To all those who are celebrating today: MERRY CHRISTMAS!  To everyone who isn't, I hope you are enjoying a nice day off work! :)

Just wanted to take a few moments this morning to wish everyone in the US a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you get to spend it with your loved ones! I'll be at my Grandmother's today and then celebrating on Saturday at my Aunt's! AND tomorrow we go get our Christmas Tree: YAY!!!

Since I don't go out (trick-or-treating or partying,) it is not one of my favorite holidays to celebrate, but I LOVE the time leading up to Halloween. All through October I watch my favorite Halloween themed movies over and over and over. Who doesn't love Casper, Hocus Pocus, Teen Witch, Halloweentown and all the other fun movies we watched as kids? (I don't do scary movies)

Reusing some photos from last year to celebrate. (I STILL haven't actually worn this at a Halloween party, I don't get invited to parties, haha...I did wear it to the office last year, without the hat.) So, here I am as Willy Wonka!

Dress: ASOS, Jacket: Gap (Coco's), Bow: Made by Mom, Hat: eBay, Booties: no.704b. (DSW)

image source

A Merry and Happy Christmas to all who are celebrating! I hope you enjoy the day with whoever you're spending it with.



Photos from Harper's Bazaar

Since it's Thursday I decided to do a throwback post of some past Holiday looks! For the past 2 years I've worn my burgundy velvet Theory pants, maybe this year I'll give them a break. As you will also notice, I have a thing for velvet. Definitely one of my favorite fabrics, especially for the holiday season.

Work Holiday Party 2012

Various Family Christmas Parties 2012

Christmas Eve 2011

Even older:

We're getting really close to Christmas so holiday parties are starting to pile up. Below are a few suggestions on what you can wear! You can go dressy, casual or a mix of both. I'm more of a mixer myself dpending on where I'm going.

Dress: Notte by Marchesa dress, Jean-Michel Cazabat pumps, Alexander Wang clutch, Elizabeth Cole necklace, Chanel Cinema nail vernis, Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Espirit,

Pants: Alexander Wang pumps, Iris & Ink sweater,  Stella McCartney pants, Bijoux Heart earrings, Leighton Denny Golden Girl nail polish

Skirt: Richard Nicoll skirt, Iris & Ink top, Skaist-Taylor blazer, Saint Laurent heels, Elizabeth Cole earrings, Elizabeth Cole necklace

Happy 4th of July to all my fellow American's! I hope you are spending the day doing something fun with friends and family! To get us in the mood, some patriotic street style looks:


Photos from The Sartorialist

Here are the outfits I wore for Easter this past Sunday. Yes, I said outfits. I couldn't decide what to wear so I wore one for church and the other to go to my Grandma's. They both centered around my $2 Valentino jacket, figured I should get some more wear out of it while I can.

Jacket: Valentino via The Outnet $2 Birthday sale, Dress: Jason Wu for Target, Heels: Marc by Marc Jacobs (net-a-porter End of Season sale), Watch: Skagen (Rue La La)

And outfit number 2.  This one cost $22 if you don't count the shoes. If you count the shoes it was $102, so still not too shabby for all the designer names.

Jacket: Valentino via The Outnet $2 Birthday sale, Skirt: J.McLaughlin (Coco's), Top: Emanuel Ungaro (Coco's), Heels: Lanvin (Roundabout Resale), Watch: Skagen (Rue La La)

Chocolate and flowers only last a few days, so today I'm highlighting some Valentine’s Day gifts that will leave a lasting impression all year long. Whether it’s jewelry helping employ marginalized women in Ethiopia and India, to shoes providing education to women in Uganda, these eco-friendly, fair-trade and humanitarian brands offer great gifts perfect for that special someone in your life.

Raven + Lily is a socially and environmentally responsible accessories company that uses 100% of their profits from sales to achieve their social cause, which is empowering women through design. This means employing marginalized women with fair trade, sustainable income, launching new partnerships, and funding healthcare and educational needs in their partnership communities.

Zuriash Scarf, Neary T-Shirt, Uzma Travel Journal, Tiffany Kunz Necklace

Sseko Designs (who I have featured on the blog before) uses fashion to provide employment and scholarship opportunities to women pursuing their dreams and overcoming poverty in Uganda. Sseko Designs began as a line of sandals, which consists of a leather sandal base and a wide range of interchangeable straps that can be tied hundreds of ways. They now offer a sandal line, wedding line, clutches and sandal accessories.

Allya Sandal, Saddle Clutch, Accent Tote, Classic Strap Collection

31 Bits (another brand I have featured before) also benefits women in Uganda by helping them rise above poverty.  They offer handmade bracelets and necklaces made from recycled paper.  More recently they have begun to offer a handbag and headbands adorned with the beads.

Westerly Clutch, Sweetheart Bracelet, Razzle Dazzle Necklace, Daphne Bracelets (I wear these ALL the time, old colors though)

2012 was full of fun events like LuckyFABB and adventures with friends, like my second trip to London (more) for the opening of the Harry Potter Studio Tour and camping!

Then there were also the family vacations to Myrtle Beach and my cousin's wedding, definitely some great memories.

I also left my old job and started a new one, which is still growing and changing with each day.

I am looking forward to see how much my life changes over the next year. It's going to be crazy!

What are your most memorable 2012 moments?

Just popping in to say a quick HAPPY CHRISTMAS to everyone! I hope those of you who celebrate have a wonderful day with family and/or friends! We had Christmas Eve at my house last night and today we're heading to church and then my Grandmother's.

White Christmas

Today's gift guide is for the girl who likes all things timeless! She likes high quality pieces that will last a lifetime and doesn't like to skimp on basics.  Classic means different things for different people, but the general idea is the same: basic shapes that never go out of style (but I believe they can be any color!) Here are some pieces that a classic girl would love, I wouldn't mind them either. ;)

Jimmy Choo - Gilbert Pumps
Proenza Schouler - PS11
Frame Denim Jeans (I REALLY want these!)
Yves Saint Laurent Dress
Alex Monroe Heart Ring
Victoria Beckham Sunglasses

Welcome to my first gift guide of the year! I'm not exactly sure how many I'll be doing, but there will be at least one. ;)  This past Friday while I was at Marshalls I found a perfect gift for someone who loves books and thought I should form a gift guide around it!  It's a Penguin Threads book; Penguin redesigned some covers of classic books to make it look like they had been sewn on, they also have a really cool texture to them.  I picked up a copy of Little Women for myself because it's one of my favorite films and I don't have a copy of the book.
Little Women $11
In Vogue hardcover book $75
Amazon.com Gift Card
Kindle Case $29
Linda Farrow Luxe Glasses $630

I don't think it's any secret that I LOVE chocolates. So when Epiphany Chocolates offered to send me a sample of their new Holiday drink inspired flavors I was quite excited.  These new flavors will be part of the "Get Cozy" collection.

I was first introduced to Epiphany by way of my LuckyFABB Gift Bag and loved how decadent they were. They create handmade chocolates inspired by creative flavors, audacious adventures and passionate people. Imagine handmade soft center nudges enrobed in chocolate with unique, surprising flavors and a signature keepsake box.

Details on the Holiday 2012 flavors are below.  My personal favorite was the Sgt Peppermint but my mom loved Her Hot Toddy.  I was nice and shared the chocolates with my family, but I made sure to eat one of each ;)

THE BIG KAHLUA
Kahlua Fudge
Dreaming of an island getaway? Grab your swimsuit and sunnies...surfs up! A taste of cool Kahlua drenched in white chocolate and a little piece of macadamia nut heaven. You will be one tiki chic. Alo-ha!

HER HOT TODDY
Buttered Rum Fudge
Naughty or nice this year? Either way, this is undeniably one hot toddy. Baby, it's cold outside so warm up with buttered rum enrobed in rich milk chocolate. Winter RX: Sip chocolate, it'll soothe body and soul.


SGT PEPPERMINT
Peppermint Mocha Fudge
Beware: Visions of sugarplums may dance in your head with one taste of this cozy combo...pepperminty mocha covered in rich dark chocolate with candy cane crunch on top. You may just leap across the room to salute this sassy sergeant.

To share the holiday cheer, Epiphany Chocolates will be sending one of my readers an 18-Piece box of their "Get Cozy" collection with new holiday flavors! 

The giveaway is open to my readers in the United States AND Canada and will close on December 4th. Epiphany have also offered you 25% off an order from now until December 31st with code SPARKLE25!

Mandatory Entry: You must be a follower of my blog with google or bloglovin. Don't forget your email.

Bonus Entries: Leave one comment for EACH additional entry. Each comment counts as an entry so if you put all your extra entries in one comment that only counts as 1 entry...

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I quickly want to wish everyone in the US a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are spending the day with loved ones.  I will be at my Grandmother's for lunch and then it's off to my Aunt's for dinner. I'm going to be full for a week ;)

Happy Halloween everyone!!! I hope you have a day full of candy, scary (or non-scary for me) movies and fun!  Sadly I will be at work and won't get home until 8 so I won't be able to have my usual movie marathon. I'll have to pick my absolute favorite one (probably Casper or Hocus Pocus)

And now I leave you with this bewitching photo of Emma Watson from the October 2008 issue of Harpers Bazaar.  She is wearing Alexander McQueen (who can also be seen in the window and crystal ball.

Happy Labor Day, everyone! As we all know, Labor Day is the holiday that pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers [x]. BUT most of us use it to celebrate the end of Summer and beginning of Fall.  I think both of these are reason to celebrate this wonderful day.

What I don't agree with, however, is the no white after labor day rule.  I was reading a blog the other day, unfortunately I can't remember which it was, and the author said she tried to find the source of the "rule" and couldn't find a definitive source. I have never abided by the rule, but I don't have much white in my wardrobe as it is, just a big chunky sweater.

Here are some great ways to wear white in the upcoming months!  I am recreating the first look with the aforementioned sweater and a skirt my mom and I just completed!


Photos from Style.com [I went through 157 of over 300 pages of looks, ha ha]