grateful and optimistic

"when are we opening Christmas gifts?"

"will someone please tell me when we're opening Christmas gifts?!?!"

Christmas is splendid. Days and hours of fellowship, food, naps...and endless amounts of entertainment from Little Mister and all his cousins. It's been wonderful. And I'm exhausted. December has a way of zapping my energy and by the 23rd, I'm swearing I'll never, ever go to the mall during Christmas season again. (this is a lie, as i always go to the mall at the peak of craziness.)

But always, without fail, the 24th arrives and I've lost all the worries of getting Christmas cards out, shopping done, gifts wrapped...and instead, a much needed peace takes the place of it all. And gratitude. For family, salvation, love and grace...which is what this time of year is all about anyway.

Now I'm ready to ring in the new year (sans kiddos) and look ahead to what 2012 has in store.  Wishing you all a very festive New Year's celebration and a fantastic start to 2012!!!

Merry Christmas!

DIY Advent Calendar

Sometimes Christmas decorations are, well, not exactly in line with our chic taste for decor. Speaking of chic, Finley at Mommy Chic shares a fabulous idea for a modern, DIY advent calendar. It's definitely appearing at our house next Christmas...Thanks, Finley!

Read more about it HERE.

Beauty and the best...

...the best of what I've found out there, that is. Mind you - I'm no beauty product expert. But I'm constantly on the search for great, new finds - and I can't go into CVS (for cleaning supplies) without leaving $50 in the hole on make-up or nail polish. So, a beautician I am not. But a (rather ridiculous) consumer of anti-aging/thickening/polishing/brightening/anti-acne/this will make you look 10 years younger beauty products, I most certainly am.

So...without further adeiu, I must tell you about my new favorite, scandalous mascara.

Scandal'Eyes by Rimmel London.

I love it. And since I like mascara (like, as in, like putting on more than I should, perhaps) and my lashes don't clump when I go back for that unneccessary, second coat, I'm all over it. The brush is big. Almost so much that it gave me a bad first impression. But after using it just once, I knew I was hooked.

You should try it. And for the sake of showing off my rationalization skills...you did just put forth a rather hefty 2 minutes of cranial effort to get through my wordy review. You deserve it.

And thank you for letting me share my excitement about over my new beauty find! I know before too long, I'll have another mascara that I'm thrilled about, but I'm certain that Scandal'Eyes will forever be in my top 5.

Okay, beauties. All for now...I'm off to bed!

Go-go gadget legs...

How is it that, despite always wanting them, it's my son that got them. Long legs. I've come to appreciate the not-so-long variety. I mean, might as well. They're not going anywhere and if they ever did, I would sure miss these shorties. But back to the story - Little Mister has what I like to call, go-go-gadget legs. And today he used them to crawl out of his crib.

crawling & climbing all over the stairs
at our family photo shoot.

*photo courtesy of the
lovely lady at Recently

Just like any other day, I put him down for his afternoon nap, and immediately retreated to my favorite stomping ground (my desk, not a bar.) He cried for a minute or two and then...quiet. About five minutes later, I heard a big bump, and I considered going in his room to check on him - but with no teary sounds of pain...or any cries whatsoever...I went back to work on my super import (insert a little sarcasm) tasks, as usual.

It was about that time that I heard a sweet little noise, and turned around to see him peeking around the corner at me, with a grin the size of his pillow pet and a bright red, left cheek...which I later realized was the party favor from trying to party outside the crib. I truly didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Oh mercy, what do the days ahead hold for us? (please say they hold at least a little bit of sleep!!)

Friday's Fancies: Sparkle & Shine

Just because you're going into the office doesn't mean you can't dazzle your co-workers with some shimmer and sequins. A pop of sparkle goes a long way, so save your so-bright-it's-blinding shine for evening. And make sure to choose accessories you can wear both in the am and pm.  I have no room in the funds for two pair of Louboutins. Or one, for that matter.

So tell me, how will you   s p a r k l e   &   s h i n e    this holiday season?  Friday is gonna be here for a little while longer...long enough to create your own Friday Fancy! Check out some inspiration HERE!

Marc by Marc Jacobs silk top, $325  Vince sequin tank top, $295  The Row skinny pants, $1,990  Vince sequin skirt, $209  

Christian louboutin heels, $1,075  Chanel shoulder bag, £3,300 Hourglass Prodigy Hydrating Lip Gloss -Opium, $26

Splendid, little finds...

I've been on the hunt lately.  Three of my items on Etsy sold, which is AWESOME! but it leaves my store looking bare. What's a girl to do? Excuse herself for the weekend and rummage through countless estate sales and consignment shops. It seriously was almost better than a vacation.

My dear friend at Recently came into town, well...recently...and she took some fabulous shots of my new finds. I've posted a couple for you below. I've got lots of new decor to list on Etsy so make sure to check the store later this week and find some good holiday gifts (for yourself ;)

Table, mirror, lamp - all new!

Desk chair (+ mate not shown) - new!