- Part 115

April 23, 2014

Loving Lately: Summer Flats

It’s a wonderful feeling to go sock-less, let my toes breath and show off my pedicure! I don’t know why summer shoes are so much more tempting than winter shoes. Maybe it’s because they are smaller and cheaper than boots and it makes me feel like I can add a few more to my wardrobe, while staying within budget, of course ;) I’ve gathered a few that have recently caught my eye below. Each pair looks extremely versatile which makes them an even better bargain!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

What styles have you been eyeing up for summer?

April 22, 2014

Spring Dressing

Up until this past year I had been living in Hoboken, NJ for nearly 10 years. With an abundance of stores (and Manhattan just across the river), shopping was never an issue. That being the case, I can’t say that Kohl’s was a store I chose to go into all that often. Now that I am living in Central PA, I find myself digging a bit deeper. I definitely do my share of online shopping, but sometimes I just want to take a pile of cloths into a fitting room and have a little fashion show, don’t you? Over the past year, I’ve found a number of great pieces from Kohl’s that I’ve been very happy with. This jacket came from them last year and I picked up this dress just a few weeks ago. To be honest, I probably would have paid twice (or three times) as much if I had seen this dress in Anthropologie. Yay for saving money!

Details: Kohl’s Apt. 9 dress / Kohl’s jacket (similar) / Kate Spade bag (similar) / JCrew shoes / Kate Spade sunglasses / Madewell belt

Many, many thanks for all of your continued votes for Redbook’s Real Women Style Awards! You’ve been keeping me in the running and I appreciate it so very much!! You can continue to vote daily HERE.

April 21, 2014

Easter

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a blessed Easter! We enjoyed a great day with gorgeous weather which was appropriate for the occasion. Our morning started off with a touching church service that kept Jesus and his sacrifice at the forefront of my mind all day. Hearing and reading John 3:16 today had a much bigger impact than on most days, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

After a great start to the day, we headed to the Penn State Arboretum to take a few pics of the kids and then made our way to visit both of our families. I thought I’d share some of the shots I captured during our day, including all of the highs and the lows ;)

She sat for all of a second for us to get this pic.

This would be Madelyn prancing through the fresh mulch…

…and me explaining she cannot go through the mulch…

…and Madelyn in complete disgust that I could tell her ‘no’ to such a thing.

On to an Easter egg hunt at DeDe and Poppop’s. Madelyn sought out every piece of candy….

…and Jack was out for the eggs with the cash!

By this point she had played in the creek, rolled around in the back of a truck and eaten 10 too many crackers. At least she likes to dress like a girl!

Soccer, of course.

And a little guy time.

The bonus of a busy day is that they were out like a light when we got home!

April 18, 2014

High Five for Friday

It’s Friday again! Despite the winter weather we had a few days ago, it was a pretty good week. My husband and I had a parent teacher conference with my son’s preschool teacher. She only had great things to say which is basically what we expected. We laughed afterward thinking about how we’re going to be biting our nails when we go in for our daughter (who’s currently 1.5 yrs)! She is fun-loving, sweet and adorable but boy oh boy can she be feisty!! I’m going to enjoy the positive reviews for as long as I can :)

Here’s a peek at the rest of my week:

1) Pie in a jar was the chosen dessert on a date with my husband. I did let him have a few bites ;)

2) I’m so excited and proud of my friend Rebecca of Mommy in Heels. She is in the process of turning her online shop, Elizabeth and West, into a brick and mortar store which is planned to open next month! If you live near York, PA you’ll have to check it out. I received my first purchase from her store this week and I cannot wait to wear it! You’ll see soon enough ;)

3) I get that our children watch our every move, but it is hysterical to turn around and see my mini-me sweeping every exact spot that I just finished vacuuming!

4) 40% off at LOFT right now and boy do they have some beautiful spring pieces! I held myself from going crazy, but I did grab these linen pants yesterday.

5) If anyone missed this viral video this week, you may want to check it out. The world’s toughest job. If you’re not a parent you’re bound to have a surge of appreciation for your mother. And if you are a mother, you’ll want a box of tissues nearby!

I’m looking looking forward to this weekend and wish you all a very happy and blessed Easter! I haven’t decided if I’ll be posting on Monday or not. I guess it’ll be a surprise for us all!

Thanks for all of your continued votes for Redbook’s Real Women Style Awards! You can vote here and click the star in the right hand corner of my picture. Thanks SO much all!

Linking up with The Lauren Elizabeth for High Five for Friday.

April 17, 2014

Inspiration & Improvision

I’ve always loved reading blogs and my reading has only increased since I’ve begun to blog myself. I’m constantly inspired by other bloggers in all areas from cooking, baking, decorating and of course fashion. I love that I am able to do the same for some of you as well. Not that I’d want you to feel the need to purchase what I’m wearing, but more-so that you may be able to turn to your own closet and put together something you may not have thought about before. Thanks to one of my favorite bloggers, Julia of Gal Meets Glam, this is exactly what I was able to do. After seeing this post, I was reminded of this particular top that I had in my own closet. Of course I’d love to be wearing the SJP bow pumps that she has on, but at $365 I think I’ll settle for my TJMaxx bargains. Improvising is crucial! And then you yourself can get out and inspire others ;)

Continued thanks for your votes for Redbook’s Real Women Style Awards! They are all greatly appreciated!

Details: Madewell top (old) / Gap jeans / BCBG Generation shoes via TJMaxx / Target wallet / bracelet (gifted) / Kate Spade sunglasses

April 16, 2014

Easter Cookies

As I debated what Easter treat I should post about, eggs obviously crossed my mind. Now if you head to Pinterest there are a million and one ways you can decorate eggs, but for whatever reason, they just don’t excite me. We’ll be dying our eggs with the little pack I always pick up from Target and my kids will be thrilled.

Now what does excite me are cookies. Shocked? Ha. I decided to get a little fancy decorating my Easter cookies this year. These aren’t particularly difficult, but if you can spread it out (making the dough, chilling the dough, baking the cookies and decorating them) over a few days, you’ll make it a little easier on yourself. Since we had a cold rainy day yesterday, I chose the hard way, but was able to get the cookies baked during the day and saved the decorating until the little ones were in bed and away from my icing!

Since I was using multiple colors and a couple of different consistencies (to line and fill the cookies) I grabbed a bag of disposable pastry bags which made things a lot easier. All that’s really required is a little bit of creativity and if that fails, you can always refer to Pinterest ;)

Here’s the recipe I used for the cookies and icing and here’s where some of my inspiration came from.

Now if only I hadn’t given up eating after dinner for Lent I’d be indulging in one of these right about now! Alas, they’ll have to wait until tomorrow!

April 15, 2014

Think Pink

Pink has always been one of my favorite colors (although I have many) and for whatever reason this season I have been on the hunt for the perfect pair of pink pants. I didn’t want hot pink, but wasn’t going for a blush color either. I was searching for something somewhere in between. I finally came across this pair from Zara and when they arrived they were the perfect rose shade of pink that I had been looking for! I have big plans for them, so you’ll certainly be seeing them again (and maybe again) on here.

I’ve mentioned a few times that when it comes to particular trends that aren’t likely to hang around for all that long, I prefer to buy on the cheap side. I’ve loved some of the looks I’ve seen with metallic oxfords but I wasn’t up for spending the money on them. And then this pair crossed my path at Target. For $29 I really couldn’t pass them by. I love that they were perforated and the silver wasn’t too over powering. I initially questioned exactly how I’d wear them, but it didn’t take long to figure out!

Details: Anthropologie jacket / JCrew t-shirt (similar) / Zara pants / Cookie Lee necklace / Kate Spade bag (similar) / Target shoes / Marc by Marc Jacobs sunglasses / LOFT bracelet (similar)

Thank you all for your continued votes for Redbook’s Real Women Style Awards! Voting is open daily through May 12th, so if you have a second your votes are very much appreciated! You can click here.

April 14, 2014

Loving Lately: Spring Dozen

Happy Monday, all! I hope everyone enjoyed as beautiful of a weekend as we did here in PA, it was magnificent! I took a quick run on Saturday and returned a bit sun kissed. A wonderful reminder that spring really has arrived…and I need to start applying SPF :) On that note, and without much rhyme or reason, I’m sharing a dozen spring items that are on my unending wish-list. Maybe you need to give the Easter bunny a little hint for your basket ;)

(click image to enlarge)

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12

Quite a coincidence that my girlfriend, Becky (who own’s Elizabeth and West where this striped midi skirt is from) happens to be wearing this skirt on her blog, Mommy in Heels, today! As if that wasn’t enough Meagan from Because of Jackie is wearing it too and they’re both offering a huge giveaway, so check them out!

April 11, 2014

High Five for Friday

Happy Friday! It’s been a great week here despite fighting off one of these final change of seasons cold’s. I managed to avoid all illnesses when my children and husband suffered a few weeks ago, but I suppose my time was bound to come. Regardless, I did my best to get outside and enjoy the beautiful sunshine! Another highlight of my week has to be being nominated by Redbook magazine for their Real Women Style Awards! Since I happened to have some photos on hand thanks to this little blog, I figured it couldn’t hurt to submit a few. Much to my surprise I became one of the 25 semi-finalists! If you have a minute, I’d very much appreciate your vote!!

Here’s a peek at the rest of my week:

1) Nail polish inventory. Apparently I love Essie and pastels. Surprise, surprise!

2) My handsome dude getting all geared up for soccer practice.

3) A trip to Target (to exchange something for my mom) led to me purchasing these shorts. I’ve been wanting a pair, but they always looked super short. Like college-age short. I tried them on anyway and was happy to see that they were flattering, lady-like and not nearly as short as I thought they’d be. I can’t wait to start wearing them, although that probably won’t be for at least another month. So if you like them, get yourself into Target and grab a pair because chances are they’ll be sold out by the time I’m able to style them on here!

4) As if I wasn’t already sold on my Birchbox’s, they start sending me food :)

5) Sorry, it’s the only other thing I could think of ;)

Enjoy your weekend everyone! I have a hot date lined up with my husband. Some one on one adult time is always appreciated!

Linking up with The Lauren Elizabeth for High Five for Friday!

April 10, 2014

Pearls

Pearls are not the first piece of jewelry I reach for by any means, but that’s not to say that I don’t love the elegance and beauty they can add to an outfit. I realize that for any of you southern gals, they are most likely a staple in your wardrobe, but for me they feel all the more special when I only break them out every now and then. I always find myself struggling as to how to wear them, but the past few times I have grabbed them, I’ve tied them with a simple piece of ribbon at the neck. This subtle touch is just enough to add an element of interest that’s all the more fun.

Details: Boden top (sold out but love this and this option) / JBrand pants / Premier Designs pearls / Boden pumps (similar) / Kate Spade bag (similar) / Kate Spade sunglasses / Comptoir de Cotonniers jacket (similar)

How about you? Do you reach for your pearls often? And how do you like to wear them?

For all of you that have voted for me on Redbook’s Real Women Style Awards, thank you!! I truly appreciate your support! Voting is open HERE until May 12th and only requires a click of the picture.

a lovely living

Archives

Loving Lately: Summer Flats

Spring Dressing

Easter

High Five for Friday

Inspiration & Improvision

Easter Cookies

Think Pink

Loving Lately: Spring Dozen

High Five for Friday

Pearls