stockings are hung by the fire with care

details:

dress~the limited(four years old?)

sweater/tights~f21

necklace/belt~anthropologie

it's monday....again! i was happy to see monday come this week because it means the kids are back in school for a few weeks. yesterday we got our tree(yay!!) and i put up some of the decorations. i'm hoping that by tonight the house will be completely decked out in it's christmas finery. this is the earliest i've ever decorated. the holiday season is hard and stressful for me. i think it's that perfectionist streak. i want everything to be so perfect that i inevitably set myself up for failure. this year i'm trying to be more zen about it. but, i figured the having the tree and the decorations up will help my stress level because it's one less thing i'm trying to cram into the next 25 days. since this is our last christmas at home together before the kids start scattering for college i want to really be "present" (no pun intended) and enjoy everything.

i've been in jeans(mostly) since last week so i wanted to dress up a bit. this dress is from the limited from a few years ago. i think i bought originally it to wear to a wedding. i love this rich purple color. there was another sort of silvery taupe color that i also really liked. if i'd known how much wear this dress was going to get i would have bought it in the other color too. the blues and purples in this cardigan pick up the color of the dress perfectly and of course it's keeping me warm on this freezing cold monday morning. i love this necklace from anthropologie and couldn't resist the urge to wear it today. i can't tell you how much i love these crochet tights. they add so much personality to an otherwise safe outfit. after work i have a few errands to run after then it's home to get the rest of my christmas on!

toy soldier

details:

military inspired coat~f21

skinnies~f21

boots~aldo

beret~h&m

i've finally come out of my turkey/sweet potato pie induced coma and managed to roll myself off the sofa. seriously, i can't imagine feeling a pang of hunger for at least a few days. d sent me a text asking me if i wanted to him for dinner tonight after he gets off work. can you imagine? my stomach is still full from yesterday and he's already thinking about dinner! today i got to sleep in and it was divine. no getting up at the crack of dawn black friday madness for me. i've been alternating between episodes of law and order and a say yes to the dress marathon. in the last hour or so i decided to run up to target(i hope it's not super busy). it's finally cool enough to wear my new coat. it does not disappoint! can you be in love with a coat? i threw on these skinnies from f21 and some brown boots and it's out the door. did anyone get up early to hit the sales? how did you do? happy friday!!

*i'm still trying to figure out the settings on this stupid camera! sorry for the blurry images*

happy thanksgiving!

details:

dress: rachel roy

cropped cardigan: bebe

tights: target

shoes: charles david

hello!! i can't believe how long it's been since i posted! my camera finally died...totally and completely. this little camera that i have does not take the best pictures(even with a little editing) but it will have to do for now. did everyone have a lovely thanksgiving? we had my family over for dinner. i spent wednesday and thursday running around like a chicken, or should i say turkey, with it's head cut off! i cooked up a storm and everything turned out wonderfully despite all of my doom and gloom predictions, which i make every year. we ate, we laughed, we drank a little and then of course we ate some more. i plan to spend most of tomorrow lounging on the sofa watching the law and order marathon and napping. i should probably throw a workout in there somewhere but i think that's being a little ambitious.

the day was incredibly busy. i planned on trying to get some proper shots of this great rachel roy dress(i got on sale plus the friends and family discount last week!!) it's the first time i've ever purchased anything from her collection and i am really pleased with both of the dresses i picked. one of kids managed to get this shot of me at some point during the day. the colors, the print and all the little details make this a really great dress. i'm hoping to get some better shots of it soon. have a wonderful day!

i am so thankful for finding love, the health of my family, a wonderful home filled with laughter and good food.

wishing for... and a few recent buys

i should have an outfit post for you later(yay!!). i thought i'd show you some of the lovelies i've been stalking on line. the air is beginning to chill so i've become obsessed with coats. i noticed this lovely on the forever 21 website a few days ago and it was love at first sight. maybe santa will put this under the tree for me.

of course he may think i've been naughty and that i don't deserve it because i bit the bullet and bought this adorable coat(in the navy color) already. it is seriously cute. i can't wait to wear it. and it was only $45(ish) so how could i refuse. because f21 aren't made for heavy duty cold and because i'm always freezing and tend to do lots of layers, i bought it in a medium so that i can fit my thicker sweaters underneath when it gets really cold here.

if you have seen anything on the rachel roy site now is the time to buy. from now until nov. 23 if you use the code "rrfriend" you get 30% off your entire purchase. i nabbed these two adorable dresses to wear for the holiday par-tay season. i can't wait to get them! as of now i'm officially on a "no more personal shopping" ban until after the holidays. what's on your christmas list?

technical difficulties

my camera finally went kaput!
this writing thing is insane. why, oh why, did i sign up for this?
not feeling very inspired but i hope to back before the end of the week.

the old(ish) lady and her shoes

details:

top/necklace~anthropologie

sweater~wal-mart

jeans/skinny belt~f21

shoes~steve madden

happy friday!!! this morning i woke up to beautiful and sunny day. it was one of those mornings where you feel like anything is possible. the office will be quiet today so i'm doing casual again.this morning it was all about the shoes. i love, love, love these nude patent leather pumps from steve madden.. i decided to wear these super skinny jeans from f21 to show off my shoes. i really like the zipper detail at the ankle. this top with a bubble hem is from anthropologie. i love all the bright and vibrant colors in this top and it gives a little bit of coverage to some of my "problem" areas. the shirt is sleeveless so a sweater was a must. this cute teal cardigan is a wal-mart find and was a whopping $9 so of course i bought it in three colors. i added the skinny belt to give my waist some definition and at the very last minute decided to wear my anthro necklace.

tomorrow night i'm having dinner with a group of girlfriends at a great restaurant and sunday i may try to squeeze in a pedicure but other than that we don't have anything big planned for the weekend. have a great weekend!

rhinestone cowboy

details:

wide leg jeans~target

plaid shirt~f21

shoes~jessica simpson

necklace~f21

sometimes after i get the kids off to school i crawl back under covers to catch a quick nap. umm...this morning's quick nap lasted forty-five freakin' minutes! needless to say i was running super late. i had nothing planned to wear so i pulled on these jeans. i bought this shirt a few weeks ago and i must say it is so comfy and cozy. i'm sure i'll wear it a lot this winter. the wide leg, plaid shirt and clog like shoe combination felt a little too....70s or maybe cowboy? i threw on all of this jewelry in effort to make it more modern and less of whatever it was before:) today is really a short work day for me then it's off to run errands. have a lovely day.