Cyber Monday!

I don't know about you, but I love to shop online. With today being Cyber Monday - there are TONS of deals out there...and this puts me in a pickle. I've challenged myself to only buy gifts for others this holiday season. Am I crazy?!? Apparently I like to punish myself. Typically, when I am shopping for someone else,  I end up buying at least one, maybe two (ok, three or four) things for myself. I'm a sucker for a good deal. To combat my personal shopping this weekend, I reorganized my closet in an attempt to "re-work" my pieces and organize what I have. You'd be surprised the pieces I "forgot" I had! 

I'm hoping it will feel like i've got new things to wear to all my holiday events. How about you? Do you shop online? Do you end up buying for yourself when shopping for others? I'll still be hitting the online stores today, but only for gifts for others. If you are shopping for yourself or others, here's a few good places to start.


Emersonmade : 20% off with code CyberMonday!Go!
Piperlime: 20% off entire purchase with code Lucky20
American Apparel: 20% off everything w/ code "MONDAYMADNESS"
APARTstyle: 50% off entire site with code 50daysale
TopShop: 20% off jeans, shoes, casual jackets, select dresses and free shipping
ASOS: Free shipping, 20% off ASOS brand
Amazon: Various site deals
Target: Various site deals


Happy Shopping!

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!  There are so many things I am thankful for, but most of all, I am thankful for my family and friends.  Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and spend it with those who mean the most to you!

Photo by Colin Michael

Photo by Colin Michael

Photo by Colin Michael

My babies - Riley and Coal

Do you Rue?

Having spent my weekend cooped up at home due to a bug I caught last week, Monday was the last thing I should have been looking forward to. But I couldn't wait for it! The second issue of Rue Magazine launched today! If you don't know what I'm talking about, check it out for yourself here. The hype surrounding this issues was it would be bigger and bolder than the first, and it didn't disappoint. Each page is jam packed with eye candy goodness (Check a few snippets below). There's something for everyone, no matter what your style esthetic. Take some time today to peruse the magazine. It will be time well spent. Just don't blame me if you have a sudden urge to redecorate your home or throw a fabulous, festive holiday party. Get inspired!

Retro decor... I see a themed holiday party in my future!

I'm rethininkg my home's color palette. This is so chic and elegant.

Photos courtesy of Rue Magazine

Looklet

It's Friday! Hope you've got fun plans for the weekend.  With Thanksgiving (and Holiday Party season) a week away, I've got holiday dressing on the mind and thinking about what I want to wear. 

I created the look above on Looklet. Their site is like digital fashion dolls for adults. It's fantastic! You can pull together outfits, layer clothes, accessorize, choose your model and your background. Check out my page on Looklet and let me know what you think, and while you're at it, let me know what you're planning to wear during the holidays!

Have a great weekend!

Get Well Soon

My dad had knee replacement surgery on Monday and it went as planned. He's in better spirits already - I think he's been in pain for quite some time. It's amazing what they can do these days and how much quicker the recovery time is. He's had knee surgery before, but it was shortly after I was born, so a lot has changed since them :) He's already in physical therapy and should be moving around more. It'll be a while before he has full mobility, but he won't be in pain anymore. Now, you know this meant I had to make a card, so here's a peek at the Get Well Card I made him.

Materials:
Paper: Green blank card (DCWV Brights boxed cards), Newsprint (Stamp'in Up), Green Printed Paper (Carolyn Gavin)
Stamps: Library Card, Framed - Dad (Papertrey Ink), Get Well Soon (Hero Arts)
Ink: Brushed Corduroy (Tim Holtz), Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Twine: Michaels

Indian Dinner

A few weeks back, my husband ran into a family friend from India visiting their daughter here in MN. Their daughter had a baby two weeks ago, and they invited us to meet them for dinner this past Sunday. There's nothing like homemade Indian food! We had goat curry, fried egg dosa and tandoor chicken. This was my first time having goat, and shockingly, I liked it. The whole evening was an experience for me, as the father only spoke Tamil. It was fascinating to watch my husband speak Tamil with them and then translate for me. He better get used to it, because when we go to India in January, he'll be doing that a lot for me.

With the new baby, I once again found myself looking for a gift in the baby department, this time at Target. Is it just me, or is everything adorable when shopping for little girls?. I went with the winter wear theme, seeing as we had just experienced the first snow fall.

Outerwear (Target)

Vest, Tunic, Leggings, Sleeper (Target)

I also took the opportunity to make them a card. You know how I like to get crafty.

Materials:

Paper: Paper Bag (Paper Source), Raspberry Fizz (Papertrey Ink), Polka dot papers (Carolyn Gavin)

Stamp: Framed (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Brushed corduroy (Tim Holtz), Process Red (Prisma color marker)

Embellishments: Grand Adhesions

Die: Mat Stack #4 (Papertrey Ink)

Rawr!

On top of the snow, Ukrainian Formal and Indian Dinner (more on that tomorrow), it was a busy weekend for us. We had a 1st Birthday Party for our friend's daughter, Claire. I consider Claire my niece (I'm an only child and need someone to shower with gifts). I have established myself as the fashion forward aunt who spoils her with fun (and not always practical) clothes! When I came across this adorable faux fur coat at Baby Gap, I knew she had to have it. I was tempted to get the red tutu to go under it, but I need to take baby steps with the fashion - don't want to freak mom and dad out! And the polka dot leggings, they make the outfit. She's going to be one little diva.

Faux Fur Coat, Sweater Dress and Leggings - Baby Gap

Old Man Winter

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. Here in MN, we got dumped on by old man winter, not fun.  

The snow didn't stop us from attending the 65th Anniversary Ukrainian Formal this past weekend. You'll recall, last week I posted I was in need of a purse for this outfit. I went with this fantastic clutch, from Banana Republic of all places (thanks Beckerman Girls for inspiring me to do more animal print than just the shoes!) Animal print seemed to be our theme, as my girlfriend was also decked out in a fantastic animal print gown.

Clutch, Banana Republic, $120

BCBG Dress, Cuff (Macy's), Earrings (Target)

Sam Edelman Shoes, Vintage Fur Capelet

Obessions of the week

Happy Friday Kids! Here's a peek at a few of the things I've been obsessing over this week. Have a great weekend!

1. EmersonMade. ~ EM BlueBells - Navy $188 emersonmade.com
2. Vintage Chanel Duffle Bag $3,026 - asos.com
3. The Lioness Breastplate by The Glamourai $425   shrimptoncouture.com
4. Elizabeth and James Holiday Skirt $245 - shopbop.com
5. Sophisticated 70's lookbook shopbop.com

Enjoy the Ride

A friends birthday snuck up on me two weeks ago and I finally got around to making the card. This one took some thought. I find it's always harder to make guys cards - they don't like any of the fashion things I like to make. Since he likes to ride his Harley any chance he gets, that was my inspiration. I hope he likes it.

Materials:
Cardstock: True Black, Orange Zest (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Colored Pencils: Stampin' Up Watercolor Pencils, Colorless Blender (Stampin' Up)
Stamps: Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink), Snoopy and his sidekick (Stampabilities)

Kettlebells

My trainer killed me at the gym last night, but in a good way. I've been going to Sarah (my trainer) for a few years now, and can honestly say never felt/looked better. Those who know me, know I'm a cardio junkie (believe it or not, I was a sports med major in college and ran cross country). The switch to working out with weights has been a new challenge for me. But, I've got to say, I LOVE kettlebells! If you haven't tried them, you should. But, only with a certified trainer. Check out the recent post here by sarah on kettlebells, and if you live in the Minneapolis area, check her out. She's the best!

Formal

Saturday, I'm attending a 65th Anniversary Ukrainian Formal with a girlfriend. I don't go to many events where I can wear a full length gown, so I'm bursting with excitement! Usually it's cocktail attire and I go for short and flirty. It took me a while to find one I really loved, but here it is:

BCBG Dark Navy dress $328

With the dress being as simple as it is, I went with these shoes (just got them today - Love you Zappos!):

Sam Edelman Novato $99

I really wanted these, but with a trip to India at the beginning of the year, I need to watch my spending!

YSL Tribute Sandal $1090

Now I need a purse!  Thoughts on what I should wear? Comment below. I'll post pictures next week of what I decided.

Cute as a button

It's been a while since I've posted a card project - mainly because I've been so busy I haven't had time to work on any. A friend's sweet little girl turns one this weekend and when I got the invite to her party, I knew I had to make her a card. The invite was done in green and brown, and coincidently, I had just received my new green ribbons, buttons and paper from Papertrey Ink.

With the color scheme in mind, I set out to create a simple card. I think it turned out sweet, yet still chic. What do you think?

Materials used:
Paper: New Leaf, Pine Feather, White (all Papertrey Ink)
Ribbon: Pine Feather (Papertrey Ink)
Buttons: Pine Feather (Papertrey Ink)
Dies: Mat Stack 4 (Papertrey Ink), Bigz Top Note (Sizzix for Stampin' Up), Happy Birthday (Sizzix)
Stamp: Duck (Inkadinkadoo), Candle (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Timber Brown, Jet Black (Staz-on)
Markers: Eggshell, Sunburst Yellow, Pale Vermillion, Apple Green (all Prismacolor)

Beer Bread

Every week, my friends and I get together to watch Glee. Yes, I'm a Gleek and proud of it! I adore the show and loved the Rocky Horror Picture Show last week. When I realized this week's episode was a repeat (due to the elections - you voted right?!?!) I felt I needed to provide a little goodness to snack on while we watched live(!) TV instead of Tivo. I decided to make Beer Bread. Not just any beer bread, super duper easy beer bread by Tastefully Simple. Tastefully Simple is a local company that sells mixes for appetizers, dips, breads, soups, etc that take only a few ingredients and little effort to make. Simple enough! All I needed was a package of mix and a bottle of beer.  Delicious!!!

Dummies

My dad has graciously offered to let me use his Nikon D90 camera for the next few weeks. He's having knee surgery and won't be needing it much for a while. Since I've never used a SLR camera before, I need to learn how they work. What better way to learn than with the "for dummies" series. I suppose a class would be good too, so maybe I'll look into that later. Here's a few pictures I took (before reading the book, using the auto setting). Look for more picture posts this month as I try out all the features this toy has to offer.