.my favorite things: {beauty}.

When it comes to beauty products, I don't really mix it up too much. Once I find something I love, I tend to stick with it for the long haul.

I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite go-to "girly girl" products, so without further ado, here's the breakdown:

{1} Forever 21 Metallic Polka Dot Cosmetic Bag

Mint + Gold is my numero uno favorite color combo right now, so at $4.80, I had to snatch this little faux leather cutie up as soon as I saw it.
//get it//

{2} L'anza Nourishing Conditioner

This stuff is the bees' knees for tackling tangles. Yes, it's the pricey salon stuff, but it's worth it for me to splurge a little on my conditioner. I can finally comb through my wet hair without wanting to cry. I order mine off Amazon or eBay, whichever has the best deal. You can also get it at any salon that carries L'anza products. Oh, and it smells like a creamy orange dreamsicle. Yummy! Usually costs between $10-$15 when bought outside a salon.

//get it//

{3} Victoria's Secret Dream Angels Body Mist in Forever

It's light and feminine. Blackberry, iris and amber. I think it's quite alluring, and there's a good chance my husband agrees.

The last bottle I bought was on clearance at VS, and it's no longer available on their website. But, for now, you can still find it in stores as well as Amazon and eBay for around $15-$25.

//get it//

{4} Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm

I'm sure everyone already knows how amazing this stuff is. I'll never stop buying it because it's the only lip balm that truly keeps my lips smooth and moisturized. I love the peppermint scent. Runs about $3 a tube.

//get it//

{5} Light Mint and Gold Earrings from Charming Charlie

I'm simply in love with these earrings. They came in a set of three pairs which included small diamond studs and mint roses on a gold background. I paid $8 for the set of three. These are only available in store.

Well, that was a fun post! I've got even more favorites I'd like to share in future posts.

If you've ever blogged about a few of your favorite things, I'd love for you to leave the link in the comments!

.my {post-christmas} winter mantel.

A few days ago, I took down all our Christmas decor. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was determined to fit everything I had into two large Rubber Maid tubs, and whatever didn't fit and/or I didn't like anymore got put in the future yard sale pile.

This left me with a blank fireplace mantel and a new decorating challenge to create wintery vignettes that would last through the rest of the season.

I kept it pretty simple and in neutral tones. I'm obsessed with gold right now and also how the color looks with white. To me, it's the perfect color combo for Winter.

I guess I didn't put away all my Christmas decor. I left the sprigs out that I used as my tree topper and placed them in milk glass vases. I also put a couple of white votive candles in a metal soap dish and stood a large chipboard "B" up against the wall.

On the other side of the mantel I placed another vase with sprigs in it along with my trusty navy & lime Reader's Digest (the colors of my living room). Another milk glass dish holds an over-sized pine cone, and a thrifted white owl and empty brown frame complete the vignette.

I'm happy with the neutral tones and natural outdoorsy elements.

I love looking at other bloggers' seasonal mantels, so if you'd like to share what you did with yours, feel free to leave a link in the comments!

.operation: conquer da house 2013.

//source//

It's a new year. What better time to set fresh goals, conquer dreams, create bucket lists?

I did not set any resolutions this year.

However, after reading various inspiring New Year's posts such as 

this

this

this

&

this

I was inspired to think about what I'd like to do differently this year.

The one thing that stuck out the most to me was: my home. Rather, my house. And how I think daily about tasks I need to accomplish to really work our house into more of a home.

I get overwhelmed when I think about everything I need to do to this house of ours. Besides doing a better job of staying on top of the daily cleaning, there are so many wishes, wants, and DIY projects that need to come to fruition.

I've decided it's time to buckle down, make a list, and face the challenge I will refer to as:

CONQUERING DA HOUSE, 2013.

I spent a good hour creating a Word document, where I went room by room and listed out everything I'd like to see happen for each space.

Now that it's all listed out in a pretty, organized manner, I feel like I can take a deep breath, pace myself and slowly but surely start checking off tasks.

Here's to more organized, clutter-free 2013.

And a cozier home. Here's to our home.

.christmas with my family.

It's New Year's Day, and hubs has the day off. Since we didn't get to bed until almost 3 am last night, we slept in this morning. Then hubs went to the nearest grocery store and got us some waffles and bacon for our first breakfast of the new year.

Now, we're both lounging around, it's lightly snowing outside (but not sticking because it's slightly above freezing), and I am blogging about Christmas with my family.

We were able to all get together last Saturday. Everyone came over to our house for a yum-tastic brunch. We had scrambled and boiled eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls, homemade English muffin bread, sausage rolls, juice and hot chocolate.

After we ate, we opened gifts. It was nice to have some leftover snow on the ground from the day before. We had gotten no more than an inch that only stuck to the grass but left the roads drivable.

I love my family so much.

Looking forward to the year ahead and the possibility of new additions to our clan!

.holiday snippets.

Although it's the day after Christmas, the holiday isn't over for me yet. My family is getting together this Saturday to celebrate, and we'll be heading to hubs' grandma's house to exchange gifts with her on New Year's Eve.

This morning I went to Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby and Target and stocked up on some clearance Christmas items. Since hubs and I are hosting Christmas with my family at our house, I used some of the decor I bought to revamp our tree.

We spent Christmas day with my in-laws. It was supposed to snow, and although it was frigidly cold, we didn't see one single snowflake. The family time was great, as always, as was the food and gifts exchanged. My vintage Pyrex collection grew by four bowls yesterday! But the best gift, my most favorite of all, was the time I got to spend with my husband, pug and our families.

+++

I also wanted to post a few pictures from the past couple of weeks. I enjoyed some fun holiday activities such as decorating cookies at my sister-in-law's, making salt dough ornaments for my students, and a White Elephant gift exchange party with some of my BFF's.

 Looking forward to my sister getting into town tomorrow, brunch and presents with my family, New Year's Eve with friends and family, and enjoying the rest of my Christmas vacation. I'm always sad to see this time of the year come and go, so I'm glad I get to hang on to it a little bit longer.

.2012: my year in review.

 

+++

Overwhelmed by another year full of so many blessings.

Anxious and eager for what lies ahead because through Christ, all things are possible!

.christmas card pictures past.

I thought it would be fun to take a look back at our Christmas card photos over the past five years.

It's fun to see how we've changed (and Simon, for that matter).

For the record, Simon has been on all our cards since we got him in 2008. The pictures you see without him were just one of multiple pics on our card that year.

Obviously, this year's picture is my favorite. Simon is wearing a bow-tie, for goodness sake!