I love taco soup, tortilla soup, black bean soup – name a Mexican soup or stew and I’m all over it. When I read this crock pot chicken enchilada soup recipe I knew I had to give it a try. Especially because I’m always looking for new crock pot recipes to make my life a little easier and Christian actually loves crock pot recipes. Go figure!
I really love the enchilada twist on this soup – it’s so good and filling and definitely doesn’t taste like your usual taco soup. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
Yum. I’ll be using this recipe again. I was glad to cook a big batch for the hubs before I left him for NYC. Thanks so much for reading and don’t forget to enter the L.Mae Boutique $250 shopping spree giveaway and The Shelf $500 Zara Giveaway!! XO –
You may remember seeing a snippet of this post during the Molly Jane Designs giveaway. I also actually wore this same ensemble to the Kendra Scott holiday event last week but added a black fur vest!
These silk shorts are so lightweight and comfortable, it’s been a lot of fun layering them to create different looks.Have you dressed up shorts for any holiday parties or get togethers this year? Tell me how you to style your favorite pair – I’d love to get some inspiration from you!
I LOVED all of y’alls instagram and blog comments on yesterday’s wacky one-armed sweater. You had me cracking up! I totally get that it’s different and not for everyone, but it was just too interesting not to share.
Thanks so much for reading and don’t forget to enter the L.Mae Boutique $250 shopping spree giveaway and The Shelf $500 Zara Giveaway! Happy Holidays to you and yours – XO –
I absolutely love the magnets I have on both my fridge and at work that I created with StickyGram – they are both cheerful and functional. So when StickyGram reached out and shared their new personalized cell phone cases, I knew I wanted to try them out.
You can choose between iPhone, iPad, Galaxy devices, being given several photo layout options for each. Upload your instagram photos and choose the images for your cell phone case and voila!
StickyGram is offering 10% off custom cell phone cases for CBL readers with code CBL10! Check it out and see what you think – I’ve had so much fun with mine! What a cute iPad case, right?
For those of you in the Orange County area, I would love to see you tonight at the Kendra Scott Fashion Island holiday event! Receive 15% off your purchase and sip champagne with some of OC’s local bloggers. Thanks for reading and happy shopping! XO –
I shared the first part of our anniversary trip to Santa Barbara here and today I wanted to share our tour of the surrounding vineyards! I’ve always wanted to visit a vineyard and knew when we moved to California that experiencing wineries and vineyards was something I wanted to do sooner rather than later. I must say that I was so impressed with the beautiful wineries outside of Santa Barbara. Both the tasting rooms and vineyards were absolutely gorgeous and I’m already dying to go back!
We visited Koehler, Foley, Kalyra and Summerland. We also made a stop at Santa Barbara Winery on our way out of town. I definitely want to go back and spend more time in Los Olivos in all of the tasting rooms – still dying to visit Sarloos and Sons.
And then we bought seven bottles of wine.
Do you have a favorite central coast vineyard or California wine? Do share! Thanks so much for reading – XO –
– having Christian (cleanest eater on the planet) teach me how to eat pho in public –
– bedside flowers that are so fragrant to wake up to –
When you work in retail during the holidays, the weeks fly by so quickly it’s quite frightening. In fact, I can already tell I much prefer the Decembers I’ve had in years past compared to this year’s…a little too crazy for this homebody! I’ve buckled down with my holiday shopping list because I know that if I don’t get it done now…it will most likely never get done. When in doubt, hello Amazon. Do any of you feel this way? Right now the highlight of my mornings though is this Coffeemate creamer in my coffee every morning. I found it through Pretty in Pink Megan’s instagram and I’m addicted! I have GOT to try that eggnog latte creamer STAT! It’s the little things, y’all.
Thanks so much for reading and don’t forget to enter the Molly Jane Designs cowhide cuff giveaway (see photos of her beautiful baubles below)! Have a beautiful weekend and please enjoy these lovely days of December and don’t let them fly by too quickly. I’m going to try to do the same for myself!! XO –
It was so nice to get away with Christian to celebrate our recent one year anniversary. Does this outfit look familiar from Monday’s (and yesterday’s) post? We had originally wanted to visit my brother and his family in San Francisco before hitting Napa, but I had some important work meetings I couldn’t miss, so we moved our SF + Napa trip to spring and chose to hit up Santa Barbara and the surrounding vineyards instead.
I didn’t realize it until we had the chance to get away, but it was so nice to spend some quality time with Christian again. He works around the clock and the three or four days we have together a month are usually spent with him fighting to stay awake. When we actually had the chance to spend some real time together, I kept telling him I had forgotten how funny he is!
Before we made our way to the resort, we made a quick stop in beautiful Ojai. I couldn’t help but want to look for Nora and the Walker family…but sadly couldn’t find them. Not even Saul!
A drive into Santa Barbara to eat at one of Julia Child’s favorite spots, La Super Rica Tacqueria.
I always save corks from special occasions and write the reason for the champagne celebration on them. It’s such a special keepsake and I have a cork wreath displaying several of our “special corks” for celebrated evenings – you may have seen it on my apartment tour!
Do you have any favorite spots in Santa Barbara or favorite hotels? Thanks so much for reading and stay tuned next week for some photos from our visits to tasting rooms and vineyards. Don’t forget to enter the Molly Jane Design cowhide cuff giveaway!! XO –
By now, you have seen a lot of jewelry by Molly Jane Designs on the blog. I am absolutely infatuated with her baubles, made from natural minerals and gemstones that she handpicks herself. A Southern girl with impeccable taste, Molly Jane creates beautiful and unique statement pieces that can be worn on any occasion.
I adore her druzy cocktail rings, cowhide cuffs (hello GORGEOUS!) and pendant necklaces, and below you will see how I’ve styled these pieces.
Check out these stunning photos from the most recent Molly Jane Designs photo shoot. Swoon!
Today, Molly Jane Designs is offering CBL readers the chance to win a cowhide cuff!! Too good to be true, right? We’re taking this giveaway to instagram, and here’s how you enter:
Giveaway will run today – Monday, December 9th at midnight. The winner will be announced Wednesday, December 11th.
MUST BE A FOLLOWER OF CARRIE BRADSHAW LIED TO ENTER
Christian absolutely loves a big breakfast. Breakfast is a meal I usually skip. However, when at a beautiful hotel, having a big brunch is mandatory in our book.
While in Santa Barbara for our anniversary trip, we looked forward to having a big resort brunch at The Bistro at the Bacara. I shared a little bit of this on instagram, but as we sat together overlooking the ocean, drinking coffee and reading sections of the LA Times, I couldn’t believe where a year has brought us.
So much has changed, and while we do miss certain things about home, we are enjoying having such a adventurous experience together. I’m trying to cling tight to these adventures to help me from getting too homesick while seeing everyone share photos with their families over the holidays. Christian (in addition to our furry babies) is my new family and we’re learning to make our own little traditions.
Thank you for reading and to anyone who has had a small and intimate Christmas – please share with me what made it so special! Also, some Cyber Monday deals shared here. XO –
– seeing Justin Timberlake for the second time since we moved to Cali this summer –
– our teeny tiny coffee table Christmas tree –
Remember last week when I said I was skipping Friday’s Five today? I lied. Too many sweet photos I wanted to share and I just can’t stay away from CBL try as I might!On Wednesday night, Christian and I saw Justin Timberlake at the Honda Center in Anaheim. This summer the Legends of the Summer tour was a totally different feel (mentioned here). The audience was mostly divided JT/Jay Z fans and there weren’t any backup dancers or much of a production.
This concert was all the contrary, taking me back to Justin seven years ago with FutureSex/LoveSounds. Lights! Dancers! The stage detaching and moving over the audience! Justin’s Thanksgiving and Mickey Mouse Club stories! The concert went on past midnight and it’s safe to say that it was one of the best nights I’ve had since I moved to California.
I was so thrilled to have the experience with Christian, who was actually able to come with since the Honda Center is just a mile or so from the hospital – he changed out of his scrubs in the car!I had a fun-filled Friendsgiving with lots of good eats and lots of good drinks. It was so special to be able to spend Thanksgiving with friends (and even with family since my cousin lives in OC) since we aren’t able to make it back to the South for the holidays. I’m thankful for a short work week and lots of time to shop online!! Speaking of, some Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals below:
Alice + Olivia | 25% off sitewide 11/28 – 12/2 Ann Taylor | 40% off entire purchase with code GET40 11/29 – 12/1 Asos | take 20% off sitewide with code GIMME20 11/28 – 12/2 French Connection | save 30% off total purchase + free ground shipping on orders over $150 with code W13COUPON 11/27 – 12/2 Gap – 50% off everything with code BLCKFRIDAY GiGi New York | receive a phone wallet with the purchase of a full size handbag today, 11/29! Henri Bendel | save 25% off your order of $100 or more and receive a $20 Splurge Card with every purchase with code TURKEY25 11/29 – 12/1 J.Crew – 30% off everything with code HOLIDAY Urban Outfitters | save an extra 50% off all sale merchandise
I hope everyone had a beautiful holiday surrounded by the people you love. Have a wonderful weekend and eat plenty of leftovers. Speaking of, remember the Friends episode with Ross and the Thanksgiving sandwich? Love that episode.
I’m so proud to announce my sister’s Etsy shop, Sarah Thorne Creates! Our mom is an artist and has been painting oil paintings and crafting since before we were born (there’s a lot of CBL Mom art in my apartment tour).
We may be pulling from the same gene pool, but my sister, Sarah Thorne, definitely inherited the artsy gene. She has some serious skills with both the paintbrush and mixed media, while I like to think I use my artsy gene with pairing clothes! Not to mention that my sister-in-law, Anna, also has some serious artsy talent. So basically….I’m the only one coming in at nada.
In writing this post I’m realizing that these are the most recent good photos of my sister and I…from a YEAR ago. That needs to be fixed! It’s just so hard to take sister pics over facetime. They usually involve me getting my niece to facetime with Bailey and Lula LaShonda…not kidding.
But back to art. I am a huge fan of Etsy and supporting artists and small businesses. Not only can you really score some unique pieces, but you also can find something so original and custom. You can’t beat that! Sarah Thorne has so many charming (and sparkly!) pieces at extremely affordable prices – a great Christmas gift idea! Some of my personal favorites:
Check out Sarah Thorne Creates and let me know what you think. See something you like but want it in a different size? Contact ST for a custom quote.
Thank you for reading and shopping! If you like the shop, be sure to add it to your favorites. XO –
– these headphones given to me by my sweet hubs so he can snooze while I catch up on my Housewives –
– a beautiful hike in Laguna –
– meeting the incredibly kind and fun Tamra Barney Judge at the Kendra Scott Fashion Island holiday launch –
– this cute fellow outside the Kitson at Fashion Island –
Welcome to the weekend! Christian has begun working nights and so we now get to spend about an hour together a day…bleh. I am so envious of couples who both have normal jobs and actually get to go to dinner and hang out regularly! They say absence makes the heart grow fonder…is that even if your married? Caroline Manzo (Real Housewives of New Jersey) seems to think so.
Speaking of the Real Housewives, I had the pleasure of being invited to attend the Kendra Scott LUXE Collection launch party on Tuesday evening at Fashion Island, meeting both Kendra Scott and….TAMRA BARNEY-JUDGE of the Real Housewives of Orange County. Can I say I’ve never been so starstruck? Y’all know I watch every show on Bravo!, especially all of my housewives. Tamra was so kind and approachable, talking to me about where I moved from, what I do, etc. She even grabbed my hand to compliment my engagement ring! She’s even more hilarious and fabulous in person than I thought she was and now I’m an even bigger fan (if that’s even possible). I now just need to find Vicki and Heather and my OC Housewife dreams are complete.
I plan to have some girlfriend and fall weather time this weekend. What are your plans? Do you watch the Real Housewives of OC? Who’s your favorite? I’ve been watching the new Beverly Hills ladies and I think I have a huge crush on Joyce. She’s so beautiful I can hardly look at her. I love some pageant girls! Talk to me. Give me your real housewife confessions. A HUGE thank you to reader Rachel B. who shared that RHBH vulture.com article with me last Friday. ABSOLUTELY hilarious – a new one for this week’s recap! Thank you so much for reading – have a beautiful weekend! XO –
PS – Who else is obsessed with this Lady Gaga Fashion! track on her new album? I literally think I’ve listened to it 25x.
When I heard Skin Laundry had opened shop in Newport Beach, I was interested to learn more about it. With locations in West Hollywood and Santa Monica, Skin Laundry has opened it’s third location at Fashion Island and today y’all will get a sneak peek inside the beautiful salon!
Skin Laundry’s concept is created around getting a fabulous facial treatment in just 10 minutes. Using laser treatments, the trained nurses tighten and tone the skin on your face and neck by stimulating collagen and elastin production. The treatment cleans out your pores, ridding bacteria, dirt and makeup residue and leaving you with an even, glowing complexion.
I’ve never had a laser treatment and was surprised how easy and noninvasive it was. Skin Laundry charges the same fee for all clients regardless of your skin condition and even better? First time clients receive a complimentary first session! You can read more FAQ about the salon and treatment here.
If you’re in Southern California, check out Skin Laundry and let me know what you think! They accept both appointments and walk-ins, so drop in any time. Thanks so much for reading – XO
