Stella & Dot Earring Giveaway

Y’all may have seen me wearing these beautiful Stella & Dot baubles here, here and here.  I love that they can be worn two different ways, as chandeliers and as studs.  Not to mention that I can’t get enough of royal blue right now…if Eva Longoria looks so fab in royal blue why can’t I?

Because I’m just like Eva Longoria.

Not.  She could fit in my pocket.  But only in the pocket of my post-holiday jeans…which is about all I’m fitting into right now.

I’m so excited to share that today Stella & Dot is offering a credit giveaway that you can use toward your own sparkly baubles!

MUST BE A FOLLOWER OF CARRIE BRADSHAW LIED TO ENTER

(via Google Friend Connect on right sidebar) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much for reading and entering!  If you have your eye on a particular S&D piece, let me know in the comments which one you’re after!  I’m always looking to shop, and jewelry always fits.  XO –

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Friday’s Five

– this too cute macaroon lip balm –

– this personalized clutch that I can’t take my hands off of and some Christmas baubles (vintage shoe clips and Ameera Noor tassel necklace) –

– said clutch and necklace paired with my Molly Jane Designs cuff, Gap coated denim, Forever21 vest and Nine West boots –

sequined mini skirt

– sequined mini skirts that are the apple of my eye –

– fresh asparagus for an (attempted) week of healthy eating –

I’m sad that the holiday weeks are over!!  I have definitely been enjoying taking these mid-week breaks, although it does make it harder to go back to work, right?  2014 is here and giving all of us a fresh start. Some things I plan to work on this year (even if it’s just in January, sssshhh don’t tell) are:

  • Be more mindful and intentional with the foods I’m putting into my body.
  • Take more time to enjoy the small things and the present and put away the electronics.
  • Spend more time outside.
  • Take a photography class.
  • Go to more wine tastings.
  • Perfect homemade granola bars for Christian.
  • Find a townhouse to move into that has a sunny spot for a lemon tree.
What are some of the things you want to work on this year?  Do share, you might inspire me to add to my list!  I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Year’s Eve and here’s to the weekend!  Thanks so much for reading – XO –
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Cheers to 2013

 

Some of my favorite moments and looks from 2013!  Cheers to one of the best years of my life and a huge thank you to all of you for being a part of this journey with me.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Happy New Year to you and yours!! Thank you so much for reading – XO –
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Sparkle this NYE

 

 

Have a fabulous (and safe) time celebrating tonight!  Tis the season to bring out your sparkle, so I’ll be in sequins sipping champagne with my honey.  Is it just me or were the best NYE celebrations in college?  Surrounded by your best friends and little responsibilities, oh the memories.

Above are some of my favorite sequined looks right now.  Lucky for us, sequins are year-round pieces.  Cheers to that!  Thanks so much for reading – XO –

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Friday’s Five

– watching ice skaters in Bryant Park –

– the most amazing, life changing, rich hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted –

– a Christmas dinner on our china…with Bailey watching VERY close by –

– blue hydrangeas –

– taking this reindeer to the beach on Christmas day –

As I write this post I have a belly full of leftovers and New Years resolutions to eat healthier and exercise more…pretty standard post-feast mindset, am I right?  We had a great week, Christian even got off of work around 10:30am on Christmas Eve so we were able to spend both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day together!  This was such an unexpected treat and I was so grateful to have that time with him, making our own little traditions and memories.

The Christmas decorations have already been taken down and stored away for next year and we are back to work and reality, but that break sure was nice!  Now we have NYE to look forward to, and I’ll probably be wearing this outfit. How was your Christmas and what are you planning for NYE?  Thank you so much for reading!! I hope y’all had a very special Christmas with the ones you love – XO –

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Merry Christmas Y’all

 

Merry Christmas y’all!! I hope you have plans to spend this year’s holiday with people you love. Christian is working today and I am volunteering to serve at a local soup kitchen with a friend and will spend tomorrow with Christian, cooking our families recipes and skyping with them to see everyone’s Christmas excitement.  Our second Christmas as a married couple and we’re already starting our own traditions with our little California Christmas!  A littler earlier than I anticipated, but y’all have really helped me feel better about it with all of your sweet comments and stories of your own misplaced Christmases.  I can’t thank you enough for that!

Thank you so much for going along on this journey with us and for all of your kind words, emails, encouragement and love. This blog has brought me so much happiness and a huge part of that is getting to know all of you.  It’s so refreshing to see so many women supporting other women, and I thank you for being positive and supportive women in my life.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas to you and yours – XO –

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Friday’s Ten

sunset on the airplane

 

– packing for (and arriving to) NYC –

 

bryant park at christmas
– the city lights in Bryant Park –

 

christmas in new york
– having dinner at Rosa Mexicano with some of my best girlfriends and NY girls –

 

eggnog latte

– subway rides and eggnog lattes –

 

christmas boat tour

– a Christmas boat tour to see the decorated homes and yachts on the Newport Harbor –

apple pie shots

– trying out this apple pie shot recipe –

whole food wreath

– wreath shopping with my guy at Whole Foods –

christmas rose

– rosé to celebrate the end of some big work projects –

xo necklace

– this perfectly darling XO necklace from INPink  –

kinky boots musical

– seeing the amazing and Tony Awards Best Musical 2013 Kinky Boots (another great snippet here) –

A special Friday’s Ten since it’s so close to Christmas with so much happening this week!!  I was excited to have a short work week, heading to New York with my parents on Wednesday.   Christian had to stay home and work, and while he’s definitely missed, it is really wonderful to spend some quality time with my parents during the holiday season.  It’s so crazy to be here knowing that in January, Christian interviewed at NYU for his medical residency in ear, nose and throat.  God certainly had a plan that He revealed in His time, and I have a lot of love for Cali, but boy…this city is one of a kind.  I’ve always loved the attitude and energy of NY, even though it’s crowded.  So very crowded.  I’ve taken so many great photos that I can’t wait to share with y’all – stay tuned!

What are you doing this weekend to prep for the holidays?  I hope you have a festive weekend plan. When I get home I plan to grocery shop to prep for our Christmas meal – grape leaves, steaks, mashed potatoes, asparagus and homemade rolls with Christian’s favorite heath bar cake for dessert.  What do you typically eat with your family for Christmas?

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 weekend – XO –

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Chicken Enchilada Soup

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 –

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Party Shorts

 

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!

 

shorts – Forever21 / top – SheInside | booties – BCBG | tassel necklace – INPink (c/o) | druzy necklace – Molly Jane Designs (c/o) | earrings – Stella & Dot (c/o) | cuff – Etsy | ring – La Dama | pave chainlink bracelet – J. Girls Jewels (c/o) / eyeshadow – Urban Decay Moondust shadow in Diamond Dog / lipstick – Urban Decay Jilted

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 –

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Stickygram Phone Case

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 –

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Santa Barbara Vineyard Hopping

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 –

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Friday’s Five

– watching an incredible sunset with Christian –

– a Christmas coke –

 

– shopping in a local record shop for some vinyls for our new Tiffany’s blue record player (!!!) –

 

– 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 –

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