Thankful It's the Weekend

This week has been a whirl wind.. so much going on and so much to do!  Here are some of the notable happenings from the week:

1.  My daughter Shaylee performed in her end of the semester theater class review of Sound of Music, she was a nun and a very cute one at that!

2. Shaylee also got to be in her school's spelling bee.. she placed in the top 5 of her entire school!

3.  I got to go on Shaylee's (it was a big week for her!!)  special chorus choir tour as a parent helper and spend the day watching her sing! 

4. I am super thankful that my stylist is also my friend, so when I forgot about my appointment to color my roots, he called me and still fit me in.. in spite of his busy schedule!

5.  I helped host a girly "Kansas City Pinup Girls"  Christmas Party.  So much fun to get dressed up and laugh and exchange gifts with good friends.

6.  I exchanged Christmas gifts with my best friend, I was excited to give her goodies, and I was blown away with the gifts she showered on me!  She gave me  three amazing eye shadow pallets that I have been drooling over for months.  She also gave me two adorable coffee mugs ( she knows how much a cute coffee cup can cheer me up on a bad day)  and some amazing holiday tea!  It feels good to get a gift that actually took a lot of thought, and memory of things I had mentioned I loved.  I have the BEST best friend!!! 

7.  I tried to throw my husband a surprise birthday "gathering" it wasn't really a party.. but it was a dinner outing with friends in honor of his birthday. His birthday is actually Christmas day.. so he always kind of gets the birthday shaft. I really wanted to do at least a little something for him.  Unfortunately, I sort of gave away the surprise an hour or so before we were supposed to leave... then the weather got HORRIBLE (freezing rain, and ice rink roads)  We had to drive a good distance to meet our friends, we made a wrong turn, and went about 10 miles out of the way, and then to avoid hitting another car that cut us off, we ended up sliding into a curb and breaking my hubcap.   Dinner was great, but we didn't get to go to the movie we wanted to because the theater closed down due to the horrid weather.  The drive home was one of the worst drives of my life!  Our car lost control on over pass and was sliding so close to the edge that just dropped off to a huge, steep embankment!!  We ended up just spending the night at my grandma's house instead of driving all the way home.  The thankful part of this.. is that we didn't die.. haha, and that my dog actually didn't poop in the house after being home alone over night.


Now, Christmas is coming!!!!  I have all my gifts bought!  Just have to do a little cleaning, a little wrapping, and a little cooking!  I hope you all have a great week, and a very merry Christmas!!

Wardrobe Wednesday: Red, Black, and White Elephant

I am a sucker for dressing for an occasion, and for me going to a Christmas party.. even if it is  a very casual white-elephant gift exchange party.. is still something to plan an outfit for!   This ensemble was perfect, because it is very laid back and casual, it speaks to my vintage style, and the red and white plaid print just screams "have a holly, jolly, Christmas" to me. To add a touch of fun and whimsy, I paired it with a polka dot cardi.. mixing prints is a fun way to give a splash of "not too serious, but still fashion-minded" to any outfit!  

The best thing about this outfit is probably it's tiny price tag!  I picked up the vintage day dress at a re-sale shop for only $7.  I snagged the cardigan at a Forever 21 clearance sale for $5, and I won the boots from B.A.I.T. Footwear for free by reposting one of their instagram photos in a share contest.  That means the outfit was on only $12!  I am a firm believer in the fact that you don't need a ton of money to dress with style, sometimes you just need to be a little creative, and a savvy shopper.

 

 

 

Psst... remember this dress?  I blogged about it a few months ago back in September, look how different it looks with just slightly different styling!  The key to a good wardrobe piece is versatility.  If you can't think of at least 3 different ways to style something, you may not need to adopt it into your wardrobe.  I can still think of many more ways to wear this dress!  It was definitely a good find!

Take Me Away {for the Holidays} Kansas City

For  Take Me Away Tuesday, holiday edition, I thought that I would change things up, and take YOU away, to my hometown... Kansas City!  KC is one of the greatest little cities to be in during Christmas. You can see the Kansas City Ballet preform the Nutcracker, or maybe visit Arrowhead Stadium and see the Chiefs in action, or take in some beautiful fine art at The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.    From the beautiful mayor's Christmas tree and giant toy display at Crown Center, to the beautiful toy train display in Union Station, to the famous Country Club Plaza's famous lights.. Kansas City comes alive this time of year!  So today, won't you come away to Kansas City for the holidays!

Thankful It's the Weekend

I got a little behind in my blogging, so this post is covering the past two weeks! December is such a whirl wind month, so much going on, so much to prep for, and so little free time.. that I feel like I am behind in many things.. I still haven't finished my Christmas shopping, I haven't addressed any Christmas cards, and I haven't even began wrapping.. and the big holiday is only 10 days a way!  I am a procrastinator for sure!   Regardless of my procrastinating,  December has still been pretty good to me so far!  Here is just a short list of thankful things from the past {two} weeks!


1.  Christmas baking for the kids' school's bake sale

2. The kids getting to see Santa

3. Getting to be Santa's elf

4.  Christmas caroling with a group of wonderful friends creating amazing memories together!

5.  Epic thrift shop find of Teddy Ruxpin to bring to the most fun white elephant gift exchange party ever

6. Field tripping with my  little kindergarten man to Hallmark's world headquarters, and Kaleidoscope (a fun creative hands on craft extravaganza type of place) 

7.  My daughter's Christmas Dance Recital... hip hop drummer boy!!

8. Impromptu pinup photo shoot with an amazing photographer  {Atomic Photography}

9.  Apple Cider Vinegar and Nyquil helping me to get over an illness in 2 days that may have easily put me down for much longer

10. Letters from Santa

 

 

Take Me Away {for the Holidays} Paris

What fashion loving lady hasn't dreamed of walking down the streets of Paris?  The art, the beauty, the clothes... Paris is definitely on my must-see-someday list!  Paris is the city of love, and it surely is even more lovely as it comes alive with twinkling lights and magic during the Christmas season.  Will somebody please take me away to Paris for the holidays?

Wardrobe Wednesday: It's the Holiday Season!

What are you wearing for this holiday season to all of your special events?  From family holiday dinners, to swanky parties, to fun and silly parties with friends, there is always some reason for a special outfit. This outfit definitely has a holiday feel, although nothing blatantly "Christmas" is involved, so this outfit can be worn all season long.

 

 Layering with a red coat, automatically gives any outfit  that Christmas time feel.

 The bow design on my sweater (Forever 21) makes me think of gifts wrapped under the tree.

 

 Fun, opaque tights are a must for cold weather, here is a fun tip:  wear patterned tights inside out to get a nubby textured look!

 Bow shoes!!  I found these Anne Kline flats brand new, never worn at my local thrift store for only $8

I found this vintage skirt at an antique mall for a huge bargain of only $12.  Never count-out antique malls for  finding great vintage fashion!

Take Me Away {For the Holidays} Tuesday: Hawaii

Christmastime through out my childhood was always set to music.  I spent so much time at my grandparents' house, and during the holidays, whenever we did something  especially Christmas-y like decorate the tree, wrap gifts, or bake cookies  we would play one of the many holiday records on the record player.  My favorite by far was Bing Crosby's Merry Christmas album, and one of my favorite songs was, "Mele Kalikimaka." 

"Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say, on a bright Hawaiian Christmas day, it's the island  greeting that they send to you, from the land where palm trees sway! Here we know our Christmas will be green and bright, the sun will shine by day and all the stars at night. Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way of saying Merry Christmas to you! "    I just love that song so much!  Also I have always wanted to go to Hawaii, I mean, who hasn't?   My grandparents visited Hawaii a handful of times in the 80s and they always went in December, and really I think that would be the best time of year to visit!   Would somebody please take me away to Hawaii for the holidays?