sun valley pageant weekend

get ready for a long post you guys!  I have lots of pictures to share with you.  last weekend, I went up to sun valley, idaho with two friends i work with at the daycare center.  one of the friends i went with had entered her beautiful daughter kennedy drew into the pageant that was being held in the sun valley lodge.  we woke up bright and early and left for sun valley (6:30 am to be exact) on saturday morning.  obviously, we had to get some delicious breakfast so we went to mcdonalds.  YUM!  my favorite breakfast there is the sausage egg mcmuffin.  holy deliciousness.

we arrived up in sun valley a couple hours later and got all settled into our wonderful hotel room. at the sun valley lodge.  it was gorgeous!  after a bit we did some pageant things with kennedy and then we went out to dinner at a burger place up there.  hamburgers and french fries just happen to be one of my most favorite foods in the entire world, so i was definitely in heaven.  i'd rate their burgers as a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10.  I wish i could remember the name of it so that I could recommend it for you guys.

anyways, we enjoyed a glass of wine and also took advantage of the coziest robes that were provided for us.  i loved mine so much, i slept in it!  i really should ask for one for christmas.  the next day (sunday) we did all the rest of the pageant events.  we got to watch all the cute kids get up on stage.  okay, most of them were cute, but some were so reminiscent of the show toddlers and tiaras.  kennedy did fantastic.  she won five trophies total and even won prettiest eyes (as you'll see in the pictures below she deserved that award) and she also got second runner up.

the weekend was such a great little get away.  im so thankful i got the chance to go!    

wish list wednesday...too bad its thursday

heres my wish list inspired by winter!! doesnt winter just make everyone so happy? it does for me because well, it has my favorite day of the year.  CHRISTMAS!  

enjoy

most images found via

for a fabulous cinnamon roll recipe (thank you paula deen)

those heels! no words can describe how beautiful they are

glitter: i love it. not an overwhelming amount but just enough to accent. glitter isn't just for christmas.

dress and coat - obviously from one of my favorite shops - anthropologie (ps how gorgeous is this coat? it may be my favorite piece of fashion ive seen ever.)

she & him album - dont you know by now zooey deschanel is my favorite

happy first day of december!

fashion friday.

loving absolutely every single piece of these photographs.  the lace, the stripes, the prints. i most definitely cannot get enough.

some images were found via

appreciation & happiness

happy thanksgiving yesterday everyone! i hope you all enjoyed your families, friends, and food.  i woke up with the most excited spirit and was ready to take on the day with an outlook of appreciation towards everything.  i think thanksgiving is such a great day.  its that one day a year where you're supposed to just take a step back and be thankful for everything you have.  wouldn't it be nice to wake up with that outlook everyday though?  i think im going to try doing that from now on.  to start this daily way of thinking, i thought i'd put together a list of things that i am especially thankful for.

i am thankful for my loving, incredible family.  we're a rather large group of people (more than fifty aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. when i combine my mom and dad's sides of the family) but they are some of the most wonderful people you'll ever meet.

i am thankful for the beautiful friends i have.  i couldn't ask for more supportive, amazing people to have in my life. 

i am thankful for the roof over my head.

i am thankful for the fact that i have a job.

i am thankful for my relationship with God.  although i may get a little lost sometimes, i know that my relationship with Him will always be there.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE, IM THANKFUL FOR:

-love

-coffee

-journaling

-boots

-cupcakes

-music

-dancing

-oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

-disney 

-umbrellas

-glasses

-new york city

-singing

-musicals

-christmas

-christmas trees

-cameras

-daisies

-fashion

-blanket forts

-hot chocolate

-books

-cuddling

what things are you thankful for?

My newest endeavor

So I was thinking the other day about different craft projects and things i could start doing in my spare time. I thought about the fact that ive always wanted to learn to sew really well and i have always wanted to learn how to hand sew. I mean is hand sewing extremely difficult? I know it would be much more tedious and time consuming, but i feel like it would be a but easier than learning to sew by the machine considering i would be going at my own pace.

{I cant tell you how many times i have accidentally sewn too far because i pressed the pedal too hard}

I thought about what I could start making that would be cute and fun to do. So, after browsing through blogs (as I always do when I get time), and some brainstorming, I decided I am going to start making:

HAND SEWN PLUSH ANIMALS

Keep an eye out !! Once I get the hang of it and have made a few, I'll make an etsy shop !!

PS checkout skunkboy creatures for someone of thee cutest hand sewn plush I have ever seen :)

its been a little bit!

SO much has happened in the past month and a half. i dont even know where to begin! all good things for the most part, and those that haven't been, well everything happens for a reason. anyways i found this video via naomi's blog and i HAD to share it with all of you. everything from the fashion to the dance. its fabulous.

enjoy!

wish list inspired by fall

happy september.  i can't believe its almost autumn already.  ill admit it, fall is quite possibly, okay, most definitely my most favorite time of the year - season wise anyways.  id have to say my favorite time of the year is christmas (obviously) but christmas alone will  have so many posts devoted to it that i won't go on about how much i love it.

here are some pretty things that i love and most definitely am adding to my wish list.  all are inspired by fall. enjoy.

many things i love about fall are obviously:

1. the leaves changing colors.

2. the cool temperatures.

3. the sweaters, the scarves.

4. okay everything fashionably wise about autumn.

5. pumpkin bread.

6. that one night when it hits you that its autumn and you know that your comforter has to be slept with because your sheet or blanket aren't enough anymore.

7. not receiving the "are you crazy" look when i order a hot coffee or hot chocolate (okay i only do this once or twice during the summer).

8. pumpkin spice lattes.

9. autumn just has cozy written all over it.

10. its soup weather.

11. back to school season.

12. when you walk outside in the morning and frost sticks to the grass.

13. seeing your breath for the first time because its so chilly out.

14. boots can be brought back out of the closet.

Some of the pictures above can be found below: 

{ Uggs. Anthropologie Cardigan, Owls, Rug }

l-o-v-e

for any of you who know me, you know how important love is in my life.  for those of you don't, well, now you know that love has a very big role in the way i go about things, the way i live, and my views on life in general.  i have been in love before and it was a great love.  one that i miss more on somedays than on others.  its taken me a long while to get to the point where i am at with it today, but ive grown up a lot in the mean time and my perspective on love has changed as well.  i do know more of what i want in a partner in life though and i do know more of what i want in a husband.  so someday, we will see if that will be found in someone new or if it can be found and grown from the past love.  i know that the answer to that can only be figured out in time, but i'm willing to wait, because i know it will be worth it.

thats another things im going to be writing about as well in this new little blog of mine.  i came across this lovely blog called "the wild and wily ways of a brunette bombshell" in which she writes about her life in new york city.  she also writes these little letters to her future husband she hasn't met yet.  some people might think thats a little bit odd, but i think that thats so neat and romantic almost.  i love that idea.  maybe i'll start doing that too. we'll see.

i wanted to share with you some quotes of love that i've found that hold some sort of meaning to me, or have struck me in some way.  i hope you can enjoy them too.  the first quote i'm sharing is one that especially holds a lot of meaning to me because I have felt exactly this before. i adore this quote, and the book it comes from.

"The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds." - The Notebook

hair muses

these two lovely ladies are always the first ones i go to when i can't decide how i want to dye my hair. 

i absolutely love zooey's hair color and style. the straight across bangs are so fabulous.  i love them.  her hair is so cute and 60's.  i really need to cut my bangs like hers before too long.  just so i can say that i've tried that look on myself (besides in 3rd grade).  i just love everything about her and i have adored her for as long as i can remember.

mila kunis is absolutely beautiful no matter what she does.  hands down, she is one of my most favorite actresses in hollywood right now.  i love her slightly off-center part, and i love the golden tones highlighted throughout her hair.   the light waves and then in one of them photos how its so straight.  i need to get my hair back to a healthy state so it can be shiny and naturally long like hers.  so gorgeous.

zooey deschanel

mila kunis

being sickly && the new girl...oh && rachel zoe too

being sick today has allowed me to just lay on the couch and watch "the real housewives of new jersey" marathon that was on bravo ALL DAY.   can i make a bold statement and just say that i love the new jersey housewives the most out of ALL the housewives.   it could be my new jersey ties with my entire family living back there, but i just love everything and all the ladies this season.

anyways, another new show starting up again is "the rachel zoe project."  i absolutely adore rachel zoe, if you couldn't tell by my post about fashion muses/inspirations.  if i could have a career anything like hers, oh my.  you could count me as the happiest girl in the world if that were to happen. but first, i need to get my own closet/wardrobe/style in order.  she has a great fashion blog though. if youve never seen it, i highly recommend taking a look.  i'm sure i'll be referring to it quite a bit as time goes on.

has anyone seen the previews for the show starting in a week or two "the new girl" ? zooey deschanel stars in it. i am so excited to watch this. i know its going to be a show ill love. i swear to you the first time i watched the preview for it i thought "...zooey deschanel is me in this show." no joke.  so im even more enthusiastic to become an avid watcher of this show.  im wondering if i'll still think the same thing as the show goes on, but im sure i will.

fashion inspirations && muses

when writing about fashion, i have to share some of the people and era's the inspire me the most.

as far as time's that influence the way i dress and the styles and fashions i love are:

-1940's

-1950's 

-1960's

-1970's

now as you can see above, i obviously love a lot of decades that i love.  if i could take little pieces of each one and insert them and infuse them in every which way in my wardrobe, oh my. PERFECTION would be achieved.  i don't think that i have a favorite time period however though. i adore the 60's. i suppose that could be my absolute favorite if i had to choose. so we'll just go with that.

as far as style muses and inspirations i would have to say that i absolutely always look to the styles of:

mary-kate olsen

rachel zoe

sienna miller

audrey hepburn

nicole richie

rachel bilson

zooey deschanel