Deck the Halls

With the holiday season here, it makes me long for a larger house to decorate and most of all: a fireplace. I LOVE the sounds of a warm, crackling fireplace to cozy up on the couch near while reading a book, watching a movie, or just drinking a cup of cranberry tea.

I know that a new house is probably not in the near future, but it's always fun to daydream about the possibilites of what our new (much bigger) house will look like, and of course, how we will decorate it!

Here are a few "decked out" mantles that I'm loving...

How could I not end a post with some "personal style?!"....and we all know that you can never have too many shoes! I just loved this "shoe tree" - I had to share it!

Happy Holidays to all...

Holiday Lists...

With the holidays come oh so many "lists"....

...from "to do" lists, "shopping" lists, "wish" lists, and perhaps "bucket" lists?!  I am a lover of lists.  I love the creating of the list almost as much as I love checking things off the list!

I thought I'd share some of my lists with you....and perhaps inspire you to create some of your own?!!

Winter White

With the holidays fast approaching, and for us in MN the inevitable large amounts of SNOW, you may find yourself searching for that perfect outfit for a date nite, or perhaps a festive holiday party.  

What I love about my close group of girlfriends is that we've decided to always have a "theme" for our annual holiday party. 
This will only be the third year with a theme, but it has made getting dressed SO much simpler!  I wish there were more parties/events that had a theme for "dressing up"....it's SO much fun, and again, easier to know what you will be wearing!

Our first "theme" was, of course, the "ugly sweater" party. It was fun, and we even "voted" on the ugliest sweater & the winner received a fun "door prize!" Last year's theme was SPARKLE! Everyone layered on the sparkle, sequins, glitter & bling!  So fun! 




This year we have decided on "Winter White." I am very excited about this year's choice, as lace, ivory, white, and cream are so so fun to layer & then pile on the jewels of course!  


I purchased a pair of MiH velvet ivory skinnies (from houndstooth) that I'm very excited to wear....now it's just down to finding that perfect top, or sweater, or combination of the two to complete the look!  I do have several choices to choose from in my closet, it's just a matter of creating that look I've imagined in my head....we'll see how it goes! 

It's always fun to see how others take a "theme" and create their own look within that same idea! Everyone always adds their own personal style & touch to what they put together!  

Here are a few of my favorite items & looks that fit into our theme, Winter White.

New Year brings New....

With 2011 just a few weeks in, what will this new year bring for you?

I recently stumbled upon this FABULOUS quote, and couldn't wait to share it:

I think this truly says it all about Fashion and Style....Fashion is out there, and we LOVE to see what's new and what came down the runways, but we can't all wear (nor afford) those runway fashions. We need to take what we love about each look or each designer and make it our own....that then becomes your STYLE!

It's been just over 6 months since our FIRST POST about cleaning out your closet, finding "your brand," and making a fresh start. Sometimes it can be good to do this more than once a year....especially this time of year when the winter here in MN seems to last forever and we all often fall into that winter blues rut.

Why not take advantage of this down time, as we patiently wait for spring, to check out that closet again, re-look at those items you thought you'd hang on to because you might wear them. Have you? Have you made some purchases lately, or received pieces that you love that could replace some of those older items in your wardrobe?? I TRY to think about how many pieces I have added to my closet and then take out at least half of that number in order to keep a wardrobe that I love and feel good about! You don't want such an overwhelming wardrobe that you don't even know where to begin when choosing your outfit each day.....or, well, that really wouldn't be all that bad??!! Anyways.....however large or small your wardrobe (& closet) may be, you want to LOVE EVERYTHING IN IT!


Speaking of other NEW things for this new year, I recently also found a FABULOUS new website/blog/artist. Her name is Brittany Fuson, and she is an artist of fashion! She blogs about new fashions along with her own drawings of them! (pictured right) LOVE it!! She does custom work, and I am planning to send her some pictures in the future for her to "re-create"!! (...Perhaps after my upcoming fall wedding!!!)

Anyways, she also has a fashion newsletter, "In Our Shoes," that she and a friend, Kimberly, a wardrobe stylist who also has her own website, collaborate on & send out. If you send her an email, you can sign up to receive it. I just received her January newsletter and LOVED it! She and Kimberly wrote about their "STYLE RESOLUTIONS"--which I thought was a FABULOUS idea!!

They both talked about wearing high heels more often and finding reasons to get "dressed up"--LOVE that! So after reading theirs, I was inspired to write my own...

One FASHIONISTA's STYLE RESOLUTIONS for 2011:

1. DRESS UP more often....(I've also said this before, but never stick to it...maybe now that it's in writing I'll actually do it!) I have so many fabulous dresses and clothes that are sometimes "too dressy" to wear as a teacher, so I will try to make dates with my sisters, girlfriends, or fiance to go out and wear those great pieces!!
2. Really think about an item before purchasing = less impulse buying! With planning a wedding and just trying to save more money, I think I need to be less impulsive when it comes to a pair of $250 boots or $175 jeans. Take the time to think about if I really need it, before I buy it!
3. Enjoy the clothes that I have & change it up a bit....pair up pieces that I haven't put together before and create a "new" outfit...then it almost feels like I'm wearing something NEW! I'm too likely to just wear the same couple outfits almost on a "rotation"....I need to spruce it up a little!!
4. SPARKLE for 2011. My sisters & I decided that we are going for a little sparkle in 2011. Especially if you ended 2010 on a not so fabulous note, adding more spunk and sparkle to your wardrobe each day just makes you smile more and feel a little better about each day. With all the sequins and sparkle out there, this one is easy-whether it's more "bling" in your jewelry (like this fabulous bracelet from J.Crew-pictured below) or sequins on your sweater-anyone can pull it off....just don't overdo it!

SO....as you take another look at your closet/wardrobe, maybe take some time to write up your own STYLE RESOLUTIONS for 2011.
It's actually more fun than you think.....and KEEP THEM in a place where you can pull them out 12 months from now and see how well you did following them!!

Here's to a FABULOUS 2011, full of great FASHION!!