It Was a Great Christmas Girl

Outfit Details:

Sweater: H&M

Jeans: Gap

Boots: Dillards

Hat: Mast General Store

Man oh man getting back into the swing of things after Christmas is HARD. I don't want to workout and I just want to keep on making overly rich meals and desserts. My son is still out of school this week so a regular routine isn't in the forecast. And that's ok! I'm am welcoming the pj's all day kinda day. I like that my alarm isn't going off at 6:00 am. But...I'm enjoying it a little too much. I was on a ROLL on my T25 workout. I was wrapping up week 3! Then I caught a nasty cold on a Wednesday, missed a Thursday workout but tried catching up on Friday. I was still sick but I thought I could handle it. Well, my face turned about 6 times redder than normal and I thought I was going to collapse! I gave in and did not exercise on Saturday or Sunday with hopes that I would be better by Monday. That would leave me with just one workout day to make up. Unfortunately I still felt bad on Monday, Tuesday and slightly into Wednesday. This cold really hung on. Wednesday was THE FEAST day and I had to cook all day long. My husband had to cook with me all day long. Never got a workout in. All exercise plans fell completely apart after that day. Food came into the picture and I totally fell into a food hole. I was suppose to be back on it yesterday but I cannot get myself together!!! I will. I'm not giving up. I'm just slowing life down for a moment. 

Here are some highlights from the Day-Before-Christmas-Eve-Feast! I had so much fun! We played games, opened presents and gobbled up my first ever Bûche de Noël

 cake! It was a success. I could NOT believe I pulled it off. 

Here's what it looked like before it was iced:

And some Christmas highlights :)

The little guy and I hand crafted salt dough ornaments for everyone. We painted them after they cooled from the oven. I love the idea of having an ornament that you take out of the box in ten, fifteen years from now and remember way back when. Yep, that one on the bottom right is Josie's paw print!

Our 20 pound baby. It's a beaut Clark! A Beaut!

I love my new rug. And so does someone else...

FINALLY, we got around to starting a new tradition of opening up Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve. It has taken a while for me to get around to making this happen but now I am ready to do this! This year was an elf theme! That's my little niece jumping in on the fun too!

Hubs said it was his best Christmas! As an adult, of course. He took the whole week off and got lots of stress free non working time in. Plus he was a HUGE help to me wrapping gifts, taking too many bags of trash out, hauling the 20 pound turkey from one fridge to the next...Ahhh...Twas great.

Antlers on a Chain Girl

Outfit details:

Jacket: Urban Outfitters

Top & Jeans: Thrifted

Ankle Boots: Seychelles

Necklace: Modcloth

Amber Hatchett Designs

Local designer Amber Hatchett has some really stunning jewelry floating around the Instagram world and I wanted to share it with you guys! I have already chosen a few that I would love to see under the Christmas tree with my name on it! 

I'm so in love with these pieces! Especially the body chain. I adore! I adore! I may have to just slip one of these pieces in my own stocking!

If you want to drool over a lot more then go to Amber's instagram.

You can find Amber Hatchett Designs on facebook too!

Want to see her jewelry, art and home decor in person?

She's based out of Asheville, NC and she will be showcasing some of her wares at The Holiday Flea on December 5th and also at the East West Pop Up Shop December 10th - 13th.

You can also find her beautiful pieces at various Asheville locations like Boutique LP, Hip Replacements, Adorn Salon, Wake Foot Sanctuary and Shop, and The Screen Door.

Influenster Pumpkin VoxBox Reveal & Review!

It's that time again!

Time for another Influenster Pumpkin Vox Box!

This is the THIRD Infuenster Vox Box I've received and I really enjoyed opening this one! You can see my first box here and my second box here.

On with the show! I made you guys a video so you could be a part of the excitement! But really, this is a video that you can get a good laugh at because I'm TERRIBLE at videos! Ha!

Anyway, here ya go! I had no idea what was inside!

Ok, so let's get down to the details. I'll let you in on how these bad boys stacked up!

What I got:

Pop Chips in Sea Salt flavor
Mr. Sketch Scented Marker
Werther's Original Soft Caramel
Downy Fabric Softener
Coupon for a free Yucatan Guacamole
Coupon for a free Alexia frozen food
Coupon for $1 off Mr. Sketch marker

Pop Chips

The Verdict: Super crispy and super tasty. Only 100 calories in this little bag. It was a great snack with low calories. I will definitely choose these again when I'm looking for a chip but don't want the heavy greasy feel.

Downy Fabric Softener

The Verdict: I liked it. I was hoping for a much bigger fragrance that was left on the clothes after I got them out of the dryer. So that was a little disappointing. I'm so used to my Scentsy laundry add in's that I'm probably a bit spoiled. As for softness, I did notice the clothes were soft. Will I buy some more? Meh. Maybe. Like I said, I love my Lavender scented Scentsy!

Goodness Knows snack bar

The Verdict: Yummy. This particular one was apple, almonds, peanuts, and dark chocolate and was 150 calories for all 4 squares. Since it doesn't have all the nasty things like high fructose corn syrup you could definitely use this as a replacement for a candy bar. I will definitely pick this up again when I have a hankering for something sweet. Which is a lot.

Mr. Sketch Scented Markers

The Verdict: Not really a fan. I didn't think it smelled like anything much less orange. The color was good. 

Werther's Soft Caramels

The Verdict: YES! So tasty. Just like you knew they were going to be. Never disappointed with Werther's! 

I picked up my free Yucatan Guac and my Alexia side item. I chose the 98% fat free french fries for my side item. I'll let you guys know how those taste!

And there you have it! It was a fun box!

*I was given this box full of goodies for testing purposes from Influenster. All opinions and reviews are my own.*

Buffalo Plaid Girl

Things are getting festive around here! I love a classic red and black buffalo plaid. The big black and red squares get me into the Christmas spirit! It's just those long January and February days that I don't want to think about....So let's don't! YAY! 

Crush Girl

A cute little tee shirt that makes my husband break out in the biggest smile when I wear it :)

Outfit details:

Sweater: Amazon

Tee: online...??

Jeans: Thrifted Levi's

Ankle boots: Forever 21

Bag: Versona

Happy Thanksgiving 2015!

photo source

And while you are digesting your turkey and spilling lots of drinks while you cheer on your favorite football team (GO PANTHERS!) enjoy some fun internet reading to bring you back down to earth...or not. Heck. You know what? Just sit back, rub your belly and read on...

What to do with the leftovers? 

Watch this funny SNL skit about how a little bit of Adele...fixes everything. Even on Thanksgiving.

the NFL game lineup for turkey day

Have you seen this dollhouse than Mandi is building! I WANT ONE!

In the works: a post on this lady's drool worthy handmade jewelry!

Cool list for Most Awesome Christmas Toys for Kids

Sally over at Already Pretty shares a great workout you tube channel - Jessica Smith TV

Stay up to date with cool Asheville things here

Speaking of local...HOTELS! Ugh.

Cool gifts on Etsy for under $25

I've become a podcast FREAK! You too? I have so many that I love. Some are in hiatus right now and I'm anxiously awaiting their return. In the meantime, here are my (current) top 5: Undisclosed, Lore, Radio Diaries, Missing Maura Murray, and 99% Invisible.

I'm totally addicted to this game Two Dots!



Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Have an attitude of gratitude!

Comfy Casual Girl

Guys, the truth is, most days I'm running errands and I'm in some seriously sensible flats. This day was grocery day - I usually hit up about 3 different stores - and I need shoes that won't wreck my feet. I also need an outfit that isn't fussy and keeps me warmish in the freezing grocery stores. So, this outfit isn't that fashion forward or that chic but it is functional! Fashion CAN be functional!

Since it was a more casual outfit I took some liberties with my hair and added a quick side braid to create a little bit of a punk vibe. I added a chunky necklace to finish it off. I could've quickly changed into some high heel boots if I wanted to dress it up a little. But in true form, I was exhausted by the end of the shopping trip and just left these comfy little flats on.

Outfit details:

Sweater: H&M

Skirt & Leggings: Thrifted

Shoes: Jambu - these are cute! 

Necklace: Avon

Pattern Pants Girl

My winter clothes storage boxes have been unearthed from the basement and I am currently sorting through my vast collection of sweaters. I would really REALLY love to get rid of most of my ho hum sweaters in exchange for 2 or 3 fine quality ones that I fully adore. Efforts are underway and I have my eye on this off white sweater from Woolrich that would allow me to donate 3 other sweaters in it's place. It's expensive but it would be my only off white sweater. Honestly, since I don't go to an office job each day, my closet is just not getting the workout that it used to.

I noticed these pants hanging in my closet and remembered, even though I have worn them several times, I don't think they have appeared on the blog yet. This will probably be the last time I wear them this year since they are a bit too thin for colder weather. Adios!

Outfit details:

Sweater: Target

Pants: H&M

Boots: Bongo

Scarf: Old

Blanket Scarf Girl

Blanket scarves can be a bit annoying to wear but they sure do come in handy when you are sitting inside of a building that doesn't have the heat turned up enough! They get a bit annoying when you try to put your purse on your shoulder or do anything really that requires you to lift your arms over your head. Le sigh. 

I picked up this scarf really on an impulse buy one night when we were downtown. I had not gauged the temperature correctly and ended up not dressing warmly enough. We ran into Mast General Store and grabbed this blanket scarf that I knew could keep me warm but not be to bulky for the concert at the Orange Peel that we were scheduled for later on. My expectations were correct! It wasn't bulky and actually ended up being the perfect amount of warmth!

I wear a LOT of what I know as "Long Over Lean" which basically translates to wearing longer tops with tighter bottoms. Like tunics over leggings. It is the most comfortable for me style wise because I feel it fits my body shape wonderfully. I feel like it elongates my legs a bit too when I keep the leggings the same color as my boots. Short girl problems!

Outfit details:

Scarf: Locally Mast General Store - although I do not see it on their website; Online here

Tunic: picked up at a yard sale

Leggings: terribly old and in need of replacing!

Boots: Eddie Bauer (few years old)