Four Favorites

May 27, 2014


 
 
 
Happy Wednesday friends!  I was missing yesterday but I'm back today with my four favorites.  A couple of colorful things have caught my eye and this maxi dress is one of them.  I love love love the colors in it and the design would be so slimming.  Speaking of slimming…. pools are open and than means cute bikinis!  This darling terry bag would be perfect to keep in you beach bag to contain your wet suit for a) the drive home so you don't have to sit on a towel, or b) you are headed out for a while and don't want to be wet all day in your suit.  Love all the colors to choose from too.   

How many times have you sucked pulp thru your straw from fruit in your water? I know I have and the first thing you want to do is spit!  Ummmm….. hello? That's not so lady like!!  This Citric Zinger  allows you to press lemons, limes, and even clementines directly into your water.  An all natural free of sugar drink .  Pretty cool huh?   

Ok…. This wedge is fab…u…lous!!!  Nuff said. 

 Oh, and I am glad to be back!  I missed you after the long weekend! Don't forget I am linking up today here, here, and here


 
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Happy weekend

May 23, 2014


Happy Friday! I don't know about you, but Memorial Day weekend has always  felt like the official start of summer. The pools open and kids are on summer break.   I plan on relaxing and enjoying my deck, although the weather looks a bit overcast and rain is in the forecast!  

Thank you to the men and women who are the reason we celebrate this holiday in the first place, and to my son who is a soldier.   Whether you're in the States or not, I hope you have a relaxing weekend and spend some quality time with family and friends!  I'll be back in action on Tuesday, when real life hits again.   Until next week... xo

Monogram Love with GIGI New York

May 22, 2014
I remember growing up during the original preppy era.  We popped out collars, layered our Polo's, and pastels were the rage. I owned a pair of pink Sperry's that I wore until they were coral, and  having your initials on your cuff, collar, or bag was a must as well.  

Trends come back around and this trend I am particularly fond of.  I have monogram plates, necklaces, pillows, trays... you name it I probably have it monogrammed.  When I first fell in love with GIGI New York and Graphic image their parent company, I knew the monogramming feature was a plus.   My Graphic Image datebook, journal and now my tote all have my initials on them.  It is a feature that takes an ordinary item... although I would hardly say GIGI New York or Graphic Image is ordinary... and turns it into the perfect accessory. And for me if I ever do take a few sacred vows with my guy, my initials stay the same... Bonus!!!   Do you love monogramming as much as I do? 

Graphic-image-heart-locket-journal



Graphic-image-datebook


GIGI-New-York-tori-tote-blue


Made in the USA, Gigi NY and Graphic Image are all about a good monogram.   Don't you agree?  

Even better, GIGI New york is offering a Trifecta this Memorial Day Weekend. 

  • Free Shipping on orders $100+
  • Free Personalization
  • Free Tassel Key Chain on orders $100+


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Favorite Phone Apps

May 21, 2014
If you're like me... you rely on your phone for a lot.  Most of us would feel helpless without are phone at our fingertips.  With so many apps it's confusing as to what you want... verses what you would actually use.  Here are a few of my favorite apps I use frequently.

Favorite-Phone-Apps

Picframe ~ Perfect for making a collage of your favorite photos with tons of layouts to choose from.  

Over ~ This is a great app for adding text to your photo.  You can also buy add ons to this app and get a wider selection of fonts.

Snapseed ~ This app is great for color correction, adding brightness, and warmth and contrast.  It's like a teeny tiny mini version of photo shop on your phone.... tiny I said!!

Squaready ~ Ever take a pic of something fabulous only to find it is too large of an image for instagram to show the entire picture?  Well this my friends is the app for you.  It takes any photo and proportions it down to size for the entire image to display in instagram.  Love this!!

Starbucks ~ This is for all you coffee lovers.  Having this app on your phone eliminated the need to carry your Starbucks card.  Just show your phone to the clerk and they scan your bar code.  It keeps track of your stars, your balance, and you can even reload your card from the app!  Who goes for coffee and doesn't have their phone with them anyway???

Shazam ~ I have to give my son credit for this app.  I was always asking him "who sings this song?"  in the car and he would get so tired of me always asking for him to remember what I liked.  This app listens to a clip of the song and searches for the artist and name of the song.  Then, when you have time you download the songs you liked from the iTunes store!

What are some of your favorite go to apps?  

Summer Clutches

May 20, 2014
It's no surprise I love these two designers.  Blair Ritchey... KSladeMade.  You should love them too! If you are new to the blog, You need to treat yourself and check out their sites.  They are both fabulously sweet, have a great eye for design, and I own bags from both of them! 

Feast your eyes on these beauties!!  I have a big birthday coming up and any of these would make the perfect gift! 


Blair-Ritchey-Crossbody-kslademade-clutches-florals



  2  3  4  5


Yes please.... I will take them all!!!

Anjolee Eternity Ring

May 19, 2014
I grew up around jewelry.  My father had a jewelers bench and went to school to learn the art of fine jewelry and dabbled in designing pieces.  It was a hobby for him, but a fun hobby for having 5 daughters!!!  Being one of 5 girls there was never a shortage of jewelry in my home growing up.  When I first got divorced I went to work for a friend of my fathers who is a wholesale diamond distributor.  He and his business partner owned their own diamond mine and manufacturing plant and had accounts all over the country.  On the costume side of jewelry, my best friend and I used to travel to Taxco, better know as the silver city high in the mountains of Mexico to buy sterling pieces, and to market in Dallas and Atlanta to fill in all the other voids of fashion jewelry!!   So when I say I know a little bit about jewelry... I really do!!   It takes something pretty darn unique to catch my eye.  Anjolee contacted me to review an item from their line.  I admit... I was hesitant at first as you can read why.  I thought about it for a few days, browsed their site, and then emailed them back to see if they could create my piece in Peridot.  When they said yes, I agreed! 


I was given the choice of several eternity bands to choose from and knew exactly how I wanted to style and wear my new ring. Although my ring is not gold and diamonds, it is high quality CZ's and sterling silver with peridots.   I sent them my size, and selection and patiently waited to receive my custom eternity band

The only website with a custom feature, Anjolee gives you the opportunity to create your piece of jewelry based on your budget and taste.  With 7 metal types, and you get to choose the carat weight, and diamond size and quality Anjolee truly does offer something not found anywhere else.  Manufacturing and selling directly to you the consumer, there is no extra charges for any middle man.  Each piece of jewelry is custom made at time of order ensuring your order is exactly the way you want it.  Trust me... from working in jewelry for so many years this is a great feature.  I am not in the market for a wedding ring... but they have an extensive bridal selection and also offer earrings, necklaces, and pendants. 

I ordered this eternity band.  I wanted to add it to my heirloom Peridot ring from my Great Aunt.  It is a 9 carat Peridot that can be top heavy sometimes.  The Anjolee eternity band helps to keep my ring upright and adds a perfect amount of bling don't you think?




All in all I would have to say I am very pleased with my Anjolee ring and I would recommend them to someone needing a more custom item and on a budget.  They were very quick to reply to my questions and my ring arrived rather quickly.  I received my eternity band as a courtesy from Anjolee but all opinions are mine and I would not recommend anything I didn't believe in. 

Pink and Green

May 15, 2014
Notice anything odd about these pics of me?  I will give you a hint... I don't generally wear colored sunnies!  Gab picked up several pair of fun summer shades and I threw them on because they matched my outfit so well.  This sweater is the exact same as this green one and now I wished I picked up more colors.  I have a habit of buying one of every color when I find something I like.  Do you buy in multiples too?  I am loving the selection of tee's at Target for summer.  You can never have enough v neck tees!  Remember last week I introduced you to Rack Room Shoes and mentioned they sent me several pair to style?  These sandals are a new pair and are super dee duper comfy! I slipped them on and they didn't need to be broken in at all.  You know how some sandals are stiff and rub?  These did not rub one single bit!  I love the chains over the top of my foot too!   







Sweater (Exact, love this longer one too)  ~ Jeans ~  Sandals c/o ~ Tee ( love this and this one too) ~ Ropes Bracelet c/o ~ Silver Bracelet- my personal stash ~ Sunnies Borrowed from Gab ~ Bag LV



May Favorites

May 14, 2014
Happy Wednesday!  Can you believe it is already the middle of May?  This year is flying by!  Today's favorites are a true representation of what spring is all about.  Open toed sandals, pretty dresses, flowers, and colorful clutches!  I Have a shelf in my closet full of clutches but nothing bright.  I have to change that stat!!  OK lets talk about this bud vase… so whimsical and fun and perfect for flowers from the yard!  I am SO ready for cute summer dresses. This Lilly dress is perfect for a girls brunch and add a light cardigan and it is perfect for a day of errands.  I love so many flat sandals right now that I might have a new pair for every day of the week!! 


Green Clutch   Pink Clutch  ~  Dress  ~  Vase   ~  jewel sandal  Positano sandal  Cheetah Sandal  Gap Sandal


What is your favorite part of spring?  Do you have any vacations planned? 

Linking up here, and here.

Stripes and Floral

May 13, 2014
When I first bought these Ann Taylor floral pants I really did not anticipate these being on any amount of rotation.  They are indeed a statement pair of pants!  Bright and colorful!  What I love about them is the slightest amount of stretch to them, and how many ways I really can style them.  Look back at how I have worn them here, here, and here!!!  Don't you just love when something turns out to be so versatile, making it a great investment!?Most of the time you can get 40% off at Ann Taylor too!  Win/Win!!  Trying a few new hair styles,  I wore my hair up today with a braid up the back of my bun... I wished we had gotten better photos, but I will braid it again and share!

Floral-pants-blue-stripes-brahmin-bag

Ropes-Maine-Stripes-Florals-Yosi-Flats


Braid-stripes-florals-ropes-maine-hair



Stripe top (here and also here) ~ Pants (Love these and these), ~  Flats (exact) ~ Bag ( The it bag right now is This bag , and love this bag for summer, and this one)  Bracelets  Rope,  Bangle, ~

Green and Blue

May 12, 2014
Happy Monday!   Hope you had a fabulous Mother's Day.  My weekend was wonderful with all my boys home and a trip to the zoo with the grandbabies!  I am a little tired this morning from all the walking we did (it must have been 10 miles) but I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day with my family. 

So...What do you get when a group of blogger get to gather for lunch? Cute outfits and outfit pics.    After a great lunch and some laughs last week we stopped out on the sidewalk for a few quick pics and a few photo bombs!! Yes you read that right… photo bombs.
  

Of course what else would a group of friends do but photo bomb each other.  There was no way I wasn't sharing this pic even if my eyes are closed!  It just goes to show you what kind of shenanigans happens right outside of the camera lens sometimes! Ha! Ok, but seriously I put this outfit together after I picked up this bright green sweater and have always loved blue and green together.  For an added pop of color my new Sisco Berlutti stack of bracelets was a perfect accessory. I don't know what to credit for my addition of so much color to my wardrobe.  I know there was too much black and gray just a few years ago and now its a color explosion!  It feels good too.  Do you ever feel like your in a color rut too?  It is way too easy to pick up something black or gray because we consider it a neutral, but to me it's so boring now.  I am always looking to add a pop of color or something bright!  Thanks Erin for taking these pics of Emily and me! 




Sweater ( Exact, similar, Love this cable one), ~ Shoes ,   ~ Skirt (similar, and I love this one), ~ Top (similar), ~ Bracelets  c/o,  ~ Bag, ~ Eternity band  c/o,  ~ Peridot Ring an heirloom



Linking up here.

Mother's Day Weekend

May 09, 2014
Happy Friday friends! I hope you all have wonderful Mother's Day plans either for yourself or with your special momma!  My oldest son still calls me momma while my other two boys call me mom, or when they are frustrated I will hear "Mother"!???? I just think  it is cute to here "momma" out of my 26 year old son's mouth!  He's still my baby! All my boys will be home this weekend with their families for a hopefully sunny weekend.  The boys have plans to go to NASCAR while the girls have plans to shop!!!  Sounds like a win for me!  I am looking forward to planting a few things in my yard, watching all the boys play, and spending some quality time with my family.  I might even get a little color on the old shoulders too on Sunday!  We plan on going to the zoo for Mother's Day! Have a great weekend and I will see you Monday with a fun outfit!

 
I want to make this for summer. The perfect beach accessory!

Loving this wedge.

This necklace needs to become a staple for me this summer.

 Thinking I might  need a pair of these!

 I decided I needed a pair of these only to find out when I tried them on I was needing a half size... and they only come whole sizes.  So instead... I will be getting these!  No surprise there I'm sure!  

Rack Room Shoes

May 08, 2014
If I had the choice to shop for clothes or shoes.... I am always going for the shoes!  I love shoe shopping.  I recently discovered Rack Room Shoes.  Have you heard of them?  We don't have a location here in the Kansas City area, but there is a store in my hometown Tulsa my sister in law loves to shop at. You can bet I will be visiting that store on my next trip home.  When I mentioned Rack Room Shoes to my oldest son and his wife, they both loved the store too.  What have I been missing?!!
 
 I was actually surprised at how inexpensive they were for some of the name brands I would consider to be more expensive in the stores.  Headquartered out of Charlotte North Carolina, for more than 80 years Rack Room Shoes has been offering the best selection, brands, convenience and value.  Great shoe selections of nationally recognized brands for men, woman, and kids from dress shoes to athletic shoes Rack Room Shoes has got you covered.  They also operate approximately 380 locations in 24 states too. 



Rack Room Shoes carries the latest trends from cutouts, wedges, to sneakers.  The best part is mine showed up at my door too.    I had a box show up last week with several pairs.  So tell me, have you shopped for shoe lately?  

Maxi and Gladiator Sandals

May 07, 2014
One minute the sun is out and you're looking cute, the next minute the sky turns grey and it's a spring thunderstorm.  It was pouring down rain before I could get back to the car and I was soaked in my new Karen Kane maxi and sandals.  We laughed at the adventure to the afternoon and that is what memories are made of.  My son is always so patient and has a good eye for photography that he now spots locations for pictures on his own.  Gotta love that!  It is maxi dress season and I had to have this Karen Kane dress.  I featured it in my four favorites here and so many of you loved it too!  It is a deep navy and cream and I think it has potential for a great Memorial day picnic!  What do you think of my gladiator sandals?  I opted for the shorter version only hitting mid calf rather than the knee high.  I love them so much I may go back for the brown too!  







Maxi~ Karen Kane c/o , Steve Madden  Gladiator sandals (Similar) , Clutch KSlademade (similar), Jean Jacket (love this one) ,  Monogram necklace Max and Chloe,  Pearls ( similar), Toes Essie Bikini so teeny

Linking up here, here, and here.



Warby Parker

May 06, 2014
Warby Parker launched its new summer line today and I have my eye on a few!  No pun intended!!  Warby Parker offers boutique quality glasses classically crafted at an extremely friendly price point. Starting at on $95 you can select a pair of prescription or non prescription glasses and with your purchase you are also helping someone in need.  
Warby Parker has partnered with non-profits like Vision Spring to ensure that every pair of glasses sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need. Did you know that almost one billion people worldwide lack access to glasses?  I have worn glasses since the 6th grade and could not imagine what it would be like to go thru life with it all a blur ,lacking the access to effectively learn or work.  That is a problem Warby Parker is determined to address.   

.SUMMER 2014.
Summer is finally here. To honor the long-awaited season of warm weather and easy living, Warby Parker  designed a line of effortless, fit-for-any-day frames—including nine new shapes and four new colors.
You’ll find bookish silhouettes in surf-inspired hues, classic styles in beach shack shades, and lots more suited for the dog days  of summer ahead.  I picked out my favorite sunnies, and you can see a pattern here!!  I am loving tortoise frames for this summer and must get a pair.  To see the entire collection of Warby Parker pop over to their website and shop around, or if your lucky enough to have a store near by take the time to see them in person!  Look for a pair of these bad boys coming to the blog soon in an outfit post!  



Which pair are your favorites? 
 

Laura Geller

May 01, 2014


So before I get to the real bones of this post… let me share a little something with you I just learned.  Beauty Brands has changed… and it's a great change!!  I have shopped at Beauty Brands for years. Even before moving to Kansas I would pick up my beauty needs on the weekends I visited KC.   I recently purchased a new flat iron as mine finally after 12 years had enough.  I Picked up this one at my local store and happily I'm back in business with straightening my hair on some days! They carry Supergoop which is a broad spectrum sun defense skincare.  With summer around the corner you need to pick some up for sure!


 I purchase all my hair products there and last week at the store saw this display!  Yes…. Butter London is now at Beauty Brands.  Hello pretty pedicures!


The real reason I was in Beauty Brands was to try out a new line of makeup they carry.  Laura Geller ,a renowned make-up artist she loved beautiful things from an early age.  She is  know for her baked products, which continue to differentiate the brand from other traditional powders on the market today. Beginning as swirls of liquid pigments, (doesn't that just sound fun) each product is baked for 24 hours on terracotta tiles, then hand-finished in Italy. The resulting creamy powder feels weightless on the skin. Without additional binders, the colors are more vibrant, delivering better coverage with less product.

 I was invited to meet with a makeup artist and try a few products from the line.  Little did I know I was in for a treat.  A full facial.  I will skip all the details to the facial and share the makeup.  We samples eyebrow pencils to eyeliners until the right shade for my complexion was matched.  It was a great experience even though to be completely honest here... because I always am... I was Leary to try a makeup new to me!  I'm a freak I know!  From tinted face primer to bronzer... and green eye liner to pink lip crayons I loved Every. Single. Thing!  If I had to share two main things from this experience it is always use a face primer under your foundation,  and sometimes that eye concealer you thought was helping was really not a help at all! 


Right now Beauty Brands has a special  Laura Geller  gift set purchase for $39 valued at $150.  That is a great deal just in time for Mother's Day too!

So many pretty lip colors too!




Blush and Brighten    Spackle  Eye Shadows   Mascara   Bronze and Brighten    Lip crayons 

All the ladies that were invited to the event were gifted a bag full of  Laura Geller goodies.  I bought a few extra things as well and all week have gotten several compliments on how my face is glowing and my eye make up looks fab.  (Her words not mine)  and they had no idea about the facial event.  I have to agree... I think it looks pretty fab too!


This is the after from the facial.  It's an organized mess for sure! 



And this is straight off my phone no filter!  I have to say.... I like it!!


Although I was gifted a goodie bag, this is not a sponsored post and I am sharing  my own experience and was not obligated to post about it.  I am a loyal Beauty Brands customer and now a Laura Geller fan!

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