Walking in a Winter Wonderland {of Lookbooks and Black Friday Sales}

Ruche

Anthropologie

Black Friday, aka the busiest shopping day of the year (although Christmas Eve may be a competitor). People have been killed trying to push their way into stores to try to get the best deals of the year. I do enjoy waking up early and going shopping with my friends and family because it's become a tradition. However, the madness, chaos, and utter disorder of many stores isn't worth the deals many times. 

This year, things have changed...black friday deals have moved online and one of my favorite stores will be participating in the black friday sales for the first time! Anthropologie is now offering an extra 50% off their sale items, in the store AND ONLINE! It's select hours only, so check online to see what hours your store will offer this amazing deal. Oh, and when shopping online, they are offering free shipping on orders over $100! 

Before I go, I love to look at lookbooks to get an idea of what to shop for. This year, my favorite two are Ruche's "Cherished, a Romantic Winter," and Fossil's "Thirty by Thrity" lookbook. First, let's take a look at Ruche....

This store carries a wonderful collection of vintage inspired clothing, footwear, and accessories. They are  Anthropologie-esk without the high price tags. Their lookbook this year is just as it is described...oh so romantic. My favorite part is the video they put together of the photo-shoot. Get ready, get set, SWOON....

The next lookbook is Thirty by Thirty from Fossil. I never knew they had clothes until I started following Kendi's blog: Kendi Everyday. This unique lookbook combines the Thirty by Thirty challenge that Kendi is famous for. She takes 30 items of clothing, including shoes but excluding accessories, and mixes and matches for 30 days. This is all you are allowed to wear during that time period; no cheating and wearing other items from your closet. The goal is to realize just how much you have instead of going into your closet everyday and thinking, "I have NOTHING to wear!" 

She teamed up with Fossil this year and created 30 looks out of their winter collection. They are all lovely, a few of my favorites are below. 

Happy Thanksgiving and happy shopping! 

Promises and pie crusts are made to be broken

{Pushing Daisies}

I have quite an affection for pie. It's good cold or warm, plain or a la mode, by the slice or by the pan. It's reminiscent of home...{pause}...family. As a kid, pie was a Thanksgiving and Christmas exclusive. Cookies, brownies, and ice cream were treats we indulged at the school bake sale and  occasionally at home, either for an after dinner dessert or an after school snack. Birthdays called for cake, which was a fairly regular occurance between 4 siblings, 6 cousins, the rest of the family, and friends. Pies, however, are special. They are there when you are surrounded by family and have just finished stuffing your face with some of the best food you've consumed all year long. Pie is home. 


This means a lot more to me now that I live a part from my hometown. So this year, I am going to make some spectacular pies for Thanksgiving: Chocolate Chip Pine Nut Pie courtesy of The Danica Complex and Charlotte Charles' Apple Gruyere Pie courtesy of Pushing Daisies. 


If you've never seen any episodes of Pushing Daisies {see it}...here's a quick summary: "First touch life. Second touch, dead, again....forever."  One of Ned's many talents is that of pie maker, and he, along with his childhood sweetheart (Charlotte Charles), create some mouthwatering, wonderfully uncommon concoctions they call pie. I am certain that my choices will prove to be just that. 

Mix flour, salt, sugar, and Gruyere in a large bowl, and mix thoroughly with a fork (from what I've read about pie crusts, the best, most tender, and flaky crusts are made without a food processor, but you can use one if you like).  Mix in the butter and combine until the largest pieces of butter are no larger than the size of a pea (the pressure of the rolling pin will flatten the balls of butter in thin sheets that alternate with the flour mixture, creating a flaky crust).  


Sprinkle the flour, butter mixture with ice water, 1 tbsp at a time-tossing after each additional tbsp. Add enough water to allow the dough to clump together when squeezed in your palm (this may be more than 7 tbsp, but try not to add to much more).  Separate dough into two discs, one slightly larger than the other, wrap in cellophane, and refrigerate over night. 


If there simply isn't enough time for this recipe, you can incorporate the Gruyere into an alternate recipe or a store bought pie crust. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. Mix apples with all other ingredients, and pile the mixture into the pie dish. Place a round of dough over the apples, seal the top and bottom crust together, and make a way for the steam to escape so the fruit filling does not boil over. I am going to use a pie bird, or you can make slits in the top of the crust to allow steam to escape.  If you use a pie bird, you will need to place the bird into the pie before you add the filling or the top. 


Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, bake 50 minutes to an hour, cool on a wire rack at least 20 minutes before serving. 

Follow the "how to" for this choco pine nut pie on  The Danica Complex. There is also a great tutorial on how to build a pie....I suggest you check it out! 


Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you feel content and thankful this season, and able to experience the blessing and honor of giving to those in need. Enjoy great company,  great food, and hopefully at least one thing that is wonderfully uncommon! 


Cheers! 

Safari Chic Copycat

Photo from our South African safari honeymoon.

Zebra Print Silk Maxi Skirt: Piperlime 

I started following Minx Boutique shortly after finding a few of their outfits on Pinterest. With their only location being Asheville, North Carolina it's a bit too far for me to travel for a cute outfit (as of yet, they don't have an online store). Their outfits are very posh-chic, and, lucky for me, I have been able to find some copycat pieces.

Since honeymooning in South Africa, I have been slightly obsessed with animal print, mostly leopard and zebra. That, together with my maxi and silk obsessions, caused me to hunt down this swank skirt, showcased on Minxashville. The best news: it was on sale for $39!

My advice: follow this boutique and bug them to start an online shop!

Oh, and that zebra shot? Snapped by yours truly while on safari during our honeymoon. Stay tuned for the honeymooners post....

A Prior Engagment

As soon as the last spring semester of my college career began, so did the engagement & marriage phase of my life, the time when so many of my friends started their journey as first fiance, and then husband and wife. Since then, there have been lots of engagements and marriages, but the most recent engagement was that of my sister-in-law, and just before her, my sister also exchanged the title girlfriend for fiance. Before that was one of my dearest friends, and before her, my brother in law, and before him...me!

I really like engagements, not only because I get to celebrate the love and happiness of some of my closest friends and family, but also because I get to relive the felicity of my own.

So here we go, back to July {fourth} 2010, Clear Lake, California.....{seven} years after he asked me to be his girlfriend in the personal ads of the morning newspaper at the age of {seventeen}.......

.....he finally put a ring on it.

Sunrise & champagne hot air balloon ride over Calistoga valley

Then off to brunch....
{banana walnut french toast, fresh squeezed orange juice}
{huevos rancheros, fresh pressed apple juice}

Horseback riding through Jack London's historic estate. 

Dinner at Tra Vigne in St. Helena
{parmesan crusted pork chop with spring vegetable fregola sarda}
{ribeye steak with garlic mashed potatoes} 

The cabin pier shortly before we arrived....
{the Clear Lake cabin was designed and built by Parker's far-far and great far-far}

The proposal
{down on one knee, "Marry me?"..."YESSSSS!!!!}

Lots of kisses, smiles, tears, hugs, and laughs! 

Sparklers and cheers from family and friends 

BLING! {my vintage, yellow gold, pear shaped beauty}

Bow-Tied

BowTie:  Tie Bar
Shirt:        Banana Republic
Dress:       Old Navy (similar style here)
Belt:         Anthropologie (similar style here)
Clutch:    Thrifted (similar style here, here, and here) 
Shoes:      American Eagle Outfitters (similar style here) 
Bracelet:  Carved bone, antique (similar style here) 
Bracelet:  Gold, antique (similar style here) 

Our last wedding invite of the year was at the end of October; I love fall weddings! This time, we trekked to Folsom to see some close friends tie the knot. I brought a few different fall appropriate outfits to choose from, but my mother-in-law ended up giving me a lovely dress that I couldn't help but wear. There's something about getting new things and then having to wear them right away. Although the dress shouted spring with its vibrant colors and ruffles, I had a funky green patent belt with a tortoise shell buckle and wooden sandals to pair. My mind was made up.

As for the boy, he was on a mission to tie a bow tie. I bought him a couple to choose from for our wedding, and when the day arrived, he assumed that one of his groomsmen would know how to tie it (we wanted the real deal-no clip ons). He was wrong, and even with the many youtube tutorials, they failed. Parker ended up running over to Nordstrom so one of the men's department associates could tie it for him. Since then, they've just sat in the closet, waiting to be worn. We managed to accidentally tie one for a wedding we attended earlier in the month, and it looked pretty good. This time around, he did the trick, purposefully. Isn't he handsome in khakis, chambray, and that burgundy bow-tie?