: casual

So, this was the very last day of actual classes for fall semester and thank goodness, because they were running out of things to teach. It was cold and foggy out this morning and as a daily bike rider to my destinations (work, school, shopping, you name it...) I wanted to be comfy, so instead of toughing it up and putting on that skirt in the closet, I threw on my comfiest Levi's (which are totally my favorite brand) and my favorite top and boots. It isn't glamorous, or super special, but it is me and that is always something I enjoy being in these super stressful times (ahem...like the day you need to start studying for finals..). Well, since it is okay to be fashionable and casual, this is what I wore today (plus a nice winter jacket and mittens to keep my little fingers warm on the bike ride). I hope everyone had a fantastic week and does super well on their finals, or work, or whatever you are doing next week.

I have been practicing knitting, but I can't say I have been getting much better... but it is fun ans soothing! So I hope you have a relaxed weekend and enjoy the time you have ;)

If you are interested in how I accomplish the editing and lighting on photos like this one, stay tuned for a post later today on how to set it up and photoshop your dreamy backlit photos.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Fashion Friday

Well today the weather outside was a frightful 10 degrees, but I grabbed my tights, a scarf and an adorable vest from my closet and went out into the elements for class!

All from the deep depths of my closet! Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Fashion Friday

I think this might become a trend.. every Friday I will post what cute outfits I wore for the whole week, rather than posting them randomly throughout. So look forward to that on Fridays!

This outfit is from thrifting it out at Salvation Army last weekend.

My hair is french braided and tied it up in a bun. I wore one of my little hair pins I made (remember the post ;) which is not pictured.

 Top and skirt are thrifted, brown fashion tights from Target, Minnetonka fashion boots, brown waist belt from Papaya. The earrings are made by Leslie T ;)

Happy Friday!

New work wear

Hello lovelies! Today I wore a fabulous little outfit gifted to me by my mother. Excited for Thanksgiving? I know I am! It is my favorite holiday after all :)

The skirt and top are from JCPennys, grey tights from Target, plaid jacket from Old Navy (last year's birthday gift from mom ;), and boots from my closet!

She also gave me this adorable little bracelet she found at a craft show.

I love fashion, especially when it would be great for work or date night!

Enjoy!

Shopping and all that other stuff

Hello lovelies! Oh how I have missed you. College is certainly catching up to me with all that homework, but all is well! I have been seriously thinking fashion lately, like addiction status. Well, I went home for the weekend and got to spend time with my wonderful mother (from JewelrybyLeslieT) and we went Salvation Army clothing diving. Seriously, this place was filled with clothes. Well, it turned out that I found some fabulous things!This is what I wore today...

The skirt was thrifted for $2.99, and it has pockets, my favorite!

Boots my mom got me 5 years ago... still my favorites!

A fabulous waist belt always pulls my outfits together, and I made the bracelet!

Better get back to my studies, but I will be back in a few days when Thanksgiving break starts! Maybe you will get a few shots from my 99 cent Monday shopping trip with the girls at a local thrift store ;)


Happy Wednesday!

Sunflower Boutiquing

Hello lovelies! What a beautiful today was here in Colorado! I hope it was beautiful where ever you are as well! A couple of my friends invited me to a clothing swap party and it turned out fabulously! I met several new lovely ladies and got rid of some of my clothes I don't wear in return for some clothes that I love!

It is a great idea for a party! We had everyone bring a dessert, some old clothes they don't care about, and donations for the Invisible Children campaign. It was fun, easy, and brought so many wonderful people together!

Hope you had a happy weekend!

If I had a million dollars...

So I have been admiring clothes, particularly dresses lately that I just absolutely love. So I have been using Pinterest to express my love for these clothes without buying.. Here are a few that I am in love with currently!

[From Topshop]

[From Francesca's]

[From Anthropologie]

 

[From Topshop]

You can see more of what I love on Pinterest!
Happy Friday!

Nifty Thrifting with Vines Vintage Market

Hello lovelies! Today was fabulous, started off with photography, went for a bike ride with the hubby and went to the new thrift store in town! I can't wait to go back and really give it a thorough look through, because it was absolutely adorable and fantastic! I literally would love my house to have so many qualities that this store gave.

Even from the entrance, the shop just beckoned me toward the door!

From neat old roller blades to..

adorable little birdcages as candle holder, the place was filled with the most wonderful trinkets. 

I want this dresser!

Love this adorable little fan!

 Everything in the shop is so well put together and I absolutely love it!

I can't wait to go back and buy something!

Enjoy!

*NOTE: The author of this blog has no relationship, business or otherwise, with the mentioned artist or artisan. No advertising arrangements have been made, and all content is the opinion of the author.

On To You

The other day I was donating some old tablecloths to the Arc Thrift Store, when I came across an adorable resale shop with an awesome vintage appeal! This lovely little place is called On To You. I have always had a soft spot for resale shops, but this one blew them all away!

This is just one of many gorgeous vintage women's hats!

My roommate has a collection of pins and this is one gorgeous example from On To You!

How about gorgeous vintage perfume bottles!

My fabulous new bamboo wall decorations!

I personally loved the Chinese Geisha inspired collections of clothes, decorations and antiques from the 1905s and more current! I picked up two fabulous bamboo hand painted wall decorations that spiced up my boring staircase wonderfully! 

Enjoy!

*NOTE: The author of this blog has no relationship, business or otherwise, with the mentioned artist or artisan. No advertising arrangements have been made, and all content is the opinion of the author.

Bridesmaid Dresses on a budget

I was hoping that going shopping with three of my closest friends should be a wonderful experience, everyone should get along, but I was wrong. Well, shopping with my maid of honor, my lovely sister Autumn is always a joy, when we are alone or with our lovely mother, but neither of us have ever been much for bargain shopping in a mall.

Our budget was to stay under $100 for each dress, which doesn't sound too ridiculous, but we couldn't find a single dress we wanted within our budget in the entire Park Meadows Mall in Denver. Well, except this beautiful strapless Oleg Cassini dress in Dillards for $130.

And after an exhausting day shopping and not finding the dress of our dreams in our budget, we decided to make them. My mother has made my prom dresses and homecoming dresses in high school in the past, so she wanted to give a shot at the bridesmaids dresses.

The maid of honor, my beautiful sister Autumn will be wearing simplicity pattern 3878, with beautiful pink tulle and satin from Hobby Lobby.

The pattern is fun and beautiful, without the not so fun price that the perfect dress comes with. The pattern can be found in just about any fabric section of any store, or online at Simplicity.

My lovely roommate, Christie, will be wearing another Simplicity pattern with the same pink satin that will accent Autumn's dress.

The strapless version of this dress is what we are going for, which has a striking resemblance to the dress we found in Dillards that we loved, but without that price tag, once again. This dress pattern is also available at Simplicity.

I am truly looking forward to the wedding and all the shopping we have to do for apparel at this point is shoes, and I know everyone loves shoe shopping! At least my family and friends.

I am looking forward to seeing how these dresses come together, and if you are a guest, be sure to steer clear of these dresses please! Wedding procession only :)

Enjoy!